Healthy Sustainable Fat Loss

Hey, I got another guest post from my good friend Carisse Crossland, CSCS whose a Personal Trainer and group fitness instructor in Las Vegas. She's listed some of her favorite tips to help you reach your lose weight and keep it off.


Hold yourself accountable.
Keep a daily journal of food, calories, and activity. People can offer vitamins, recipes, ergonenic aids (caffeine, etc.) but it all comes down to calories in and calories out.

For detailed information - www.mypyramid.gov





Choosing to eat healthy is exactly that, its a choice.
No one is forcing you to eat the cheeseburger. No one is forcing you to NOT make food for the day. We either decide to be healthy or not. Surround yourself with individuals living the way you want to live. Adapt small changes! These small changes will result in long term gains and snowball into a HEALTHIER lifestyle.


For more tips from Carisse sign up for her Motivational Monday e-mail by sending her an e-mail to CarisseCrossland@hotmail.com.


If you like this check out 9 Tips for Successful Weight Loss

14 Strategies to Reach Success

Are you ready to succeed in your fitness quest? Here's 14 of my favorite strategies to reach success. The key is to do them. You may know about them, but you don't truly know them until you apply them.


1. Set Goals

2. Be specific with your goals and dreams

3. Create good daily habits

4. Visualize success daily

5. Believe in yourself

6. Stop talking and start doing

7. Step outside of your comfort zone

8. Today is the best day to start anything.

9. Plan everyday. Success isn't an accident.

10. To be successful you must must take 100% responsibility for your actions.

11. Don't compromise your dreams

12. Expect more of yourself

13. Surround yourself with successful people

14. Don't be afraid to ask for help

Well there you have it. I've highlighted some of my favorites. What are yours? Leave me a comment down below. Please feel free to add to this list as well.

Tony

3 Tips for Fitness Success

This is a guest post by my good friend Carisse Crossland, CSCS whose a Personal Trainer and group fitness instructor in Las Vegas. She's listed 3 tips to help you reach your fitness goals.

1. No pain no gain" is old news. Pain vs. Burn are 2 different things. Pain means something is wrong, burn means you are exerting yourself, keep THAT up!



2. There is no sport like your own. To run more efficient, you have to run. To play football better, you play football and incorporate workouts around the movements of football. A gentlemen once saw a lady on the stepmill. They spoke afterwards and she told him she plans on doing a marathon. He said, "Oh, if you can do the stepmill, you can run a marathon." This is incorrect. Climbing stairs is not comparable to running 26.2 miles. You have to train what you plan to compete. (Aka sport specificity)


3. If you are lacking drive or motivation, aim for an event to compete in. There is nothing more satisfying than joining people with the same goals and finishing an event you trained months for.



Please leave Carisse a comment and let her know what tips you like best. Also feel free to add your favorite in the comments section as well. You Can reach Carisse at CarisseCrossland@hotmail.com.

Why Slow Cardio Sucks for Fat Loss

Hey I hope you’re doing great and still working hard at your goals as this year wraps up.

Last week I was talking to a new client about fat loss and toning up. She told me she was doing lots of cardio and now looking to start working with weights. Apparently, many people are still stuck doing long duration, low-intensity cardiovascular exercise.


I explained that metabolic resistance training is the fastest way to fat loss and the easiest way I could describe it was “cardio strength training”.

Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is okay if you’re a distance athlete, but NOT the way to go, if you are looking to lose weight.
Here’s why:

1. Not enough calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn 300 calories if you’re lucky, which is ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound! Not good.
Which brings me to my next point:

2. Too much time invested — if you’re like most, you don’t have ten hours a week to put into working out each week. The good news is you only need a few hours tops for fat loss. I’ll get to that later.


3. Slow Cardio is just plain BORING — sitting on an exercise bike staring at the back of some sweating guy in front of you for 45-60 minutes everyday? I don’t think so.


4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true (see Burn Fat Fast). But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.

And finally:

5. Minimal fat loss — Fewer calories burned per minute and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And what’s the point to doing cardio if not for the results.

So if long slow cardio isn’t the solution, what is?

Short duration, high-intensity exercise. Less time, faster results!


The beauty of “high intensity” is anyone can do it because it’s relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 50 lbs overweight, you can exercise with increased intensity.

It might be a sprint or a walk up hill but somehow you need to increase the intensity.

Stop doing what doesn’t work and embrace what does work.

If you want the end result, I urge you to add metabolic training to your training. For a sample program try the backyard strength workout.

Abs - Beyond Crunches

If you're looking to flatten your stomach, tighten your tummy or get six pack abs, stop doing crunches. Before you work yourself into a fit with what I just said, listen up. If you want to get what you've never had you have to do something you've never done and I'm just guessing you've done tons of crunches in the past with not much to show for it.

I've put together four exercises in this video here for you to add to your workout routine. The best part is it only takes a few minutes.






Keep in mind there's no magic exercise that will shrink your waistline, they only build the muscles. So make sure you're also cutting out the excess calories in your diet to lose inches as well.

Your abs need recovery just like any muscle so make sure you give them a day off after working them. For variety switch off the between this workout and the core workout 1.

