I used to do hours of cardio. The 1 hour runs. The 7-day weeks. But I never got my body fat down to 8.3% until I stopped all the cardio training. Instead of cardio, here’s what actually worked for me: 1. SIMPLE DAILY DISCIPLINES Easy To Do Easy Not To Do These simple disciplines compounded over time equal Positive or Negative results. 2. VERY LIMITED REST DURING YOUR WORKOUT Rest for no more than 30 seconds in between sets & 45 seconds if you absolutely have to. Don’t let your heart rate slow down to less than 75% of maximum target heart rate. For information on how to find your target heart rate (see below). 3. DRINK ENOUGH WATER Drink roughly a half ounce of water per pound of body-weight per day. Do not drink huge amounts of water all in one sitting. Make sure you spread this consumption out over the course of the entire day, and remember if you’re eating a healthy diet as much as 20% of your total water consumption can come from the foods you eat. 4. EAT 6 TIMES PER DAY Make sure to plan your meals and snacks ahead of time, otherwise you’ll end up somewhere without options. Do not under any circumstances go longer than 3 hours without eating. 5. KNOW WHAT TO EAT, HOW MUCH TO EAT, AND WHEN The timing of meals and snacks is key, it’s important to understand your schedule as well as your body. Under no circumstances should your biggest meal of the day be dinner, nor should you eat 2-3 hours before resting. 6. ALWAYS TRAIN WITH HIGH INTENSITY The mind-muscle link is crucial, and I mean it. Concentrate on the muscle(s) you are working every time you train. If part of your training includes a brisk walk or jog, YOU should be thinking about your calves, quads, hamstrings and glutes. That’s how focused you need to be. High intensity doesn’t mean high reps, it means keep your pace up and consistent and your mind laser focused. Implement this and you’ll experience results like never before! 7. SWEAT EVERY DAMN TIME You should always sweat during your workouts. If you’re not sweating then your body isn’t changing. If you don’t work up a decent sweat while training then consider it a REST DAY – Period! 8. SUPPLEMENTS The more nutrients you can get from actual and natural foods the better. Do not be afraid to supplement if need be. Just make sure you know what you’re putting in your body every time. You cannot afford to go even one day without the proper nutrition your body requires to work and change. 9. NO CONSECUTIVE REST DAYS One full day of rest is plenty, unless of course you have injured yourself or are sickly. This is especially important to follow initially as you form your exercise habits. DO NOT take consecutive days off, it’s just not necessary. Did you know it takes 30 solid, consistent days to form a single habit? 10. FIND SUBSTITUTES FOR DAIRY There are plenty of great substitutes for dairy. You can get your calcium from lots of different sources. Do not consume dairy, it’s just does not do your body one bit of good. Don’t take it from me do your own homework! Almond Milk or Coconut Milk are just as tasty and are packed with calcium. 11. RESISTANCE TRAINING Always train with resistance, this could mean; body-weight exercises, movements with dumbbells or resistance bands, and even some plyometrics. I would stay away from machines, they are poor for your range of motion and do not offer the same benefits as other methods. 12. SET GOALS Run a series of short races, it’s not supposed to be one giant marathon. Pay close attention to your simple daily disciplines; run fast, ferociously, and with extreme focus to each new finish line (goal). Do not set unrealistic goals, but do not set easily achievable goals either. Challenge yourself ALWAYS! Remember, what gets measured gets improved; time, weight, reps, waist… You catch my drift..! I wish you amazing success on your journey. Stay positive, patient and consistent. Remember, by the time you see results, most of the work will have already been done. To Your Success ~ Michael Tweet 0 Share 0 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
The responses via Instagram have been great. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, then check out my profile here: instagram.com/morellifit I’ve been asking for questions from my followers. And here’s the latest question from Nancy and Al. “How to decrease body fat percentage: I incorporated cardio and weights, and my diet is pretty healthy in low-fat items, but my percentage stays at 20%. I’m stuck.” That’s a great question everyone can benefit from. And, here I’ll share a few major points that can help. Point #1: Dialing In Your Diet Diet is always the first piece of the puzzle. Once you have your diet dialed in you can still get good results even if your training program is not perfect. However, if you have everything perfect with your training program, but you’re eating the wrong diet, you will never see the results you want – and you will get very frustrated. Nancy referenced low-fat items in her question. This was the first red flag that I spotted. Healthy fats won’t make you fat. They are actually very good for you. So, instead of focusing on low-fat items, you should begin to eliminate processed foods from your diet. Remove processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugars from your diet. Instead, focus on whole foods from as close to nature as possible, such as: Fish Fowl Nuts Seeds Lean meats Vegetables Fruit (small amount) If you just make these changes, you will quickly see a reduction in your body-fat levels. Now that you know what to eat and what to avoid, let’s look at how to structure your meals throughout the day. Point #2: Structuring Your Meals I advise eating 5 to 6 meals per day, 2 to 3 hours apart. Meal 