Becoming a gym all-star is about developing confidence, knowledge, and awareness…a great body is simply the result.

 As a lot of you sit there reading the title to this blog post, I’m willing to bet you’ve suddenly been hit by a couple of semi-alarming thoughts…

• What the hell is a gym all-star?
• How do I know if I’m a gym all-star?

First, if you’re wondering if you’re a gym all-star…you’re not a gym all-star. 

Secondly, what the hell is a gym all-star anyways?  A gym all-star is one of those people who just “gets it”.  They look confident.  They’ve got sweat flying everywhere. They’re going through yet another routine that would make other gym goers shiver with fear.  They’re not paying attention to who’s looking at them or wondering if they look silly.   They look, act, sound…and perhaps even smell, the part.  They are completely at home in the gym. 

Gym all-stars aren’t necessarily the most muscular people in the room.

The gym all-star comes in all shapes and sizes.  Don’t mistake a gym all-star for being a picture perfect fitness model or juiced up bro with frosted tips and oompa loompa colored skin.  A gym all-star is someone who completely gets the whole fitness thing, knows exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it, has a plan to succeed, and does all that he or she needs to do to reach his or her goals. 

Gym all-stars are the envy of those around them.  People will curiously stare as the gym all-star performs exercises or workouts they’ve never thought of doing.  The girl on the elliptical will experience an all-encompassing jealousy when she catches her boyfriend checking you out doing your squat/box jump plyo work while she chugs away at a snail’s pace next to him.  You’ll start to get more head nods, do-you-mind-if-I-work-in-with-you’s?, and right of way at the water fountain.  Simply put, it’s good to be a gym all-star.

So, if you’re brand new to the whole working out thing…or you’re the girl on the elliptical everyday while reading her US Weekly magazine…put the reading material down and listen up, because I’m laying out exactly what it takes to become a gym all-star AND get into the best shape of your life. 

All-Star in the Making…

• Have a plan.  I hate to be cliché, but I can’t help myself here…”He who fails to plan is planning to fail”.  If you have no plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure.  Know what you want to accomplish and know the best way to accomplish it.  Not sure how to accomplish your goals?  Thank God for Share It Fitness..we’ve got you covered.

• Fuel yourself.  All the determination in the world isn’t worth much if you don’t have the nutrition to keep your motor running.  Treat your body like a Lamborghini…not a Honda Civic and it will reward you infinite times over.

• Expect burn out.  I don’t care how motivated you are right now….everyone experiences burn out.  How a person responds to burn out is what determines if they become an all-star or a dud stuck in the same old cycle to nowhere.  I promise you, that period of burn out will NOT last more than a few days…just keep going to the gym, keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll be back to your motivated self faster than you think. 

• Promise to push yourself.  If you’re brand new to fitness, gains are going to come quickly.  This will be an exciting time, but with all newbies, they finally hit a wall where gains stop.  Hell, everyone hits a wall, a.k.a a plateau.  All-stars are willing to push themselves (this is when fitness actually becomes hard) past these points…while everyone else just keeps on doing what they’ve been doing..essentially wasting their time.

Gym all-stars have no problem going outside of their comfort zones…

Gym All-Star Basics…

• Fight the machine.  Well, don’t actually fight the machine..that may end badly.  Rather, fight the urge to use only machines when you lift weights.  They have their place for sure, but try to maintain a 4:1 ratio of free weight or body weight exercises to every machine you use.  .

• Ditch the ego.  This one is primarily for the dudes amongst us.  I know it’s really awesome to lift a lot of weight, but if you’re using bad form you’re only making yourself look silly and/or setting yourself up for injury.  You have no idea how ridiculous you look when your back is a foot off the bench while doing that 225lb bench press. 

• Full range of motion.  Not only will using a full range of motion with proper form make you look like you know exactly what you’re doing, but it’ll hit your muscles better too.  Try doing full range of motion squats or dumbbell fly and you’ll understand what real soreness (and progress) is all about.  

• Isolate Iso. Iso-exercises that is.  Unless you’re already in serious shape or training for a competition, leave the iso exercises alone.  Exercises like bicep curls, lateral shoulder raises, and tricep kick backs all target small, singular muscle groups.  Opt for compound movements like wide grip pull ups, incline bench press, deadlifts, and clean and presses (amongst many others) that target multiple muscle groups and do more for your overall physique.

Separating Yourself From the Pack…

• Steady state cardio has got to go.  Or at least significantly reduced.  The bulk of your cardio should come by way of high-intensity intervals.  Whether your on the treadmill, bike, rower…doesn’t matter.  Go for short bursts of all out intensity followed by longer periods of a more relaxed pace.  Oh, and if you really want to look like an all-star, get good at jump roping.

• Strength and cardio are but two components of an all-star.  Any clue what the third component is?
  

  A gym all star can do more than lift a lot of heavy weight and run for a long time…

    Flexibility.  Increased flexibility not only allows for greater muscle gains, it also prevents injury, and chronic pain later in life.  My prescription? Fifteen minutes of foam rolling 2-3x a week, plus as many yoga sessions as you can squeeze in.  Don’t have the time or budget for a yoga studio…OnDemand yoga in your living room is just as effective and FREE.

