You won’t believe what I am going to do tomorrow…
I am competing in my FIRST strongman contest!
No, I am not 8 foot 2, 450lbs, and my name isn’t Mariusz Pudzianowski
…try saying that name 3 times fast!
But I thought it would be fun to take on a new challenge and I believe that these “strongman” type movements are the future of fitness because they challenge your body the way it was meant to move in real life by pushing and pulling heavy awkward objects.
That’s why big professional athletes to lean ripped celebrities train this way because it carries over to real life movements AND it get’s you lean and muscular faster than any other type of workout!
Somebody have a flat?
Tire Flipping
Truck Pulling
Log Press
Farmer’s Walk
Cinder Block Lift
Finding out about this only a few days ago I haven’t had time to train for these lifts specifically.
So here is a quick workout video of me training to be the “World’s Strongest Dad”.
I will try and get some pics and video of the event so you guys can see me lying on the pavement in pain and making a fool out of myself…
Wish me luck!
Would you like to know the one exercise that works every muscle in your body, can be done anywhere at anytime and requires no equipment?
Well, your old high school gym teacher might have been right after all…
The Burpee, despite it’s amusing name is probably the most efficient and effective bodyweight exercise you can do to build lean muscle and burn off that beer belly.
Not to be confused with the Burp which actually makes room for drinking more beer.
If you are not emotionally scarred from the heart searing burpee workouts that your gym teacher had you do in highschool you might remember how easy AND how hard this exercise is.
In a standing position, jump down and get on all fours before pushing your feet back behind you putting you in the top position of a pushup.
With your body braced in a straight line perform a regular pushup, then jump your feet back closer to your hands so you are in the “all fours” position once again.
With explosive force jump straight up from a squatting position as high as you can while reaching your arms straight overhead.
That’s ONE rep..yeah that’s right, one rep.
Congratulations! You just completed the world’s most efficient exercise.
By performing two of the most natural upper and lower body movements in an explosive manner, the pushup and the squat, you are building functional muscle that in-turn also burns fat.
You worked your chest,shoulders,arms,back and abs with the pushup. You then challenged your legs with the jump squat.
Repeat for the desired number of reps and wipe your self off the floor.
So now you have no more excuses for getting a big workout in little time…
With these hot and humid days we’ve been having, I got in and out of the gym this morning fast and furious.
Was finished my workout by 10am and here is what I did.
Barbell Squats
DB Lunges
Chinups
Chest Supported Barbell Rows
Barbell Curls
Cable Curls
Standing Calf Raise
2 sets each, 4-8 reps
If you are like a lot of busy dads you are probably wondering why you can’t stick with eating healthy this summer with all those tempting backyard bbq’s, weddings, and vacations.
Well my friend and fellow fitness expert Tom Venuto send this along just in time for the weekend.
8 Reasons Why You Keep Falling Off The Diet Wagon
www.BurnTheFat.com
Clearly, we have an obesity problem in America and many other countries across our planet. Yet, I propose that we do not have a weight loss problem today. In case you’re confused at this apparent contradiction, consider these statistics:
According to a study from Oxford University published in the International Journal of Obesity, within 3 to 5 years, about 80 percent of all ‘weight losers’ have regained the lost weight, and often gained back a little extra.
According to research by the National Weight Control Registry, that relapse rate may be as high as 95 percent.
For comparison, relapse rates for drug, alcohol and tobacco dependency have been reported in the range of 50-90%.
This means that lots and lots of people have “successfully” lost weight. But not many have kept it off. Therefore, we don’t have a weight loss problem, we have a weight-relapse problem; we have a “not sticking with it” problem. Wouldn’t you agree?
In fact, the fall and subsequent weight-regain usually doesn’t take years. Many people have abandoned their new year’s resolutions within weeks. By the time the Super Bowl party rolls around, their diet is history!
If this is true, then shouldn’t we put more of our attention onto figuring out why you haven’t been sticking with your program, and what you should do about it?
I put together this new list (below) of the top 8 reasons why you fall off the wagon.
Rather than worrying about the minutiae of your diet plan, like whether you should be on low carb or high carb, Mediterranean or Okinawan, vegetarian or meat eater, I propose that if you simply focus on these 8 issues, you’ll start getting more lasting results.
How? By being able to stick with whichever plan you decided was best for you! After all, even if you have the best nutrition program in the world – on paper – it doesn’t do you much good if you can’t stick with it in practice!
THE 8 REASONS
1. No focus: you didn’t set goals, you didn’t put your goals in writing, and/or you didn’t stay focused on your goals daily (by reading them, affirming them, looking at a vision board, etc.)
2. No priorities: you may have set a goal, but you didn’t put it on or near the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal is six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend is higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.
3. No support system: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going got tough.
4. No Accountability: you didn’t keep score for your own accountability – with a progress chart, weight record, measurements, food journal, training journal, and you didn’t set up external accountability (ie, report to someone else or show your results to someone else)
5. No patience: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 pounds a week or 5 pounds a week or 3 pounds a week, so the first week you lost “only” 1 or 2 pounds or hit a plateau, you gave up.
6. No planning: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you didn’t plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn’t have a menu on paper, you didn’t make time (so instead you made excuses, like “I’m too busy”)
7. No balance: your diet or training program was too extreme. You went the all or nothing, “I want it now” route instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.
8. No personalization: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn’t suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition or body type.
So there you have it – 8 reasons why most people fall off the wagon! Have you been making these mistakes? If so, the solutions are clear and simple: focus, prioritize, get support, be accountable, be patient, plan, balance and personalize.
Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com
About the Author:
I am finally back to my regular workouts after battling the flu.
Still easing back into training after a week off.
Today’s workout went pretty well, here’s what I did.
Dynamic Warmup
Flat BB Bench Press
Flat DB Bench Press
Weighted Dips
Lying Tricep Extensions
DB External Rotations
Stretching Cooldown
3 sets each, 5-10 reps
My stinky old gym was very warm and humid today so I am glad I was done in 40 mins flat.
Came home and had a great lunch of homemade chili that was leftover from dinner last night.
Here’s how I make my chili.
With Father’s Day just around the corner I have a HUGE Dad Fitness Celebration going on starting on Friday at noon with 10 FREE bonuses available to busy dads who get their copy of the NEW Dad Fitness System during this time.
I also held a little contest asking my newsletter subscribers to tell me “why it is important to be in shape as a busy dad”
Well, I received lots of responses via email but I was hoping for more comments on the blog. Guys don’t be shy!
The winner will receive the entire NEW Dad Fitness System for free!
…and the winner is…Scott Vaughn
Here was Scott’s response:
It is important that I get in shape as a dad because my son’s definition of “what a man is” will come from his observation of me. If I am weak, easily winded and soft, he’ll have nothing to aspire to as a man. A boy who doesn’t value his masculinity is a confused & directionless soul. I want my son to know that being a man is a great & awesome thing.
Congrats Scott for stepping up to the plate and sharing your thoughts!
Shoot me an email at info@dadfitness.com and I will hook you up with the entire new Dad Fitness System on me;-)
IMPORTANT: Be sure to leave a comment on the blog by clicking the little envelope in the top right hand corner of the post. Whoever gives me the BEST answer to “why it is important for you to get in shape as a dad “ will win the COMPLETE newly updated Dad Fitness System for FREE!
So if you haven’t read my free fat loss report “The Truth About Fat Loss” I am giving it too you right now on my blog so you can finally be clear on what it takes to get the body you want despite being a time crunched dad. If you HAVE read it, I think it’s worth reading again and enter your comment for a chance to win!
1. What is the biggest mistake men make when trying to get 6 pack abs?
Not following a set plan. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!”
If getting 6 packs abs is a goal, then do what needs to be done to reach that goal.
This involves following a plan of consistent workouts that rev up your metabolism and burn calories and following a structured meal plan 90% of each week.
You don’t have to be perfect, but 90% compliance will get you results and allow you a little wiggle room. For example, 5 meals a day for 7 days is 35 meals.
To make sure your getting 90% compliance, this allows you to mess up 3-4 of these 35 meals or snacks during the week.
Keep track of each workout and each meal. Track your meals at least for 3-4 days to get an idea of what you are really eating. If your not keeping track of these things you are just spinning your wheels.
Would you just go out and spend money everyday and not look at your bank account?
2. Do I have to give up alcohol to get rid of that “beer gut”?
Just remember that it all boils down to calories in vs calories out. Booze is just extra empty calories. If your gut is truly a “beer” gut then staying away from beer will eliminate all those excess calories. Just 6 beers add up to a whopping 900 calories! That’s almost half of your total daily calories requirements.
Plus drinking also stimulates your appetite and lowers your inhibitions so you are more likely to chow down on those chicken wings or pizza after a couple beers.
That’s why the first thing they ask you at a restaurant is “do you want a drink?” because people will eat more when they drink.
If maximum fat loss is your goal just cut out alcohol for the short term until you reach your goal. But in reality if you like to enjoy an occasional cold beer, you can still enjoy a couple beers a week and still lose fat if your eating a good diet.
3. What are your top 10 foods to lose fat fast?
1. Fish
2. Chicken Breasts
3. Lean Beef
4. Eggs
5. Spinach
6. Bell Peppers
7. Broccoli
8. Oatmeal
9. Mixed Nuts
10. Fruit
4. Do you need to do cardio to burn body fat? If so, what kind of cardio is the most effective?
You don’t have to do cardio in the traditional form of what most people think to burn fat. People were burning fat long before treadmills and stationary bikes.
You just need to do high intensity exercise that revs up your metabolism each and every workout. Basically if it’s hard, it burns lots of calories! This is the most efficient way to burn calories as bodyfat. You could run, sprint, swim, lift weights, do supersets with weights. Keeping track and shortening your rest periods between exercises is an awesome away to burn calories and increase your conditioning.
Remember you don’t really burn much fat when you are actually exercising, except for a small amount of fatty acids that are in your bloodstream.
It’s the calories your body burns during the other 23 hours of the day that count. With exercise and a clean diet you will put your body in a caloric deficit which is still the ONLY proven way to melt off that unwanted fat.
5. Is it necessary to do endless crunches to build your abs?
Absolutely not!
Would you do 100 reps of bicep curls do develop your arms?
No, you would you use a weight that is challenging.
Performing compound free weight exercises like squats and deadlifts will work your abs better than lying on your back doing endless crunches.
For direct ab exercises, stability exercises like planks and side planks are great to increase core strength. To increase the difficulty perform these on a stability ball or remove one of your bodies pillars ( one leg or arm off the ground).
To develop those 6 pack muscles also do weighted exercises like the cable rope crunch, (I know its called a crunch…) and seated bench leg lifts with a dumbbell between your feet. Keep the reps between 8-10.
6. What is the best exercise to lose belly fat?
The best exercise to lose belly fat is…
The one you are going to do to consistently and intensely!
No matter how good the exercise is at burning calories or building muscle, if you don’t do it you won’t achieve the benefits.
But to answer the question, any movement that involves the most muscles and gives you “the best bang for your fat burning buck”
If I had to choose I would probably choose the barbell deadlift, as it pretty much uses every muscle in your body to perform correctly. You can do it with heavy weights for lows reps to build muscle which in turn burns fat or you can do it with a lighter weight and do higher reps which will challenge your cardiovascular system.
7. Can busy dads lose those unwanted pounds in just 3 hours a week?
Providing the workouts are structured to provide maximum afterburn to burn calories and a structured diet is followed that is less than their caloric maintenance level, then yes it is possible.
My Dad Fitness workouts provide these two key components in only 3 hours a week because of the combination of high intensity weight training and supersets and high intensity cardio interval training.
30 minutes of resistance exercise followed by 16 minutes of intervals gives you maximum muscle building and fat loss in only 3 hours a week.
Combined with a healthy diet of 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, busy dads are losing those unwanted pounds in the shortest amount of time so they can get on with their life and spend time with their family.
8. What is the SECRET about getting six pack abs?
I am sure you heard the famous quote “Knowledge Is Power” right?
Well, guess what, I believe that’s a bunch of crap!
If that were true most people walking around these days would be in
awesome shape with lean hard 6 pack abs.
But we all know that’s not the case.
Even though most people already know you have to eat healthy and
exercise to get in shape.
So you have the KNOWLEDGE, but do you have the POWER?
Only if you take ACTION
That’s because “Applied Knowledge Is Power!”, see the difference?
So if that is the secret, I am letting it out know. Take action.
You have the knowledge.
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