I have to come clean and admit something before I begin this post. I use celebrity workout routines and various celebrity names to pull in additional visits to my site. For some reason, celebrities get more searches than any other subject matter online. I'm not impressed by an actor or actress who spends 3 hours per day for 2-3 months getting in shape for a role. It just shows me that they haven't adopted a lifestyle of health and fitness. Getting in shape isn't an impressive feat if it takes too much time. What is more impressive; someone with a lean and slim body who spends 10-12 per week training, or someone who is slim and only spends 3-5 hours per week training? Easy answer!

[Things aren't always as they appear in Hollywood. Celebrities have several tools at their disposal to make themselves appear better on camera than they do in their day-to-day lives.]

"Can You Tell Me [name of star]'s Workout Routine?"
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Tags: Workout Routines, body fat, celebrity workout routines, fat loss, getting in shape, growth hormone, HGH, hollywood physique, low intensity cardio

I am naturally a pretty positive and upbeat person, but don't buy into the whole positive thinking movement. The way I look at achieving goals like getting in great shape or building a successful business is that it is positive actions that matter most. Simply do the actions necessary to reaching your goals, and forget how you feel. What I found is that the proper actions always lead me to feeling better anyway. My advice about getting in shape is that sometimes you will feel like exercising and sometimes you won't. Make sure and exercise either way!

[Thinking about getting fit and doing what it takes to get fit are two very different things. It is great to learn and to discuss fitness, but make sure you become a person of action as well. You need to take consistent action to get great results.]

I Like to Keep it Simple - Do the Actions it Takes to Succeed
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Tags: Main, leo babauta, personal development, positive action, positive thinking, steve pavlina, the positivity blog, zen habits

There are dozens, if not hundreds of circuit training routines that are effective at helping you drop body fat. I was doing my daily cruising of the Internet and found an outline of a routine by Nick Nilsson, author of "Metabolic Surge", that reminded me of the large variety of effective circuit training routines. I'll give you an outline of the routine he recommends as well as a few others that I've recommended in the past. Use these as a reference when constructing your own ideal fat burning circuit.

[I couldn't find a good circuit training photo that I liked. When in doubt, I just default to sharp-looking photos that have nothing to do with the topic.]

No Such Thing As an Ideal Circuit Training Routine
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Tags: Workout Routines, barbell, bench press, body fat percentage, body weight circuits, burn fat, cardio, cardio workout, circuit training, circuit training routine, dumbbell, ese, fat loss, HGH, HIIT, jump rope, low body fat, muscle mass, steady state cardio, workout program

I was doing some research online today and stumbled across a description of a book that made good sense to me: Mindless Eating. I haven't ordered the book yet, but I liked the parts that I've read so far. Food psychologist, Dr. Brian Wansink examines why we eat more than we should even when full. I'm the sort of person who can eat a full bag of chips, a bowl of candy, and basically anything placed in front of me. If it isn't near me I'm good, but if food is within reach for extended periods of time I will eat it all! Dr. Wansink has my eating-style nailed down to a "t"!

[If you put this plate of nachos in front of me, I will continue to devour it until the plate is empty! I don't care how big the plate is. My hand will continue to grab chips on autopilot until nothing is left. "My name is Rusty and yes, I am a mindless eater". The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem.]

Having Symptoms of Mindless Eating Without Realizing It
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Tags: Diet Tips, calories per day, dieting, fat loss, mindless eating, walking, wansink

I use to think that walking was just for people who weren't fit enough to do any "real" exercise. I figured that any activity that 99% of the population can easily do, just can't be tough enough to make a real difference in health. Walking just doesn't seem to challenge the body like "true" exercise (intervals, circuits, HIIT). I am first to admit that I have been wrong when it comes to this line of thinking. Not only do I admit my thinking has been wrong, I'm immediately going to do my best to walk daily. Some recent studies have proven how valuable walking is to long-term health.

[A picture of a young couple walking down a path near the River Thames in London. Walking can be a blast if you are in a scenic place with lots to see. I need to get to London and walk around to look for great pubs. Kind of a walking and beer sampling tour.]

Intense Fat Burning Workouts Aren't Enough!
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Tags: Aerobic Exercise, body fat, body weight circuits, cardio, circuits, HGH, high intensity interval training, HIIT, inflammation, interval training, metabolism, walking, working out

I've been a fan of HIIT and interval training for well over a decade. It jacks up the metabolism, increases your natural fat burning hormone (HGH) and simply helps you lose a lot more body fat than diet alone. None of this is news to those familiar with interval training. What many people don't realize is that interval training also increases your ability to do endurance exercise. The crazy thing is that intervals may be more effective at increasing endurance than endurance exercise itself!

[I was looking for a good exercise photo, but nothing wow'd me. Instead, I just put up a photo I liked with great use of color.]

The Interval Training Study With Surprising Results
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Tags: Aerobic Exercise, body fat, endurance training, HGH, high intensity interval training, HIIT, interval training, metabolism, steady state cardio

I used to be shocked at the number of people I saw in the gym who put so much time into cardio workouts without seeing any results. Many of these people are putting forth much more effort than me, but don't have the results to show for it. I feel bad, because I know their challenge comes down to diet. Did you know that the type of cardio you do, can play a big role in your craving for food? It is possible that many people are sabotaging their ability to lose body fat, by choosing a type of cardio that makes them desperately crave food.

[Have you ever been so hungry that you ate everything in sight? I have had problems with hunger in the past, but adjusting my cardio has helped a ton in this regards. The wrong type of cardio can make dieting a tough deal!]

Cardio Compensation - Eating More Calories Than You Burned
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Tags: Dieting for Fat Loss, body fat, body weight circuits, cardio, cardio workout, diet, fat loss, Interval Training, lose body fat, lose fat, lose weight, low calorie diet, maintain muscle, metabolism, steady state cardio

I can't believe I've been blogging for close to two years now! Back on June 8, 2007 I made the first post on this site and was just hoping that someone would eventually find it. I waited 4 days and got my first comment and immediately responded back. This was exciting, because the goal was to create a community of people sharing fitness ideas. I didn't want this to be about me giving lessons. I can't thank everyone enough for making this a positive and entertaining environment to talk about fitness.

[The amount of sites online is staggering. It almost seems like there is too much competition to ever become successful. If you are considering starting a site, don't think like this. We are in desperate need for helpful sites written by people who want to make a difference.]

Just Checked the Stats - Over 9,400 Comments!
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Tags: Main, blogging, fitness blog, fitness sites, fitness tips

I can't thank Brad Pilon enough for taking time out of his busy schedule to do a guest post for my site. Any of you who are fans of "Eat Stop Eat" or have been following Brad on Twitter know that his wife just gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Ro Wilder Pilon (cool name). I asked Brad to do a guest post on calorie deficit and I think his son was born the following day! This is an outstanding article, well worth your time, and will challenge much of what you have heard when it comes to dieting and weight loss. Love it!

[Brad Pilon's ideas challenge much of the mainstream fitness info you see published in magazines, books, and online. Slowly, but surely, his ideas are going to go mainstream. Right now, anyone who studies his materials will be WAY "ahead of the curve".]

The Evolution of Weight Loss - By Brad Pilon
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Tags: Dieting for Fat Loss, brad pilon, burn fat, calorie deficit, diet plan, eat stop eat, evolution, fasting, fat loss, lose weight, metabolism, supplement industry, weight loss

I don't have anything against personal training or personal trainers. Having said that, I think ultimately you are the one who will eventually find your own ideal routine. Even the goal of my site is to give out guidelines and "tweaks", so that you can find the routine that works best for you. I am always hesitant to give out exact routines, because copying something that works for me 100% isn't something that will be best for any other person.

[Overdue for a good black and white picture. This one reminds me of "The Haunting", a 1963 black and white horror film where an evil mansion traps all of its guests. For some reason, I find old black and white horror movies scarier than modern day films.]

Personal Training Has Its Place In the Short Term
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Tags: Workout Routines, fitness, getting in shape, getting older, HGH, HIIT, personal trainer, working out, workout

I wanted to make a post outlining the most common strength training mistakes I see in the gym on a regular basis. I know that all of us reach sticking points in strength gains, but you could be doing a few things in your workout that are sabotaging your own progress. In my rush to getting stronger in my early days of lifting, I made these same mistakes. Use this post as a checklist next time you get stuck. Strength training is safe and easy when done properly, but can make you weak and sore if done wrong.

[I was overdue for an odd photo, so this should do the job. As usual, only about 1/2 of the photos on my site have anything to do with the article. This weekend I am going with a few friends to a beach house that has a nice hot tub overlooking the water. I guess this photo relates to that, but hopefully we won't be attacking each other!]

Why I Recommend Strength Training Over Bodybuilding
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Tags: Strength Training, body fat percentage, bodybuilding, forced reps, gain strength, gaining strength, get stronger, getting stronger, low body fat, muscle fatigue, muscle tension, nervous system, sets and reps, sticking points, strength gain, stretching, the pump, workout

"Is it okay to eat right before going to bed?" This is a question I have been asked quite a bit recently. The problem is that it really depends upon how much you eat before going to bed and what your goals are. The crazy thing about this question is that everyone will give you a slightly different answer. The problem is that there hasn't been any study (that I know of) that talks about eating right before bed when it comes to getting really lean. I am going to speak purely from my experiences and observations of what I do in regards to eating right before going to bed.

[I enjoy sleeping in a room with either huge windows or a door out to a deck. It is much easier to sleep with a lot of fresh air circulating around the room. The ultimate situation is being by the ocean in a room like this and going to sleep with the fresh ocean air coming in and hearing the sound of the crashing waves.]

How Much Can You Eat Immediately Before Going to Bed?
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Tags: Diet Tips, 3 meals per day, burn body fat, eat stop eat, ese, fitness goals, IF, insulin, Intermittent Fasting, maintenance mode, protein shake, rapid fat loss, Warrior Diet, weight loss, whey protein