While I started lifting weights as a freshman in high school (over 15 years ago!), it wasn’t until my senior year that I really started getting into the science of how to put together a workout routine, how to eat properly, etc.

So it makes sense that for my high school senior project, I put together a six week workout and diet plan – and tested it on myself  It actually worked great (if I recall correctly I ended up putting on 6 or 7 pounds of muscle and adding about 25 pounds to my max bench press).

Putting myself through this regimented plan was the first time I experienced first-hand the power of nutrition and the impact it can have on your workout results.  I made better progress in those six weeks than I had in the previous six months.

Another thing I learned during the project was that in order to closely follow the plan – and to get the best results – planning ahead was CRITICAL.  If I didn’t pack food and bring it with me everywhere I went, there was just no way I would have hit my daily food targets.

This is a big obstacle a lot of folks seem to have with their meal planning.  They have good intentions, bu they fail to plan ahead – and end up making bad choices.  And ultimately don’t get the results they’re looking for.  Today’s post is some compiled research on fat loss meal planning – and it focuses specifically on how to easily prepare meals in advance.

How To Easily Prepare Meals in Advance

From http://naturalbias.com/how-to-prepare-a-week-of-healthy-meals-in-just-an-hour/:

• Meal preparation is in my opinion the most significant factor in preventing people from following a healthy diet. When it’s time to eat, most people are either too hungry or too tired to invest time and effort into preparing a truly healthy and nutritious meal. With a little planning, however, this is an excuse that you should never be justified in using again.
• The healthiest meals are those based on whole foods, but for many people, the time it takes to prepare this type of meal is both a problem and an inconvenience. Fortunately, even for the busiest people, meal preparation can be streamlined to the point of it being a minimal time commitment.
• Think of how easy it is to pack dinner leftovers for the next day’s lunch. When lunchtime arrives, there’s no thought or effort involved. You simply grab the meal you packed, heat it up if appropriate, and eat. It couldn’t be any easier. The key to simplifying the preparation of healthy meals is very similar in concept. In short, you intentionally prepare a bunch meals in advance.

From http://robbwolf.com/2011/01/16/pre-cooking-paleo-diet-food/:

• Granted this is off of a paleo blog so it’s directed towards that diet, they suggest you purchase your meat in large quantities and then add all of the seasonings you need and grill everything just shy of being done so when it’s reheated the day you eat it, it won’t be rubbery.  Once it’s cooked, portion it into ziplock bags.
• With veggies, leave them raw and portion them out in the amount you will be eating or make a large salad and keep it in the fridge to eat throughout the week.

From http://www.btbfitness.com/nutrition-and-performance/2010/6/24/meals-for-the-week-paleo-style.html:

• This is also paleo, but the woman has a lot of advice and a very detailed grocery list and meal plan for the week.

From http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/07/01/food-i-prepare-ahead-of-time/:

Good idea of how to prepare a salad:

The base is a mix of romaine and baby spinach, with cucumber, red bell pepper, avocado, and carrot. Each morning, I’ll add whatever beans and nuts and meats and cheeses and saucy sauces to the mix, and stuff that salad into my largest Tupperware bowl to tag along with me to work. I’ll feel, at least momentarily, like a creative and inspired individual.

http://www.coreperformance.com/daily/nutrition/prep-once-eat-for-a-week-10-meals-for-50.html - This looks like it has a fairly healthy list of recipes for the week and includes a grocery list and how to prepare the meals.

http://www.bulkfreezercooking.com/ - This person provides a lot of recipes in specific categories, like chicken.  Some of them look pretty healthy.

http://lifehacker.com/5329977/the-five+day-freeze-technique-makes-bulk-cooking-easy - Recommends that parents who are unable to set aside the time on the weekend necessary to cook in bulk ahead of time that for one week during the week, you just triple each meal you make and then freeze that so by the end of the week you have a large supply in your freezer.

To sum up, planning ahead is a critical – but often neglected – element in your meal planning success.  The resources listed in this article provide some great ideas and solutions to the hassle of planning your meals ahead.

Keep working hard -

Forest Vance, Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach

PS - With the success of my recently released in-person nutrition coaching program, I’m putting together a “home study” course covering the same info, and it’ll be ready for release very soon. If you’re looking for help in the fat loss dieting/meal planning/etc. dept. in any way, you’ll want to at least check it out!  Make sure get on my email newsletter list by dropping your name and best email into the box at the upper right of the page to get first news of when it’s available to the public.

Resistance Band & Body Weight Travel Workout

I’ve been on the road quite a bit lately … almost every other weekend it seems for the last couple of months … and as I look at the calendar, I’m travelling at least a few days a month for the rest of the year.

What I’m starting to realize first hand is that when you’re on the road, it can be tough to stick with a consistent and regular workout plan!  Lack of time and lack of available equipment are very real obstacles in getting solid workouts when you’re out of town.  But I’ve recently discovered an amazing solution …

A little over a month ago at a workshop I attended, Dave Schmitz, aka “The Band Man”, took us through an AMAZING boot camp workout using continuously looped resistance bands. I’d never really been a huge fan of standard resistance bands for a lot of reasons … the biggest one being that they’re hard to find with enough resistance to really challenge you if you’re decently strong. But these puppies get as heavy as you like – all the way up to 200+ pounds of resistance …

Plus, continuously looped bands are PERFECT for situations like big group training and working out on the road.  They’re light weight and take up little space.  Even another huge benefit is that they give you the ability to do pulls anywhere, a typical problem with body weight – only training.

Nowadays, my “weapons of choice” for travel workouts are resistance bands and body weight training.  Throw in interval runs and you’ve literally got everything you need to stay on track, and even make continued progress towards your fitness goals.

If you’re frequently on the road and are having trouble keeping up with your workouts, you should give continuously looped resistance band training a try.  To get you started, I cooked up an AWESOME body weight and resistance band total body workout you can do anywhere in about 30 mins. I hope you enjoy it!

Resistance Band & Body Weight Travel Workout

Warm Up – 5 mins. joint mobility

Blog post on joint mobility w/ video: Joint Mobility Basics

PreHab Revolution program – COMPLETE joint mobility/workout prep solution: PreHab Revolution

Circuit 1 -

• 12 resistance band deadlifts
• 12 close grip push ups
• 10 resistance band pull aparts
• :45 plank hold

Take as little rest as possible, repeat 3x

Circuit 2 -

• 10 resistance band split squats each leg
• 10 inverted push ups
• 12 resistance band upright rows
• 15 cross crawls

Take as little rest as possible, repeat 3x

Finisher -

• 3 sets of 15-20 reps, resistance band hammer curls, no rest between sets

If you’re on the road frequently and keeping up with your workout routine is a priority, the combination of resistance bands and body weight training is hard to beat. This workout is a great one to get you started “feeling the power” of resistance band training.

Train hard and talk soon!

Forest Vance, MS, CPT, RKC II, FNC

PS - If you liked this workout, make sure to sign up for my weekly email newsletter … you’ll get workouts like this one delivered to your inbox each and every week, totally FREE!  Just drop your name and best email address into the box at the upper right of the page to do so now.

If you’re interested in getting similar results, but:

When you pick up a copy of my 10×10 Kettlebell Solution program – or any of my other products priced at $37 or more – between now and the end of the month, I’ll send you a free physical copy of my book, No Gym? No Excuse!

Get more info and grab your free copy of NGNE here: -> FVT Spring Cleaning Sale

I thought I’d share some sample workouts/meal planning tips/etc. from a few of my programs over the rest of the week to help you decide which one(s) to pick up –for  today, enjoy this sample workout from the 10×10 Kettlebell Solution.  And keep an eye out for more free content coming later this week …

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Week 8

• Warm up – Do five Turkish Get Ups on each side. Start easy – with no weight at all or a light weight – and work up to a heavier weight with each rep. Switch sides after each rep.
• Perform the first exercise in each pairing. Immediately move to the next exercise (or exercises) and complete the prescribed number of reps. Rest :30 and repeat each sequence a total of three times.

1a: 8 reverse lunges
1b: pull ups – one rep short of failure

2a: 6 kettlebell presses
2b: 20 body weight squats (explosive tempo)

3a: 25 kettlebell swings (your choice)
3b: 15 push ups

• Finish with static stretch of tight muscle groups

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PS - Remember – when you pick up a copy of the 10×10 Kettlebell Solution - or any other program I have that’s priced at $37 or more – before the end of the month, you’ll get a free physical copy of No Gym? No Excuse!  Click here for more info on this special deal: -> FVT Spring Cleaning Sale

Whether you’re just getting started with your fat loss program – or you’re working out consistently, but frustrated with your lack of results – know this:  It’s your diet that will, without a doubt, make or break your fat loss efforts.

Eating healthy on a consistent basis is tough!  There’s no doubt about it.  And people seem to encounter many of the same dietary obstacles and frustrations in their dieting efforts.  So here’s my best effort at solving your top five diet problems:

Your Top 5 Diet Obstacles & Frustrations – Overcome

1) Lack of food prep/planning due to stress/laziness/etc.

Most folks don’t plan ahead properly, and as a result, end up making bad food choices.