The Biggest Loser Finale

So I'm watching the Biggest Loser finale the other night and wow did those people lose a ton of weight! I know what you're thinking if you saw the show - how did all those people lose in double digits in a single week and how did that guy lose 28 pounds in a single week.

They're in another world

You've gotta remember on the show they're living a different life than you or me. They don't have to work eight plus hours a day, go to school, take care of the kids, the dog, pay bills or do any of the things we have to do.

Plus they work out for hours a day under the supervision of two trainers that don't take excuses and push them to their limits and beyond. To top it off, they have nutritional and medical staff behind the scenes as well.


How to Lose 10 pounds in a week

Well they don't always lose 10 pounds a week, sometimes they don't lose anything - even with all those advantages. But the more you weigh, the more calories you can burn in a workout. After all walking a mile isn't all that tough when you weight 160, but imagine how much work you'd be doing if you weighed 400 pounds. More work = more calories burned.


The turning point

The contestants all came into the show with a burning desire to change, for some it was a matter of life or death if they didn't lose weight. Even so, at some point each and every contestant wanted to give up at one point or another and without a trainer they would have slowed way down or even quit completely.

You could see from the clips of the first few shows how the contestant were saying things like, "I can't do this", "I have to stop", and "this is too hard". Have you ever pushed that hard where you were telling yourself that? These people were working the butts off.

When you're not accustomed to working hard, you want to give up a lot. But then something changed. They got accustomed to hard work and started to believe they could step up to the challenge.

When you believe in yourself your language changes. They started saying things like, "I can do this" and "I will be the Biggest Loser". When you believe in yourself your language changes and your attitude changes and you can accomplish what you set out to do.


How you can succeed

*You gotta have a burning desire to change. Change doesn't happen by accident. Your health and fitness may not be a matter of life and death, but that's how serious you need to take it. Stop putting it on the back burner. I'm serious - stop it now. Make exercise and nutrition a priority in your life today.

*Change your thoughts. Until you truly believe in yourself you won't accomplish your goals. Stop hoping and wishing. Successful people don't hope and wish... they believe. Change your thoughts and change your life.

*Work hard; then work harder. I know you think you work hard on your own, but trust me, each and every last person I've trained always works harder when their pushed. When you want to give up - don't. Do you see how hard the contestants worked? They results they got weren't on accident.

Give more effort in your workouts and you'll get more in return. To truly push yourself, you need a trainer or at least a training partner; just make sure your partner spend most of the time pushing you, not talking your ear off :)

*Surround yourself with positive, like minded people. The more time you spend around negative people the harder it is to get where you need to go. Joining a boot camp or a running group are great ways to get around people with similar goals who are positive and will support you.

Stop hoping and wishing. It all comes down to believing in yourself and working hard.

What do you think of ab machines?

Q: I’d really like to know what you think of the exercise machines out there. I just bought the Ab Circle. What do you think about it? Is it worth keeping? Do those things really help? I’d greatly appreciate your take on this and others that you know.

A: Okay, here's the deal. All ab devices are tools to strengthen the muscle. You already have one of the best tools available which is your own body. So is an ab machine needed? No. Is it useful maybe.

If you’re looking to trim your waistline and tone your abs, you need three things. Limiting yourself to just the ab machine will strengthen your abs, which is good but won't burn off the layer of fat covering the muscles.

Here's the three steps you need to take.

1. Do full body resistance training including exercises that work the core. Building muscle will boost your metabolism which helps you lose fat around your entire body.

2. Cardio exercise. Preferably high intensity exercise. Which gives you the best return on your time investment for fat loss.

3. Supportive nutrition. You can do all the cardio and ab work in the world but if you eat like crap you'll never achieve the results you want. See clean eating 101.

So to sum it all up, if you’re looking for results you gotta do more than ab work to get the results you want; even with the best tool

9 Habits to Break

Aren’t you tired of hoping and wishing you could finally get in shape? In all my blog posts I’ve put up tons of useful workouts to help you along the way, but if your mind isn’t right then it’s not going to help much. Once your break these habits and form new positive habits success is right around the corner.

1. Stop waiting for the right time to get in shape. Don’t wait until you have more free time, January 1st or next summer to start working out. I know people who’ve been waiting for 6 years for everything to be perfect before they start working out! Start now, because there’s never a better time than now.


2. Being afraid to fail. Maybe you failed the last time you tired to lose weight. So what! Everyone who’s been successful fails. The difference is successful people embrace failure, learn from it and try again.

3. Not finishing what you start. Do not let yourself be the person who makes a New Year’s Resolution just to give up 6 weeks later. Successful people get the job done whether or not they feel like it. Take it one day at a time and be successful every day.


4. Not having a plan. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail…. nuff said.


5. Being Insane. Hey the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Stop being insane! If the workouts in the magazines aren’t working – it’s time to try something new.


6. Giving up because it’s hard. You know, I rarely see someone in great shape who doesn’t work hard. Yeah you’ve got a few people with great genes that don’t have to work hard, but for most of us we have to work hard for what we want.


7. Stop rationalizing failure. Maybe you don’t have a gym membership or you have a bad back. Stop using that as an excuse. Find a way to succeed despite the road block.



8. Stop complaining and blaming others. Don’t tell me you can’t eat healthy because you don’t buy the food in your household. If you want to succeed start taking responsibility for yourself. It’s your job to see that you eat healthy not anyone else’s. Go shopping with the person who shops or give them a list of the healthy foods you need.


9. Being inconsistent. Working out once in a while won’t get you in the shape you want to get in. Even if you can’t do your full workout once in a while, do 10 or 15 minutes. This will keep you consistent and you’ll be less likely to let a week or two go without working out which leads to giving up completely.

Let me know what your favorites are below.

Stop Doing Crunches!

I know you've gotta be tired of doing crunches at the end of every workout with nothing to show for it. I put together a quick video showing you four new exercises that you can add to your workouts to help improve core strength and build those six-pack muscles.



Keep in mind this is a great workout to build core strength, but if seeing your six pack is your goal you've got to have low body fat. It's a three step process:

1. Do this workout

2. Cut out the junk food and eat clean - see clean eating 101

3. Burn off the extra fat covering up your abs - see the backyard cardio workout.

Can You Lose Weight Simply By Not Eating, or Do You Have to Workout?

Q: This question has always been bugging me. If you don't eat, is working out really needed to lose weight?



A: You absolutely need to eat! Otherwise, your body will go into a "starvation mode" which slows down your metabolism and stores the food you eat to keep you alive. The problem here is you will lose a little weight, then it will come to a halt and your health will suffer. So it's not worth it.



You can still lose weight without exercising (it's called dieting) but you run into another problem - if you aren't exercising you will lose muscle which will slow down your metabolism and slow down your weight loss.



You can lose weight faster with exercise because your metabolism will speed up by buiding muscle. The added muscle will cause your body to burn more calories and you'll lose weight - so and instead of skin and bones, you'll end up with lean toned muscles.


So while you can lose weight without exercising; not eating is never recommended. You should exercise and eat right for best results. You can actually raise your metabolism even higher by eating small portions often throughout the day, just keep your total calories in check.


If you liked this make sure to check out Clean Eating 101

Accomplish Your Fitness Goals With One Easy Step

You know, getting in shape really isn't that hard. It's no secret - all you gotta do is exercise and eat right. You know that. Everyone knows that. Then why is it that so many people are unfit and unhealthy?

It's really quite simple. It's not what you know, it's what you do. Like I said everyone knows to exercise and eat right but so many people are out of shape and their health continues to suffer because they are not doing what they already know they should be doing.

Watch this video to see how one simple action can lead you to success and see how failing to act will cause you to fail every time.



Please leave your comments below.

A New Spin on Interval Training for Weight Loss

It’s no secret diet and exercise are two essential ingredients to natural weight loss. The problem for many is they don’t have a plan to reach that goal? If you run a mile you’ll burn approximately 100 calories. The problem with running a mile is it’s like doing 1000 to 1500 reps of impact double your body weight. That’s a lot of stress on your joints.

If you weight 200 lbs you’re doing 200 lbs x 2 or 400 lbs each rep; and remember you’re doing 1000 to 1500 reps. That’s a lot of forces put on your joints which can put you at high risk for injury.

Switching to the bike can take the stress off but you’re still doing a ton of reps to burn a measly 100 calories.

If you’ve read a few of my blog posts you probably know I believe interval training beats traditional steady state cardio for fat loss. If you’ve tried it you probably agree too. Switching to intervals doesn’t necessarily mean using a bike or treadmill though. Try a circuit using dumbbells, kettle bells or even body weight to burn the calories and keep the stress off the joint.

For a quick and effective body interval workout try the Backyard Cardio Circuit.

Clean Eating 101

If you’re like most people, when you want to lose weight or tone up you already know what to do - diet and exercise. The problem for most is they don’t have the most effective plan to reach that goal. It’s not as complicated as you think.

It starts with the diet. The problem with traditional diets is they are hard! Whether it is counting calories, or always feeling hungry or never having the satisfaction of eating your favorite foods. Forget diets and focus on clean eating to not only lose weight and tone up, but also for maintenance.

Here’s a quick and easy way to eat clean:

1. Eat a big breakfast. This gives you energy when you need it and you have all day to move around and use those calories for energy rather than let them sit and convert to fat.

2. Eat small meals every 2-3 hours. This is as easy as eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, which a small snack between. This keeps the metabolism revved up and helps and prevents you from overeating at your next meal.

3. Eat a small late night meal before bed. You don’t need all those calories from a high sugar or high fat meal sitting all night to convert to fat. Stick with a small meal of lean protein and fruit or vegetables along with healthy fats.

4. Eat only Lean protein, Whole grains, Fruits and Vegetables and Healthy Fats.

5. Follow these instructions 90% of the time for best results.

While I don’t expect you to adopt each and every one of these five habits overnight you can focus on one right away. Once you master it, move on to the next. If you do this, you’ll cut automatically cut out the junk and never feel full. You’ll feel happy, full, have more energy and get in shape once and for all.

Short on Time and Need and Effective Workout

Q: I need to start building muscle and getting back in shape. Can you give me a daily routine of exercise that takes a half an hour?

