5 Diet Tips To Help You Get Ripped

Dieting is by far the hardest part of getting lean. Working out is fun and you're really only doing it a few hours a week ... dieting sucks and it's 24 hours a day, every day.

The good news is that there are a few things you can do to make things a little easier on yourself and to speed up your progress ... here are five tips that have helped me and many of my clients lose body fat in the past:

1. Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

A lot of people seem to obsess about the 'small' stuff: if they ate white rice instead of brown, or if they slipped up and had desert one night after dinner. Honestly, these small things do add up and make a difference - but individually, they're not going to kill your progress. This type of stuff happening every day is what ends up being a problem.

Look at where you're at on a daily or weekly basis - if you're in a calorie defecit, you should end up losing weight. This is where the importance of a food log comes in, too.

2. Portion Control

Your stomach is really only about the size of a fist; that's about how much food it takes to fill it. You should feel better when you're done eating, not sluggish or stuffed.

Getting your portions under control could be the most important factor in your weight loss efforts. If you simply took everything you currently ate and cut it in half, you'd start losing weight fast.

3. Prepare for success

If you have healthy food around the house, you're a lot less likely to hit up the In-n-Out burger on the way home after a long day of work. Here are a couple examples of foods that won't ruin your diet and are easy to prepare:

Pre-cooked grilled chicken breast
Bags of pre-washed greens
94% fat free microwave popcorn
Containers of pre-cooked brown rice

You get the idea. Set yourself up for success.

4. Have written goals

Write down your fitness goals. Tell your friends, co-workers, etc. about them. This is incredibly effective for any goal, fitness-related or not. Not only have you recorded what you're trying to accomplish, everyone knows about what you're doing, so you risk humiliation if you fail.

5. Once a week, eat what you want

Reward yourself for sticking to the plan all week long and eat what you want. This really helps keep you on track and gives you something to look forward to.

These simple tips really can make a difference in your diet efforts. The #1 thing is that you have to be committed - if you're mentally ready to change, you're well on your way.

Want some simple, fast, and healthy meal ideas? Make sure to sign up for our newsletter while you're here!

Kettlebell Cardio Fitness: Viking Warrior Conditioning

If you don't like working hard and you're satisfied with sub-par results from your workouts, then skip this article.

If you're looking for a 'cardio' routine that actually works for shedding body fat and building the lung capacity of a porpoise, the Viking Warrior Conditioning program by Kenneth Jay, Master RKC could be right up your alley.

This program is no joke. Your heart rate will probably get higher than it ever has in your entire life. It's a true test of mental and physical fortitude. But if you can work your way up to the full 80 sets of kb snatches in 40 minutes, your level of conditioning - and physique - will be truly world-class.

I'll keep this post short and not give too much away ... if you want to know more about the program, check out this page on DragonDoor.com:

Click Here for Viking Warrior Conditioning

Keep training hard!

HIIT For Fat Loss: The Tabata Protocol

The Tabata Protocol is one of the most brutal - and most effective - High Intensity Interval Training methods around. I'm going to explain exactly what the Tabata Protocol is, why it works so well, and how you can incorporate it into your existing workout routine for fat loss and improved conditioning.

The protocol was originally developed by a coach of the Japanese speed skating team. Based on positive reports this coach was getting with his methods, Izumi Tabata, a Japanese scientest, and his research group took the protocol and attempted to quantify its effects in a clinical setting.

Tabata's original study split its subjects into two groups. The subjects were put on a six week routine, employing either a moderate intensity cardio program (60 minutes, five times per week), or a very high intensity, four-minute long program – 20 seconds of all-out effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, done eight times. The high intensity workout was also performed five times per week.

The findings of the study, in a nutshell, were as follows: High Intensity Interval Training - and particularly the Tabata Protocol - appears to give us the best of both worlds - aerobic and anerobic fitness. The subjects doing the short, intense workout improved in both of these measures. The traditional, 'long-slow-distance' workout the control group did, as expected, improved the subjects aerobic fitness, but it didn't improve anaerobic fitness, power output, or anything else like the Tabata group experienced. The bottom line is that the Tabata protocol is a great tool to help you burn fat and get in great shape in a fast and very time-efficient way.

So now you know exactly what it is, let's talk about how Tabatas can be incorporated into your training. You could simply pick a cardio activity - such as cycling, as was done in the original study - and do a five minute warm-up, four minutes of the Tabata protocol, and a five minute cool-down. Alternately, you could use body weight movements like squats, push ups, or sit ups and perform eight intervals of twenty seconds of maximum repetitions with ten seconds of rest in between. The Tabata Protocol can even be done with actual external resistance - Kettlebell Swings and Thrusters are two movements that work great.

The Tabata protocol is one of the hardest and most effective interval protocols around. It works great for both fat loss and improved conditioning. There are a variety of ways you can incorporate the Tabata method into your existing workout routine. For a fast, effective, and brutally hard high-intensity conditioning workout, Tabatas can't be beat.

P.S. The Tabata Protocol is just one of many different high-intensity techniques that are used in the No Gym? No Excuse! workout system. To try a week's worth of free workouts from N0 Gym? No Excuse! and sign up for our free newsletter, drop your name and email into the box in the upper right hand corner of the page!

February 2010 Challenge Workout

Up for a challenge? Want to see how you stack up? Try one of our challenge workouts from this month:

Pick the hardest version you can complete without a) compromising perfect form in any exercise and b) having to pause for more than 30 seconds at any time during the workout:

'Please Don't Hurt Me' (beginner)

7 Knee Push Ups

14 Kettlebell Swings, 12k Kettlebell
21 Body Weight Squats

Repeat Circuit 5x For Time

'Turn It Up A Notch' (intermediate)

7 Modified Burpees (push ups done from knees)

14 Kettlebell Swings, 16k Kettlebell

21 Body Weight Squats

Repeat Circuit 5x For Time

'Bring The Pain' (advanced)

7 Standard Burpees

14 Kettlebell Swings, 20k Kettlebell

21 Body Weight Squats

Repeat Circuit 5x For Time

And a quick refresher on the exercises:

Burpee



Kettlebell Swing



Body Weight Squat

Good luck! If you enjoy the workout, be sure to check out our free newsletter for more - just drop your name and email in the box to the upper right hand corner of the page.

Boot Camp Exercise Ideas

Whether you're a trainer that's looking to start an existing fitness boot camp, you already have one going and need some new ideas, or even if you're just looking for some variety and some new exercises you can incorporate into your own outdoor workouts, check out this super-cool video from Craig Ballentyne, creator of the Turbulence Training system and ttbootcamp.com:




I've been a fan of Craig's stuff for a while, and being personally involved in the group personal training biz, I'm always looking for new ideas and ways to improve my current program. I recently purchased Craig's boot camp 'system' at startingafitnessbootcamp.info, I can say with a lot of confidence if you're looking to start a fitness boot camp or improve your existing one, buy this product!

I'll be completely honest, I was a little hesitant to purchase the product at first because of the price, but it's been worth every penny. The workout ideas are great, the marketing material that he covers is fantastic and the combo of both is worth many times the cost of the product.

The basic package includes 21 done-for-you workouts you can do with a group of 10, 20, even 30 people start to finish with no additional equipment whatsoever. He also includes 5 bonus workouts that use med balls, kettlebells, and dumbells. Every exercise is described in detail and is demonstrated with pictures which is really cool as well.

The marketing system included with the guide is honestly phenomenal. You could buy this guide and, being a certified trainer already of course, literally have everything you need to be up and running with your camp in a matter of weeks. Pretty awesome - I wish I had bought a guide like this when I was first starting out with group training :)

So I hope you got a few new ideas for some boot camp exercises, as well as some useful info on a great product. If you'd like more information, you can check out startingafitnessbootcamp.info and get a free mp3 and transcript of a marketing call that will give you some killer boot camp marketing ideas right off the bat. Good luck with your fitness boot camp efforts!