Posts Tagged ‘Losing Weight’

There are a number or benefits that come with being in top condition and owning and sporting a ripped, chiseled physique or shapely, toned figure.  There of course are the obvious ones like increased levels of energy, confidence, higher self-esteem, strength, improved athletic performance, etc.

But anyone who has labored long and hard to sculpt, shape and tone their muscles has experienced one truly awe inspiring and outstanding benefit-

Going shirtless or sporting your favorite bikini with a sense of pride and confidence!

With the summer approaching most men and women are forced to reveal their bodies regardless of the shape they are in and an overwhelming majority are out of shape.  Generally those in this category are carrying excess fat around their belly, love handles, hips, thighs, butt and chest.

All eyes male and female take notice of the select few; the elite, those who refuse to accept mediocrity:

• That truly rare breed of man with the V-tapered back, strong shoulders, sculpted arms, and rock hard chiseled abs

• That diamond in the rough vixen with shapely legs, hips and butt

Being admired, gazed at and checked out under such circumstances is a privilege earned.

And why not?  Looks do count in today’s society.  What do most people do for big events in their lives – job interviews, auditions, re-unions and marriages?  They are usually interested in losing weight and getting into great shape.

Whether you like it or not, how you look influences and impacts those doing the viewing.  Great faces and good looks are born but great bodies and superior health are made!  There are no excuses for being obese or out of shape.

We are a product of the lifestyle we live and we have the power to take control of our life and not let circumstances control us.  It all begins with deciding to take action on the right healthy lifestyle choices.

With the Rapidly Ripped Complete Fat Burning System for Life, we outline the most effective yet simple eating and nutrition strategies. We structure time- saving cardio programs and a fat burning resistance training routine to help get you ripped.

This summer you will stride with pride under the sun as you sport your new physique or figure!

The Rapidly Ripped Fat Burning workout DVD is a 55 minute full body, circuit training workout designed to work all the major muscles on your body, working from larger muscle groups to smaller.  It focuses on exercises that shape your hips, thighs and butt; sculpt a powerful chest and V- tapered back and chisel broad strong shoulders and arms.

If six pack washboard abs is what you’re after, the Rapidly Ripped Abdominal Routine will surely make your abs shine!

The program uses dumbbells and your own body weight as resistance and can be performed in the privacy of your own home!  We put together the most effective fat burning exercises that will help get you to your goal.  And you still have a few months before summer to get yourself into beach body shape.

You will be surprised how fast you can transform your body once you get into the right mind-set, and are armed with the right nutrition and exercise information you will learn from the program.

I had one client who lost 21 pounds in the first 8 weeks and I am certain you will see similar results on the program, when you apply the proven fitness and nutrition strategies that are outlined.   And once you do, you will not only improve your body but your life as well!

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of “Rapidly Ripped”
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner

Have you ever heard that losing fat is 90% diet and 10% training?  Well, that’s the formula for losing weight, which is a very different goal than losing fat!  Most fitness experts or trainers will tell you that your diet is the most important component in your pursuit of a fat free body but that is only half the equation.  Simply cutting calories without exercising or even worse, doing the wrong type of exercise, doesn’t just burn fat.  It burns fat and MUSCLE!  So you will weigh less but your body will be weak and soft instead of lean, ripped and hard.  And you will be what we all try to avoid in the fitness world – a skinny fat person.

The fact is the way you train is every bit as important for fat loss as the way you eat.  Unfortunately, when most people think of exercising to lose weight, they think of aerobic activities, such as biking, running, swimming etc.  And while all burn lots of calories, which is important, if  like most people you have trouble sticking to a diet, but when it comes to burning pure FAT, long moderate, boring aerobic activity is simply overrated!

Below are 3 reasons why:

1.  Your body adapts to cardio.
The more you do cardio, the more efficient your body becomes at burning fat for fuel, causing you to burn fewer calories from your fat stores each time you exercise.

