Stats:
Age: 32
Weight: 125
Height: 5’4
Bodyfat: 16%
Nationality: Asian American
Ethnicity: ½ Chinese, ½ Filipina

How Did You Get Started In Health And Fitness?

My parents never emphasized sports and I was often shy and intimidated by team athletics. I was scared, however, of becoming overweight because my genetics made me susceptible. I started a small exercise routine of jumping jacks, leg lifts and practicing the splits every morning in elementary school. I started volunteering as an aerobics instructor in high school, became a personal trainer in college, a fitness manager post-college and founded a 501 (c)(3) fitness nonprofit for children called “Fitness without Borders” in my twenties. Being healthy was always a part of my life mainly because I witnessed firsthand the pain poor health creates with oneself and with those who love you. I also realized early on that when I was sad, depressed, stressed or anxious – if I exercised for a little bit, it always made me feel better. Exercise taught me the ability to transfer negative energy into a positive action.
 

What Is Your Best Accomplishment So Far?

Definitely becoming a fit mother of 3 healthy boys is a great accomplishment. Being able to balance owning two carehome facilities for the elderly, running my nonprofit programs, creating a local mom-me fit club, training weekly, cooking dinner every night and maintaining a clean household is an accomplishment in itself! Before motherhood, I was proud to win several beauty and fitness contests including Miss Petite Teen International, Miss Bikini California and Miss Philippines USA.
 

You’re A Mother Of Three Young Boys. How Do You Find The Time To Stay Fit?

I make time. I really do! Ever since I was little I would check my watch to see how much I can accomplish in a short period of time. Being a fit mom is all about preparation, visualization, focus and execution. It only takes a good 30-60 minutes a day to have an intense, efficient and effective workout. The rest of the day is all about eating healthy, which requires no time at all! Most often I train before the boys awake on my home treadmill or with a workout DVD. A few times a week I make it to the gym and perform some strength training. I also take the boys to the park a few times a week, some of which I meet with other moms and we exercise together. My busy schedule limits me in that I rarely do anything outside of what is productive for my family, my work or my fitness.
 

What Is Your Advice For Other Mothers Who Struggle With The Balance?

My best advice is to create a successful environment. Your environment not only includes the healthy food in your cupboards or having exercise options, but also the people in your life. It’s important to find someone who can uplift you: a mentor, someone who will push you: a supporter and someone who looks ups to you: a follower. These key people in your environment will create a level of accountability that will make it tough for you to fail. Give yourself time, be patient with your results. Drop your calories slowly and create a fitness program that is sustainable.
 

You Had An Eating Disorder Earlier In Your Life. Could You Talk A Little About That & How You Got Past That?

I dealt with Bulimia in my early-mid twenties because of a variety of physiological, spiritual and mental reasons. I was experiencing a lot of changes in my life: I graduated college, broke up with a long-term boyfriend, changed jobs and moved to a different city. The transitions made me want to mentally control an aspect of my life and I obsessively focused on my food intake. I also competed in six contests that year and my body was becoming weak and fatigued. As a perfectionist, the eating disorder literally took over my life for several years. I had ‘episodes’ multiple times a day and was traumatized by wanting to be perfect and beating myself up because I wasn’t. I say this was very much a spiritual challenge because I truly felt God’s presence in my pain and recovery. If it wasn’t for prayer, constant reflection and forgiving myself and others who had hurt me in the past, I wouldn’t have overcome such a difficult period in my life.
 

What Is Your Workout Routine?

My workout routine changes quarterly. Right now I have been focusing on running – mainly indoors on my treadmill as I don’t have a triple stroller and I try to get cardio in before the boys awake. I run on an incline and focus on intensity for 2-6 miles 4-5 times a week. I try to get to the gym and perform these muscle groups: Mon or Tues: glutes, Wed: back/chest, Th: shoulders/arms and Fri or Sat: glutes again (if I train 4x). I try to perform at least 3-4 exercises, 8-15 reps, and 4-5 sets.
 

Top 3 Favourite Exercises And Why?

Shoulder presses while kneeling on a stability ball: Love building my shoulders and training my core at the same time. My shoulders really create proportion in my physique.

Plyometric lunge or squat jumps: I love performing this inbetween any exercise to add intensity and train my legs/glutes.

Pullups and Pushups: I say these two together because I often superset them. I love combining these two basic exercises that works your entire upper body!
 

Favourite Form Of Cardio?

Running, Stairclimbing or Zumba
 

What Is Your Diet Like?

I try to eat mostly unprocessed, whole foods. I don’t like taking supplements so eating nutritious foods with a high vitamin and mineral content is important to me.
 

Meal 1: Oatmeal with flaxseeds, egg whites with sundried tomatoes
Meal 2: Tuna with onion, avocado and celery with a whole wheat bread or tortilla (sometimes with some veggie chips)
Meal 3: Trail mix bar or nuts with fruit
Meal 4: Same as meal 2 or leftover protein and carbs from night before.
Meal 5: Fish (usually salmon) with quinoa/brown rice or salad with roasted veggies

What Food Would We Find In Your Fridge?

Right now there is cooked quinoa, baked salmon, turkey meatballs, spaghetti squash, blackberries, strawberries, artichoke, broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, apples, eggs and almond milk.
 

Any Staple/Classic Healthy Meals That You Always Eat?

Definitely turkey meatballs and tuna salad is my favourite. My favourite cheat meal is Mexican food. I also like sushi and I’m not one to turn down a glass of red wine!
 

What Supplements Do You Use & Why?

No supplements. I’ve never been consistent. The only time I was consistent was when I took prenatals. If I absolutely need to take something for energy, I will only opt for Endure DX by Natural Dynamix.
 

What Are Your Tips For Beginners?

1. Make specific goals. Not generic goals like lose weight and exercise more. Your goals need to have an emotional component that will make you create a strong internal desire to accomplish it.
2. Create a plan. Your plan should be realistic, attainable and achievable.
3. Create a support team.
4. Measure your progress, not just on the scale, but through fitness tests, body fat, dress size, measurements.
5. Work on your posture and have good form.
6. Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mariamkang
 

What Is The Best Advice You Have Ever Been Given?

Best advice is to focus on form first. It’s very hard to un-learn a bad habit so it’s best to invest in learning how to train well early.
 

Did You Make Any Mistakes When You First Started Out?

In my high school years I focused too much on eating low fat and ended up eating high carb.
In my college years I focused on fad dieting that wasn’t sustainable in the long term.
 

What Other Activities Are You Interested In Apart From Fitness?

I love to dance. I didn’t play a sport but I was a cheerleader and always enjoyed the performance aspect. I also love reading as I am addicted to buying books. I also love baking, especially muffins and cookies. Most of all, I enjoy writing. I’ve had a diary since I was in 3rd grade, became a published writer in 6th grade, started an online blog in 2005 and have been writing consistently for magazines, newspapers and online sites since then.
 

Your Best Tips To Getting Into Contest Shape/Losing Those Last Few Pounds?

If you want to lose weight in a short period of time you should:

1. Focus on cardio
2. Increase reps
3. Limit carbohydrates, especially sugar
4. Tan
5. Rest/Sleep enough

What’s Your Funniest Moment At The Gym?

Good question. I don’t think I have one. I think it’s funny whenever people recognize me.
 

Where Does Your Motivation Come From?

I am motivated by the people I inspire, the people who support me and the people who have high expectations in me (this goes back to the successful environment question). I also envision feeling confident in jeans, bikinis, sleeveless tops and tight shirts. I know how it feels to not feel good about one’s body (I weighed in around 150lbs from 2006-2009) and I don’t want to get to that place again.
 

Favourite Fitness Models?

When I was younger I really admired a lot of fitness models but as I became older I realized I didn’t relate to many of them. A lot were competitors, single or not moms yet and most made a living from being fit. Since being a healthy mom is not something I am paid to do, I really admire the everyday mom, like me, who can maintain a household, work a regular job, raise healthy children and prioritize her health.
 

Favourite Quotes?

“Focus on Progress, not Perfection”
“There is no supplement for hard work”
“If you fail to plan, plan to fail”
 

For More Of Maria Please Check Out:

Website: www.mariakang.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mariamkang
Nonprofit: www.fitnesswithoutborders.org
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mariakangfitness
 

Dinuka’s Stats:

Age: 35
Height: 5’-9”
Weight: 155lbs
Occupation: Fitness/Nutrition Consultant/Weight Loss Specialist
Website: http://fitness-nutritioncoach.com

How Did You Get Started In Bodybuilding?

I had an uncle who was an old school bodybuilder in 1960’s and he had this old bench, bar and few plates in his unfinished upstairs which was used as a storage area. This got my attention and I started curling this with the bar without any weights in the beginning, this uncle gave me my first program which was an old school 8 x 3 program with 3 press exercises. Then came the high school gym, around when I was 16 and from that point onwards till now I have been lifting weights one way or the other.
 

What Workout Routine Has Worked Best For You?

Over the past decade I have possibly tried and done so many various workouts and training methods, with all the collective experience what I figured out is I’m a hard gainer when it comes to gaining muscle, my body has gone through series torture over the past decade with various training methods and martial arts training so I got to go that extra mile when it comes to stimulating muscles if I need to grow them.

Though given my age and stage of life I’m very happy with where I’m today and I’m not looking for adding any serious mass, unless I’m in an commercial assignment that requires more mass. If I’m trying to add any then I find keeping the rest periods less than 1 minute and super setting or adding plyometric or superband sets with 15~20 rep range between each set instead of the rest period has always given me great results.

It will take your intensity over the roof so it will be a sort of a cardio workout as well, while adding some lean muscle. Lately this has become the norm for me, with normal sets I hardly feel anything or getting even the slightest burn, so I had to figure out a way to stimulate the body part I’m working at the time and stimulate it by doing whatever it takes. Super bands can do magic if you throw 1~2 sets in between your sets instead of the rest periods, those are the ones that has helped me to get that extra definition and loose that last layer of fat covering the muscles.

I pay extra attention to basics like full range of motion, form and making sure I’m hitting the muscle that I’m trying to work on etc, it’s all about the fundamentals, if you want to become a master you got to master the fundamentals.
My training split changes all the time and most of the time I do instinctive training based on my schedule, if my schedule is not tight then I do a 3 Days split or a 5 Day split and take the weekend off.
 

Sample 3 Day Split

Day 1 – Legs
Day 2 – Chest and Back
Day 3 – Shoulders and Arms
Day 4 – Rest Day or I might hit a body part that needs some extra attention like calves

Sample 5 Day Split

Monday – Legs
Tueday – Chest
Wednesday – Shoulders
Thursday – Arms
Friday – Back

Top 3 Favourite Exercises And Why?

Squats – I love squats and I hate squats, If my energy levels are high I will be very excited break my PR, If my energy levels are low I’m like oh f…….rk its squats specially if I’m on low carb and cutting down etc, either way its always a challenge doing squats, the only way you can progress is by challenging your self.

Explosive Jump Squats – This is a great exercise that you can throw in between any of your leg exercises, I usually superset between my squats or throw them anywhere I fell like, no matter where you throw it will give great results if you are training at the right intensity.

Try this just before your last two sets of squats: Do 20 reps of explosive jump squats instead of the rest period, then increase weight and complete your last set of Squats, then immediately do 20 full motion Jump Squats, you will be luck y if you can walk straight, given that you are using a reasonable weight/reps during your squats.

Calf Raises – I thought I had trouble making my calves grow, but after reading “Education of a Bodybuilder” by Arnold I realized how much trouble Arnold had developing his calves. Enough said and its always a game day when I have to train calves.
 

Favourite Form Of Cardio?

Simply HIIT and it does not seems steady state cardio has any affect on me, It’s just plain boring and I don’t like to waste my time on the treadmill while watching tv, In a cutting stage I do early morning HIIT on an empty stomach for about 20 minutes followed by some core or plyometric work, and as stated above my workouts are very intense with very short rest periods so the workout itself is cardio a workout. Back in the days I did steady state cardio and it haven’t given me any great results. It’s more time-consuming and the other hand HIIT is short and you can perform a session in quite short period of time.

Time is always a concern for me and if anything saves time I would always go for that, but in this case it’s both time and results HIIT has given me over steady state. HIIT can save me 10 minutes per session and I do 3~4 cardio sessions per week. It saves 30 minutes per week, in a year 30 x 52 = 1560 minutes = 26 Hours per year.
If it saves 1 full day per year, I don’t think I need a better reason to do HIIT.
 

What Is Your Diet Like?

I was an avid Men’s Health reader in my early twenties and thanks to Men’s Health I came across “Gregg Avedon” though his column on Men’s Health Magazine. After a while I decided to get his book for Healthy eating and Muscle Building called “Muscle Chow”. From that point onwards I started learning (Obsessed would be the correct word I believe) about Nutrition and making eating healthy habits part of everyday life. This has paid off for me so tremendously and it has been one of the primary pillars of my success for where I’m today and building this physique.

My diet is quite clean through out the week and I take it easy on the weekend with 1~2 cheat meals during the weekend. During this journey I have tried possibly all the diets on the planet and after all these experiments I realized a balanced diet is the key to success in building a great physique. Discipline is good, but you can’t be disciplined all year long, most likely you going to burn out sooner or later based on how much will power you have got, and specially if you have got family, kids etc balanced approach is the best.

Fruits are a big part of my daily routine, apples, oranges , blueberry, spinach etc and lean protein sources like chicken breast, tuna, wild salmon and of course eggs.

I always keep carbs on the watch unless it’s a cheat meal and when ever I have a high carb meal I always have protein shake on top of that to balance out the glycemic effect.
 

Sample Diet

Breakfast
Egg salad or omelette with 4 egg whites,2 whole eggs, onions, pepper and tomato
½ Cup plain boiled oats
½ Apple
Black coffee
 
Mid Morning
Smoothie with below ingredients
Whey protein 1 scoop, 1 fresh orange, ½ cup blueberries and ½ cup spinach
 
Lunch
Grilled or baked chicken or fish
Big leafy green salad or vegetables
Sweet potato or brown rice
½ Apple or grapefruit
 
Evening Snack (Pre Workout)
Salmon or tuna
Sweet potato or brown rice
Handful of dry fruit – prunes,dates,rasins
 
Post Workout
Post workout whey protein shake with ground flax seeds
Optional – creatine
 
Dinner
Grilled or baked chicken or fish
Big leafy green salad or vegetables
Low glycemic fruit

Any Classic Healthy Meals That You Always Eat? What Is Your Favourite Cheat Meal?

Classic Healthy Meal:

Below is my classic healthy breakfast recipe, its bit high in carbs and calories but its breakfast and helps me to start the day with full of energy.

INGREDIENTS:
• ½ Cup of plain boiled oats [Old fashioned, not the quick 1 minute type]
• ½ Banana
• ½ Apple
• 10 Unsalted almonds, if salted just wash off the salt
• 1 Tbsp of ground flax seeds
• 1 Scoop ON All Natural Vanilla or Chocolate Whey Protein Powder

How to Prepare:
Boil the oats with 1~1.5 cups of water, chop the ½ apple, ½ banana, almonds altogether in to small cubes, add to the boiled oats in a large bowl, finally add the protein and Flax seeds, mix well and you know the rest.
 

 
Cheat Meal:
I’m not a junk food fan and being a nutritionist I have dug quite deep into fast food industry, so definitely it’s not a burger with fries.

