Strength & Energy. You need energy – calories from food – for weight lifting and for daily activities.

Muscle Mass. Protein is necessary to build muscle & for muscle recovery. Nutrition can also minimize muscle breakdown.

Body Fat. Fat is emergency storage. Your body holds on to fat when you don’t eat enough calories or don’t eat enough fat.

Health. Testosterone levels, hydration, vitamins, minerals, fiber, … Your nutritional choices reflect your health.

The next 10 nutrition rules will take care of the above…

1. Eat Bre akfast. Sleeping gets you in a catabolic state. Eating breakfast stops the muscle breakdown. Eating breakfast also helps fat loss by increasing the amount of calories you burn at rest.

• Some breakfast recipes: scrambled eggs with veggies, oats & bananas, protein shakes, smoothies, etc.

If you have problems eating breakfast, read the article on how to build the habit of eating breakfast.

2. Eat Pre & Post Workout. Pre workout so you feel full of energy at the gym. Post workout for muscle recovery & to replenish your energy levels.

• Pre Workout. 1 hour before working out. Proteins, carbs, some fat. Meat, rice, veggies for example.

• Post Workout. Directly after working out. Post workout shake of whey & oats or whole meal of proteins, carbs &

some fats.

You burn more calories post workout so if you want to eat junk food, the best time is post exercise

(check rule #10).

3. Eat Ever y 3 Hours . Boosts your metabolism. Prevents cravings by keeping you filled with healthy foods. Provides you with the calories you need for energy and to gain weight.

Example meal plan:

7am Eggs with veggies

10am Quark cheese with fruit.

1pm Tuna, brown rice & pineapple.

4pm Mackerel, brown rice & apple.

5pm Workout.

6pm Post workout protein shake.

7pm Meat or poultry with potatoes & veggies.

10pm Cottage cheese, berries, flax seeds & fish oil.

4. Eat 1g Protein per Pound of Body-we igh t Daily. You need protein to build muscle & for muscle recovery. Protein also boosts your metabolism: your body burns 25kcal per 100kcal protein ingested, which is more than for carbs or fats.

Get 1g protein per pound of body-weight. That’s 2.2g protein per kilogram of body-weight.

Sources of protein:

• Red Meat Beef, pork, lamb, deer, buffalo, etc.

• Poultry Chicken, turkey, duck, etc.

• Fish Tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, etc.

• Eggs Eat the yolk, it’s full of vitamins.

• Dairy Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, quark, yogurt, etc.

• Whey Not necessary but great for easy post workout shakes.

If you weigh 150lbs/68kg, 1 can of tuna at lunch, 300g cottage cheese as snack, 300g meat at dinner and 500ml milk through the day gets you 150g protein. Check also these protein sources for vegetarians & vegans.

After thinking about it, I came up with Six Reasons the Gym SUCKS:

1.) Everyone else is going to the gym. And they suck.
Did you ever notice that when you look around the gym, everybody is doing the same thing? Like so many sheep, mindlessly plodding away with the misinformation from fitness magazines. People just go to the gym and do whatever everybody else is doing.

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into the gym and you see the same women on the same treadmills, doing the same 4 mile run, that they STILL look the same as they did 5 months ago.

I am sure you have seen the women spending hours at a time on ellipticals, bikes, and treadmills- sadly getting nowhere fast. Listen up ladies- you NEED to start doing some resistance training and cut those cardio sessions down to 20 minutes of intense interval training to get rid of the hip, thigh, and belly fat that is spilling out of your jeans.

And then there are also those wanna-be meathead guys trying to build their mirror muscles (abs, chest, biceps) with the Mr. Gargantuous (professional bodybuilder) routine and super supplement. “I switched my routine up from 4 sets of 10 to 5 sets of 8. Muscle confusion!”

Did you notice that you are exactly the same as you were a year ago? It ain’t the muscle that’s confused, son.

2.) No sunshine sucks.
I am still trying to wrap my cerebellum around the act of driving to a building, parking your car, going inside and getting on a machine to walk for 30-45 minutes. Get outside! If you want to walk, walk around the block, go to the park, whatever, but please stop your hamster wheel!

3.) Gym Memberships suck.
Paying money for a place to work out isn’t a bad thing, but the way gyms set up their business model is designed to sell you a membership, not get you the results you want. If you want personal guidance or a program, you have to pay extra.

Epic Boot Camp doesn’t hold you to a contract because we believe that you should have the freedom to make your own fitness choices. Furthermore we are confident that we provide the best fitness programs designed to meet your needs and for you to see the best results.

4.) Machines suck.
They lock you in to a path that is not a natural movement. I don’t care if it is “state of the art”, if it is not a movement that you use in everyday life, it could be more effective. Plus, do you really want to be sitting in some dudes sweaty butt print?

Machines force you to create a dependence on them and the gym. If you are used to using machines, you feel lost if you travel and can’t access the same equipment. In most cases, people figure “what the hell, I’ll just take some time off until I get back home since I don’t have any gym access out here.” Next thing you know it is 6 months later and you have gained 12lbs.

5.) The music sucks
Most of the time, the music in the gym makes me want to throw up. I don’t know which is worse- an endless loop of the Rocky IV soundtrack or Coldplay, but neither one of them works to get me gassed up for a workout.

6.) “Personal Trainers” suck.
OK, not all personal trainers suck, I know a lot of very good personal trainers, but I consider them to be coaches or instructors, not trainers. I have said it before: You train a dog not to pee on your rug, you coach or teach a person to reach a physical goal.

When you go to the typical gym for personal training, you enter a factory. They don’t really care if your reach your goals, nor do they have the desire to build a lasting relationship with you. They need to hit their quota- and YOU are just another number for them.

Our trainers are dedicated to you, your results, performance, and happiness. If we can’t show you positive results, then we have failed you. Your body is our walking billboard of success. Nothing is better than hearing mothers talk about how they have reverted back to their pre-baby weight, or campers who have made life changing weight losses like 65lbs.

With no clue about physiology or effective program design, many personal trainers are ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. I know of trainers who get their routines for clients from the current muscle magazine!

If you are a “personal trainer” and you put a client on a treadmill during the time they have paid you for, you are stealing that person’s money and violating their trust. If you take offense to this, you are probably one of the sucky trainers. Prove me wrong.

If you need the support and motivation of a workout buddy or don’t want to work out on your own, the typical gym falls WAY short in providing a results-based, cost-effective solution. So how do you get in the best shape of your life if it isn’t by joining a gym?

Find a fitness boot camp (like Epic Boot Camp) in your area that creates a fit community- a culture of success. It’s like a support group of like-minded people focused on success. You become like the people who surround you. I know a bunch of great boot camp and kettlebell instructors all over the world- people that I do business coaching for that can get you better results for less than a third the cost of typical personal training rates.

Get out of the gym. Bust out of your comfort zone. Live it up!

I borrowed and edited this article from the Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp.

1.) Everyone else is going to the gym. And they suck.
Did you ever notice that when you look around the gym, everybody is doing the same thing? Like so many sheep, mindlessly plodding away with the misinformation from fitness magazines. People just go to the gym and do whatever everybody else is doing.

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into the gym and you see the same women on the same treadmills, doing the same 4 mile run, that they STILL look the same as they did 5 months ago.

I am sure you have seen the women spending hours at a time on ellipticals, bikes, and treadmills- sadly getting nowhere fast. Listen up ladies- you NEED to start doing some resistance training and cut those cardio sessions down to 20 minutes of intense interval training to get rid of the hip, thigh, and belly fat that is spilling out of your jeans.

And then there are also those wanna-be meathead guys trying to build their mirror muscles (abs, chest, biceps) with the Mr. Gargantuous (professional bodybuilder) routine and super supplement. “I switched my routine up from 4 sets of 10 to 5 sets of 8. Muscle confusion!”

Did you notice that you are exactly the same as you were a year ago? It ain’t the muscle that’s confused, son.

2.) No sunshine sucks.
I am still trying to wrap my cerebellum around the act of driving to a building, parking your car, going inside and getting on a machine to walk for 30-45 minutes. Get outside! If you want to walk, walk around the block, go to the park, whatever, but please stop your hamster wheel!

3.) Gym Memberships suck.
Paying money for a place to work out isn’t a bad thing, but the way gyms set up their business model is designed to sell you a membership, not get you the results you want. If you want personal guidance or a program, you have to pay extra.

Epic Boot Camp doesn’t hold you to a contract because we believe that you should have the freedom to make your own fitness choices. Furthermore we are confident that we provide the best fitness programs designed to meet your needs and for you to see the best results.

4.) Machines suck.
They lock you in to a path that is not a natural movement. I don’t care if it is “state of the art”, if it is not a movement that you use in everyday life, it could be more effective. Plus, do you really want to be sitting in some dudes sweaty butt print?

Machines force you to create a dependence on them and the gym. If you are used to using machines, you feel lost if you travel and can’t access the same equipment. In most cases, people figure “what the hell, I’ll just take some time off until I get back home since I don’t have any gym access out here.” Next thing you know it is 6 months later and you have gained 12lbs.

5.) The music sucks
Most of the time, the music in the gym makes me want to throw up. I don’t know which is worse- an endless loop of the Rocky IV soundtrack or Coldplay, but neither one of them works to get me gassed up for a workout.

6.) “Personal Trainers” suck.
OK, not all personal trainers suck, I know a lot of very good personal trainers, but I consider them to be coaches or instructors, not trainers. I have said it before: You train a dog not to pee on your rug, you coach or teach a person to reach a physical goal.

When you go to the typical gym for personal training, you enter a factory. They don’t really care if your reach your goals, nor do they have the desire to build a lasting relationship with you. They need to hit their quota- and YOU are just another number for them.

Our trainers are dedicated to you, your results, performance, and happiness. If we can’t show you positive results, then we have failed you. Your body is our walking billboard of success. Nothing is better than hearing mothers talk about how they have reverted back to their pre-baby weight, or campers who have made life changing weight losses like 65lbs.

With no clue about physiology or effective program design, many personal trainers are ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. I know of trainers who get their routines for clients from the current muscle magazine!

A lot of trainers really don’t know what they’re doing. Typically, if you go to a gym, you’re in a “fitness factory.” The gym wants you to go in, stay a little bit, and then go out. They don’t care if you reach your fitness goals and they don’t want to build a relationship with you. They just want their quota, and you help fill that quota.

So instead of using a trainer that gets paid $80 an hour and who may or may not be truly qualified, a better alternative is to join a boot camp for fitness that’ll develop your community as a fit entity in its entirety invest a whole lot less money. At Epic Boot Camp we guarantee you will not only see but also feel the difference in less than half the time you would spend at the gym.

Do the math- trainers will try to get you to see them 1-3x a week. This equals $80-$240 a week or $320-$960 for 4-12 sessions in a month plus membership fees (around another $50) but with Epic Boot camp you will be investing around $15 dollars per session, thats $45 a week for a 3 day a week camp. That’s less than you would pay a trainer for 1 session! Now that is a no brainer!

If you are a “personal trainer” and you put a client on a treadmill during the time they have paid you for, you are stealing that person’s money and violating their trust. If you take offense to this, you are probably one of the sucky trainers. Prove me wrong.

If you need the support and motivation of a workout buddy or don’t want to work out on your own, the typical gym falls WAY short in providing a results-based, cost-effective solution. So how do you get in the best shape of your life if it isn’t by joining a gym?

Find a fitness boot camp (like Epic Boot Camp) in your area that creates a fit community- a culture of success. It’s like a support group of like-minded people focused on success. You become like the people who surround you. I know a bunch of great boot camp and kettlebell instructors all over the world- people that I do business coaching for that can get you better results for less than a third the cost of typical personal training rates.

Get out of the gym. Bust out of your comfort zone. Live it up!

Better Fitness, Better Health, Better Life!

I borrowed and edited this article from the Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp. Visit their site…there is some good information on there.

When people ask me what I “do” and I tell them that I am a personal
trainer, they automatically start spewing excuses as to why they are
out of shape and unhappy with their bodies. I don’t have to ask a
thing. I am suddenly a shrink. Personal facts surface quickly and
without reserve. Mind you, all I have said is that I am a personal
trainer. Suddenly I’m their life long best friend. “I don’t have time…
I have kids… I go to school… my job wears me out… I just have no
energy… I used to workout…” I’ve heard every excuse in the book.

One day I was talking with my neighbor, and like many conversations
that seem to find me, she starts to go on and on about how she is
overweight, out of shape, unhappy, etcetera, etcetera. After about ten
minutes of attempting to justify her lifestyle, I simply say, “You
have to make it a priority.” Something clicked. She was silent, (which
is rare for this woman). We have lived next door to each other for
about a year now. Not even two hours after I said those words, she was
making her first of many appointments with me.

She made it a priority. Like taking care of her children, her husband,
her job…Finally, she made her health a priority. She didn’t just make
a time to workout, she was suddenly empowered. Her voice automatically
had more confidence. She made a healthy lifestyle choice for herself,
and it’s like the world was completely different, just like that.

After one month of dedication, her body fat dropped 7%, her strength
significantly increased, and her energy skyrocketed. She had more to
contribute to life; more energy and strength to play with her
children, more confidence in anything she attempted, she controlled
stress better, and her husband even told her she looked skinny. She
made it a priority, and the payoff was more than she bargained for.

Her program was inspired by Pavel Tsatouline’s book, From Russia with
Tough Love, Kettlebell Workout for the Femme Fatale. She met with me
three times a week for a program based on two basics of lifts: squats
and dead lifts. All additional lifts introduced into her program were
based on the mechanics of these fundamental drills. My client was new
to this hard-style of training, so we focused on total body tension
and moving the weight safely from start to finish. This is personally
important to me, because as a trainer I want the reassurance that my
client can safely and effectively workout by themselves.

In addition to basic drills, I would throw in a modified Department of
Energy “Man-Maker,” every now and then for a good “cardio session.”
The DOE Man-Maker consists of a series of Kettlebell snatches
alternated with running. I modified the snatches to swings and the run
to either rowing or some type of walk with the bells. The Kettlebell
walks included anything from farmer’s walks to double overhead walks.

This client, like many, wanted more “ab work.” So, we worked on things
like get up sit-ups, circle sit-ups, and power breathing crunches at
both the beginning and end of our sessions. If a lift is a priority,
it should be done first in the series. To further drive home the fact
that I acknowledge her requests, we added the ab drills to the end of
her workouts, as well. (Needless to say, she has not made any more
personal requests.)

In the end, it was the client’s dedication to, and commitment at each
session that improved her overall quality of life. She made her health
a priority, and it ultimately paid off in all other aspects of her
life. If it’s important to you, you have to make it a priority. It’s
your choice.

Eating fats also helps fat loss: your body holds fat if you don’t eat fats. Fruits & veggies contain vitamins & minerals, necessary for recovery from your workouts. And carbs fuel your muscles so you feel full of energy at the gym.

Lots of you struggle to get these foods. Sometimes because you’re too busy or sometimes because you just lack information. This list will help you — 20 super foods you need to build muscle & lose fat.
1. Whole Eggs. Cheap & rich source of protein: 7g/egg. The yolk contains most nutrients: half the protein, vitamins A/D/E and cholesterol to naturally increase your testosterone levels.

Don’t worry about cholesterol in eggs. Dietary cholesterol isn’t bound to blood cholesterol. If you have bad cholesterol, lower your body fat rather than throwing the yolk away.
2. Fish Oil. Reduces inflammation (joints/skin), lowers body fat and increases testosterone levels. You need 9000mg EPA/DHA per day. Since you’ll probably struggle to get that from eating fatty fish, consider a fish oil supplement.
3. Wild Salmon. One of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids that also gets you 20g protein per 100g serving. Farm raised salmon is, however, omega-3 deficient: it’s corn/grain fed. Go with wild salmon.

4. Berries. Strong antioxidants that prevent cancer, heart & eye diseases. Any kind works: cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc. Buy fresh or frozen berries and mix with oatmeal.
5. Yogurt. Contain bacteria that improve your gastrointestinal health. Don’t buy frozen yogurt or yogurt with added sugar and fruits at the bottom. Get plain low fat yogurt. Eat it with berries & flax seeds.
6. Flax Seeds. Source of fiber, protein & omega-3. Grind the flax seeds to get the most out of them. Take 1 tbsp with yogurt & berries before going to bed. Stay away from flax oil: it’s unstable and contains no fiber.
7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. 70% monounsaturated fats that protect against heart diseases and cancer. Add 1-2 tbsp olive oil to your salads. Buy Extra Virgin Olive Oil: it contains more polyphenols and tastes better.
8. Mixed Nuts. Contain mono- & polyunsaturated fats, proteins, fiber, vitamin E, zinc, potassium, magnesium, etc. Mixed nuts are caloric dense, great if you’re a skinny guy who wants to gain weight.

Anything works: almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, … Peanut butter also works as long as you buy natural peanut butter without added salts/sugars.

9. Red Meat. Protein, vitamin B12, heme iron, zinc, creatine, carnosine and even omega-3 if you eat grass-fed beef. Eat steaks & hamburgers from top round or sirloin.
10. Broccoli. High in cancer-fighting phytochemicals and anti-estrogenic indoles. Broccoli is also high in soluble fiber and low calorie, helping fat loss. Eat other cruciferous vegetables for a change: cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, kale, …
11. Spinach. One of the most alkaline foods. Spinach prevents muscle & bone loss, but also cancer and heart diseases because of its high nutrient profile.
12. Turkey. If you don’t believe saturated fat is good for you, try white turkey. The leanest beef has about 4.5g saturated fat/100g, while white turkey has close to 0g (that why it’s so dry). Eat turkey with spinach & quinoa.
13. Quinoa. South American “king of grains”. Quinoa is higher in fiber & protein than rice or oats, tastes a lot better and is gluten free. Buy the whiter grain, it’s better quality. Eat it post workout with meat & spinach.
14. Oats. Reduce cholesterol, provide you with low-gi carbs for energy, and high in soluble fiber.
15. Tomatoes. High in lycopene, which prevents cancer. The lycopene in tomato paste is 4 times more bioavailable than in fresh tomatoes. Have pizza or pasta with tomato sauce & olive oil post strength training.

16. Oranges. Vitamin C to fight diseases, magnesium to lower blood pressure, anti-oxidant beta-carotenes, etc. Quit drinking processed orange juice which often has added sugars. Eat oranges or make your own orange juice.
17. Apples. Pectin in apples helps weight loss by increasing satiety. Apples are also the strongest antioxidiant after cranberries (eat the peels). Unfortunately apples are one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits. Go organic.
18. Carrots. Their huge vitamin A content improves eye-health, especially night vision. Carrots are also rich in fiber, low calorie and taste good, even raw.
19. Water. Your body holds water if you don’t drink enough. Drinking prevents water retention, helps muscle recovery and prevents dehydration from strength training. Get a brita filter and drink 2 cups of water with each meal.
20. Green Tea. Strong antioxidant and natural diuretic. Green tea also speeds up fat loss, prevents cancer and improves blood sugar & circulation. Drink green tea in the morning instead of coffee. Real green tea, not the teabags.
Putting it All Together. Eat proteins, veggies, fruits & fats every 3 hours. 2 cups water with each meal. Carbs post workout only. Junk food 10% of the time. Get stronger in the meanwhile and you’ll build muscle & lose fat.

When was the last time that you got excited about doing some cardio? Doing traditional forms of cardio such as riding an exercise bike or running on a treadmill are about as exciting as watching a movie on the family channel. Lets face it one of the main reasons why people give up on cardio is similar to why smart people do not watch daytime television as both are beyond boring. Moreover, with regular cardio it takes too long to see results to persevere through the boredom. Do not believe me? Take a trip down to your local gym and look at the people in an aerobics class. Now go back in a month and see if you notice any physique composition differences. See what I mean? Fortunately there are several alternatives that offer more variety, are more challenging, and produce faster results. I am going to cover three highly effective fat loss programs in this article: PHA, HOC, and the “Descending Sets” Program.

Lets start off the boring cardio revolt with PHA. PHA stands for Peripheral Heart Action. P.H.A is basically an intense form of circuit training in which you group several exercises together that work the entire body. Instead of pumping a lot of blood into one muscle, the goal according to John McCallum, author of “The Complete Keys To Progress”, “is to increase your circulation enormously without congesting your muscles. You pump blood through your muscles rather than just into them.” The keys with P.H.A training are to one focus on compound exercises and to move from one exercise to the next as quickly as possible. Feel free to take one-minute breaks in the beginning between each exercise and reduce the breaks gradually over time until you are not resting at all in between each set. P.H.A workouts usually start with two groups of circuits per workout. Do five rounds in group one and then five rounds in group two. I have met very few trainees that can handle this much volume initially. Thus, I would start with one group and build up to multiple groups from there. Here are some sample PHA workouts:

BEGINNER

Group 1:

• Dumbbell Clean and Military Press 6 reps
• Dumbbell Squat 10 reps
• Weighted Pull-up 6 reps
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r (left and right)
• Slow and Controlled Sit-up 10 reps (4 seconds up and 4 seconds down)

Here is how the program works. Do each exercise in Group One in circuit fashion. In other words, do one exercise after the other with short or no breaks. At the end of the sequence, take a one-minute break and then repeat four more times for a total of five rounds. If necessary, take one-minute breaks between each exercise and when you can do all five rounds with one-minute breaks, decrease the breaks to forty-five seconds. Work on getting down to no breaks in between each workout. At that point increase the weight on each exercise.

ADVANCED

Group 1:

• Incline Dumbbell Press 6 reps
• Barbell Squat 8 reps
• Barbell Bent-over Row 6 reps
• Stiff-legged Deadlift 8 reps
• Hanging Leg Raise 6 reps

Group 2:

• Dumbbell Clean and Military Press 6 reps
• Dumbbell Squat 10 reps
• Weighted Pull-up 6 reps
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r (left and right)
• Slow and Controlled Sit-up 10 reps (4 seconds up and 4 seconds down)

Do five rounds of Group 1 with one-minute breaks in between each set. Take a one-minute break after all five rounds have been completed and then move on to Group 2. Do five rounds of Group 2 with one-minute breaks. Decrease the breaks in between each exercise and work on getting down to no breaks between the exercises in each group. Continue to take a one to two minute break in between each group.

In addition to being an outstanding program for fat loss and muscular endurance, PHA is also effective for strength training. You cannot beat that. If fat loss and endurance are your main goals then try doing three PHA workouts per week. Take a day off in between each workout. For example, do the workouts on M-W-F. Avoid doing additional cardio on the days off. If your goal is strength and size then try doing two full body 5×5 workouts per week and two moderate PHA workouts per week. Moderate meaning no more than one group. Do the 5×5 workouts on Monday and Thursday and the PHA workouts on Tuesday and Friday.

Next, lets move on to HOC, which stands for High Octane Cardio. HOC is brutal and not for the faint of heart. I mean that literally and figuratively. If you have high blood pressure, you want to clear this program with your doctor as your heart rate is going to go through the roof with HOC training. HOC is based on a form of training that boxer’s use called “Roadwork.” Legendary boxers such as Muhammad Ali used to do “Roadwork” in order to get in great fighting shape. “Roadwork” is still a staple in the arsenal of today’s fighting elite. Here is how it works, go out for a jog and every fifty yards or so, drop down and do some bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups. Crank out twenty-five reps and then get up immediately and start jogging again. After another fifty yards or so, drop down again and crank out some more bodyweight drills. This is a very efficient way to build up cardio and muscular endurance that will carry over to the ring. It is also an extremely effective method for fat burning. Regardless, you can increase the benefits of “Roadwork” tremendously by combining moderate aerobic training with high intensity aerobic training in the form of ballistic weight training. Ballistic weight training is a form of weight training in which weights are moved quickly and explosively. One obvious example is Olympic Weight Training. Of course, it would not be prudent to use exercises that are technically demanding such as Barbell Cleans and Barbell Snatches. However, ballistic exercises done with dumbbells or kettlebells are a fit assuming that you are familiar with exercise such as Dumbbell Cleans, Dumbbell Snatches and Dumbbell Swings. If not, get your form down with those exercises before doing them in the context of an HOC program. Here are some sample HOC Programs:

BEGINNER

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean and Push Press 10 reps l,r (left and right)

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Snatch 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean and Push Press 10 reps l,r (left and right)

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Snatch 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of jump roping at moderate pace
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean 10 reps l,r

Do each round back to back and then take a one-minute break before going to the next round. A round is one set of jump rope work and one ballistic exercise set. When you can do all eight rounds with one-minute breaks, decrease the breaks to forty-five seconds. Work on getting the breaks down to thirty seconds per round. If you really want to become a machine then work on getting the beaks down to zero. Just do not rush into it, crawl before you can run or you will be crawling after each workout. If you find this program too demanding, then switch to Richard Simmons’ “Sweating To The Oldies” workout. Just kidding, just increase the breaks between each round and take a break between the jump rope work and ballistic exercise work as well.

ADVANCED

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean and Push Press 10 reps l,r (left and right)

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Snatch 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean and Push Press 10 reps l,r (left and right)

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Snatch 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Swing 10 reps l,r

• One-minute of heavy bag work
• One-arm Dumbbell Clean 10 reps l,r

Really go at it with the heavy bag work, which by the way is a blast and very tiring as well. Throw some punches, kicks, bitch slap the bag a few times. You get the idea. Take a minute to catch your breath and then crank out the ballistic work set. Rest for thirty seconds and go right into another round. Work on getting the breaks down between the heavy bag work and ballistic exercise sets and in between each round. Ease into this one gradually. If your main goal is fat loss, do three HOC workouts per week and do one full body strength workout. For example do HOC on M-W-F and do one 5×5 full body workout on Saturday. Do two full body 5×5 workouts per week and two moderate HOC workouts per week if you want to train for size and strength and as a secondary goal increase muscular endurance. Just stick with six to eight rounds of HOC at a moderate intensity.

Finally, lets move right into the “Descending Sets Program.” I picked up this killer program from my friend Marc Lobliner. Here is how the program works. Pick a ballistic exercise such as Dumbbell Cleans, Dumbbell Swings, or Dumbbell Snatches. I prefer to do these exercises with kettlebells but Dumbbells will suffice if that is all you have. You just will not impress the opposite sex as much. Knock of a set of fifteen reps in the first set and then take a short break. Do another set of fifteen reps and take another short break. Then do a set of twelve reps. See where this is going? As the program continues the reps decrease and boy will you be glad that they are as you will be huffing and puffing like a locomotive after a few sets. Here are some sample programs:

BEGINNER

Pick the One-arm Dumbbell Swing and do the following set and rep scheme:

• Set 1: 15 reps l,r (left and right)
• Set 2: 15 reps l,r
• Set 3: 12 reps l,r
• Set 4: 12 reps l,r
• Set 5: 10 reps l,r
• Set 6: 10 reps l,r
• Set 7: 8 reps l,r
• Set 8: 8 reps l,r
• Set 9: 6 reps l,r
• Set 10: 5 reps l,r

Pick a weight that you can knock off twenty reps with. Take one-minute breaks between each set and work on getting the breaks down to thirty seconds. When you can do all ten sets with thirty-second breaks, increase the weight by five to ten pounds. This workout is a smoker but it can get a lot worse. Just try doing it with One-arm Kettlebell Snatches or better yet snatch your girlfriend, pun intended. Now that is brutal.

ADVANCED

After a few months of taking it easy with the beginner “Descending Sets Program”, it is time to take it up a notch. Start by picking a harder exercise such as Snatches or Clean and Push Presses. Now instead of doing one-arm work, do double work. In other words, have a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand. Double Snatches are brutal so try doing Double Clean and Push Presses first and make sure you train on an empty stomach or you will end the workout on a forced empty stomach.

Do the following with Dumbbell Clean and Push Presses

• Set 1: 15 reps
• Set 2: 15 reps
• Set 3: 13 reps
• Set 4: 12 reps
• Set 5: 11 reps
• Set 6: 10 reps
• Set 7: 9 reps
• Set 8: 8 reps
• Set 9: 8 reps
• Set 10: 7 reps

Take one-minute breaks between each set and work on getting the breaks down to thirty seconds. When you can do all ten sets with thirty-second breaks, increase the weight by five to ten pounds. An option is to add a rep to keep adding reps to sets 3-10 until you are eventually doing 10×15 per workout. A worthy goal that will take some time and have a major payoff in serious fat loss and increased muscular endurance. Try adding two “Descending sets” workouts to your regimen per week if you wan to add some endurance and fat loss work to your program. If you main goal is fat loss, then try three “Descending Sets” workouts per week and one full body strength-training program per week. Again the 5×5 program is a good option.

The end of boring cardio programs is upon us. Three programs for trainees that are bored to death with standard cardio programs. Pick one of these programs and get to work. When you get tired of one program rotate it with another one. Be creative with these workouts and have a good time. If you find the programs too hard, do not worry you can always check out Richard Simmons’ ‘Sweating To The Oldies” program or pick up a tae-bo DVD at Target.