Details Coming Soon!

Details Coming Soon!

Details Coming Soon!

Details Coming Soon!

Details Coming Soon!

Hey guys,

Here’s your Friday workout.  We’re going to add in a bit of extra arm and shoulder work to sculpt and shape a bit. 

• 1. Deadlift: 3 sets of 6-8 reps (struggle on last rep of each set)
• 2. Incline Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• 3. Side Shoulder Raises: 5 sets to fatigue (no more than 12 reps on the 1st set)
• Superset:       4a. Curls: 5 sets (similar principle to the shoulders), move immediately into pushups
•                           4b. 1 foot Pushups (select a hand position where you cannot complete more than 12 reps on the first set).  rest 1 min, then repeat with curls followed immediately with pushups.
• 5. V-sits: 5 sets to fatigue
• 6. Half Burpees: 5 min

View more videos from the Rapid Body Transformation Program archives.

Hi Ladies,

We’re stepping up the intensity a bit today.  This will be short, but quite intense.  Try not to rest longer than a minute between any of your sets, and if you require less rest time, even better. 

• Sumo Deadlift: 5 sets of 12 (reduce weight a bit)
• Shoulder Pushups: 5 sets of 6
• Superset             3a. Jump Lunges X 20
•                                3b. Mountain Climers X 20
• 4. V-sits:  5 sets to fatigue
• 5. Half Burpees: 5 min

Watch more videos from the Rapid Body Transformation Program archives.

Hey guys,

We’re only making a couple changes to the first two workouts of the week.  They are important however so read careful.  As you’re getting stronger it’s increasingly important that we periodize certain exercises, and exercise intensity in order to maintain gains without burning out.  Refer back to the first workout vid if you’d forgotten the details on the first few exercises, otherwise the only meaningful changes below are changes to abdominal and cardio work (and the removal of bicep work on Wednesday).

Monday:

• Deadlift: 3 sets of 3 reps using 60 or 70 % of 5 rep max
• Chest Press: 3 sets of 3 reps using 60 or 70 % of 5 rep max
• Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 3 reps using 80 to 90 percent of 3 rep max
• Biceps Curl: 3 sets of 3 reps using 80 to 90 percent of 3 rep max
• V-sits: to fatigue
• Half Burpees: 5 minutes

Wednesday:

• Deadlift: Add 5 lbs to each hand X 6 repetitions. Rest 1 minute, and repeat to your ability.
• Chest Press: Add 5 lbs to each hand X 6 repetitions. Rest 1 minute, and repeat to your ability.
• Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 3 reps, using 80 or 90 percent of your 3 rep max
• No Biceps Curl
• V-sits: 1 set to fatigue
• Half Burpees: 5 minutes

Watch more videos from the Rapid Body TransformationProgram archives.

Hey all,

As promised, here’s my own progress update.  This video was shot the night I got back after a week in Thailand, where I ate and drank more than I should have.  I maintained my training according to the same principles this program is based on, but exclusively with bodyweight exercises, which may be a good topic for another program.  Your body is your gym, and wherever you are you’re equipped to train!  No excuses.

I’m not sure I’ve lost body fat in the last three weeks (for those of you who have trained with me know well, I have no use for BMI or body fat measurements.  I have two tools that never fail to determine progress…power increase, as measured by work done per unit of time, and how I look naked, or half naked, or whatever.  As we discussed in the previous post on Calorie Shifting, you are an adaptive animal, and nature doesn’t respect vanity or how many inches of chubby you can pinch off your gut, it respects power.  Measure your power output, increase your personal records, and you’ll find consistent progress.

Despite the fact that I haven’t cut back on my carbohydrate intake enough (one night over the last week for example, I had 3 large snickers bars after eating 2 full dinners and having a large beer…this isn’t good genetics on my part, this program will supercharge your metabolism in extreme ways), and for that matter cut back on booze enough, I’ve clearly made progress in muscle gain and tone, and I’m feeling strong and fresh day to day.  If you are following the post workout meal rules from the first nutrition post, and the carb cycling rules from the second nutrition post, than you’d be losing fat at a much faster rate than myself. 

I know the power of these tools well enough to know that if I’d implemented them fully from the second week, I’d have a six pack already.  This isn’t a problem with the program, but in my execution.  That being said, you can use this as an example for how forgiving this program can be, with this little training and with the application of only the post workout meal (my two staples), that significant progress can be made in a short time.  And I’m not too concerned yet, as the extra fuel I’ve been eating has to a large extent been converted to greater strength and endurance, and this will result in a heighted capacity for rapid fat loss in the coming weeks.

Going forward I’ll be more strict on my non training days, reducing simple carbohydrate intake, and focusing on veggies and low fat protein sources in order to reduce belly fat and lean up a bit.

Watch more videos from the Rapid Body Transformation Program archive.

Well into our third week of the program now, you should already be seeing notable results in tone and fat loss (if you aren’t, contact me).  If you’ve implemented the principles from the first two videos, you’re already implementing our new topic, calorie shifting.  Most simple carbohydrate sources are calorically dense, and the cutback of them will generally result in an overal calorie reduction.  Independently of carb reduction however, one can reduce body weight through an overal cut in calories, as everyone knows.  This is necessary for fat loss, but if the wrong calories are cut (protein and healthy fats), lean muscle mass will also diminish, which is not our objective.

And as most of you know, if you eat too much, muscle will indeed be built, along with a whole bunch of fat.  If we shift our caloric intake however, eating more (nutritional) food on days that we train, when our body can actually make use of the surplus calories, and reduce our caloric intake on non training days, when our bodies have lower energy demands, we’ll be able to feed muscle, and burn fat consistently without losing muscle or getting fatter.  This is the key to losing weight while maintaining a high metabolism.  It is also the key to building muscle without getting fat. 

A note on your body:  Your body has natural intelligence.  Trust it.  Most of us are insensitive to natural needs and cravings because we’re domesticated in the same way pigs and cows are.  We feed constantly, and generally on calorically dense, processed foods.  But most animals in the wild have an acute sensitivity of the nutrition their bodies require, at the times they require it.  In order to reactivate your body’s natural intelligence, it’s important that you sometimes…. go hungry.  Don’t be afraid of hunger.  And don’t be afraid of eating excessively (on occasion). 

I know this is counter to current Hollywood nutrition, but there is an important biological function of hunger.  When you are hungry, your body is able to detox more fully, allowing you to take full advantage of your next meal through more efficient nutrient absorbtion and utilization.  Your body also releases powerful anabolic hormones in order to prevent tissue breakdown and maintain homeostasis.  On the other hand, occasional overeating (built on a foundation of well balanced nutrition) will satisfy your body’s nutrient needs, raise your metabolic rate, build lean muscle, and allow for faster body fat utilization on days where your calorie intake is below your caloric burn. 

This is the yin yang of nutrition.  A balanced body must find balance amidst extremes, not in consistency.  If you seek to balance all meals and caloric intake with some standard calculation of caloric expenditure, your adaptive capability will dimish, and the rate of transformation will decline.  You are an animal.  You adapt.  Your body is hardwired for muscle growth and fat loss.  Adaptation (lean muscle growth or fat loss) is a natural biological survival mechanism which allows you to deal with more extreme environmental forces.  Embrace inconsistency and you will find consistent progress.

Ok, that’s enough philosophy.  So what does this mean practically?  More or less does not need to be quantified or calculated.  It’s also relative from individual to individual.  Here is a simple equation.  If you’ve maintained your current weight for more than a few weeks, then your caloric intake is relatively equivalent to your caloric needs.  On training days, eat more than you are used to…particularly in the hours on either side of your training.  Refer to the first nutrition video if you’re looking to build more muscle.  If you’re looking to lose more weight, still eat more, but focus on veggies and lean meats (nutrionally dense, but calorically light foods).  On lower calorie days reduce simple carbohydrate intake, and eat relatively smaller portions than you are used to.  It’s that simple.

Watch more videos from the Rapid Body Transformation Program archives.