In traditional machine and weight exercise routines, exercisers rest for minutes at a time in between sets of a specific exercise. If you want to be more efficient with time while burning more fat, Circuit Training is the way to go.

Circuit Training describes a way of moving through exercises that maximizes fat-burning and cardiovascular training by keeping the heart rate and breathing up throughout the workout. When performing “circuits,” you will never find yourself sitting on a machine and resting (wasting) minutes at a time. Instead, each circuit containing 2-4 exercises is designed so that you move from one exercise to the next with virtually no rest in between.

In a Circuit, you perform a given number of repetitions for Exercise 1 and from there immediately go to Exercise 2 for the given number of repetitions, then onto Exercise 3 and so on. Once you complete the first “set” (each exercise done once for the applicable number of repetitions), go back to the beginning and start on Set #2 with Exercise 1, repeating the entire cycle,  usually 3-4 times.

In My Gym Trainer, each workout card will indicate how many sets (or times through each exercise) it should be performed. It’s okay to drink water and take short rests when necessary, but try your best to keep moving.

The idea behind circuit training is to keep the heart rate elevated throughout the workout to maximize cardiovascular conditioning, while also maintaining some lactic acid in the muscles to create a burn.

Lactic acid release is critical in forcing the body to respond, as its accumulation assures that the muscle is being sufficiently worked; so don’t be afraid of the “burn.” Doing a workout that allows for very little rest guarantees a somewhat constant stream of lactic acid accumulation in varying degrees. However, because you are doing different exercises back to back, there is some relief in that synergistic muscles are working, but at different angles.

Overall, circuit-style training can boost fat-burning effects while saving time and improving  the cardiovascular effects of resistance training.

CLICK HERE to purchase My Gym Trainer! For more information, visit: http://www.mytrainerfitness.com

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If we haven’t been there yet, we will get there eventually.  We will get to out plateau.  ”Our what?” you may ask.  The plateau is the point where we can’t seem to get any further no matter what you seem to try.  With weight loss, it is the point where you can’t seem to shift those few extra pounds and your weight stays around the same.

It’s a demoralising part of the dieting when you are maybe 5 or 10 lb away from your goal and you seem to hover just out of reach of it and have no idea what you can do to change.  After all, the things you have done so far have worked nicely, they should be able to carry on with the changes, right?

Wrong.

When you hit the plateau it is showing that your body has got used to what you have been doing, and it is time for a change.  As my boss says, “Nothing changes if nothing changes”.  If you don’t change anything, you can’t expect something to change.  Which begs the question, what can you do?

If you are a member of a gym then maybe you should get a training plan.  I found speaking with a personal trainer invaluable when I was staring out.  They saw where I was then and where I want to get to, and also asked what I liked doing.  I now have a training plan which is hard work, but is getting results already, and I am only just starting out.  Every six weeks I will get a review and the plan will change to keep my body guessing what it coming.  Fortunately all the consultations are part of my gym membership so I don’t have to pay extra.  For breaking the plateau, simply tell them that you can’t seem to shift the extra pounds and would like a plan or some advice on how to go about shifting it.

If you aren’t part of a gym, or don’t want to pay to speak to a personal trainer, there are things you can do yourself in your own workout and this doesn’t mean you have to work out more often or for longer.  Actually, the opposite is true, you may find you can cut the time spent exercising.  Sounds great doesn’t it, a little more “me” time?

I touched on it briefly above, and that is to change what you are doing.  You can still keep the same routine.  If you only use the bikes at a gym then you don’t need to go on a treadmill if you don’t want.  All you need to do is to increase the intensity.  If you are on setting 10, move up to 11 or 12.  This will be harder for your body and make it use more energy.  Something else to consider is interval training; where you go flat-out for a period of time and then rest for a period of time.  Usually flat-out for a minute, rest for two minutes.  Repeat this for the duration of your work out and the results will speak for themselves.

If you go walking to get your cardio workout, then speed up the walk, maybe break into a light jog for a little while and then slow it down again.  Go for walking uphill for added difficulty.  If you are using gym machines, use the incline on the treadmill or up the resistance on other machines.  Challenge yourself.

There are dietary changes which can also help you beat it.  Increasing your calorie intake slightly (so don’t over do it) can give your body a little more fuel to burn.  The extra fuel it has to burn may help in raising your metabolism a little and therefore help burn off more than the amount you increase the intake by.  I would suggest the way you do this is to have something which is high in protein as the resources I have read in composing this suggest that you should increase your protein intake.  Doesn’t matter if it is a protein shake or a slightly larger portion of chicken or however you choose to get your protein, but increasing that can help.

Something I rave on about a lot when commenting on other blogs or generally giving advice, and that’s water.  Drink an extra glass of water a day to help keep you hydrated.  This will help stabilise your metabolism, regulate your appetite so you can have your meals at regular intervals and avoid snacking.  You may also find that you get an increase in energy, which will certainly help when you are working harder in the gym doing the interval training, and water is also said to increase the amount of fat which is used as energy.

A few small, simple changes are all you need to beat the plateau.  You don’t need to stress or be demotivated by it, you just need to adapt your body and throw it a curve ball now and then.

So today is my last day in the sun.. Propped up on Hydroxycut I am going to hit the gym at 6am, so in about an hour, to go my 30mins on the cross trainer and get some arm exercises thrown into the day before doing some pilates exercises to strengthen stomach and back. I am really liking my routine over here!

Following the morning exercise I had breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and a tomato/coriander/red onion mix, a yoghurt and some pineapple and melon. Absolutely delicious! I havent had as much tea over here as I usually have at home, the tea is just not the same and the fact that I dont have access to a kettle makes it a bit difficult.

***

At Atlanta airport after the first part of my return trip to London. Had a very light lunch, just some fruit (1 apple and two clementine) a fibre cereal bar and some sweeties and nuts with my Hydroxycut over at San Jose Airport. Following that I just had some tomato juice and a diet coke on the plane.

Got to Atlanta and have just finished dinner at TGI Fridays. Enjoyed their Dragonfish Chicken or similar which was supposed to be low fat but basically just ended up being too sweet instead. Oh well, at least I have not had a proper dinner and might be able to avoid eating too much on the plane instead.

I do feel quite slim and nice at the moment, so hopefully this feeling sticks around when I land in London as well in a few hours!

..today I missed out on my second set of Hydroxycut. Basically I have been out and about sine 6am this morning.. Got up at 6am and had a protein bar before going to the gym for a nice session on the cross trainer and then some weights to work on my arms followed by some pilates moves for my stomach. Had breakfast at the hotel, scrambled eggs with two rashes of bacon and two slices of papaya before getting on the taxi bus to Jaco.

Had another cereal bar and a chilled green tea mid way to Jaco in order to keep me going. Wandered around a bit in Jaco before heading to Playa Hermosa.. A super beautiful beach where I really wished I could have gotten into my bikini and jumped into the water. Unfortunately I had all my other stuff to worry about that I didnt want to leave on the beach. Had a beer and a chicken ceasar salad for lunch before heading back to Jaco. Had an icecream before jumping on the bus back to San Jose.

My dinner tonight has not been very nutritious, had a fibre bar and an apple, followed by a few peanuts.. I know, I know, its not great, but I am not really hungry in the heat. Its only 7.30 but I am already quite exhausted and will most likely retire pretty soon, and instead get up around 6am again for another lovely session on the cross trainer!

My Gym Trainer workouts are for anyone who is a relative beginner to gym exercise and who:

 - Wants to get the most out of their gym membership
 - Wants to improve their physical appearance, conditioning and health
 - Wants to improve their emotional and mental well-being
 - Wants to feel better about themselves and their life
 - Has reached a plateau and is ready for a new challenge
 - Can’t afford a personal trainer but would like the benefits
 - Utilizes a personal trainer and wants additional professional workouts

In addition, My Gym Trainer is very useful for busy trainers as a handy, at-your-fingertips integrated workout program they can incorporate for new clients.

My Gym Trainer:
 - Provides six workouts per week, averaging an hour each.
 - Structures workouts for best results: approximately 50% cardiovascular and 50% strengthening and toning.

CLICK HERE to purchase My Gym Trainer!

For more information, visit: http://www.mytrainerfitness.com

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Day 6 has only just started and I still have a bit of a “rollover” effect from my mood from yesterday. Quite weepy actually. Damn.. I guess the wine from yesterday didn’t exactly help either.

Started the day with my two capsules and a glass of hot lemon water and a few grapes. Will have some yoghurt as well with granola before heading off to my first meeting. The plan for today is to eat a mini breakfast at home, a mid day snack in the form of a protein bar and a lunch after 2pm once my other meeting has ended. A bit of a weird break down for eating times, but oh well, you do what you can.

Im still feeling weepy, and somewhat dreading taking the second set of Hydroxycut in about an hour..

***
Today’s second batch wasnt too bad actually. I didnt really feel that much of it, so I guess I am getting used to it.. Finished work a bit early, but decided against doing any exercise in the end. Got home, had a lovely dinner, salad with chicken and esparagus, prepared by the lovely Joel.. <3 He has prepared a lunch box for me tomorrow with another yummy salad..

Finally I just ended up enjoying some grapes and a bit of echinacea tea, and feeling quite calm in general. But I dont think I have drank enough water today. Must remember do drink more tomorrow.

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, I encourage my clients to follow a healthy diet (as in daily intake, not restriction) and exercise plan to stay in good physical shape. The goal of nutritioulicious™ is to help you eat healthy food that also tastes good, but unfortunately I’m not a fitness expert, so my services in that department only go so far. Lucky for me, I know a fabulous personal trainer who can give you the guidance I can’t. TrainerDiva Elena Ciccotelli is here to help you burn fat without sacrificing delicious food!

The Number One Secret That Burns More Fat

By Elena Ciccotelli

As we embark upon our 2010 fitness resolutions many of us are weighing in. It’s happening right now all across America. Can you hear it? The resounding thud of countless resolution-ers all stepping onto the dreaded scale, surveying the damage, and facing the music. Sound familiar? Of course it does, because we’ve all been there! But before you go running to the nearest treadmill for an hour sweat-a-thon, remember that weight training sessions are a much more effective fat burner than cardio. Here’s why.

Muscle is much more metabolically active, burns more calories, than fat. Therefore, when you spend more time on a weight training routine and less time on a cardio regiment, you are building more lean muscle in your body. This will ultimately help you burn more calories at rest. Did you know that one pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories at rest? This means you can burn up to 50 calories while doing absolutely nothing! Let’s say you added 10 pounds of muscle to your body. In one week you will burn an extra 3,500 calories just by sitting on the sofa. Not too shabby! Even better, the extra 3,500 calories you just burned is equal to one pound of fat.

However, don’t expect the number on the scale to drop drastically at first. Many of us weigh ourselves on the scale to determine our success rate. But ironically, weighing yourself on a scale is not the best way to measure improvement in health and fitness levels. In fact, just using this method of measurement will discourage you when you find out that your weight has not changed significantly since you started weight training. What the scale doesn’t tell you is that while your weight has not changed, your body fat to lean muscle mass ratio has probably changed. Muscle tissue takes up less space in your body than fat, therefore the volume or size of one pound of fat is much larger than one pound of muscle tissue. This explains why you may have dropped a few inches around the waist, chest, and legs but your weight remains the same.

So before you judge yourself too harshly or resign yourself to just eating celery sticks and tuna for the start of 2010, make sure you include weight training into your exercise program. Also, be sure to get your body fat percentage and size measurements of body parts (i.e. waist, hips, thigh, etc.) taken in order to get a more accurate baseline analysis. Just remember: inches always come off before pounds and before long you’ll notice the waist in your jeans getting a bit loose.

Since 2008, Elena Ciccotelli has been helping busy professional women feel empowered, lose weight and improve their quality of life. Her personal training sessions focus on total body resistance exercises, weight training, and stretching to safely achieve faster results and remain motivated. Ms. Ciccotelli is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College and a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer through the American Aerobic Association International & International Sports Medicine Association (AAI/ISMA). For more information, contact TrainerDiva, Inc. at trainerdiva.com.

By Rob Poulos, Fat Loss & Fitness Expert & Creator of ‘Fat Burning Furnace’

The majority of exercisers today still rely on long duration moderate paced aerobic exercise as their primary routine to burn fat fast.  But recent studies have shown that this is a big, I mean big mistake.  In fact, you could say that the whole aerobics explosion of a few decades past was one of the biggest mistakes in the health and fitness industry.  Why?

There are several reasons, but I’ll focus on the two main issues here.  When you exercise at a moderate pace for extended periods of time (as in the typically recommended percent of your target heart rate), your body is burning fat during the exercise.  While this may sound good, it’s actually bad news.

This sends a signal to your body to keep a certain amount of stored fat available for your next workout.  You’re essentially telling it that it needs fat available to burn, ‘because you’ll be doing this exercise again.  So while we may be burning some calories during this exercise, after the exercise is over, our body begins storing up some fat for the next workout.  Obviously not what we’re looking for in terms of maximum ability to burn fat fast.

The other big concern with moderately paced aerobic exercise performed several times per week is that it trains your body (heart, lungs, muscles, etc.) to become efficient.  Again, this may sound good, but what is actually happening is bad for long term health.  You are working only within your existing aerobic limits, without improving your aerobic capacity.

This is important because your aerobic capacity is what determines how your body responds in times of physical, emotional, and mental stress.  If you reduce your capacity for work, as you do in this type of exercise, you’re reducing your long term health, no to mention a poor chance of burning fat.

The good news is, you can reverse these effects by instead focusing your workouts on high intensity resistance training, with workouts that last 15-20 minutes on average, and can only be performed 2-3 times per week.

These workouts will burn carbohydrates instead of fat during the workout, and will cause your body to use its fat stores to replenish the burned carbs over the next 24 hours, after the workout is done!  This type of work will also increase your reserve capacity and thus your ability to handle all types of stress, leading to lasting health and fitness…and 24/7 fat burning.  Nice!

But the exercise must be performed correctly to be effective, and that means using sufficient intensity, and keeping your rest periods between exercises and sets down to 60 seconds or less.

The students of my Fat Burning Furnace method know this, and are reaping the benefits.  When you think about how little time you have to spend compared to the typically recommended methods to get these fat burning and health creating results, it’s almost magical.

Claim your free copy of Rob Poulos’s “7 Secrets Of Permanent Fat Loss & Fitness” at his website:FatBurningFurnace.com

Rob Poulos is a celebrated fitness author, fat loss expert, and the founder and CEO of Zero to Hero Fitness.  Rob created the world’s most efficient method for fast and permanent fat loss with his “Fat Burning Furnace” system to help those looking to put an end to restrictive fad diets, long boring cardio workouts, and the need for super-human willpower for good.
If you’re thinking about using the Fat Burning Furnace system yourself, but still have a few questions, make sure you visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Also, it may help to read about the success stories of others like you to see how people in similar situations have changed their bodies and their lives with the techniques in FBF.

But you may become anxious to get started on your new body right now, so you can also click the button below to get started right now.  Remember, you have a full 60 days to decide if it’s right for you.  If not, just email me and we’ll issue you a full refund and I’ll thank you for trying it out…it’s that simple!

Posted by James Dean at ItHurts.com

There are many great things about starting an aerobics program for your body. One of the greatest things about aerobics is that you can use it to burn fat in ways that are easier on your body than dieting. It is very simple to burn fat using aerobics as exercise, because there are many ways that you can train your body to do the work that it is supposed to in order to really get the most out of the aerobics that you are doing.

While you are building up a sweat and working on your heart rate, all of your muscles are also getting great things out of the aerobics work that you are doing. As you bring new blood and oxygen to all of your body systems, you are going to find that you are giving yourself the best chance to really get rid of all that unwanted fat as you go along. Working hard to burn fat is something that you can finally take control of when you are doing aerobics on a regular basis.

When you body is in constant motion, all of the body systems are working hard to maintain body functions at a normal rate. Because your muscles need to be moving more, your heart is going to have to work harder because the only way to get your muscles to move faster is to supply them with more blood and therefore more oxygen. Because your heart has to work harder your lungs need to work harder to provide your heart with the oxygen that it needs to keep pumping.

All of these things are going to work in tandem with each other to make a situation in which you are really getting the most out of your entire work out. When all of these systems are working together, you are going to find that you are much stronger than you think you would be. As your entire body fights to work harder, you are going to find that actually you are burning fat because your body needs energy to keep moving and to stay moving at a certain rate. It will find this energy in the stored pockets of fat that you have in your body. All of these things are going to happen quickly, and you will find that you are going to be much better off as you start to work out using aerobics more often. Want to know the best part of aerobics? Well, the truth is, because you rev’d up your body, it will burn extra fat for hours after your workout!

Assist your Aerobic workout and Turn your fatburning game on all day!
Join DrinkACT for Free and get wholesale energy and weight loss products!

Dear fitness friends,

find my “Forrest Workout” in the exercise section (or follow this link to get there: The Forrest Workout). I execute this kind of workout (in combination with some typical exercises like e.g. lunges, lunges with twist, back rollup, bent forward twist – soon in the exercise section) 2-3 times per week, depending on my training shedule. Training in the forrest is one of my favourites – lots of fresh air and you really can focus on your training without any distractions. I change long slow distance run and high repetition sets with Fartlek (changing pace during running) or interval training (e.g. sprinting 200-400 m, rest 200-400 m, 3 times in a row) with low repetition sets and powerful/fast paced execution. The changes of speed in running and strenght exercises are very important to train your bodys ability in burning fat, improving your energy depots and building up a sportive agility.

Try it! If you do not have stationary training close to your living place, be creative. E.g. you can take an old Karate-belt for chin ups and doing the rest of the workout on a bench or even the ground.

Interval training has been shown to be the most effective cardiovascular training method for improving cardiovascular endurance, sport-specific performance, boosting metabolic rate, and burning fat!

With such amazing accolades to its name, interval training should be used by anyone and everyone interested in any of the aforementioned benefits.

But how do you start interval training? What cardio machines do you use? And what type of interval training protocol do you follow?

To make your life much easier, I’ve taken the time to answer these questions by providing you with some tried, tested, and true interval cardio programs that will spice up your workouts – and in less time!

Throw these interval workouts alongside your resistance training workouts 2-3 times per week and just watch how you’re going to look and feel. Ensure that you get a good 5-10 minute warm-up before beginning your interval workouts.

Running Workout #1

Purpose: burning fat

Interval protocol: 10 sec @ 100%: 30 sec @ 60% x 18 = 12 minutes

Running Workout #2

Purpose: speed/anaerobic running endurance (great for 5k runners)

Interval training protocol: 1 minute @ 85%: 2 minutes @ 60% x 5 = 15 minutes

Running Workout #3

Purpose: aerobic power endurance and metabolism boost for maximum post-workout calorie “afterburn”.

Interval protocol: 2 minutes @ 90%: 1 minute @ 60% x 4 = 12 minutes

Yuri Elkaim is one of the world’s leading fitness and sports conditioning experts. You can take his Treadmill Trainer interval training running programs for a free test spin by visiting mytreadmilltrainer.com and learn more about the best running workouts to get you fitter and running faster than ever before!

We’ve all been there before…We say we’re going to get in shape for the new year, we purchase a gym membership, and then 3 weeks into it we fall out and stop going. Here are some simple yet commonly overlooked tips for reversing this viscious cycle:

1. Write it down!
Writing down your daily activities (not work related) will help to focus your mind, and not allow external distractions from interfering with your workout.

2. Do or do not do, there is no try.
If you say to yourself that your going to the gym, then do it. Don’t back out because once you start doing that, then it will almost impossible to get back into the habit of a weekly routine.

3. Plan it out
Plan time for the gym every week. We all have busy lives so knowing when your free time is can be valuable information when planning your gym time into your routine.

4. Make the exercise COUNT
Ok we’ve gotten you to the gym and you’ve stuck with. Your farther ahead then many other people at this point. Now that your at the gym, make the most of your limited time by performing exercises that will challenge your muscles and cause growth overtime, while also burning fat.

5. Stick to it!
Not stopping because you’ve stagnated with your workouts is a very challenging hurdle to overcome. Once you start to notice that you don’t feel as ‘pumped’, or you are bored with the exercise your performing, change up your routine. Research and choose a new routine which will jumpstart your muscles and cause the fat burning, muscle building pump that you had at the beginning of your new routine. This will help keep you at the gym longer, and you will reach your goals, whatever they may be.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you did and would like to read more, please visit http://www.secretsforlosingfat.com

Move more… and eat less!  We’ve all heard this time and again. Well it’s sort of true. You do need to watch what you eat and reduce calories to lose weight. But the fact of the matter is, just cutting back on calories may hurt you by reducing your muscle mass, which is just the opposite of losing FAT!

The BETTER News is Move More and Eat More Often… Eating 6 or 7 small portion controlled healthy meals all through the day,  is a great way to get your body revved up while you’re: burning fat not muscle. You’ll be in a better mood which your co-workers and family will appreciate, and this will help to control your blood sugars!  Best of all, if you do it right - YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT & GET HEALTHY!

Calories In v.s Energy Out

You’ve got to get moving in your day.

STOP fighting it.  Just make a decision to START. AND DO IT!

I’m not talking about running 30 miles your first day or this time next year.  I am suggesting a:

15 to 20 walk every day. Walk the neighborhood or a mall.

Taking the stairs.

Parking at the end of the lot instead of next to the door.

Take the kids or the dog to the park and play. (If you have a crazy cat like me… take the dog… and the cat will follow!

Stretching every day during TV commercials! That means getting out of the chair and touching your toes a couple of times an hour.

Bottom line is:  MOVE IT!

Start out easy… and work up to 30 minutes.

All you need is a pair of tennis shoes and a jacket.

Oh, don’t forget the dog.  He/she will thank you later!

A 30 minute walk is a good way to get moving.

Don’t wait for January to roll around.

Start now!

 Send me your comments at: Joyce@Blonskij.com

Take a first step and get moving… lose weight and feel great. Take Shape For Life

One of the main tenants of Middle Management, and the foundation of the FatLossAcademy.com (enrollment is currently full) is small changes lead to big, permanent results in the long run. Here is another one that might just help you drop an extra 6 pounds each year.

We already know that drinking water to lose weight is a good idea. But did you know that, with one easy trick, you can burn another 64 calories each day?

Make that an ice water, and you could burn an extra 64 calories per day.

How is that you ask?

It turns out, that if you drink 8 ounces of ice water, you burn about 8 calories when you body works to raise the temperature of the water (from about 4 degrees C to 37.5 degrees C).

If you drink eight 8 ounce glasses per day, that is 64 extra calories burned every day.

Interestingly, Chow.com makes it sound like this is a waste of time:

Dividing 8,040 by 1,000 gives us 8.04 food calories (kilocalories). Therefore, you’ll burn about 8 calories for each glass of iced calorie-free beverage you drink. That’s equal to about one Life Saver: not exactly a weight-loss miracle.

Using Clemens’s figures, it would take about 435 8-ounce glasses of ice water to lose a pound.

Ummm… McFly!?! (sorry for the Back to the Future reference)…

Yeah, we wouldn’t want to waste our time… with…

WAIT A SECOND!

Those calories add up!

If I drink 8 glasses per day, then I would lose an extra 6 pounds per year.

Add that to your 100 equals 10 plan, and you are up to 16 pounds per year.

Now, that’s real weight loss!

For $149 you can get a DNA test that will tell you how your body reacts to certain foods, and provide you with diet recommendations to help you lose weight and keep it off.

Basically, the test checks for three things:

• How much fat from you absorb from your diet.
• How your body metabolizes carbohydrates, and
• How you respond to exercise.

Does anybody want to guess where this is going?

The recommendations from this test don’t seem to be much different than advice you might read here at this blog or hundreds of others like it. And I can assure you that you won’t have to pay me $149 (though if you want to, I won’t refuse it).

According to several sources (Fitness Tech Examiner, CBS4.com), the recommendations from the test are not all that different from simply following the governments dietary guidelines.

Both articles cited above use Amy Katsis as an example. After struggling with many diets, she took the DNA test. The recommendation?

Reduce carbs, more exercise.

Interestingly, the president of Inherent Health (the DNA testing company) had this to say (from the CBS4.com article):

It’s not a magic diet. It is in fact an indication. A very clear indication of how an individual’s body works with certain foods and not with others… The test told me that I would benefit from a reduced carbohydrate diet. [emphasis mine]

Hmmm, a reduced carbohydrate diet. I am going to go out on a limb and say that most results are likely to recommend a lower carb or lower fat diet. And more exercise.

Why?

Because it works. But we already knew that, didn’t we?

In fact, quoting from the CBS4.com article,

Joan Salge Blake is a registered dietitian and author of “Nutrition and You.” She said the number of obese Americans has doubled since 1980, and that’s not simply a question of genetics. “What has changed is our environment, our lifestyle, the way we eat,” Blake said.

Better diet, more exercise. That is at the core of everything you have read from Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com and this blog. And it cost you much less than $149.

Are you familiar with the old TV show called the A-Team? If not (or if you can’t remember if you are) check out the intro below.

At the end of each episode, the ringleader, Hannibal Smith, says…

I love it when a plan comes together…

What’s funny, is they always came up with some of the craziest plans you have ever seen. And they always worked.

Much of it was because it is the magic of television… you don’t even necessarily need to obey fundamental laws of physics.

But this isn’t about that. It’s about what can we learn from the show.

So, other than the fact that it was TV, what other reasons might there be for the plans always working?

Hmmm… (taps chin while entering deep thought mode)…

Ah ha! Maybe this quote from Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan will help point us in the right direction…

It is not good enough for things to be planned – they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation.

Yes, yes. That is it.

It is what make the plan come together. What is “it,” you ask?

Execution.

None of the plans, no matter how crazy or sane, the A-Team came up with would have worked if they just stopped with the plan.

It was only when they put the plan into action that they even had a chance of being successful. And even when it appeared to be going all wrong, they focused and continued to execute… They didn’t give up when the going got tough.

And that is lesson number 2 from the A-Team…

As Michael Jordan once said

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

The same is true with building muscle or burning fat. You can find plans to do both in magazines and at Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com.

Until you put those plans into action, and then stick with them, tweaking as necessary, you won’t succeed. It takes more than planning… it takes action and perseverance to be successful in the long run.

There are pills, powders and supplements for almost everything…

• Burn Fat
• Build Muscle
• More Protein
• Feel Good
• More Energy
• Look Younger
• Lift More Weight
• Feel Less Hungry

That list is long and varied.

What is the one thing you will never find a supplement for?

Hard work.

And do you know what’s really strange? Most of those supplements you can buy at the store won’t get you to the body you really want by themselves.

You have to supplement the supplements with old fashioned hard work.

Do you ever wish you had the perfect body? That you are fit?

I remember when I was overweight. Before I wasn’t overweight (come on – who am I kidding, I was fat), I used to sit around and think about the days when I was skinny and muscular. I wished that I could have that body again. That was my dream…

Do you have similar dreams?

Well, make them real. Make a plan. Take action… as Douglas Everett, Canadian Senator once said…

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.

What I did, in the years after college, was turn my reality into a dream. I was that guy, the athlete. The body I wanted. Confidence.

I turned my reality into a dream. After a few years, I could only dream of that body. Then I had to reverse the process…

Turn my dream back into my reality. It took a decision to take action, and then a devotion to that mission… I could have the body I wanted. And, over time, that dream once again became a reality.

Probably the favorite piece of gym and home fitness equipment amongst clients I have worked with is the Cross Trainer. But is it actually any good for getting fit and burning fat?

I will compare the Cross Trainer to other aerobic/cardiovascular machines, the rower, the treadmill and the bike.

Firstly the Cross Trainer isn’t the best choice, in fact its the worst in terms of its fat burning potential. Why?

Because the machine is in a very ‘fixed motion.’ I.e. the machine is always going to go in the same direction and place no matter what you do. Unlike the rower or treadmill for example, where it is up to you to control your movement.

This means that a lot less muscles are engaged on the cross trainer. All the supporting and surrounding muscles of the legs do not need to engage and work. The result of this is you burn less fat.

So don’t get carried away with the calorie counter on the cross trainer. It’s totally inaccurate and does not give a realistic representation of the fat that you are burning.

Today’s Takeaway – Choose the rower, treadmill or bike over a cross trainer. You will engage more muscles and burn more fat.

Each and every day, I try to improve a little… learn from my mistakes… grow. I think we all should.

One of the most often quoted folks in the world, Unknown, aka Anonymous, once said…

“Aim for a 1% improvement every single day”

This small improvement each and every day will lead directly to BIG changes in a fairly short amount of time.

That is because, as Albert Einstein (not as often quoted as Unknown, but quoted a lot, nonetheless), once said…

The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.

In fact, if you make a 1% improvement today on your diet and exercise plan, and then a 1% improvement tomorrow, and then keep going, you would be over 3000% (that’s not a typo) better by the end of the year!

At Build-Muscle-and-Burn-Fat.com Middle Management, I constantly harp on making small changes, usually just one small change per week… in my opinion that is the easisiet way to sustainable, long-term improvement.

After all, if you made a 1% improvement each week (like I suggest at the FatLossAcademy.com), at the end of the year you would still be 168% better at the end of the year.

We all have things we want to be better at, not just burning fat or building muscle. The power of small lasting changes, compounded over time, leads to permanent big changes.

Remember this next time you come across a diet or fitness plan that suggest sweeping wholesale changes. You don’t need to make a bunch of big changes all at once.

Start small. End big.

Many people believe in the myth that if they quit working out their muscle will turn into fat. Fat does not turn into muscle, nor does muscle turn into fat. Some believe that  they can turn their fat into muscle when they work out, whereas they are really burning fat and gaining muscle. Muscle turning into fat is simply just a myth, the two tissues are totally different. When somebody quits weight training they may eventually lose muscle mass from not continuing the program, but it won’t turn into fat. Furthermore, when training stops  people rarely change their increased appetite patterns that arose as a result of increased metabolism. The cessation of training and overeating may result in an increase in body weight. Muscle tissue is more complex and specialized than fat cells.

Katie

The thing about losing weight, is that it’s hard. That is, until it isn’t all that hard.

I was having a conversation the other day with a friend, who happened to ask me what the secret was to my success in burning fat and building muscle…

My answer?

2 weeks.

My theory is this:

If you can make it through the first 2 weeks, it is all down hill from there. Those 2 weeks are hard. The next 2 not so much. The 2 after that, easier still.

But you have to remember, you can’t go off the deep end, and you can’t lose all the weight overnight.

I look back on a time when I could eat an entire large pizza, all the meats, extra cheese. In one sitting.

I can’t do that today. I would feel like I were going to explode.

And when I started gaining weight, I couldn’t do it either. But gradually, I ate more and more at meals, and throughout the day.

You have to reverse that process slowly, until you get down to some reasonable calorie intake.

Thomas Fuller, English historian, once said

All things are difficult before they are easy.

That is especially true in this case. When you start cutting calories, even by 500 or so (net) per week, you will feel hungry. You have to give yourself time to adjust.

Once you get through that 2 weeks, you not only allow your body to acclimate itself to a new habit, you also let your brain know that YOU CAN DO IT.

That new mental focus leads to increased motivation, which leads to long term success… a success, for me at least, that has become easier and easier to achieve with each passing week.