Josh Hillis' Fat Loss and Fitness

Best and Worst Beach Bodies: Britney Spears

Like I said last week, I'm always stoked when InTouch Magazine does their "Best and Worst Beach Bodies" article.  A few days ago I wrote about Audrina Partridge, who InTouch rated one of the best, and today we're going to take a look at Britney Spears, who they rated one of the worst.

Britney Back in the day.  I'm sure lots of readers can remember a time when they were in better shape. 
Two of my clients this week got down to the same weight they were in in high school.  And at their high school weight, they feel stronger now.

Britney Spears And The Workout That Isn't Working

Britney Spears is listed as one of the worst beach bodies.

Apparently, with all of her working out and dieting, she still can't lose the extra fat she's picked up these last couple of years.

Since she's working out five days per week with her personal trainer, I'm sure it's not the workouts she's screwing up. 

It's definitely the food. Britney hasn't been keeping her food log.

Maybe she suckered her trainer into not checking her food log right now.

Or she hasn't being weighing and measuring her food, and she's grossly misjudging portion sizes.

Or she's forgetting to write something down.  Every day.

Something is missing.

Her trainer's job is to sit her down and have a really hard conversation about what's missing.

If you aren't getting the results you want, you need to sit down and have a hard conversation with yourself.

 

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

"I ripoff Josh Hillis' workouts to use with my clients on a regular basis." Dave Whitley, Senior Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor, and owner of Nashville's best fat loss bootcamp.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Best and Worst Beach Bodies: Audrina Partridge

When InTouch Magazine does their "Best and Worst Beach Bodies" article, it's always fun for me to check it out and see who I should write about.

Audrina Partridge Credits Sit-Ups for Losing Fat

This episode features Audrina Partridge saying that the secret to her abs is doing 100 sit-ups per day. 

This, of course, is typically the kind of thing that celebrities say when they don't have any idea how they got the body they have.

Or it could be the one line that the writer pulled out of a 15 minute interview.  She could have talked about all kinds of things.  The writer (who isn't a fitness expert) might have just wanted a quote that would fit the picture. 

And then everyone goes out and does 100 sit-ups and wonders why they don't have Audrina's body.

Given that she has the same personal trainer as Lauren Conrad, it's safe to say that she did the same kinds of workouts, including squats and lunges and all the other big movements that actually build sexy lean bodies in the real world.

Audrina and Lauren

Lauren Conrad's Diet Didn't Work For Audrina

More interesting is that their trainer put them both on the exact same diet, and while it worked wonders for Lauren, it didn't work at all for Audrina.  In fact, it Audrina said it made her "...really bitchy and light-headed. Lauren did really good with it, but it made me really sick."

The take away is that different people need different things, food wise.

You shouldn't be on any diet that makes you angry with the people around you.

Some people feel much more full and satisfied with lots of good carbs (fruits, veggies, brown rice), some people feel more full and satisfied with more protein (fish, chicken, beef, bison), and some people feel more full with lots of good fat (fish oil, flax seed oil, avacado).

Everyone needs different ratios to feel good.  It's individual.

If you don't feel good, you can't maintain it.

You've got to keep a food log to see which meals make you feel full, happy, and satisfied.

Take note: Was it more protein?  More carbs?  More fat?

Audrina on the set of the upcoming Into the Blue 2

I Eat Hamburgers and Ice Cream: Everything is Relative

Audrina told TV Guild that she eats hamburgers and ice cream.

One look at her body and you can tell that hamburgers aren't the main staple of her diet.

This is the same thing that happens when a celebrity says that they aren't on a diet.

When Audrina Partridge says she eats hamburgers and ice cream, she doesn't mean that she has eats that all the time.

She means that she eats it at all.  That she hasn't permanently removed it from her diet.

She may have a free day once a week.  Relative to other Hollywood girls, that may seem wild and crazy.

 

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Josh News: I'm in a music video! 

Okay, so you already know if you've been following me me on twitter.  But here is the full story.

I'm a huge fan of The Flobots from way back.  My friend Anthony used to be Brer Rabbit's personal trainer, and we'd get free tickets to see them at Denver local venues like Herman's Hidaway and The Bluebird.

Since then they've blown up to #3 on Billboard's moden rock chart, been on Carson's show, Leno's show, got and got a record deal from Universal.

Filming their second video, Rise, they came back to Denver and opened it up for all of their old fans to be in the audience.  It was awesome.

While they're performing, you'll be able to see me in the middle in the second row.  And when they show the different organizations, I'm with The Department of Peace, in the back in the middle.

And I was stoked Brer Rabbit remembered me =) 

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

"When we say Hillis, we mean awesome.  When we say awesome, we mean Hillis." Dave Whitley, Senior Instructor - Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Why Guy's Magazine Workout Articles Still Suck

First, let me clarify: I'm talking about the "Lose your gut in 5 weeks" workout magazines, not the "Add 12 inches to your arms with these five kinds of steroids" magazines.  In other words, if the guy on the cover has veins on his forehead that are bigger than your arms, I hope you skip that magazine completely.

We're talking about the Men's Health kinds of magazines, that in the last couple of years have gotten much better in terms of exercise selection and workout recommendations.  That kind of guy workout magazine.

Guy magazines have started to include good workouts, but now there is a new problem

They'll recommend doing a really awesome exercise like a barbell clean, but they'll give two pictures and one sentence about how to do it.

Then they'll do the same thing with five other complex exercises that the average gym goer isn't  familiar with, like good mornings, kettlebell swings, overhead squats and pistols.

While the workout programs are starting to get decent, the instruction on how to do them is completely inadequate. 

The result it people doing things with really ugly form, and a lot of dudes walking out of the gym rubbing their tweaked and sore lower backs.

In other words, they are doing a lot of the right things, but they're doing them mostly the wrong way.

So if you saw the article last week, I compared the measures of success Coach Dan John uses with his athletes, with the measures I use with my leanest girl clients.

For guys, I'm going to add one more, specific to the problems I usually see with guys doing workouts from magazines:

They don't understand how to do technical lifts like deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and squats with correct form, but they are doing them anyway.

Get Your Black Belt in Full Body Strength

I've actually been criticized for putting in too much information about how to perform an exercise in my books. 

Three pages about a kettlebell swing!  No one wants to read three whole pages on one move!

A lot of it comes from the way my mentors teach.  Pavel wrote an entire book, Power to the People, about how to do two movements: the deadlift and the side press.  He wrote another book, Enter the Kettlebell, where the  entire book is about the kettlebell swing and the clean and press. 

It's a paradigm shift in working out.

You don't just go to the gym and bang out mindless reps.

It takes skill.

It's like getting your black belt in generating full body power.

And an MBA in force generation.

Some people understand the kettlebell swing the first time they try it.  That's awesome. 

But I was never that guy - in any sport I played.  I needed the complex movements broken down into smaller steps.

Most of my clients need to go through a progression of drills to learn the movement perfectly.  The entire progression I use I learned from Pavel, and you can get it all in his book, Enter the Kettlebell.

The guy clients I have that are the leanest, most jacked, ready to tear off their t-shirts at the pool are always the ones who:

1.) Can do the most pull-ups.

2.) Have the strongest deadlift.

3.) Have the best food log.

4.) Understand how to do technical lifts like deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and squats with correct form.

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Josh News:  

I'm up to doing serious kettlebell snatch workouts with the 44lb kettlebell, heavy swings with the 70lb kettlebell, and push presses with the 52lb kettlebell.  I'm doing Enter the Kettlebell style Snatch + Press ladders with the 44. 

After being hurt most of last year, I'm slowly working my way back to the kind of fitness I know myself as having.  I'm right on track to be back in RKC Instructor shape by the time the October RKC Instructor Certification rolls around, where I am going to be an Assistant Instructor.  I get to hang with Head RKC Instructor Pavel, and I get to help my friend and Senior RKC Dave Whitley teach the new RKC hopefulls.  I'm really, really stoked.

So like I said, I'm getting more and more into Web 2.0.  If you've never played with StumbleUpon before, it learns the websites you like, and lets you channel surf, with amazing accuracy, website after website you've never seen before, but that you are going to like.  You can check out my all time favorite "stumbles"  at http://joshhillis.stumbleupon.com/ or the things I've "stumbled" recently at http://joshhillis.stumbleupon.com/stumbles/  

And if you like my articles it totally helps me out if you give 'em a thumbs up at StumbleUpon by clicking on the "share this" button at the bottom of this article.  And thanks to everyone who stumbled 'em last week!  Thanks so much!

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

"When we say Hillis, we mean awesome.  When we say awesome, we mean Hillis." Dave Whitley, Senior Instructor - Russian Kettlebell Challenge

Instructor.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Workout Articles in Women's Magazine's Almost Don't Suck

Okay, so I used to make the blanket statement that all magazine workouts suck all of the time. 

In the last couple years, things have started to change.  They're getting slightly better about exercise selection.

Girl Workout Magazines

It's true.  You can totally find articles that include some of my favorite movements like renegade rows and kettlebell swings.

The problem is, that they often still recommend ridiculously low weights when someone is trying to lose weight or "tone up". 

I read an article yesterday that said "Get 5lb dumbbells.  Curl them 30 times, or longer if that's what it takes to feel a burn."

What the f%@k are they talking about?  Has this author actually ever trained a client in the real world?

Seriously, if you could get amazing results lifting a 5lb dumbbell, then everyone would look like Giselle. 

One of the articles showed a girl doing kettlebell swings with an 8lb kettlebell.  I didn't know they even made kettlebells that light.  A girl that's been working out for a couple months could easily do swings with a 26lb kettlebell or 25lb gripper plate, if her form is correct. 

A guy should be able to start doing swings with a 36lb kettlebell or a 35lb gripper plate.

Sure, everyone knows some girl who are genetically gifted who can get away with doing damn near anything and look lean and hot.  They're the girls who can lift a 5lb dumbbell and get results.

My clients are the ones who have to work for it. 

My clients have to get stronger.

Look, tons of people start off lifting 5lb dumbbells.  That's totally ok.  Just don't stay there forever!  Work your way up to the 8lb dumbbells.  Next thing you know maybe even the 12lb dumbbells.  All I'm saying is, over time you have got to be getting stronger.

My clients that are the leanest are always the strongest.

Something I noticed after reading this article by Coach Dan John,  "The Three Tape Measures of Progress", that my leanest clients typically share two of the three measures he uses with his athletes.

My leanest, hottest, lets-go-to-the-beach bikini-ready clients are always the ones who:

1.) Can do the most pull-ups.

2.) Have the strongest deadlift.

3.) Have the best food log.

It's pretty striking, the difference in pull up numbers between the girls who are really really lean and fit, and the girls who aren't. 

Most notably, the girls who are really lean are doing pull ups without any assistance at all.

But everyone starts off doing assisted pullups.  A good goal is to use 10lbs less assistance every month.  So if you're doing pullups with 90lbs of assistance right now, you should hit your first full pull up in about 9 months.

P.S. The article on why guy's magazine's workouts suck comes out next week.  The workout articles in guy's magazines suck for a completely different reason.

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Josh News:  

Just started taking a course "Living Passionately: The Art and Mastery of Playing the Game of Life".  It's pretty wild and ambitious being in a serious inquiry about mastering the game of life, and I wanted to share a quote we've been discussing:

As a Zen saying goes, “A master in the art of living makes little distinction between work and play, between labor and leisure, between love and religion. Hardly knowing which is which, a master is always doing both."

Also, I'm getting more and more into Web 2.0.  You can follow me on Twitter, if you want like ten times more Josh news.  If you've never played with StumbleUpon before, it learns the websites you like, and lets you channel surf, with amazing accuracy, website after website you've never seen before, but that you are going to like.    And if you like my articles it totally helps me out if you give 'em a thumbs up at StumbleUpon by clicking on the "share this" button at the bottom of this article.

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

How To Put Together A Fast Workout Training Week

Ok, so you want to look hot in your bikini for the Fourth of July. 

 

 

Or if you're a dude you want to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club when you take your shirt off at the back yard bar-b-que.

You read the last two posts about how your workouts should look.  Now you want to know what it looks like in the context of an actual week.

Your Super Fast Workout Training Week

Sunday: Meal planning, Shopping and Cooking

Monday: Strength Training
2 x 5 Squats (at the gym) or Pistols (at home)
2 x 5 pullups (or assisted pullups at the gym) or dumbbell bent over rows (at home)

Tuesday: High Intensity Circuits
2  Four Minute Fat Loss Robot circuits

Wednesday: Meal planning, Shopping and Cooking

Thursday: Strength Training
2 x 5 Deadlifts (in the gym) or Single Leg Deadlifts (at home)
2 x 5  Dumbbell Bench Presses (at the gym) or Dumbbell Shoulder Presses or Floor Presses (at home)

Friday: High Intensity Circuits
2  Four Minute Fat Loss Robot circuits

Saturday: Take the day off, or go do something fun!

How It All Feels

On the four minute high intensity circuit days:

Your job is to get as much work done in that time frame as you can.

If you are new to that kind of intensity, build up SLOWLY.  You don't need to set a world record on your first day.  But push yourself a little, and have some fun with it.

On the strength days:

Your job is to lift as heavy as you can, with perfect form.  The idea is to get stronger over time.  To lift heavier.  To build the muscle that's going to speed up your metabolism, make you look leaner, and allow you to eat more.

On the meal planning days:

Your job is to stock your fridge with the best meals possible to support your goals.

Prepare your dinners ahead of time.  Prepare your lunches ahead of time.  The more prep work you do ahead of time, the easier this whole food thing becomes.

A little planning makes ALL the difference. 

Ever here that "An ounce of prevention is work a pound of regret"?   That's how most people do their food!  Most people wander into their day, eat what ever pops up, and then regret it later. 

A little planning ahead of time takes the whole emotional decision out of what to eat.  Pull the tupperware out of the fridge.  You should fill tupperware containers with pre-made, weighed and portioned out meals.

That way, when you are HUNGRY, no thinking is required.  You just eat what's there. 

I prefer to MAKE IT EASY to eat right.  I find that works much better than "discipline".

Get In, Kick Ass, Go Home

Getting lean isn't nearly as HARD as most people would make you think.

It doesn't take hours in the gym.  It takes 4 minutes of kicking ass.  Or maybe (at the high end) 10-15 minutes on the strength days.

Intensity is your friend.  It's how you create the body you want without spending hours and hours.

You're better off spending your time planning meals anyway.  Get the food right, and the workouts don't have to take that long.

I wrote this post for all the people that have already purchased the www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com, because this is exactly what I would have them do on a weekly basis.

For the people who haven't gotten it, this is the last post I'll write about it for a while.

I tend to write articles in blocks, and I've got something really different for the next block of articles.  These last few posts have been longer articles where I've just been downloading a ton of information. 

In the next block of articles we're gonna talk a little about being Zen in the pursuit of your goals.  It'll be fun!

http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Long Steady Cardio Actually Works?

Long Steady Cardio vs. Fast High Intensity Circuits

People have been asking me tons of questions about long steady cardio lately.  "What if I really love it?" or  "What if I want to run a marathon?" or "I like high intensity interval training, but I'm totally bored with it!"

My answer is going to shock some people.

Long steady cardio works.

It isn't the evil that I've made it out to be.  It isn't the source of all that is bad and wrong in the universe. 

I mean, sometimes it is.  Just not all of the time.

It's not that it doesn't work.  It's just the least effective thing you can do.

Sometimes it's even perfect.

A Quick Re-Cap Of My Workout Philosophy

If you are new to reading my blog, I'm going to catch you up to speed:

1.) Long slow cardio is less effective for fat loss than "high intensity interval" or "sprint" cardio.  And long steady cardio takes a lot of time.

2.) Weight training, with big movements like squats and deadlifts, is more important than cardio of any kind for fat loss.

So my biggest beefs with long slow cardio have been that it takes too much time for my average client, and that they need to add strength training.

I only have to burn 26,000 more calories before I can fit into my skinny jeans!

If Long Cardio Is So Bad, Why Does It Feel So Right?

Here are the two times that I let my clients do long steady cardio:

1.) If they hate high intensity intervals.

2.) If they used to love high intensity intervals, but they've been doing them for so long they are bored to tears with them.

If you hate your workout, you aren't going to do it  with any passion or soul in it.

The passion for a workout, and the fun of a workout will bring more results than the "perfect" program.

If you totally love long steady cardio, do it!

After a long day, sometimes nothing helps me de-stress like a nice long run.

How Do I Do Long Steady Cardio And Get The Results I Want?

If you want to do long steady cardio, you must get stronger at the major lifts: Squats, deadlifts, pullups and presses.

Let me repeat: If you want to do long steady cardio, you must get stronger at the major lifts: Squats, deadlifts, pullups and presses.

Long slow cardio will make you skinny fat if you don't lift and don't get stronger.

You have to get stronger.

What If I Want More Results In Less Time?

My clients want to get wicked hot swimsuit lean, and do it in three hours per week or less.

This is my only beef with long steady cardio - if you only have three hours per week, long steady cardio would be a very poor use of time.

Here's what we do:

1.) Short, hard, high intensity cardio.

2.) Get stronger in major lifts.

3.) High intensity circuit training.

4.) Major changes to nutrition.

High intensity circuits are your best use of time, if you want to get wicked lean in a short period of time.

The leanest, hottest, most rockstar, bikini ready girls or boardshorts ready guys always do high intensity circuits.  Most people are shocked at how short these circuits are, and how hard a short, fast high intensity circuit can be.

I just got out of a meeting, I have to go pick up the kids, and then I have another meeting, and I'm lucky to have a minute to read this email at the park.   Fast, hard, four minute circuit workouts get me the body I want for summer, and leave me the time I need to take care of everything else in my life.

Pushing The Envelope Of Powerful Fat Blasting Workouts

The reason I'm so pumped about what's going on at www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com is because this is what the world needs - faster workouts that work.

The reason I don't write much about Madonna's workouts - she works out THREE HOURS PER DAY!  Anyone can get results working out three hours per day.  It's not newsworthy.

