Free Training & Nutrition Secrets for a Lean Body: Training Secrets for a Lean-Body

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Warm-up for 3-4 minutes at a fast walk or light jog

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Interval 1 - run at 8.0 mi/hr for 1 minute

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Interval 2 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes

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Interval 3 - run at 10.0 mi/hr for 1 minute

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Repeat those 4 intervals 4 times for a very intense 20-minute workout.

The take-away message from this section is to try to train your body at highly

variable intensity rates for the majority of your workouts to get the most beneficial

response in terms of heart health, fat loss, and muscle maintenance.

Interval 4 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes

2.2 Body Part Isolation vs. Complex Movements in Strength Training

Working as a fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time

that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of

strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice – abs,

quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”

It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be

asking how to ‘isolate’ it. My first response to this question is always – “Why in the

world would you want to isolate it?”

The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body does not work well in muscle

isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large

portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex

movement. In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is

almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever

movement you are doing. However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’

body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of

performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises, you are

actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury.

Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a

powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint

problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to

‘isolate’ body parts. On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular,

injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform

complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift

your focus away from muscle isolation. Believe me, focusing on how well your

body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it

would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For example, take a look at the

physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters.

Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation

(their strength coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are

absolutely ripped to shreds!

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle isolation’ mindset to a more

‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat.

The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed

to single-joint muscle isolation, you not only burn a lot more calories during each

workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of

more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and

testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that

works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long

run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like

squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that

work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional

unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and

also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

2.3 Tired of the Same Old 3 Sets of 10? So is Your Body! Discover

How to Manipulate Training Variables

Everyone will inadvertently hit a frustrating plateau in their training at one time or

another. You’re cruising along for a while, gaining strength, losing fat, looking

better, and then all of the sudden it hits. Suddenly, you find yourself even weaker

than before on your lifts, or you find that you’ve gained back a couple of pounds. It

happens to everyone. Most of the time, these plateaus occur because people

rarely change their training variables over time. Many people stick to the same

types of exercises for the same basic sets and reps and rest periods with the same

boring cardio routine. Well, I hope to open your mind and bring some creativity to

your workouts with this section!

There are many ways that you can strategically modify your training variables to

assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to

exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if

they even think about changing their routine at all. However, other variables that

can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises

(sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.),

exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number

of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the

base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of

work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed,

range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc),

training duration per workout, and training frequency per week. Sounds like a lot of

different training aspects to consider in order to achieve the best results from your

workouts, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where a knowledgeable personal trainer can

make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn’t get stale.

Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative

and result producing workouts.

Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of

10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring!!!!

Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine.

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Try 10 sets of 3, with only 20 seconds rest between sets.

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minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.

Try using a fairly heavy weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3

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seconds rest between sets.

Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with only 30

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exercise

Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each

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presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for

an intense 20 minutes.

Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean &

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chin-ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, up and down stairs, etc.

Try a workout based on all bodyweight exercises such as pushups, pull-ups,

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rest between exercises.

Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any

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entire circuit in the reverse order.

Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the

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then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.

Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and

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workouts the next week. This will keep your body guessing.

Try completing six 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr

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between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete

muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).

There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. This was

just a taste of your possibilities. Be creative and get results!

Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight

2.4 Your Workouts Need Both Consistency and Variability for Max

Results

In the last chapter, I spoke about the fact that you must alter your training variables

that make up your workouts if you want to continuously get good results, whether it

is losing weight, building muscle, or toning up.

While changing your training variables is an integral part of the success of your

training program, your workouts shouldn’t be drastically different every single time.

If you are all over the place on each workout and never try to repeat and improve

on specific exercises for specific set and rep schemes with specific rest intervals,

then your body has no basis to improve on its current condition. The best way to

structure your workouts to get the best results is to be consistent and try to

continually improve on a specific training method for a specific time period. A time

period of 4-8 weeks usually works best as your body will adapt to the specific

training method and progress will slow after this amount of time.

At this point, it is time to change around some of your training variables as I

described in the “exercise variables” article, and then stay consistent with your new

training program for another 4-8 weeks. To refresh, some of these variables are

the numbers of sets and reps of exercises, the order of exercises (sequence),

exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multijoint

or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per

workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability

(standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x

reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of

motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training

duration per workout, training frequency per week, etc.

For example, let’s say you are training with a program where you are doing 10 sets

of 3 reps for 6 different exercises grouped together in pairs (done as supersets)

with 30 seconds rest between each superset and no rest between the 2 exercises

within the superset. If you are smart, I’m sure you are tracking your progress with a

notepad (weights used, sets, and reps) to see how you are progressing over time.

Let’s say that after about 6 weeks, you find that you are no longer improving with

that program. Well, now it is time to change up your variables, and start a new

program.

This time you might choose a classic 5 sets of 5 reps routine, but you group your

exercises in tri-sets (three exercises performed back to back to back, and then

repeated for the number of sets). This time you decide to perform the exercises in

the tri-set with no rest between them, and then recover for 2 minutes in between

each tri-set to fully recoup your strength levels.

There you have it…a couple examples of how to incorporate both consistency and

variability into your training programs to maximize your results. Want to take the

guess work out of all of this? Pick up a copy of my e-book today at

Six Pack Abs

within, and start getting rid of your stubborn belly fat now.

Truth about and try the scientifically designed programs already illustrated

2.5 The Ultimate Hard-Body Exercise

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along

with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body

composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like

squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any

other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate

the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all

exercises. In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of

squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to

lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not

performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing

body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance,

the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution. If you

don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful

body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away

mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment. You won’t find long boring cardio

in any of my programs!

Squats can be done simply with your bodyweight or with any free weighted objects

for extra resistance such as barbells, dumbbells,

should only be done with free weights – NEVER with a Smith machine or any other

squat machines! Machines do not allow your body to follow natural,

biomechanically-correct movement paths. You also perform less work because the

machine stabilizes the weight for you. Therefore, you get weaker results!

The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where

the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional

strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in

front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch

grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance

than back squats with less risk of lower back injury. I feel that a combination of all

kettlebells, sandbags, etc. Squats

three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best

results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance.

Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead

squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats. I’ll

cover overhead squats in a future article. If you are only accustomed to performing

back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front

squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel

the groove and be able to increase the poundage. Let’s take a closer look at front

squats in particular.

To perform front squats:

The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for stability due to

the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body

exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the

squatting movement. It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the

bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the

shoulders. In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into

an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder

muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your arms are parallel to

the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists

against the bar for support. Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your

palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both

methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your

upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which

bar support method is more comfortable for you. Then, initiate the squat from your

hips by sitting back and down, keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the

balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately

parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your

weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees

from injury and develop strong injury-resistant knee joints. Keep in mind – squats

done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage

the knees. Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn

the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs

once you learn the correct form. This is due to the more upright posture compared

with back squats.

START/FINISH MIDPOINT

2.6 Barbell, Kettlebell, and Dumbbell Complexes - a Different Style of

Weight Training for a Ripped Body

If you’ve been looking for a different training technique to break out of a rut,

eliminate the boredom, and bring on new results, “complexes” may be just what

you’ve been looking for. If you’ve never heard of “complexes” before, the basic

concept is that instead of repeating the same exercise for multiple reps to complete

a “set”, you sequence one rep of several different exercises right after one another

and repeat the sequence several times to complete a “set”. No, this is NOT circuit

training...it's much different. It’s basically like performing a routine, instead of just

mindlessly performing a typical “set”. This type of training is excellent to work a

huge amount of musculature in a short amount of time, and definitely takes your

workouts to a whole new level of intensity. The conditioning aspect of this type of

training is amazing, as you’ll find yourself huffing and puffing after repeating a

sequence a mere two or three times. If I had to venture a guess, I’d have to say

that this type of training probably elicits a good growth hormone response as well,

due to the large amount of full body work completed in a given time period. But

that’s just my guess.