For example, let’s say you’re away from home on a typical work day for 10 hours. If you’re trying to stick to a healthy eating plan, you had better be bringing some food with you and knowing exactly what you’re going to eat over the course of the day. Otherwise you’ll be stuck grabbing something from the vending machine or going out and grabbing a burger for lunch.

The other issue folks seem to run into with this one is not wanting to deal with preparing food due to stress/laziness/etc.  The best solution I’ve personally come up with here is to prepare food in batches for several days at a time.  For example, you might cook five or six chicken breasts and a large pot of brown rice, and then portion out five meals and put them in containers to eat over the next two or three days.

2) Portion control

This one generally comes down to one of two things:

1. You eat too much
2. You don’t know what proper portion size actually is

The solution to both of these is to weigh and measure your food. Even if for a short period of time, it’s an invaluable – and necessary – exercise to make sure you’re eating the proper portion sizes.

Most people have no idea what three oz. of chicken breast or 1/2 cup of rice actually looks like.  But after you weigh and measure everything you eat for a week, you will.

3) Lack of discipline

Here’s where you too easily give in to cravings.  Or you’re just undisciplined in general with eating healthy foods.

What’s always helped me personally the most with this one – as has with my most successful clients – is having clearly defined goals.  If you just set a goal of “losing weight”, it’s not really specific enough.  But if your goal is to “lose 15 pounds and 6% body fat before your vacation to Hawaii in 8 weeks”, it adds a whole new element of focus and drive to your efforts.

4) Busy schedule/stress

A LOT of people have busy schedules. And a lot of people are stressed out. I know it’s a tough pill to swallow – but consider these two points:

• Someone busier than you is working out right now
• Someone busier than you eats better and cleaner than you do every day

It’s possible to eat right and you know it.  Stop making excuses and just get it done!!

5) Alcohol

Here’s another tricky one.  My best tip for here is not to necessarily eliminate, but to moderate.

One 5 oz. glass of wine isn’t really a problem – you’re talking maybe 100 or 150 calories.  On the other hand, two 7 oz. glasses and you’re getting close to 500 calories total – which can lead to some pretty significant weight gain if you do it on a consistent basis.

SO – there you have my best crack at addressing your top 5 diet obstacles and frustrations. I hope you enjoyed this article and that it’s a help to you reaching your ultimate fat loss goals!

To your success -

Forest Vance
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach

PS - See the full meal plan I personally used to drop 64 pounds in six months here:

=== >> Forest’s Best Fat Loss Meal Plan

PPS - Get more info on how to win free nutrition coaching (this weekend only) here:

=== >> Win Free Nutrition Coaching From Forest Vance, FNC

PPPS - Check out my new site all about how to lose 10 pounds in 30 days here:

=== >> Lose10PoundsMonth.com

FVTBiz.com is a new project of mine … it’s directed towards affiliates of my online fitness business … but the tips and tricks I’ll be sharing will be helpful for fitness business owners of any kind.

To grab your interest, I’m kicking things off by building a revenue-generating fitness-related website in 30 days and letting you watch over my shoulder as I do it.  There’s also a completely free (for now) members-only area of the site you can register for and download all kinds of cool business-building products and tools – so head over and check it out!

=== >> FVTBiz.com Online Fitness Business Blog

The brand new No Gym? No Excuse! Body Weight Strength Manual – and the accompanying ‘Death by Body Weight’ workout/video package – is now available!  And you can grab it at a great price (as little as $10) if you act quick.

BUT – the price goes up by a buck every time a copy of the program is sold.  And considering a LOT of folks will be seeing this message (now almost 10k in total), you’ll want to act as fast as possible if you want the best deal.  Click the link below for more details and to grab your copy now:

The No Gym? No Excuse! Death by Body Weight Mega Pack

The Janda Sit Up

A little over two years ago, Pavel (shown performing the Janda sit up in the pic above) came here to Sacramento, CA for an ab workshop.  I of course jumped at the chance to sign up … and it was, as any other workshop/training course I’ve attended put on by Pavel/Dragon Door, awesome!

I picked up a load of immediately actionable training tips and techniques at the workshop.  But one of the coolest and most effective exercises we covered is the Janda sit up.

I had experimented with this exercise prior to, but never really had specific and detailed instruction on it.  In short, it’s one of the hardest ab exercises ever.  And if your goals include stronger abs, it’s an exercise you’ll want to incorporate into your routine ASAP.

What is the Janda sit up? 

With the endorsement of many in the fitness industry, the Janda sit up is one of the most difficult exercises out there to target your abs.  It was created by Professor Janda with the purpose of improving lower back health.

This form of the sit-up removes the hip flexors from the movement and isolates your abs like none other.  This is done by contracting your hamstrings, which stunts your ability to utilize your hip flexors and engages your abdominals.

