Tom Venuto Programs

Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is now in my posession and The Body Fat Solution is on the way!

I've been passing The Body Fat Solution every time I go into the bookstore, so it was just time to go ahead and get it. From what I understand, it makes a very deliberate effort to address the emotional, motivational and support system facets of fat loss. These are critical components that I believe are often overlooked. I also think they are controversial, or at least not as clear cut as people try to make them. I've seen people who have significant resources and strong support systems still struggle. On the flip side I've seen people achieve results against multiple odds and without adequate support. At this point, I tend to believe it still boils down to what is inside of you, but the journey is tremendously laborious and shaky without meaningful support. I'm anxious to read this book in particular for that reason.

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is not some skimpy e-book. The core book is over 340 pages with additional supporting and bonus documents thrown in. It covers goal setting in detail, sabotaging yourself, focus, and emotions. It also discusses losing fat without diets (they don't work), body composition, measuring yourself and tracking your progress, the dreaded plateaus, body types and individuality. He goes into calories, macronutrients, meal timing and frequency, water, tips for getting truly lean and provides an eating plan and training (weights and cardiovascular). Overall it is very apparent there has been a lot of thought and work that has gone into this book. He also offers quite a comprehensive online membership.

We should be able to learn quite a bit from Tom as he is a lifetime natural bodybuilder. I'll be posting more as I dig in!

Turbulence Training 3 for 1 Sale

Passing on some info! Craig Ballantyne of Turbulence Training just started a sale on 3 of his popular programs for the price of 1. I have several Turbulence Training workouts and a membership, but have not yet started these. Craig's been around a while and I find his stuff is sound for fat loss. People seem to consistently have good results with his programs. For $19.95 you get all three programs, which should be about 3 months of workouts, so that's a pretty good deal I would say, especially if you're trying to decide what to do next. It also includes 30 days access to the membership site and I think a couple of additional programs. The sale ends February 3.

The first is the TT2K10 workout. This was his new year kick-off program that has had some really good reviews. It's not a beginner program. True to his style he includes some interval training, bodyweight and mini-circuits, and I believe some kettlebell work too.

The second one is the TT Beginner Total-Torso-Training. Should be good for someone getting started. It sounds safe and not too intense. Definitely not for someone who is further along in the fitness journey unless it's to go back for a review and rework of the basics.

The third one is the TT Transformation. Sounds like he took the best of the best of his fat burning workouts and put it together.

The first and third ones I'd like to try. Putting them on the docket! So many workouts, so little time. If you try them out, let me know what you think.

This post contains an affiliate link. Please see my disclosure statement.

The Hierarchy of Fat Loss by Cosgrove

This isn't the first time Alwyn Cosgrove has printed this article. It's one of my all time favorites, and one that I re-read when I feel I'm getting a little twisted up by all the "this-is-how-you-do-it" information out there on fat loss.

How many times have you searched the internet for that magic exercise/food/pill/program that will blast your fat for good? There is plenty of that information to be found. Gurus everywhere telling you they know exactly which exercises to do, which foods are super foods, how to get a 6-pack or mind blowing muscle. Oh yes, and the reason you haven't accomplished it yet is because you haven't purchased their program, because they are the only ones who happened to stumble across the answer and now they want to share it with you. They hold the magic answer for anywhere from $49.99 to however much money you want to spend. Sound familiar?

Don't get me wrong, there are some good programs to be found. I list several here on my recommended lists. The problem is that the marketing can be obnoxious. It keeps us in the magic solution mindset. In fact so much so that it's becoming more and more difficult to separate who is writing what program and which ones are for real. How do you know what to do?

I don't have all the answers, but I do have some thoughts:

• Read the article, The Hierarchy of Fat Loss by Alwyn Cosgrove.
• Re-read the article and compare your fitness and nutrition plan to what it is outlining.
• Get your nutrition cleaned up. Before you ever count calories or grams of anything, clean your eating up. We don't have to be registered dieticians. We know a swiss cake roll out of a box isn't good for us.
• Don't waste your workout time. It's valuable. Concentrate on the activities that give you the most bang for your buck.

Remember, it can be relatively simple, but it's never easy. We must stop looking for the easy button and just get to work.

By the way, did you know that everyone has a 6-pack, but whether or not you can see it depends on your level of body fat? So don't get hung up on whether or not you can get one. You have one. Concentrate on making it stronger for the sake of function/performance and on doing the activities that will blast fat and actually allow you to see it!

Would love to hear your thoughts on Cosgrove's article!

How to Sabotage Your Workout

Here is a good guide on how to get the most ineffective workout possible. See if you recognize yourself. If not, incorporate some or all of these to be sure you don't get the results you want.

Get too little or too much sleep the night before.

Cool. Getting too little sleep shouldn't be a problem. I'll just eat a big carb-loaded meal late, top it off with some stimulating TV, play around on the computer, let the kids stay up too late and pick a fight with my spouse. Then I'll have a late night drink to calm down but read something that fires me up right before I go to sleep. I'll be sure the room is too warm and hopefully that late night drink will have me get up in the night to go to the bathroom. Awesome! If I have to go to work the next day I'll set the alarm to get up early and hit the snooze at least 3 times. If it's a Saturday I'll sleep in really late so that I can't get going all day. Got that one down!

Drink everything but water during the day.

This one shouldn't be a problem. I'll start the day with half a pot of coffee (I like a little coffee with my cream and sugar). I'll stop and get a 42 oz diet soft drink on the way to work (helps me get through my morning meetings). At lunch I'll drink another diet soft drink or maybe one of those big cups of sweet tea from the deli. I'll try to squeeze in my workout on my way home from work because we'll meet some friends for drinks before dinner (more sweet tea). Before we leave for dinner I'll probably finish off the rest of a juice box one of the kids wasted. Then maybe a glass of wine before bed. Oh, but should I sip water from the water fountain at the gym?

Hit the gym without a plan.

Super, one less thing I have to think about. That will give me more time to plan for lunch with clients, that big meeting this week, updating my status on my social media sites, my child's birthday party and which outfit makes me look the least fat for Saturday night out with friends. Wonder should I go try to find something new since I only have one pair of pants that aren't way too tight? Anyway, I won't have to work so hard in the gym because I can take my time figuring out which move comes next. That will be easy because I'll just choose the ones I like best. Hey, maybe Bob will be there so we can talk! I've heard resistance training is good, so maybe I'll do a few bicep curls, cheat on some bench presses and throw in some crunches, but I really like riding the elliptical so I can watch my favorite show or read a book. I'm thinking too much! But whatever, it still counts because I went to the gym and did something, right?

Eat high calorie, low nutritional value foods inconsistently throughout the day.

Are you kidding? I've got this one covered. I'll skip breakfast because I put so much fat and sugar in my coffee it fills me up, plus I have lots of energy! Hmmm...that mid morning slump will mean I can't make it until lunch, so is it okay if I grab something out of the break room machine or a pastry someone brought in? Oh yeah, we have a meeting that starts right after lunch so I'll just grab something from the fast food place across the street, if I even get to do that. I'll do pretty well on this tip though because I never plan for lunch and pack anything from home. Susie always has some candy or chips or something at her desk if I get hungry in the afternoon. That'll get me through the day until I can make it to our big dinner tonight! My favorite Italian restaurant! Can you say pasta-rama?! Then maybe I can rummage around in the fridge after everyone is in bed and the house is finally quiet.

There you go! You won't be eating much but you can still have all your favorite foods. You can say you go to the gym, but you won't have to work hard. You'll be able to continue your sleep deprivation without having to change, and who likes water anyway? These tips should at least get you started in the wrong direction and if you're lucky it might even snowball from there!

What is your favorite tip for sabotaging a workout?

Related Posts

The Beauty of Sleep

Drink More Water

Meal Plans or Guidelines?

Choose Mustard Not Mayonnaise

Workout Plans and Intensity

NPC Battle on the Bluff 2010

EDIT: There has been a date change! The new date for the NPC Battle on the Bluff Bodybuilding 2010 is Saturday July 24, 2010!

This year the NPC Battle on the Bluff Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini contest will be held on Saturday June 26, 2010. The promoter is Chris Caudy, of Next Level Training in Memphis, TN. Typically the contest is held in Tunica, MS at Sam's Town Hotel and Casino. You can watch the website for updates and entry forms and also watch Sam's Town and Ticketmaster to obtain more information and tickets, and I will be posting about it as well.

My husband Jimmy is rounding out his winter season with a continued focus on muscle building. It's time to clean up the eating a little more, be sure to take in adequate calories and begin some metabolic work on his off days. As of right now, he's added about 5 pounds of muscle since last year while maintaining a comfortable single digit bodyfat. Not too bad for a 60 year old guy! This strategy seems to pay off for him. He maintains about a 90% clean diet with ample calories, but doesn't bulk up to the point that he'll lose all his muscle trying to lean back out.

The 2010 NPC Battle on the Bluff should be a great show again this year. For more info on last year's show please see my previous blog post here. I'll be sure to post throughout the season again this year along with pictures and other info you may find helpful.

If you plan to compete at Battle this year in bodybuilding (men and women), figure, fitness or bikini, you have exactly 154 days before peak week!

Related Posts:

NPC Battle on the Bluff 2010 Date Change!

Warp Speed Fat Loss Week 1 Review

This past week I went through Warp Speed Fat Loss 2.0, week 1. I'm trying to think of one word to describe it, but I can't. Words that come to mind are whoa, killer, awesome, ouch, wow, love it, and Alwyn Cosgrove is crazy. If you're looking for a jump start on your fat loss or a finisher that will help you dial it in, I think it's one of the best out there.

The Eating Plan

I really like the eating plan, mainly because it's brainless. The meal plans are based on weight and all you have to do is go to the grocery, prep the food and eat it. You really can't get more simple than that. There are a lot of food combinations but not really what I would call recipes. There are some one-bowl style options that have taught me some new concoctions I wouldn't have come up with on my own. It tells you exactly what to eat and in what portions at each time of the day. You will even know exactly which meal to eat after you workout and can adjust that based on whether or not you workout in the morning or the evening.

You should know that this plan is low calorie and what I would consider to be very low carb. Consequently you will lose water weight the first week. This means you can expect the scales not to move as much on week 2; important to remember if you struggle with the scales mentally. The fat intake is moderate and the protein intake is generous which helps keep you feeling satisfied. This meal plan does include diary such as cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and cheese. The days are broken up into high carb, normal carb and low carb days. The only difference is your intake immediately following your workout. You can expect to only be able to sneak in a starchy carb at two meals a week. For some people that would be complete shock. Although I found that to be a relief after the high carb holiday season because it felt like a detox, it's hard to go from high carb to carbs this low without being mentally prepared.

A couple of negatives: you may feel a decrease in your energy level if you have been really high carb and then start this. That will level out and you can get through your workouts, but just be aware. It's harder to resist temptation when your guard is down. Secondly, drink plenty of water on this eating plan. It's very likely you will experience some constipation. You may have to add some fiber.

Mike Roussell is a fantastic resource and he offers very helpful information with this program. He explains things very well and offers solutions for beyond the 4 weeks, which I think is crucial. Mike tries to make himself accessible. I've learned a lot from his work this past year.

The Training Plan

Those who know me know I'm an Alwyn Cosgrove fan. He doesn't disappoint with his classic, no-nonsense style. It's hard to beat a Cosgrove workout and I find I turn to his work when I need to get grounded. This is no exception.

The workouts are just flat brutal. On paper they are always deceiving. Leg work, pushes, pulls, a little jumping around, yeah, yeah, I can do this! After a thorough warm-up you jump right into heavy lower body work and get busy. The general flow is strength (low reps, heavy weight), then a transition zone, (less weight, higher reps), then a burn zone (higher reps, less weight but cursing by now) and finally a metabolic workout that will leave you asking for a piggyback ride to your car. Those are the strength training days!

The days in between are metabolic days. Interval training, but there is no slacking on a cardio machine. This is jumping-around-I-look-like-a-fool-no-one-else-in-here-is-doing-this kind of stuff.

Side bar: Do you ever stop to wonder why some of the people in your gym are there faithfully but their bodies are not changing? Maybe it's because they're not doing this type of stuff.

A couple of negatives: the workouts seem long, and I'm not new to this style, so for someone who is new to it or less conditioned it might be easy to get discouraged. Secondly, while you don't have to go to the gym to do this (there is a home version available, and even in the regular version you can do the metabolic work at home) it does require working out 6 days a week, which might be difficult for some people.

That said, it's a 4 week commitment and it will allow you to lift heavy, it's a balanced full body workout, and you will see an increase in your conditioning as well as feeling energetic and revved up.