1 – protein/fats/carbs (1/3 from each food group) Meal 2 – protein/fats/carbs (1/3 from each food group) Meal 3 – protein/fats/carbs (1/3 from each food group) Meal 4 – protein/fats (2/3 from protein) Meal 5 – protein (all calories from protein) Calorie intake per meal Meal 1 – 25% of your daily calories Meal 2 – 25% of your daily calories Meal 3 – 25% of your daily calories Meal 4 – 18.75% of your daily calories Meal 5 – 6.25% of your daily calories You will need to work out your BMR (see my previous articles for details), in order to figure out your actual calorie numbers. You Don’t Need to Count Calories You don’t need to count each calorie that you consume. But, you should have a general idea of the quantity of calories from each food group. This is the reason that I use the pie charts, as a general way to measure. Point #3: Training Here are important training points to help you unstuck and burning fat. Complete a dynamic warm-up (5 to 10 minutes) Use heavy weights. Create a workout around one major lift, and then use a few smaller exercises (40 minutes) Emphasize HIIT cardio training (20 minutes). You can find lots of these workouts via my Instagram profile. Stretch to cool down (5 minutes). Summary Use the tips and suggestions above and you will see a reduction in your body fat. If you just make the diet changes, you will start to see a big difference in your body composition. But when you combine the diet changes with the fitness program , you will be amazed at your transformation. Tweet 4 Share 85 +1 3 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
Halloween can be a scary time a year for any parent trying to keep their kids from becoming over loaded on the excessively sugar laden treats so popular on this holiday. But as a parent the struggle to not take all the fun out of the holiday puts pressure on you to let your kids participate in the festivities. Fortunately, there are several ways to enjoy the holiday in a healthier way. With a little bit of planning and creativity, your kids can participate with out becoming filled up with processed sugar or junk. The Halloween Fairy: Planning on the amount, the number of edible treats, your children can keep and have ahead of time prevents having to make the hard decision later. Ten pieces of candy seems like a lot until you are staring into a four lb. bag of sugary treats. Let your children know that they can keep “x” amount of treats and the rest get traded to the Halloween Fairy for a toy they desire. After picking the treats they are going to actually hang onto, the remaining candy gets left outside to be traded. Parents can then do away with excess candy and in it’s place leave the toys they were traded for. Kids feel like they get some of the treats they went out for and feel good about trading the rest for something they really want instead. The Pre-Treat Trick: For parents who know a majority of the houses they will trick or treat at, going around before hand and handing out treats, that they approve of, helps prevent any bad treats coming home in the first place. This trick comes from a parent whose child had such severe allergies that they had to provide all of the treats they would be getting to the houses that they visited. The same trick can help in preventing the sugar laden snack from making into your child’s bag in the first place. The Halloween Party: If you are lucky enough to find yourself in a group of like minded parents who do not enjoy fighting with their kids about why they can’t have ten candy bars, then planning a party is an easy way to enjoy Halloween. Finding a large yard and several parents who want to avoid the sugar overload is the perfect way to throw a costume party for your kids. Children get to dress up and play games and have fun without being handed bags of sweets. Instead of candy, parents can bring healthier alternatives and give out smalls trinkets and toys. Plus, by the time the kids have worn themselves out from all the fun, the last thing they will be thinking about is what candy they might be missing out on. With a little bit of thought and preplanning, the holiday does not have to turn into a hyperactive cavity fest. Let your kids know what the plans you have for the holiday are, and get excited about dressing up. The holiday is about imagination and fun, not just gorging on junk food. Holidays do not have to be a heath train wreck for parents who wish to stick with their health goals for their families. Tweet 0 Share 0 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
What’s your fitness goal? Want to get bigger, stronger or leaner? If so, then the “time under tension” concept is something that you need to pay attention to. This is something very rarely talked about in fitness circles. By just focusing on the total amount of time during each set, you can train your muscles to respond in the appropriate way. The more you make this a habit, the quicker you will reach your goal (either weight loss, strength building or muscle mass). The obvious next question is: How to know if you’re training for mass, strength or endurance Well, you can do this by manipulating rest, reps and set time. However, there is also another more powerful way. In simple terms, this is done by changing your set timing technique. This is what’s known as “time under tension”. TUT is a way to calculate the total amount of work that you place on your muscles. It also refers to the amount of resistance you place on your muscles for a given set. For example, you have the concentric phase of a movement and the eccentric phase (see the video for a clear example). If both phases took 3 seconds to complete, the TUT time for that repetition is 6 seconds. So, if your set includes 10 reps, then each set contains 60 seconds of time under tension. Obviously, if you work faster, then the TUT will be shorter (and give you different results). Why TUT matters to you It is important so that you train in the right range to meet your goals (either building muscle mass, strength or muscular endurance). Let’s look at what the recent studies show us: If your goal is strength – aim for 1-6 reps per set, with 20 seconds of less TUT. If your goal is muscle mass – aim for 8-12 reps per set, with 60 seconds TUT. If your goal is endurance – aim for 15-30 reps per set with 90 seconds TUT. If you are not falling into the right rep range, then you will actually be training your body for another goal. For obvious reasons, you need to know what you are doing in each rep, so you can adjust your TUT for your stated goals. As such, you can see that this information is very valuable to ensure you stay on track and hit your goals. TUT will let you train for your specific goals. This means you will need a stopwatch or to use a partner to keep track of time. On caveat: Always vary your workouts If you have seen my other videos, then you will know that I advocate muscle confusion. I like to say: “keep your muscles guessing – keep your muscle growing”. This means that you still need to make changes to your workouts as you progress. Never simply stick to one type of workout program, as your body will soon adapt. In terms of TUT, you should vary the time and the rep numbers, but stay within your target range. Start Applying TUT in your workout Start to think about the amount of time your muscles are under tension. This can be done during every repetition that you work through. If you start to focus on a specific number of seconds for each rep, you will find your muscles respond in a much more specific way (in line with your goals). Let’s get fit together! Tweet 0 Share 1 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
For a long time, mobility work and stretching were not high priorities. I was interested in gains I could see, so lifting was my one and only concern for almost a decade. Boy, was I wrong… The impact that mobility work and stretching have made on my ability to function better overall and in the gym, has been amazing. If only I would have implemented this self-maintenance type of work sooner, I would be even more proficient. Now it’s part of my everyday routine, whether I train or not. I have found that when you take care of your body by combining the right foods (whole foods) with some daily maintenance (foam rolling), you simply perform better. And this carries over into your everyday life, increasing the quality of it. Foam roiling, also known as “myofascial release,” offers some huge benefits. For example, foam rolling has proven to: Smooth and lengthen the muscles Break up adhesions and scar tissue Help your muscles relax Increase blood circulation Speed-up workout recovery and boosts performance I STRONGLY encourage you to implement some foam rolling into your daily routine. Start with 10 to15 minutes and work up from there based on how your body responds. You can find basic foam rollers on Amazon for under $20. The one I use in the video is made by TriggerPoint, it’s the GRID foam roller, and it starts at $40. Implement the routine post-workout as instructed in the video. After a few weeks, come back and leave me a message. I would love to know how this is working for you. Tweet 1 Share 0 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
There isn’t a day that goes by where an email doesn’t come in from someone asking about nutrition, specifically macro percentages for fat loss. With so much contradicting info out on the web these days, who do you trust. If you know my story, then you know I was you not too long ago. I was sick and tired of being misled, and finally I sought out the very best in health and fitness. In addition to countless certifications I am now going through Optimum Performance Training (OPT). They have an amazing program that is backed by thousands of tests and trials. These are tests from people all across the board; from athletes to regular people just looking for some body composition changes. I am so blessed to be learning under such a great group of fitness professionals, and James Fitzgerald the founder of OPT is a genius. He genuinely cares about his students and clients, and you can tell the money piece means absolutely nothing to him. It’s all about real health and/or performance, and that’s exactly what I believe in and stand for. The nutrition prescription I present in this video is one of many different kinds I have learned. It’s important to understand that nutrition is NOT a one size fits all type of deal. With that in mind, the 40/40/20 macro breakdown does work well for a lot of people who seek body composition changes. Ideally the goal is to start a bit higher with the carbs and work your way down to about 10% based on how you feel and function. That’s they key here, because we all need different nutrition prescriptions it’s critical that as you implement any new diet that you are aware of mood, energy, and sleep. I usually start my clients out with a 35/35/30 macro prescription, with the end goal of 40/50/10. Again, we are talking about clients with the main goal of body recomposition. Where it gets challenging is when you have someone who wants body recomposition but also wants performance, as these two goals do not go hand in hand. What I prescribe for a hard charging athlete is much different from that of someone with some fat to lose. A hard charging athlete is going to have a different training protocol and therefor will need a different dose of proteins, fats, and carbs (PFC). I highly encourage you to make sure you have your diet dialed in with quality foods before you even begin shifting macros around. If you don’t eliminate processed foods, refined carbs and sugars, macro breakdowns are meaningless. Phase 1 of nutrition prescription is as follows: Protein Food Quality Hydration Intolerance Tracking Frequency and Consistency Only after these 5 things are dialed in should you begin to take a look at and shift around your macros. With that in mind, as you begin to fill in your macros, use the following template for huge fat loss success: Fish/Fowl Lean Meats Vegetables Little Fruit Little Starch No Sugar Lastly, be patient, stay the course, train hard, and let’s get fit together. Tweet 0 Share 2 +1 1 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
Does eating fat make you fat? If you’ve read some of the mainstream diet books and magazines then you will have heard this saying. Unfortunately, it is misleading and causes lots of people to take the wrong diet approach. Such people will remove all fats from their diet. In doing so, they will eat processed foods labeled “zero fat”, and other manufactured foods. In the end, they actually gain more body fat as a result. I have heard such stories from many people who eventually get so confused, they are close to giving up on their weight loss goal. The truth is that fats are needed by the body. However, we need to separate the good fats from the bad. The healthy fats are called monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats will raise your good HDL cholesterol and prevent the unwanted build up in your arteries. As you can see, they are healthy. On the weight loss front, they will help to prevent stomach fat. I like to get these fats from avocados, almonds, cashews and olives. Check out some of my other articles for details on these foods. Polyunsaturated fats will help to lower your LDL cholesterol, while increasing your immune system and aiding with brain function. As these types of fats are filled with omega 6 fatty acids, they also help with skin and eye care. I like to eat these fats from foods such as salmon (but other fish are great too, such as herring), flaxseeds and walnuts. Fats to avoid The fats that you need to avoid, if you want to lose weight, are trans fats. These types of fats are made from saturated fats, and are then altered chemically in order to increase their shelf life. Besides making you fat, they will also increase your risk of heart disease and lead to an inflamed body. The biggest culprits are fries, doughnuts, cookies, chips, deserts and other processed foods. You need to check the labels of foods you buy, as some trans fats are included in foods you would not expect. Eat good fats for health and weight loss I lost weight by cutting down on my carbohydrate intake. In order to get the fuel I needed for my workouts, I eat more calories from fat (see those listed above). The body will quickly switch over to a state of ketosis when you start doing this. Science shows that when the body is in ketosis for a time, the brain will start to use ketones, and therefore decrease its need for glucose. This means you will lose weight and keep your body healthy. On top of this, studies have shown that a low carb diet is a good treatment for a range of neurological conditions, such as seizures and Alzheimer’s. Summary Don’t believe the hype that fats make you fat. Only trans fat will do that. However, eating healthy, clean fats will let you feel good and crank up your metabolism, so you burn calories all day – leading to a lean, trim body. Tweet 0 Share 1 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
In this post and the video below, I have got an amazing, crazy insane legs and abs workout that I am going to share with you. Pay close attention. This workout is composed of specific movements, rep schemes, and rest times. You will learn six exercises, all of which work synergistically to help you develop insanely fit legs and core muscles. You start with a squat (aka back squat, or barbell back squat). Barbell Back Squat Select a weight (barbell) which you are able to do ten to twelve reps with, but which you are unable to do fourteen reps with. Finding a barbell that is the perfect weight for you may be a process of trial and error. Play around with this until you find the proper one. Placing your hands on the sides of the barbell, with your palms facing down, position the barbell high on the back of your shoulders. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your right leg facing one o’clock and your left leg facing eleven o’clock. Bending your hips back, squat down as if you are about to sit in a chair until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your chest tall. Expand your knees and hips upright until you are standing back in the position that you started in. Do three sets of ten to twelve reps, resting for 45 to 60 seconds in between each. Now the second exercise is a walking lunge. Walking Lunge Select a set of dumb bells that you are able to do ten to twelve reps with, but which you are unable to do fourteen with. Keeping your feet together and your chest tall, contract your abdominals. Lunge forward with your right foot, until your nonworking knee hovers just above the ground. Return up to starting position with your feet together. Repeat with your left leg. Do three sets of ten reps with each leg, equaling twenty steps total. Rest 45-60 seconds between each set. Next, we are going to do barbell jump squat. You may have heard people say, “Oh, gosh. That is not good for you.” But, nothing with bad form is good for you, right? The key here is to use “good form.” Barbell Jump Squat After selecting a barbell, position your body as if you are going to do a back squat again. Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, rest the barbell on the upper part of the back of your shoulders while gripping it on both ends, rotate your palms downwards, and push your body weight into your heels. It is very important for your body weight to remain centered in your heels throughout the entire course of this exercise. Do not ever stand on your toes, or put pressure on your knees. Squat down, as you would when you do a normal squat. Once you are down in the squat position, push off your heels and jump back up to the starting position. Do twenty reps without resting. Without resting, immediately move into a hard style plank. The plank will serve as your “resting period” between each set this time. Hard Style Plank Assume plank position Contract your abdominal muscles Keep your abdominal and glute muscles tight Hold this position for sixty seconds Now, go back to your barbell and do twenty reps again. Repeat this process until you have done a total of three sets of barbell jump squats Next, we go into core. V Sit-ups Lay flat on your back with your feet hovering just above the ground. Sit up with your shoulders just above the ground, moving your feet and shoulders upwards towards each other until your body forms a “V.” Keep your abdominal muscles and quads contracted the entire time. Do twelve to fifteen reps. Move on to the next exercise without any rest. Mountain Climber Roll over into plank position. Bend your right knee, bringing it up towards your right hand as if you were climbing something. Bring your knee all the way up to your elbow. Return your right knee to the starting position and repeat the previous step with your left leg. Keep your abdominals tightly contracted the entire time. Do twelve to fifteen reps, with each leg counting as one. Rest for thirty seconds. Repeat the above steps three times. That is the end of the workout. Getting Insane Leg and Core Results By implementing the above exercises into your routine, you will give your legs and core an intense workout in a relatively short amount of time. Remember to listen to your body when choosing the weight of your dumb bells and barbell. If a weight is too heavy, opt for the next weight down. And do not strain yourself. Do this work out on a steady basis for maximum, lasting results. And, please post your comments, questions, or results below. Until next time, get fit and take care. Tweet 0 Share 6 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
Cheat meals. It’s something that everyone loves to talk about but not always something that leads to productive results. Cheat wrongly and you’ll be packing on fat faster than ever. Cheat properly and it can actually enhance the results you see. First, cheat meals can help build resiliency. Many people take for granted just how good healthy eating makes them feel. By having the cheat meal, you may enjoy it while eating that cheat, but after, you’ll likely be wishing you were back eating your healthy food once again. By doing this cheat, you’ll appreciate sticking to your healthy diet the remainder of the time. And then of course, cheat meals also calm those psychological food cravings we all have, making it easier to stay the course the rest of the time. Let’s go over the details on how to cheat correctly so that you can not only enjoy those foods you crave, but also still go on to see optimal fat burning results. My 90/10 Rule The main principle I like to follow is what I call the 90/10 rule. This basically means that for 90% of the time, you are on track, eating healthy, clean foods. Lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and small doses of natural carbohydrates are all part of your 90% diet plan. Then 10% of the time, you divert. This means you can virtually eat whatever it is you are craving, without worry. Of course you do need to keep it within reason. Eat a whole tub of ice cream and a box of pizza and it won’t matter how ‘good’ you are the rest of the time, you’re still going to be doing damage. Moderation is key. If you are eating 3 meals a day, that means 21 meals a week, so for about 2 of these meals, you can have that cheat meal. For those on a standard diet plan, this technique works very well. The Carb Cycling Rule Alternatively, another principle you can follow is the carb cycling principle. Carb cycling is a great way to burn fat and incorporate a weekly cheat meal into your plan all while providing more energy for intense workouts that you plan on doing. With the carb cycling approach, once per week, you can have one meal that consists of an appetizer, a main meal, and a dessert – all foods that you crave. This meal should fall on the highest carb day of the week, which ideally should fall on your most intense training day. For most people, this is leg day, however for you, it could be something else. Think about whichever day of the week you feel you are working the hardest and plan that for your high carb, cheat day. By planning it on your workout day, you’ll be able to utilize all that energy, recovering from the workout session you just had (or if you cheat a few hours beforehand), using the energy to fuel the session. Either way, you’re more likely to put those excess calories to good use. So consider this next time you’re craving your favorite foods. Plan a cheat day right into your program and it’ll work wonders to help you get the results you desire. What’s your favourite way to cheat? Tweet 1 Share 14 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
Downloads Download now Wall Sit SitUp V Russian Twist Air Squat | Roman Chair Plank Mountain Climber Lateral PushUp BurPee The Workout