I like to incorporate about 5 exercises into my complexes. Any more than that and

you might start to forget what’s next in the sequence. Here’s an example of a killer

barbell complex that really gets me fired up:

Example Barbell Complex

1. high pull from floor (explosive deadlift right into upright row in one motion);

2. barbell back to thighs, then hang clean (explosively pull bar from knees and

“catch” the bar at shoulders);

3. barbell back to floor, then clean & push-press;

4. barbell back to thighs, bend over, then bent over row;

5. barbell back to thighs, then finish with Romanian deadlift

Use a weight that you can still handle for your weakest lift of the bunch, but keep it

heavy enough to challenge you. Try to repeat the sequence 2-3 times without

resting... That’s 1 set. You could progress over time on this routine by increasing

the amount of times you repeat the sequence in each set, or by adding sets on

subsequent workouts before eventually increasing the weight. For example, say

you completed the above complex with 155-lbs for 3 sequences per set for 3 sets

in today’s workout. Next time you perform the workout, try to do 155 lbs for 3

sequences per set for 4 sets. Once you successfully complete 5 sets with 155,

increase the weight 5 or 10 lbs next time, and drop back to 3 sets. This is a great

way to make improvements over time, while cycling your training volume.

Now I’m going to show you a great kettlebell complex that really kicks my butt. I’ve

been training with kettlebells for a little over a year now, and can definitely say that

they’ve dramatically improved my strength, body composition, and overall physical

capabilities. If you’re not familiar with kettlebells, they are an old eastern European

training secret that has just started to take the US by storm over the last few years.

Many elite athletes are using kettlebells as their preferred training tool for serious

results. You can learn more info about body-hardening

recommend just starting off with one bell and learn all of the single kettlebell drills

first, before delving into the double-bell drills. Just one kettlebell coupled with some

bodyweight exercises can literally be enough to comprise your own home gym,

without any other equipment necessary. Or you can just incorporate kettlebell

training into your normal training routine once or twice a week to shake up your

routine and stimulate new results. Either way, they are one of the best fitness

products I’ve ever invested in that I’ll be able to use for the rest of my life.

kettlebells here. I’d

Example Kettlebell Complex

1. one arm swing

2. one arm snatch, keep the bell over head;

3. one arm overhead squat;

4. bell back down to bottom, then one arm split snatch;

5. bell back down to bottom, then one arm clean & press

As with the barbell complex, repeat the sequence (without rest) 2-3 times with

each arm. That’s one set…and one hell of a killer set at that! Try increasing from 3

to 4 to 5 sets on subsequent workouts with a given weight before increasing your

sequence reps. If you’re not drenched in sweat with your heart beating out of your

chest after that complex, you either went too light, or you are a mutant freak!

Alright, since most people will have easier access to dumbbells instead of

kettlebells, now I’ll show you how to compile a good dumbbell complex.

Example Dumbbell Complex

1. upright row with each arm separately, then both together;

2. front lunge with one leg, then the other;

3. back lunge with one leg, then the other;

4. curl to overhead press;

5. keep dumbbells at shoulders and squat

Again, the same type of sequencing and progressions work great with the

dumbbell complexes. I think a great strategy is to alternate barbell complexes on

one day with kettlebell or dumbbell complexes on alternative training days. For

example, you could do barbell complexes Monday, K-bell or D-bell complexes

Wednesday, and back to barbell complexes on Friday. Maybe hit some sprints and

bodyweight drills on Saturday or Sunday; then Monday would be K-bell or D-bell

complexes again, Wednesday would be barbells again, and so on. Give this

program a try for a month (if you dare), and you will be one hardened individual!

For more killer full body training routines and a fully comprehensive nutritional

analysis for developing the body you’ve always wanted and get rid of that stubborn

belly fat for good, check out the

Truth about Six Pack Abs.

