Squats: The Best Exercise to Add Mass to Your Lower Body

Want to add a lot of mass to your legs, hips, and butt? Squats are the answer. Want to increase the weight on the scale? Squats will do that too. No doubt about it…squats will definitely add a lot of muscle to your body quickly. Although they do work a lot of muscle groups in the body besides legs, the majority of muscle added will be to the lower body. For someone who wants to add a bit of size to their legs, it is a great exercise choice.

The Lower Body Has a Large Potential for Muscle Gains

People who question my recommendation for limiting the use of squats, typically say something along these lines…"adding muscle is tough and takes hard work, people don't need to be worried that they will add too much muscle on accident". The problem is that the lower body does tend to grow at a faster rate than the upper body. Women in particular have this problem.

If Your Legs Are Bigger Than You Would Like?

If you want to lose muscle mass in your legs, then avoid all direct leg resistance training. For some reason, this is a controversial recommendation…but it makes perfect sense to me. Avoid all direct leg resistance training until your legs are as slim as you would like. At that point, reintroduce a limited amount of direct leg resistance training…but make sure that your legs don't increase in girth again. Here's my full-blown post on losing muscle on purpose.

If You Want to Tone the Lower Body Without Adding Size?

A few options:

• Perform cardio in an intense manner and see if that gets the job done.
• Train legs short of failure 1-2 times per week.
• Train legs once every other week (if you gain size easily in the lower body).

Deadlifts: A Better Option for Density, Less Potential for Mass

I fall under the category of gaining muscle too quickly in my thighs, hips and butt. Intense cardio keeps my quads and hamstrings toned, but doesn't hit the lower back as much as I would like. A great exercise to work the lower back and glutes, are partial deadlifts in a power rack. I simply do these once every other week, for 5 sets of 3-5 reps (well short of failure).

A Good Exercise That Targets the Glutes

As far as firming up and shaping the lower body, I believe that intense enough cardio will get the job done for a lot of people. For those who want to add in a bit more glute work, kettlebell or dumbbell swings are a great option. Roman demonstrates the proper variation of this exercise to target the glutes.

[Just like partial deadlifts...this still hits the legs to a certain extent, so cut back the frequency if it adds more size to your lower body than you would like.]

"Real Men Squat", "Squat or GO Home", & Other Nonsense

I haven't squatted in years, but I never thought squatting was particularly hard or taxing. I got up to 405 pounds for 5 sets of 6 reps…and it was somewhat tough…but not crazy intense or anything. Sure there are guys who squat over 600 pounds for reps, but it is all relative. There are some in fitness who act like squatting is such an accomplishment. It really isn't that big of a deal. Heck…I used to run hills in Junior High with my track team, and that was much more intense than my old squat workouts.

A Lot of People Will Want to Limit These Lifts

I don't like wearing pleated pants or relaxed fit jeans…so these lifts aren't congruent with my goals. I also found that too much leg mass made me feel sluggish. If you are a man or woman who wants large legs, then that is cool…I'm not trying to push my goals on anyone. One of my good online pals, Elliott Hulse, has legs the size of tree trunks…but it works for him. He is a competitive lifter and would have big legs even without lifting. He is just playing on his strengths, which completely makes sense.

Note: There are some men and women who can squat or deadlift on a regular basis without adding too much mass to their lower bodies. If you have those same genetics, then you can get away with doing those lifts on a regular basis. If you don't have those genetics then avoid those lifts…or at least use them less frequently. Makes sense, right?

Fasting, Dieting, and Testosterone
by Brad Pilon

Juice. Sauce. Crank.

When most people think testosterone, they think about the stuff that athletes inject. The truth is testosterone is an anabolic steroid, but it’s one that your body produces entirely on it’s own – no needles required.

The interesting thing about testosterone is that it’s not just a ‘muscle building hormone’. In both men and women, testosterone plays a key role in health and well-being as well as in the prevention of osteoporosis, and maintaining libido.

With testosterone being tied to muscle mass, health, bone density and libido, it’s pretty much a given that we should avoid doing things that drastically reduce our testosterone levels.

Unfortunately, one of the best ways to reduce our body fat levels can also negatively affect our testosterone levels. Long term calorie restriction CAN lower your testosterone levels, sometimes even as low as those found in eunuchs (a guy who’s been castrated…think about that for a moment).

This leads to a bit of a conundrum – Harsh dieting can lead to a reduction in testosterone levels, however, we know from examining large scale (over 1,000 subjects) longitudinal studies (following people for around 8 years) that gaining body fat is correlated with lower testosterone levels, as is just having high levels of high body. Even more confusing is that the very act of losing body fat is able to restore testosterone back to normal levels in overweight people who were low [i,ii].

From this research we can see that having extra body fat can reduce testosterone levels, lowering your body fat can increase your testosterone levels, but dieting can also decrease your testosterone levels. Like I said…Conundrum.

If we just left to story right here it would seem that there is almost no way of dieting or getting in shape without somehow messing up your testosterone levels. Lets take a closer look and see if there is a way to get lean without affecting testosterone in a negative way.

For starters this research shows us it seems that your diet must be fairly extreme in order to decrease your testosterone levels. There is consistent evidence that mild caloric restriction (about a 15% calorie restriction) does not lead to reductions in testosterone or free testosterone in otherwise healthy men [iii]. We can see that mild dieting doesn’t seem to have a negative affect on testosterone levels, but what about people who diet hard, while training hard at the same time?

We can find some very convincing answers to this question in military research. After 8 weeks of extreme multi-stressor environments (very-low-calorie diet, super high energy expenditure, high temperatures and extreme lack of sleep – military training) testosterone levels can drop to almost castration levels…not cool.

This military research shows pretty clearly that extreme dieting combined with hard training and lack of sleep can significantly alter your testosterone levels. Most of us aren’t training like we’re navy seals, however let’s be honest- the fanatical way some people approach their diet and exercise can become a little military-ish. And if hard dieting can in fact lower testosterone levels, then maybe we should start paying attention to how hard we workout when we’re also follow a strict diet. Or there might be another solution. In fact it may not be as simple as avoiding decreases in testosterone levels at all costs.

Case in point: Not only does a slight re-feed rapidly restore testosterone levels after long periods of hard-training and hard-dieting, but your testosterone levels may actually end up higher within 5 weeks after an 8 week period of stressful dieting and training.

These findings lead to another interesting conundrum – Extreme conditions can reduce testosterone, but also may cause a nice rebound afterwards. Could it be that short bouts of low testosterone from hard dieting and training are worth it for the big increase from the rebound afterwards?

Similar to what we find with Insulin and Leptin, dieting seems to be capable of increasing testosterone sensitivity. It wouldn’t be illogical to suggest that this may contribute to the increases in muscle mass and feelings of well being that people get after they finish dieting and training for a bodybuilding or fitness contest.

Luckily, there may be a way to get the same increases in sensitivity WITHOUT having to go through prolonged periods of chronically depressed testosterone levels.

While longer fasts (56 hours and beyond) will cause notable decreases in testosterone, Short-term fasting does not negatively affect testosterone levels, but do allow for short periods of caloric restriction [v,vi,vii,viii]. Fasting intermittently allows for an overall calorie deficit, while also allowing for periods of calorie maintenance.
 
Note from Rusty: Brad Pilon uses intermittent fasting to stay lean without lowering his testosterone levels.

This might just be the one way to burn fat and get the testosterone boosting advantage of short term calorie deficits, it’s the best of both worlds.

Brad Pilon is one of the world’s most recognized advocates of Intermittent Fasting – You can learn more about his approach to intermittent fasting in his newly revised book Eat Stop Eat.
 

i. Strain GW, Zumoff B, Miller LK, Rosner W, Levit C, Kalin M, Hershcopf RJ, Rosenfeld RS. Effect of massive weight loss on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal function in obese men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988 May;66(5):1019-23.

ii. Pritchard J, Després JP, Gagnon J, Tchernof A, Nadeau A, Tremblay A, Bouchard C. Plasma adrenal, gonadal, and conjugated steroids following long-term exercise-induced negative energy balance in identical twins. Metabolism. 1999 Sep;48(9):1120-7.

iii. Garrel DR, Todd KS, Pugeat MM, Calloway DH. Hormonal changes in normal men under marginally negative energy balance. Am J Clin Nutr 1984;39:930-936.

iv. Friedl KE, Moore RJ, Hoyt RW, Marchitelli LJ, Martinez-Lopez LE, Askew EW. Endocrine markers of semistarvation in healthy lean men in a multistressor environment. J Appl Physiol. 2000 May;88(5):1820-30

v. Röjdmark S. Influence of short-term fasting on the pituitary-testicular axis in normal men. Hormone Research. 1987; 25(3):140-6.

vi. Bergendahl M, Aloi JA, Iranmanesh A, Mulligan TM, Veldhuis JD. Fasting suppresses pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion and enhances orderliness of LH release in young but not older men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1998 Jun;83(6):1967-75.

vii. [Merck Manual 1992].

viii. Klibanski A, Beitins IZ, Badger T, Little R, McArthur JW. Reproductive function during fasting in men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1981; 53(2):258-63.

ix. Röjdmark S, Asplund A, Rössner S. Pituitary-testicular axis in obese men during short-term fasting. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1989 Nov;121(5):727-32.

x. Klibanski A, Beitins IZ, Badger T, Little R, McArthur JW. Reproductive function during fasting in men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1981 Aug;53(2):258-63.

Should You Be Worried If You Sport a Tan In the Summer?

Are you risking your long-term health if you spend time outdoors soaking up rays? I can't answer that question for you. In fact, I am not giving any medical advice here. You have to make your own decisions. Enjoying life in the sun has a built in calculated risk, but so does driving a car to work, or flying in a plane. That being said, there is some strong evidence against avoiding the sun. In fact the advice of avoiding the sun from 12-4pm, may do more harm than good—>At what time should one go out in the sun?

Outdoor Workers Get Skin Cancer Less Than Indoor Workers?

Here is a link, to a study which found that melanoma has been on the rise for indoor workers, but NOT outdoor workers. Some interesting findings for sure!

"Paradoxically, although outdoor workers get much higher outdoor solar UV doses than indoor workers get, only the indoor workers’ incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) has been increasing at a steady exponential rate since before 1940 (Fig. 1, World Health Organization, WHO, and Connecticut cancer registry). Likewise, the calculated lifetime risk for getting CMM follows the same pattern. In fact, outdoor workers have a lower incidence of CMM compared to indoor workers."

…Perhaps Indoor UV Exposure is to Blame?

"In the early 20th century, people went against evolution by going indoors during the day to work, which drastically decreased their daily amount of cutaneous vitamin D3 and, along with it, their blood levels. With the addition of larger buildings and sky scrappers, people created an unnatural UV barrier when windows were developed and used in abundance. The UV barrier created by window glass divided UVB from UVA, so that the vitamin D making UVB was excluded from our indoor working environment; only the vitamin D-breaking and DNA-mutating UVA was included. Because this unnatural UV environment existed for decades in buildings and cars, CMM began to steadily increase about 20–30 years later in the mid-1930s."

UVB "Makes" Vitamin D3 and UVA "Breaks Down" Vitamin D3

Unfortunately, the glass in buildings allows UVA in, but blocks UVB. Vitamin D3 kills melanoma cells and reduces tumor growth. So vitamin D3 helps prevent cancer. UVB is what helps produce Vitamin D3 in the skin. UVA is what breaks it down. The study puts it best…

"Thus, we propose that along with decreased levels of cutaneous vitamin D3, UVA exposures, which can promote tumor formation and incidence cause DNA mutations, and break down vitamin D3, can together significantly promote melanoma."

Explanation of Chart: Outdoor workers get a good balance of UVA and UVB rays and therefore have a steady level of Vitamin D3. As you can see indoor workers typically have a poor levels of vitamin D3, except for on the weekends and perhaps summer and vacations.

Sunscreens Block Out the Good Rays as Well!

There are studies that suggest that sunscreens do not help in preventing melanoma. In effect, the sunscreen is doing a similar thing to glass…blocking UVB and allowing in more UVA. So sunscreen isn't helping much in this regard as well.

Europe Has UVA Blocking Sunscreen and the US Doesn't!

I just found an amazing site dedicated to sunscreen. Here's a post you will want to read if you use sunscreen: Sunscreens Exposed – 9 Surprising Truths. "Sunscreen chemicals approved in Europe but not by the FDA provide up to five times more UVA protection; U.S. companies have been waiting five years for FDA approval to use the same compounds". I want some good European sunscreen! If you are after good sunscreen you can actually look up your brand in the sidebar and they will tell you the UVA protection level.

15-30 Minutes of Mid Day Sun Exposure Every Other Day?

It doesn't take a heck of a lot of sun to get vitamin D to healthy levels. Studies have found as little as 5-10 minutes of sun exposure 3 times per week can boost your vitamin D levels to where they need to be. My guess is that people with darker skin may need a bit more than that.

My Summer and Vacation Plan of Attack Going Forward

A Strong Case for "Sensible Sun Exposure"

I want to give a shout out to Mark's Daily Apple, which linked to this outstanding post, by a blog called "That Paleo Guy": More Sun Science. This guys does an excellent job making the argument that sensible sun exposure helps prevent melanoma, not cause it. Again, none of this is meant to be medical advice…you need to weight the evidence and decide for yourself whether you want to go out in the sun or not.

High Reps to Fatigue = One Way to Build Muscle Mass

This isn't news to anyone who has read my Visual Impact courses, but high reps are actually a great way to build muscle mass. Lifting in the 8-15 rep range increases fluid within the muscle cells (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) and this causes quick muscle growth. I do recommend lower rep ranges as well to increase strength, density and definition…but lifting lighter works well for increasing the size of a muscle.

Right Now I'm Lifting As Light As Possible for 8-15 Reps

I should probably rephrase that: I'm using as light of weight as I can while still fatiguing my muscles to the max in the 8-15 rep range. This is not quite the same as phase I of Visual Impact Muscle Building. I'm purposely going lighter than would be ideal for that phase. I'll give you an outline of a routine, but first an interesting study…

A Study About Low Resistance Exercise and Muscle Growth

Christian Finn, has a great article on his blog about gaining muscle with oxygen restriction. This post talked about how low oxygen levels in the muscles stimulates fatigue and increased muscle gain. He sites a study which talks about reducing oxygen levels in the muscle by using higher reps:

"Even just using a light weight (50% 1-RM), slowing down your reps (3 seconds for eccentric and concentric actions, 1-second pause, and no relaxing phase) and trying to maintain "constant tension" on the muscles has been shown to lower muscle oxygen levels, as well as building muscle just as well as heavier weights (80% 1-RM) and faster lifting speeds (1 second for concentric and eccentric actions, 1 second for relaxing)"

The Main Variable Here Is Constant Tension

What they found was that more explosive movement didn't create constant tension…the muscles got "a breather" (literally) and wouldn't get the desired low oxygen fatigued state. I have been performing the reps at a slightly higher tempo, but not resting at the top or bottom of the movements at all. It has been working well, but I may switch it up and try the "3 seconds up and 3 seconds down" method my next workout. Thanks for the tip Christian!

My Quick Outline of This Type of Training

I don't want to mess with your workout split. Keep doing the routine you are doing, but use this set and rep scheme.

