I’ve been really surprised by all the curiosity as to how I dropped 13.5 pounds of fat in about 4 weeks (see My Training).

I mentioned before that I pretty much followed the principles in Mike Roussell’s Your Naked Nutrition Guide with some minor personal modifications to adapt it to my current lifestyle, schedule, etc.  It does pay to have friends who are at the top of the game in the nutrition and training field as it’s difficult to be objective with yourself.

As far as training goes, if you have Afterburn from my friend Alwyn Cosgrove, then you understand the basic training principles you’ll need to duplicate my efforts. 

The combined synergy of the eating plan and training plan really kicked the fat burning into high gear.

Mike thought my fat loss was pretty remarkable, so he and I recently did a little interview where we talked about how the plan was implemented and how my fat loss at my “advanced age” differed from that when I competed in bodybuilding many years ago. 

After we got finished, Mike mentioned his Your Naked Nutrition Guide Accelerator Program which I knew about but didn’t realize how extensive it was.  Imagine having Mike providing you regular tips on how to make your eating plan even more effective using the Your Naked Nutrition Guide principles.  The kicker is that it’s only available to Your Naked Nutrition Guide owners.  I know many of you have it already, but if you don’t, you can’t take advantage of the Accelerator program.  You’ll also get to hear our interview as part of the program.

Bill

My buddy Adam Campbell from Men’s Health Magazine and Jeff Volek, one of if not the top researcher on lower-carb dieting just released their book this week.  You can get more info from Adam’s blog.  I was lucky enough to have see this book formulated and created over the last year or so, and it’s great AND founded on some of the best research ever done on the topic.  The book is called the TNT Diet.

In the battle against cancer, research takes money.  It’s that research that saved my friend, Alwyn Cosgrove’s life.  His brainchild LiftStrong brings to together the cream of the crop of strength and conditioning and fitness professionals to provide over 800 pages of information on a wide variety of topics.  With our encouragement, Alwyn provided his “cancer diaries” which were the regular emails he sent out to us as he beat cancer for the second time.  Theses diaries alone are worth the donation that you’d be making the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society let alone all the programs and advice from the top names in the sports training and fitness industries.  Get LiftStrong.

My friend, and NSCA Strength Coach of the Year, Robert Dos Remedios (AKA Coach Dos) recently published his book Men’s Health Power Training.  If you want the lean muscular look of today’s top athletes, you need this book.  The foundations and programming in this book come directly from the programs that Coach Dos uses to develop his athletes, many of whom now play for majory colleges across the country and in the NFL.

Bill

P.S.  9 days until the return of Van Halen to Indy.  23 days until Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony (formerly of VH, of course) hit Indy as well.  Anyone want to join me on stage to jam with the Waboritas?!!

Ladies, you’ve been mislead, lied to, bamboozled, and tricked into buying countless, useless products to rid your thighs of that ugly cellulite.  Today, you’ll learn how to get rid of it for good with no gimmicks, gadgets, or potions.

First, let me explain what cellulite really is.

It’s body fat…plain and simple.  It’s nothing more that same body fat that’s between your fingers, on your belly, and behind your knees.

While many product manufacturers would have believe that there’s something magical about the fat on the back of your thighs, even giving it a special name - cellulite, you get rid of it the same way as fat on any other area.

Why does it look different and why does it mostly show up on women’s thighs?

Because boys and girls are different.  Sure, we’ve all known that since we traded peeks in kindergarten with the curious boy or girl next door, but there’s a physiological difference in men and women that results in the dimply fat on the back of women’s thighs.

It has to do with the type of connective tissue that men and women have.  We all have connective tissue that is layered over every bone, muscle, organ, and under the skin in a continuous sheet like Saran Wrap.  In men, this connective tissue tends to be thicker and smoother on the back of the thighs than the irregularly arranged fibers of connective tissue found on the back of women’s thighs and other areas.

When body fat increases in women, as it’s deposited on the thighs (and elsewhere), instead of being contained within the smooth, continuous connective tissues, the irregular connective tissue creates a dimpled appearance.

The key to the removal of cellulite is to reduce your body fat.  Period.

Now the bigger question is how do you that as quickly and effectively as possible?

1.  eliminate all processed carbohydrates from your eating plan
2.  Reduce your overall carbohydrate intake (DO NOT eliminate all carbs)
3.  Perform progressively challenging metabolism enhancing resistance training
4.  Perform progressively challenging fat burning interval training
5.  Burn more fat at rest

AFTERBURN! by Alwyn Cosgrove includes all the above in an easy to follow, step-by-step program.

Bill

I saw them again this morning.

I bet you’ve seen them too.

There’s the 40-ish woman with the funny, abbreviated, duck-like gait pattern. The guy whose pushing 50 who looks like he’s on the verge of death. The scrawny 20-something newlywed in the oversized t-shirt. And of course, the new Mom pushing Junior in the fancy carriage.

Yep. They’re runners.

Every since the “running revolution” in the 70’s, countless people have taken to the road in an effort to get in shape because they either read somewhere or someone told them that aerobic exercise is the key to fat loss or that it’ll help them live longers.

I don’t run.

It’s boring.

It makes me all sweaty, my heart races, my breathing quickens, and I get a little queazy in my gut. (BTW, theses are all common symptoms during a heart attack)

My friend ran the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon back in May. 13.1 miles with a scenic view of the Indy 500 track as part of route.

It took him an hour and 20 mintues.

It takes me less than 15 mintues to go 13.1 miles. I take a car like most normal people.

Now I understand that some of you actually like the feeling you get from running, so by all means continue if you like. It will contribute to your health to some degree (keep in mind that your orthopedic health is put at risk from overuse injuries).

My question for you is why you’re doing it.

For your health?

Well, there’s no magic in running long distances or having high aerobic capacity. When it comes to longevity, it’s all about burning calories.

Get this…longshoremen, not known for a lifetime quest in search of the secrets of health, have been shown to be at lower risk of heart attacks than their Harvard-educated, casually exercising counterparts.

How can this be?

Well, the longshoremen burned a helluva lot more calories than the regular exercisers by performing heavy lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling. Not by running.

Well, it’s certainly great for fat loss, right?

Intially, maybe, but its contribution to a fat loss program drops off quickly as running-specific fitness increases. If you’re running for fat loss, you’ve probably experienced such a phenomenon where you initially dropped some fat but plateaued quickly.

Why? It’s easy to become aerobically fit and the body becomes more efficient very quickly, so you actually use fewer calories to cover the same distances. Fewer calories burned means less or no fat loss AND less contribution to health (there’s also some evidence that you’ll get fatter).

So what’s the best way to lose fat and burn a lot of calories?

To answer, I’ll borrow from a program by my friend Alwyn Cosgrove called Real World Fat Loss.

In it Alwyn explains the hierarchy of activities that have been shown in the research literature AND in the real-world for faster, effective fat loss.

Here’s the hierarchy of fat loss:

1. Metabolic Resistance Training
2. High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training
3. High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training
4. Steady State High Intensity Aerobic Training
5. Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training

At best, long distance running falls into level 4 which makes it a weak recommendation for fat loss.

Alwyn’s wife, Rachel, is an up-n-coming triathlete who must run a great deal to train for her races. Does she then use long distance running as a component of training for her female fat-loss clients?

Nope. It’s just not effective.

In fact, proper fat loss training following the hierarchy above will actually increase the number of calories you burn (these calories will come from fat by the way) AFTER you exercise. Alwyn has termed this Afterburn.

So not only will you burn more fat, but you’ll increase your health by burning more calories.

Now, like I said, if you like to run, then run. But before you do, decide why you’re running. If it’s for reasons other than the joy of running, there’s a better way.

Bill

P.S. Mike Boyle has a couple articles directed toward running and orthopedic health especially for women. The first is calle Why (Most) Women Shouldn’t Run and part 2 is Should Women Run.