Getting results with four minute circuits, that's headline news.

Some e-books like to tell you that they've got a million pages, because that looks more valuable.  I'm like "Can you give me the important information in two pages?"

We need more results, and faster time.

I want to look lean, strong, athletic, and hot, and still have time to hang out with my wife. 

I bet you want to be lean and confident and have your clothes fit well and walk around town knowing you look good - and you also have other things to do besides be in the gym.

That's why I think people would be crazy not to get an infinite number of four minute fat loss circuits that work at http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

I don't often push this hard with products that aren't mine.  In fact, I don't often push this hard with my own products.  I just think that shorter faster workouts that work are the future of the fitness industry. 

We were taught to do long workouts because no one knew how to do ultra-fast, smart workouts.

These are the ultra-fast, smart workouts:

http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Fat Loss Workouts In Four Minutes

Sometimes I take for granted that everyone isn't a trainer.

I forget that everyone doesn't know how to get a really effective and results producing fat loss workout in four minutes.

In fact, people who haven't tried it don't believe me.

My clients, on the other hand, know that the hardest workouts are the shortest.

The hardest workout I ever did was running a mile in four minutes and twenty two seconds.  It was much harder than running a mile in ten minutes.  Same mile, totally and complely different experience.

The trick to getting in an effective fat loss workout in four minutes? 

My clients do more work in four minutes than most people do in an hour.

Is it really possible to get this lean with four minute workouts?

A four minute workout isn't easy.  It's actually much, much harder.

But for many of my clients, these short, four minute "Tabata" workouts are their favorite.

They are the hardest workouts, but they're also some of the most fun.

The four minute Tabata workouts have been around ever since Dr. Tabata did his landmark research on these specific intervals for sports performance. 

Smart, cutting edge, personal trainers have secretly been putting this to work with their fat loss clients for years.

On the flip side, I use these four minute workouts with my clients so often, that I forget that most people don't know how to put together four minute workouts that are effective at all.

I take for granted that everyone should know how to put together a four minute workout that truly blasts the fat off of your body.

If you want it all done for you, my friend Ryan Lee put together a "robot" that builds custom four minute fat loss workouts for you.

http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

My clients don't do four minute workouts every single day.

Some days they do 45 minute fat loss workouts.

Some days they do 20 minute fat loss workouts.

Every couple of weeks, we spend most of the hour long training session talking about their food plan, or dealing with the emotional issues that come up when you're pursuing a really important goal. 

Then we may only have four minutes left to work out.  And they get an awesome workout.  If they have ten minutes left, we do the four minute workout, rest two minutes, and do another four minute workout.  That's a really awesome workout.

Sometimes my clients lives get too busy to do a full hour workout three times per week.

Do you ever get busy?

We don't give up on their goals.  I just have them do four minute workouts until things get back to normal.

I usually have them do two of the four minute workouts.  It takes ten minutes total.

If they can find the time to do a couple four minute workouts, a few times per week, they can keep getting results.

If I don't have time to do a full hour workout, what do you think I do?

I do a four minute workout.  Or I do two four minute workouts.

Four minute workouts kick ass because they fit into your life.

In fact, if you don't have a four minute workout in your back pocket, you're screwed.

At some point, life is going to get crazy.  You won't have time to get to the gym and get your hour workout in.   And what do you do?  You miss your workout.

You could have just gotten in a four minute workout at home.

A four  minute workout that's just as effective as your full hour workouts.

I wouldn't use it as your only workout

But there are some very successful and famous trainers who do only use this with their clients.

I have my clients do 45 minute or 20 minute workouts most of the time, with strength training, a circuit, and intervals. 

But when time gets tight (and it always does) we do these seriously kick ass four minute workouts. 

And because of these four minute workouts, we always get a good workout in.

And that makes all the difference.

http://www.fourminutefatlossrobot.com/

P.S. These four minute workouts are also are my wife's favorite workouts!

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and a 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

 

The Celebrity Diet: The Four and a Half Laws You Absolutely Cannot Break If You Really Want To Be Lean

I'm finishing up another round of articles on celebrity workouts and celebrity diets. 

So far I've researched and written about the diets of Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Jason Statham, Heidi Montag, Eva Longoria, Matthew McConaughey, Lauren Conrad, Ryan Reynolds, Mario Lopez, Katherine Heigl, and the actors from the movie 300.

On top of that, the strippers from "The Stripper Workout" article eat like this also.

My leanest clients eat like this.

The leanest pro athletes eat like this.

In fact, this is just how lean people eat.

Here is what all celebrity food plans have in common:

1) They eat often - at least 5 mini meals per day

2) Every meal has protein.

3) They eat lots of vegetables.

4) They eat unprocessed, low glycemic carbohydrates like fruit, brown rice, and oatmeal.

4.5) They have free meals, and they are totally Zen about it.  When they eat chili fries, they eat chili fries.  But they don't feel like they "totally blew their diet".  They just go right back to it.

There it is, that is how lean people eat.

The four laws.  And a bonus 1/2 law.

The four and a half commandments.

And here you thought that diets were complicated.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and personal trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

How Did Lauren Conrad Really Eat? (to be on the cover of SHAPE Magazine)

Often people wonder, what does it really take to get that lean?

Or people think that it's just genetics or photoshop.  That celebrities have some super secret trick that mere mortals can't possibly replicate. 

While a lot of them have unbelievable genetics, a lot of them really have to work for it. I get the feeling that Lauren Conrad really has to work for it.

While I'm sure there is airbrushing and photoshopping going on, the reality is that these girls are actually in wicked shape before that. 

There are too many paparazzi pictures in all of the magazines showing what they really look like.  The paparazzi pictures look pretty much the same.  Lauren is actually that lean in real life.

What Lauren Conrad Really Did To Get In Shape for the SHAPE Magazine Cover

1.) She avoided all processed carbs, like bread and pasta, for three months.

2.) She ate lots of  whole food unprocessed carbs, like fruits and vegetables...  For three months.

3.) She ate lean proteins, like chicken and fish, at every meal...  For three months.

4.) She ate small meals spaced evenly throughout the day...  For three months.

5.) She worked out five days per week: Lifted weights (think squats, lunges, pushups, and rows) twice per week, and ran three times per week... for three months.

6.) She ate one "cheat meal" per week - a spoonful of cookie dough.

What Would Happen If You Did That?

With that kind of food, ANYONE would get in amazing shape. 

If you ate like that, it wouldn't matter your genetics, your thyroid, your parents, your metabolism, what point you are starting from, what happened last week - none of that would matter.

Anyone who ate like that would get amazing results.

But who eats like that?

Why Lauren Eats Better Than You Do

The truth is, if you were going to be on the cover of a magazine in your bikini, you'd probably lock up your diet also.

Most people never have that kind of accountability.

It's her job to look hot.  If Lauren Conrad doesn't look like that, she gets replaced by someone who does.

I've had a million clients who "couldn't get their workout and diet together" until six weeks before their "big event".  Doesn't matter what the event is - could be spring break, a wedding, a 10 year high school reunion, whatever.  The point is, when the pressure is on, people find a way to make it work.

All of a sudden, six weeks out, people start eating perfectly. 

When the pressure is on, the out of control free meals aren't worth it anymore.

When there is the accountability of having to wear a bikini, or board shorts or swimsuit in public - that's when things turn around.  That's when people start to eat like rock stars.

Summer is The Accountability Right Now

You don't want to be the girl wearing the one piece bathing suit because you're ashamed to wear a bikini.  Everyone is looking at the girls in the bikinis.

You don't want to be the only guy with his shirt on, when the rest of the guys have their shirts off.  Seriously, don't be that guy.

You might not be able to get a Lauren Conrad body by the time summer is over.  I don't know what place you are starting from.  But you can definitely lose 1-2lbs of fat, every single week, for the rest of the summer. 

If you followed how Lauren ate, and lost 1-2lbs of fat, every single week, all summer long, it could change your life.  This could be the summer where, every single week, you feel better about your body than you did the week before.

It doesn't matter where you are now.  You could be 3lbs from your goal, or you could be 50lbs from your goal.  Every single week you can get a little better. 

And just being on the path to your goal totally transforms you.  By doing the work and getting results, you get to live into that future.

When you are getting stronger, getting fitter, and getting leaner, you just feel awesome.  You walk differently.  You look at yourself differently.  And because you're getting results, your clothes fit better =)

If I'm driving West, eventually I'm going to hit California.  I don't need to be in California right this second, but I know I'm going to get there.  In fact, I can look at how fast I'm driving, and accurately predict how long it's going to take to get there.

It's the same with your fitness goals.  If you are losing 1-2lbs of fat per week, it's only a matter of time before you hit your goal.  Just keep on driving.

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Josh News: Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss 

I know, I know.  I promised it would come out months ago.  Soon very soon.

These things always take way longer than I thought they would.

Right now I'm putting together all of the testimonials and after pictures.  It's really, really cool. 

In fact, collecting all of the after pictures and writing up everyone's story is my favorite part of my job.  I get totally pumped. 

It's totally inspiring, and when it's all done I can't wait to share it with you guys.

It's funny, I have a friend who does a lot of fitness marketing who told me "Wow, the after pictures for The Stubborn Seven Pounds are amazing!"  I'm thinking, "Just wait 'til you see the new ones for Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss!"

But I didn't realize until he said that, that most of the e-books being sold online don't have any after pictures.  It kind of shocked me.  Do these people have clients who get results? 

The only reason I wrote a book is because my clients get results.  In fact, I have three more books that I'm going to write just because of specific situations that came up with my clients. 

That's another super fun part of my job, getting creative with fat loss workout programming when "life happens".  It's cool getting clients results in less than perfect circumstances.  And it keeps my job interesting and challenging.

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a level 2 kettlebell instructor and 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

 

"I got more results working with Josh for six weeks than I did in the previous two years" -Stephanie Weis

© Joshua Hillis 2008

 

Heidi Montag's Bikini Body Diet and Workout

Heidi Montag "Has Never Been On A Diet"

I got a ton of email last year when Jessica Alba said she "isn't on a diet".  Here is how Heidi Montag eats when she "isn't on a diet":

1.) Every meal Heidi eats contains lean protein and lots of veggies.
2.) She eats 5-7 mini meals, all good whole foods
3.) No alcohol
4.) Heidi sleeps at least 7 hours every day

The reason that Heidi doesn't have to go on a diet is because she eats perfectly already. 

And you see this a lot with celebrities, they have habitual perfect diets.  I know, it's shocking, but people who are leaner than you are almost always have better eating habits than you do.

In athletics, we say that the first 1000 repetitions of any skill you're in the practice phase.   You have to think about it every rep to get it right.

Eating right is a skill.  Building good habits, food wise, is a skill. 

But after a year of eating awesome rockstar fuel, it becomes a habit.  You're not "on a diet" you just eat good things all the time.

Heidi Montag's Workout

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Speedwalking and Kickboxing Classes Didn't Get Heidi The "Dancer's Body Look" That She Wanted

She got a trainer because speedwalking and kickboxing classes weren't getting her the body she wanted.  I know that longtime readers of this blog probably aren't shocked by that.

She asked her trainer John Damon to get her a "dancer's body look."  Unsurprisingly, they adding in weight training.

Heidi's workout is pretty basic.  Her trainer has her do "a ton of lower body stuff".  It looks to be a bunch of different lunge variations and squat variations.

The core of the workout program is full body, athletic movements. 

On top of that, she does some fairly basic arm work - curls and pulldowns.

I would say that the reason that she is spending 1-2 hours a day in the gym, instead of 30 mins to 1.5 hours is because they are piling low intensity exercises on top of the power exercises that they are doing. 

95% of her results are coming from the squats and lunges.  The arm stuff she is doing is ok once in a while, or for fun, but she could get more bang for her buck doing pullups and dips (like Jessica Biel).

Most of my clients don't have two hours a day to spend in the gym, and that's the biggest reason we don't do a lot of small muscle work.  We focus on the big payoff, big bang exercises.  We cut out all of the low return, small exercises.  That way we get the most results for the least amount of time spent in the gym.

Clearly Heidi is working hard, it sounds like she doesn't miss workouts often.  She's in the gym 6 days a week with her trainer.  Between all the hard work she puts in with her training, and her ongoing perfect eating habits, it's no surprise she has a kick ass body.

The Heidi Montag Body

So Heidi's results are coming from three things:

1.) A perfect diet.

2.) Squats and lunges.

3.) Consistency in the gym.

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Josh News: Now I'm on Twitter! 

Do you use Twitter?

It's like the ultimate micro-blog. 

If you want access to like way too much information about what I'm up to - follow me on twitter! 

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a level 2 kettlebell instructor and 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

 

"I got more results working with Josh for six weeks than I did in the previous two years" -Stephanie Weis

© Joshua Hillis 2008

My Favorite Breakfast

It's a smoothie, because I like something quick, easy, and sweet tasting in the morning.

Josh's Breakfast Smoothie:

2 servings Egg Whites (pasteurized) - 60 calories, 12g of protein
1 Açai - 100 calories
1 Banana - 100 calories
1/2 cup Water - 0 calories
Stevia - 0 calories

It's 260 calories, and it tastes awesome.

Ok, I admit it - I usually double the Açai  So it's 2 original Açai packets, 2 servings of egg whites, 1 bananas, 1 cup of water, and extra Stevia.  That way it fits better into my caloric requirements for the day. 

You've got to take a look at what you need, calorie wise, each day.  I'm shooting for 3500 calories per day.  A female client with a weight loss goal may be in the 1400-1700 calorie range.  It all depends on your body and your goals.

I like to use egg whites because whey protein powder doesn't agree with me.  Also, egg whites are pretty much tasteless.

I use Pasteurized egg whites because they won't give you salmonella

Açai is an Amazon rainforest fruit I got hooked on while I was in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  People keep saying it's really healthy and stuff, but I just like the taste.

I get the Açai that's sweetened with guarana syrup.  If you get the pure Açai, it's a little bit bitter.

If you didn't want to use Açai (it's a little spendy), you could use a cup of strawberries (only 50 calories).  Or, if you've got some calories to spare, you could do both Açai and Strawberries, and the smoothie would still only be 310 total.

Stevia is a root that is really sweet.  I prefer Stevia to artificial sweeteners like aspartame and acesulfame, or anything else that kills lab rats.

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Josh News: The Making Of The Fitness and Fat Loss Blog

"Why so many articles on celebrity fitness?"  People ask.

I don't know.  I kinda just write about what ever sounds like fun to write about.

Here is how I write.  Once a month I'll write the first 10% of about 15 articles. 

Then, over the course of the month, I'll fill in the four that look like the most fun to write.

So that's why it kind of goes in phases, like a month of nutrition, or a month of celebrity workouts.

And I'm always intrigued by people who have the bodies my clients want.  I always want to know, who's doing smart workouts?  Who's doing stupid workouts but has perfect nutrition?  Who's lying about not being on a diet?  It's all really fun for me.

Also, I feel like if I always write about what's fun for me to write about, then the quality will always be up.

I've got some articles I've been trying to finish for a year.  I figure there is a reason for that.

Some articles don't seem like work at all, like I'm just playing.  Those are the ones that typically get the most readers.   

Do you use Twitter?

It's like the ultimate micro-blog. 

If you want access to like way too much information about what I'm up to - follow me on twitter! 

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a level 2 kettlebell instructor and 24 Hour Fitness Master Trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Kristen Bell and Hayden Panettiere: Workout Buddies

Kristen Bell and Hayden Panettiere coming back from the gym.

One thing I tell my clients all the time is that I don't believe in will power.

And I only halfway believe in discipline.

More often than not, will power will fail.

There are two important ingredients for consistency:

1.) Structure

2.) Habit

And they are created in that order.

It takes a long time to cement a habit.

You can create a structure right now.

Structure is the beginning

A structure is anything outside of you that supports you in taking the right actions to achieve your goal.

A food log is a structure.

Weight Watchers meetings are a structure.

A sports team is a structure.

A coach is a structure.

Having a workout partner is a structure.

Workout Partners

Having a workout partner is one of the best structures you can put in place.

Any time someone else is relying on you, you're likely to make it happen.

It's a strong commitment that you've made to someone else - that you each are supporting each other in each other's fitness.

It sucks, but we're more likely to break a commitment to ourselves than one we've made to someone else.

We're more likely to follow through on our food plan when we've got a workout partner.

I would go so far as to say that having someone else involved in your goals is the most important ingredient.

If you've ever heard that "90% of success is just showing up", you get how important it is to have a commitment to someone else that you're going to show up.

What Does This Have To Do With Kristen Bell and Hayden Panettiere?

Everything.

It's no surprise that two of the fittest girls in Hollywood are working out together.

Success leaves clues. 

Wouldn't you want to workout with them?  Eat with them?  Even hear how they talk about fitness?

Wouldn't it be interesting to see how differently they treat their fitness than the out of shape people we all know?

They have a different level of fitness because they treat their fitness differently.  And the people they workout with, and the people they hang out with treat their fitness level differently. 

I've seen three different "Fittest Bodies in Hollywood" articles, and all of them had Hayden Panettiere on the cover.

Hayden has a trainer and a workout partner.  How many people do you have on your "fitness team"?

And everyone is talking about Kristin Bell's abs in her current movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Why we can't forget Sarah Marshall.

If you've ever played a sport and there was someone on your team that was right at your ability level and you pushed each other, then you know how powerful it can be to have a workout partner.

Who you are hanging around is a very powerful influence on how you work out, and how you eat.

Pull up a chair, it's story time

I started my athletic career as a way too skinny, gangly, uncoordinated and shy 13 year old.  I joined the Cross Country Team and the Track Team because I didn't have the coordination to do anything else.

I probably had the least natural talent of anyone on the team.  I lost every race I ran my first year.

But running with those champions, I was elevated.  I improved every single race.  While everyone else was winning races, I was winning awards like "Most Improved", every single year. 

I ended up being second man on a Cross Country team that won three league championships, county championships and CIF Championships.  In track I ran a 4:22 mile at CIF Finals.

I'm 100% clear that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that level without the guys I was running with.  Three years of working out with and hanging around with really kick ass runners elevated me to being a kick ass runner.

Three Tips About Getting the Right Workout Parnter:

1.) Your workout partner should add motivation and accountability.

Your workout partner shouldn't let you off the hook if you want to skip a workout.

If your workout partner becomes an excuse to miss workouts, fire them.  If your workout partner gives you an excuse to eat crap, fire them.

2.) Your workout partner should support you.

Your workout partner should have a positive impact on you.  They shouldn't make you wrong or make you feel bad.   

If you are both motivated by competition, then compete.  If you are de-motivated by competition, don't compete.  Either way is awesome, but know what works for you.

3.) Your workout partner should call out the best in you.

In a perfect world, everything your workout partner does is about holding you to your goal.  And your goal is the expression of yourself that you want to present to the world.  So really, your workout partner is holding you to be who you really are.

How To Find A Good Workout Partner

Be a good workout partner.

You don't get what you want.  You get what you are.

If you are is a really good workout partner, it will be that much easier for you to find someone who matches that.

And if you're really struggling to find a good workout partner, just hire one - get a really good personal trainer.

You Can Fly With Eagles Or....

It's no surprise that two of the fittest girls in the world are working out together.

Take a look at who you've got around you and their impact on your fitness.

Start to build yourself a fitness team. 

Find yourself a workout partner who wants it as much as you do.

And then have fun!  It's way more fun when you and your friends can do this together.

By Josh Hillis

Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and master personal trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Stop Paying Rent... To Your Fat

About Fat

I've got good news and bad news.

The good news is - you don't own your fat.

Truth is, all of your fat is rented.

The bad news is, you really enjoy paying the rent on it.

You fat has rent.  You pay the rent with calories.  You pay the rent with crap food.

If you stop paying rent, then your fat gets evicted.

About Muscle

Muscle also needs rent.

You pay the rent with food and smart work.

The biggest benefit to having muscle is it gives you can eat more food - You can pay rent on muscle instead of paying rent on fat.

The next biggest benefit of muscle is that it's more expensive than fat. 

That means that if you have more muscle you can eat more, and you'll be smaller and leaner.

5lbs of fat is way bigger, and way jigglier, than 5lbs of muscle.

The (kinda) bad news about muscle - you may get to pay more rent, but it has to be higher quality.

The reason I say "kinda" bad news, is because if you aren't eating good food now, you'll be amazed at how much better you feel, how much more energy you have, and how much hotter you look when you switch to good food.  So it's actually good news.

You can eat way more food, but it has to be better food. 

This is ALL Good News

A lot of people have a story that fat is stubborn.

Trust me, I know.  Helping clients get rid of stubborn fat is my specialty.

The truth is, there's nothing stubborn about it.

You don't own your fat.  If you've ever made payments on a car, it's just like that. 

If you stop making your payments, they come and take your car away.

Stop making payments on your fat, and you won't be allowed to keep it either.

If you're making payments on your house, guess what happens if you skip a few payments?

How Often Do You Make Payments on Your Fat?

I grade my clients' food logs.

I add up the number of meals they eat in a week.

I check how many meals include protein and are made up of good whole foods like fruit, vegetables, or brown rice.

Then I check how many "crap" meals they ate.  How many meals included sugar, alcohol, processed food, soda, fast food, ect.  These are the payments you are making on your fat.

Notice I don't use the word "free" anymore.  I don't say "free meals!"  There's nothing free about Taco Bell.  It's crap food, I call it as I see it.

So we find out the percentage of "crap" meals in a week.  How many payments.

If 90% of the meals were rockstar fuel -  lean proteins and good whole foods like fruits and vegetables...  They get an A.

If 80% of the meals were rockstar fuel -  lean proteins and good whole foods like fruits and vegetables...  They get a B.

If 70% of the meals were rockstar fuel -  lean proteins and good whole foods like fruits and vegetables...  They get a C.

If 90% of your meals are rockstar fuel, and 10% of your meals are crap - you're doing awesome!  You're not making enough payments on your fat to keep much around.  In fact, you probably look like a rockstar.

It's about that simple.

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Josh News:

I got promoted to Master Trainer!

I train at 24 Hour Fitness in Denver Colorado.  Actually, I train out of the busiest gym in all of Colorado.  I love the energy.

A lot of people are surprised that I don't own my own studio, or run a full blown gym.  Truth is, I don't want to deal with any of that.  I like to show up, train my clients, and go home.

And that leaves me time to work on other projects - like writing about fitness.  New books.  Seminars.  Studying fitness.  Everything that's fun for me.

So I train with 24 Hour Fitness.  In the time I've been here I've gone from Trainer Fit Pro 1 to Trainer Fit Pro 3, and then Trainer Fit Pro Elite.  And now, Master Trainer.

So I'm really, really stoked.  Master Trainer is the highest level of trainer in the organization.

I'm really proud to be acknowledgment of my education and experience.  I already was Master Trainer.  It's awesome now to be recognized.

I think that's how most everything works.  You have to be it first for a time.  You have to produce consistent results.   

Then, formal recognition catches up with who you've already been being and the results you've already produced.

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and personal trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Ketherine Heigl and Kettlebell Workouts

Katherine Heigl now does her workouts with kettlebells.   Some other celebrities that use kettlebells include Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz, Kim Cattrall, Kim Basinger. 

Yes it's true, kettlebells have been stolen from the Russian Special Forces, and are now being used to make hot women even hotter.

Mathew McConaughey works out with kettlebells, and the dude is solid muscle. 

He's proof that kettlebells aren't only for girls.

Have Fun Working Out Again

Katherine Heigl said: "I was probably in the best shape of my life for Knocked Up but I hated going to the gym...   I've now found a woman who teaches kettlebell classes. It's a mix of cardio and weight training but I only do it for 20 minutes twice a week and it's changed my body shape."

Many of my clients are amazed at how powerfully you can get results with kettlebell training, in a very small amount of workout time. 

The workouts don't look like much, but when you do them, it almost feels like too much.  The stimulus is very, very powerful.

Also, kettlebell training is fun.  And if it's fun, you'll do it more often and you'll bring a different intensity to it.

Katherine Heigl takes her kettlebell classes at the beach.  With summertime coming, it's great to be able to take a kettlebell to the beach or the park, and do a full body workout outside. 

If You Need To Take Your Clothes Off, Train With Kettlebells

UK's Red Magazine Asked Katherine about the last time she worked out: "Three days ago, I did kettlebells - I think everyone should do them. They are a great Russian secret. Normally, on Grey's, I'm in scrubs, so I don't have to worry about working out, because they hide everything. That leads you into some kind of false laziness, so then, when I have scenes where I have to take my clothes off, I'm like, 'Oh crap, I've got to get in shape!"'

I have all of my clients start off with the kettlebell swing.  We do the kettlebell swing with anything we can get are hands on - ideally kettlebells, but gripper plates or dumbbells work just fine.

Here is the "swing tools" video again, in case you missed it the first time.

I would go so far as to say that the kettlebell swing is the most powerful fat loss movement there is.

Once you get a good feel for the swing, you can move on to cleans and snatches and all kinds of fun stuff.  Eventually even kettlebell juggling.

Try doing that with your BowFlex.

All of the different kettlebell moves - swings, snatches, all of the different juggling moves - the swing is the foundation of them all.  The more advanced moves aren't more effective than swings.  The advanced moves are just more fun.  And fun makes a big difference.

Katherine Heigl said that she was in the best shape of her life before Knocked Up and she hated going to the gym.  Now, with kettlebells, she's in even better shape, and she loves working out with them.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds and currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss.

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and personal trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

Besides being a level 2 certified kettlebell instructor (RKC2), Josh is an assistant coach at the RKC Instructor Certification in October.

"When we say Hillis...we mean awesome.  And when we say awesome...we mean Hillis!!!" - David Whitley, Senior RKC

© Joshua Hillis 2008

The Biggest Mistake That "Bootcamp" Fitness Programs Make

The biggest mistake that I see "bootcamp" fitness programs make is that that's the only thing that they do.

They only do high intensity circuits.  Nothing else.

Your Workout Program Has To Change

If your TV only had one channel, you'd be bored to tears.

If you only had day time, it would be hard to sleep.  If you only had night time, it would be hard to snowboard.

Your workout program has to change.  It has to change like seasons.

The technical term that most trainers use is "periodization".  A fat loss program is more effective when it has the proper periodization.  I prefer the analogy of seasons.

You can't argue with the seasons.  Likewise, you can't argue with how your workout program has to change.

Your sets and reps have to change every 3-6 weeks. 

If you're doing high intensity circuits, you should cycle off of that every 3-6 weeks.  High intensity circuits should be a phase, not what you do forever.

The Stubborn Seven Pounds has two phases.  They aren't "beginning" and "advanced", it's more like "winter" and "summer".  And, much like winter and summer, you could repeat them as a cycle.

My next book, Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss, has eight phases.  It's a more sophisticated cycle.  It's more fun. It's also coming very, very soon.  I know, people keep asking "When?" All I can say is that it will be very soon.  It will come with 24 videos, and right now I'm filming 3 videos per week to try and get it complete.

All Great Workout Programs...

All great fitness programs have phases or cycles.  All great trainers take their clients through different cycles or phases.  That's what makes great workout programs instead of just great workouts.

In fact, the way I know a trainer is good or not - are they talking about "workouts" or are they talking about "programs"?

It's one of the reasons that people with trainers get better results than people who don't have trainers.  All great trainers take their clients through different phases, whether it's Harley Pasternak, Alwyn Cosgrove, Gunnar Peterson, P90X, Holly Rigsby, Craig Ballantyne, Valerie Waters...  or of course Josh Hillis.

Just remember these 2.5 rules about workout programs:

1.) Intelligently changing your workouts will get you better results from your workouts.

2.) Planning to push your workouts hard sometimes and then back off other times will get you better results from your workouts.

2.5) You just can't push the same way, the same sets and reps, the same intensity all the time.  If you want the highest level of results possible, it's gotta change.

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Josh News:

I have a problem with over committing myself.  I'm taking too many courses and certifications this year. 

I'm addicted to learning about fitness.  When I found this whole Z-Health thing, I found an entire course of study I'd never even considered before.  I felt like - "I need to know EVERYTHING yesterday!"

And I'm addicted to writing books.  I'm finishing up one book, and I have three more already outlined.  I feel guilty for not having all of them written already.

But there's a cost to that.  People ask me, "What did you do this weekend?"  And I'm like "Ummmm...  worked on my book."  I've gotten so caught up in needed to learn everything now, and create everything now, that I'm missing out on normal chill time and hanging out.  I'm out of balance.  And I'm frustrated.

So I'm really taking on that there is nothing to do, and no where to get.

I don't need to know everything right this minute, I can take a leisurely amount of time to learn the things I'm committed to learning.  I don't need to be stressed out and down on myself that I don't know everything already, because I'm on track to learn it.  On top of that, there's nothing missing right now - I'm already really good at what I do.

In reality, I've hit all of the career benchmarks that I used to think would be the "end all be all ultimate for my career".  And it just made me feel like I had to do more.  So I'm going to enjoy being exactly where I'm at.

So right now I'm cutting projects, I'm keeping the certifications/seminars that I have scheduled for this year (four), but I'm committed to not adding anything new.  In terms of books, I have one more I need to write...  but it's short!  And I won't start until October.

It's opened up for me to be able to kick back and chill with my wife, and not have to think about business.

Instead of signing up for a another seminar (which I had planned to do), my wife and I just bought tickets to The Mile High Music Festival, with Tom Petty, Dave Matthews, The Flobots, and Michael Franti with Spearhead.

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By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

Josh is currently finishing up his second book Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

Josh is a fat loss expert, a kettlebell instructor and personal trainer in Denver, Colorado.  Josh helps women and men lose stubborn fat.

"I've seen more results in 6 weeks training with Josh than I saw in the previous two years working out on my own" -Stephanie Weis

© Joshua Hillis 2008