• Chose a Weight That is About 50% of Your 1 Rep Max: I can bench press around 265-275 at this time, so for bench press I use 135 pounds.
• Aim for 15-20 Reps on Set #1: Lift REALLY close to failure. If you can do more than 20 reps the weight is too light. If you can do less than 15 it is too heavy.
• No Pausing at the Top or Bottom During the Reps: Do your best to avoid pausing. You want the muscle to fatigue with each rep "building upon" the previous rep.
• Rest Only 45-60 Seconds Between Sets: Again…the idea is that you want to hit that muscle before it recovers from the previous set.
• Do 5 Sets Close to Failure: Typically you will be able to do less and less reps each set. Do your best to make sure that you don't dip under 8 reps on that final set.
• Do 2-3 Exercises Per Muscle Group: When you are feeling a surge of energy and have more time, pick 3 exercises per muscle group (15 total sets). On days where time is limited or you feel worn down, then chose 2 exercises per muscle group (10 total sets).

You Will Have to Suck Up Your Ego for This to Work

Guys who have been through phase 1 of my program have already gone through this, but it is humbling if it is your first time lifting like this. On your second exercise, there is a good chance that you won't even be able to use 50% of your one rep max. For instance, after doing my 5 sets of bench with 135 pounds my chest is smoked! I typically will use only 35-40 for my dumbbell incline press right after that. It feels light in my hands, but I can't push much past 15 reps no matter how hard I try. It's an odd feeling.

Easy on the Joints, But Not On the Muscles!

This type of training burns when you do it. Your joints will feel fine and improve week-to-week as you do this, but your muscles will feel sore on a regular basis. You should notice that your muscles look fuller than normal due to sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The only downside is that you will feel like a wuss when you are struggling to press 8 reps with 135 pounds on your 5th set of bench presses

Note: For those of you who want to avoid adding muscle, do the polar opposite of what I talk about in this post… Lift heavy, use low reps, avoid failure, avoid fatigue, less sets, rest a decent amount in between sets, pause in between reps, etc.

Probably Not Something I'd Recommend Long Term

Think of this mainly as a tool to use when you want to break through a plateau. If a lot of your lifts are stuck and you can't seem to get through this sticking point, this is the exact type of thing that will get things rolling again. Same with adding size…this will push muscles back into growth mode. My recommendation is to use this method in 4-6 week bursts.

Strength Training VS Building Muscle With One Exercise

This method works equally well for increasing strength as it does for building muscle. The main difference will be rep ranges and rest periods. If you are aiming for size, you will want to use this method to fatigue the muscles from set to set…or what I like to call "cumulative fatigue". If you are aiming to use this to increase strength without size, then you will aim for low reps while avoiding fatigue and failure. This will give positive feedback to your nervous system, which will result in stronger contractions (and more strength) over time.

10 Sets of 3 Reps [For Strength]

Multiple sets of 3 reps is a great way to add strength and increase density without adding a lot of size to the muscle. If you are after strength & size, simply use a weight that forces you to get closer to failure each set.

• Pick a weight you could press for roughly 5-6 reps and use that weight on all 10 sets.
• Stop at 3 reps even though you could do more.
• Rest one minute between sets, but increase the rest if you feel any sign of fatigue.
• Aim to get 3 reps for all 10 sets.

10 Sets of 10 Reps [For Size]

This is a pretty common rep and set range for size. This isn't the best thing for strength, but will shock the heck out of a stubborn muscle group. I tried this last week on incline dumbbell presses …It absolutely smoked my chest. I'll tell you that story in a sec, but first here is how to do this set and rep setup.

• Pick a weight you can lift 15 times and use that weight on all 10 sets.
• Stop at 10 reps.
• Rest one minute between each set…do NOT increase the rest period no matter how fatigued the muscles are feeling.
• Aim for 10 reps on all 10 sets (gets hard at the end).

Awesome Back Exercise I Used for 10 X 10 Last Week!
 

I typically use 80-85 pound dumbbells when I am doing 5 sets of 5 on the incline dumbbell press. Last week, when I decided to give the 10 X 10 workout a shot…I figured 50 pounds would be an easy weight for my first time around. I WAS WRONG! On the 5th set, I couldn't get past 8 reps. On the 7th set, I couldn't get past 6 reps. On the 8th set I was at around 5. On the last two sets I dropped the weight to 35 pounds…and it was a struggle to get 10 full reps! Nest week I will use 40 pounds dumbbells.

Figured I Would Maybe Do a Few Sets of Bench After This

The bench press is not my strong point. Anything over 225 pounds feels heavy. That being said…I was NOT prepared for how smoked my chest was after doing those 10 sets of incline dumbbell presses. When I attempted a 135 pound warmup set, I had a hard time pressing 135 pounds 5 times. Typically I feel like I could throw that weight to the ceiling if I had to. After doing 10 sets of inclines it felt around 225 pounds! My entire chest was smoked from inclines. You really only do need one exercise per body part when doing 10 sets of 10 reps! A similar thing happened when I tried doing a few sets of chin ups after doing the Vince Gironda 45 Degree Pulley Row.

8 Sets of 8 Reps [Muscle Building With Fat Loss]

So Mike Westerdal, the guy who helped me put together the Visual Impact Exercise Demo Ebook, is giving away a really cool free report this week. It is Vince Gironda's Go-To workout for simultaneous muscle fiber growth and fat loss.

Gironda's Top Routine for Getting Muscles Growing Again

Vince Gironda was no less than a training legend. He used a huge portfolio of workouts and this was one of his favorites. The big highlight here is that this particular workout takes no more than 30 minutes. It isn't a circuit routine, but shares some similarities to modern circuit routines. It uses 2 exercises per body part, but they are performed in a special way.

So 3 More "Plateau Busters" to Implement in Your Workouts

• Strength Plateau? Try 10 Sets of 3 Reps
• Size Plateau? Try 10 Sets of 10 Reps
• Size Plateau and a Little Chubby? 8 Sets of 8 Reps

Brad and John Show You How to Get Into Starvation Mode?

These guys take an interesting approach. They show you exactly what it takes to reach starvation mode. By showing how difficult it is to reach starvation mode, they destroy a lot of muscle loss myths. Once you listen to this, you can relax and not stress out about losing muscle when you are dieting and exercising to lose body fat. As you will see, you don't even need to begin to worry about this until your reach crazy low body fat levels. Here's that recording:

My Notes From the Starvation Mode Recording

All of this is covered in the recording, but I wanted to put some of this in text as well. You can also right click and save this recording and listen on your computer or iPod. I'll post my notes below like I typically format my blog posts.

Why Are Brad and John Examining a Military Study?

Brad and John mainly look at a military experiment done by Karl Friedl. They point out that the military has less restrictions and can push people much harder than they can in a typical university study. There is no way this stuff would get approved by a university, but no problem for the military. In their words…To find limits to what the body is capable of, you need to dip into military research.

Step 1 to Get Into Starvation Mode—> Start Out Lean

Karl Friedl used fit and athletic soldiers with an average body fat of 14%. This is what John Barban calls "4 pack lean". There were guys as low as 6% body fat and as high as 18% body fat. Think along the lines of a fit and muscular soldier to get an idea of the participants of this study.

Karl Pretty Much Tortured These Guys for 8+ Weeks!

Karl had these guys eat between 1,000-1,200 calories…but burn upwards of 6,000 calories per day with crazy activity levels and sleep deprivation. So deficits in the 3,000-4,000 range on some days. Average deficit was 1,200 calories per day. They trained like mad and also went through extreme sleep deprivation.

Here's what happened during the 8 weeks (avg height 5'9"):

• At Start… 167 lbs & Adonis Index of 1.4
• 2 Weeks…156 lbs & Adonis Index of 1.44
• 4 Weeks…152 lbs & Adonis Index of 1.45
• 6 Weeks…146 lbs & Adonis Index of 1.50
• 8 Weeks…140 lbs & Adonis Index of 1.52

Note: Adonis Index refers to the shoulder circumference divided by the waist circumference. As an example, my shoulder measurement is 50 inches and my waist is 33 inches. If I divide my shoulder by my waist I get 1.51. The ideal Adonis Index is 1.61. The video below explains why a 1.61 ratio is pleasing to the eye in not just body proportions…but in art, architecture, etc.

In This Experiment, They Were NOT Trying to Preserve Muscle

The important thing to remember in this study was that they were trying their best to beat these guys down. They weren't doing things that normal people would do while dieting, like proper resistance training. Here are some of the tactics they used to try to get into starvation mode.

• Severe Caloric Restriction
• Severe Amount of Exercise
• Severe Amount of Mental Stress
• Extreme Sleep Deprivation

Began to Lose Lean Body Mass Between Weeks 6 and 8

At around the 8 week mark a lot of guys who were in the 5%-6% range could not drop any more body fat. This is when they began to lose lean muscle. The guys who started out the leanest, reached their limits at week 6. These were the guys who lost the most amount of lean body mass.

They Didn't Lose Muscle Just Because They Were at 5%-6%

They lost muscle because they were still having days where they were running at a 3,000 calorie deficit. Once someone reaches their lower limits of body fat percentage it makes sense to eat close to maintenance levels. This strong calorie deficit at this low body fat level also caused extreme hormone disruptions: Testosterone dropped, thyroid issues, mood changes <---this is true "starvation mode".

Why People Think Their Metabolism is Slowing Down

People with more fat available to oxidize…can oxidize more body fat per minute. The less body fat you have, the less you can oxidize per minute. So as you get closer to your lower limits of body fat, the slower you will burn what body fat you have. This is why those last 4-5 pounds come off slowly, NOT because you are wrecking your metabolism with an aggressive diet.

Most People Never Need to Worry About Starvation Mode

Most likely, starvation mode isn't happening to anybody reading this. The average person thinks starvation mode happens between meals. It isn't about not having enough calories. It isn't about not having enough protein. It only effects people at their critical low body fat mass. You have to be in a massive deficit and already at your critical low body fat level. You are "6 pack ripped" before ever getting to starvation mode.

Summary: John Barban and Brad Pilon have tons of posts and phenomenal recordings over on these two blogs they run…

Adonis Index Blog <---For Men
Venus Index Blog <---For Women

All of their posts challenge bad info and myths with good solid scientific research. I've been following these guys for 3+ years and have learned a ton from Brad and John, especially when it comes to dieting for rapid fat loss. Great stuff!

What is the 4 X 7 Model of Periodization?

The 4 refers to 4 distinct workouts…

• Workout 1: No Intensity
• Workout 2: Low Intensity
• Workout 3: Medium Intensity
• Workout 4: High Intensity

These 4 workouts are done 4 days in a row. The "7" refers to how many times this 4 day cycle is done. So over a period of 28 days, this 4 day cycle is done 7 times.

Where Did I Learn About This Funky Workout System?

Back in 2009 I was closely following an emerging blogger named Adam Steer. I liked his blog because he talked about many Eastern Philosophies ignored by many of us in the West. I learned things I had never seen mentioned in typical "fitness magazines". Adam teamed up with Ryan Murdock (inducted into the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2006) In late September of 2009, they released a groundbreaking body weight course—> I was so committed to learning what Adam and Ryan were teaching that I cancelled my gym membership…breaking a 17 year streak of paying monthly gym dues.

I Led a Private Blog  for People to Learn the Program With Me

Over 200 people decided to ditch the gym Oct, Nov, and Dec of 2009…and learn Ryan and Adam's body weight program along with me. I posted every day for 90 days and we all did the program together. Out of the 200 who started the program with me, only 46 made it to the end. It was a tough program, but every single person in that private blog group who finished the program loved the results.

No Rest Days Using the 4 X 7 Method of Training?

You do a workout every day, so no true rest days. Here's the cool thing…the "No Intensity Days" and "Low Intensity Days" are almost better than a rest day. I sometimes trash Yoga, but Ryan had us doing "Prasara Yoga". This was a complex high level program we were doing. The first two days of the cycle, prepared our bodies to perform at a higher level when the intensity was increased. Adam and Ryan call this, "Releasing the Parking Brake".

Learned About His New Project Over A Hefeweizen

So Ryan is an extremely brave and adventurous guy. We were eating some delicious Seattle seafood, drinking beer, and having a great time…then he told us that he was moving to Malta. I think my girlfriend asked him what Malta was like. Get this…he had never been to Malta! That is nutty, but cool at the same time. I don't have that in my DNA. Very funny! Then he told us about a massive project that he was launching in June…

Adam and Ryan Launching a Body Weight "Game Changer"

They are releasing a master product called Shapeshifter...but have set it up to where you can add "plugins" to create a custom program. Want to do body weight and resistance band training? They will have a resistance band plugin. It will be one master program with various plugins. Supposedly they will add more and more plugins over time for people to create any program that suits their needs. I can't wait to see what this looks like (the program isn't for sale at this time).

Get a Free Shapeshifter Sample for the Next 24 Hours

Bottom line…I believe in what Adam and Ryan are doing here.I was pleased with their first big program, but this is supposedly going to blow that one out of the water. My only complaint about the last program was the quality of the videos. Ryan told me they hired a guy who works on major motion pictures to film Shapeshifter. You can see how impressive this looks, by checking out their free sample workout…

Click Here to Get a Sample Shapeshifter Bodyweight Workout

Note: My passion is training with weights, but I plan to buy Shapeshifter (not for sale yet) and follow the program once every other year for 3-4 months to get past sticking points. After I completed their previous program…I came back to the gym weaker in a few lifts…but then blew past my personal best. <—this was due to a concept they teach called "releasing the parking brake". Great stuff!

[No doubt in my mind that Rocky would train in a CrossFit gym. On a side note, Rocky IV was a BIG deal when it came out in 1985. I bet almost 100% of the kids in the 80's saw this in the theaters. I always got chills then the Rocky theme played. Still do.]

CrossFit – Coming to a Neighborhood Near You

About 3-4 months ago I was driving to work on a typical rainy Seattle day. I noticed a closed down auto-repair garage in my neighborhood that was being painted dark grey. A week later there was a "NW CrossFit Coming Soon" sign. I thought it was strange that they were turning a big garage into a gym. About 3-4 weeks went by and I peaked in while stuck in traffic and was pretty impressed with what I saw. This was the first time I had seen a CrossFit gym in person.

Olympic Gymnast Coach Bela Karolyi Would Dig This Gym

This CrossFit Gym in my neighborhood has a pull up bar that spans the length of one wall, a digital clock above that, and a well padded floor that looked perfect for power lifting. I love my fancy gym, but there is something cool about this place. It has more of an Olympic training compound and doesn't feel anything like a commercial gym. This all made perfect sense once I did some research on the founder of CrossFit.

CrossFit Was Developed by a Former Gymnast

The creator of CrossFit, Greg Glassman, was a former gymnast. He found that certain body weight exercises he used as a gymnast were much more effective than many popular weight training exercises that were popular at the time. He kept the lifts that he felt gave the most bang-for-the-buck, to compliment the Gymnastics style exercises. What he came up with is a hybrid of body weight exercises mixed with technical Olympic style lifts and power lifts…what is now known as CrossFit.

[A good video showing a variety of different CrossFit workouts .]

How Many Days Per Week for a Typical Crossfit Workout?

The standard approach to Crossfit is to train 3 days on and 1 day off. Some weeks wind up being 5 days per week and some weeks wind up being 6 days per week. For those who can't or don't want to train on weekends, they can simply train 5 days per week and take weekends off. Obviously all of this is flexible depending upon goals and abilities.

"WOD" The Crossfit Workout of the Day

The brilliance of Crossfit in my opinion is that it posts a new Workout of the Day, each day, on its website. You can find it on the front page of the main website: CrossFit.com. I actually missed this the first time (almost too obvious). Each day is a new post with the workout that is to be done that day. Below each workout are updates, motivational stuff, and some of the weights or times recorded by fellow CrossFit'ers for that particular workout. This is the only workout needed for most to get in great shape. Others do supplementary work or take classes to learn proper form, etc.

The CrossFit Games = The Fitness Olympics?

In 2007, the 1st Crossfit Games took place at a small ranch in northern California. There were 70 athletes and a few hundred spectators. Fast forward to 20011…This event is now sponsored by Reebok and the top 4 winners will each win $250,000! The Crossfit headquarters picks out a new workout each week for six weeks. Contestants then either submit a video or are scored by a Registered CrossFit Affiliate. After 6 weeks the top people from each region compete against each other. Then it moves on to an elimination type of system: Details here —>2011 CrossFit Games.

So My Opinions on CrossFit?

My main concern about CrossFit is form breakdown that happens when training to exhaustion in theses technical lifts. Anyone with a history of back injury would need to be extremely careful and pick the proper CrossFit affiliate to work with who had a good understanding of this. If I was picking a CrossFit gym to work with I'd simply ask them about Stuart McGill. If they say "Who is Stuart McGill"…I would pass on that particular CrossFit affiliate. I can't make a blanket statement that all CrossFit is good…or that I dislike CrossFit. The right CrossFit affiliate makes all the difference.

Could I See Myself Ever Doing CrossFit?

I like to have precise control over all variables when I train. I am now to the point where I can dial in my workout to get the precise result I desire in a commercial gym. I like to keep resistance training for strength…and fat loss training separate. I simply like to lift heavy for strength and tone…and do intense cardio to get as lean as I desire. That being said…I could see myself doing CrossFit for 3-4 months just to add a little variety. I like to experiment with new routines for 3-4 month periods every other year. The last time I did this was with Adam Steer's and Ryan Murdock's body weight program and it was a good change of pace.

I'm Extremely Interested to See How Big CrossFit Becomes

I think there is definitely a place for both CrossFit gyms as well as big commercial gyms. Some people who do CrossFit knock commercial gyms as being a place where you can't train hard. I don't agree with that statement…but most commercial gyms don't have a place to properly do Olympic lifts. On the flip side, a lot of CrossFit gyms don't have a wide variety of high-end cardio equipment. I'm a big fan of doing HIIT on a special $10,000 StepMill followed by steady state cardio on another piece of commercial cardio equipment. To be honest, it would be cool to belong to a "Hybrid" gym that had both options. Maybe an LA Fitness combined with a CrossFit gym. I'd be the first member!

Speaking of Cardio and Burning Fat…

Within the next week or two, I'm going to interview the owner of a CrossFit gym who developed his own CrossFit workout specifically designed to burn fat. Its a circuit that uses lighter weights and is supposedly "kinder to the back" compared to some of the other CrossFit workouts for those of us with lower back issues. He is a busy guy with a sweet looking CrossFit facility, but hopefully I'll get to chat with him soon.

[Most people think of "fish oil" as the best source of Omega 3. Through research, I have found that this is simply not the case.]

I'm Going to Try and Simplify This As Much As Possible

My goal is to make this easy to read and grasp. When things get too technical, I tend to skim. I don't think any of us needs to understand every little thing about Omega 3's…and that isn't the goal here. I simply want to address this supplement in regards to weight loss, the proper dose, etc.

How Do Omega 3 Supplements Aid in Fat Loss?

Omega 3 supplements simply reduce your insulin levels throughout the day. When insulin levels are high, you can't use fat for fuel. When insulin levels are high, your HGH levels are low. You want HGH to be high and insulin levels to be low…and Omega 3 supplements make that happen. Keeping insulin stable is also key in avoiding adult onset diabetes…it is a good idea in general. Fish oil also directly increases the oxidation of fat within fat cells.

How Much to Take for Weight Loss?

This is where things aren't as clear. It looks like we are after 1.5 grams of combined EPA and DHA per day. So that works out to roughly 7,000-10,000 mg's of Omega 3 per day! Completely excessive in my opinion. The only time I recommend such a heavy dose would be 2-3 weeks before a vacation. In my opinion taking this much year round is probably excessive.

Most Sources of Omega 3's Have High Levels of Mercury

Most Omega 3 supplements come from fish and ingesting these fish oils daily can build up to a toxic level of mercury. You don't want to become lean and toxic. So what do you do?

Krill Oil is the Best Source of Omega 3

Krill are tiny deepwater crustaceans that are completely free of unhealthy toxins and pollution commonly found in regular fish oil. Doctors in Japan have now switched their patients from regular fish oil to krill oil.

Other Reasons to Take Krill Oil Over Fish Oil?

• 47 times the antioxidant power of regular fish oil.
• 500% better absorption by your body than regular fish oil, according to U.S. Government National Institutes Of Health.
• A recent study at McGill University, showed that krill oil increased good cholesterol 10 times better than fish oil.
• The same study showed that it dropped 16 times more bad cholesterol than fish oil.

I'm Taking Krill Oil Daily & I'm Going to Force My Girlfriend

My girlfriend isn't someone who enjoys taking supplements, but I'm sold on krill oil. I have recently begun taking this brand of Krill Oil, because they have stringent manufacturing and testing processes in place…plus I already take their multivitamin and BCAA's. You can go with other brands, but do some research on the company first. These guys also have a good free report if you want to dig deep into Omega 3's: What Your Doctor Never Told You About Fish Oil.

Do You Need Omega 3 Supplements to Get Really Lean?

Absolutely not….this supplement will just help you reach your goals a little faster. After all of this research, I've decided that I like Omega 3 supplements for their health benefits. They can be helpful as a weight loss aid, but taking 7,000-10,000mg a day can get spendy. My plan is to take 1,000-2,000mg per day for the powerful anti-oxidant effects (supposedly the antioxidant power of krill oil is 297 times greater than vitamin A or vitamin E).

Summary: Several articles I read claimed that the weight loss effects of Omega 3 supplementation weren't extremely impressive. The true benefit is long term health…and the best source is krill oil. If you do want to use as a weight loss aid, aim for 7,000mg-10,000mg per day (aiming for 1.5 grams total of EPA + DHA). Don't go above this amount, because it can thin the blood to unsafe levels.

[The Slow Carb Diet seems to work best for people with more than 10 pounds of weight to lose. I'm not sure it works as well for someone who wants to get really lean.]

You've Probably Heard of The 4-Hour Body

A few months ago Tim Ferriss released a blockbuster book called, The 4-Hour Body. My guess is that 90% of the people reading this, have at least heard of this book. It has quickly become a best seller and really is a well thought out book. I don't agree with every point that Tim makes, but that isn't the point of this book. His book challenges conventional wisdom…so it was a must buy for me. In this book he outlines a diet that he follows along with a massive group of loyal readers of his blog.

The Rules of The Slow Carb Diet

• Avoid White Carbohydrates: No rice, potatoes, flour, fried foods, breading, etc. The only exception is within 1.5 hours of training.
• Avoid Fruit, Sugar, Dairy and Alcohol: No cheese, fruit, sugar of any type, beer, etc. Tim has found that the diet still works if you drink 1-2 glasses of red wine each night. He also allows a limited amount of artificial sweeteners (1 Diet Coke, some sugar free jello for desert).
• Eat a Protein Rich Meal Within 30 Minutes of Waking Up: Meal frequency isn't important. Tim likes to eat 4 times per day. He does stress the importance of having a protein rich meal as soon as you wake up.
• Eat as Much of These Foods as You Like: Eggs, Chicken, Grass Fed Beef, Pork, Lentils, Black Beans, Pinto Beans, Spinach, Asparagus, Peas, Mixed Vegetables.
• Eat Whatever You Like One Day Per Week:Whatever sounds good…go for it on your "cheat day". Everything is allowed on this day, but once the day is over you are back to your diet.

I Decided to Give This Diet a Shot With My Girlfriend

I booked a beach vacation for mid-April and figured that it would be fun to see if The Slow Carb Diet would help me drop about 6-8 pounds. My girlfriend was aiming to lose about 1/2 that amount. Neither of us ever really "needs" to lose weight, but it is fun to get a little extra lean for summer and vacations, etc. We devoted the final week of February and the first 3 weeks of March to this diet.

My Starting Weight 195 Pounds – Ending Weight 191 Pounds

I lost 4 pounds in a month. This is actually really good for someone in my position. My girlfriend lost 3 pounds in a month (which is good as well). So why the "Mixed Review" in the title of this post? Well…since it is a drastic diet with some pretty hardcore rules I was expecting for us to lose about 50% more than what we did. If I would have lost 6-7 pounds and my girlfriend 4-5…then it would have been worth the sacrifice.

Felt Great During the Day With Stomach Problems at Night

This is a great diet for even energy levels. Working out felt like it took a bit more effort, but strength levels remained the same. Typically things went well throughout the day, but my stomach never really adapted to eating a diet so high in protein, beans, and veggies. Bottom line…my digestive system hated this diet! I tried organic stuff, Beano, etc. I felt like I had a 30 day stomach ache.

[Another tough thing for me, was only having beer once per week. Wirklich Schade! (Very Sad)]

A Diet Designed by a Wine Drinker!

Tim Ferriss is a big wine drinker, so this diet allows 2 glasses of red wine per night. This felt like he was setting up a little "cheat" that made this an easier diet for him to handle. Honestly…if I was designing the diet, it would allow for one light beer per evening. I've dropped down to 5% body fat while consistently drinking 1-2 Corona Light's per night with dinner. I followed Tim's diet to the "T" and didn't drink beer…but felt like this was an unnecessary rule. I didn't like the wine rule at all! Beer is good for the soul.

I Prefer Low-Calorie Diets Over Nutrient-Focused Diets

I like to eat what I want while creating a weekly calorie deficit. There are a lot of diets that focus on foods you can and can't eat. This works for a lot of people who do better with strict guidelines. No doubt, The Slow Carb Diet works. In fact, I could see it working well for the majority of people who follow it. It just wasn't a great fit for me or my girlfriend. We both felt it was too big of a price to pay to drop weight. I like beer, dairy, and gummy candy too much to make this a long-term deal.

How I Will Spend the Next 3 Weeks Leading Up to My Trip

Monday-Friday: I will have a meal replacement shake for breakfast and lunch…then eat what I want for dinner (within reason). Two days per week, I will do some intermittent fasting until dinner. I won't have a true "cheat day" but I'll leave it a lot more flexible on the weekend. If I see a movie I'll have a bag of gummy bears and a large Diet Coke. If I'm meeting up with friends we will order some hot wings and nachos…and a large beer or two. I will lose another 3 pounds or so, but it will be an easier approach for the way I like to eat.

Is the Slow Carb Diet Right for You?

If you have a lot of weight to lose, then yes it is. Some people experience amazing results. If you are trying to get really lean, and have only 5-10 pounds to lose, then I actually believe strong weekly calorie deficits are the way to go. Here is a link to Tim's blog which outlines this diet in greater detail: The Slow Carb Diet.

[It is possible to get in phenomenal shape without getting the typical "gym body"...but you have to take a training approach that is quite different than what is being taught by the mainstream fitness magazines and books.]

Many Women Avoid Training Since They Don't Want to Bulk Up

Despite what many fitness experts claim, this is a legitimate concern. True that women won't be able to add as much muscle as the typical male, but it is also true that they can add more muscle than what they want. In the past, these concerns have been brushed aside and women are suppose to get used to the idea of looking a little more muscular than what they would like. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Resistance Training Can Be Done in a Way to Decrease Muscle Mass While Increasing Muscle Tone

I have perfected the methods to lift in a way that will firm up an area of the body, while reducing the overall size of that same area. This does NOT involve high-rep training. Some quick pointers:

• High-Reps are more likely to create a pump in the muscle which is perfect for building large Vascular muscles (but most likely you don't want bigger "veiny" muscles).
• Pushing your reps to failure breaks down the muscle, which contributes to muscle growth…and can actually weaken the muscle if done on a regular basis.
• The most important variable in gaining muscle is how hard you push the final reps in a set. <---So if you don't want to increase the size of a muscle, stop well short of failure.
• Low-Reps short of failure is the best way to firm up a muscle without building size to that muscle. It is also less likely to create vascular muscles, since it will not create "a pump".

Just Some Pointers If You Decide Not to Purchase My Course

I wanted to make sure that even if you don't decide to pick up Visual Impact for Women, then at least you get a takeaway from this blog post. I don't like to do 100% promotional posts. If you want to lift to increase and firm up your body without adding size, then these tips will help. My comprehensive course covers quite a bit more than that, but this is a start in the right direction.

[I love the way the graphics turned out for the cover. The website design is even cooler than the ebook graphics.]

What is Included in the Visual Impact for Women Course?

• Main Manual (89 Pages): A full blown comprehensive course to getting slim without adding excess mass. It covers diet, cardio, home gym, and commercial gym workouts. All of the routines are 100% customizable and you are actually encouraged to use your favorite exercises for each of the routines. Also things like "dieting for an event" and "how to lose muscle mass on purpose", etc.
• Fat Torching Cardio Manual: This is a 12 week "progressive cardio" course, designed to help you drop as much fat as you desire for a special event. This covers some advanced cardio concepts: 4 levels of HIIT, VO2 Max Cardio, "Pyramid Intervals", Aerobic Intervals, etc.
• Exercise Demonstration Manual (229 pages): This is a massive manual of photo demonstrations and explanations covering a ton of exercises. The cool thing is that it has clickable navigation, so you can zip around and find the exact exercise descriptions you are after without having to scroll through hundreds of pages.
• Printable Workout Charts: Each workout routine is contained on its own separate page, so you can easily print it out and take it with you to the gym. The idea is to eventually memorize the workouts, but this will help the first few weeks.

[I also did my best to create an informative and entertaining video as soon as you land on the site. I am certainly not a polished speaker, but I did my best to explain how this course is unique compared to other Women's courses released to this point.]

So Head on Over to the Website For a Full-Blown Description.

This short blog post is simply a thumb-nail of what this course is all about. To get a full overview head on over to the site now by clicking this link —> Visual Impact for Women.

[Here is a picture of Tyler Shields in a car with Haley Bennett.]

An Interview With Tyler Shields:

Rusty: Tyler…first of all, I dig your work. I think a link to a news story about you popped up on AOL News. This lead to watching one of your videos…and getting blown away. The video was set to Radiohead's "All I Need"…which made it that much cooler. At that point, I knew it would a great idea to feature you on my site.

So I did some research online and found out you have no formal training. How the heck did you break into being a celebrity photographer?

Tyler: First of all thank you! Secondly, I got my start directing music videos then moved into photography. Then one day, actors just started asking me to shoot them and it was a snow ball effect from there!

Rusty: When reading a bit of your background online it kind of reminded me of "The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"…not that you are nutty like Hunter S. Thompson. I just get this picture of you running around LA non-stop, staying up for days at a time, living and breathing your work…intermixed with the occasional party. How accurate is that picture?

Tyler: Hahaha. No drugs & no drinks for me…but the crazy is right there on par. This is certainly my life and everyday gets more and more crazy.

Rusty: I'm fascinated by people who are creative and push the edge. What I love about your stuff is I'm sure that it offends some people…and others are huge fans. What are some of the most interesting reactions that people have to your work?

Tyler: A girl I was dating showed her father a photo I did of her. His response was "that is degrading and disturbing"…but she loved the photo and I thought his comment was amazing.

Rusty: Who are some of the other creative people (artists, musicians, actors, etc.) that inspire you?

Tyler: I am big into music but I listen to songs on repeat hundreds of times in a day. As far as inspiration goes, I find it all in my life.

Rusty: Is video or photography your medium of choice?

Tyler: To me they are all one in the same. A shoot is a shoot or video…still we are creating something together.

Rusty: You seem to work with the big names in young Hollywood. Justin Long, Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, Lindsay Lohan, Gary Busey (not young…but cool as hell), etc. Any particularly interesting ones that stand out above the rest?

Tyler: I have had adventures with all of them: Gary was so fun, Lindsay is amazing and Kellan punched something until his hand began to bleed for me. There is certainly a story that goes along with everyone i shoot. Sometimes people hear about it. Most of the time they don't!

Rusty: You have some great stuff in your portfolio. Rain Wilson's character Dwight on The Office has made me laugh hundreds of times…loved that video on your site when he attacks you. Do you ever get star struck working with some of these guys you have seen numerous times on TV or in the movies?

Tyler: No I have never been that type of person. We are just 2 people who happen to be doing something random. Rain said he wanted to do something crazy…and I said "why don't you beat me up"? Everyone laughed except for him. I kicked them out, then he beat me up. We will always have that story…connected through the chaos.

Rusty: Incredible choice of tunes in your videos. Have you ever thought of doing photo shoots with musicians?

Tyler: I have shot a few my Chemical Romance, Serj Tankian, Peaches and more…but its very different from actors. I suppose I will do more down the road.

Rusty: So tell me about your upcoming book "The Dirty Side of Glamour".

Tyler: I have been working on it for years . I'm so excited for the day to come when I'm able to say "Here is the book"…because if people think they have seen my crazy photos they are in for a treat. I have been saving the best for the book!

Rusty: I will make sure and put a link to your book here as soon as it is released. Until then, what are some of the best ways for people to follow your work?

Tyler: My website TylerShields.com and Twitter.com/tylershields are the best ways.

<----------End of Interview---------->

Make sure and check out his site.

The videos above are outstanding and I know he has received a ton of great feedback on them.

He gives regular updates on his photo shoots over on Twitter as well.

Tyler…thanks for again for letting me use some of your art on my site. I'm a big fan!

-Rusty

The Biggest Criticism I Found When Doing Research…

A lot of people pointed to a photograph that showed Madonna's ripped biceps and veins in her forearms. I also believe that Madonna tends to get a little too lean at times. The good thing is that this state is actually hard to maintain and my guess is that she doesn't look this lean most of the time. All she would have to do is either back off on her training a bit or increase her calories. She doesn't have massive muscles…she just gets a little more lean than I would recommend.

Hard Candy Fitness – Slightly Smaller Than LA Fitness

So it looks like her first gym in Mexico City will be 30,000 sq ft. If you want to envision 30,000 sq feet, a lot of the newer LA Fitness centers are around 40,000 square feet. So 30,000 square feet sounds like a good size. Compare that with 24 Hour Fitness's "Ultra-Sport" clubs which are 100,000 square feet. I actually believe it is smart to stay a little smaller to insure profitability of the club. So many chains in the US are having financial troubles, that possibly Madonna was advised to keep the size of her clubs down a bit compared to the competition.

More Info About Mexico City

I have to be honest…when I heard Madonna was opening up her first Hard Candy Fitness Center in Mexico City, I was surprised. I am a huge fan of Mexico and their culture. Love how they are family oriented and know how to have fun and celebrate. I guess I always thought of Mexico City as a dangerous place. Research has shown me that cities on the Mexican/US border are where the violence happens most. One city which is across the border from El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, is where things are really tough due to the illegal drug trade. I found mixed info about Mexico City. It seems that the reported crime index is much lower than most large cities…but some sources say that possibly only 10% of the crimes are reported. Who knows? My best guess is that there are nice parts and rough parts like any major city. Perhaps, some of the readers who know more about Mexico and Mexico City can fill me in…please comment below this post.

[So her fitness center is going to be located in the Bosques de las Lomas neighborhood. This place looks like a high end neighborhood in Southern California. I spent a few minutes looking at images in Google...some super nice homes in this area.]

She is Being Assisted by Mark Mastrov (Founded 24 Hour Fitness)

So 24 Hour Fitness is the World's largest gym, if you count the amount of memberships. It has roughly 3 million members and 400 clubs. This is probably the top person in the world if you want to know how to grow a successful fitness chain. No doubt that Madonna should do well teaming up with Mastrov.

"Throughout her career Madonna has been devoted to fitness and well-being and has worked out in literally hundreds of gyms around the world," Hard Candy Fitness said in a news release Monday.

"Madonna's world tours have taken us to many of our favorite cities around the world. We are looking forward to opening Hard Candy Fitness with NEV in many of these same places."

So Who Would Consider Working Out at Hard Candy?

Supposedly it will have state-of-the-art equipment along with a wide range of free weights and Hammer Strength machines, etc. My guess is that it would be a much more stylish version of 24 Hour Fitness. I don't need to workout in a fancy place, but it could be cool…especially if they played good music and had a high energy. I guess we will see. Here is the gym logo. Pretty cool!

One last thing; I can't have a post about Madonna without some videos…

Some Outstanding Madonna Video Mashups on YouTube!

I love YouTube! Seriously…out of the millions of videos being posted, most are kind of lame…but some people have serious skills. I wanted to feature three of the coolest user generated videos I have ever seen on that site. If you grew up in the 80's you will love this. If you are a little younger you will still probably like this. My favorite is the Madonna and Depeche Mode mashup. I want these for my iPod!

[Depeche Mode is 80's music that has stood the test of time. Their music is brilliant and innovative...I never get sick of it!]

[This Human League song was the slow song played at every High School dance I ever went to. If I imagine hard enough I can almost smell the fine scents of Aquanet Hair Spray and Drakkar Noir Cologne. The 80's were filled with chemicals...you can't get hair looking that stylin' on its own! Note: I blame the ozone depletion on those who graduated between 1984-1992.]

[You wouldn't think the Sex Pistols would be a good match to mix with Madonna. That is what makes this mashup possibly the best of the three. I still like the Depeche Mode mix best, because I like Depeche Mode better than the Sex Pistols...but the timing on this one is spot-on.]

Note: I want to give props to the first blog where I saw this published. Fit Tip Daily

My Friend Grant, His Wife Steph, & Their Inspiring Story…

I believe you can have life-long friends that you rarely keep in contact with. You may not see them for 10-20 years, but you share a beer and don't miss a beat. This is especially true if you grew up together in the same town, went to the same schools, etc. Well…I consider Grant to fit into this category. He was a slight over-achiever in school (in a good way), a 4.0 grade point, popular, and actually nice to everyone. I went to school with Grant from 5th or 6th grade all the way through 12th grade. He went to college in California and didn't hear much from him after that, but always figured I would run into him again. Fast forward 22 years and he contacts me on Facebook…

"My Wife Just Started A Blog About Her Battle With Breast Cancer"

Grant told me the title of the blog was called Bald, Fat and Crazy. He knew my mother died of breast cancer and simply wanted to share how his wife beat the disease. He also didn't tell me the story behind the name. His wife Steph puts it best on the front page…

"The title of my blog and this first page warrant a bit of explanation. Clearly, I was Bald. And clearly I was Fat. However, when you come to realize that my baldness was caused by chemotherapy and my ‘fatness’ was caused by being pregnant at the same time, then the mere fact that I was smiling in this photo is evidence that I was also Crazy. Add to this scenario the pending adoption of a baby girl and the Crazy goes to a whole new level."

