The Most Hyped Diet Study Ever?

You see, a recent laboratory study indicated that rats who were fed a very low calorie diet lived longer than rats who ate normal diets. Interesting findings, for sure, but not quite worthy of the huge generalizations that were made as a result, with scientists proclaiming the idea that the same principle would apply to humans.

Suddenly, all kinds of magazines and mainstream media have been telling people that the secret fountain of youth is to live on a calorie restricted diet, causing even MORE people to start eating less food, hoping to lose weight and turn back the clock in the process.

Where’s The Proof?

Just How Low Are We Talking?

Living Longer = Living Inactive?

Lastly, even if calorie restriction does help you live longer, you’ll likely be spending those extra years inactive and nursing some disease or disability.

Restricting your calories without proper design and modified exercise can lead to lower bone density, nutrient deficiencies and a lack of the essential fats that are crucial for cognitive and physiological function.

You could very well be more at risk of developing osteoporosis and other debilitating diseases usually correlated with aging – and the research has not yet been done long term to show that this won’t happen when severe calorie restrictions are placed on the human diet.

The Honest Truth About How Long You’ll Live

We all know those people who smoke, drank and ate terribly their whole life and lived to their late 90s, and we also all know someone who was the consummate health nut and died young.

Life span is a product of genetics, lifestyle, medical treatment, preventive healthcare, mental state and a whole host of other factors. To say that prolonging life is all about restricting calories is misguided and frankly unproven.

The Bottom Line

Final Thought

In this blog post I’ve laid out all the reasons why I don’t buy into the calorie restricted diet hype.

But having said that, I understand that you might still want to try it and hey, it might suit you well. So go ahead and try it out for a while if you want and see if it’s for you. But do it intelligently and don’t just run after what you see on TV, blindly believing it to be the truth.

Think, discover, explore and test it for yourself. That’s always the process you should follow when it comes to health, fitness and wellbeing.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below:

What’s one of the most common reasons that people give up on their exercise program (and as a result don’t get the results they’re looking for)?

The answer is BOREDOM!

For some reason, most people keep falling into the trap of doing the same exercises, the same workouts, the same routines over and over and over again in the gym.

And that’s not going to work for 2 reasons:

1) Your body needs new stimuli to cause it to grow and improve. If you keep doing the same thing every time, your body will get used to it real quick and will adapt to it, meaning that it will no longer be challenging you to grow and improve your fitness and fat loss levels.

2) Mentally, you need to keep things fresh in order to keep them motivating. Unless you’re one of the few people who thrives on repeating the same things over and over, you’re likely going to get bored and lose interest without any variety.

So today, I want to challenge you to really think outside the box when it comes to your fitness and try something entirely new: upper body cardio.

Upper body cardio? What’s that!?

Well, I’ll tell you. It’s the kind of stuff you’d normally do for your conditioning exercises, only you’re now going to use your upper body instead of your lower body. Confused? You won’t be after you watch the video below:

If you’re not rearing to try out some of those exercises and take your fat loss to a whole new level after watching that video, then you must be crazy! (Only joking - but really, you’re gonna love them!)

Try adding them to your program at the end of your workouts or as fillers between sets and watch the pounds drop off like never before.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below:

Back from a brief hiatus, it’s Micro Workout Of The Week time!

This week we’re going to tackle a topic that comes up over and over again when people talk about training without using weights. In fact, I’ve even seen some MAJOR fitness blogs say that there is just no way around this issue when in fact that’s just not the case!

What I’m talking about is training your back muscles. In order to train your back, you need to incorporate pulling exercises into your workouts and most people will tell you that unless you have weights or a pullup bar, that’s going to be impossible.

I beg to differ.

While it’s true that it’s more difficult to train your back muscles without these tools, it’s definitely possible - all you need to use is a little bit of creativity!

So that’s the theme of this micro workout: how to train your back easily and effectively at your desk without using weights or a pullup bar!

Intrigued? Then watch on!

Here are the exercises featured in this Micro Workout:

• Table Inverted Rows: 20s
  
• Y Squats: 20s
• Scap Wall Slides: 20s
  
• Bent Over Rows With Exercise Band: 20s

Total Micro Workout Time: 1 minutes 10 seconds

So in less than 1 and a half minutes we’ve given your back an incredible multi-dimensional workout. Not only will this help you burn away fat and improve your upper back strength and definition, it will also help keep your shoulders healthy while simultaneously improving your posture too! Not bad for a super-short workout that can be done anywhere!

So How Often Do I Do These?

Every time you get a couple of minutes to spare during your day, get up from your chair and fit in this quick workout. It takes less than 2 minutes, so time is no excuse - you can definitely fit this in to your schedule.

On the average day, you should be able to fit in at least 5-10 of these workouts. And that all adds up to 10-20 minutes of workout time, which will go a long way to burning off belly fat, getting you in great shape and helping you have amazing arms.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below:

Welcome to the latest installment of The Micro Workout Of The Week!

This week we’re going to focus on helping you get a lean, shredded midsection just in time for summer (well, if you live in the northern hemisphere at least). To help you get six pack abs, I want you to use this 90 second micro workout which only uses 3 variations of ONE exercise - the mountain climber. Not only will this help you rev up your metabolism and lose body fat, it will really focus on getting you a lean midsection by targeting a whole bunch of different abdominal muscles.

This Micro Workout takes less than 2 minutes and can be done at your desk or anywhere else. And here’s the best part - no equipment needed at all!

Let’s watch the workout in action below:

• Table Mountain Climbers: 30s
  
• Chair Cross-Body Mountain Climbers: 30s
  
• Explosive Mountain Climbers: 30s

Total Micro Workout Time: 1 minutes 30 seconds

So in less than 2 minutes we’ve worked on your your six pack, oblique muscles and revved up your fat burning metabolism. Amazing value for a short workout that can be done anywhere!

So How Often Do I Do These?

Every time you get a couple of minutes to spare during your day, get up from your chair and fit in this quick workout. It takes less than 2 minutes, so time is no excuse - you can definitely fit this in to your schedule.

On the average day, you should be able to fit in at least 5-10 of these workouts. And that all adds up to 10-20 minutes of workout time, which will go a long way to burning off belly fat, getting you in great shape and helping you have amazing arms.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below:

In our last blog post, we talked about social support being the number 1 success factor in fat loss that most people are overlooking. We mentioned that there were 3 key ways to utilize the internet to get your fat loss social support, and we discussed the first 2 of these 3 methods (if you missed that post, click here to read it). Now we move onto the third step, which is using online social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to help make sure that you never deviate from your fat loss program.

…..Click here to read more

It’s Micro Workout of The Week time again!

This week is all about the one body part that men and women alike all want to improve - their arms! Michelle Obama has gotten a lot of press lately about her sleeveless dresses and toned, sculpted arms and I think it’s fantastic that she is inspiring others to get in shape and feel positive about their health and appearance. So, with a little inspiration from Michelle, I designed a Micro Workout that is totally focused on getting you the perfect set of arms.

And here’s a note for the guys - just FYI this workout is not exclusively for women and will also work great at helping you build bigger arms to fill out your tshirts. You just need to up the weight a little and go heavier but you will still get a great effect from this workout.

This Micro Workout takes less than 2 minutes and can be done at your desk or anywhere else. All you need is a couple of dumbells and you’re good to go!

Let’s watch the workout in action below:

This Micro Workout is less than 2 minutes long and utilizes 3 exercises:

• Bent Over Dumbell Rows: 30s
  
• Table Pushups: 30s
  
• Reverse Dumbell Woodchop: 20s each side (40s total)

Total Micro Workout Time: 1 minutes 40 seconds

So in less than 2 minutes we’ve worked on your biceps, triceps, shoulders, core and even a little lower body too. Amazing value for a short workout that can be done anywhere!

So How Often Do I Do These?

Every time you get a couple of minutes to spare during your day, get up from your chair and fit in this quick workout. It takes less than 2 minutes, so time is no excuse - you can definitely fit this in to your schedule.

On the average day, you should be able to fit in at least 5-10 of these workouts. And that all adds up to 10-20 minutes of workout time, which will go a long way to burning off belly fat, getting you in great shape and helping you have amazing arms.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below:

Fat loss is a topic that has many facets. You need to do the right kind of workouts, get your diet in order, have mental tenacity and discipline, change your lifestyle, and be committed to continually learning and improving yourself. It’s difficult – make no mistake about it - and you deserve A LOT of credit for embarking on this journey because it’s very easy to get lazy and not follow through.

But there’s one CRITICAL factor in your fat loss program that you absolutely MUST have to ensure success and yet 99.9% of people out there are not doing this one thing. In fact, I’m willing to bet that you’ve never even considered this element of your fat loss program at all, and it’s probably holding you back from achieving the success you deserve.

…..Click here to read more

After a brief hiatus due to technical difficulties, we are back with a brand new Micro Workout of The Week!

Last time, our Micro Workout put a cool new spin on things by focusing on improving total body mobility. This week we focus in a little more on an area that is a particular problem for a lot of people who sit in front of a computer all day - shoulder health.

Sitting all day long with poor posture can wreak havoc on your entire shoulder joint, and so it’s very important that you counteract it with some exercises to ‘wake up’ the muscles in the middle of your upper back that don’t get worked at all when you’re sitting at your desk.

I’ve put together 3 of my favorite shoulder health exercises into a great little micro workout that you can do anywhere, anytime, in less than 2 minutes, with no equipment required. Not only will this help keep your shoulders healthy but you’ll also get a bit of a core workout in at the same time, which is always nice!

Let’s watch the workout in action below:

This Micro Workout is less than 2 minutes long and utilizes 3 exercises:

• Scap Pushups: 30s
  
• Scapular Wall Slides: 30s
  
• Hand-To-Hand Touches: 30s

Total Micro Workout Time: 1 minutes 30 seconds

So in less than 2 minutes we’ve worked on activation and strengthening of the muscles in your mid-upper back and shoulders. No equipment necessary. Plus, this could easily be done at your office desk, at your dining room table, in your living room, or anywhere else.

So Here’s My Challenge To You:

Every time you have 2 minutes to spare over the course of this week (if you say that you’re too busy to spare 2 minutes then you’re lying to yourself!), quickly jump out of your chair and do this micro workout.

On any given day, you could probably find at least ten 2-minute windows of opportunity to do this. Do these Micro Workouts in addition to any normal workout routine you have. At the end of the week, see how you feel. I’m willing to bet that the exercises will be a lot easier than when you first tried them, and you’ll see a noticeable difference in how healthy and fit you feel.

Anyway, give it a shot and let me know how it worked out for you. Was it too hard? Too easy? Did you notice any results? How many Micro Workouts were you able to squeeze in per day on average? Lay it all out in the comments below as the week unfolds.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below:

Last week we talked about how to get rid of fat in your problem areas. This week I want to take you beyond the ‘theory’ of how to do it and actually show you how you should eat and work out to get rid of a common problem area that people often ask me about - muffin tops (a.k.a love handles)

…..Click here to read more

Happy Monday!

This just keeps getting better. Last week, our Micro Workout kicked butt with a 3 exercise circuit that could be done in less than 2 minutes.

This week, we add a twist! Not only will our Micro Workout burn away fat as usual, but it will also help improve your mobility.

It will help you be more mobile, move better, and will also give you added flexibility in all of the spots that naturally tighten up when you spend all day sitting at your desk in front of a computer. And best of all - it will help you FEEL GREAT! Doing mobility exercises is tremendously therapeutic and relaxing. If you do these right, it will feel like more of a relaxation session than a workout. Sweet!

Watch the workout below:

This Micro Workout is less than 3 minutes long and utilizes 4 exercises:

• Reverse lunges: 30s per side (60s total)
  
• Ankle Mobilizations Against Wall: 20s per side (40s total)
  
• Thoracic (Upper Back) Extensions: 30s
• Shoulder Dislocations: 30s

Total Micro Workout Time: 2 minutes 40 seconds

So within those 2 and 2/3 minutes we’ve worked enhanced your mobility in your ankles, hips, upper back and shoulders. No equipment (aside from a broom!) necessary. Not bad for less than 3 minutes of exercise that could easily be done at your office desk, at your dining room table, in your living room, or anywhere else.

So Here’s My Challenge To You:

Every time you have 3 minutes to spare over the course of this week (if you say that you’re too busy to spare 3 minutes then you’re lying to yourself!), quickly jump out of your chair and do this micro workout.

On any given day, you could probably find at least ten 3-minute windows of opportunity to do this. Do these Micro Workouts in addition to any normal workout routine you have. At the end of the week, see how you feel. I’m willing to bet that the exercises will be a lot easier than when you first tried them, and you’ll see a noticeable difference in how healthy and fit you feel. Maybe you’ll even notice a little change in the mirror (but expecting that after just one week is a little unrealistic, so that would just be gravy).

Anyway, give it a shot and let me know how it worked out for you. Was it too hard? Too easy? Did you notice any results? How many Micro Workouts were you able to squeeze in per day on average? Lay it all out in the comments below as the week unfolds.

If you enjoyed this blog post, please help spread the word by clicking the Share/Save button below to add it to your favorite social bookmarking site. Also, if you want to get regular email updates every time I make a new post, as well as getting exclusive access to ebooks, videos, audios and other bonus material that I send out only to my newsletter subscribers, make sure you put your name and email in the box below: