Josh Hillis' Fat Loss and Fitness

Does Every Workout Need to Kill You?

I get this question from time to time.

And I've been thinking about it a lot, considering the videos that I've been posting lately.

The answer is:

No, every workout doesn't need to kill you.

And

No.  Every workout does not need to be high intensity.

I've been posting videos of some of the high intensity, time based workouts that I do with my clients, and in my book The Stubborn Seven Pounds.

First off - we only do these workouts about half of the time.  The reason I video those workouts is because those workouts make for cool looking videos.

Even when we do high intensity, time based circuit workouts - most of them should be done at  80-90% intensity.

Your form should not break down.

I talked about it before on this post: How To Increase Intensity And Not Get Hurt

You only go all out when you have a "test".

Remember this rule:

As long as you are getting stronger, lifting heavier, or doing more rounds than you have in the past, you're making progress.

Some workouts you really kick some ass and push it. 

Some days you just survive for time. 

Some days you hit personal records, but it doesn't feel super hard. 

You'll have all those days, and it's all ok.

All you need to focus on is getting stronger, and eating things a caveman could hunt or gather. 

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Josh News:

I had my first session with my new personal trainer today. 

I know some people think it's funny when trainers have trainers.  But I figure it like this - if Tiger Woods has golf coaches, then I can have a personal trainer.

We're doing some really crazy drills working on how my vision has effected my movement patterns.  It's really wild stuff, and I'm totally stoked.

Three things I always enjoy:
1.) Teaching about fitness.
2.) Learning about fitness.
3.) Working on my own fitness.

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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

The Stubborn Seven Pounds - The Fun Workout

Here is another "lost" workout from The Stubborn 7 Pounds.

This workout didn't make it into the book because I figured most people don't have a medicine ball and a brick wall handy.

But if you do...

How many rounds in 20 minutes:
15 kettlebell swings
15 medicine ball throws
15 box jumps
15 situps

This workout started out as an experiment.

Ok, actually I was just bored.

So I started looking for other ways to think about workouts besides just the movements: push, pull, squat, and deadlift. 

I wondered, what if I thought about a workout as a full body extension, then flexion, extension, and flexion.

Writing this workout was an entertaining problem for me for about 5 minutes.

It turned out to be one of my clients' favorite workouts.

Especially when they are having a bad day.  I think medicine ball throws are the next best thing to hitting a heavy bag.

Enjoy!

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Where's Josh been?

I know the blog posts have gotten a little slower this last month.

I took two major seminars - one taking a drastically different look at neurophysiology and the way that the body responds to movement, and the other was about removing the mental barriers that hold us back.

I'm not sure exactly how this will all transform the way I train people in the long run, but it's really awesome to get to grow as a trainer.

As usual, I'm testing new stuff out on my clients, and when I get good at it I'll pass it on to you.

Other big news, I got glasses.  I can't believe how blind I was, I had no idea.  I feel like I see the whole world in HD.

The articles are going to start coming regularly again.  Thanks for being patient with me while I was off learning new stuff.

Josh

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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

The Stubborn Seven Pounds - The Lost Workout

How many times in 20 minutes can you complete this circuit:

kettlebell swings x 25 reps
lunges x 100 feet
bear crawl x 50 feet

Rest as often as you need to.  Your "score" is how many circuits you complete in that time frame.  You get a better score by resting less.

If you can get over 5 rounds, it's time to make it harder. 

Harder variation #1: Add dumbbells to the lunges and bear crawl, use a heavier kettlebell.

Harder variation #2: Add a pushup in between each bear crawl.

Most people are crushed by three rounds.  I've had a few (literally three) athletes bust up to six rounds of the harder variations.

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

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

Magical Fat Loss Green Tea? Is this for real?

This is the kind of stuff that really pisses me off.

It's a company advertising that their green tea will help you lose tons and tons of weight.

Look, I love me some green tea.

But the kind of weight loss they are talking about, the tea would have to contain crack, ephedra, AND amphetamines.

It's ridiculous.

It's green tea people.

Check it out:

http://www.wu-yisource.com/index.php

What's really scary, is that they use some really, really amazing marketing.

Well crafted sales letter, great testimonials.

Hey wait - did you notice that they offer to BUY testimonials for $1000?  WTF?

People ask me about stuff like this all the time.  Look, Ephedra worked, back in the day.  But that's the thing about "instant magic fixes", if they actually work, they are soon made illegal.

Look - I have found magic in the fitness industry, it's just not as magic as we would want it to be.

When I found Pavel's Beyond Stretching seminar, I made spectacular "magical" gains in my flexibility.  And I'd never made any flexibility gains in my life before that.

The non-magic part?  It's way harder than normal "stretching", and I have to do it a few times per week.

When I found Z-Health, I found a neurological drill that magically took away all the pain in my knee, and at the same time made me twice as strong.  That's pretty magical.

The non-magic part?  My homework is to do that drill three times per day.  And the drill is very precise - it has to be done perfectly or it doesn't work.

With smart diet and exercise, I've seen magical weight loss in my clients. 

The non-magical part?  They actually had to do the work and eat right.

Do you want magical fat loss?  Here are five tips.

1.) Sleep an extra hour per night.  The hormonal response produced from getting the sleep that you really need, is truly magical.

2.) Eat breakfast.  When you break your night long starvation and feed yourself with the food that you need, it boosts your metabolism. 

3.) Keep a workout log.  Track how often you are really getting in to the gym, and how much stronger you are really getting.

4.) Keep a food log.  Track the number of meals that you eat each week that are unprocessed, whole food, and have protein.  Track the number of meals you eat that are crap.  Make sure you have good food at least 80% of the time.  Ideally 90%.

5.) Repeat steps 1-4.  They are the things you should be doing anyway.  Magical results come from doing the basics correctly, and with consistency.

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.

"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

12 Weeks Until Memorial Day + Workouts are Like Seasons

If you want to look fit, athletic and hot by Memorial Day, it has to start now.

One of my clients, Dave, was joking that he saw an advertisement last June and July that said "Get fit for SUMMER!" 

He asked, "Which summer?  Summer 2008?"  (keep in mind this was 2007)

It's sad, if you start working on getting fit for summer...  and it's already June...  guess what?  You missed it!

You've got to start now.

On the flip side, if you've been following your fitness program since New Years, and you've been kicking ass, you've already seen some awesome results.

It's time to take it to the next level.

Your programs (long term workout structures) have to change.

What got you here, will not take you to the next level, even if it was awesome.

The body adapts, and it adapts really quickly. 

You adapt to a workout program in 4-8 weeks.

When your body adapts, you stop getting results.  Even if it was a good workout program.

Let me repeat:

The body adapts, and it adapts really quickly.  You adapt to a workout program in 4-8 weeks.

When your body adapts, you stop getting results.  Even if it was a good workout program.

 

Workouts have to be like seasons.  Winter must be followed by spring, which must be followed by summer.  After summer, you must have fall.  And after fall it's time to have winter again.

You can't fight it.  It doesn't matter how well your workouts used to work.  Your workouts must change.  And they must change in the right order and for the right reasons. 

Smart personal trainers call this "periodization".  It's just a technical term for the fact that your workouts have to change...  like seasons.

In a month, I'll be releasing a six month, 12 phase "periodized" training program - "Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss". 

In the meantime - if you've been doing my program The Stubborn 7 Pounds, then maybe you should try Turbulence Training, or The Fit Yummy Mummy Workout.  If you've been doing The Fit Yummy Mummy or Turbulence Training, maybe it's time to try The Stubborn 7 Pounds.

What ever you've been doing - it's time for a change.   

If you need a change immediately, and you want few workouts to tide you over until you start your next program - you can get six free Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss.

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.

"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