Josh Hillis' Fat Loss and Fitness

How To Hit Your Fitness and Fat Loss New Years Resolutions

Don't Just "Wing It" In The Gym This Year

Ok, every year millions of people make the New Years Resolution to get fit, trim up, and lose fat.

At my gym, we see a 30% increase in membership in January.  It lasts until February.

You got it - almost everyone who joins a gym or starts a workout program in January has quit by February.

Of course there is a very small percentage that stay in the gym, keep up with their workout program, and continue on to hit their goals and carve out the body that they want.

In fact they did a study and found out that nearly all New Years Resolution gym joiners that make it have one thing in common.

They almost all have a personal trainer.

Why is that so important?

Two reasons:

1.) Structure and accountability.  Someone else knows if you're doing your workouts.  Someone is checking your food log.  Someone is waiting for you at the gym. 

Accountability is probably the number one predictor of success.

2.) Results.  People who have a trainer usually get results. 

When people do stick to a workout program, then lack of results is usually the reason that they drop off their workout program. 

People do too many things that they heard from their friends or read in magazines. 

Even worse, most people do the same thing that didn't work last year.

Here is what you should do:

1.) Create accountability.

This doesn't have to be hiring a personal trainer, this can be a workout partner.  Or two workout partners. 

Or getting the support of your significant other. 

A great form of accountability can be joining weight watchers. 

You could create a "workout group" with a few of your friends and regular workout times. 

Just attach your results to someone outside of yourself.

*Before I get another dozen emails asking about online training, phone coaching, or in person training - I really really appreciate everyone that inquires about hiring me, but right now I don't have room in my schedule for any new clients of any kind.  One of my New Years Resolutions is to clear more time in my schedule to hang out with my wife.

2.) You need a workout program that will get you results. 

If you haven't purchased my book The Stubborn 7 Pounds, you should buy it now. 

Most people are shocked at how different the S7 program is from everything they have "always been told" about fat loss.

Seriously, I can only give you so many tips and tricks in a one page article.  If you are really serious about hitting your goals this year, you need a full program.

What if I'm a guy?

Guys always ask - "Should I really buy a fat loss program designed for girls?"  Yes.  Guys have more testosterone than women, so guys build muscle faster, increase their metabolism faster, and in turn lose fat faster. 

The Stubborn 7 Pounds is a savage fat loss program that leans out girls fast, it leans out guys even faster.  If you are a guy that wants to lose weight, than get it.  You'll just have to ignore all of the pictures of girls.

One the opposite end of the spectrum, if you are a skinny guy that wants to put on some muscle, then get Vince Delmonte's No Nonsense Muscle Building.

What Ever You Do, Don't Just "Wing It"

I totally feel sorry for the people who come into the gym on new years, do hours of cardio and millions of crunches, machine circuits, or whatever workout program they heard from their brother's sister's boyfriend's ex-almost personal trainer.

If you are going to put in all of that work, you have to make sure that what you are doing will produce the results you want.

Change Your Life Forever in 2008

All you need is to get a program that works, and to stick to it. 

If you kick some ass on a good program you'll get everything you want this year.

2008 can be the year you lose 5-10lbs of fat.

2008 can be the year you gain some little lean, sexy, toned muscle.

2008 can be the year you do a workout program that's fun, for a change.

2008 can be the year everyone asks you, "How did you get so lean and hot?"

2008 can be the year you transform your fitness and get more energy.

2008 can be the year all of your clothes fit perfectly and look awesome on you.

2008 can be the year you feel totally proud of your body, and inspired by how strong and fit it is.

The Fit Yummy Mummy Interview

How to get fit for busy moms.  Interview with Holly Rigsby, the expert on helping moms lose baby fat and get their body back, author of The Fit Yummy Mummy:

You can check out her program at www.thefityummymummy.com.

Here's a holiday workout that Holly put together.  What I really like about it is the combination of full body movements (dumbbell swings, t-ups, reverse lunges, and v-ups) and the fact that they are in two super sets (that just means that the exercises are back to back with no rest).

