Josh Hillis' Fat Loss and Fitness

Doing the Work: Gold is tempered through fire

Ok the theme for January was keeping it simple.  The problem with simple is that simple isn't easy.

When we keep it simple, we're left with the hard part:
Doing the work.

We pretend like we don't know what to do, because what we need to do is hard.

We pretend it's complicated.  It's not complicated, it's hard. 

Most of the time the game is not figuring out what to do. 

The real game is doing what we know to do.

You gotta want it. 

You've got to want it enough to do it.

It doesn't take a million hours in the gym.  Or in the kitchen.

But the things you do you've got to do them in a way that's going to produce results.

It's about intention.  Fire.  Passion.  Put in your blood, sweat and tears, and make it mean something.

Workout like you're transforming you're  there to transform your body.  And eat like you are fueling that transformation.

People only resist doing the work because they don't connect it to the results.

People hate doing squats.  I tell you, if you knew how good they are for your results, you'd beg to get under the bar.

It's the basics that are the most brutal and effective.

I tell you, when you are eating like Jessica Biel or Kelly Ripa, you'll have a body like Jessica Biel or Kelly Ripa.

If you do the right things, you'll see results.  And the results will get addictive.

It starts to become like a video game.  If you can lose 2lbs of fat this week, you'll want to lose 2lbs again next week.

Doing the work starts to get fun.

Getting consistant results is fun.

Fun and effective is even better than easy.

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.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

 

Working Out Should Be This Fun

Every time I hear this I'm rolling on the floor laughing.

Ok, I'm a big Kanye West fan.

What I love about this remix he did is 'cause he's just having fun and being himself.

This isn't going to sell him a million more records.

This isn't going to be his next big hit.

He's just playing.

He's just having fun.

Famous throwing coach Dan John once said:

"People think that creating world class athletes takes work. 
Actually, it takes play."

How many of your workouts do you play?

Do you enjoy your workout program?

If you are bored with your workouts, you aren't going to attack them with the intensity required to really make a change in the way your body looks and feels.

Some people love the way I put together workouts for my clients and in my books.  Some people, believe it or not, actually prefer the way other people put together their workouts. 

The important thing is to find a program that works, and that you enjoy.

In December I was doing a workout program by a very well known muscle gain expert.  Someone who is truly truly known for producing results.  Problem was, I didn't enjoy it the same way I've enjoyed other routines.  Next thing I knew I was missing workouts.

So I switched to Pavel's Kettlebell Fast Tens program.   I love it, it's just my style, and I'm on top of my workouts like never before.

On top of that, I give myself a play day.

My play day is pull ups and dips.  I love pull ups. 

And when I got micro-tears in a tendon in my elbow last year, I had to take some time off of my favorite movement.

Now that I can do 'em again, I make a point to do a workout with pull ups and dips at least once per week, just because it makes me happy.

Which workouts make you happy? 

Make a point to do a workout you absolutely love, at least once per week.

Life's too short not to have fun.

If you get bored with your workout program, find one that suits you better.
(assuming you don't just have workout ADD, and you've given it at least 4 weeks)

The more fun you have, the more intensity you'll bring to your workouts, and the more often you'll make it to the gym.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds and Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

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 fit women lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Hayden Panettiere Workout

This video is awesome because it highlights so much that I love and so much that I hate about celebrity workouts.

You'll notice that a lot of celebrity workouts have tons of squats and lunges (Yes! Awesome!) some elevated pushups (Bam! I love it!) and then some total fluff (Boo... are you kidding?).

What's up with the fluff?

My clients don't have time for any movement that has a low return on the time invested.  If it's not a "big bang" exercise (as boxing coach Steve Baccari calls it) it's usually not worth doing.

You may have heard me say that I like exercise that use a lot of muscles all at the same time. 

So you'd think I'd also like the bicep curl and press combination.

But I HATE combination exercises.  I think they're a fluff exercise.  Waste of time.

The Difference Between Combination Exercises and Really Kick Ass Full Body Exercises

-In a bicep curl to press, you're going to end up using a lot less weight than you could normally press.  I could make a case that it's actually a less intense exercise than a straight up shoulder press.

-In a really kick ass full body exercise, like an explosion (where you do a deep squat that goes into a push press - driving the weight off of your shoulders with your legs) you use nearly every muscle in your body to drive the weight through one big, powerful movement.

And One Last Thing

Why is the trainer guiding her elbows as she presses the weight up?

What's up with that?

Call me crazy, but my clients actually know which direction the weight should go and manage to push the weight up all by themselves.

All I'm saying is, I've never felt the need to spot my clients on a low skill exercise with 5lb dumbbells.

I think the dude is just copping a feel.

Actually, I don't think I've ever had a client that used 5lb dumbbells, for anything, unless they were a total beginner in their first two weeks of working out. 

I hope that's just because Hayden was answering questions at the same time.  And the trainer was just trying to justify being on camera.

On The Flip-Side...

If I'm training a girl who's just starting to do pull ups without the pull up assist machine, and I still have to assist by pushing on her feet a little bit, that's a totally different thing. 

That's getting someone started on an awesome, intense, big pulling movement.

And after a few weeks or a month, yep, she's doing pull ups all on her own.

Shouldn't your trainer be teaching you how to move?  And fostering independence?

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds and Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss

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 fit women lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

Fighter Workout Challenge - Wham, Bam, Thank You M'am

As I posted two weeks ago, I'm really into fitness challenges. 

They're just straight up fun.

For those that haven't seen it, here is the Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss Challenge.

You'll notice it's significantly shorter than other popular fitness challenges like The 300 Workout or Craig Ballantyne's new Bodyweight 500.

The Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss Challenge is only 5 minutes long.

My approach to fitness is very much "Wham, bam, thank you, m'am."

It's short, sweet (or brutal), and to the point.

Longer Fitness Challenges Are Not Harder or Better

Sure, jogging one mile is not hard.

Running a mile in less than 4 minutes is superhumanly hard.

I always say it's intensity that's king.

What we want is for our workouts to be shorter, harder, and faster.

And because of that, here's how I have been scoring it the challenge:

Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss Challenge

5 minutes only

1 minute swings
1 minute pushups
1 minute swings
1 minute pushups
1 minute swings

(total reps pushups + total reps swings ) x the weight of the dumbbell or kettlebell that was used for the swings.

As a girl, if you're using a 35lb dumbbell or kettlebell you're going to score much higher than a girl using a 25lb dumbbell or kettlebell.

For a dude, if you use a 70 pound dumbbell or kettlebell, then no one using a 35 or 50 pound dumbbell or kettlebell can possibly compete with you. 

The Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss Challenge is completely different from every other fitness challenge because it directly rewards power.

I posted this video a couple months ago showing what the workout looked like.  I just finalized the scoring three weeks ago, as I'm finishing up the final touches on my upcoming Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss book.

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 people lose stubborn fat.

© Joshua Hillis 2008

7 Fat Loss Strategies For Busy Moms

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
www.TheFitYummyMummy.com

Would you like to "jump start" your metabolism and lose your ‘mommy belly' once and for all? If so, the following seven tips are exactly what you need to improve your workouts and ignite your metabolism. Try some or all of these tips, but beware, the result may be a number of admiring second glances and the need to pull your ‘skinny jeans' out of the closet.
                                                       
1. The majority of your workouts should be composed of free-weight, bodyweight  or cable exercises.

Compared to machines, free-weight, bodyweight and cable movements often require more skill, create muscular balance, and have a greater metabolic cost. For example, it is more difficult to balance the weights, and to coordinate muscles when performing free-weight exercises. Although this may sound like a disadvantage, it is actually a benefit. By balancing and stabilizing free-weights or cables you are working more muscles through a greater range of motion resulting in more muscles developed and more calories burned.

2. Use exercises that work more than one muscle at a time.

When focusing on fat loss, you can't worry about "shaping" exercises, instead you should use exercises that'll get you the biggest bang for your buck and work as many muscles as possible. Isolation exercises can be used at the end of a workout to work on a specific target area, but they just serve to supplement your core movements.

Virtually every savvy fitness professional is privy to the fact that compound exercises recruit the most muscle groups for any given body part.

If you seek lean, toned muscles and the increase in metabolism that comes with them, you must choose exercises that work as many different muscles as possible. One of the main reasons why squats are superior to leg extensions for improving your body is that they also work your butt, hamstrings and inner thighs in addition to toning your quadriceps while leg extensions focus on just the front of your thigh and don't really offer any other benefit. That same rationale hold true for arm exercises too. That's why dumbell presses and dips will are more valuable for your arms than triceps kickbacks and pushdowns.

A good rule of thumb is to use movements that will allow you to use the most weight. These will have a systemic effect on your body that'll help maintain or increase your lean muscle, and in turn ignite your metabolism.

3. Pair exercises.

Pair your exercises together so that you alternate between upper-body exercises and lower-body exercises or between exercises that target opposing muscle groups (e.g. chest and back).

This type of approach will keep your workouts short and efficient by eliminating much of the downtime that comes between sets of a single exercise since you are working on one movement while resting from another. This approach can also yield huge benefits in your mission to burn fat. Since you'll constantly be moving and keeping your heart rate elevated, you'll be burning far more calories than you would during a typical workout.

4. Keep your reps between 8 and 12.

Through research, it has been determined that the best range for building lean muscle is roughly between 8-12 reps. Since the main focus of your resistance training efforts is to gain lean body mass and stimulate your metabolism, this rep range fills the bill perfectly. "High reps for tone and fat loss" is one of the biggest (and most unproductive) training myths! Somehow the aerobics, yoga and Pilates' community have convinced us that when we perform bodyweight exercises or light resistance training for high reps, our muscles magically take on a beautiful shape without growing or bulging. On the other hand, if you challenge yourself with moderately heavy weights, your body will take on a bulky, unflattering appearance. If you believe this, you probably still believe in the Tooth Fairy!

5. Rest only 30 to 60 seconds between sets.

When you keep the rest periods under one minute, it's easier to stay focused on the task at hand and keeps your heart rate elevated. In addition, it forces your muscles to recover more quickly between sets, along with keeping your nervous system revved up.

If your first movement in an upper/lower body pair is squats, you might want to rest 60 seconds before attempting your second movement. However, if your first exercise is a fairly "easy" exercise, like lat pull downs, you might only wish to wait 30 seconds before doing the second part of the pair.

6. Perform total body workouts.

You must drop the notion that muscle groups work independently of one another. Muscles work together and should be trained that way. Besides, not only does this approach mean less time in the gym, but by working the whole body three times per week, you'll be maximizing the fat burning effect of your program.

7. Cardio is not the cure-all for fat loss.

Cardiovascular exercise aids in the creation of a caloric deficit, but the caloric expenditure during cardio is temporary. Strength training addresses the core of the problem by permanently increasing the rate at which the body burns calories by adding muscle. The best programs will include both strength training and cardiovascular training, but the core or the programs effectiveness is resistance training.

Take these strategies and incorporate them into your workout routine. Not only will you save a lot of time, but you'll also soon see a leaner and more toned body. Not to mention a few more turned heads and the re-emergence of your skinny jeans.

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women’s fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back. Go to www.TheFitYummyMummy.com to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

If you purchase The Fit Yummy Mummy within the next 24 hours, it comes with a 21 day coaching program. 

I'm always talking about how important it is to have support and structure, the 21 day coaching program is an AWESOME structure for getting started and getting on track with the program.   If you're interested in getting this program, now is the time to do it.

-Josh

The Most Inherently Motivating Thing I Have Ever Seen

Just what I always wanted!  Today one of my clients brought in an anatomically correct replica of 5lbs of fat.  It was pretty much the grossest thing I've ever seen.  I set it by the keyboard so you can get a feel for how big it is, and then I took a picture with my phone.

I hope the picture gives you some sense of how gross it is.  I gotta tell you though, it's ten times more fun/gross to actually pick it up.

My client set it down in his kitchen, and then immediately threw away all the processed food in his house. 

I keep asking myself - what is so motivating about seeing 5lbs of gross fat on the table?  Well, the only thing I can think of more gross than 5lbs fat on the table is 5lbs of fat sitting inside me. 

It turns out that you can buy replica fat in all different sizes.  1lb, 5lbs, 1oz.  What ever you are in the mood for.

5lbs of Muscle vs. 5lbs of Fat

You've always heard that muscle weighs more than fat right?

Here is exactly what we mean:

Same scale weight, but the muscle takes up less space.

And the muscle jiggles less.

That's why you can lose fat, gain muscle, and have the same weight on the scale...

But be wearing two sizes smaller clothes and look 5x hotter.

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.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

New Years Fitness Quick Tip #3

People tend to complicate things.  They get confused by all of the different workout programs and conflicting advice.

All of January I want you to simplify your workouts.

The most important thing is to do four movments every workout:
1.) A pushing movement like standing dumbbell shoulder press or pushups.
2.) A pulling movement like pullups or inverted body rows.
3.) A squatting movement (any squat or lunge variation)
4.) A deadlift, kettlebell swing, or dumbbell swing.

Next thing is just to make sure you are stronger at the end of January than you are now.  Either more reps, more sets, or more weight on the bar.

Right now, don't make it any more complicated than that.

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 and the Z-Health R Phase certification course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

The New 300: Craig Ballantyne's Bodyweight 500 Workout

This time last year, everyone (especially me) was talking about the now legendary "300 Workout".  This year Craig Ballantyne, author of Turbulence Training, has put together a new challenge for 2008.

The Bodyweight 500 (Can you beat 27 minutes?)

50 Prisoner Squats
50 Pushups
25 Jumps
25 Stability Ball Leg Curls
50 Stability Ball Jackknifes
50 Step-ups (25 reps per side)
25 Pull-ups (NO substitutions)
50 Forward Lunges (25 reps per side)
50 Close-grip Pushups
50 Inverted Rows
50 Squats
25 Chin-ups (NO substitutions)

The 300 Workout vs The Bodyweight 500

The Bodyweight 500 is a pretty wicked physical test. 

The first thing you'll notice is that it has 200 more reps that 300 had.  That doesn't mean it's necessarily that much harder.  It's just different.  300 was a savage fitness test, and so is the bodyweight 500.

One of the big advantages of the Bodyweight 500 is that you don't need a ton of gear to do it.  Doing The 300  Workout requires about 10 minutes of setting up the barbell, finding a place to rack the bar for floor wipers, gathering together all of the kettlebells, boxes to jump on, ect. 

For the Bodyweight 500 all you'll need is a stability ball and bar to do pullups and inverted rows on.

The Bodyweight 500 is every bit as savage a test as The 300 Workout. 

It's just different.

The Four Week Program Workouts

Craig and I agree on a lot about fitness and fat loss, and his new Bodyweight 500 Four Week Program has everything I like in a workout program. 

It's packed full of my favorite kinds of workouts - supersets of big movements and interval training. 

So the workouts in the program are straight up Turbulence Training - intense combinations of awesome full body moves prisoner squats, dumbbell bench press, pullups, with some moves that are newer to TT like dumbbell swings and renegade rows.

It's worth noting that the workouts are different from the test.  The workouts are Turbulence Training supersets.   The Bodyweight 500 is a fitness test.

As my mentor Pavel so eloquently put it - testing and training are different things.

Fitness Tests

The best reason to do hardcore fitness tests like The 300 Workout and The Bodyweight 500 is that they are so much freakin fun.

That is, if you're crazy like I am. 

If you're the kind of person that likes to really kick some ass in the gym, you'll love this workout.

And it gives you a clear picture of if your fitness level is improving.  If you repeat the workout a month later, you can see if you can do it faster. 

You wouldn't want to do the BW500 every day.  Try once a month.  You could alternate between the BW500 one month and 300 the next month.  Watch your scores (and your fitness, and your intestinal fortitude) improve over time.

When I ran track, the ultimate was always race day.  That's what we trained for.  The all out, balls to the wall test - racing the clock.  That was the juice.  That's why I got up in the morning.  To see what I was made of.  To see how bad I wanted it that day.  To see how well I'd trained.

I just have this deep inner need to push myself.  And something that I'm always stoked about is testing myself.

That's the same reason I like fitness tests like these.

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds and the upcoming Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss.

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 ran a 4:22 mile, back in the day when he was a runner.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

New Years Fitness Quick Tip #2

Stop looking at different diets

They aren't very diffeent anyway.

If you consume less calories and higher quality food, you'll lean up.  That is THE diet.

Everything else is just someone's unique expression of those concepts. 

Or it's marketing B.S.

Either way, all you need to know is that you should consume less calories and higher quality food.

Your ultimate super advanced bonus diet tips: Drink more water and get more sleep.

Don't try a new diet this year.

Keep a food log. 

Grade your food log on quantity and quality.

Stop buying diet books, start collecting cookbooks.

Eating Clean Cookbook.

Elimination Diet Cookbook

Eating For Life Cookbook

Start eating the meals that are in the books. 

Pay careful attention to portion size.

This is the best nutrition advice you will ever get.

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 and the Z-Health R Phase certification course.

© Joshua Hillis 2007

New Years Fitness Quick Tip #1

Track Everything!

Take a before picture. 

Two most important measurements from a fat loss standpoint:
1.)Measure your waist (at the belly button) .
2.) Measure your hips (at the biggest point). 

If you're a guy, measure your arms and your chest.

Get your body fat percentage measured, either by a personal trainer (caliper "pinch" test) or by a DEXA scan.

Start a food journal.

Get a food scale.

Start a workout journal.

If it's important, it must be measured if you want phenomenal results that shock your friends.

You don't really know what's going on if you don't measure and keep records.  Without records and measurements, you're in the dark.

If you keep records and know what is going on, you can make really, really informed decisions about your fitness.

That knowledge is power.

All of my clients who get awesome rockstar bodies keep a food journal. 

All of my clients who get amazing results have me keeping records of their workouts and their measurements.

You want an awesome body?  Start measuring and keeping records.  It's totally the next level.

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