The problem with most “ab” exercises – and the solution

In many common ab exercises, the abdominals are not recruited, with the hip flexors taking on the job instead; these are found at the front of your pelvis and have the job of raising your legs.

The problem with most popular ab exercises is when pressure is placed on the hip flexors, strain is placed on the spine which can cause back pain and a less effective workout.

Thankfully, the solution to this issue is the Janda sit-up, which Canadian scientists recently discovered maximizes the load on the abdominals while minimizing hip flexor activation.

How to perform a proper Janda sit-up

The easiest way to perform the Janda sit-up is with the assistance of a partner (see the pic at the top of the post).

Lay on the ground with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and your feet placed flat on the ground. Your partner needs to hold your legs halfway between your ankles and knees.

Next, activate your glutes and hamstrings to insure your feet remain on the floor. Place your arms at your sides and slowly sit up. By squeezing your hamstrings and glutes, your hip flexors are removed from the movement.

Continue applying tension for the entire movement in order to isolate your abs and prevent low back pressure.

Alternative (better?) solution

The Ab Pavelizer II

If you don’t have a partner – or you just want to make absolutely sure you do the exercise consistently right, every time – a great solution is the Ab Pavelizer II.  You load it up with 25-35 pounds, and it pushes up against your calves to give you the exact amount of needed resistance for a perfect Janda sit up.

This is a very cool piece of equipment.  Obviously it’s not required for doing the exercise – but if you frequently work out alone and want to incorporate the Janda sit up into your routine on a regular basis, it’s a great help.

Get the Ab Pavelizer 2 here: Ab Pavelizer II

In conclusion, the Janda sit up is a brutal sit up variation that’ll smoke the hell out of your abs.  I first experienced its full power at a workshop put on by Pavel here in Sacramento, CA about two years ago, and it’s become one of my favorite advanced ab exercises.

Thanks for reading and talk soon -

Forest Vance, MS, CPT, RKC II

Just over half a decade ago, fresh off of a 10+ year competitive sports career (which I told an equally relevant story about last week), I found myself, for the first time in my life, pathetically out of shape.  I saw a picture of myself and decided enough was enough … and ended up losing 64 pounds in a period of just over 5 months. And I kept that weight off – but I never got that really lean look I was after. I couldn’t seem to shed that last layer of body fat.

A little over three years ago, I got married – and my wedding was a great motivator for me to buckle down and do what it took to get truly lean. So I set out to design the most effective and time efficient fat loss program I possibly could.

Back in my college football days, we used barbell and dumbbell complexes all the time as a conditioning-type, finisher sort of exercise. And I loved them (or should say, had a ‘love-hate’ sort of relationship with them) back then.

So I dove head first into research mode and learned all I could about dumbbell complexes. I looked at Istvan Javorek’s complex protocols, CrossFit complex workouts, all the articles and videos I could find – and put together a system for myself to get ready for my upcoming wedding in 12 weeks.

And it worked like magic! I lost about 6% body fat in those twelve weeks … and was able to:

• Get a full body resistance and cardio workout in less than 30 minutes
• Train the heck out of my ‘core’ and stability muscles – and build a rock-hard midsection in the process
• Get a workout almost anywhere I was with just a set of dumbbells

Ready to give dumbbell complexes a try?  Currently, my original No Gym? No Excuse! Dumbbell Complexes for Fat Loss program is under revision and unavailable for purchase … but here are 7 videos to get you started:

Slow carb is the low carb diet’s latest evolution.

If you missed it, make sure to check out this article on the basics of slow carb dieting with some sample recipes … today’s post is going to expand on the original idea and provide you with a slow carb list of foods … this way, you’ll understand what kind of carbohydrate foods fit into your diet on a regular and long-term basis.

Slow Carb Eating Review

Carbohydrates are a very important part of a healthy diet to 1) provide the brain with sufficient glucose to function and 2) to provide energy for muscular work. It’s the type of carbohydrates we’re consuming that we need to pay attention to (which, BTW, is the concept behind this popular fat loss meal plan).

The list of “allowed” carbohydrates in the slow carb regime is pretty straight-forward:  You eat 1) legumes or 2) veggies.

Slow Carb List

Again, it’s a pretty simple approach – each meal includes a lean protein, a source of “good” fat, and a carbohydrate type from either one (or both) of these categories:

• Legumes (such as black beans, lima beans, kidney beans, or white beans)
• Veggies (like broccoli, eggplant, spinach, or squash)

Bonus (recipe ideas)

To give you some additional ideas to work with in formulating your eating plan, here are some bonus slow carb recipes we found around the ‘net: