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I get a lot of questions on what exactly to take before you go to sleep each night and in this post I'm going to give you an easy and simple recipe for creating your own night time protein shake that will keep you lean and skinny at night.

The real secret is going to be the use of casein protein instead of just the traditional whey protein shake.  And a great and readily accessible source of casein protein is cottage cheese and today I'm going to show you how to make a killer shake out of it.

Whey protein isolate is simply the best because it's so quickly absorbed by your body and that is ideal after a great workout when you muscles are starving and they're glycogen depleted.

But since we're going to be asleep for hopefully 8 hours or so, we're going to want to go with casein protein which won't be quickly absorbed by the body, and instead is time-released.

What actually happens with casein protein is that it becomes a gel like clot inside your stomach allowing it to be digested slower and therefore supply a steady stream of amino acids (breakdowns of protein) into your blood.

This is an ideal situation because you won't have access to any protein/amino acids while you're asleep and in rapid eye movement.

This Sleep Skinny Protein Shake is kick ass for keeping your body lean and toned while you sleep after a hard day or work and training.  Now I wouldn't slam this baby right after working out but if you're about to be out like trout, then I would give this sleep shake a try.

The Sleep Skinny Protein Shake Recipe:

• 8-10oz. of water or skim milk (preferably RAW)
• 1 and 1/2 cups of fat free cottage cheese
• 1-2 scoops of your favorite whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup of fat free yogurt
• 1 cup of ice cubes
• Raw honey or Stevia for flavor
• Mix it up in a blender and drink before going to sleep

This shake is a great alternative for when you're body is starving at night but you don't want to eat a big meal because the calories will just hang out in your stomach and turn to fat.  Use this Sleep Skinny Protein Shake to build up your toned lean muscle while keeping the fat off.

Let me know how the drink tastes or what modifications you made to make it taste a little better…

Create Greatness,

Josh

A lot of people come up to me wondering what the heck I'm wearing on my feet.  In fact, it's probably one of the biggest questions I get from people who approach me.  And for a good reason…

They look pretty darn funny.  When I first saw the Vibram Five Fingers shoes I too thought they looked weird and wondered who the heck would wear a shoe like this.

But after the pain in my back and joints became too much I decided to do something about it.

I've heard a lot of great things from people in the fitness industry swearing by these shoes and that they did wonders for your lower back and joints.  I was skeptical at first but after using them a few times I was hooked.

“The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.”
—Leonardo Da Vinci

When we think back to the history of man kind and how long we walked around barefoot, it's no wonder our evolution got the foot right in the first place but then we had to come along and try to reinvent the wheel with shoes.

I'm not saying shoes are a bad thing, but we're so used to wearing shoes, some good and some bad, that are feet are no longer in the shape that they're naturally supposed to be.

This has caused problems literally from the ground up and things get out of alignment and the constant pounding our bodies take has caused a lot of joint and lower back pain in a lot of people.

If you see a basketball player you'll usually see them wearing a pair of high top sneakers and this in theory is supposed to protect the ankle joint, and they'll also usually have their ankles taped too.  But once we take away that mobility by wearing sturdy high top sneakers and tape all the force goes straight up to the knee.

This is why many basketball players have more knee and ankle problems…lack of ankle mobility.

After watching soccer players, they're sprinting and diving all over the field and their shoe's are very flexible and allow a lot of joint range of motion…the result?  Very few ankle and knee problems are ever seen on the soccer field!

Feet are much more pliable then we ever thought, and as we wear shoes our feet will adapt to them.  I'm not saying to walk around the mall in your bare feet.  But if you're home be barefoot and if you're training or walking then wear the Vibram Five Fingers shoes.

I'm currently reading the book, Born to Run and in the book the author goes in search of the Tarahumara Indians in the Copper Canyons of Mexico.  They've been known as the running people as they can run more than 100 miles at a time in nothing more than a simple sandal made out of flexible rubber.  And you don't see any of them having joint problems like we do in America.

What's the best version of the Vibram Five Fingers?

To be honest I've only tried the Classic version, and I absolutely loved it.  It has a very good price, about $75 and it's great for practically everything.  They also have other versions that are more practical for specific adventures, but for me the Classic is my favorite.

Be sure to wash them!

The one downfall I've found with the Vibram Five Fingers is that they can get super stinky in a short amount of time.  The good part is that you can just pop them in the washing machine and let them air dry.  I also just heard a great tip for getting the smell out by placing the shoes in a bucket filled with water and throw in some Efferdent tablets.

Make sure you get the correct size…

Since they are designed to fit comfortably on your feet I would recommend accurately measuring your feet so you get the proper size.  They have all the instructions on how to do this on their site, so just be careful, even if you're off by 1/2" it can make a significant difference.

Having a body cleansing once or twice a year can do wonders to your body and my Trainer Josh 21 day detox diet is a great way to lose weight and rid your body of toxins that are doing you harm.

First off, a detox is nothing to do half-ass, you have to go all in and don't hold anything back because any little misstep will damage the cleansing outcome that you're looking for.

Ok now that we got that out of the way, I want to give you a quick breakdown of what you're going to be going through during the next 21 days after you start my detox program.

We all know that the detox isn't going to be easy but I can guarantee you'll be feeling 10x better at the end because you'll be ridding your body of toxins and all the other crap that is making you feel weak and sluggish and at the same time holding you back from losing that fat.

Here are the rules for my 21 day body cleansing detox diet…

1.  Absolutely no sugar allowed, this means refined or even evaporated cane juice.  Sugar is the root of all evils as far as I'm concerned and is practically the devil in disguise.  So no sugar can be eaten at all during the 21 days.

2.  No dairy intake is allowed.  This means no milk, no cheese, no nothing that has to do with dairy.  More things then you think have dairy in them so be sure to make a list of what you eat every day and find substitutes for them.  A great substitute for cow milk is almond milk (sugar free of course!).

3.  No white flour.  This means no more pizza or those blueberry muffins.  Aim to have only sprouted grains such as rye and stay away from other white flour breads sugar as sourdough and such.

4.  No processed foods.  This means you can't eat TV dinners or anything else that has been manufactured and processed.

5.  No artificial sweeteners.  This means no Splenda, Equal or any other fake sweeteners which are worse than plain old sugar.  Instead have only agave nectar or raw honey and fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth.

6.  Use a detox supplement. I personally use and recommend HealthForce Healing Cleanser which is what I've found through trial and error to have the best bang for you buck.

In fact if you buy the HealthForce Healing Cleanse Level 2 through the link below I'll send you MP3s of my personal meditation CDs that are designed for Daily Neural Reconditioning that will imprint a vision of success onto your subconscious brain.  Click here or the picture below to get it now.

7.  Have two 24-hour fasts from Sunday 6pm to Monday at 6pm and follow it up with a healthy protein shake or super shake.  Fasting a couple times a month will help you sleep better, feel leaner, slim down and become more productive with clarity.

8.  If you have a juicer (if you don't have one I highly recommend getting one) and have a daily detox drink of cucumbers, celery, asparagus and lemon.

9.  Eat whole foods only.  This is one of the most important steps right here and eating only foods that are closest to their original form possible will be nature's way of feeding your body the proper nutrients it needs to build healthy muscle and get rid of the chunky monkey fat.

10.  Drink lots and lots of water.  Water is nature's natural detox and for a very good reason, in fact I remember in my high school chemistry class that water is the universal solvent.  Water is natures way of cleansing the body from toxins and other junk you don't want in your body.  Want to lose fat? Drink water…want your back pain to go away? Drink water.

Well that's it guys and if you got the fortitude to accomplish this detox from start to finish then you will definitely earn my respect.  It's not easy but it's a great way to set yourself on the fast track to success and if you can accomplish this then you can do just about anything to direct your life into a healthy direction.

After these 21 days are up in this detox diet you'll hopefully have some of these numbers engrained into your brains and they'll become healthy habits to replace the bad ones that have been building up in your body for years.  Let's get the ball rolling on this!

Here are my favorite books that I absolutely recommend EVERYBODY should read who wants to be the healthiest and fittest they can absolutely be. It may take a little time to read these books but the value they deliver is worth 10x your time and money investment.

1.   Cardio Strength Training & Power Training by Robert Dos Remedios – Awesome books by Coach Dos, after reading these two books it'll will completely revolutionize the way you train, not just for guys but for everybody looking to transform their bodies.

2.  How to Eat, Move & Be Healthy! by Paul Chek – If you've ever heard of Paul Chek then you'll know how passionate this guy is, he speaks the truth and if you're looking to live a healthier life with more energy and less fat then this is the book for you.

3.  Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey – Great book for the guys who are looking to be their strongest.  Cressey has some great points in this book as he discusses the huge difference between training to just get big or training to get strong and big.

4.  Core Performance by Mark Verstegen - Practically my bible when I first got started training, he has a lot of brilliant ideas that are not talked about in the mainstream fitness circles.

5.  The Female Body Breakthrough by Rachel Cosgrove – Fantastic book for the ladies who are looking for their best body possible, covers the whole schabang from nutrition to training to lifestyle.

6. The Power of 4: Your Ultimate Guide Guaranteed to Change Your Body and Transform Your Life by Paula Owens – Hands down the best book I've read about nutrition.  I wish everybody would read this book and adapt at least HALF the recommendations that Paula makes, this book is incredible!

7.  The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle – The best book when it comes to achieving a positive mindset and getting out your negative funk.  I read this book a couple years ago when I was going through a rough time and it completely changed my life.  You'll look at life through a new perspective after reading this book and incorporating its principles.

And that's it folks, I can practically guarantee if you read any of these books in the next couple months and apply everything they suggest than you'll find yourself looking better with more energy and you'll be happier than ever before.

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.