2.  It takes longer.
When your body adapts to aerobic activity, your workouts have to last increasingly longer in order to burn the same amount of calories.  This not only increasing the amount of time you have to spend working out but also increases the chances of your body breaking down its own muscle for fuel instead of fat!

3.  The benefits are temporary.
Slow moderate aerobic activity does not increase the amount of fat you burn after your workout.  This is known as the “afterburn.” This is an important concept I talk about in my new book “Rapidly Ripped-The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!” Your metabolism returns to normal shortly after stepping off the elliptical or treadmill.

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO LOSE YOUR FAT!

The best way to get rid of unwanted body fat is hitting the weights.  The key is knowing exactly how to train to accelerate the rate at which your body burns fat, without sacrificing any of your hard earned muscle!  The first step is to forget about training individual body parts.  Instead of arms on one day and shoulders on another, and chest on yet another, think of your body as one large muscular unit and try to work as many muscles as possible in each resistance training session.  This is one of the key strategies behind The Rapidly Ripped Ultimate Fat Burning Workout. The concept of full body workouts combined with supersets and giant sets is KEY to your fat burning success!

Studies show the more muscle you stimulate in a workout, the greater the boost to your metabolism for the next 24-48 hours (a process we mentioned earlier known as the “afterburn”).  This means your body is continually burning fat at an increased rate long after your workout is over-even while you’re watching TV, driving to work or even sleeping!

So are you ready to start lifting or following the Rapidly Ripped Ultimate Fat Loss Workout DVD? Remember to aim for three full body workouts a week, resting a day in between to fully recovery.  Since you’re working your entire body each session, you want to avoid doing back to back workouts, in order to give your muscles time to recover for your next workout.  For ultimate fat loss, I suggest on alternate days you follow a short 20 minute HIIT cardio program. (More on this in my next post)

Here are 4 key points you must follow to maximize your FAT LOSS workout and get the most out of your muscles during each session.

1.  Use Free Weights.
Machines are designed to target individual muscle groups and will this will actually reduce to total amount of muscle involved to move the weight.For example, a leg extension machine works one muscle group: the quadriceps.  A  free weight squat, however, hits more than 250 muscles!

2.  Stand don’t Sit (whenever possible)
Nothing shuts off muscle involvement like lying or sitting down.   For example, a standing biceps curl is generally better than a seated curl because your back, hips, leg and even your toe muscles have to work to keep you standing, therefore burning more calories.

3.  Choose multi-joint, compound exercises.
Always pick exercises that force you to move at more than one joint.

Examples:
The Squat – involves the hip and knee joint,
The Bench Press – involves the shoulder and elbow joint.
The Bent over Row – involves the shoulder and elbow joint.

These  BIG lifts require a tremendous amount of energy, stimulating the release of muscle-building and fat burning hormones that will accelerate your fat loss and muscle building results.

4.  Go Heavy and aim for slightly heavier weights each week.
Conventional wisdom use to suggest that that we use high-rep, light weight workouts to help us lose fat and get ripped.  In reality, low-rep, heavy weight workouts burn more calories and also work more muscles, increasing the ever so important “after-burn” once you are done with the workout.  So you are burning calories and losing fat at an increased rate all day long – even at rest!  Low repetitions and heavy weight workouts also help preserve more of your muscle and have a much greater protective effect on your muscle, preventing it from being used for energy and ensuring that your weight loss comes purely from FAT! (not your hard earned muscle!)

The bottom line when lifting weights or performing body weight movements to lose fat is stick to 5-12 reps, using the heaviest weight that allows you to complete each rep in good form.  Perform 3-5 sets of 4-6 exercises per full body workout.

Bonus Tip:

If your ultimate goal is to incinerate the fat off your body and get ripped, you’ve got to keep rest periods between sets to a minimum.  Ideally 30-60 second rest at the most.  Research has shown that workouts that incorporate heavy weights and short rest periods not only challenge your body more during the workout itself, but also lead to a much more dramatic spike in the production of fat-burning hormones afterwards!

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of  Rapidly Ripped -
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner