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Why am I not losing weight? What to do to lose weight?

At some point during their weight loss journey, a lot of people may ask the question: why am I not losing weight.  What to do to lose weight may seem relatively simple: eat less and exercise more.  While this mantra may hold under ideal scientific conditions, as human beings there are other factors that go into the weight loss equation. Don’t get me wrong, at the end of the day I still think weight loss is driven by how many calories you consume versus how many calories you expend.  Ultimately this comes down to diet and exercise. Diet: One Way to Lose Weight In my opinion, diet should be the key area of focus when it comes to what to do to lose weight.  While most people will just try to eat less calories, I actually think there are 5 separate factors that influence diet: calories, appetite, taste, emotional eating, and nature vs. nurture. Calories This is where it all begins.  For a minute, let’s just forget about the quality of calories you eat....
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The Best Way to Stay in Shape

As I was writing How to Get a Beach Body in 2 Months or Less, I got around to thinking about the best way to stay in shape.  Below is a 3 step, fool-proof way to stay in shape. 1. Exercise A simple 3 day split.  Day 1: Pushups, Day 2: Pull Ups, Day 3: Sprints; repeat for the next 3 days and give yourself a day off.  For pushups and pull ups, complete one max set.  For sprints, you’ll run 400 meters (1 lap around the track).  Here’s the trick.  Each workout you have to increase the number of pushups and pull ups you perform by at least 1 rep.  If you can’t beat your personal record in one set, you have to do 5 more sets, stopping one rep short of failure on each set and allowing yourself 2 minutes rest between sets.  For sprints, if you can’t run faster than your personal record, you have to do 5 more laps with 2 minutes rest between laps. 2. Diet You get to eat whatever you want.  Go to McDonald’s every day if you feel like it.  H...
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How to Increase Bench Press

A couple weeks ago, a colleague asked me about how to increase bench press.  Increasing bench press is something I used to train for a long time ago.  While it’s not one of my current goals, the first question out of a lot of people’s mouths in the gym is: how much do you bench?  However, the first thing you should be asking yourself is: why do you want to increase your bench press?  This question is important because you should adjust your bench press routine based on different end goals.  Below I outline how to increase bench press if your goal is simply increasing your one rep max, increasing muscle mass and strength, or just building a better looking chest. Increase Your Bench Press No matter what your goal, the first recommendation for increasing your bench press is to develop proper form.  A few pointers: Keep your feet flat on the floor, shoulder width apart Grip should be slightly wider than shoulder width Keep your shoulder blades together...
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Kettlebell Exercises and Kettlebell Workout Routines

I recently started incorporating kettlebell exercises into my workout routine.  If you want to add a little variety and ramp up fat burning, I’d highly recommend utilizing kettlebell workout routines.  So, why should you start using kettlebells?  Because they’re great for increasing strength, losing body fat, and improving your cardiovascular health.  What more could you want out of a piece of equipment?  Another benefit I’ve found is that one-arm kettlebell exercises have helped me even out the strength between my arms. What is a kettlebell? As you can see from the picture, a kettlebell is a cannonball with a handle.  For some, the initial reaction to kettlebell workout routines is that you can perform the same exercises with dumbbells or a barbell.  In my recent experience, I’ve found the kettlebell provides a slightly different workout than either though.  It lies in the fact that you hold the handle to perform exercises which means the wei...
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Benefits of a Low Intensity Cardio Workout for Fat Loss

Are there any benefits of low intensity cardio?  With the emergence of high intensity cardio and other intense training routines, a low intensity cardio workout is not nearly as prevalent as it used to be.  Why have I started doing a lot more low intensity cardio for fat loss then?  Because it’s a great way to burn a few extra calories with very little risk of over training or injury.  This is an important component of Visual Impact Cardio and was mentioned in my interview with Rusty Moore as a great way to get the lean, Hollywood look. Low Intensity Cardio vs. High Intensity Cardio My definition of low intensity cardio is anything from walking to a slow jog.  It’s exercise that may require a modest amount of effort but something during which you could probably carry on a conversation.  High intensity cardio on the other hand would include sprints or interval training in which you have to focus on catching your breath rather than talking. High intensi...
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Measuring Body Fat Percentage & Measuring Muscle Mass Percentage

As you get leaner, one of the biggest challenges is measuring body fat percentage and measuring muscle mass percentage.  If you’re trying to lose a lot of weight, the scale is just as good a tool as any.  However, when you’re trying to lose the last 5-10lbs of fat while preventing muscle loss, the scale alone won’t necessarily help.  How can you effectively measure your weight loss results if you don’t know your body fat percentage or muscle mass percentage?  Based my recent experience, your best bet is to combine a variety of different methods.  Even then, it’s tough to definitively determine anything in the short term. Measuring Body Fat & Muscle Mass I recently finished doing Joel Marion’s Xtreme Fat Loss Diet.  While I’ll be reviewing that program separately, I thought I’d highlight how I tracked my results.  First thing to note, this was an experiment and I would not advise taking your weight, measuring body fat percentage, and measuring m...
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High Weight Low Reps Superset Workout Routine

Have you ever wondered about how to make your strength training workout more time efficient and effective?  Then it’s time to consider a high weight, low reps superset workout routine.  The best way to build strength is by using a heavy weight that you can only lift for a few reps.  Ideally you want to give your muscles plenty of time to rest between sets so that you avoid training to failure.  However, this is terribly inefficient.  This is where superset workout routines can be helpful.  Rather than just resting between sets, you perform a different exercise.  I’ve discussed my preferred way to combine high weight, low rep training with a superset workout in Fitness in a Flash and How to Get a Beach Body but thought it might be worthwhile to provide a little more flavor. High Weight, Low Reps If you’re focused on gaining strength, then I’d highly recommend combining high weight training with low reps.  Muscle fibers experience the most growt...
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