Lean Bodies Consulting

What’s the main thing that’ll determine your fitness results in 2008? No, not genetics. Not drugs. Not time. Not even motivation. Not knowledge. Not a better program. Not a trainer.

There’s one thing more powerful than any other factor - CONSISTENCY!

Here’s what’s going to happen in about 9 days when 2008 hits:

Every single person is going to be surfing Google for “fat-loss program” or “fat-loss diet” and they’ll be surfing every fitness website and forum, until they find the one. Once they find the one, they’ll feel confident that this is the solution to their problems. They’ll be excited because the program is new. But after three or four weeks (maybe they make it three or four months if they’re really ambitious) it gets old. It’s not “exciting” anymore which results in a few more Google searches until they find another program from someone they have never heard of before or perhaps they discover a unique training method which looks better than the hard training they are already doing. They immediately print off this new workout, and the program they planned on being the “one” a few weeks ago is suddenly tossed aside.

This’ll happen over and over and over again until, believe it or not, it will be 2009 and they’ll have little to show for all the programs they’ve “taste tested” and not been consistent with.

Can you relate? Actually, I hope you can’t.

The program hasn’t failed you. You’ve failed yourself. You’ve failed in not being consistent and not giving it enough time to work. It’s not about the program. Sure you need to be adhering to the basic principles of effective program design but the key to those who already have admirable/enviable physiques is consistency. Not what program they’re on. Program hopping isn’t what makes these people’s physiques. Consistency does. They do the same things month in and month out. Sure, some details of their program likely change every four to six weeks, but that is trumped by the simple fact that month in and month out they’re driving towards their physique goals - whether that be more muscle, more strength, less fat, better cardiovascular conditioning. They’re committed to their goals and they consistently chase them. THAT’s what makes a great physique.

Effective training, nutrition designed according to your goals and consistency.

That is it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Talk to some of the people you see or know who’ve “got it”. They’ve achieved the look. They’re always making progress, getting stronger, more muscular, leaner … and at will for that matter. You’ll see the common denominator in every case is consistency. Year in and year out.

Commit yourself to being consistent in 2008!

Just catching up on a couple workouts today.

THURSDAY

Wide-grip Cable Curls
Worked up to 57.5 x 8 + 4 + 4

Alternating Hammer Curls
Worked up to 40s x 10

Seated Calf Raise
Worked up to 2 sets of 8 w/ 75lbs (15s pause in the stretch)

Natural GHRs
Worked up to 3 sets of max negative reps

Cable Pull Throughs
Worked up to 2 sets of 10 w/ 80lbs

Leg Press
Worked up to 8 plates per side x 8 reps and then,
5 plates per side x 20 reps

Took a week off in between workouts.

WEDNESDAY

Flat Hammer Strength Bench
Worked up to 300lbs x 8 + 3 + 1

Hammer Shoulder Press
Worked up to 225lbs x 7 + 3 + 2

Dumbbell Laterals
1 set of 10 reps w/ 25lbs

Close-grip Bench Press
Worked up to 205lbs x 8 + 4 + 3

Lat Pulldowns (overhand)
Worked up to 180lbs x 8 + 4 + 3

Corner Rows
Worked up to 2 sets of 10 w/ 145lbs

Sitting at 236. Trying to decide if I’m going to shift gears and start dieting at the beginning of January or if I’ll try to squeak out a few more pounds before the diet.

Christmas Holidays. What’s one of the first things that pops in your head when you think of the Christmas holidays. I don’t know about you, but besides the obvious quality time spent with family, it’s good food, baked goods, and Christmas dinners.

There’s always the jokes about the 5-10lbs people gain over the holiday season. Some people simply adopt an attitude of ‘hey, it’s Christmas. I’ll get back on the wagon in the New Year.’

What about you? Do you have a strategy for finding the balance between your physique goals and the holidays? A way to balance out your fat-loss focused eating strategies with enjoying the holidays? The key to long term success is adopting a lifestyle mindset. That is, this is not a ‘diet’ that ends. You’re eating for a way of life and doing so means being able to incorporate holiday eating into your plan.

There’s no doubt that the holidays present a unique set of challenges what with all the delicious holiday baking that goes on in so many households. And I bet that a number of you go through the whole guilt trip set of feelings when you eat a little more than you should.

You not only feel guilty for allowing this to happen - you might even fear that these choices will undo all the hard work you’ve put into getting in shape. Sound familiar?

Let’s just put that one to rest right off the bat. Unless you really go to town, you’re simply not going to have to worry about doing much, if any, damage to your progress. Remember, we want to adopt a lifestyle approach and that means learning ways to enjoy the fun of holiday eating.

My most oft given advice when it comes to vacations, holiday eating, and all events similar is to first control the meals that you have control over. So, just because there’s a lot of freshly baked cookies in the house, doesn’t mean you have to have cookies to wash down every meal. Just because there’s a lot of Christmas food made doesn’t mean that you have to throw your whole day of eating out the window because you know that come dinner time, you’re going to be feasting.

Control the meals you have control over. Stick with your plan for the meals you can.

The second part of the advice I give is to simply control the portion sizes of the meals you can’t control. It’s that simple. As I wrote about in my Top 10 Not-So-Obvious Fat-Loss Mistakes free report, one of the most often made dieting mistakes is not respecting the fact that quantity trumps quality when it comes to calories. So, even if you’re enjoying some off-plan food, how much of it you eat will be the biggest determinant of the effect that off-plan eating has on you. Exercise portion control? Have a normal serving? You’ll be fine. Overeat more often than you should be? You’re going to experience a step or two back as a consequence.

Be mindful of how much you’re eating.

Go in with the intention to adhere to your plan for the majority of your meals. However, since it’s the holidays, make sure you also allow for both flexibility and forgiveness while also being realistic and the expectations you place upon yourself.

No matter how well you may have something planned - there is always the chance that something may happen to offset your plans. Over the holidays you have to have a plan. If that means factoring in and planning to have a few extra cheat meals, then so be it.

What about your results? Again, a few meals here and there aren’t going to do anything to negate the results of all your hard work. Especially if you’re paying attention to the size of your portions and how much you’re eating as I suggested above.

It’s the constant partaking in large quantities of holiday treats that’ll catch up to you. And you end up here only when you allow yourself to by ignoring the choices you are making and the impact it is having on you physically and emotionally.

Give yourself permission to enjoy yourself. When it’s well thought out and logical you’re less likely to overeat as when you feel as if you’re actually caving in and cheating and doing something forbidden.

Maybe your plan is to simply maintain over the holidays. If you typically put on a few pounds of fat over the holidays, then even this is a huge victory for you. Keep active with your workouts, spend most of the time eating what you’re supposed to be eating, and then factor in some extra off-plan food. Factor it in. Don’t try to be perfect or near perfect over the holidays, because it’s an unreasonable expectation and it doesn’t fit into looking at this as a lifestyle.

That said, I do firmly believe that even with the planned holiday eating, you can still continue on the course and continue to see some nice results over the holidays. Again, it all comes back to going in with a plan and making a commitment to yourself. Go in prepared.

Take responsibility for your actions! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you go in without a plan, if you don’t exercise some degree of self control, if you don’t control the meals you have the control over, and you subsequently put on more holiday pounds than you should, then it’s your own fault and you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.

Merry Christmas

I got this video from another blog and couldn’t help but put it up.

With all the hooplah going on with the George Mitchell Report and the taint it’s put on baseball and sports in general, a reminder of what the true spirit of sports is all about is in order.

You’ll love this.

Jason McElway …

Motivating? Inspiring? You tell me.

What can you NOT do?

I’m sure many of you, who have signed up for the 12 days of fitness promotion, already have received a copy of the 22-page report I did on the Top 10 Not-So-Obvious Fat-Loss Mistakes, but if by chance you haven’t, you can get it here,

Top 10 Not-So-Obvious Fat-Loss Mistakes

I think you’ll enjoy this report as it serves as a very good overview of my philosophy on fat loss.

Once you get through it, I’d appreciate any feedback you may have. I hope you find it beneficial. If you do, perhaps share the link with some friends as well.

Just a couple workouts to update today

THURSDAY

Incline Bench Press
Worked up to 255 x 6 + 3 + 2

Behind-the-Neck Press
Worked up to 135 x 7 + 4 + 3

Dumbbell Laterals
1 set of 10 reps w/ 20lbs

Dips
BW x 8 + 5 + 3

Behind-the-Neck Rack Pull Ups
BW x 7 + 3 + 2

Those were really hard.

Hammer Strength 1-arm Row
Worked up to 225 x 9 + 5 + 5

MONDAY

Flat Bench Press
Worked up to 255 x 8 + 3 + 2

Still not back in my groove here.

Military Press
Worked up to 135 x 9 + 3 + 2

Cable Overhead Triceps Extensions
Worked up to 60 x 9 + 5 + 3

Assisted Pull Ups (neutral grip)
Worked up to 80 x 9 + 3 + 3

Paused Deadlifts
Worked up to 485×5 and then,
415×11

Good day.

What kind of people do you hang around with?

Do you hang around people with common goals and interests? Most people do. Have you ever heard the saying “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”?

So, who are your friends?

From a physical standpoint, are your friends getting you closer to achieving your physique goals or preventing you from achieving your physique goals?

Are your friend’s lifestyle choices helping you get leaner or fatter? Are you friend’s social habits congruent to your training and eating goals? Are your friend’s mindset and life goals causing you to raise the bar or lower the bar?

Where will you be in five years?

Did you know that, right now, you are the result of the five people that you hang out with the most? Think about that for a second.

Think about the five friends you hang out with more than anybody else. You’re the average of those five people.

If you hang out with five people who always got A’s on their exams, chances are you got A’s too.

If you hang out with five people who are always negative, are always whining or complaining about someone or something, I won’t be surprised if you’re a negative whiner and a complainer too. Ever notice how negativity breeds negativity?

If you hang out with five people who live the fitness lifestyle, I’m willing to bet you do too.

Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future!

Just another thing to think about as you reflect on what you’ve accomplished in 2007 and what you wish to accomplish for 2008.

Do you ever stop and think about just how much we focus our energy on negative thoughts? I was thinking about this earlier today and even I often fall victim to this … in more than one area.

What is it about negative thinking that is so consuming? Mistakes and failures – who really sets out to waste time focusing on this stuff? I’m going to go way out on a limb here and say … no one. And yet, that’s what we often do. It never does anyone any good and in fact spending a lot of time focusing on negatives, past mistakes, failures, slip ups, etc. isn’t going to get you anywhere. Yes, I understand, easier said than done.

But think about it, you’re dieting hard, and when you stop and look at the big picture, things are probably going pretty well. Stop and take a look back at where you were two months ago (or whatever arbitrary time line that is relevant to you). Chances are, there’s a lot of positive changes that have occurred since then. Are you leaner? Lighter? Stronger? Have better cardiovascular fitness? Faster? More muscular? Or maybe the way you think about food has dramatically improved. Maybe you’re more in control of food (instead of food being in control of you) than ever before. Maybe those you no longer fall prey to the mindset that says “one cookie means you’re a complete failure so bring on the whole box”.

I guess my point in all this is to simply remind you to give yourself some credit for all the effort you put into living this lifestyle. It’s not easy. But it is rewarding. I’ve been told many a time that the self control and discipline that one develops in their fitness goals often spills over into other areas of their life as well.

As I often say, there’s a reason more people aren’t walking around with enviable physiques. It’s hard work. It takes long term dedication, self control and a real desire to ‘get there’.

You’re on your way to something most adults have been trying to achieve at some point in their life … and yet don’t. But you’re different because you’re already on your way.

So next time you slip up on your diet or miss a workout, look at the big picture. In the grand scheme of your fitness journey, it’s just not a big deal. Pick yourself back up, get back on the horse and don’t look back. Even once. It’s done, it’s over and it’s gone.

Don’t waste another minute thinking about the negative. Think about all the positive changes you’ve made and how far you’ve come from day one instead.

Now don’t misinterpret that (haha). I’m not giving you the green light to go off plan. I still want you to continue to raise the bar on the expectations you set for yourself. My point is simply to say that no one is perfect. Mistakes, slip ups, etc., happen. It doesn’t turn obvious success into failure.

And if you do find yourself to be one of those who is always focusing on the negatives, consider a ’success journal’ where you write down your daily successes. It could be anything, even just winning the battle against an intense craving for the day. Before you know it, you’ll have a book full of positive reinforcement.