Usually it’s up to my wife as she pretty much end up eating what I eat throughout the week so when the weekend comes out its relaxed and I take it easy on the weekend. In most cases we would probably go out to all you can eat restaurant where there is wide variety of food choices. Just because it’s cheat meal I don’t start stuffing up myself with all the free food, All-you-can-eat restaurants always have loads lean protein choices so the first thing I would do is grab my share of protein with some lean chicken dish or fish etc and enjoy reasonable amount of carbs through any of the other food choices available, it could be pizza, ice cream, cake, or some bread or what ever is available or I feel like eating.

I have few rules for the cheat meal, first the lean proteins, and then some cheat food. The last thing I would do is stuff my self with tomato or broccoli either as I eat enough of those during the week, when it’s the time for the cheat meal I don’t try to replace the cheat meal with tomato and broccoli.

Its always about the balance, the more balanced you are the more longer you will run. In most cases I try to avoid the cheat meal for dinner so I don’t go to bed with all those excess calories in the system.
 

What Supplements Do You Use?

I simply do the basics and try to stay as natural as possible. There are many definitions for being natural and my version of being natural is, if I can supplement that though food, its OK to supplement that through supplementation, you can supplement protein through food, so Whey Protein is good to go, so is Creatine and L-Glutamine.

Below is my supplement stack:

• Whey protein – Optimum Nutrition And Dymatize Nutrition Have Great Tasting All Natural Versions.
• L-Glutamine – Optimum Nutrition
• Creatine – Optimum Nutrition
• Omega 3′s – Fish Oil, Flax Oil, And Ground Flax Seeds
• Greens Powder – Amazing Grass or Barleans
• Berry Powder – Barleans and PhytoBerry
• Vitamin C – Fat Burning Power Of These Is Heavily Underestimated
• Multivitamin – Optimen, Alive All Natural
• Antioxidants – COQ 10, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Grape Seed Extract

What Are Your Tips For Success For Beginners?

Train with a purpose, don’t train for the wrong reasons. These days some guys are trying to build muscle not because they want it but to impress other people, whether it be friends or the opposite sex it’s not a good enough reason if one of those are the reasons they are trying to build muscle or get ripped. It’s such a waste of time and life to spend all that time, money, energy, blood, sweat and tears to impress a third-party. If you really need lasting results and change the path of your life then you really got to train with all your heart and a purpose.

If you are one of those types, STOP doing it for all the wrong reasons, be honest with yourself, have some integrity and ask yourself why I’m going through all this pain? If you answer no matter what “I love this sh.t” you are in there for all the right reasons and I’m right beside you, but if you can’t justify or even doubtful why you’re doing it think again if it is worth all the trouble and specially the pain if you really want to be in this for the long run.
It takes a lot more to hang in there when times get tough, you won’t last unless you’re doing it from your heart and your soul. The only thing that’ll keep you going is just the love of the game and the burning desire to better yourself which will eventually lead you to a better life and a purpose. If that’s not the reason you are “Pumping Iron” end of your stint at the gym should be around the corner. Just ask yourself if you will be doing this if this was the last day of your life?
 

Have A Clear Vision Of Your Goals

Have a goal on what you want to accomplish physically, most of the guys just go to gym, Throw some weights here and there hoping they will look good or even get ripped though inside their head they have no clue on what they actually want to achieve.

This is way too common sense, how you going to get there if you don’t know where you want to go? You have to have a very clear understanding of what exactly you want to do, Build Muscle, or Get Shredded, Get a Six pack, or even look like Jay Cutler if that is what you want.

Whatever that goal and vision has to be imprinted in your mind then you can start working towards that goal by analyzing where you stand, see the distance you need to go then devise a plan to get there. The plan is learning about the muscles and how to stimulate them and make them grow, nutrition and supplementation and whatever else that will take you to your goal.

Not many guys ever do this, they just get a workout from the coach or even download and start mimicking the workout most of the time.

At a minimum you should pay some attention to this plan and learn about how your body works, how to feed it with the correct nutrition etc, if you start doing this slowly you will start to see your body taking the form you want it to be.
 

Get A Mentor

This is exactly what I did very long time ago, I picked a world class mentor who was top in his game, then I started to listen to his advice and pretty much did everything he did filtering out what didn’t apply to me.

Coach Vince Lombardi said
“You can’t attain perfection, but if you chase perfection you will catch excellence”

This is exactly what I did over a ten years ago, even I have not heard the above quote at that time, I looked up for the most perfect physical specimen I could found on the planet and started chasing it. Find a good role model, who’s been there, done that and walking the talk, start following them and definitely you will find excellence if you are dedicated and consistent.
 

What Is The Best Advice You Have Ever Been Given?

Do the work, pay your dues and be patient, Rome wasn’t built in aa day. You reap what you sow.
 

Did You Make Any Mistakes When You First Started Out?

You name it and I’ve probably done it at some point, but for education purpose of the readers I will name few very common but ignored areas, bad form, short range of motion, over train, lifting too heavy, not training legs, ignoring the fascia, missing the kinetic chain, ignoring the core, bad tempo and I could type all day, my biggest one was not learning enough about human body, nutrition and not paying attention to details.

I think those two are the biggest ones still out there hindering anyone’s progress or the reason they are stuck at that plateau.
 

Where Does Your Motivation Come From?

I have experienced the benefits of being fit and healthy first hand from a long time, it can make a real difference in your life and take it to a whole new level, get you many new opportunities and open many new doors like being featured here. The possibilities are limitless. It can make a lasting difference in your family, friends and people around you. You can make an impact on their lives and help them achieve their fitness goals and a healthier life style.
Other than that it would be my family and being a father, being the best version of myself is a given and I take no excuses for that, to serve the best I can, I shall be in the best possible state I could be. Simple as that.
 

Favourite Quotes?

“Obsession is the starting point of greatness, go out there and make a dent on the universe” – Robin Sharma

“For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Everybody pities the weak, Jealousy you have to earn.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if you chase perfection, you will catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

“Be proud of how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go.”- Christian Larson.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time” – Thomas A. Edison

“If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right” – Henry Ford
 

Weight Loss/Nutrition Questions:

What Is The Most Common Question You Are Asked?

I think its “How can I loose weight”?

This comes in many different formats, styles, wordings etc, but when you drill down the question to the bottom of it final interpretation is the same.
 

What Is Your General Advice To The Average Gym-Goer?

First have a goal on what you need to achieve, once you have the goal make plan on how to achieve that goal. Stick to the plan till you reach the goal while measuring your progress. If you are not progressing then your plan is not working. Remember the old saying “What got you here want get you there” so always keep watching on how you doing and if you are not doing well you need to modify or change the plan accordingly. If you stick to this simple method you can achieve almost any goal you desire.
 

What Are 5 Simple Things People Can Implement Into Their Routine/Diet To Achieve Great Results?

Routine Tips:

Pay Attention To The Basics

If you need to become a master you got to master the basics like form, tempo, mind muscle connection, full range of motion, kinetic chain etc.
 

Warm Up Or Foam Rolling

Do some warm up sets or some foam rolling this will help you stretch the muscles and release of the tension out of the muscles before you hit them hard, it will warm up the fascia and get your muscles ready, give some disaster preparedness notice, that a storm is coming so be prepared.
 

Keep The Body Guessing. Challenge It

We all perform better when we’re under pressure, same with your body you have to push it and keep it on edge, while respecting its limitations. Remember if it does not challenge you then its does not change you.
 

Intensity Is Key

Keep your intensity on the check, forget the old adage “Rip and Rebuild Is the name of the game” intensity is the name of the game. Rip and rebuild is the science, unless you train at the required intensity you will not rip anything for the rebuild process to kick in.
 

Get The Magic Pill

There is one magic pill that can do anything and will take you anywhere you want go. It’s the Right mindset, so get your mind right. It’s all about your beliefs, if you think you can you will do it, if you think you can’t you won’t do it.

“Nothing can stop a person with the right mindset from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help a person with the wrong mindset” Thomas Jefferson
 

Diet Tips

1. Plan your meals for the week in advance, if you do so very unlikely you are going to fall off the wagon wondering what you are going to eat for a specific meal on specific day. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail

2. Try to keep your blood sugar levels regulated through out the day, eating 5~6 small meals throughout the day is the key here, This will prevent sudden drop of blood sugar levels which will result in unexpected binges.

3. Add more vegetables and fruits to your diet, don’t worry about the calories or carbs in vegetables and fruits (Except Banana and Pineapple). The benefits you will receive are much higher than the carb content.

4. Stay away from processed and refined food as much as you can, and when you consume pay attention and consume mindfully.

5. Feed your body with all the proper nutrients it needs for proper functioning, the key to lasting sustainable weight loss is feeding your body right with all the nutrients it need, though most current diets on the marketplace suggest the opposite most of the time, which suggests to cut the calories and put the body in a nutrient deficient state and force the body to lose few pounds, this will work for few of pounds which will gain back later with interest.
 

What Is Your Advice To Lose Those Last 10-15lbs?

This is a tough one for most people, most people lose most of their unwanted weight but get to a plateau in this last 10-15lbs. Here is what to do in my opinion.

Remember “What got you here wont get you there”

Human body is the most sophisticated adopting machine that was ever created, the adopting abilities of the human body is so marvellous and its way too smarter than us or the diet guru’s who create endless fad diets. So if you lose some weight and hit that plateau what you need to do is change what you have been doing as your body has already adopted to the process and not responding anymore.

Hitting harder with more intensity and cutting down even less calories is definitely not the thing to do here, but this has become the norm these days.
 

Tips To Break A Plateau:

• Change your workout, and add more variety – Try different exercises, different machines, do different types of cardio like swimming, mountain biking or hiking

• Change your diet – Do this while keeping a close eye at the nutrient density of the new foods you are adding to your diet

• Add fat burning foods to your diet – Ex red chillies, apples, grapefruit etc.

• Take some supporting supplements for weight loss – A good omega 3 fish oil supplement, some extra vitamin C with daily meals and a multivitamin if this is not already incorporated in your regimen.

As a last resort if none of the above seems to break the plateau carb cycling might be an option, but I rarely recommend this option unless for professional competitors or fitness models.
 

What Are Some Weight Loss Myths You Encounter A Lot?

As a weight loss specialist and nutrition consultant deciphering these myths are a big part of our job. Unfortunately the more we decipher the more seems to be getting invented by someone or some fad diet. It does not seem to get any easier or any better any soon.

In my opinion these myths are part of the industry and fuel the weight loss industry in some way. Imagine there was no weight loss myths and everybody knew exactly how to lose weight? So the best we can do is to decipher these myths in a better way normal people can understand and help them reach their goals.
 

What Are Your Future Goals, Dreams And Plans?

Right now my top priority is to take my Fitness Education and Nutrition Consulting Company to the next level and expand to other parts of the world. We want to help and educate as much as people we can on fitness and healthy lifestyle. The power of “Healthy Living” is heavily underestimated these days and key to that is “Fitness and Nutrition”.

In most part of the world and in many countries there is a massive lack of education on fitness and specially nutrition area, people are suffering with many diseases due to the chemicals and artificial “crap” they eat everyday without even knowing and taking their lives down the drain. People are not aware of what they can achieve or how they can take their life to the next level if they were physically fit and had a healthy lifestyle. People who have achieved this already know this, but there so many people out there who does not know this or how to get there.

We have developed a series of signature seminars that can help anybody to understand the benefits of fitness, nutrition and then make lifestyle changes and take their life to the next level. There is so much misinformation out there with so many fad diets, fad weight loss programs etc so choosing the right path seems to be quite difficult, the reason for that lack of education on health and nutrition.

Our goal is to help as much as people possible to make the correct decisions, it’s not rocket science, but for some reason not many people understand this fundamental concept, “Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live”.
 

For More Of Dinuka Please Check Out

Website: www.ds-ultimatefitness.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/ds.ultimatefitness

Photo Credit: Nick James [Sanjaphoto.com]
 

Stats:
Age: 28
Weight: 56kg
Height: 5’7
Bodyfat: 15%
Nationality: Australian

How Did You Get Started In Health And Fitness?

I have always been athletic, but I wasn’t always fit & healthy. Before I changed my life to be a more active & healthier one I was depressed, extremely insecure, unhealthy & very unhappy.

Three years ago I picked up my first copy of Oxygen Magazine. I was looking through the pages at the beautiful, healthy, strong women and knew right then that I wanted to be like those amazing women! I started implementing changes in my life. I made an effort to be more positive, started believing in myself, started training smarter and eating better. I had been exercising for about 6 months but I was overtraining, doing countless hours of cardio a day and eating boiled chicken and broccoli nearly every meal.

I soon realised that this wasn’t healthy nor maintainable and that obsessing over trying to be skinny was an unrealistic and an unhealthy goal. I changed my goals to aim become stronger, gain muscle & become as healthy as I could – all while keeping it maintainable so it could be a lifestyle rather than a phase. I soon found contentment within myself and loved my new lifestyle! I believe that health and fitness plays a HUGE part in being happy. It changed my life!
 

What Is Your Best Accomplishment So Far?

Being featured on the cover of the Australian Oxygen Magazine. An absolute dream come true!
 

What Is Your Workout Routine?

I don’t have a routine! I always change up my workouts and do something different. I barely ever repeat the same workout unless it has been a while since I last did it. This way my body is always guessing and it doesn’t adapt or plateau. I no longer strain myself trying to lift as heavy as I possibly can, I do more high intensity training involving circuits, intervals and sprints. I find it much more enjoyable and I love the results I get from this type of training. Instead of spending hours in the gym I get my workouts done quickly!
 

A sample of one of my favorite circuit workouts:

15 x 16kg kettle bell swings
15 x 16kg kettle bell upright rows
20 x lunges (no weights)
20 x reverse crunches on a mat

x 10 ROUNDS FOR TIME (Aim For No Rest!)

Top 3 Favourite Exercises And Why?

Cleans, heaves & sprinting.
 

Favourite Form Of Cardio?

Circuits or intervals
 

What Is Your Diet Like?

Sample Daily Diet:

Breakfast: Sweet potato & cottage cheese omelet
Snack: Green smoothie (apple, spinach, lime, natural yogurt)
Lunch: Fish & salad
Snack: Home made tomato soup
Dinner: Beef & veggie stir fry with brown rice or Zucchini pasta

I don’t deprive myself, I eat a variety of whole foods. I stick to almost a Paleolithic diet but include sweet potato, pumpkin, brown/black rice, natural yogurt & cottage cheese. My body and mind function far better eating this way. I don’t believe that diets, quick fixes and depletion diets are healthy for you and they put a lot of strain on your body as well as being unmaintainable. I keep a relatively lean body throughout the year and I’m always within a month of being “comp ready”.

I was severely strict with my diet before my first competition a couple of years ago. It affected my metabolism so much that when I started eating normally after my comp I gained 10kg of fat in almost 2 weeks! I was fatter than I had ever been and it took around 6 months to repair my metabolism. This is why I personally don’t like the typical competition preparation and depletion diet. Yes you look great for the day, but is it really worth putting your body and mind through it?
 

What Food Would We Find In Your Fridge?

Chicken breast, fish, red meat, almond milk, eggs, full fat cottage cheese, natural yogurt, lots of veggies such as asparagus, green beans, zucchini, kale, spinach leaves, carrots, pumpkin, cucumbers, mushrooms & tomatoes.
 

Any Staple/Classic Healthy Meals That You Always Eat? What Is Your Favourite Cheat Meal?

I love my zucchini pasta (pealed zucchini) with stir-fried chicken & veggies in coconut oil. To flavour I use garlic & coconut aminos which is a healthier, lower sodium alternative to soy sauce. I also love having omelets with all sorts of different ingredients added. My favorite is my pear & spinach! My favorite cheat meal would be a risotto, a baked dinner or melted Belgium chocolate with strawberries.
 

What Supplements Do You Use & Why?

I don’t have protein shakes as they upset my stomach. I have amino acids while training, L-glutamine a couple of times a day & after training, BCAAS before & after training and before bed and L-carnitine first thing in the morning and before training.

I don’t believe supplements are necessary if you have a well balanced diet that provides you with adequate nutrition, vitamins and minerals. I stay away from foods & supplements with preservatives, artificial flavours, sweeteners and colours and don’t like fat burners or pre-workouts.
 

What’s The Most Common Fitness Question People Ask You?

How to get a toned body or how to get rid of belly fat.
 

What Are Your Tips For Beginners?

Do a lot of research, learn as much as you can about diet and training, ease into training and always focus on your technique rather than how much you’re lifting. Don’t worry about what other people are doing or saying, focus on yourself and what is best for you.
 

What Is The Best Advice You Have Ever Been Given?

Gosh I have been given so much great advice it’s hard to pick just one! I’d say the best training advice I have been given is; It’s not about how much you lift it’s how good your technique is and focusing on really activating the muscle you’re training.

Don’t over train! Listen to your body, if it needs rest then rest! Rest is just as much, if not more important than the actual training.
 

Did You Make Any Mistakes When You First Started Out?

Plenty! I obsessed about trying to be as lean as possible, took fat burners, lots of supplements and over trained! I ended up getting sick and had heart problems and I was out of training for about 6 weeks. I now know how to take care of my body properly and keep my metabolism running efficiently. I have a very healthy diet that includes all my nutritional needs, I now listen to my body and don’t over train, in fact I train LESS but SMARTER and have far better results!
 

Your Best Tips To Getting Into Contest Shape/Losing Those Last Few Pounds?

Change up your training, shock your body, do HIIT, circuits and sprints, cycle your carbs and make sure you’re eating enough good fats! Don’t under eat as this will only send you backwards. Stay consistent, don’t let others distract you and keep your eyes on your goal!
 

What’s Your Funniest Moment At The Gym?

Not sure if it was funny but I hit my head on these 2 metal poles sticking out which are meant for tricep dips. I had blood running down my face! I was so embarrassed! Another time I smacked the bar on my mouth while doing push press. A few people at the gym saw it happen so I pretended it didn’t hurt and just kept training. I’m so incredibly clumsy!
 

Apart From Fitness, What Else Are You Interested In?

Health, nutrition, helping other people to become healthy, fit and happy – I think it all comes as a package!
 

Where Does Your Motivation Come From?

From others and from within, I know what I want and keep focused on it until I achieve it! I also use other people’s success to motivate me to go for my dreams and goals!
 

Favourite Fitness Models? Inspirations?

I have so many but a few are: Jamie Eason, Lindy Olsen, Ana Delia De Iturrondo, Erin Stern, Justine Switalla, Nina Silic, I could honestly go on and on! I am inspired by anyone who has overcome something & is making an effort to be their best or to change the things they’re unhappy about. People inspire me everyday!
 

Favourite Quotes?

Two of my own quotes are:

“NEVER let what someone thinks or says about you define you. You know who you are better than anyone! Completely remove the negative and poisonous people from your life – to do that means to cut all ties with them physically and mentally. Make a conscious effort to not allow them to affect you in any way. Forgive these types of people for the person they choose to be and let them go. Holding onto hate and anger is not healthy and will only bring YOU down and subsequently makes you unhappy! Take control of yourself, your actions, feelings and your life. NOBODY can take away your happiness without your consent!” – Emily Skye

“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. If you’ve got a dream, you’ve gotta go for it, believe in yourself and know that you can and will do it! When people tell you that you can’t do something it’s usually because they couldn’t do it themselves. If you really want something, you’ve gotta do everything possible to get it! Dream, believe, commit, achieve!” – Emily Skye

I’m about to release my own diet/training program with what I do to lean up for a special event, shoot or comp. It will have a website with a forum, 24 hour support, workout videos, cooking videos, motivation plus much more! I’m so excited to be able to share with everyone what I have learnt through my own journey and experiences and hopefully help others to become healthy, fit and happy within themselves!
 

For More Of Emily Check Out:

Website: www.emilyskye.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emilyskyemodel
Instagram: www.instagram.com/missemilyskye
Blog: www.emily-skye.blogspot.com
 

If your goal is hypertrophy or a physique competition, why would you train like a powerlifter or pro athlete? Gear your training to your goals and find the size you’ve been seeking!

Over the years I’ve had the honor of training a multitude of physique athletes who were looking to gain size. In doing so, I’ve had to continually cultivate and refine my training concepts and techniques to help them achieve more success. After all, hypertrophy training is fundamentally different in some ways than athletic or strength training, and pretending it isn’t leads to subpar results.

That said, the line isn’t always clear, and I’ve made some mistakes myself. Having the discipline to embrace them and learn from them was valuable. If you’re going to hang around in the training game for long, you’ll make mistakes, too.

Sorry, that’s just the way it is.

Does that mean you should just wait until you know you’re wrong to change your ways? Of course not. I’m going to share four of the biggest bodybuilding workout mistakes that I see being made—even by personal trainers—on a regular basis. Address them with the simple training solutions I provide, and you’ll get better results, plain and simple.
 

1. Resting Too Long Between Sets

One of the most popular methods of weightlifting is to use paired sets like these:

Superset
•  A1 Bench Press
  3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, 60 sec rest

•  A2 Bent-Over Rows
  3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, 60 sec rest

This paired set method is used to get more done in the time you have at the gym. And, it’s also done to increase rest time between sets.
 

Why It’s A Mistake

When the goal is to increase strength or power—i.e. improve motor unit recruitment—I’m all about paired sets and trisets done in the fashion displayed above. But when it comes to training for mass, paired sets done in the above fashion aren’t generally as effective as the traditional single set method or superset method.

The general scientific consensus, to which I can attest based on years of empirical evidence, is that the optimal rest intervals between sets for maximal hypertrophy gains is around 30-90 seconds. If we look at the above example of a paired set and assume each set of bench press and bent-over rows take 30 seconds to complete, that translates into 150 seconds (2-1/2 minutes) of rest before you return for your next set of bench press.

This is almost three times higher than the upper limit of the ideal range. The rest interval between each exercise gets even further extended when you throw in unilateral exercises. You’ve got to count the time it takes to do both sides.

Even if you stick with this paired set strategy and cut your rest interval between exercises in half, to only 30 seconds, it still puts you at 90 seconds rest between sets of the same exercise. This is pushing at the upper end of the range for maximizing your muscle pump and potential size gains. Plus, you’re going to go into each set tired, because you’re only 30 seconds out of a hard effort, so it’s certainly going to interfere with your overall working intensity at each set.
 

The Solution

If your training split calls for, let’s say, a chest and back day, try focusing the first half of the workout on the back, and the other half on the chest. At Performance University, we do this instead of pairing chest and back moves, so we can more accurately stick with a 30-90 second rest interval between exercises that focus on the same muscle group.

If a program calls for a chest/shoulders/triceps day, I emphasize the good old single set method with compound movements. I like to save supersets for isolation-type exercises, because I’ve found that physique athletes can transition between two isolation moves with little rest. These exercises are less fatiguing than compound movements.

Here’s an example of this superset strategy for an isolation exercises on a chest/triceps emphasis training day:

Superset
•  A1 Cable Flyes
  2 sets of 8-12 reps, rest as little as needed (no more than 30 seconds)

• A2 Rope Press-Downs
  2 sets of 8-12 reps, rest as little as needed (no more than 30 seconds)

2. Avoiding Machines

I’m not into the “never use machines” mindset of many other personal trainers. Especially when the goal is to gain muscle size, I feel it’s a huge mistake to avoid using strength training machines, because when used properly they offer some distinct benefits.
 

Why It’s A Mistake

All free weights involve a single load vector, which is gravity, to create resistance. If you use a cable machine, you’re also working against a single load vector, which is the line of the cable itself. Any time you work against a single force vector, you’re going to have ranges within the exercise where the lever arm is long, creating high levels of muscle activation; and ranges where the lever arm is short, resulting in little activation.

On the other hand, machines are designed with a cam setup, which isn’t dependent on a single load vector. Instead, the cam is designed to provide you with consistent resistance throughout the entire range of motion, which translates into increased time under tension. You don’t get a chance to rest at the bottom or top position like you can with most free-weight exercises.

Think of a biceps curl or triceps rope press-down. As you bring the weight closer to the end ranges of those exercises, you get much less work—sometimes almost none.

On the other hand, the biceps curl machine’s cam enables it to adjust the force vector accordingly to create high-levels of muscle activation through the entire range of motion.
 

The Solution

It’s simple. For both physique and performance-oriented athletes, I prefer to use free weights for compound lifts and mix and match cam machines, free weights, and cable exercises applications when we’re doing less-complex, single-joint type movements.

Both types of exercises have advantages, so don’t let popular misconception blind you to machines’ unique muscle-building benefits.
 

3. Not Doing Enough Sets

There’s a trend in the strength and conditioning world to classify upper-body exercises as either horizontal or vertical “pushing and pulling” actions. Likewise, lower-body exercises tend to get labeled either “knee-dominant or hip-dominant.”

I don’t mind this classification system as a way to make sure you include one exercise for each basic movement pattern for general strength and athletic conditioning. It’s also great for beginners to ensure their program is covering the bases. But when it comes to advanced bodybuilding workouts, I’m not big on this approach.
 

Why It’s A Mistake

Based on the scientific research I’ve seen, as well as what I’ve learned from knowledgeable coaches and my own training experience, the optimal number of sets to maximize muscle hypertrophy is 12-20 sets per muscle group per week.

That means if you want to increase the size of your pecs, you’ve got to do 12-20 sets, usually of between 8-15 reps, of exercises like bench press, dumbbell press and pec flye each week. Those numbers are far above the total work volume a muscle group gets when you simply follow the “one or two vertical presses, one or two horizontal presses, and then “call it a day” method.
 

The Solution

When it comes to helping clients increase hypertrophy, I’ve found that a traditional muscle group-based training split is more effective than movement splits. Movement-focused programs fit better with sports performance training programs.

I advise training the areas that need the most work twice per week, 8-10 sets per day, to distribute the volume and training time. When doing this, allow at least 2-3 days between bodybuilding workout sessions that hit the same muscle groups.

When it comes to body parts you’re happy with, give them 8-10 sets in the 8-15 rep range of volume per week. I find this maintenance-level volume effective in preventing muscle loss while clients are focusing on bringing up the weaker, less-developed areas.
 

4. Avoiding Isolation Exercises

We’ve all heard personal trainers repeat the “train movements, not muscles” mantra. For field, court and combat athletes looking to run faster and jump higher, I agree that training movements is a great emphasis. But bodybuilding is about training muscles!
 

Why It’s A Mistake

Training with the primary goal of improving your physique is simply different than training for performance. Although the two are not mutually exclusive, bodybuilding is in essence about form, not function. If your goal is to have bigger muscles, there’s no reason to avoid a movement simply because it’s supposedly “non-functional.”

Additionally, compound exercises involve many muscles. The weakest of them will likely contribute the least to perform, say, a deadlift, while the stronger and more developed muscles will get the most amount of work. I’ve found that if all you do are compound lifts, your weaker muscles will stay relatively underdeveloped compared your stronger muscles. This isn’t the best situation for either your physical form or function.
 

The Solution

The quickest and most effective way to bring up less developed areas is to force them to work by specifically targeting them with isolation exercises. That’s the whole point of isolation work: To give specific muscles a stimulus they don’t get from compound work.

The Performance U approach to bodybuilding usually follows that good old rule of thumb: “Compound movements first, isolation movements second.” That said, sometimes we’ll use isolation work first in the workout to:

• Emphasize muscle groups the client wants or needs to develop most
• Change the training stimulus
• Pre-fatigue muscles before performing a compound exercise using the same muscle group or groups

Regardless of how you apply isolation exercises, I recommend doing them alongside compound moves as a way to increase training volume and focus on the muscles you’re trying to develop most.

You can’t spot reduce, but you sure as heck can spot enhance. Isolation exercises are the perfect tool for the job!
 
AUTHOR : Nick Tumminello

If you aren’t satisfied until your muscles scream for mercy, these workout finishing techniques may be just what the iron doctor ordered.

Picture this: You’re cruising through your workout at 100 miles per hour, blasting past everything in your way. You zoom through every exercise listed on your training log at a breakneck pace, feeling like a million bucks. You smash your last movement and, much to your dismay, you’ve still got plenty of gas in the tank. What gives? If this sounds familiar, it’s time for a finisher.

Finishing techniques are designed to help you get maximum growth from any workout. They ensure you leave every ounce of energy in the gym and get the biggest bang for your exercise buck. They help you end an “average” workout in a brutal way, ensuring that no weight is left unturned or fiber untrained. The following list of finishing moves will help you squeeze every ounce of growth from any workout.
 

Legs: Pressing the Issue

Load up the leg press with a load that would require moderate effort at 10 reps, and start with your feet high and close for hamstring emphasis. Hit the 10 reps. To focus on your quads, change your foot position so your feet are low and wide, and then hit 10 more reps. After the 10th rep, lower your feet into a calf press position and knock out 10.

After the 10 calf presses, rest for 10 seconds, and start over by performing nine reps for each movement. When you finish nine calf presses, rest for nine seconds and start over again at eight reps for each exercise. Continue for seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one rep. By the end of this massacre, you will have performed 165 reps total and will respect every rep as you crawl out the gym door.
 

Leg Finisher

Triset

• Leg Press With High And Close Foot Position
  10 sets of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps
•  Leg Press With Low And Wide Foot Position
  10 sets of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps
•  Calf Presses
  10 sets of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps

Shoulders: Plates of Pain

Grab a 5, 10, 25, 35, and 45-pound plate and find an open area so you have space and privacy. Start with the 5-pounder and perform 10 front plate raises. When you finish, drop the 5, pick up the 10, do 10 more reps, and immediately grab the 25. Repeat this action until you finish the same number of reps with the 35 and 45. When you finish 10 reps with the 45, rest for 10 seconds, pick up the 45 again, and start over with 10 more reps. Work your way back down until you finish 10 reps with the 5-pound plate.
 

Shoulder Finisher

• Front Plate Raises
  5 sets of 10 reps adding weight each set
  5 sets of 10 reps reducing weight each set

Chest: Push Your Pecs

Find a bench or a platform where you can elevate your feet. Get in a push-up position with your hands on the floor and your feet on the bench. Start doing push-ups until you reach failure. Rest for 15 seconds and do more push-ups with your hands and feet on the floor. When you hit failure, rest for 15 more seconds and elevate your hands, keeping your feet on the floor, and go to failure for a third time. Now you’re cooked.
 

Chest Finisher

•  Decline Push-Ups
  1 set to failure, rest 15 seconds
•  Push-Ups
  1 set to failure, rest 15 seconds
•  Incline Push-Ups
  1 set to failure

Arms: 100-Rep Revolution

Find a flat bench and load up a bar with enough weight that makes 25 reps tough but achievable. Start with 25 reps of close-grip barbell curls. When you finish, immediately change to a wide grip and perform 25 more reps. Then lay on the bench with the bar, perform 25 skull crushers (lying triceps extensions), and end with 25 close-grip bench presses. When the smoke clears, you will have performed 100 reps total, and your arms will be shaking.
 

Arms Finisher

•  Close-Grip Barbell Curls
  1 set of 25 reps
• Wide-Grip Barbell Curls
  1 set of 25 reps
•  Skull Crushers
  1 set of 25 reps
•  Close-Grip Bench Presses
  1 set of 25 reps

Back: Row, Row, Row

Find a seated row machine or a low-cable pulley and load it with weight that you can lift for 20 reps with moderate effort. Lift the weight with a one-count and lower the weight with a six-count. Make sure you get a good stretch with each rep and don’t cheat yourself. These are called negative reps. If you think your grip will give out before your lats, use straps to help. When you reach failure, rest for 15 seconds and go to failure again. This will set your back on fire.
 

Back Finisher

•  Seated Row Machine
  2 sets to failure with a 1060 tempo, rest 15 seconds

 
Author: Roger Lockridge 

Sculpting a six-pack doesn’t always mean hard work and buckets of sweat. Carve your abs the easy way with these 18 awesome tips!
 
Who said sculpting a six-pack should be hard work? Follow these corner-cutting tips to find your abs in half the time and get to your fighting weight with barely any effort at all.
 

1  Make Yourself Uncomfortable

An uncomfortable chair might be hell on your glutes, but can be hugely beneficial to your abs because fidgeting dramatically improves your cardiovascular fitness and calorie burn in the long term, found research in Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise.

Getting a little wiggle room does the same to your trousers size.
 

2  Water It Down

You literally have a weight-loss aid on tap—you probably just don’t know it. In a study of dieters in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, people who drank two glasses of water before each meal lost more than two kilograms of extra weight inside three months.

It seems as if the water helped the participants feel fuller and eat fewer calories. What could be easier?
 

3  Mind To Your Muscles

If you’re losing weight for a weigh-in then you’ll still be training, but there is a way you can make your muscles work harder. Your muscles stare at you in the mirror so give them a little thought during training.

Visualizing the muscles flexing can give you up to 53 percent more power, found research inNeuropsychologia. Unlike chicken, your visualizations can leave the skin on.
 

4  Give The Swiss A Miss

Don’t bother doing too many exercises—such as the shoulder presses—on the Swiss ball. Research in Dynamic Medicine found that it doesn’t work your abs any harder than if you did this exercise on a bench.

Plus the stable surface will make you press more weight, translating into more powerful punches.
 

5  Masked Ball

It’s well known that most of the world’s leading mixed martial artists involve themselves in some form of hypoxic training before fights. The reasons are clear: training at altitude with limited oxygen can increase your VO2max by 13 percent (a benchmark for aerobic fitness), found research in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. Use a low oxygen mask (Elevation Training Mask 2.0, $80, otmfightshops.com) to mimic these effects without having to move to Colorado.
 

6  Team Up

Exercising in a group encouraged athletes to go at it for two minutes longer than those who went at it with a partner and twice as long as those who went at it alone, found research in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. There certainly is power in numbers.
 

7 Cold Handshake

Keeping your palms cool while training improves your endurance, found research by the American Heart Foundation.

Cool palms, by holding something like the Bex Runner Cool Point ice gel pack ($19.99, tptherapy.com), helped people shave five minutes off their 2.5k walk time.

Wear it while you train to get an extra endurance kick.

8  Weights Vs Cardio

There is a long-standing dispute about whether cardio or weights deliver fat loss faster. Well, aerobic exercise done at 80 percent of your maximum heart rate is far superior to weightlifting (12 reps per set) at reducing belly fat, found research in Endocrinology and Metabolism. Debate over. Winner: cardio.
 

9  Make A Bet

To sharpen the point of your V-shape, you need to lose fat. A financial incentive—such as entering a weight loss competition—was a successful motivating force for weight loss, found research in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Enter a competition with someone you know—or even better, someone you don’t like.
 

10  Add Some Hot Sauce

A powerful ingredient (capsaicin) in this condiment specifically reduces belly fat, found research in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A svelte waist will also make your back seem broader.
 

11  Temperature Control Your Weight Loss

Exposure to cooler temperatures switches on your brown fat, which keeps you warm, causing you to burn more calories, found research at the Joslin Diabetes Center. Do your training outside, especially during the winter.
 

12  Don’t Get Mad, Get Angry

Pump yourself up mentally before any exercise and you’ll increase your power output by a whopping eight percent, found a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Anyone got a photo of Michael Bisping?
 

13  Argy-Bargy

Want a sly performance booster? Take arginine before exercise and you’ll train 17 percent longer and harder, found a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
 

14  Wash Your Mouth Out

Swilling then spitting out a menthol liquid such as mouthwash increases endurance by 12 percent, found research in the European Journal of Applied Physiology. Fresh breath is just another upside.
 

15  Cool Runnings

Treadmills all taken? Run outside. The ‘mill makes you use 36 percent less O2 than running on terra firma, making you fry fewer calories, found research Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
 

16  Get A Eucalyptus Car Air Freshener

This smell helps stop cravings for high-calorie foods such as chocolate, found research at Flinders University, Australia. It might not be masculine, but neither is a belly that would put a pregnant lady to shame.
 

17  Kick Off Your Kicks

It takes 53 percent more energy to walk on the balls of your feet (the way a barefoot runner would) than to walk on your heels (the way a shoe-wearer does), found research in The Journal of Experimental Biology. Take the occasional naked run, or simply walk wherever you can.
 

18  Get A Sit-Stand Desk

Our lives are geared toward the please-be-seated trend, so standing at work is a smart way to get paid to lose weight.

You’ll burn approximately 50 extra calories each hour if you alternate between sitting and standing.

Over a year, this deficit would make you 10 kilograms lighter. It’s the laziest way to get lean.
 
AUTHOR: Train Hard, Fight Easy

Spring isn’t far away! Get started on your bikini body now so you’re not stuck with too much winter flab and not enough time to shed it.

It’s February. If you’ve already begun to focus on getting that great beach body, you’re ahead of the game. Most women leave their diet and exercise plans by the wayside until April or May. If you wait that long, it’s usually a scramble to undo all the damage from the long months of eating comfort food and hibernating from the cold.

Building the body you want takes a lot of time and effort. To ensure you’re not wasting days and energy, you need to do more than walk on the treadmill a couple times per week.

Early motivation will help you succeed; but there are other key aspects to fitness that can be the difference between three months of hard work and three months of hard work that lead to a successful transformation! In addition to taking advantage of your awesome self-motivation and drive, be sure to do these six things:
 

1. Remove All Processed Foods

Ditch all the packaged snack foods, frozen dinner meals, and pints of ice cream sitting in your freezer. Even that container of fruit-flavored yogurt needs to go. As painful as this process may be, it will make the world of difference in your diet and, by extension, your appearance.

Limit your diet to foods that come from nature. The right nutrition for your beach-ready body does not include bags of chips or cans of soda.
 

2. Get Serious About Sleep

If you often burn the midnight oil, you need to change your habits. Finish your school and work projects earlier, and say “good night” to your favorite late television show.

People who don’t sleep enough are at a higher risk of accumulating body fat. Dr. Michael Breus explains that “if you are sleep deprived … your metabolism will not function properly.”¹Furthermore, it’s likely that your lack of sleep won’t help you fight the craving for a late-night snack run.
 

3. Supplement with Protein Powder

Most women don’t take in enough protein. If you want to build muscle—and burn more fat—eat about one gram of protein per pound of body weight. If you can’t get that much protein with whole food, try supplementing with whey protein powder. Mix up a shake before and after your workouts.

Including more protein in your diet also helps defeat those carb cravings! Put down that bag of pretzels and pick up a protein shake.
 

4. Track Your Calories

Tracking calories can feel like a burden, but if you want to see excellent progress, it’s a must. It’s much easier than it was in the past, though. Today, you can simply install an app on your phone, tablet, or computer and enter what you eat. By keeping tabs on your calories and macronutrients, you’ll be able to tell when you need to make adjustments to your diet and training. If you’re not sure what you put into your body, there’s no way of knowing what your diet does or does not lack.
 

5. Cardio the Smart Way

Many women use the “more is better” approach to cardio training. Don’t fall into this trap! Never ending sessions on the treadmill are not the best way to burn body fat.

Instead, add short, super-intense sessions of cardio to your regimen. Alternate 30 seconds of intense work with 60 seconds of reduced work and repeat the sequence 8-10 times. You can do interval training anywhere-on a treadmill, on a bike, on the elliptical, or on a rowing machine. Mix it up! You’ll find better results with shorter bursts of high-intensity work (HIIT) than you will from long bouts of lower-intensity work. Plus it’s more fun.
 

6. Lift Weights

Strength training is the best way to change how your body looks. It will boost your muscle mass and definition, and increase your strength, balance, and agility. It’ll also shift your metabolism into high gear by building muscle, your most metabolically active tissue.

Not sure what workout will work best for this goal? The following workouts can be done, one after the other, on the same day. The first portion will test your strength and the second will challenge your cardiovascular fitness. As you fatigue, don’t let your form stray. If you must stop and rest at some point, don’t be afraid to do so.

Aim to complete these workouts at least 2-3 times per week. Make sure you leave a day of rest between sessions.

As always, make sure you do at least a five-minute warm-up before you train and cool down when you’re done.
 

 Strength Workout

Cardio Workout

Elite athletes have long used barbell complexes to burn fat and increase conditioning. You’ve never done cardio like this!

You want to get big. You also want to get ripped. Unfortunately, the training required by these two goals is often contradictory or, at best, just not synergistic. It’s like saying “Get bigger and get smaller.”

As countless people have discovered, it’s tough to have both. Packing on muscle requires a surplus of calories, while burning off fat requires your body to burn extra calories. To make this situation even tougher, no red-blooded lifter wants to be chained to a treadmill or elliptical. It’s boring. It sucks. It’s … cardio. Luckily, it’s not your only option.

There is a way for you to hit heavy weights, build muscle, and fire up your metabolism to burn off fat. To make this even more appealing, you’ll do it while throwing around a loaded barbell. By including barbell complexes regularly in your program, whether at the end of your training or as a separate workout, you’ll be able to watch body fat disappear and build a world-class conditioning level at the same time.
 

Complexes: Not That Complex

A barbell complex is nothing more than a series of exercises performed seamlessly, one after the other, using a single barbell. You use the same weight throughout the routine and never take your hands off of the barbell. Typically a complex is composed of 4-6 movements that transition easily.

Think of a clean and press. You perform one and are immediately in position to do the other. If you add a deadlift first and front squat after the clean, you’re on your way to having a fully developed barbell complex.

Barbell complexes were the brainchild of strength coach Istvan Javorek. Javorek originally developed them for Romanian athletes in order to “find an efficient and aggressive method of performance enhancement that saves time and makes the program more enjoyable.” He moved from Romania to the United States in the early 1980s, and his six barbell routines quickly became a standby in high-level training for all manner of athletics.

Here’s his classic Barbell Complex No. 1, which he considered a strength workout. Complex No. 2 is the same exercises, but only three reps per movement. Javorek considered that an endurance-building routine.

Perform all reps of one exercise before moving to the next. Build up to four cycles.

The idea is simple enough, but there’s no doubt that Javorek created something amazing. Think about it: Would you rather run on the treadmill or play with the barbell for 15 minutes? You don’t have to use much weight for complexes to work, either. It’s best if you keep the weight light, because it has to work for your weakest lift in the series in addition to your strongest. Even if you go light, you find that barbell complexes get your heart racing like nothing else.
 

How to Use Complexes

You can use complexes either as a finisher at the end of your regular strength training workout, or as a fast-paced, separate conditioning workout. Lifters use them differently, so experiment to see what works for you. If you’re of the opinion that recovery days are strictly for recovery, stick the complex in at the end of your workout. It should only add 10-15 minutes.

The only thing limiting what you can do in a complex is your imagination. You can perform a set number of rounds, go for as many rounds as possible in a given time, or you can even compete against a friend to see who can perform the goal number of rounds fastest. Just remember to keep the essence of complexes alive. The movements should flow easily from one into the other without ever having to put the bar down.

Now that you know the background, let’s take a look at a few more example complexes of my own. I recommend beginners start off using 45-55 pounds, intermediate lifters use 65-85 pounds, and advanced use 95-135 pounds. Be conservative with the weight; you don’t need much to get an effect. This isn’t about maxing out. It’s about incinerating body fat.

Give this ab routine a try to chisel the ultimate 6-pack by summer.

Summer’s around the corner. Ready to show off your chiseled muscles at the beach or pool? Unfortunately, a winter sitting on the couch watching football, drinking beer and eating comfort food has taken a toll on your waistline. The washboard is gone and has been replaced by a marshmallow. Time to torch fat and sculpt muscle with this killer abdominal and anaerobic cardio circuit. Getting ripped, six pack abs takes more than just countless crunches.

Firstly, the abdominals are comprised of several muscle groups: transverse abdominus (deep core stabilizers), rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques. All of these separate muscles must be targeted to fully develop a flat and toned midsection. Secondly, no matter how toned the muscles of the stomach are, six pack abs will not be viewable unless body fat is reduced. This needs to be done by combining correct dieting with a fat busting anaerobic cardio workout like the one presented below. When combined, these elements will result in washboard abs that will be the envy of everyone this summer.
 

Ab Routine

Superset 1:
• 1A – Elbows Plank with Press Up to Push Up Position – 60 seconds
• 1B – Side Planks with Rotation – Hold 10-15 seconds on each side before rotating (3 / side)

Superset 2:

• 2A – BOSU Plank with Knee Crunch & Cross (knee to elbow, extend leg back to hip height, then cross under to opposite elbow repeat all reps on that side). 8-10 reps per side
• 2B – Hanging Leg Raises – 15 reps (Don’t swing)

Superset 3:

• 3A – Cross Crunch on BOSU/Stability Ball – 15 reps per side
• 3B – Crunch on Stability Ball – 20 reps

Superset 4:

• 4A – Curl Up with Trunk Extension – 15 reps
• 4B – Penguin – 60 seconds (Lay on back, arms at sides palms down, knees bent, feet flat. Curl forward until shoulder blades clear floor – you’ll stay in this horizontal plane whole exercise. Using obliques only, bring right hand towards right heel. Repeat on left. Continue alternating sides. Do not let knees/hips rock).

Superset 5:

• 5A – Weighted Russian Twists – 30 reps
• 5B – Oblique Crunches on SB/Bosu – 15 reps per side

*Repeat workout sets 3 times

Anaerobic Cardio Routine

Interval training for 30 minutes with 5 minute warm-up and cool-down. Pick your poison: stairs, treadmill, bike or elliptical.
 

Author: Whitney Cole and Byron Paidoussi

Get arms that have size, shape, and definition without having to spend more time in the gym than you need. Sow 30 minutes of work, and reap the reward of bigger, better arms!

I have a fascination with practical strength. Many have called me a purist, which is probably due to the loving relationship I have with my power rack and how I snuggle my Atlas stones at night.

I also enjoy working with people and teaching them that there’s more to muscle than aesthetics. However, I tend to run into the same problem that Bob Hoffman did: Even though bodybuilding as a sport had yet to emerge, his Olympic weightlifters were obsessed with the size and shape of their arms. Instead of fighting the biceps and triceps mania, I’ve decided to embrace it.

Because of the different origins, attachment points, and lengths of the biceps and triceps, you can separately emphasize each head by changing the position of your arms or the rotation of your wrists.

And because your arms are heavily recruited during other upper-body work, you only need a small amount of specialization to turn those shapeless lumps into chiseled man-hammers.