There are golden fitness rules and there are ‘crazy fitness rules’.  The crazy ones can be eliminated right now.  The golden ones will give you success. Check out 21 below that are just about useless…

Just say NO to Gadgets...

There are many fitness ideas out there today and a lot of junk on the internet. I occasionally even hear crazy things come out of some personal trainers mouths. Here are 21 mistakes that you should avoid at ALL COSTS if you want to get in shape…

1. Doing too much cardio
2. Not lifting enough weight
3. Not lifting weights at all
4. Eating too much crap
5. Participating in “restriction” diets…aka low carb, low fat, etc
6. Not eating enough to support muscle recovery and energy levels
7. Dehydration
8. Not staying committed to the training process
9. Sticking with the same workout for months or even years
10. Long, slow cardio sessions instead of intense conditioning intervals
11. Using machines and single joint movements instead of complex, multi-joint free weight and body weight exercises
12. Not getting enough sleep
13. Reading while performing “conditioning” workouts on the bike…if you are reading, you are not working hard enough
14. Training every single day without recovery days
15. Not working on mobility…if you can’t move, you can’t train properly
16. Not properly stretching or foam rolling after a training session
17. Trying to do everything on your own (hire a trainer or work out with a friend)
18. Training sessions are too long, rest time is too long. Unless you are training for absolute power, you do not need 3+ minutes between sets…Get into the gym and kick butt for 45-60 minutes and leave.
19. Bringing your cell phone to the gym. Get over yourself. Unless it’s an emergency you are not that important
20. Not eating enough fruits and vegetables
21. Too much focus on the scale. Focus on your clothes, body fat percentage, and how you feel

In order to really get fit, in shape, and feeling great you MUST perform strength training workouts, eat a balanced nutrition plan with plenty of fruits, veggies, lean meats, natural protein sources, whole grains, and tons of water, and skip the cardio and replace it with high intensity interval workouts such as sprints, jump rope, hill sprints, or interval runs.

Train hard and smart,

Callie Durbrow, Boston personal trainer

Ladies Only Fat Loss Advice – Learn about weight loss for busy ladies and everything you need for a new sexy body!

A New Phenomenon? Or A Smart Evolution?

Ok, its HUGE – The NEW Apple iPad has been unveiled and it looks like a new category of ‘gadget’ is about to explode onto our lives.  But I bet it will soon become common to all of us and eventually we’ll wonder how we lived without it? Right?

So what can we learn from this new Apple release and apply it to our goals for fat loss, six pack abs, body transformation and lean muscle gain?

Well very simply its understanding the need to evolve from already solid foundations to guarantee growing improvement and continual results.

You see Apple know they have the best products, they know that by and large their way of doing things is infinitely smarter and ‘more user friendly’ and in turn they don’t just settle but look for major shifts in their results by building on their values and their brand.

In the fitness world there are always new ideas and new fads – the late night tv gadgets being some of the very worst.  But when its all broken down there are fundamentals of fitness training that guarantee results and give the person using them the fat loss they need, the muscle they want and the six pack abs they are desperate for.

So what can we learn from this new Apple Release?

It’s all obtained by using what works.  And once you know what works you don’t then go and try something completely different but you move onto similar systems that are an evolution of a proven fitness approach.  Same as Apple, how they are not just ‘shooting in the dark’ but building upon a proven base (the iphone / ipod interface and their millions of users)  – an evolution – NOT a complete change of direction.  Look at how quickly people will be up and running with this new and impressive piece of electronic equipment.  There won’t be a huge learning curve, but the flip side of the results and satisfaction people get will be huge and instantaneous.

Now in terms of fitness we know our fundamentals: We know what works…

Simply:

You need to burn off more calories than you take in

You need to use compound full body exercises to burn the optimal fat.

You need to create hypertrophy to allow muscle growth

you need to challenge your body’s limits to reach new levels of personal fitness.

These are some of the fundamentals – we then aim to build on them. We don’t use them for a while then discard them! No, we evolve with them.

After all, they are proven to give all people using them the results they crave – why discard them?

Then what we don’t do is go and purchase a new ab gadget or sign up for some new ‘wonder fat burning drug’.  The fundamentals are simple and have been proven and stand the test of time, much like Apple’s products (I am not saying all Apple stuff was amazing but at least they thought outside the box BUT could also back it up with results – I use both PC and Mac so I see the merits of both)

And now – as Apple unveils a new ‘category’ of device that will build upon their existing technology and user base ( * they said in the keynote about people being able to already use this new device as it follows on from the iphone and ipod touch which millions already use – smart idea – no need to re-educate – brilliant simplicity)

So in fitness this is the same approach we take as trainers and others take as trainees.

Use what is proven AND Progress by building upon it – using it as your constant foundation.

You know if you read my blog and my newsletters or use my products that I and other smart trainers I respect offer the correct types of training using only what is proven with our clients and customers – AND as we offer new workouts, diets plans, food advice, supplement news and so on we simply expand upon tools, system and products we know work.

In fitness as in life you don’t always need to re-invent the wheel.  No, smart people will evolve and use what is proven to change their bodies and progress along that line of change, knowing a positive shift in the proven is infinitly better and always will be than a huge desperate leap to the next new hype or hopeful gadget that is unproven for a reason.

So Let’s keep on the path to fitness success, body transformation, fat blasting results and all the muscle, conditioning and six pack abs results we want by working with the awesome tools and the new, better or modified versions of these tools.  And like Apple lets evolve towards greater success and not take blind jumps into the unknown – because when results are required we need to be smart.

Hope to see you soon either in classes or chat to you on the blog.  take it easy people.

And if you get an iPad – let me know how this blog looks on it!

Supposed to be a beautiful screen – I don’t even doubt it.

If you follow these 7 rules, you will lose belly fat, simply because your entire body will be burning fat at all times.

There are 7 Fundamentals for women to lose fat and transform their bodies - Callie tells you all 7...

Read each one, its not complicated – its proven and it is easier than you think.  This is your simple road-map to real results and a fat loss, lean muscle, tight hips and firm body COMBINATION!

1. Strength Training- the BEST way to change your body composition and boost your metabolism so that your body is a fat burning machine, burning fat optimally at all times.

2. Interval conditioning- skip the boring, slow cardio and rev up your metabolism and fat burning capabilities with interval work such as sprints or jumping rope. This type of training creates a metabolic effect that will allow you burn calories at the workout rate for up to 36 hours post workout.

3. Eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast slows the metabolic process down and you will not burn calories at rest as quickly as you should. It can also lead to over eating later in the day. Have a combination of complex carbs and protein and you will feel energized and full.

4. Drink plenty of water. Figure out your body weight (pounds) and drink 1/2 of that in ounces. Staying hydrated keeps your metabolism going and also helps prevent fluid retention.

5. Perform multi-joint movements when strength training. Squats, lunges, pull ups, push ups, and Kettlebell movements are the best for fat loss. You will rev up your metabolism, develop lean and toned muscles, and burn a ton of calories both during and after the training session. Avoid machines and isolated movements if you want to kick that extra belly fat (especially around the middle).

6. Don’t obsess over the scale. Weigh yourself once a week if you have to. Otherwise, just stay away. Focus on your physique, how your clothes feel, and your body composition. Get your body fat percentage tested every 6 weeks if possible. This will ensure that you are losing the right kind of weight. The scale cannot tell the difference.

7. Eat every 3-4 hours. If you starve yourself and restrict calories, your body automatically slows down and you will not efficiently burn fat. Fuel the fire (your metabolism) every several hours with quality foods such as fruits, veggies, lean protein, low fat dairy and healthy fats including nuts and avocados.

Losing body fat (in most cases, belly fat) is a complete process. You must strength train, eat properly and at the right times, perform high intensity interval conditioning, and drink plenty of water. If any of these pieces of the puzzle are lacking, you progress will suffer.
You cannot lose fat in just one spot, but for many women the excess fat lies around the middle of the body. If your body becomes efficient at burning calories while you are NOT working out, you will see drastic changes in your overall composition. Follow these 7 tips and remember that it’s a long term process, not a quick fix. Anyone can lose a few pounds in a week, but to create an efficient fat burning body, you must get in the trenches and do the work.

(*Note from Tris – Callie, SUPERB concise informative post – people, I hope you take these on board as they are the fundamentals – brilliant!)

Ladies Only Fat Loss Advice Here! – Get Flat Toned Tummy Muscles & The Body Makeover You Dream Of – Female Weight Loss Advice Right Here!

MFC Holiday workout 1

Hi and welcome to the first MFC ‘Holiday Season’ Workout.

This one is aimed at both men and women.  It is focused primarily on conditioning and six pack abs, although a nice benefit will be an increase in fat loss / caloric burn.

A great quickie you can do 3 times a week in your own home – no weights needed.  Keep fit during the holidays!

‘Holiday Workout 1′

Diagonal drop squat (pic1) (10 each side)

Sky pointers / striking cobras (Abs)  (pic2) (10 reps)

Flat hurdles (pic3)(10 reps each leg alternating)

Split single leg oblique crunch (obliques) (pic4) (10 reps each side)

Star push up(pic5) (10 reps)

Nose-to-Knee Breakers (Core) (pic6) (10 reps each side alternating)

point-to-point beepers (pic7 – rapid sideways shuffle, touch a point on floor then up to the other side 3 strides/steps apart) (10 reps each side alternating)

The MFC Holiday Workout 1

no rest between exercises

3-4 circuits.

40 secs rest between circuits.

No timing patterns – 10 reps every exercise (obliques 10 each side)

(*Pick up your MFC Exercise Encyclopdia here for upcoming intensity workouts)

This is a topic I am passionate about.  I have trained many people over the years and the basic principle I use in every session we embark upon when serious fat loss is the major goal is exercises that are structured around short burst exertion.

What do I mean by this?  Well it is simple.

I use forms of exercises that mimic reality.

In our everyday lives we typically are forced to randomize our pace/speed/intensity/rest/exertion and many other logistics.

We don’t spend 30 minutes doing something at full speed then immediately go to sleep etc, no our bodies are constantly in a state of adaption.  We are constantly in periods of short bursts of energy, short rest periods.  We sit – stand – pause for a coffee – head to the store – sit and read and so on…

The reality is that our lives are active (most of the time) and fluctuate between bursts of expelled energy and a rest period.

I structure my clients workouts and our systems around this approach because not only does it benefit us most in daily life because it mimics our real world physical events but it is also proven to be the most productive form of fitness training we can do – if of course our intensity is maxed out during the workouts.

For example, consider the level of fitness needed to play soccer, rugby, football, tennis or any other activity that requires stop-start fitness ability.  It’s immense!

Short burst training incorporate this mentality, again an example is weight training.  Any resistance exercise is performed as a short time exertion (lifting etc) followed by a brief rest and then repeated.  (and I might add that resistance training is the number one way for women to burn stomach fat and tone up – results are phenomenal – don’t ever think if you are female that resistance training will bulk you up and make you end up muscular and ‘manly’ – that is an old and outdated concept and I cover it specifically in another post)

But weight training is not the only exercises philosophy a person training correctly should use, another one that incorporates the ‘stop-go’ effect is High Intensity Interval Training.

I also use HIIT for all my clients because simply put it will burn triple the amounts of fat and can be done in half the time of a typical long duration cardio session.

Again results are incredible and when you train with both resistance training and HIIT you achieve what a lot of people think is not possible and that is rapid fat loss and the type of body they always wanted in a relatively short amount of time.  (of course the extra ingredient of all this is sensible eating and a structured diet – more on that in other posts)

So the successful workout concepts fall into three categories for this discussion.  They are HIIT, Resistance Training & Short Burst Exertion Training. (SBET)

We discussed that SBET is a form of HIIT.  It is also a workout structure that can be performed alone with both body weight and resistance training exercises.  By using specific exercises and changing the timing protocols and focusing on explosive workout structure a training session can be devised that is more SBET than pure HIIT.  Both are great, SBET is just a modified version of the best form of cardio you can do: HIIT.

Either way, if you incorporate these three workout fundamentals into your program you’ll lose fat.  Period.

Short Burst Exertion Training works in unision with HIIT & Resistance Training for real fat loss results!

If you are putting in the time you should really be getting real results from that effort.  And using proven protocols and randomizing your training will yield the successes you crave.

*Try this: A fat Loss Workout For A Friend – A Beginner Fat Loss Workout You Can Try

*The home of body transformation and fat loss advice

*Ladies Only Fat Loss Advice Here! How To Lose Fat And Get A Flat Tummy FAST.

elite training begins NOW!

The Death Finally Of Cardio & Old Style Conditioning

Ok, we could define elite conditioning training as many things from an athlete aiming to complete a marathon and training accordingly to a ‘regular person’ wanting to challenge themselves with a new fitness protocol to move them out of a comfort zone.

This last definition is what I feel the future of real elite conditioning and fitness training should be.  Today people are challenging themselves more than ever.  Ok, we are not all going to be elite olympic marathon runners but the exciting thing changing in the fitness world is that of more and more people seeing the possibilities in front of them that will offer variety, challenge and a level of personal results that  have not been so accessible before.

Training Is Now Challenging Any Person To Test Their Boundaries

Today people want variety in their fitness. I agree, as a trainer, there will always be people who look at their fitness regime as one that requires they get into their gym 2-3 days a week after work and they are perfectly happy following their trainers program that may have them in front of the cardio tv sets on their treadmill and then on to a nice run through the machines etc.  Thats fair enough and not bad at all – not optimal – but not bad.  and congratulations to anyone who gets into the gym in the first place!

But what I’m alluding to here is the growing number of people who know they are capable of so much more and capable of levels of training and stimulating fitness protocols that they are searching out the new breed of fitness training.  Its out there, trust me, and new forms are popping up daily.

Certainly the old guard like weight training, cardio (though not long form cardio please! – read HIIT), circuit training etc are still great, but now the HYBRID forms of training are starting to take over.  Look at cross-fit for a perfect example of the shift in training protocol.

You could say its a return to old school principles and in a way it is, yes.  But its all wrapped up in a new challenging ideology that numerous forms of training can be blended together to offer an elite level workout that any person can succeed in with the right determination and faith in their ability to do this type of training.

A Person Should Continually Challenge Themselves - They'll Be Surprised

All in all I’ll sign of here saying that a person today understands that they can really challenge their bodies and there are tools and systems available to prove people right.

For too long people have only really known or been schooled in the idea of going to the gym, doing the few different exercises sandwiched between some cardio for good measure….

But the shift from the smart people who began moving into properly structured group training classes and circuits is giving way to more and more people realizing that anyone can attempt and succeed in the new breed of fitness training systems coming up….

And in turn really test the boundaries of any persons true fitness potential!

Change It Up To Guarantee The Best Results of Your Life...

more on this coming soon…

Until then try these links to Man Versus Fitness:

*Push Up Challenge Workout For Great Conditioning….

*The Truth About Six Pack Abs Results And Workouts…

*How to get six pack abs with the right workouts…

*Ladies Only Fat Loss Advice Here! Lose Stubborn Tummy Fat Right Now.

3 piece jigsaw to six pack abs

A lot of clients I train assume that when we begin structuring our fitness programs that they’ll simply be doing some crunches or sit-ups as their abdominal workout.

That is not the case and in our workouts that could not be further from reality.

What I have all my clients do is a workout for abs & their core that incorporate a three sided approach – or what would be deemed a three piece jigsaw.  They will work lower abs, upper abs and their obliques(sides).  There is no other way to create the complete package and get structured results.  And the order of these three training targets is typically set at doing lower abs, then uppers with obliques added in between or at the end.  (this is another topic I’ll discuss in another post)

You see, sit ups and crunches only work the upper abs (I don’t really think you need to be doing sit-ups ever by the way) but for the complete package you need to work your lower abdominals to create that tight and strong waist as well as train your oblique muscles to enhance torsional flexibility and strength and see the rippled muscles in this area of the midsection.  The uppers are only a third of the  equation.

When you see the models and fitness pros with great midsections that is not from doing solely crunches.  It is because of a complete abdominal 3 sided training approach.

I’ll stress here that I also include a lot of core conditioning and lower back structuring in my programs designed for getting six pack abs and burning belly fat, but in terms of the main exercises concerning the abdominal muscles the three sided approach is always what I  use.

Here is a short list of some of the typical exercises that I use and rotate during ab specific workouts are:

Side open leg oblique crunches

Split frogs

Straight leg alt toe touches

Sky pointers

Leg alternate splits

Swiss ball crunches

Swiss ball roll ins

In & outs

Again, this is just a small selection of what I use with clients in our sessions.

If you train your abdominals correctly and don’t waste time with tired old sit-ups and keep the balance correct between the three sided approach to abs training then results are almost guaranteed if you are on top of your diet and incorporating the movements that will burn the most body fat.

I’ll also mention that this 3 piece jigsaw to abdominal training can also be incorporated during the ‘full body workouts’ that are essential and well advised for real success in getting six pack abs.  I’ll cover that in a new post  so you understand not only why full body workouts with full body exercises / compound body weight exercise is essential but also a description of exercises I like and a few workouts you can try.

*Free Six Pack abs workouts and circuit fat loss workout here..

*Want to know how to do a push up right to eliminate joint pain and skyrocket your results? Clik Here…

*A push up challenge workout video…

*Ladies Only Fat Loss Advice Here! Tone Up That Body For Summer & Beyond…flat tummies here we come!