My experience this week

I loved the detox with the eating plan but found that I also struggled with the sudden drop in carbs after the holidays. This is not unusual for me however. When I go through a phase where my starch intake is higher or I eat junk carbs it's like weaning myself. Just shows the powerful effect of sugar, fat and salt. I also found at first I didn't feel like eating all the food. That also shows my eating choices were less than healthy for a phase. My body has to adjust. Once I tighten up on my eating and give my body clean fuel to use, it uses it more effectively. After a few days, I'm ready to eat every 3 hours or so to keep the fire stoked. The workouts were also hard because the last two weeks of December were such a challenge for me with my schedule. It's amazing how easy it is to lose some conditioning or strength in a short time, but my body still is able to bounce back, thank goodness! One of my favorite parts about this program is that I still get to lift heavy but I get the energy boost and fat blast with the metabolic work!

Overall impression, Week 1

This program is a keeper. Highly recommend it as a jump start or a fat loss finisher. I think this will be good to use periodically as a solid program during a focused fat loss phase. The program comes with more resources this time to assist in making a transition when it's over because it truly can only be done for 4 weeks, then you will need to do something else. If you are new to resistance training, it's not for you. I would suggest getting with a trainer and developing a foundation of experience with personalized programming first. Then if you want a pre-designed program I would then suggest Afterburn I. If you already have a firm foundation, go for Warp Speed Fat Loss 2.0. Also, anyone can benefit from this eating plan, but it might be a little too intense for people just beginning to clean up their eating. In that case I would suggest a program like Precision Nutrition first.

If you're doing this program, I'd love to hear about your experience!

This post contains affiliate links.

The Beauty of Sleep

Ahhh, sleep...I love it. A cool room, a snuggly blanket, my favorite soft pjs and I'm down for the count. No issues falling asleep or staying asleep for me. I could sleep for hours. Power naps? Forget it! Take out the contacts, get comfortable, crash on the couch for 2 or 3 hours, that's my style of nap. So what's the problem? I don't get enough of it!

That's one reason why sleep, in all its beauty, is my healthy habit focus right now.

I don't have to tell you that we're not getting enough sleep or all the reasons why we're not, because you already know. I'm sure you could spout off a mile long list of all the reasons why you have to get up so early and stay up late to get it all done. We keep pushing it further down the list and learn to live each day in a sleep deficit. It takes its toll over time. Sometimes it seems hopeless, but some of you may have controllable issues (as I do) and can do something about it. Let's do it!

Why is sleep so important?

I could do an entire series on this, and just may! Here are a few key reasons

• Lack of adequate sleep has been tied to weight gain and obesity and potentially other major diseases
• Your body needs it for tissue repair and recovering from strenuous workouts
• It is a primary time of hormone regulation, including stress and growth hormones
• It helps improve concentration and energy levels
• You won't be awake to eat that extra food!

How much sleep should I get?

This varies by person but more and more sources are saying that 7-8 hours may be optimal. Quite honestly, 8 hours doesn't seem to be enough for me (I prefer about 9), but that may be because I'm rarely fully rested. You're probably calculating times and numbers in your head just as I am. Start with the time you must get up in the morning to get ready and start your day. Count back from that. That's the time you need to be asleep! Don't stop there. Figure out how long it takes you to do your bedtime ritual and count back again. If your ritual isn't particularly relaxing, you must count back even further to add time in between so you can relax. This is going to be hard, but really worth it.

Can't I just catch up on my sleep on Saturday mornings?

I used to do this, and I guess that's better than nothing, but it still doesn't solve the issue of not enough hours of quality of sleep at a time for enough days in a row. Even better is to work toward consistent sleep every night and to keep the weekend as close to your normal sleep pattern as possible. Plus, if you're like me and you get extra sleep on Saturday, you'll just void it out by staying up too late Saturday night. Busted!

What if I'm a night owl or an early bird?

If you're a night owl (like me), the answer is, give in to your rhythm or bursts of energy, but then make sure when you go to bed you have 8 hours to sleep. Find your pattern and be consistent. That may be an answer, but not necessarily a solution if the rest of your world starts early and won't conform. That means, night owls, that you'll have to get control of yourself and attempt a compromise by altering your pattern. I'm having to do the same thing. Same is true of you crazy early birds. Maybe you can get up and get an entire day's worth of work done before the rest of the family stirs, but if you go to bed late you still may be operating on too little sleep. Perhaps you can alter your pattern too or your family can conform a little and get to bed earlier.

Here's what else I'm working on, that might also help you:

Explore and find what helps me relax. I like hot tea, a bath, a foot massage, a bedtime routine of some sort, music, quiet time and prayer. The key is to do something that shuts my brain off instead of stimulating it. The computer and TV will mess me up as can reading material that fires me up. I'm working toward keeping it mindless, comforting and calm. Another thing that is helping me is paper and pencil by my bed to jot down those sudden fly-by thoughts that plague me so I can release them without worry of forgetting them.

Get some exercise every day. I'm convinced nothing helps my body rest better than some good, strenuous exercise. I train nearly every day and I can tell a huge different in how I sleep. Some of my work requires long hours on the computer, writing or reading. If I don't get exercise too I get into a cycle of fatigue. The more physical I am the sweeter the sleep.

Treat my bedroom like a resort. I have some work to do in this area. I'm clearing out books and magazines and will not be taking my laptop to bed to finish up late night work anymore. We have dogs running in and out, which is not ideal, but they are old and sleep well, thank goodness. I love a cool room and have comfy linens already. I'm redesigning the room as an escape for relaxation, quiet contemplation, pillow talk, sound sleep and of course hanky panky.

Put the kids to bed earlier. I don't have this issue but know many of you do. Perhaps a good goal is to get them in bed so you can start your ritual earlier and get to bed yourself. Toddlers and school age children need anywhere from 10 to even 12 hours of sleep. Help yourself now by establishing a bedtime routine with them, and that helps them later in life too.

It takes a while to establish a habit, so this will be a focus for most of the month of January for me. My goal is to focus on mastering one healthy habit at a time and then maintaining each one so it builds and keeps me constantly heading in a healthier direction. I'd love to know what healthy habit you might be focused on right now!

Lessons from 2009

Wow, I took a nice, long brain break. It's good to be back. 2009 wasn't exactly my all-time favorite year, but in all the chaos and challenges we had too many fantastic blessings to count. Someone recently said that this is not only a time to celebrate a new year coming in, but also a time to reflect on the blessings and accomplishments of this year. How true! We have a second grandbaby, celebrated my Dad's 80th birthday, joined a new church, had steady work, Jimmy did great in his competitions, I achieved my personal training certification and we have our home, too much food and lots of love (just to name a few!). I think every year is a blessing, whether hard or happy, because we move forward, experience life and grow.

Here are some of the things related to fitness, nutrition and just healthy living in general that stand out to me from 2009. Truly nothing is new under the sun, but these lessons, whether new or old, rise to the top.

I've got to want it bad enough.

What is my goal? How much does it mean to me? I have to tear through the superficial fluff and dig deep. I can hire the best trainer, read every diet book ever printed or try numerous fat loss or muscle building training programs, but if I don't have follow-through it's a waste of time and energy. I'm not going to have follow-through if my goal doesn't mean enough for me to sacrifice some portion of myself to attain it. That doesn't mean the process is hard. It doesn't have to be all-consuming. Remove the hype and marketing and the actual process is simple, but it certainly isn't easy. Anyone who tells me it doesn't take blood, sweat and tears is flat out lying to me. To paraphrase Rachel Cosgrove, if my goal isn't important enough for me to make the sacrifices to achieve it, I need to rethink my goal.

The mental is as important (or more important) than the physical.

No pun intended, but it really took me a while to get my mind around this concept. Just like I can exercise myself into complete oblivion without decent results because of my eating habits, I can embark on training and nutrition programs that I am physically capable of doing but if my mind is not ready I'm setting myself up for failure. My body is smart. It handles all the junk I've tossed its way, right? My mind is really what trips me up along the way. Willpower is not enough for me. I need knowledge, a long-term strategy, a meaningful goal and a sound support system.

I can go to the gym faithfully and eat healthy foods and never change my body.

This statement is downright scary. Time in the gym doesn't cut it. What does? Intensity, challenging overload, calculated progression, beating my personal best. Have I really defined healthy eating for my body? If my body is not changing in a progressive way, if I've stopped making progress or can't maintain, what can I learn from my eating habits? What am I going to change? I need an intimate knowledge of what works for my body and the power that comes from taking action.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? I've written them as if I were speaking them because I have, at some point or another. This is not about a fad diet, the latest ebook or magazine workout, a trainer, TV show, or celebrity who is supposed to have all the answers. It's not really about looking good at a class reunion, a wedding or buying a new bikini for vacation. It's much deeper than that. It's about you. You are important, and this is your life.

What did you learn in 2009 that is going to make a difference for you in 2010 in regard to your level of fitness, your eating habits and your health? I would love for you to share it with me!