» 2010 » January

I’m usually not that explicit when I’m talking about workout routines but I just wanted to get my point across on this one.

This is going to be a great post for you if you’re new to working out and are ready to kill it in 2010 and have it be the year when you finally get the body of your dreams.

We’ve all heard this…To lose weight and therefore look great all you have to do is workout and eat less crap.

It’s simple enough right?

Unfortunately it’s not that simple and all training is definitely not created equal.  I can put one of my clients through a workout that will have 10x the results as 99% of the rest of the people working out and I’ll have it done in half the time.

Now is one of the busiest times of the year in the gym mostly because of all the New Year’s Resolutioners are packing the cardio machines.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s absolutely great people are motivated to start the year off with a bang and put the work in to get their dream body.

Unfortunately most people don’t know what to do in the gym or they’ve got it all wrong.  I’ve found most people will go to the gym, hop on a piece of cardio equipment, put on some randomized program and then do the workout while watching TV.

This is a recipe for wasting your time…unless you’re planning on running a marathon any time soon.  But if your goal is to burn the belly fat then I’ll show you something that has been scientifically proven to burn WAY more fat then the boring steady state cardio stuff.

Take a look at the pictures below.

There are some fundamental differences between these two athletes.  You’ll notice the guy on the left (Usain Bolt) has a much more attractive body than the champion marathon runner on the right.  And there’s a very specific reason for this…

Bolt who is obviously a sprinter does most of his training by working his anaerobic system through high intensity interval training.  The marathon runner on the other hand runs at about a steady aerobic pace for hours at a time.

Most people would agree that Usain Bolt has a much more desirable and attractive body than the marathon runner.  By using high intensity interval training you’re able to lose fat while at the same time building lean muscle, therefore building an attractive body.

If you’re doing the old school cardio stuff on the treadmill then you’re basically going to end up (after much more training) with a skinnier version of yourself but you’ll still be flabby and still won’t look good in a bathing suit.

The key to your training is doing metabolic resistance training and that doesn’t mean you just have to do sprints on the treadmill.  In fact, you can do a lot of great stuff just using your bodyweight.  But if you’re looking to improve your physique and want to do it in the fastest time possible then I highly recommend using metabolic resistance training.

Here is what you need to do so you don’t end up looking like an emaciated marathon runner…

1. Stop just running on the treadmill or doing other cardio equipment at long paces for long times (if you do use it in addition to the stuff I’m about to tell you and only after you’ve already done it.
2. Start using more metabolic resistance training such as lifting weights.
3. Do more high intensity interval training, watch my video to see what I’m talking about.

Here is a book I also highly recommend and I don’t make a dime off telling you about it, I just really believe in the book and the author Robert Dos Remedios.

I’ve found the lower abs to be one of the hardest sticking points when it comes to toning and trimming up.  The belly fat that hangs around on the lower part of your abdominals can be a complete pain the royal butt to get rid of.

And you’re not alone, I’d say that 90% of people have the same problem and the reason they’re not getting rid of it falls down to 2 things they’re doing WRONG.

1. They’re stuck in a plateau and not dropping those last 10 pounds.
2. They aren’t targeting the correct area of the lower part of the abs.

They’re are a ginormous amount of stomach exercises out there that are meant to work out the upper and middle part of the abdominals but not too many people know the ones that are really effective at blasting the low ab.

I’m going to show you a workout that I do personally and do with all of my clients towards the end of the workout to really blast those lower abdominals and turn their belly fat into a rock hard stomach.

You don’t necessarily need any fancy equipment for these exercises but you do need to have some ab straps and preferably a medicine ball.

With the leg raises you want to make sure that you keep your hips as steady as possible while you raise your legs up and down.  Keep a slight bend in your knees while doing this exercise. And you want to come back down twice as slow as you came up, this will ensure you hit those lower abs better than just letting them fall down.

When you get to the point that it becomes too easy you can have a partner add some force to the downward part of the motion like I do in the video to add some extra resistance.  Just make sure you still keep your hips steady so have your partner hold them there.

The second exercise is the Reverse Crunch which in my opinion is the best exercise to specifically target those lower abdominals.  And doing this one right after the Hanging Leg Raises is going to annihilator your abs.

Finish out the circuit with Cross Body Mountain Climbers on a medicine ball which will help crank up your heart rate as well as work your stomach.  We like to use a medicine ball because it gets more muscle recruitment on the front side of the body and therefore is working the muscle more and burning more fat.

Here’s the full workout and exercises:

1. Hanging Leg Raises (3×12)
2. Reverse Curnches (3×10)
3. Cross Body Mountain Climbers (3×16)

Thanks for investing your time and energy into this workout, now go give it a shot!

Being a personal trainer one of the busiest times of the year is New Years when all the “resolutioners” are motivated to lose weight.  Unfortunately it’s also become an ongoing joke when people know that the resolutioners will drop off in a few weeks.

An January is one of the most exciting times for me as well because I’m also setting goals for the new year and I sure as heck want to accomplish them.

I’ve discovered some secrets along the way that have helped me and my clients both keep and succeed our New Year’s resolutions…here they are.

1.  Write It Down.

It’s easy to say you want to do this and that in 2010 but the only way to make it official is to write it down on a piece of paper.  This can be a little harder than it looks because once you write it down you are making a written commitment to achieving them.  But those who write them down are WAY more likely to achieve them, so take out a piece of paper and write down some short term and long term goals.

2.  Don’t Rush Out The Gate.

The motivation we’re feeling right now at the beginning of the year can almost feel like a drug and we’ll want to go all out in the first couple weeks.  I see a lot of people trying to workout really hard every day of the week and they really blow themselves out my going too hard too fast.  Start slow and build momentum as time goes on.

3.  Tell Somebody Else.

It’s far too easy to get away with giving up on your New Year’s resolutions when the only person who really knows about them is you.  Instead tell a couple of friends and I would even suggest asking them to help keep you accountable.  You’ll quickly discover who your real friend are because they’ll be the ones who will want to help you.

4.  Prepare Prepare Prepare.

I’m a firm believer that preparation leads to success.  I see a lot of people in the gym just “working out” and not really training.  Once you have a specific goal you can then have a plan of attack and plan your workouts and nutrition instead of just winging it.  Guess which one will leave you more successful?

5.  Get Help.

Doing it all by yourself can seem like the way to go because who really wants to ask for other people’s help?  But getting a coach or a mentor to lead you through where they’ve already been will help you out in ways you can’t even imagine.  Getting a personal trainer will keep you accountable MUCH better than yourself and the money you spend on the investment will be well worth it.