Just a couple workout updates today …

SATURDAY’S WORKOUT

Flat Hammer Bench Press
Worked up to 295 x 7 + 3 + 2

Hammer Shoulder Press
Worked up to 225 x 6 + 3 + 1 (that was a bit too heavy)

Close-grip Bench Press
Worked up to 205 x 8 + 4 + 3

Lat Pulldowns (overhand)
Worked up to 170 x 8 + 4 + 3

Corner Rows
Worked up to 135 x 12 and 135 x 9

MONDAY’S WORKOUT

Incline Dumbbell Curls
Worked up to 45s x 8 + 3 + 2

Alternating Hammer Curls
Worked up to 45s x 14

Standing Calf Raise
Worked up to 75 x 8 + 4 + 3

Lying Leg Curls
Worked up to 110 x 7 + 4 + 3

Leg Press
Worked up to 675 x 8 and then,
495×20

It seems those 20-reppers are getting harder, not easier. LOL

Weight -236lbs.
That’s it for today.

Just under a month until I start dieting.

Another day, another workout …

I had planned on pushing it today, but given that this was my second workout after a near two-week break, I backed off a little (at least on the squatting).

Barbell Curls
Worked up to 110 x 7 + 3 + 2

Reverse Curls
Worked up to 70 x 12

Calf Press in Leg Press (5/15/1 tempo)
Worked up to 295 x 11

Single-Leg Leg Curls
Worked up to 70 x 8 + 4 + 3

Front Squats
Warmed up to 275

Full Squats
Worked up to 305×5

At this point, I was to do 190×20, but I was running out of gas, so instead I did 3 mini sets with short rest intervals
190×10 + 190×5 + 190×5

Same thing right? LOL

As some of you know, I detest training arms. That probably stems from the fact that even at my strongest my arms have never been very strong. So, I might have a little bias against arms, since mine don’t seem to cooperate with my plans. However, I’ve been training them regularly for the last few months as you might have noticed. I do some kind of direct arm work, whether for biceps or triceps, every workout.

I used to be in the camp that said that direct arm training is pointless, due to the bombing they receive from all the heavy pushing and pulling work that gets done - assuming you’re doing heavy pushing and pulling work that is. Now while I am not as black and white as I once was, I still think it is somewhat overrated, at least in the context of how most people traditionally train arms - with just as much volume as they give their back or legs.

To summarize my thoughts on direct arm training at this point, I would say that if you’re eating in a caloric surplus (NOT dieting) and your goals are dedicated to musclebuilding, then direct arm training has merits, and you should probably be doing at least some. Note that some, does not mean a lot. A couple sets here and there will supplement the indirect work they’re already receiving very nicely. The exception to this would be if you’re relatively advanced and you’re trying to specialize on your arms. In such a case, you can and should hit them with greater volume (more sets x reps ) and more frequency (more sessions/week). However, remember you’ll have to reduce the other work your arms get when specializing, which means you’ll reduce the volume on your pushing and pulling (ie. chest, shoulders and back work).

Now that said, I still believe that when you’re dieting and training for fat loss, that direct arm training is overrated and arguably counterproductive, if not at the very least a waste of time. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to improve a bodypart while eating at a deficit and trying to lose fat. 9 times out of 10 it’s simply not going to happen.

Training for fat loss is all about maintaining and protecting your current muscle mass. It’s not a time to be trying to bring something up. What you have going into your diet is generally what you want to hold onto when you come out of your diet. If you’re able to do that, you’ve done a good job. Given the goals of training during a diet, biceps and triceps get more than enough stimulation to ’stay there’ if your program has you doing some heavy benching, overhead pressing, chin ups, rowing, etc. Also keep in mind that our ability to recover from training is reduced on lowered calories; we have less resources dedicated to recovery. We simply can’t handle the same kind of training volume when we’re dieting.

What do you think doing a bunch of extra arm work is going to do for you? What benefit will it have? We already know that you’re not going to be able to make dramatic improvements to the size of your arms while dieting and the compound work serves as enough of a stimulus to maintain current arm size. So what’s the benefit? I can’t think of any really. But what might the cost be? Extra volume, albeit far from CNS-intensive volume, but extra volume nonetheless. And we already know that recovery is at a rising premium the leaner and leaner you get. Perhaps a lot of direct arm training will impair your performance on your bigger, compound exercises? You never know.

Psychology! That’s the benefit to direct arm training while dieting. People love training arms, getting a pump, seeing the vascularity, etc. I’ll buy that. If that’s you, and you must do some direct arm training, keep it to a minimum. I’ll meet you half way. You want to do a lot, I want you to do none, so we’ll compromise and say 1-2 direct sets.