Fitness and Exercise Blog

When I received this update from my partners at Prograde my jaw nearly hit the floor. I was just about to write an article like this myself. But since they’ve already done the work I got permission to share it with you. I also use the EFA icon everyday, 25% off is a great deal!

Seriously, this one will be a revelation.

Enjoy!

Brian
______

Hey, it’s Jayson back with an awesome article for you that is really going to open your eyes.

You see, not all Omega Fatty Acids are what you think they are. There’s much more to the story than the mainstream media lets on.

Discover for yourself the Bad News About Omega Fatty Acids:

http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/why-you-need-omega3-fats.html

Oh, and don’t forget that our ultra-potent EFA Icon is 25% off RIGHT NOW, so be sure to stock up.

Order on our McAfee Verified Safe and Secure Server ==> fat burning diet supplement

Yours in health,

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS

Prograde Nutrition

PS – Don’t just diet…add in a highly effective kettlebell workout!

Tex Mex Mini Meat Loaves (Healthy Recipe)

It doesn’t get much shorter or sweeter than this!

Here’s an awesome recipe from my partners at Prograde Nutrition.

Tex Mex Mini Meat Loaves at http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/mini-meat-loaves.html

Just looking at the picture of the finished recipe is making my mouth water.

- Enjoy!

Yours in health,

Brian

PS – If you enjoy that recipe, well, they’ve got 196 more of them at http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/prograderecipebook.html

PPS. If you are looking for an extremely effective weight loss method…do what I did buy kettlebells!

I really do get asked this all the time:

“When is the BEST time to workout?” (preferably with kettlebells ; )

Well, in reality, the best time truly is whenever you are actually going to do it.

Look, some people love to get their training in first thing in the morning.

Some love to go during their lunch hour.

And, of course, many people just wait until after work.

Hey, with some many people completely out of shape and unhealthy I’m happy whatever time you go and workout, so long as you actually go!

But many people are confused as to what and when they are supposed to eat based on when they get their workout in.

And they are also baffled as to when they should take their supplements.

You’re in luck if you’re one of the confused! My partners over at Prograde Nutrition have created this really simple chart that shows you examples of what you can eat and when, and it’s all based on what time of day you workout.

Plus, it also shows good times to fit in your supplements for optimal results.

Even better is that they made a version for men and a version for women.

Check out the female version here: http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/how-to-use-prograde-products-female.html

OR

Check out the male version here: http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/how-to-use-prograde-products-male.html

Yours in health,

Brian

I was what seemed like a thousand miles from nowhere in the middle of Afghanistan, during a major battle…

…with nothing but my M-4 carbine and a kettlebell to keep me company! It was the battle of Panjwaii (I’m sure I spelled that wrong) in the early fall of 2006, Kandahar Province, and I was an embedded trainer mentoring a commando unit of the Afghan Army. One NCO and I were at a defensive blocking position along with about 30 Afghan soldiers for weeks with nothing but our HMMWV, our rucksacks, some MREs…and my kettlebell.

Luckily, the expected Taliban hordes did not return to the area after being driven out by our brave Canadian allies, U.S. air power and a healthy dose of the U.S. Marine Corps! Since the enemy wasn’t going to provide the entertainment, I stayed occupied my using my kettlebell to stay in shape. I brought the 50lb kettlebell because I knew it was a great, portable, fitness device that I could have with me anywhere in the world (even if I endured odd looks as I lugged it around!)

Should you buy kettlebells for all your fitness needs? If you do, you will certainly get results However, the most important thing is that you take action and do something positive to change your current fitness levels. Whether you purchase kettlebells or not, the important thing is that you start and effective and high intensity fitness program now, to get results. Kettlebells do have a lot of advantages as they are very size efficient, great for cardio and endurance, as well as strength training and adaptable to literally hundreds of different exercises.

Kettlebells are much more cost-effective than dumb bells as you only really need to purchase one kettlebell to start with, not a whole kettlebell set. One kettlebell can last for a year plus, before you need another one. The single 50lb kettlebell I took to Afghanistan served as my complete gym for the entire deployment and I greatly improved my overall strength and conditioning with only this tool.

What excuses are standing between you and your weight loss or fitness goals? “I don’t have time, it’s my thyroid, I don’t know what to do, I can’t afford it.” In spite of any excuses, the buck stops with you and you alone are responsible for any positive change in your life. Working out can be fast if it is effective. An intense 10 minutes is plenty. A few sets of body weight exercises and some jump rope is a fast and effective workout and you don’t need anything except some floor space and motivation. A small dietary change like ditching the sweets can lead to significant weight loss.

Everyone can get in shape, lose weight and be healthy, there are no excuses. In my case, had the Taliban come rolling down the road, I had to be ready to fight them. You never know when life will throw challenges at you, should you find yourself in a crisis, your fitness level may mean the difference between life and death.

Quick update for you today:
First, if you’re feeling the heat this summer you definitely want to try this cool dessert from my partners at Prograde Nutrition.

It’s just what the fitness pro ordered! http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/protein-packed-freedom-cups.html

Second, Prograde has ALL of their killer powder products – Meal replacement, Protein and Post-Workout – on sale at 10% off until this Friday, so hurry on over to this one for the coupon code! http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/specials.html

Perhaps the best book I’ve ever read on strength training was “Power To The People” by Pavel Tsatsouline. In it he details how to build extremely high levels of full body strength using only 2 exercises, 20 minutes a day and less than $150 in equipment (said “equipment” being a 300lb barbell set, look for sales or buy used.)

The best part is because this is low volume, heavy weight work you do not get very sore (after a short adaptation period, I don’t get sore at all) and don’t pack on much (if any) muscle. You just get crazy-strong. How does it work? Well, it has to do with adaptations in your central nervous system (CNS)…teaching your body to let you tap into more of the theoretical strength you already possess. It is like removing a block from under the gas pedal.

We all know that under extreme duress such as a life or death situation, we can tap into lots of extra strength not normally available to us.  This is because our central nervous system limits the amount of strength available to us under normal circumstances in order to protect our joints and muscle tissue.  In an emergency, our body decides the risk of a ligament, tendon or muscle tear is worth it to deal with the immediate situation.  The problem is, on a day to day basis, the amount of your theoretical strength your CNS lets you tap into is very conservative and only a fraction of what is available.

So, in order to tap into more of this strength, you have to let your CNS know that is what you want.  You do this by lifting heavy weights (with safe and stable form) for low repetitions.

The method is to pick a few multi-joint exercises (2-3) and do them 4-5 days per week. Do only 2 sets of 5 reps per exercise. Right now I just started this program again and I’m using the dead lift and the bench press. The dead lift is basically the king of full body strength exercises and utilizes about 80% of your muscles. The bench press pretty much covers the other 20%.  In the book, Pavel recommends a one arm standing barbell press which really works the grip and stabilizers.  This option also means you don’t even need a bench.

Never go to failure (this just teaches your nervous system to quit) and cycle the weights. So, over the course of 2-4 weeks, the weights will slowly increase so that your last workout is the toughest. Take a week off then start over again backing off the weights a bit and working up to a new personal best. The 1st set of 5 reps is heaviest; the second set should be about 10% lighter.

If you want to get strong and toned without adding bulk, this method is for you. If getting “yoked” (that means big) is your thing, using this method for a month will allow you to add more weights in your traditional bodybuilding routines leading to better gains.

Heavy weights, low reps (5 or less), low sets (1-3), give it a try.

With all the buzz recently about how “hydrogenated” oils are bad, “trans-fats” etc. (which we used to be told were healthy), what is really healthy? Can certain fats help us lose weight? Here is a great article that explains a big part of the equation by discussing essential fatty acids (ones our body can’t make), why they’re important, where to get them…and why they sometimes put “Contains Omega 3s” on egg cartons! Check it out here:

http://fitkettlebell.getprograde.com/why-you-need-omega3-fats.html

-Brian

Smart phones (iphone, blackberry, droid etc.) are all the rage now.  Since I just got back from Iraq and needed a new phone anyway, I got an iphone.  I had no idea how cool the apps were!  So, I decided to try out a free fitness app called “Lose It!”  This is a calorie counting and exercise tracking program.

It is pretty easy to use; I just plugged in my height/weight etc. and decided to shoot for 1/2 lb weight loss per week.  It spat out a target of 2328 calories per day.  Any exercise you do gives you that much more calories you can eat that day. So, if a 45 workout burns 300 calories, I could eat 2628 that day and still be on track.  It has an extensive list of exercises and activities to include chores like mowing the lawn.  It doesn’t have anything to really replicate high intensity training like sprinting or kettlebells so I just used high intensity circuit or weight training.  You can create custom exercises, so I created a custom workout for my Tacfit Commando bodyweight routine.

The food tracker is pretty extensive and includes lots of foods and restaurants.  More are added with updates, and you can create your own custom foods for stuff you eat a lot that isn’t in there.

The results?  Well, I have to admit, I didn’t actually care as I was just trying it out.  My starting weight was 187.5.  My first week I was 2600 calories over my weekly budget and my weight crept up a 1/2 lb.  My next week I was 3,000 over. The week after that, 1,600. The next 2 weeks I was 445 under and 318 over respectively.  The end result after 5 weeks is I lost 3 1/2 lbs down to 184, so it actually worked!   That’s an average of .7 lbs/week.

It was a hassle at first to enter everything, but it quickly became a habit.  The inputs, esp. setting up the program, were less than ideal since it didn’t take into account your activity level.  However, a serious user would adjust it to fit them better.  It did give me a good idea of how many calories I am actually consuming and how that affects my weight and to what degree.  I now know my maintenance level is about 2600/day or so and less than that will have me losing.

Surprisingly, even though I was just messing around with it, (not seriously trying to lose weight), it still worked because I started to want to hit the target and liked seeing green bars on the daily graph and not going over.  So, if you are serious about losing weight, I would definitely give one of these free apps a try, at least while you are on the weight loss and or exercise program.

-Brian

I read a great book on body weight strength training this week called “Convict Conditioning.” Yes, that’s right, the routines were developed in prison where, contrary to popular belief, there isn’t that much access to weight equipment and none at all in the 1970′s when the author was first incarcerated.  I’m all about learning from wherever I can and I’ve been on a big body weight training only kick lately, so I didn’t let the title dissuade me.

There is an interesting section where the author observes that in his experience with training lots of people, he thinks training with body weight is helpful for fat loss because the mind and body know that in order to improve on the exercises, you need to be lighter.  This is especially true for pull-ups and handstand push ups, but also very helpful for simpler exercises like bodyweight only squats.  He thinks the subconscious helps to limit appetite and control weight in order to improve performance.

Of course, there are no studies backing this up, but it makes sense to me. The mind is very powerful and sets out to accomplish whatever goals we set for it.  If we tell ourselves we are losers…we will be.  If we think we are worth about $50K a year that is pretty much what we’ll make.  If we set out to improve our body weight only strength, our mind will help us accomplish that goal.  Things aren’t that simple of course…but I do know you will never accomplish anything you don’t believe in!

I’ll end with a great quote from “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, though it is a poem more about finance and life in general, I think it fits nicely:

I bargained with life for a penny

And life would pay no more,

However I begged at evening

When I counted my scanty store.

For Life is a just employer,

He gives you what you ask,

But once you have set the wages,

Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,

Only to learn, dismayed,

That any wage I had asked of Life,

Life would have willingly paid.

What have you asked of Life?

-Brian

My wife and I went to a concert yesterday and seeing all those people in one place, it struck me how many are overweight…morbidly obese in fact.  Interesting term: “morbidly obese”, it means you are literally eating yourself to death! (A long, slow, painful one at that)

One thing that has always bothered me about the US fitness industry is that it is all about looks.  From the emaciated Hollywood actress extreme on one end to the puffed up muscle-bound bodybuilder on the other.  Funny thing is, neither is healthy though both look “good” depending on your definition of good.  So, since the most important reason to lose weight is for looks (so society says) then a more convenient answer to obesity is to just be happy with “who you are.”

While that is all very nice and swell…it still won’t protect you from that long, slow painful death (and miserable life, especially the last decade).  Trouble breathing, joint pain, skin rashes and yeast infections, diabetes (loss of limbs, blindness), no energy…and heart problems.

I’ve always placed function over form. I work out so my body can perform the way I need it to in a crisis.  I also work out and maintain a healthy weight so I can avoid all the miserable complications I saw people suffer with during the 3 plus years I worked in a hospital.  Better self-image and esteem is a healthy side effect of maintaining a healthy weight.

It’s all about choices.  I don’t want to hear excuses.  That’s one thing I learned in the military (especially combat arms).  Excuses don’t matter when lives are on the line.  Either you accomplish the mission or people die.  It doesn’t matter how hard it is to eat right or how hard it is to exercise (to find the time, the energy etc.) or how nature dealt you a raw deal with genetics or “gland” problems.  Get over it, you’ll either accomplish the mission…or die (early and miserably).

So, if you need to lose some weight, start by making a healthy choice today.  Not because of looks or esteem or to please others…but to start saving your life, you are worth it!

-Brian

P.S. I know it isn’t easy, I get it.  I also know it is much harder for others than it is for me…but you and your family deserve for you to do whatever it takes to get down to a healthy weight.  That doesn’t mean you have to be a fitness model, but you do need to be withing 20 lbs or so of your ideal weight and exercise at least the recommended minimum for heart health of around 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 days per week like walking, wii Fit : )  or 3 20 minute sessions of intense exercise like kettlebells, circuit training, calisthenics etc.