• Workouts that combine strength and cardio movements are hot body makers.  Leave the split schedule weight training to the meatheads.  Shoot for high-intensity routines that allow you to target multiple muscle groups with short rest periods.  Often cardiovascular exercises can be intermixed to make this type of workout even more intense.  One such workout is our MetCon Challenge which uses metabolic conditioning principles to turn you into an all-star, inside and out.

• Go Heavy (or light).  Women are often afraid of going heavy for fear of getting “big and bulky”.  You know those ladies you see who look amazing in the gym?  They didn’t get that way lifting 5lb dumbbells all the time.  With that in mind, every now and then, feel free to mix in work outs using higher reps and lighter weights.  The key is to keep your body guessing and unable to grow accustomed to any one type of training or weight.

You’re an All-Star.

• The little things add up.  Please, do yourself a favor and find something to do between sets.  Unless you’re doing a workout (one with seriously heavy lifting) that calls for complete rest between sets, start mixing in additional work to keep your heart rate elevated and maximizing your time spent in the gym.  All those little 1-2 minute breaks really add up and when maximized, can turn you into the living, breathing, machine you’re striving to be.

• Intensity.  I’m not saying you need to scream, grunt, or moan your way through each set, but you’ve got to develop some intensity at the gym.  If you’re not leaving the gym a hot, sweaty mess…something isn’t right.  You should always be looking to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and not grow too used to your workouts.  One great tip most gym all-stars share in common; they treat each workout like a competition against themselves.  ALWAYS strive to go stronger, longer, and faster than the time before.  Even if you aren’t able now, you will be soon.

• Legs.  Remember you have them.  And I suppose the opposite could be true for women….Let’s not forget to engage our ENTIRE bodies.  It’s amazing how many guys are running around with jacked up arms and chests and toothpick legs.  A real all-star pays full attention to their entire body.  Not to mention, when you start lifting the other half you’ve neglected for so long, everything else will start growing at a faster rate. 

• Life outside of the gym.  The life of a gym all-star isn’t confined to just a gym.  Gym all-stars are almost always engaging in other types of heathy, and active, activities outside of the gym.  Not only will developing active hobbies help you shed additional calories and fat, but it may even help you surround yourself with other people who serve as positive reinforcement of your newly claimed healthy lifestyle.  Think about it…if you’re hanging with a bunch of cigarette smoking, Cheesecake Factory eating, don’t-wake-me-before-noon, couch poatotes…it won’t be long before their bad habits start rubbing off on you.

Other random thoughts…

• Drink water.  And leave anything with sugar, like coconut water (but omg I love coconut water..it’s soo in right now!) alone.  You just burned 400 calories on the treadmill.  Do you really want to drink them all back with that coconut water/Gatorade/fill in the blank?

• Be nice.  Just because you may now look and feel better than everyone else in the gym doesn’t mean you’ve got instant authority to act like a dick.  Smile.  Let people work in with you.  Give advice if someone asks.  It’s amazing how many people at my gym (guys and girls) walk around like they’re in the middle of a prison yard, just waiting to shank the first person who looks at them funny.

• Leave the shades at home.  Maybe it’s a San Diego thing, but the gym I work out at will almost always have someone sporting their sunglasses while working out…indoors.  Real all-stars don’t need to draw attention to themselves.  Wearing neon workout gear, beats by Dr. Dre headphones, and black sunglasses may get you some attention, but it doesn’t make you an allstar….just a douche.

Remember, becoming a gym all-star isn’t about being the hottest, most fit person in the gym.  It’s about developing confidence, knowing what you’re doing, and knowing why you’re doing it.  Learn to stick to that rock-solid plan you developed from the getgo, vary your workouts, keep the intensity and a hot, fit body will surely follow suit. 

Each one of you has all-star potential within you.  The key is finding out how to unlock that potential and use it for all it’s worth.  Follow along with this how to guide and you’ll be well on your way to the body and health of your dreams.  Good luck, all-stars, and please feel free to comment below if you’ve got any questions.

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The decision to change yourself is scary. The idea of changing yourself is comforting.

I bet a lot of you are looking at that title and going….what?!

I’m not trying to be cryptic here, just attempting to shine some light on the human psyche and how I’ve seen wide-eyed people, full of hope and enthusiasm have their dreams slip away because the idea of change, at least for them, was greater than change itself. 

You’re still probably saying…..what?!  Bear with me a little longer here and you’ll see that the ideas behind today’s post transcend fitness and are completely relatable to any set of goals you may have in your life. Recognizing what we’re about to lay out below is the most powerful step you can take in turning raw motivation into something viable to change yourself for good.

Standing at the Front Door to the Rest of Your Life

Think back several years (and for some of you, many more than several!) to when you were in high school.  You were still young, naive, and full of hope.  At this point in time, almost anything was possible.  You were free; able to go any which way you chose.  You could become or change yourself into anything you wanted.  You probably had limited responsibilities and were standing at the front door to the rest of your life.

As time wears on, slowly but surely (and whether we realize it or not) our options diminish.  We assume more responsibilities, the consequences of our decisions begin to pile up, and generally, our point of view slowly becomes more similar to that of the mainstream.  Your ability to change yourself becomes more limited.  Over time, our ”dreams” slowly cement themselves as dreams, and nothing more. 

Some dreams and/or goals are lost forever.  I can say with absolute certainty, I will never play college football (this is more of an example than an actual dream).  I’ve completed college, used up my NCAA eligibility, and will not be getting any more.  This dream is gone and there’s nothing I can do about it.  On the other hand, it has always been a dream of mine (actual)  to complete an Ironman triathlon.  This dream is still in the realm of possibilities.  It’ll take a hell of a lot of hard work and determination, but it is a dream that is still achievable. 

For most people, deciphering between the physically achievable and the physically impossible to achieve isn’t hard.  Yes, maybe it was your lifelong goal to become a FBI agent…until you realize the past 10 years of your life spent in a cloud of pot might not look so good on the polygraph.  For the majority of us, we learn to accept what we cannot achieve, and move on. 

You Need to Feel Like You Can Still Change Yourself

As humans, we crave opportunity.  No one likes to be boxed into a decision…especially if it’s a decision you didn’t make.  We are keenly aware of goals and opportunities that ARE still under out control.  We focus on these, because THESE are the things we can do something about.  Deliver pizzas for a living but want to go back to college to study business?  You have the power to change yourself and make this happen.  Gained 30 pounds after your last baby but want to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight?  This is achievable.  No matter what our age, we look for and relish these potential opportunities.  It gives us power.  It gives us hope.  It makes us feel that we still have some semblance of control over our lives. This feeling is useful.  Many people are able to harness this raw emotion of hope and motivation and turn it into action.  This action is how you bridge those obstacles standing in your way and change yourself for the better.

But, as I’ve noticed amongst friends, family, and clientele over the years….for many people, the idea of change is greater than change itself.  I’ll give you an example..

I had a good friend I knew from college who, like many of us, took a job immediately after graduating that he wasn’t exactly in love with.  He sat in his cube, punching buttons, not doing what he thought he was meant to be doing.  We talked regularly and he’d often tell me about his grand plans.  At one point he was going to go back to school to get his MBA.  Next, he was planning to go to culinary school and realize his true passion of cooking.  Later, he got the idea of law school into his head.  Fast-foward 6 years…he’s still sitting in that cube, hating his job, living in the glow of the possibility of changing his circumstances.

Sometimes the idea that you still have the ability to change yourself or your circumstances. is enough to provide the mental satisfaction to continue carrying on.  It gives hope; it makes you feel as though all is not lost.  We feel we can still control our own destiny.  It’s a good feeling.  Unfortunately, that hope sometimes leads to inaction.  That inaction is almost always the result of the single most damaging thing you can tell yourself; “I still have time”. 

Why “I Still Have Time” is The Worst Thing You Can Say If You Want to Change Yourself

Sure, my buddy still has time to improve his circumstances.  He’s only 27, he’s a smart guy, and he’s got one of those magnetically charismatic personalities people enjoy being around.  The problem is, his attachment to the idea that he still has time to change himself, is preventing him from changing. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a procrastinator.  I work hard everyday to overcome this tendency, but it’s still something that pops up every now and then.  I don’t think I’m unique. I think a lot of people are willing to put off today what they feel they can do tomorrow.  This feeling is at the very core of why so many people fail to ever accomplish what they set out to do. 

So I’ve got 25 pounds to lose?  No big deal, I’ve lost more before.  I can easily drop 50 pounds, so many people have done that.  No big deal.  Sixty pounds?  So what?  The people on The Biggest Loser lose sooo much more.  Okay, 70 pounds is gonna be tough, but it’s still doable, I used to be an athlete after all.  Alright, I don’t know how I got 100 pounds overweight, but I’m still young enough to do this.  I can do this.

And then boom…..

The doctor says I’m a diabetic.  My knees are bad.  My chest hurts when I run.  My back is worse than ever.  This weight just isn’t dropping like it used to.  I wish I had done something sooner. 

Changing Yourself Is Hard

Changing yourself is hard.  Thinking about changing yourself is not.  The idea that you have the power to drop X number of pounds gives you hope.  Dropping X number of pounds is hard.  This type of change requires hard work.  In the romanticized version in your head, you simply focus on the fact you have the power to change.  You may not be thinking about all of the steps required to achieve that goal.  Perhaps you make a half-hearted effort at dropping those pounds, but upon realizing how hard it is, you recoil back and tell yourself “I can do it later.  I still have time”.  You go back to basking in the good feelings of knowing you can drop those pounds whenever you want…until you actually CAN’T because you’re too sick, old, fill in the blank.

Now, I’m no sports psychologist, so take what I’m saying as my personal point of view, and nothing more… 

The good feelings that are associated with knowing you have the ability to change your job, get fit, meet someone new, etc. are, again in my opinion, no different from a drug.  They produce good feelings in your brain, relieve your anxieties, and over time, you grow attached to this feeling.  Trying to actually change yourself is uncomfortable.  What if you fail?  What if you realize you really CAN’T go back to law school because you simply aren’t smart enough?  That opportunity is now gone.  The good feelings that were derived from this possibility have now dried up.  You might feel hopeless, lost, out of control of your own life.  These feelings are all scary, and are the reason so many people would rather hold on to the hope that they can change, rather than actually try to change themselves. 

What Can You Do About It?

This is a hard question to answer.  Truthfully, I don’t have an exact answer for you.  I believe it’s all about getting off that “drug” and facing your fear.  Sure, you might not be as smart or as determined as you think you are.  But at the end of the day…at least you’ll know.  Think about it…you’re living in the world of make-believe when you envision all of these pie-in-the-sky possibilities.  They make you feel good, but that’s all they do.  They don’t help your current circumstances or bring about actual change in your life.  In effect, these romanticized possibilities are preventing you from changing yourself.

You are setting yourself up for a world of “coulda, woulda, shoulda” many years down the road when you refuse to give up your attachment to these feelings.  Honestly, for me, it’s just a matter of saying, screw it, I’m going to do it.  I’m going to take the necessary steps to try to achieve this goal.  If I fail, I fail.  Sure, that opportunity is now gone, and it’s one less thing in my life I won’t do.  But at least I’ll know. 

I truly believe regret is one of the worst human emotions we can encounter.  You don’t want to look back at your life when you’re old and gray and be faced with regret after regret.  Do something to meet those goals, even if you fail, so you aren’t spending your later years regretting not knowing what might have been. 

The great thing about opportunity is that it continues to present itself in various forms throughout our lives.  While our dreams and goals may evaporate or change, new ones will continue to form.  Just because you realize you may never reach some of your goals, doesn’t mean your life is out of your hands.  You’ll encounter numerous other opportunities to change yourself and realize and new dreams as you grow older.  The worst thing you can do is live in the fantasy world you’ve created in your head.  Get out there and try to achieve.  If you fail, so be it.  If you succeed, more power to you.  But either way, you’ll avoid regret down the road, and might just change your life in the process.

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Nope…more squats are not in the cards today…

Based on the number of searches I’m seeing, “how to burn more calories” is something a lot of you guys are looking for a bit more info on.  Most of the information you’re coming across tells you to do more HIIT sprints, lift heavier weights, spend more time in the gym…and so on.  Well yeah, that goes without saying…you exercise longer and harder, you’re going to burn more calories.

However, these (helpful) suggestions, fail to recognize the real motivator behind all of those “how to burn more calories” searches.  Let’s face it, there are a great deal of us who don’t love working out.  Maybe you do it because you know your health depends on it.  Maybe you do it because you just want to make all of your friends jealous when you’re laying by a pool.  Love it or hate it, you want to maximize your time spent in the gym and get the most bang for your buck. You do have lives that need tending to after all.  So, from that standpoint, a suggestion to spend MORE time in the gym, or to simply go harder than you already are, isn’t exactly what you were looking for.

This is NOT what I’m talking about…

I know what some of you may already be thinking.  Am I really about to give you that golden bullet in a pill?  The one that increases your heart rate, turns on your inner metabolic machine, helps you shed excess fat, and can be had for only 4 easy payments of $19.95?  Please, you should know me better than that by now.

Nonetheless, I’m still saying YES, you can burn more calories, drop body fat faster, and achieve a healthier and better looking body WITHOUT having to exercise harder, longer, or spend even more time in the gym.  Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  Well, bear with me here, and you’ll see that it’s not.

How to Burn More Calories….The Easy Way

You guys have a pretty good grasp on how to burn calories, right?  For those that don’t; lifting weights, sprinting, jumping, or anything else that engages your muscles, increases your heart rate, and forces your body to work harder than usual will speed up your caloric burn.  Of course, those are all things we associate with “working out” or “exercise”.  If you’re one of those fitness freaks who loves being in the gym and the suggestion of spending even more time in the gym doesn’t put you off, then god bless.  But for those that have maxed out their weekly gym time, but still aren’t making the progress they want, keep reading.

Willing to bet she does more than just hit the gym and pose for cell phone mirror pictures…

You know those realllly fit people you see in the gym?  Guys, girls, it doesn’t matter.  You know who they are and they know who they are.  Like many, you probably assume they spend an inordinate amount of time at the gym doing insane workout programs.  You think about the hectic life you juggle and figure there’s no way you could ever be like them; you simply don’t have the time to commit.  Well, let me tell you something…. you’re selling yourself short.  WAY short.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret right now.  Almost all of those fantastically fit people share a common denominator.  It’s not the amount of time they spend on the treadmill, or the juice fast they do every few months.  No, it’s simple, it’s easy, and it’s something you can seamlessly insert into your own life and get closer to the body and health you’ve always wanted.  What is this magic bullet you’re wondering?

An active lifestyle.  And no, an active lifestyle doesn’t mean more working out.

An Active Lifestyle is the Key To The Body of Your Dreams

Really?  Is that it?  That’s how to burn more calories?  Lead an “active lifestyle”?  Before you start sliding your cursor towards the upper-right hand corner, hear me out.

Sure, I told you I wouldn’t require you to exercise any longer or harder than you currently are.  The thing is, we all have things we like and dislike.  The things we like don’t seem like work.  Finding time to squeeze them in is way easier than finding time to do something we dislike doing.  By this token, finding an active hobby or two to include into your life, should be easy to accomplish.  You see, all of those fit people are doing so much more than you see them doing at the gym.  By and large, you’ll find them biking, taking yoga classes, hiking, playing pick up sports…..being active.  What you won’t find them doing is spending every Sunday watching football and drinking beer.  You won’t find them skipping out on going for an evening bike ride because they’ve got a date with their DVR and Toddlers and Tiara’s.

Putting in time at the gym is great.  If can literally save lives and help you change your body for the better.  But that said, if you want a picture perfect body and the health to match, you’ve got to find a way to overhaul your entire lifestyle.  Four to five hours at the gym each week is good.  Four to five hours at the gym each week plus 5 more hours of an active hobby or two is GREAT.  Again, if you enjoy doing it, it’s not going to seem like “working out”.

The Real Life Impact of Living an Active Lifestyle

Think these little extra things don’t add up?  Guess again.  Almost any sort of physical activity is going to make a positive impact on your body and health over time.

Check out the calories burned during some active hobbies listed below:

• Billiards: 93 calories
• Bowling: 112 calories
• Golf: 130 calories
• Hiking: 223 calories
• Soccer: 260 calories
• Gardening: 167 calories
• Cooking: 93 calories

*Calories burned are for 30 minutes of activity for a 155lb person.

For a wider range of activities and their calories burned please refer to the July 2004 Harvard Heart Letter.

Let’s take a look at the real impact here.  Let’s say you’re really into hiking and gardening, neither of which I would consider “working out”.  Say you hike for an hour and a half once a week, and spend two hours a week gardening.  That adds up to roughly 550 calories burned each week.  Keep in mind this is on top of everything else you’re already doing in the gym.  Since we know 1 pound is equal to 3,500 calories, you’re looking at losing an additional pound of excess body fat (realistically, some muscle loss may occur but that’s a different discussion for a different day) every six weeks or so.  Over the course of a year, you’ve burned an almost 9 additional pounds of excess weight.  Who here wouldn’t feel a lot better if they could cut out nine pounds of unwanted fat?

These little things may not seem like much, but over time, they add up.  This is the real life impact of maintaining  a healthy and active lifestyle.  Too often we get caught up in how many calories each exercise or workout is burning.  We calculate down to the minute, how long we’ll be working out, and then try to figure out how much fat we’re going to lose.  Instead of all of the over analyzing, why don’t you just sit down and think about some active things you may enjoy doing away from the gym.  If you truly enjoy them you aren’t going to dread them like you very well may dread that 5 mile run after a long day at work.

Don’t Worry About How to Burn More Calories

Yup, forget about worrying how to burn more calories.  In fact, stop worrying altogether.  You have nothing to worry about.  Replace the worrying with some thoughtfulness.  Think hard about what you enjoy doing, as well as things in your lifestyle you could live without.  If you could live without that hour of Honey Boo Boo, then go for a bike ride.  If you wouldn’t die if you skipped that movie, go ahead, knock some walls down, and take that yoga class…you might actually like it.  Find out things you can do without and start filling these newly created vacancies with your healthy and active hobbies.

Sooner or later your life is going to become a lot more active, and your body a lot more fit.  Keep this train moving and always look to add or experiment with new, healthy habits and hobbies.  Remember, it’s not going to seem like work when you actually enjoy doing it.  Take pride in knowing that the things you’re doing are not only fun, but are helping you reach your goals much quicker than sitting at home on the sofa ever will.

And on that note, I’m going to grab my bike and hit the boardwalk.

We’re going to piggyback on yesterday’s Hot Body Maker post as we tackle something else that has been popping up amongst our readers; how long until I see improvement?

By nature, this is a tough question to answer.  We’ve all got different work ethics, different genetics, different diets – all of these things affect how much, and how fast, we see improvement in ourselves.  Of course, the more of a beginner you are, or the more weight you have to lose, the quicker you’re going to see progress.  Writing a guideline for everyone under the sun is just impossible, so for our purposes today, we’re talking about your average, run-of-the-mill, “I-kinda-work-out-but-not-really”, might have a few pounds to lose, fitness goer.

Want to know where you stand?  Check out The Ultimate 8-Point Fitness Test and see how you really stack up!

Again, this article is simply a guideline to help keep you on track, show you where MOST “average” people will be after X months of training, and hopefully help you keep your eyes on the prize.  Something else to note – this is the progression MOST people will take, in my personal experience.  If you find you’re progressing slower than what these guidelines indicate, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong (although you very well may be).  Just make sure you’re putting in max effort, keeping a clean diet, and keep trucking along.

Meet Miss Average

Average Alice, 27 years old, 15 pounds to lose, looking to increase muscle mass 

Training Plan

• Total body weight training workouts 2x a week
• HIIT cardio sessions 2x a week
• Complex workout 1x a week
• Eliminated excess sugar, switched to whole grains, increased protein intake.

Week 1

As we see above, Alice is working on a 5x a week schedule, performing two total body workouts each week.  Her first workout is geared towards hitting her upper body, her second strength workout is more geared towards her lower.  In addition, she’s throwing in one complex workout a week which is hitting her entire body a second time, as well as helping her burn calories.  To round things out, she’s putting in 30-40 minutes of HIIT cardio twice a week as well to maximize her fat burn.

What to look for: After just one week, Alice is noticing serious muscle soreness across her entire body.  Her upper body feels as though it’s been absolutely punished and her legs so sore it’s tough to walk.  If you’re brand new to fitness and aren’t experiencing any soreness, this may be a good indication that you simply aren’t going hard enough.  Soreness doesn’t necessarily equal progress, but if you are just starting a new plan and aren’t feeling it, you may need to ratchet things up a bit.

Week 3

Alice has gotten into the full swing of things and hasn’t missed a beat.  She’s stayed on top of all of her workouts, eating clean has been easier than she thought, and she’s starting to hit her “motivational stride”.  Some workouts are still hard for her and she finds herself stopping for air or cutting her HIIT cardio sessions.  Despite that, she’s got the resolve to keep pushing and is performing slightly better each time out.

What to look for: By week three, you may start feeling a little bit tighter; a little more slimmed down.  While it’s probably not obvious to others looking at you, you feel like something positive is going on.  You should feel stronger, tighter, and perhaps even see a reflection on the scale.  You’re really starting to get behind this whole fitness thing and are eager to hit the gym each day.  Capitalize on this sky-high motivation and make the most of it while you have it……there’s going to come a time when that motivation is gone.

Week 6

Surprising even herself, Alice has continued her fitness and diet plan, falling off track only once or twice since starting.  She’s progressed in her workouts and is now completing them without having to take too many rest brakes.  Her HIIT cardio sessions have become easier and she’s considering extending their length in the near future.  During her complex workout she’s bumped her weight slightly and is gaining more confidence by the day.

What to look for: By now, you’re likely seeing a little definition forming in your arms, shoulders, and back.  Your legs and butt should feel tighter, even if they don’t necessarily look it just yet.  Weight loss and a reduction in body fat around the midsection shouldn’t come as a surprise at this point.  Stepping on the scale, you’ll find you’re more than half way to your weight loss goal of 15 pounds.  Motivation remains high and you’re loving the progress you’re seeing.

Week 9 

After two solid months of working out, Alice begins to slide into a bit of an inevitable rut.  Her workouts started grew a bit stale, getting to the gym seemed harder than it used to, and cheat meals reared their ugly head around every corner.  To combat this, Alice mixed up her workouts; she added time to intervals, increased her sprint speeds, introduced new exercises to weight training days, and made sure to increase her weight used.  The new variety helped keep her focused and determined to keep pushing herself towards her goals.

What to look for: This is the period most people begin to burn out.  You’ve got a choice to make, do you burn out and fall into the unending fitness cycle you’ve lived your whole life, or do you push through and do something you’ve never done?  Go to the gym even when you don’t want to, keep up with the workouts, trust the science behind all of this.  At this point, you’re continuing to make progress, but it doesn’t seem to be coming as fast.  On top of that, weight loss may not be as fast as you’d like anymore.  This is where many people quit; but understand this….the muscle you’re building is outweighing the fat you’re losing.  Start ignoring the scale and instead focus on your measurements, how you physically appear in a mirror, and how you feel.  The scale can sap the motivation of even the most dedicated fitness freak…now is the time to start ignoring it.

Week 12

As tough as it has been, Alice has kept pushing through her spat of mental fatigue.  Inside, she’s proud of herself for continuing on when she’d ordinarily quit and fall back to the drawing board.  At the three-month mark, Alice can definitely see definition in her arms, legs, and butt.  She’s got more confidence in her appearance and abilities at the gym.  She no longer feels insecure heading over to the free weight section with all the meatheads doing their beach body workouts.  She’s learned to ignore the scale, and even though her weight isn’t where she wanted it to be when she started, she realizes she’s really starting to turn a corner.

What to look for: If you’ve made it this far (kicking, screaming, crying notwithstanding) not only are you noticing some serious changes in your body, but other people are as well.  By now, you’re running faster, lifting heavier, and performing better in the gym.  You’re probably anxious for some newer, tougher workouts at this point.  This is vital – you’ve got to continue pushing yourself.  Once you allow yourself to fall into a comfort zone, you’re done.  By now, you’re abdominal muscles are *beginning* to show through.  You’ve built a solid layer of muscle on your body and are slowly but surely burning away the fat that’s covering them.  Motivation may be increasing again.

Week 15

Since Alice has been keeping up on her diet and fitness information, she knows the only thing that can knock her off track is succumbing to that damn plateau.  At this stage of the game, it is increasingly important to continue varying her workouts, formats, and exercises to keep making progress.  She’s introduced some workouts she never thought she’d be able to do and has started running longer than she used to.  Her motivation may have leveled off again, but this isn’t her first rodeo; she knows full well what to expect now.

What to look for: Right now, you should be noticing serious progress being made in the cardiovascular department.  You’re able to run longer, faster, and better than ever before.  You’re no longer gasping for wind the way you used to.  Your complex workouts are getting easier to get through (hint: make them harder) and you’re putting up more weight on your complex exercises (bench, squat, deadlift, etc) than you ever thought possible.  People at the gym are starting to check you out and you’ve begun developing that killer athletic physique everyone else is just wishing for.  You’re not there yet, and still probably have some weight loss goals and excess body fat to burn through, but overall your definition has improved and you feel and look tight and fit.

This too can be you….

Week 18

After nearly 5 months of regular workouts and diet, Alice has earned a well-deserved break.  By giving herself a week off, she allows her body to fully recover and gives her cardiovascular system a much-needed rest.  By doing so, she’s going to come back even stronger and should be performing at an even higher level.  Alice is using a variety of workouts at this point and is seamlessly tying them together to create the ultimate fitness plan.

What to look for:  You should be able to easily and effectively pull different workouts to create an effective plan that keeps you working hard.  You’re no newbie anymore, you know what’s a tough workout and what isn’t.  Strength gains come a bit slower than before, but you’ve come to expect this.  You haven’t stepped on a scale in weeks and are solely focused on your measurements; weight loss really isn’t your concern anymore. You continue to lose thickness from your waist, arms, and legs.  Your body is changing into a lean, mean, athletic machine.  Compliments about your physique come regularly, but you still realize there is more work to be done.

Week 21+

By this point, you’ve been at it for almost half a year.  You should fully understand and anticipate the highs and lows and have found a way to get yourself off the motivation roller coaster.  Gains don’t come nearly as fast as they used to, but that’s okay.  You know by now that fitness isn’t something you do for a few weeks or months, hit your goal, and then stop.  Being fit is a lifestyle.  When you start seeing “the big picture” you stop obsessing about goals.  Just continue putting in work, even on days you don’t think it’s going to make a difference, and good things will happen.  By the 5/6 months mark, you’re ready to really up your game.  Start looking into competing in races, challenges, anything at all that will keep you motivated.  Finding ways to self-motivate is one of the secrets of the most fit individuals.  Use whatever resources you have available (Share It Fitness anyone?) to keep introducing new and challenging workouts to your routine.  Don’t grow comfortable with what you’re doing.  Keep pushing, keep trying new things, and keep doing what you have to do to keep your motivation intact, and you’ll continue hitting levels you only used to dream about.

Need advice to keep pushing yourself harder?  Want a fitness plan that is customized specifically to you?  Drop us a comment below and we’ll put you on our list of pre-signups for our FitPlan, an interactive fitness plan designed by your very own personal trainer and completely geared towards YOU and your ever-evolving goals and abilities. 

Why do you exercise?  Do you do it to feel better?  Look better?  Improve your health?

If you’re like most people, it’s likely a combination of all three.  But realistically, deep down, we often have superficial, vain, and completely cosmetic motives which override all others.  But hey, who can blame us?  What’s wrong with wanting to look amazing?

Based on a lot of emails I’ve been receiving from the SIF faithful, it’s obvious there’s a common theme amongst both our men and women readers…

Which exercises should I do to improve my ________________?

….fill in that blank with any random body part and I’ve likely received an email about it.

So I get it, you guys want to look amazing.  You want people to stop and stare at YOU when you’re in the gym. With that in mind, I’ve put together a guide I like to call the “Hot Body Maker”. This guide details the 8 most important things you need to be doing if you want to turn that body from average to awesome in just a few months.

The key to a round, tight, and firm butt is a healthy dose of squats and deadlifts.

1.  Deadlift/Squat Combo (butt and legs) – This power combo is an absolute necessity if you are trying to build a round, tight, and shapely butt and legs.  Start with 4 sets of squat, followed by 4 sets of deadlift.  Be sure you’re going HEAVY here. Obviously, you’ll want to keep your form because these exercises can really mess you up if you’re not careful, but increase the weight to a degree that your muscles reach fatigue after about 5-7 reps.  Be sure to increase weight over time as your strength improves.

2.  HIIT Sprints (overall fat burn) – Leave the long, slow jogs to the newbies.  From now on, you’re doing your cardio in intervals.  Short, intense bursts of all out intensity, followed by a longer and more relaxed period.  Something like this would be a great place to start: 30 seconds all out sprint/1:30 jog, repeated 12-15 times.  Gradually increase the length of your all out sprints and/or the number of times you repeat the interval as your abilities increase.  Keep in mind, HIIT can be done on all sorts of cardio, i.e. stationary bike, jump roping, etc.  Mix things up, but make sure you’re always going hard and using HIIT to achieve your goal.

Start treating your abs like any other muscle group…

3.  Weighted Ab Work (core) – Doing hundreds of crunches sounds like a lot of work, but if you want to really build your core muscles you’re going to need to start training them like any other muscle.  Start performing decline crunches while holding a weight, russian twists with a dumbbell, the ab crunch machine at your gym with the weight jacked up, cable crunches with a heavy weight.  The point is, you want to fatigue your abdominals just like you do any other muscle.  If you’re going heavy, you won’t be able to reel off 40 or 50 reps at one time.  Mix up your exercises, but shoot for 8-10 sets total, with 10-15 repetitions per exercise.  Again, make sure the weight is heavy enough that you’re inducing muscle fatigue by the time you’re finished.

4.  Pull Up Combos (biceps, back) - This doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or girl, this complete upper body compound workout is going to leave you ripped, lean, and beautiful.  If you can’t even do one pull up, it’s no problem.  Use the pull up assistance machine and bang out your reps.  Sooner or later, you’ll be able to use less and less weight until you’re going without any assistance at all.  Bottomline, including a pull up combo into your workouts (especially if you aren’t already doing them) is going to help you build beautifully toned muscles all across your upper body.  A great place to start would be 50 wide grip pull ups, 25 regular pull ups, and 25 palms in pull ups.  Perform each type of pull up in as few sets as possible.  Over time, increase the number of pull ups

5.  Dip Burn Out (chest, triceps) – I’ll often include this right after the 100 or so reps of the pull up combo.  Get on a dip machine, using assistance if necessary, and start rocking.  A good place to start would be 100 dips, completed in as few sets as possible.  Over time, you’ll increase the number of dips you can complete per set, as well as progress to using no assistance at all.  Dips really help build your triceps and chest, helping you develop a lean, athletic, and sexy body.  If you are really advanced, consider holding a dumbbell between your feet or using a weight belt to strap on additional weight, making your dip sets even harder.

6. Plyometrics (butt, legs, overall fat burn) – If you aren’t already, it’s time you unlock the numerous benefits of plyometric training.  Not only will plyometric work help build your lower body, it’ll help spike your heart rate and lead to serious caloric burn, or in other words, fat loss.  Consider performing plyometric work on days you’re doing heavy leg training to completely tax the muscles and make serious gains.  Consider a routine consisting of four exercises, three sets per exercise, 25 reps per set, to start. Some great exercises to start with would be Russian lunges, squat jumps, Bulgarian squat jumps, and long jumps.  If you want to really go the extra mile, consider adding some jump roping at the end of your leg/plyometric workout.

Going heavy on Clean and Press will give you a toned athletic look…not a bulky bodybuilder’s body.

7.  Clean and Press/Bench Press Combo (chest, shoulders, triceps, and lower body) – These power movements are designed to help you pack on beautiful muscle in all the right places.  Perform 4 sets of 6-8 reps per set, using a weight heavy enough to cause muscular fatigue on the last rep or so of each set.  Consider including this exercise on days you’re doing other upper body work.

8.  EAT RIGHT. Okay, so this isn’t an exercise, but it is arguably the most important thing on this list.  You want to lose fat, build muscle, and generally develop a lean, mean, athletic physique, right?  Those are some lofty goals, so your diet is going to have to be on point.  Eliminate as much sugar and simple carbohydrates from your diet as possible.  No more fruit juice, white bread, frozen dinners, etc.  Avoid fast food like the plague. Make sure you’re getting plenty of protein and stock up on the veggies.  Eat a simple, clean, and healthy diet, and all of the hard work you put in at the gym will be rewarded.  On the flip side, understand that if you aren’t eating enough, your body will not grow new tissue, i.e. muscle.  If you want a lean, fit physique, you’ve got to fuel yourself with the right kind of food to allow yourself to grow without adding unwanted body fat.

Putting it all together

Now that you know WHAT you should be doing, I’m going to quickly and easily show you HOW you should be doing it.  Keep in mind, this is just a guide, and not set in stone.

Day 1: Deadlift/Squat Combo, HIIT Sprints

Day 2: Clean and Press /Bench Press Combo, Pull Up Combo, Dip Burn Out

Day 3: HIIT Sprints, Plyometric Work, Weighted Ab Work

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Deadlift/Squat Combo, HIIT Sprints

Day 6: Clean and Press /Bench Press Combo, Pull Up Combo, Dip Burn Out

Day 7: HIIT Sprints, Plyometric Work, Weighted Ab Work

This is a 6 day a week workout guideline.  The majority of these workouts are short and intense, so you’ll be able to get in and out of the gym in no time.  Keep in mind, you should taking a rest every 4th day (or as needed), so don’t go back to Day 1 workout without giving your body time to rest.  As I mentioned above, keep pushing yourself and shoot to increase weights, speeds, and times, as needed to keep yourself pushing.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is simply not pushing themselves hard enough, or with heavy enough weight.  You can’t expect to develop a killer body if you aren’t pushing yourself to the max.  If you feel pretty good after a workout, odds are you didn’t go hard or heavy enough.  Look forward to that muscle soreness that sets in a day or two after a tough workout.  Take pride in collapsing on the sofa after a tough cardio workout.  By learning to workout this way, you’ll learn how to push yourself to the max and make the progress you never thought possible to make.