A: Try full body strength circuit to build muscle, save time and boost your metabolism to keep you burning calories all day. Follow this up with a quick cardio circuit to burn even more calories in a short period of time. This program can be done with just your body weight so you can do it anywhere. Just make sure to keep the intensity high to ensure you're getting the most from your time.

Strength Circuit: watch video

Squats
Squat Jumps
Reverse Lunge Left Leg
Reverse Lunge Right Leg
Close Grip Push up
Dynamic Plank
Single Leg deadlift Left Leg
Single Leg deadlift Right Leg

Do each exercise for 30 seconds each; repeat 3 times with little or no rest between exercises.

Cardio Circuit: watch video

Jumping Jacks
Hi Knee Jog in place
Burpees
Mountain Climbers

Do each exercise for 30 seconds each; repeat 3 times with little or no rest between exercises.

If you like this, make sure you check out this Time Crunch workout.

Don’t be a Treadmill Idiot

As a kid nothing seemed to bother me, EVER, but now it seems people are ticking me off left and right. Maybe I’m getting old and crotchety, but it seems at least once a week in the gym I’m guaranteed to see something that just ticks me right off.

You know what ticks me off? When I’m in the gym and I see people doing things they have no business doing. For example, last week I saw a woman walking on the treadmill at a 15% incline doing something like 5 or 6 mph and holding on for dear life. Every time she took a step her entire body would jerk because she was holding on so damn tight and going way too fast.

Why in the heck do you need to be going that fast at that elevation when you can’t do it properly? I’m trying to figure this one out because honestly I have just don’t know why people do this. I’m not picking on this poor woman; I see all kinds of people doing this. For some reason this is a common thing to do in gyms. My guess is they think the faster they go and the higher the elevation; the more calories they burn. Okay that’s true, but the only if you actually do the work. The machine thinks you’re busting your tail doing the work, not halfway doing it and halfway getting pulled along. So all those calories it says you’re burning; you are not.

A quick remedy to this problem: Lower the grade and take the speed down. It’s that simple. Let go of the hand rail and stand straight up while walking or running. If you can’t perform the exercise without holding on or standing straight up, you need to slow down or bring the incline down until you can. If you want to burn those extra calories then add short intervals every two to three minutes; where you increase the speed or the incline for only 30 seconds or so at a time. This will add more intensity to the workout and allow you to keep proper form so you actually burn those extra calories.

Now go out and have a great workout, but don’t let me catch you being a fool on the treadmill.

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Want More Free Fitness Tips, and Workout Motivation?

If you like the blog make sure to sign up for our free newsletter and get more Free fit tips, motivation and special offers.

Sign up for our free newsletter at workoutquest.com

Weight loss and muscle building??

Q: I want to lose weight the natural way without supplements. First of all I am 5ft 9in and I weigh 240 and I want to lose weight and build muscle. I don't want big muscles but lean body muscle and I asked a trainer and they said I need to do more reps and less weight on the machines.

My question is what do you recommend? How many reps should I do? how much weight should I use? How long should I do this for? (like how many minutes) please help me.

A: While bodybuilders do high reps and low weight to lose the last bit of fat and keep the muscle they have this isn't your best option. You still need to build muscle first and you have way more fat to lose than they do.

For every pound of muscle you have your metabolism increases enough to burn an extra 50 calories a day. If you added just 5 pounds of muscle that is 91250 calories burned or about 26 pounds that's without diet or cardio!

You can see how important strength training is, but using heavier weights (something you can lift 6 to 12 reps is better for you) since you are not a bodybuilder and have more muscle to build and more fat to burn than the average bodybuilder. Use a weight you can do at least six times but no more than 12 times per set. Lift for 45 minutes three times per week.

For best results do squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press, barbell rows, and lat pulls to get the most bang for your buck because these work the largest muscles and build muscle quicker and burn way more fat.

For additional fat burning try cardio intervals such as the backyard cardio circuit after weight training or on other days.

7 Secrets to Successful Weight Loss

Because I want you to succeed in quest to lose weight, tone up and feel better, I’m going to share with you 7 secrets successful people use to reach their goals.

Does this sound like you?

Someday when I have the time, I’m going to start exercising.
Someday when I have the money, I’m going to eat healthy.
Someday when I’m in shape I’ll start going to the gym.
Someday, someday, someday…

It’s been said that,

It’s been said that, “Someday is the eighth day of week, the only day that never comes”.

Okay so, now that I have your attention here’s those success secrets; and actions you can take:


1. Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Go to the gym when you’re tired. Eat healthy meals when everyone else is eating junk.

2. They get the job done whether or not they feel like it. Take a jump rope and resistance band and workout on vacation.

3. They set goals, write them down and read them daily. If you haven’t done this…please do it today!





4. They never blame circumstances or other people. I don’t care if you do the shopping in your household; it’s your job to influence the person who does. Get healthy foods in to your house and in front of you one way or the other.

5. They start with a dream, turn the dream into a goal, and make a plan to reach the goal. Start with a dream and write it as a goal. If you need help with a plan e-mail me at tony at workoutquest dot com

6. They spend time with other people who have done what they want to do. If you want to lose weight, find someone who has done it and ask them what they did. If you don’t know anyone check this out Steven’s story then find a trainer who specializes in weight loss and hire them to help you. Don’t use the excuse that it’s too expensive either. Where talking about your health and your quality of life. Find some other area to cut back on if you need to.

7. They use momentum. The first week of exercise it hard, but it gets easier by week two, and it’s a habit by week four. Avoid starting and stopping and keep that momentum rolling. If you can’t do a full workout keep the momentum going by doing the No Excuse Workout.

Remember, application is the key. These secrets only work if you apply them.
I’d love to hear some of your favorite success tips in the comment section below.

Boost Metabolism for Weight Loss

Q: How can I increase the speed of my metabolism so I can lose weight faster?

A: Exercising will do it; more specifically strength training. Building a pound of lean muscle raises your metabolism enough to burn about 50 extra calories a day. This may seem insignificant at first, but if you gain 5 pounds of muscle you will burn 91,250 extra calories over the course of a year which equals roughly 26 pounds. This is without any added cardio or diet plan.

Also try to eat three small meals plus three small snacks in between. Skipping meals or going too long between eating puts you in starvation mode which slows your metabolism. Eat something every three hours but keep total calories in check.

For more Free fit tips, motivation and special offers sign up for our free newsletter at workoutquest.com

Check Your Exercising Intensity

If you want to lose weight, you've gotta do the right things for weight loss. It seems like every time I'm in the gym I see people kind of half way working out. They'll be walking on the treadmill aimlessly or lifting the little pink dumbbells that are way too easy for them. Now I've got to give these people credit for even coming to the gym because they could be sitting at home with a remote in one hand and a Krispy Kreme in the other. I think they could do better though.

When you're in the gym why not get the best return on your time investment possible? Forget about all that fat burning zone stuff; there are several studies showing that low intensity aerobic work does almost nothing for fat loss. The harder you work the better results you can expect. Do you ever wonder if you're exercising hard enough to get the results you want?

Check out this video:



The next time you workout use the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale below to gauge your intensity while exercising.

Level 1: Very, very, light (this is so light; you probably are sitting on the couch with a remote in hand)
Level 2: Very light, Can maintain this pace all day long
Level 3: Light, but breathing a bit harder
Level 4: Starting to sweat a little, can carry on a conversation effortlessly (this may be your warm up)
Level 5: Just above comfortable, sweating more and can still talk easily
Level 6: Can still talk, but slightly breathless
Level 7: Can still talk, but I don't really want to, sweating more
Level 8: harder, can only keep this pace for a short time period (great for interval training)
Level 9: Very hard, want to stop
Level 10: very, very hard. An all out effort that requires every bit of energy you have. (you can only do this a few seconds then you have to stop and catch your breath)

Here’s a quick interval program that if done right will have you sweating and feeling like you actually did something and give you a better ROI on time spent in the gym.

You can do this workout on any cardio machine. Each day use a different machine or do sprints in the pool or at the park. Choosing your favorite activities will increase adherence.

5 minute warm up – gradually build up from level 3 to 5
1 minute level 9
2 minutes level 6-7
Repeat 3 times (four sets total)
5 minute cool down – gradually from level 5 to 3
Total time 22 minutes

I'd love to hear your comments below.

9 Tips for Successful Weight Loss

This is a guest blog from Mike Owens who's a trainer specializing in rotational athletes such as tennis and golf in Las Vegas.

He's listed 9 quick and easy tips to help you succeed in your quest for fat loss.

3 Healthy Snacks
- Turkey burger wrap (lettuce, tomato, onion, turkey patty)
- 1 serving of almonds with medium banana
- Chicken/bacon salad: olives, lettuce, squash, cucumbers, broccoli, tomato, bell pepper, shredded (boneless/skinless) chicken breast, bacon pieces, salad dressing (red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, pepper)

3 Exercise Tips of Fat Loss
- Get the heart rate up
- Do a little everyday...every little bit counts
- Vary your activities (hiking, biking, swimming, strength training) and keep it fun!

3 Nutrition Tips
- Plan meals in advance and cook them the night before
- Eat every few hours (breakfast being the most important meal)
- Record meals in a logbook every now and then to track your progress

Mike is a N.S.C.A. - Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and YogaFit - Level One Yoga Instructor who holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from UNLV and will have a M.S. in Exercise Physiology (Spring of 2010) from UNLV.

*contact Mike Owens at mhowens85@hotmail.com for more tips*

Quick Upper Body Circuit

Hey, I got a quick tip for you. If you ever find yourself short on time and want to skip your workout try an abbreviated version instead. A shortened fast paced workout is better than nothing at all because it will help you maintain your current fitness level and even help you burn a few calories.

Check out the video below showing you exactly how to get it done in only ten minutes.




You can do this when you only have ten minutes or add it to your regular workout.e

I'd love to hear your comments below.

Tony Wood

Steven's Weight Loss Story

Small changes over time can add up to big success. When you're trying to lose weight remember slow and steady is the safe way to go and allows you to maintain it. A few behavior modifications can add up big time if you stick with it.

I brought you an inspiring story from a regular guy who lost over 50lbs. with diet and exercise (No fad diets or photoshop here). Just all natural results!

Read Steven's Story.

1. What was your starting weight? Ending weight?
Starting was 220lbs now I'm 167 lbs (at 5'10")

2. How long did it take you to lose the weight?

I lost 20 lbs in the first 6-8 months, then after I started doing lifting and toning exercises primarily (my cardio weight loss tapered off) I lost another 20 lbs in around the same time frame, maybe 7 months. So 13-15 months approximately.

3. How long have you kept it off?

About a year or so

4. When did you realize it was time to do something about your weight / health ( what was your a-ha moment)?

When my doctor looked at my triglycerides and cholesterol and said "(If you don't start changing your lifestyle and exercising, you WILL have heart disease when you hit your 40s (i'm 27)

5. What lifestyle changes did you make in your diet and exercise regime?
First thing I did was cut sugar soda's out of my diet COMPLETELY. I also started eating veggies for lunch, and yes, smaller portions as well. I also at first completely cut out candy and ice cream, but now I have a little from time to time to reward myself (if I deserve it! ;-P). Lately i've been walking alot, so I've been able to keep alot of it off. I also need to get back to lifting so I can bulk up more and get rid of the rest of the lil fattiness I have left.

6. How was your energy level before? After?

OH MY GOD... My energy level at the very least DOUBLED. I have so much energy now, and have frequently been able to go to clubs and dance all night, go for really long walks/hikes, etc. Also, (maybe TMI lol) but my sex life improved 4-fold! You'd be so surprised how much better it gets, especially with the confidence in your body in addition to the endurance you create with exercise and the extra vitamins and such you get from eating right. I also take 3-4 vitamins in the morning as well, and they help too.

7. What were the keys to your successful weight loss? Maintenance?

SELF-DEDICATION! Don't rely on ANYONE else to bring you there. The desire to change has to come from within, and keep coming from within, or you WILL falter.
Give up sugar sodas and most sugar drinks. You'd be surprised just how much that effects your weight. After switching to crystal light other alternatives (I actually gave up soda altogether, even diet, for a time so I wasn't tempted to get a sugared one) I actually lost about 5 lbs in just around 2 weeks.

Also eat lots and lots of Veggies. Use them to replace foods you normally eat. Also, eat chicken instead of beef and pork as a mainstay of your diet. Not having all the fat works wonders.

Congratulations Steven keep up the good work.

If you'd like your story told leave a comment below.

Comments Section Added to Posts

Hey I just want to let you know I just added a comments section to the blog posts. I'd like to get your opinion on my posts, so leave a comment and let me know what you think.




Thanks,
Tony

Lower Body "No Excuse" Circuit

Hey, I hope you're doing great. Check out my new no excuse workout that you can do anytime and anywhere! This quick lower body circuit will help strengthen your legs and get your heart rate up in only 15 minutes.

To get the most from this circuit work as hard as you can from start to finish. To challenge yourself go as fast as you can while focusing on correct form.

Here's the video.

Backyard Strength Circuit

Tony Wood here. I've got another quick video for you that you can do anytime and anywhere! If you're short on time you can do this quick strength workout to help build your muscles and get your heart rate up fast.

The best part about it is that you don't need any equipment and can finish it in under 12 minutes. Remember to work as hard as you can from start to finish.

Check out the video.




Video Recap

Squats
Squat Jumps
Reverse Lunge Left Leg
Reverse Lunge Right Leg
Close Grip Pushup
Dynamic Plank
Single Leg RDL Left Leg
Single Leg RDL Right Leg

Do each exercise for 30 seconds each; repeat 3 times with little or no rest between exercises.

To make the workout more challenging do each exercise for 45 or 60 seconds each. You'll still be done it less than 20 minutes!

Backyard Cardio Workout

I hope you're doing great! I made a quick video for you that you can do anytime and anywhere! If you're short on time you can do this quick cardio workout to get your heart rate up fast; or add it to the end of your main workout for a cardio boost.

The best part about it is that you don't need any equipment and can finish it in under 10 minutes. Since it's a quick workout work as hard as you can from start to finish.

I hope you like the video.



Video Recap

Jumping Jacks
Hi Knee Jog in place
Burpees
Mountain Climbers

Do each exercise for 30 seconds each; repeat 3 times with little or no rest between exercises.

To make the workout more challenging do each exercise for 45 or 60 seconds each. You'll still be done it 9 to 12 minutes!

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Put Your Phone Down While You Workout

As a trainer I see a lot of people getting poor returns on their time invested in the gym.

Just today I saw a woman texting on the inner thigh machine. Then less than 20 minutes later I saw another woman texting while riding a recumbant bike.

The two things they both had in common was they both were going so slow it was almost pointless. From the looks of them I would guess their intensity usually stays pretty low.

The take home message is this: don't go to the gym and half ass it and expect fabolous results. Put down your phone (better yet, leave it in your locker) for 30 to 45 minutes and bust a sweat to get a result you can be proud of.

Take Your Workout Outside

Whether you go to a boot camp or not, there are plenty of fun ways to get fit beyond the walls of the health club. Exercise can be done anytime and anywhere as long as you get creative.



Here's what I did on Tuesday.

6 minute dynamic warm up consisting of:
High knees, butt kickers, Carioca, Frankenstein walk, back pedaling, inchworm and spiderman crawls

14 Minutes of running football wide receiver routes and back pedaling. Approximately 5 seconds per sprint at full speed with 30 seconds rest between.

Finished with alternating sets of pull ups on the soccer goal and feet elevated pushups. Did four sets to failure on each with one minute rest between exercises.

Worked on cardio conditioning, agility, and upper body strength in under 35 minutes.

You don't have to do this workout but it's good to step out of the gym and get creative once in a while.

Time Crunch

Q: I’ve been missing workouts because I don’t have time due to my new work schedule. Can I still get good results working out only two times a week?

A: If you’re only working out twice a week that may be enough to maintain, but if you’re still looking to improve shoot for at least three days a week. Make a serious effort to make your health and fitness a priority in your life. Do your best to get in and stay in the habit of doing all your workouts. When you get in the habit of skipping a workout here and there it becomes all too easy to let a week or two go by without working out.

Even if you can’t complete your full workout do your best to work hard for 15 minutes. This may not seem like much but it keeps you in the routine of being consistent and not skipping your workouts. Since you only have 15 minutes some days you need to make it count. Spend as much of your time working and rest as short as possible. Here’s an example of a lower body workout:

1 minute Squats
1 minute Bulgarian Split Squats right leg
1 minute Bulgarian Split Squats left leg
1 minute SL Deadlift Right Leg
1 minute SL Deadlift Left Leg

Repeat 3 times

This workout also has a cardio component because the circuit doesn’t allow for rest, so your heart rate will remain elevated giving you a 15 minute cardio workout as well. However if you need rest take it when needed, but keep it to a minimum as your goal is to do as much work as you can in a short period of time.

Choose Your Calories Wisely

No matter how hard you try you can’t out train a crappy diet. Stop rewarding yourself every time you workout by splurging on some sort of high calorie treat because you had a good workout. I hear this one all the time, “That was a good workout, now I can go out to the buffet (I live in Vegas and they’re everywhere).

Let me simplify this for you. If you burn 300 calories in your workout and you reward yourself with a large blueberry muffin that’s 465 calories that you don’t need. Now you are 165 calories in the wrong direction and you WILL gain weight! That 300 calories you burned is fine and dandy, but if you want it to mean something you better not eat that muffin or you better run for and additional 50 minutes or bike for 66 minutes because that’s how long it will take to burn off the extra calories.

That’s just with one muffin, not a whole buffet. Choose your calories wisely and remember it’s okay to reward yourself once or twice a month but if you do it after every single workout you’re going to be disappointed with the results you get.

For more Free fit tips, motivation and special offers sign up for our free newsletter at workoutquest.com

Cardio or Weights?

A few days ago I saw a man and a woman enter the gym together and he asked her, “Do you want to do cardio or weights today?” I didn’t even listen to the answer because two things immediately ran through my mind:

1. If you have to ask you’re probably not following any type of program

2. Do you really have to choose?

If you are following a program you should know what you’re going to do before you step foot in the gym. If you aren’t you’re probably going to waist time figuring out what to do, and I don’t know about you but as much as I enjoy working out I don’t like wasting time. My other issue is when you follow a plan you have progression, meaning it gradually gets harder so you get stronger, faster, more endurance, greater fat loss, ect. And when you don’t have a plan you have no progression because you're making it up on the fly which leads to poor results.

Even if there was not benefit to having a progression, you still don’t need to choose. Why not do both? Again, stop wasting time and do both weights and cardio to get the benefits of both in less time. Start with your weights and add cardio intervals between your sets instead of resting so you can build muscle and burn more calories in less time leading to greater fat loss.

Eat Right for Fat Loss

Are you trying to burn fat? If so, I hope your exercising and eating right. Eating right not only means eating at the right times but also the right types of foods at the right times. Food is your fuel. So to slim down and boost your energy levels you need healthy meals not junk food. Junk food contains empty calories so eliminating them from your diet, especially at night is best. It’s like putting dirt in your gas tank; it’s not going to do you any good.

Because food is your fuel, in the mornings you need to eat larger meals to provide energy throughout the day. In the evenings stick to smaller meals since you are less active.

Instead of a late night snack of ice cream and cookies or some other sugar and fat filled combo try this low calorie late night snack packed with protein and plenty of antioxidants.

4-6 oz. of orange juice
4 oz. of fat free cottage cheese
4 oz. of fat free milk
¼ cup of frozen blueberries
½ small banana (frozen)

blend into a shake and enjoy!

If you like this check out Stop Drinking Your Calories and Start Losing Weight

Top 10 mistakes people make in the gym

When I'm in the gym, I can't help but to see people making mistakes that are slowing down their progress. I'm not alone either. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recently polled 2,500 certified fitness professionals to find out what they consider to be the top 10 mistakes made by health club members today.

Here are the surprising (and not-so-surprising) results of that study:

10. Exercising too hard: Moderate exercise is the most effective. Many people believe that they can "make up" for missed workouts.

9. Not exercising intensely enough: Picking up the pace will help members achieve changes they may not be experiencing. If their workout isn't challenging, then the lack of results can be discouraging.

8. Bad posture: People should never slouch or slump when either using machines or participating in a group exercise class. Proper posture can prevent back injuries.

7. Using momentum, rather than muscles, to lift weights: Slow, controlled movements are what builds muscle strength.

6. Lifting too much weight: If complete range of motion is not possible, then most likely the weight is too heavy. As my husband always says ... more is not necessarily better!

5. Not stretching: Stretching helps reduce injuries and increases muscle length and mobility, if done properly.

4. Skipping a cool down: Cooling down after a workout will lower the heart rate and prevent dizziness.

3. Not warming up properly: People who start their workouts full-force are likely candidates for injury and/or exhaustion. Warming up gets the blood flowing and gives muscles time to adapt.

2. Not drinking enough water: In exercise, the key is hydration, hydration, hydration! Please ensure that water is readily available in your club at all times.

1. Not consuming a nutritious "meal" within one hour of workout: The optimal time for consuming a combination of protein and carbohydrates is immediately following an intense workout session. This "window of opportunity" is imperative to the recovery of the body. A good choice is a fruit smoothie containing at least 23 grams of protein.

Check out the top 10 Nutritional Mistakes

Top Ten Nutritional Mistakes Made By Active People

Many people think exercise alone is the key to reaching their fitness goals. While exercise does a lot of good, make sure you're not making these mistakes and you'll get more out of your workouts.

This post comes from the American Council on Exercise.

Though active people typically pay close attention to their fitness regimen – proper cardiovascular workout, strength training and stretching - they may be making crucial mistakes in their diet. Not putting the right nutrients in your body could ultimately affect the overall fitness benefits of an active lifestyle. To stress the importance of proper nutrition ACE shares the following nutrition mistakes commonly made by active people.

Skipping breakfast. Experts agree–skipping breakfast just means you’ll be hungrier later, which can make it more difficult to control both your diet and your weight.

Not eating before a workout. Providing the body with food for energy allows for a better, more productive exercise session. Try eating a pre-workout meal consisting of carbs, a little fat and some protein.
Waiting too long after exercise to eat. One of the best things you can do to prepare for your next workout is eat a small meal that includes both carbohydrates and protein within two hours of your last session.

Replacing meals with energy bars or replacement drinks. Many energy bars offer little more nutrition than your average candy bar and replacement drinks may lack adequate fiber. There’s really no substitute for healthy whole foods.

Eating too much protein and not enough carbs. The current popularity of low-carb diets has many people trying to fuel their workouts with poultry instead of pasta. But carbohydrates are essential to effective workouts.

Trusting the accuracy of dietary supplement labels and claims. Because the supplement industry remains largely unregulated, manufacturers can make unproven and untested claims about their products. Do your homework before putting anything into your body.

Not consuming the right amount of calories for the amount of activity you do (i.e., too many or too few). Your caloric intake should be sufficient to support your active lifestyle, but not so abundant that weight control becomes a challenge.

Believing that exercise means you can eat whatever you want. Whether you exercise a little or a lot, you still need to follow a healthy, balanced diet and watch you portion sizes.
Not drinking the right amount of fluids. Dehydration can be a serious problem, especially if you exercise in hot, humid environments. Drinking fluids before, during and after exercise will help you maintain adequate hydration levels.

Jumping on the latest diet craze in search of that elusive “edge.” It’s tempting to believe there is some magic formula out there that will dramatically improve our performance or lose weight, but the best approach is to stick to the basics and follow a healthy, balanced diet.

Stop Drinking Calories and Start Losing Weight

Stop drinking your calories. Many of your favorite soft drinks and flavored coffee drinks can contain 200 or more calories. Drinking a couple of these a day can add up to major weight gain. First make sure to stay away from super sized beverages (stick with 8 to 12 ounces), second making the switch to water can lead to a 20 pound weight loss or more over the course of a year.

Also drink plenty of water. Aim for .6 to .7 ounces per pound of body weight. For instance if you weigh 160 pounds aim to get at least 96 ounces per day. Having 16 ounces of water upon waking in the morning is a good idea because you have been dehydrated during your sleep. With each meal you should also drink one to two cups of water. Carrying a water bottle to work or school and sipping throughout the day, helps keep you hydrated and full between meals.

Non-Diet Weight Loss

Find out how many calories you eat in a typically day. Track everything (including gravy and butter) for a few days to get an average. Once you’ve figured out how many calories you eat in a typical day start by cutting 200-300 calories from that, so if you currently average 2800 calories, try dropping down to 2500 a day. This may be as easy as cutting out high calories drinks or making healthier choices when eating out.

Next split the total between five to six meals to get your metabolism working for you. The goal is to eat more frequently, but less overall. Get an early start by eating breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning and eat every three to four hours after that. Follow up breakfast with a mid-morning snack, lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, dinner and if needed a light evening snack. With your busy schedule it may be hard to eat every three hours so be prepared to bring cheese sticks, low fat yogurt, apples, oranges and other whole grain snacks that provide fiber and keep you full.