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Total fitness using natural, holistic health practices.

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Tag: fat loss

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

Caution:

This sounds like a silly question, but it’s really the most important question you can ask:

“What REALLY makes me increase my bodyfat?”

Is it too many calories? Sure. That’s one part. But I know people who can eat 4-5K calories a day and not add an ounce.

Is it dietary fat? Rarely if ever.

Fat is necessary to melt bodyfat. It is true that fat has more calories per gram than protein or carbs, but let’s look at this logically:

40% protein; 40% carbs; 20% fat = 40% fat; 40% protein; 20% carbs

So… no. Increasing your dietary fat does not mean you’ll get fatter…

UNLESS… ready?

Your insulin levels are too high.

Elevated insulin is not only the prime cause of diabetes and a sign of being hypoglycemic, but it’s also the prime numero uno reason people get fat.

And insulin is stimulated most by too many carbohydrates… even the so-called “healthy carbs!”

HOWEVER… ready again?

You can still eat carbs… you do not need a “low-carb” dietplan every day in order to keep your insulin and bodyfat low.

You just have to know what TIME to eat the carbs.

There’s a time and place for everything and carbs are no exception.

I have a presentation here that tells you more about how important timing is and how you can eat your carbs (even sweets) and shed bodyfat…

… here:

The EODD System < --carb-friendly dietplan

That being said:

If I had to cut one thing out of my diet for 1-4 days it would definitely be carbs.

I need fat… fat helps melt bodyfat… and I have trained my body to use its own fat-stores for fuel.

( See how on the linked-page above )

I DEFINITELY need protein… and so do you.

Protein speeds up thermogenesis, or your body’s own fat-burning heat factory.

Protein also blunts your appetite so you naturally eat less.

Some carbs are healthy… and I do not recommend you cut out low-sugar fruits and green veggies… you need that stuff.

But you don’t need grains, breads, etc.

At least for a few days.

THEN… you need them… but only after you do two things.

Find out more here:

The EODD System < --carb-friendly dietplan

Remember: Don’t Quit. Get Fit!

P.S. My favorite “Feed Meal” (that’s what I call meals where I eat a lot of calories and carbs) is this:

Small serving of protein (1/2 my normal serving size) like chicken, tuna, etc.

Brown rice or baked potato

Slice of pecan pie (or Key Lime pie… yum.)

Then later that day I’ll have a few slices of New York-style pizza.

The next day I’m LEANER. It never fails.

The only time this can fail is if you do not set your body UP to receive these carbs and some junk food.

I call this my “Real World Favorite Foods Dietplan.” That’s not the name of my System but it could be! That’s exactly what it is.

I love it… so will you…

The EODD System < --carb-friendly dietplan

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

There’s not many people who do not want to burn more bodyfat.

If you are in the fat-burning club, then these 5 easy tips are for you:

5 Easy Fat-Burning Tips < — quick tips

Enjoy, and feel free to share this blog post with others.

P.S. If you would rather watch a short video on 3 keys to greater weight loss, then go here:

3 Keys To Weight Loss < — video tips

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

I took a big, huge, massive sigh of relief today.

Finally… the FDA did something right when it comes to bogus “magic” diet-fatburn pills.

A panel of experts reviewed Vivus Inc.’s new wonder-pill “Qnexa” today.

They gave it the thumbs-down.

Why?

Oh… pesky little reported side-effects like… (are you ready for this?)…

Heart Attacks
Stroke
Increased Risk of Suicide (yikes!)
Memory/Concentration Loss

You know… “minor” stuff like that.

GEEZ. What the hell are these drug companies thinking?

Oh, right…

Quick-Fix =
Big-Bucks

Got it.

So, I am going to believe that YOU are much smarter than the morons who tried to get this drug past the FDA.

I’m going to assume you want a solution to this obesity pandemic and your own fatloss issues (if you have them) that do NOT involve risking your life for a thinner you.

“Oh, Marge… she looks so thin in her casket…”

THIS IS NOT A GOOD EULOGY! : )

Listen: I get it. I really do.

I’m an athlete and we are always looking for tricks to help increase our performance. But your body is simply too smart for these fatloss-pills people are trying to pass off as “a break-through medical discovery.”

Nonsense… more like heart-breaking medical waste of time.

One day… perhaps even in my lifetime… someone will invent a chemical that actually works to shed bodyfat without harming the body. That will be a great day for all of us.

Even so, I can all but promise you that this chemical will have its nasty side-effects and/or be limited in duration or power.

Nothing, repeat NOTHING you can pop in your mouth will give you the JOY that managing your dietplan and bodyweight can give you.

NOTHING!

It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

And here’s a fantastic clue for you: The reason we want to be thin is because of the FEELING it gives us. Most everything we do is based on feelings.

Quick-fixes negate the most powerful thing about feelings: Earning the right to have them!

Think of it this way: Would you feel more alive and powerful if you climbed a mountain or if you took a helicopter ride to the summit?

Sure, the helicopter is easy… but which is more personally rewarding?

Think of your own body transformation goals as your personal mountain to climb.

No helicopters… just really good guides (I volunteer) and solid climbing tools (like a great real-world dietplan, solid workouts that work WITH your schedule, and realistic but exciting goals.)

Your goals will become your base camps along your summit of your personal journey to the best you possible.

Color me silly, but I think that sounds FAR more empowering and rewarding that popping pills.

As you probably know I wrote one of the top books in the world on “real-world” weighttloss (spelled that way so the spambox won’t eat your email… : ) I made this dietary System as easy as possible… but NO plan is “easy” and there is NO quick-fixes out there without serious pricetags.

That said, I have some “rebel tricks” to share with you today… and they won’t put you six feet under before your time.

Just click on the page below and then click on “Articles”… then you’ll see it. It’s the first article, “3 Diet Secrets Revealed”.

Go here:

Video Plus Articles Homepage

You can’t sell this stuff in a bottle… but it works to get the bodyfat off and keep it off.

Remember:

Don’t Quit… Get Fit.

Sincerely,

J O N B E N S O N

—-> SPECIAL NOTE: On the article page above, be sure to read until the bottom. If you like that article you can now just click a button and share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or any number of cool sites.

The button looks like this:

P.S. If you pick up my dietplan (on the article page above) you’ll find in the Member’s Area three supplements that actually DO work to help you burn-off-fat… but they do not work like magic. They work like they’re supposed to: Realistically, and without harming your body. I take them. So should you.

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

*** Short-cut Link:
*** My Favorite Foods Dietplan < == click here

One of the most common questions I get asked is:

“What should I eat before my workouts if I want to get rid of bodyfat?”

The answer?

NOTHING.

I’ve been saying this for almost a decade now… and research is catching up with the idea.

It’s nice to be right. : )

Several studies now confirm that exercising while your body is low on food may be a good way to trim excess fat.

European researchers found that cyclists who trained without eating burned significantly more fat than their counterparts who ate. Now, this is important: Cycling requires a LOT of energy. Far more energy than you need to get rid of bodyfat.

Working out with weights and doing moderate to intense (but short) cardio will take care of 99% of your needs when it comes to fatburning.

But with weights, and espeically with the cyclists that were tested, performance may be an issue.

In fact the members of the group of cyclists that didn’t eat performed worse on the intensive training. Still, they burned a higher proportion of fat to carbohydrates than the group that ate. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.)

Why? Simple. Your body’s blood sugar is lowest in the morning prior to eating. When you train, moderately or with intensity, most of your fuel comes from your bodyfat and NOT ingested carbs. Isn’t that cool?

Which would you rather burn… bodyfat or carbs?

Yeah, me too. : )

About performance: I have found that my performance only suffers slightly when fasting and training for the first few weeks. After that my performance increases. The body starts to burn its own bodfyat far more efficiently so I find I have PLENTY of energy.

This was not a lone study on fasting and training. In a 2008 study, Hespel and colleagues tested the effects on men who did endurance training without eating versus those who ate. In the athletes who hadn’t eaten, the researchers found a spike in the amount of proteins needed to process fat, meaning their bodies had been primed through fasting to get rid of more bodyfat.

So, now you know the answer to the old question: “What should I eat before training?”

Nothing… or as little as possible.

In my next email I’ll tell you what to eat AFTER your workouts to REALLY jack your fatburning through the roof…

… and no, it’s not “nothing”. It’s something special. ; )

P.S. If you want the best diet possible to turn your body into a fat-burning machine along with my personal workout plan for fasting cardio… and a plan that works in your favorite foods too … then look no further than this:

My Favorite Foods Dietplan < == click here

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

Got a minute?

That’s all I need to share my first of many video-based 1-minute fatloss tips.

Go here for the first of many….

click—–>  How To Eat Your Favorite Foods And Drop Bodyfat

My new design is something to see too.

I have my weekly live 1-minute video, tons of new features… even a “diet quiz” if you care to test your fatloss knowledge.

Plus my main presentation: “1 Tip To A Flat Belly!”

Just don’t laugh at my ballcap/unshaven look in the video… I wanted this to be super-casual, but I may have taken it a bit too far… ; )

Oh… speaking of a flat belly… I’d like to give you yet another reason to eat and workout the way I suggest in “Every Other Day Diet” and “7 Minute Body”…

I had to go to the hospital last week. No worries… I’m fine… just a bit of a scare. Definitely enough to wake you up from walking through life like it will never end! But fortunately for me, only a scare.

Anyway, the doctors in the hospital were amazed when they looked at my heart and lungs (they had to make sure I did not have any infection… and I didn’t.)

“Most 46-year-olds do not have these around their heart,” the doctor said as he showed me the pictures they took. You could see all these vessels around the heart and branching off the main arteries.

“Peripheral vessels… they were formed by your exercise program. Well-done! These help keep your heart strong and healthy.”

Every doc that listened to my heart said, “Wow… strong heart!”

Indeed… resistance training makes it so.

Before I left, after the scare went away, I asked the doctor his opinion on my dietary plan. “Well, obviously you are very lean and in fantastic shape for a man of any age.”

Thanks doc, but I wasn’t fishing for a compliment!  Since this was a heart doctor I was curious as to his thoughts.

“If you had heart disease, or if you want to prevent it, this is the exact dietary plan I would recommend.”

While I expected to hear this, it was still music to my ears.

So, my higher-than-normal dietary fat and protein, lower-carb, and relatively frequent “fun food” dietplan is “ideal” to combat heart disease according to the good doc. And according to my family doctor.

Nice to know.

Read more about my plan here…

click—–>  How To Eat Your Favorite Foods And Drop Bodyfat

Remember:  A good dietplan and exercise is not always sufficient to keep you disease-freee… but I love what the doctor told me.  “People who exercise and eat like you LIVE through it and recover much faster.”

Fortunately I didn’t have a nasty virus to recover from… but if I did, I know my condition would have helped me do just that.

Wow… this one blew me away. My friend and fitness author Jon Benson just got back from a 3-week business vacation and LOST 11 lbs of bodyfat. Here’s the email he sent me detailing how he did it… Enjoy!  

Paul

It was the weirdest thing …

I mean, I’ve been around you know? I’ve had just about every body and fatloss experience you can think of… the good, the bad, the ugly…

… and now the really bizarre.

Here’s the story:

I took off on an 8-day cruise to the Caribbean. This was a “business” cruise (yeah, right)… and I knew there was no way to eat the way I prefer to eat. At least not ideally. After that I had to speak in Tampa Florida at a fitness summit, then off to Las Vegas for yet another summit meeting.

All-in-all I was gone for almost three weeks.

First thing that I knew had to go was my “ideal” dietplan.

That’s my “Extreme” Plan on the Every Other Day Dietplan…

Every Other Day Dietplan

There are three plans in EODD:  The Primer Plan, which is literally “every other day”. You get to eat your favorite foods within reason every other day or so on this Plan. It’s perfect for folks who ‘hate’ dieting because, let’s face it, anyone can diet-for a day, right? Right.

Then there’s the Lifestyle Plans. These are two days of “burn eating” followed by a day of eating favorite foods. Most people use this because it too is so simple to use.

Then for we athletes and fitness pros there’s the Extreme Plan. This is for ultimate bodyfat loss and muscle-shaping. I love this plan.

But hey… it’s a vacation. And so I decided to eat on the Primer Plan… remember, that’s every other day. So every other day on the cruise I had a small dessert (sometimes two), pizza, or pasta… whatever I wanted within reason. The days before I did perfectly, substituting my morning shake for egg white omelets with a bit of cheese and a lot of veggies. Yum! 

Within three days I had LOST more than 4 lbs… or about 2 kg. Pure fat… well, a bit of water I suppose, but mostly that stubborn bodyfat around my middle that’s the last to go.

What the heck was going on?

Wait… the story gets better…

I move on to Tampa, and then Vegas, and now I’m 11 lbs (about 5 kg) down. My jeans ALL require a belt, only this time it’s not a fashion statement.

Frankly, I’m as surprised as you may be.

But I figured out why this happened. And I want to share it with you so you can use EODD (or another plan if you want… but mine is the best… : ) when you go on vacation or take a break.

Here’s why I dropped the last bit of my bodyfat:

First, I was on a VERY large cruise ship. I knew my weight training would not be as intense (the weights were not that heavy) but I also knew I could just make it work… train a bit more and go for the “pump”… just a good, quick workout. I ended up training 5 days on the cruise without a problem (and only ONE day of cardio for 20 minutes… you see, you do NOT need cardio to dump bodyfat!)

But the difference was in the WALKING. The ship was the largest ever built… the size of 2.5 football fields. And I walked everywhere… on the islands, on the boat, even to every meal. Just walking burned off FAR more calories than my normal lifestyle, which like most of you has a lot of sitting down to it. ; )

Walking… my favorite “Cardio” to this very day.

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My Supplement Tricks

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Second, I took extra potassium, along with all of my Radical Fatloss Blueprint Supplements. I carried them all on board.

You can read more about the supplements I take for “radical” fatloss here:

www.radicalfatlossblueprint.com

The two that really did the trick for me was the Aqualize (also known as Acquacil), only 1-2 a day, along with the amino acids.

Finally, I realized that I need MORE food than I’m eating now in order to increase my metabolic rate. Just a bit… about 400 calories a day more than I have been eating. Doing just that rebooted my metabolic rate and presto… 11 lbs of bodyfat and useless water is history. My abs have never looked better.

I hope this gives you some encouragement when it comes to being on the road or on vacation. With the right plan (like EODD and Radical Fatloss) you can actually improve your body…

… and best of all, I enjoyed every minute of my vacation! 

P.S.  An important note was that I made a decision not to drink on the cruise or elsewhere. I had one small glass of wine last night to celebrate with my largest affiliate and business comrade. He flew in from Israel just for this meeting, and it was the least i could do. Roei and I had a blast all day.

The reason drinking is a problem is that alcohol shuts down fat-burning for several hours… sometimes longer. But a glass of wine or two a week is not going to hurt you. I just made that one small “sacrifice” so I could enjoy ice cream, pizza (I ate four slices one night at 3:00am and woke up leaner!) and all the yummy food the boat had to offer.

So, my final tip:  Make a decision to cut out just ONE thing when you’re on the road. Alcohol was easy for me as I do not drink that much as it is.

Read more about my personal dietplan and my supplement plan here….

Every Other Day Dietplan

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

Fair warning … this one is a rant. It’s probably a bit long, but take the time to read it.

I have some things to get off my chest … and a lot of people reading this will find it refreshing.

We have a problem in this country… hell, this world… with people overeating.

Obviously overeating is one of the primary reasons people are struggling with bellyfat and excess bodyweight in general. The solution to this problem is not “don’t eat so much”, although that is the end goal.

The solution is to really, REALLY understand how your body uses fuel and how to create a dietplan that allows you to take advantage of it.

First, my rant.

You want to know why 99% of the people who fail to see results from my dietplans… or any dietplan for that matter… REALLY fail?

They do not understand how smart and powerful their bodies really are.

Look… no dietplan on earth will allow you to eat whatever you want every day. That’s fatloss suicide.

No pills will cure this. No surgery.

Only this will cure it:

     Use your body’s own internal appetite mechanisms to your advantage.

I receive hundreds of emails every day from people who see results from my Every Other Day Dietplan.

But I won’t lie to you:  I also get emails from people who do not.

Welcome to the real world, right?  Some people succeed, others do not. It’s the same story no matter what your goals may be.

But in fatloss, the difference between success and failure, at least in the case of my readers, is NOT the dietplan… it’s the need to fully appreciate how and why it works.

Let me explain…

Here is a picture of me (excuse the quality; this was snapped with a mirror and a cellphone…)

Pic Of Me

Obviously I have abs… and I’m lean… and because I love to lift weights I also carry a lot of muscle… but the real power behind this picture is what you do NOT see:

–>  You do not see what I ate the night before;  half a pizza.

–>  You do not see how obese I was ten years ago… yes, 70lbs over-fat with a belly that looked like I swallowed a basketball.

–>  You do not see how I set my body up to receive this pizza and actually get leaner after eating it.

In case you think I’m on some magical dietplan or taking some fatburning-stimulants… wrong.

I just woke up 5 years ago after studying nutrition for 15 years and finally put 2 and 2 together.

So, here’s the facts.

My EODD Plan is build around a simple concept:  Eat your favorite foods “frequently” and still drop the bodyweight you want.

And it works… not because it’s a gimmick, but because it uses the science of metabolism, natural hormonal manipulation, and psychology to prepare your body to eat more calories.

Now those calories could easily come from, say, three yams… but I prefer pizza. ; )

If you’ve tried EODD with success, you know what I’m talking about. If not… then read on.

First, EODD never promises you that you can eat however MUCH you want every other day (or in my case, since I’m athlete, every three days)… no, no, NO!

It’s whatever you want… not however MUCH you want. That is the sole reason a small fraction of my readers are not seeing the results they want.

Now, here’s the beauty of it all:

After about 3 weeks following my System of eating, you simply cannot overeat… well, you can, but you’d have to force-feed yourself in order to pull it off.

You’ve been feeding yourself frequently for the day or two before your favorite food meals. The higher protein and very low starch content of the nutrition plan (with plenty of veggies) ensures that your body’s metabolism stays elevated. BUT… and this is crucial… the amount of food consumed on these days before is not that much.

I’m never starving… I eat too frequently for that, plus the foods on my Plan curb your appetite. But I am not eating anywhere near my maintenance level of calories. I do not count calories (nor should you)… I just follow the System, which does the calorie-counting for me. Plus I know my body really well after all these years.

So, after days of eating enough to keep my metabolism relatively high, and right BEFORE it starts to slow down (your metabolism slows when you do not eat enough, bringing fatloss to a rapid halt) I hit the body with a lot of calories.

BUT… at the right time, and never at certain times.

And, please read this:  I do not eat “however much” I want on my feed meals… I eat WHATEVER I want in reasonable portions. I don’t have to fight to not overeat, even when it’s pizza or burgers (my two favorite cheat meals.) Why? Because my body is set up to want more food, but also trained not to eat too much food at one sitting.

This is because I’ve been “grazing” — eating small, frequent meals the days before my feed day. And the body learns to adapt… quickly.

The brain is actually re-trained to signal the stomach that you’ve had enough food… yes, even when it’s dessert, or pizza, or whatever your favorite food may be.

So here’s the deal:  Yes, you can lose all the bellyfat and bodyfat you want eating like this… but like anything else that works, you have to follow a few simple rules.

The result is a dietplan where you never feel trapped. You always know that tomorrow, or possibly the day after, you can have whatever food you want. Just in reasonable amounts.

If you ask me, this is the perfect trade-off. No starvation, super-healthy eating at least 4 days a week, and you get to eat your cake as well (literally if you want.)

It’s not magic — it’s science, and a bit of work on your part. Yes, work.

Nothing happens with effort. But put some effort into this System and boy… there’s not a better dietplan on the face of the earth.

Click the URL below and watch my full presentation on how and why this works…

Now, one more thing:  I do take a few supplements to help the process along. I have a video on the Member’s Only page that explains what I take and why.

The good news:  Not one of these supplements are stimulants or dangerous. In fact they’re all very healthy nutrients the body needs.

In conclusion, I like to think of The Every Other Day Dietplan as “The Thinking Person’s Dietplan.” Anyone who considers every angle of what it takes to shed bodyfat:  Food you enjoy, freedom, a plan that’s easy to follow, and flexibility will recognize this right away as the ideal approach.

But, like all ideal approaches, it requires you to re-think the way you eat.

You eat for fuel… period.  But you CAN (and should) eat for pleasure too. As long as you keep FUEL as the main reason you are eating in the forefront of your mind, your body (and mind) will follow. Your body will adapt and begin to use both healthy and “not-so-healthy” foods as fuel.

Fuel to power your workouts, help you burnoff that bellyfat and bodyweight you don’t want, and empower your sense of control.

Especially now, with the holidays upon us, “food as fuel first; food as pleasure second” should be carved into your dinner table. Because, let’s face it:  When all that holiday overeating is over with, you will be left with a bigger belly, feeling sluggish, and just one more step away from the body you desire.

My alternative offers the best of both worlds. You just have to be willing to re-think some things and give your body a few weeks to re-learn what it already knows –

When to signal you that you’re full, and way before you overeat. And, believe it or not, you can (and should) do this by eating your favorite foods each and every week.

That’s the only way to keep your MIND satisfied and happy. And your mind is the key to your body’s success.

Thanks for reading.

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

You may be wasting your time in the gym or at home if you are trying to shape your body or get rid of bodyfat.

Most people are. That is when it comes to exercise for getting rid of bellyfat and getting into better shape.

I was in the gym today (nothing new… ; ) and I saw all 4 of these exercises being performed by various gym members (again… nothing new.)

And they are useless for 99% of the people on the planet.

Here they are…

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USELESS EXERCISE 1: Walking Dumbbell Lunges

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Okay ladies, this one is for you… although I see guys do this exercise as well.

This is where you take a pair of dumbbells and kneel with one leg, then the other, and so-on, walking around the gym as you go.

The idea behind this exercise is to work the butt, and to some extent the thighs… but it’s a joke. It’s something invented by trainers who should know better.

If you want to build and tone your butt, exercise one leg at a time. Lunges are a great exercise for this, but save your energy. Do them on a Smith Machine or with a barbell. Work one leg at a time, too. Do not alternate legs. This just wears you out aerobically before it has a chance to get to your glutes.

Here’s how I perform lunges:  On a Smith Machine, with pretty heavy weights… one leg at a time. I will do 2-3 sets, or do them in my 7 Minute Body-style workout fashion. I will finish one leg (and one butt cheek) before moving to the other leg.

Why? Again, to focus on the muscle more intensely and to avoid turning a leg/butt workout into a cardio session.

I cover exactly how to work the butt area for the best results in 7 Minute Body and 7 Minute Muscle, found right here:

click.here —– >  7 Minute Workout Plan

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USELESS EXERCISE 2: The Sit-up

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I’m shocked that people still think sit-ups done the old-fashioned way actually work the abs. Even worse, most people have been fooled into believing this actually helps get rid of bellyfat.

Nonsense. Bellyfat is burned off when you have a good nutrition plan and through general exercise, not using exercises for the abs. Ab exercises are fine, but guess what?

I never train my abs more than 3-5 minutes. Today my ab workout took 3 minutes and 12 seconds to complete. And my abs are sore!

But without the nutrition plan, forget it… I’d never SEE my abs at all. I’d just have a nice wall of muscle with a bunch of flab covering it up.

The best nutrition plan for abs is my Every Other Day Dietplan, found here:

click.here —– >  Every Other Day Dietplan

The best exercises to do for the actual ab muscles are hanging leg raises, done slowly, crunches (if you do them right)… and that’s really all you need.

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USELESS EXERCISE 3: The Bench Press

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I’m going to get a lot of flack from the guys out there who love to bench, but I’m here to tell you that this exercise for bodyshaping is all but worthless.

Why? Because most people are not built right body-wise to bench press on a flat bench with a barbell. I am not, that’s for sure.

Bench presses work if you have short arms, a relatively short torso, and your shoulders are genetically strong.

Protect your shoulders and really work your chest by doing incline dumbbell presses with your palms facing OUT, not in toward your head. This protects the rotator cuff, a part of the shoulder that is often injured using barbell bench presses.

Combine this with a good cable fly or press movement and you’re set. Again, you only need about 7-14 minutes of chest work tops to get the job done.

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USELESS EXERCISE 4: Most Cardio Exercises

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Yep… saved the best for last.

Here’s a fact:  Most cardio (bike, treadmill, glider, whatever) is a waste to time… UNLESS you do it at the right time with the right nutrition plan.

The calories you burn from cardio will be easily negated simply by eating a bagel! Hardly effective for getting rid of bodyfat. Weight training and/or resistance training at home or with your body weight, as covered in 7 Minute Muscle, is your best bet for exercise that burns-off mega-calories and keeps on burning long after the exercise session is over.

Here’s how to use traditional cardio wisely:

1. Do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach;
2. Keep your heart rate down to 75% of your max (220 minus your age x .75 will give you this number, at least approximately);
3. “Burst” for 2-3 minutes in your session up to 85-90% of your max heart rate.
4. OR, do cardio right after weight or resistance training when your heart rate is already elevated and your blood sugar is lower. Your body burns blood sugar first during exercise.

Cardio for most people only needs to be performed 3-4 times a week for 20 minutes. The only time I break this rule is when I want to get my bodyfat below 10%. Then I will do more, but only using the rules above.

Hope this saves you a ton of time with your workouts.

Enjoy your holidays!

P.S.  You can get both of my books, The Every Other Day Dietplan and 7 Minute Body, for a big-time discount by going here and watching this presentation:

click.here —– >  www.everyotherdaydiet.com/video.php

[ Note: I really like this post from my friend Jon Benson. I think you will as well. ]

Protein shakes are a dime a dozen. However a high-quality protein drink that is both homemade and nutritious is a rare find. Most protein drinks today have traveled the path of least resistance — cheap and potentially dangerous sweeteners, sugar alcohols (in order to bring down the supposed “carb count”), and protein sources that are often dubious…and accompanied with more outrageous claims than grams of the good stuff.

I use a simple, homemade, economic and super-healthy protein drink at least five times a week during my normal nutrition cycle and several times a day during peak training cycles where I need to be in top shape. My strategy for building this drink was simple:

  1. Go hormone-free and organic with everything possible;
  2. Go with plenty of healthy fats rather than cheap sugar substitutes to help control insulin and provide more satiety;
  3. Think ‘raw’;
  4. Make it delicious!

Below you will find this recipe, complete the the exact ingredients used. It takes less than five minutes to make and keeps me full for 2-3 hours. It is less than 1/3 the cost of an out-of-the-box MRP (Meal Replacement Product) and contains 1/10th the number of ingredients — and that’s a good thing. If you cannot pronounce it, it’s probably bad for you. And it tastes fantastic!

Mix the following into a high-quality blender:

1. One heaping scoop of Jay Robb’s Egg White Protein You will need to adjust this amount to your body weight. I use up to 1.5 grams times my body weight (max) and as low as 1 gram times my body weight when doing two shakes a day. For me this is between 20 and 35 grams of powder. Jay uses the best sources available, including hormone-free cattle and Stevia, a herbal sweetener, to make his excellent protein. There are no additional carbs to speak of and only the bare essentials ingredient-wise. Jay also makes a high-quality whey. I will often combine the whey and the egg white powders, using a bit over half a scoop each.

2. One raw egg (cage-free) Do not worry about cholesterol or getting food poisoning. These claims are mostly media hype. You need the high-quality protein and fats found in the egg. Most people try to go low-fat when making a protein shake. This is a mistake, as fats are crucial to the digestion of protein. As for contamination: Roll the egg on the counter. If it wobbles, you are safe to consume it. I’ve used this technique for ten years and I’ve yet to have one case of food poisoning consuming raw eggs. Oh, and it makes the protein drink taste better (believe it or not.)

3. Five grams of L-Glutamine Powdered L-Glutamine (I use Jarrow’s brand) is one of the healthiest things you can supplement your diet with. L-Glutamine has been shown to be one of the most powerful nutrients for both recovery and immunity enhancement. Bodybuilders will take up to 25 grams per day of L-Glutamine during hard training cycles; I do as well. It makes a tremendous difference in both performance and wellness. It is tasteless, too.

4. Five grams of Creatine Monohydrate If you want more strength and muscle fullness, good old creatine monohydrate (the non-fancy stuff; just monohydrate for me) works like you would not believe. Five grams per day is all you need. Like L-Glutamine, it is tasteless. I use Jarrow Brand.

5. Raw almonds I cannot say enough good stuff about almonds. Besides tasting great, they are loaded with essential fats and healthy fiber. Here is how I measure how much to use. This comes right out of my book “The Every Other Day Diet”.

Get it here:

The Every Other Day Diet     The “Cheat To Beat” Diet Plan

You can find 15 other shake recipes and over 40 pages of recipes in my book that fit the bill of being tasty and fantastic fat-burning meals. Here is the trick: Divide your body weight by 10. That’s it. If you weigh 200 pounds as I do, that means 20 almonds. Simple, right? I created an entire measuring system for Every Other Day Diet’s SNAPP! System of eating that is this simple for everything: Calories (none to count), carbohydrates, fats, protein intake… even water!

6. Frozen berries (raspberries mixed with blueberries) Yes, fresh is better than frozen… but frozen makes the shake more frothy. Plus I buy organic berries and freeze them in containers. There is practically nothing lost in the process. How much? Simple: Divide your body weight by 5! In my case this is 40 berries, or about a handful. Once you count them out once or twice you never have to again.

7. Pumpkin seeds This was a great find: A super-healthy and tasty addition to my protein recipe, plus a nice bump in the fiber content. Measuring something as fine a seeds is a bit more challenging using my numeric system, so we keep it simple: Use your palm. Just pour the seeds into your palm. Make sure they are not forming a pyramid or overflowing. That’s the ideal amount.

8. 1 to 1.5 cups of pure water I use only 1 cup of water as I like my shake thick.

9. 1 cup of ice Adjust to taste and texture preference.

10. Stevia (to taste) I love Stevia. It is an herbal sweetener that does not cause an insulin spike like sugar or even sugar alcohols can, and does not have the health hazards of artificial sweeteners. I use a few packets as I like my shake nice and sweet.

There you have it: A mostly raw, protein-rich, health-fat, carb-friendly protein drink that will fill you up for hours, tastes great, and contains more raw nutrition than most people get in a week.

P.S. There’s an eye-opening weight loss video you need to see.

Watch it here: Weight Loss Video     Watch