2.7 Top 15 Non-Traditional, Muscle-Building, Fat Blasting Workouts!

If you have been a subscriber to my newsletter for some time, you know that I’m

always trying to give you ways to make your workouts more interesting and fun,

while also stimulating big-time results. Don’t you agree that your training should be

fun? This is what separates the people who jump on and off the “fitness

bandwagon” a couple times every year without ever making any real progress from

the people that actually adopt a true fitness lifestyle and finally achieve the body

they have always wanted. Make it interesting, make it fun, and make your fitness a

priority, and you’ll have the body that you want.

What I have noticed over the years is that many people will train regularly for a few

months and then will either get bored with the same old weight training and cardio

routines, or will get discouraged because their progress comes to a grinding halt

after a while. In my opinion, I don’t think your workouts ever need to get boring or

stale. You just need to have an open mind to the huge world of various training

styles and techniques that are out there. Seriously, there are so many different and

fun training styles out there, that there is no reason you should ever get bored with

your workouts and give up on that lean ripped body that you’ve been looking for.

Also, mixing in various training styles builds stronger joints by reducing repetitive

movement pattern overload and varying your training stressors.

Now before I start with some of my favorite non-traditional training styles, I will

state that I think one of the best ways to achieve a lean, muscular and healthy

body is through a consistent weight training routine with free weights. You can

choose to integrate some of these alternative training techniques with your weight

training routines on the same day, as alternative workouts on separate days of the

week, or even as separate training cycles where you try some of these techniques

for several weeks at a time before cycling back to a traditional weight training

workout. Try some of these training styles out and you’ll be on your way to never

being bored again with your workouts…and your body will thank you with muscles

popping out that you never knew existed!

Alright, here are some of my favorite non-traditional training techniques:

1. Staircase Workouts – This is great because stairs are everywhere. You can

go to a football field and do stadium stairs, any building that has stairs like a

hotel (most people take the elevator, so you won’t even have many people

looking at you while you’re working out), or even the stairs in your own

home. For an awesome full body workout, try mixing stairs sprints with an

upper body exercise like pushups or pull-ups. If done with a high enough

intensity, stairs workouts help to create changes throughout your entire

body due to the muscle building and fat burning hormonal response and

metabolism increase that you get through working the biggest muscle

groups in your entire body. If you thought that going up and down the stairs

was the only way to get a good stairs workout…think again. My fellow

trainer and friend, Virgil Aponte, has developed a website that focuses on

creative stairs workouts using all kinds of exercises you never would have

thought of before. I’ll even admit that I learned quite a few new stairs

exercises here myself. Check out his

ideas!

2. Wind Sprints and Hill Sprints – Find any open field in a park or athletic field

and try 50, 75, and 100-yard all-out wind sprints. After each sprint, rest long

enough to catch your breath before the next one (generally 1-2 minutes).

Try workouts of anywhere from 6 to 20 wind sprints for a great “cutting”

workout. Also, if you have a hill nearby, hill sprints are also great workouts.

Sprint up the hill as fast as you can and walk down for your rest interval.

Repeat until you’re whooped. These sprint workouts are so amazingly

effective at changing your entire body for the same reason as stairs

exercises…by powerfully working the biggest muscle groups in your entire

body, you greatly stimulate your metabolism while simultaneously

increasing your fat burning and muscle building hormones. Just look at any

world class 100-meter sprinters and notice how ripped-to-shreds those guys

stairs exercises site for more creative

are. Now compare that to the emaciated weakling physiques of many

marathoners, and you’ll see that sprinting is where the action is at for a

healthy, ripped, powerful body! Now I don’t want to upset all of you distance

runners out there. Hey, if distance running is something you enjoy, then go

right ahead. But don’t say you’re doing it for the health benefits, because I

might just have to disagree. Section 2.1 in this book provided my full opinion

on why I believe highly variable intensity exercise (such as sprinting and

interval training) is far superior to steady state endurance exercise (such as

jogging, endurance cycling, or any same-pace cardio).

3. Kettlebell Training – You’ve probably heard me praise kettlebell training

many times before, but I will have to reiterate that it has been one of the

best training methods that I’ve ever tried and has taken my physical

capabilities to a whole new level. Kettlebells are an alternative type of freeweight

training instead of barbells and dumbbells. Their unique construction

and weight distribution (basically a cannonball with a handle) allows for a

whole different realm of exercises that’s available compared to dumbbells

and barbells. Kettlebells have been typically used for training hard-core

athletes, military units, martial arts competitors, and other tough individuals,

but there is no reason that anybody looking to get stronger, bigger, or more

cut can’t learn the exercises and benefit from them. It’s been a little over a

year now since I’ve incorporated kettlebell training into my routines, and I’ll

admit that I’m hooked for life! At between $100-$150 per kettlebell, they are

definitely not cheap, but they are well worth the money. Just one or two

kettlebells

use for the rest of your life…worth every penny in my book!

4. Bodyweight Workouts – Try doing one or two workouts a week at home with

just bodyweight based exercises. These can be great because you can get

a high intensity workout done in only 15-30 minutes without having to go to

the gym on days that you might not have time for a trip to the gym. Try

and you’ve literally got yourself an entire home gym that you can

alternating bodyweight squats, pushups variations, lunges, and floor abs

exercises continuously for 15-30 minutes. Try to take very short rest periods

or none at all to really amp up the intensity since this will be a brief workout.

If you’re more advanced, you can even incorporate more challenging

exercises like handstand pushups, one-arm pushups, and one-legged

squats into your bodyweight training routines. For those of you that want to

develop crushing strength through bodyweight exercises alone, a great

book that I read a couple years back is called the

Tsatsouline.

5. Ring Training – This type of training basically uses portable gymnastic rings

that you can take anywhere with you. You throw the straps up over any high

bar like a pullup bar, the top of a power rack, or even over a football field

goal crossbar. Then you can quickly adjust the rings to do exercises like ring

dips, ring pushups, ring pull-ups, hanging leg raises, horizontal body rows,

L-sits, and more. Dips and pushups on the rings are my favorites and the

rings really make them a hell of a lot more difficult, while also incorporating

your stabilizer muscles to a much greater degree. The rings allow your joints

to move in a more natural pattern and can help you prevent or even recover

from shoulder injuries. Personally, when I try dips on a normal dip stand, it

hurts my shoulders. However, dips on the training rings feel perfect, and

also give me a much better muscle pump. The training rings are one of the

best training devices I’ve ever bought. Give them a try…I think you’ll like

them if you’re up for a challenge. Ever notice the impressive upper body

development of gymnasts… yep, that’s mostly due to the rings! Visit

Naked Warrior by Pavel

RingTraining.com

6. Swimming – A great full body workout that stresses the muscles and joints

in a much different way than most resistance training. Incorporating

swimming workouts once or twice a week into your normal training routings

can really enhance your physique. I recommend trying a “sprint” style

swimming workout, which will help more for building muscle compared with

for more info.

endurance long distance swimming. For sprint style, swim as hard as you

can to the other side of a 25-meter or 50-meter pool (or sprint swim similar

distances in a lake or the ocean if you like to swim outdoors). Rest enough

to catch your breath between sprint swims (about 20-40 seconds). Try to

keep the rest intervals fairly short with swim sprints. You can also mix

different strokes (crawl, breaststroke, sidestroke, backstroke, butterfly) on

each swim sprint. I’ve found that sprint swimming gives me a great muscle

pump (especially in the upper body), without any soreness the next day as

is typical with weight training. This is because swimming has no eccentric

movement (the negative portion of a lift), which is what causes muscle

soreness. You can get a great sprint swimming workout done in about 30-40

minutes. Keep in mind that even though swimming works your muscles well

and is a great alternative workout to mix in once or twice a week, it does not

strengthen your bones. You still need to do regular weight training to do

that.

7. Sandbag Training – This form of training is a nice variation to mix in with

your strength training. It works your body with an unstable object, which

makes muscles that might normally be neglected get in on the action to

perform the movements. I’ve been mixing some sandbag training into my

routines for over a year now, and I’ve found it is a very intense method of

training that works your muscles in a different way and gets you huffing and

puffing like crazy. You can make your own sandbags to train with by filling

various sized duffle bags with sand, or you can use those construction type

sandbags that come in several shapes. Sandbag exercises can be done as

squats, cleans, presses, lunges, shouldering, throws or heaves, carrying up

hills, etc. Make no mistake…adding intense sandbag training to your routine

will have you ripped in no time! I’ve actually read an entire book recently

devoted to sandbag training, which gave me some really good ideas for

sandbag based workouts. Check out more info at

Sandbag Strength.

8. Mountain Biking – As you may have figured out by now, I’m not a proponent

of steady pace endurance exercise, but rather, highly variable intensity

exercise that works with bursts of exertion followed by recovery intervals.

Well, mountain biking fits this bill perfectly. You get the leg pumping exertion

during the uphill climbs, while also getting the adrenaline rush of the

downhill acting as your recovery intervals. Mix it all together and you get a

super-fun, high-intensity, leg burning workout that will melt fat off of your

entire body and build awesome legs at the same time. The climbs can be

tough and will challenge you both physically and mentally as you pump

away trying to make it up steep hills without having to resort to getting off of

the bike. Then after you make it up the challenging climbs, you get

rewarded with the adrenaline rush of flying down steep hills while jumping

off of boulders and logs and trying not to stumble or fall off the bike. It’s such

an addicting thrill…I love it! See, who says that working out has to be

boring!

9. Indoor (or outdoor) Rock Climbing – This is yet another fun way to get in a

great workout that will also challenge you both physically and mentally.

Indoor rock climbing gyms have starting popping up all over the place in

recent years and will be more accessible than outdoor rock climbing to most

people. Rock climbing is a great workout for your legs, arms, shoulders, and

your entire back. It also really works your grip strength and forearms like

crazy. Whenever I go indoor rock climbing (which is only on occasion), my

forearms are sore for about 2-3 days afterwards. Give it a try if you’ve never

done it…it may be just what you’re looking for to spice up your fitness

routine.

10. Stick Wrestling – This is a killer full body workout and can also be a great

competition between you and your friends. This is probably more of a guy

thing for most. You could even come up with your own “fight club” and have

stick wrestling competitions with your buddies to see who is toughest. There

are actually sticks designed specifically for stick wresting, but you can even

just use a strong broomstick cut down to about 30-36 inches long and taped

up with some athletic tape to prevent splinters. For your stick wrestling

workout, stand on a soft mat or carpeted area (or grass if outdoors), match

up with a friend or foe. You’ll both grab the same stick toward the ends with

your hands on the outsides of your partner’s hands, on the inside, or

staggered. Then you simply push, pull, jerk, and thrash your opponent

around trying to knock them off balance until they either fall or lose their grip

of the stick…and you win that round! Be careful not to get the stick up high

and knock each other in the face. Use common sense. You can do this in 1-

2 minute rounds or just keep going until someone gives up. Be creative and

keep going until you’ve gotten a killer workout. Your forearms and legs will

be screaming!

11. Strongman Training – This type of training is a little more hard-core, but it’s

a blast for those who are into trying something different. The premise is

based on the types of exercises competitors perform in the “worlds

strongest man” competitions. If you have a yard, you can even set up some

of these exercises in your yard and do some outdoor workouts to have a

little fun. You can get one of those giant tractor tires and do tire flips (which

is basically a deadlift followed by a push-press). You can also try your hand

at log lifts, boulder lifts and carries, keg lifts and tosses, sled

dragging…anything that involves pulling, pushing, lifting, or heaving any

types of odd objects. You don’t need to be a monster to enjoy this type of

training…just handle whatever size objects are challenging for your

individual strength. Strongman training works your entire body in a very

intense fashion and could easily spark some new results. If you’re interested

in finding out more ideas for strongman training, check out this site devoted

entirely to these

12. Rope Climbing – This goes back to the old high school days of climbing the

rope in gym class. Seriously, if you have access to a rope, either at a gym

or somewhere outdoors, rope climbing builds a powerful and ripped upper

underground training techniques.

body like no other exercise. A great way to incorporate rope climbing into

intense workouts is to do a climb up, then lower yourself back down. Then

while your upper body is recovering for the next climb, you can do a lower

body exercise like squats or lunges, or go up and down stairs. Keep

alternating the upper body rope climbs with the lower body exercises in

between and you’ll get one hell of a full body workout.

13. Bag Boxing – You can use a heavy bag, a speed bag, or even one of those

rebound bags to get a great workout. Among the three, the heavy bag is the

best all around full body workout, while the speed bag will test your rhythm

and timing and give you a great upper body workout. If available at your

gym or if you have a bag at home, try mixing these in as a good warm-up or

as an intense finish to your strength routine.

14. Rope Skipping – You can’t beat rope jumping as a great full body exercise. I

like to use it as a warm-up for my weight training workouts. I prefer to use

the really cheap “speed” ropes with a plastic rope instead of a fabric rope.

Once you get good, you can jump rope much faster with the plastic ropes

than the fabric ones, which will allow you to get a more intense workout. Try

mixing together two legged jumps, one-legged jumps, arm crossovers,

double jumps (rope passes under feet twice for each jump) to keep things

interesting and increase the intensity. Also, try alternating 15-20 second

high intensity bursts where you jump as fast as you possibly can, followed

by 15-20 second recovery intervals where you jump slowly to get ready for

your next burst. Keep repeating until you’re whooped.

15. Jumping exercises – squat jumps, box jumps, lunge jumps, and broad

jumps are some of the best ways to incorporate explosive jumping exercises

into your routines. The explosive and powerful nature of jumping exercises

works your leg muscles in an entirely different way than most normal slow

grinding strength training moves. I’ve even seen a university study cited

once that found squat jumps to elicit the greatest testosterone response of

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed all of these ideas for ways to really shake up your

workouts and make them fun again. I know some of them may seem a little “out

there”, but open your mind to the possibilities and you’ll never be bored

again…and your body will respond with new found results! Remember, don’t

listen to all of the gimmicks and infomercials, etc. that claim that THEIR training

style or machine or routine is THE BEST in the world. There is no single “best”

method. But there are lots of great methods to try out and see which work best

for you and keeps you interested!

Nutrition is next…

2.1 Bad Cardio vs. Good Cardio

It is common to hear fitness professionals and medical doctors prescribe low to

moderate intensity aerobic training (cardio) to people who are trying to prevent

heart disease or lose weight. Most often, the recommendations constitute

something along the lines of “perform 30-60 minutes of steady pace cardio 3-5

times per week maintaining your heart rate at a moderate level”. Before you just

give in to this popular belief and become the “hamster on the wheel” doing endless

hours of boring cardio, I’d like you to consider some recent scientific research that

indicates that steady pace endurance cardio work may not be all it’s cracked up to

be.

First, realize that our bodies are designed to perform physical activity in bursts of

exertion followed by recovery, or stop-and-go movement instead of steady state

movement. Recent research is suggesting that physical variability is one of the

most important aspects to consider in your training. This tendency can be seen

throughout nature as animals almost always demonstrate stop-and-go motion

instead of steady state motion. In fact, humans are the only creatures in nature

that attempt to do “endurance” type physical activities. Most competitive sports

(with the exception of endurance running or cycling) are also based on stop-and-go

movement or short bursts of exertion followed by recovery. To examine an

example of the different effects of endurance or steady state training versus stopand-

go training, consider the physiques of marathoners versus sprinters. Most

sprinters carry a physique that is very lean, muscular, and powerful looking, while

the typical dedicated marathoner is more often emaciated and sickly looking. Now

which would you rather resemble?

Another factor to keep in mind regarding the benefits of physical variability is the

internal effect of various forms of exercise on our body. Scientists have known that

excessive steady state endurance exercise (different for everyone, but sometimes

defined as greater than 60 minutes per session most days of the week) increases

free radical production in the body, can degenerate joints, reduces immune