If you're a mom, check it out! www.thefityummymummy.com.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Here is a short christmas song/video by my friend Jody Mulgrew, the lead singer of the Johnny Starlings.  Listening to this song is like drinking hot chocolate, kissing under the mistletoe, unwrapping your presents, and watching the Disney Christmas cartoons all at the same time:

I'll try to get Jody to write a Hanukkah song next year, and a Kwanzaa song for 2009.  Happy Holidays everyone!

How To Increase Intensity And Not Get Hurt

I recieved a really great question about the last article Intensity = Results:

Q:

Intensity also can lead to injury. The question is, where is the fine line between the two, and how does a trainer determine where it is for any client? Merry Christmas.

By SR

A:

That's a great question!

For sure intensity can lead to injury. 

But so can any form of progressive overload (like lifting more weight this week than you did last week).  And without some form of progressive overload (doing more than you did before), you are spinning your wheels.

That being said:

If form breaks, you're going to get injured.

If you are compensating (using the wrong muscles to get the work done) you're going to get hurt.

Neither of those scenarios need to occur when you are increasing intensity.

A workout at 90% of your ability can be more intense (more work done in the same time) than the same workout a month earlier.

Increasing intensity (more work) does not mean all out balls to the wall, puking, bad form, compensating and hurting yourself.

At least not for my clients.

More is just more. 

For example -

Last workout I did 8

This workout I can do 12 and get hurt.

Or this workout I can do 10 with good form and be healthy happy and fit.

Then in this example, 10 is more intense than 8, but it's not so intense (12) that I get hurt.

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

Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers

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

Josh is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

Intensity = Results. What is Intensity?

Once again, I'm shocked at how much great trainers think alike.

In fact, we're all working with the same principles.

Our expressions of those principles may appear to be different on a superaficial level.

But the principles of really effective fat loss are always the same.

Even though they may be exactly the opposite of what you are reading about in magazines or heard from your friends - these are the tricks of the trade of personal trainers who produce actual results in the real world.

This intensity is the "engine" that powers the bootcamp workouts in my book The Stubborn Seven Pounds and the fighter workouts in Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss. 

It's the same principle as in the "300 workout".  It's the same principle that Jasan Statham talked about his new trainers are using.  Charles Staley's system Escalating Density Training is probably the best descripion of it.  The US Secret Service's Kettlebell Snatch Test is one of the coolest sports performance uses of it.

What's interesting just reading that list is that there are tons of people doing it for men's fat loss and for sports performance, I'm the first to bring it specifically to women's fat loss.

If you've read any of my e-books, you know that intensity = fat loss.

That's true both in weight training and in cardio.

Really, even cardio.

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

Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers

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

Josh is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

Angie Harmon Doesn't Go To The Gym

How does she do it?  How does she get those wicked abs without working out?

According to the article in Shape: She eats small portions...  and both of her parents were models.

So, either she's lying - which is the cool thing to do in Hollywood - or she's just super lucky.

Look, maybe both of your parents were models, and you look like that without working out also. 

But I'm betting that isn't the case.  I'm betting that if you woke up in the morning looking like Angie Harmon automatically, you wouldn't be reading this blog.

Maybe you've got a friend you know that's just like that.  Maybe you know someone who doesn't have to lift weights, and looks like a rockstar.

That's not most of my clients.  That's probably not you.  That's definitely not me.

We've got to work for it.

That's ok.

Find yourself a smart workout program.

Keep a food journal and eat as clean as possible.

You may not wake up looking like Angie Harmon tomorrow, but if you work at it, you can get as lean as you want.  It's just time and effort.

Remember that - all that's between you and the body you want is time and effort.

Celebrate every hour you put in in the gym.  Celebrate every drop of sweat.  Celebrate that you fed your body with good nutrition and that todays food was fuel for performance. 

You don't have to be perfect tomorrow (I'll give you a hint, no one is perfect). 

Just be a little bit better today than you were yesterday.

Celebrate every inch you drop.  Celebrate every pound of fat you lose.  Celebrate every new pound of iron you can lift.  Celebrate everything new you learn.

Simple Formula to get the Body and the Fitness You Want:

Just get a little better every week.
Get a little better every day. 
Celebrate often.

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

Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers

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

Josh is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

New Years Resolutions - Quick story from my trip to West Palm Beach, Florida

I was totally stoked to stay at the PGA Resort.  Sure it was cold and grey that week in West Pam Beach, but it was still less cold and grey than Denver. 

I got to hang with some of my best buddies Eric Cimrhanzel, the creator of Invincible Fitness, and Tom Gifford, author of The Great Cardio Myth.

On top of that I got to meet some of the top trainers in the world.  Lots of these guys I know online, but it's cool to hang out with them in real life.  The story I'm going to tell you is about what happened when I met one of them - Dax Moy.

Dax is the leading personal trainer in the UK.  I was stoked to finally meet him in person at the seminar in Florida.

Dax not only talked me into giving away two books for The 12 Days of Fitness, but he also convinced me I should get off my butt and start taking Portuguese classes, like I've always said I would.

Being around Dax is a pretty wild experience.  He asked me - "If your e-book made a million dollars next week, what's the first thing you would do?" 

I said, "Take Portuguese classes." 

Then he asked, "Can you afford to take Portuguese classes now?" 

"Yeah totally," I said.

"So do it." 

So my first Portuguese class is on Thursday at 5:30 pm.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I was waiting around for a million dollars to take a class that will cost a couple hundred bucks.  It's crazy.  I'm looking at what else I've been putting off for no reason.

Is there anything you've been putting off that's actually totally within your reach to do?

Do you have an excuse for not doing that one thing that would elevate your fitness level to where you've always wanted it to be?

Or maybe, like me, it isn't even a fitness thing.  But it's something that will kick your quality of life up a notch.  Or just be more fun.

If you're looking for a system for actually getting all that stuff done, you've got to get Dax's Magic 100. 

It's coming up on New Years Resolution time, and it strikes me more and more that people don't need new resolutions - they need systems, coaching, and accountability to make their resolutions happen.

This year, really be proud of and inspired by your body.

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It still isn't too late to register for the biggest fitness giveway in history.

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

Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers

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

Josh is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

How to Survive Holiday Meals

Simple:

Pick three or four events.

Eat what ever you want at those events.  Have fun.  Go wild. 

Then stop.

Just like my Thanksgiving advice.

The difference is that now we are running into a million different events.

I'm going to four different Christmas Parties.  Then there are the hangover breakfasts.  I also have big dinners coming up.  And New Years Eve.  And New Years Day. 

If I wasn't paying attention, I could have a good excuse to eat tons of crap every other day between now and 2008.

There are plenty of events.  You've got to choose your battles.

Keep your game tight 90% of the time so you can ease up 10% of the time.

Keep your workouts tight.  Keep your nutrition tight.  Keep a food log.  And then you earn the right to go crazy at a few holiday events.

You can have fun during the holidays, and still lose a few pounds of fat, lean up, and look even hotter than you did before the holidays.

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And if you missed the first two times I mentioned it, it still isn't too late to register for the biggest fitness giveway in history.

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

Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers

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

Josh is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

New Years Resolutions: The Only Three Things That Matter

There are three things, and three things only that determine a persons success or failure in terms of their fat loss goals this New Years. 

And they aren't what you think they are.

The three most important factors in hitting your fat loss goals this year:

1.) Habit

2.) Accountability

3.) Planning

Everything else is secondary.  Being on the "right" diet doesn't matter if you aren't in the habit of following diets.  In fact, most diets will produce some result if you just follow them.

Being on the "right" workout program is secondary.  I've said it before - people get good results doing a crappy workout program balls to the wall.  People get no results doing a good workout program half assed.

Get a good program and someone following it and the results are near magical.  But the magic comes in the doing.

If you created the habit of being on a nutrition plan and being on a workout plan, you'll see some results.  Lets say you only see 1/4 of the results you want - you can always change your plan for a better one.  You've already got the habit of doing it (the hard part), so getting the right plan is easy.

It's the people who are not in the habit of following through on a nutrition plan and workout plan that never see results.

Habit is simply momentum in doing a thing.  That it becomes more normal to do it than to not do it.

Accountability is external pressure to do something.  Accountability is even more powerful than habit.  Accountability is an important measure to take in creating habits.

Here is what a plan should look like:

"I'll hire a personal trainer to create my workout program and I'll workout with my trainer every Monday night. 

Wednesday and Friday nights I'll workout with my workout partner Betty. 

I've talked to Betty about doing the workouts my trainer gave me, so I've got three days that I'm following the plan, and I've got someone else to do it with. 

If Betty can't make it, I'll call Sue and go with her to that bootcamp class she goes to. 

If neither Betty nor Sue can workout with me, then I'll go running with Jessica on Sunday afternoon.

I'll buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmer's market every Saturday.

Tuesday night at 9pm I'll throw away all of the processed food, sugary food, and high calorie snacks that are in my house.

Thursday night at 8pm I'll talk to my spouse about supporting me in my goals by helping me get to my workouts and helping me make smart food choices."

Can you see the difference between that and how most people approach their New Years resolutions? 

That is the difference between hitting your fat loss goals this year, or just watching another year go by.

I'm writing this article a fair bit ahead of New Years.  For those of you reading this now - think about the habits part.  If it takes 21 days to create a habit, this would be the perfect opportunity to practice new habits before New Years.  Roll into 2008 with some new powerful fat loss habits and transform your body forever.

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Check it out, I'm part of the biggest giveaway in the fitness industry. 

There are going to be 253 fitness experts giving away free programs, reports, videos, e-books and interviews - in all different categories.  No catch, we're all just straight up giving stuff away. 

All the gifts will drop in your inbox starting Dec 10th.

Just register to have it emailed to you at www.12daysoffitness.com

I'm giving away two e-books you aren't going to want to miss: Stubborn Holiday Fat Loss Workouts and Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss Holiday Edition.

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

Josh is one of the five fat loss experts in The Ultimate Fat Loss Answers

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

Josh is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES), and currently studying the Corective Exercise Specialist (NASM-CES) course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

Here's Your First Christmas Present!

Hey what's up,  

I decided to get the drop on everyone else this year by making sure that I was the very first person you know to start giving out Christmas presents, and I've got a pretty crazy awesome present for you!
 
I've been asked by my friends Dax Moy and Pat Rigsby to contribute two very special e-books that I've just finished working on called Stubborn Holiday Fat Loss Workouts and Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss to their 12 Days of Fitness Gift-Giving Program.
 
Stubborn Holiday Fat Loss Workouts will teach all of my female readers step-by-step exactly how to lose 6-8 pounds of fat these holidays while all of your friends are gaining weight.  It's an intense fat loss program geared towards looking fit and sexy for that upcoming New Years Party.

This special promotional 4 week version of Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss will teach all the guys reading exactly how to blast off stubborn fat, gain a few pounds of muscle, and basically get in kick ass fighting shape.

Both e-books are totally unique.  No matter how much good info I give away on my articles website, the one thing I always said I would never give away is complete workout programs. 

Dax and Pat convinced me to break my rule just this once, and give you all full, complete workout programs with tons of pictures and exercise descriptions and even nutritional advice. 
 
Even as pumped as I am about being able to offer you my gift, I'm totally stoked that I've been chosen as one of a handpicked group of just 250 health and fitness experts from all around the world to participate in the largest gift-giving program ever.
 
This means that, as well as getting your gift from me, you'll be able to download a sackful of videos, audios, ebooks and special reports on just about every area of health and fitness from Diet to Nutrition, Fat loss to Strength training, Back pain to Mom's fitness and just about EVERYTHING in between.
 
Seriously, Dax and Pat have ensured that only the very best quality gifts have been allowed into this years gift-giving, meaning that many of the contributors have created gifts that you would totally want to pay for...
 
But you get 'em all for free!
 
All you have to do to get you hands on my Stubborn Holiday Fat Loss Workout Program and my Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss 4 Week Program (and the other couple of hundred amazing gifts, of course) is pop on over and register your name and email address at www.12daysoffitness.com and you'll get the whole lot delivered to you with my compliments by way of thanks for being a reader of www.joshsarticles.com.
 
Well, what are you waiting for?
 
Get on over to www.12daysoffitness.com now!  : )
 
Josh Hillis
 
P.S - Feel free to forward this email on to your family, friends or work colleagues so that they can take advantage of this massive gift-giving. After all, it's not every day that you get access to this kind of information for free right?