Click Here to Read the Rest of Steph's Inspiring Story —>

Note: I didn't want to summarize her story of beating breast cancer here. She does an incredible job on her blog, with photos and music, etc. If you can spread the word about her site, that would be great. Her goal is to give people hope, even when circumstances don't look so great.

[Happy Autumnal Equinox! This girl doesn't look so happy about the whole situation. Looks like she needs to drink some of that coffee.]

What the Head of A Major Pharmaceutical Company Told Me

Ten years ago, I was an executive recruiter who placed Ph.D. level medicinal chemists into pharmaceutical companies. These are the scientists who discover the lead compounds that eventually get turned into drugs that help people. It was kind of an intimidating job, because often times these high-level scientists would list CEO's and VP's of major pharmaceutical companies as their references. It was my job to contact these CEO's and to conduct reference checks. Let me tell you, it is not easy to get a hold of a high level executive in companies that do tens of billions of dollars per year. I would always think to myself "who am I to talk to this ultra-smart super successful person". One executive level chemist in particular told me something I will never forget…

"Never, Ever Allow Yourself to Become Overweight for an Extended Period of Time"

This guy spent a lifetime studying chronic disease and he spent close to 30 minutes drilling this point into my head. He said the number one thing that will drastically decrease your chances of getting any disease is to never allow yourself to become overweight. He wasn't just talking heart disease and things we normally associate with being overweight either (obviously this isn't a guarantee, there are countless examples of fit people who develop cancer and other life threatening diseases). He went on to tell me that the mass media understates the cause and effect of obesity and disease…and that if the general population wasn't overweight, that the drug companies would lose billions.

I Didn't Know What Inflammation Was at that Time

Inflammation is a way that the body heals itself. When you get a cut, the body elicits an inflammatory response. It sends blood cells to the injured area. The redness and swelling initiates the healing process. This is Acute inflammation and it is a good thing! The problem is Chronic inflammation.

What If the Entire Body Was Inflamed?

Chronic inflammation is when your entire body is experiencing this "injury response". The huge problem here is that when your immune system is trying to repair your entire body, it can't defend against cancer and other diseases. Your body also produces cholesterol as an inflammatory response. This works well in the short term, helps heal wounds, but develops plaque in the arteries if the body is chronically inflamed.

[Don't be scared by the next section! I recommend just  reading the points that are bolded with a "*". These are Brad's findings from these studies. I included additional information just for those who want to dig deeper. This section is meant to be cliff note style. I'll wrap up and summarize the post after Brad's notes.]

1) Brad's Notes – Inflammation Causes

This is where Brad's research notes really help clear up some confusion. I am going to summarize the notes he emailed me a few days ago. This helped me get a full grasp on this complex topic.

* Overeating Can Cause an Inflammation Response

"An excess glucose infusion, possibly analogous to a binge episode of overfeeding, led to a decrease in antioxidants, increase in liver oxidative stress, and systemic inflammatory response."

Ling PR, Smith RJ, Bistrian BR, 2007 Acute effects of hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia on hepatic oxidative stress and the systemic inflammatory response in rats. Crit Care Med 35: 555-560.

* Markers of Overeating, Such as Leptin, are Involved in the Inflammatory Response

"Leptin regulates proinflammatory responses."

Loffreda S, Yang SQ, Lin HZ, Karp CL, Brengman ML, Wang DJ, Klein AS, Bulkley GB, Bao C, Noble PW, Lane MD, Diehl AM. Leptin regulates proinflammatory immune responses. FASEB J. 1998 Jan;12(1):57-65.

* Another Marker of Overeating, Insulin, Increases Markers (IL-6) of Inflammation

"Insulin, a key regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism in adipose tissue, increases IL-6 release from human adipocytes and 3T3-L1 cells."

Vicennati V, Vottero A, Friedman C, Papanicolaou DA. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. Hormonal regulation of interleukin-6 production in human adipocytes. 2002 Jul;26(7):905-11.

* Inflammation Can Lead to Insulin Resistance

"Chronic high IL-6 can lead to insulin resistance."

Senn JJ, Klover PJ, Nowak IA, and Moony RA. IL-6 Induces Cellular Insulin Resistance in Hepatocytes. Diabetes. 2002 Dec;51(12):3391-9.

* More Evidence That Overeating is Linked to Inflammation

"Acute hyperglycemia in normal people and people with impaired glucose tolerance induces an increase in plasma IL-6, TNF- that hyperglycemic spikes affect cytokine concentrations more than continuous hyperglycemia, at least in the short term, and suggest that an oxidative mechanism mediates the effect of hyperglycemia."

Esposito K, Nappo F, Marfella R, Giugliano G, Giugliano F, Ciotola M, Quagliaro L, Ceriello A, Giugliano D. Inflammatory cytokine concentrations are acutely increased by hyperglycemia in humans: role of oxidative stress. Circulation. 2002 Oct 15;106(16):2067-72.

* Both Obesity and Overeating Lead to Inflammation

"High Leptin concentrations may lead to an abnormally strong immune response predisposing to autoimmune phenomena."

Matarese G. Moshos S. Mantzoros CS. Leptin in immunology. J Immunol. 174:3137-3142.

2) Brad's Notes – Preventing Chronic Inflammation

Here are the notes on studies showing ways to reduce or prevent chronic inflammation. Again, just read the parts that are in bold if you are someone who likes to get the main points quickly.

* Eating Less is Good

"Calorie restriction prevents the inflammatory response induced by 14 d of bed rest."

Bosutti A, Malaponte G, Zanetti M, Castellino P, Heer M, Guarnieri G, Biolo G.mCalorie restriction modulates inactivity-induced changes in the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and pentraxin-3. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Aug;93(8):3226-9. Epub 2008 May 20.

* Eating Less is Really Good

"A low-calorie diet is associated with an improvement in the systemic inflammatory status. This seems to be due to energy restriction rather than to adipose mass loss, since inflammatory levels return to baseline soon after weight stabilization."

Salas-Salvadó J, Bulló M, García-Lorda P, Figueredo R, Del Castillo D, Bonada A, Balanzà R. Subcutaneous adipose tissue cytokine production is not responsible for the restoration of systemic inflammation markers during weight loss. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Dec;30(12):1714-20. Epub 2006 Apr 25.

* Having Less Fat is Also Good

"Weight (fat) loss, induced by a negative energy balance, reduces inflammation by decreasing the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by adipose tissue."

Esposito K, Pontillo A, Di Palo C, Giugliano G, Masella M, Marfella R, Giugliano D. Effect of weight loss and lifestyle changes on vascular inflammatory markers in obese women – A randomized trial. Jama-Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003;289:1799–1804.

* Fasting is Good

"Ghrelin levels increase following fasting and chronic food deprivation. Ghrelin exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects."

Li WG, Gavrila D, Liu XB, Wang LX, Gunnlaugsson S, Stoll LL, McCormick ML, Sigmund CD, Tang CS, Weintraub NL. Ghrelin inhibits proinflammatory responses and nuclear factor-kappa B activation in human endothelial cells. Circulation. 2004;109:2221–2226.

* Calories Over Quality…Nothing Wrong With Less Calories and Better Quality Too.

"There is some evidence to suggest that meal composition may play a small role in the inflammatory response, but the total body of evidence seems to suggest that it is the caloric load that is most important."

Manning PJ, Sutherland WH, McGrath MM, de Jong SA, Walker RJ, Williams MJ. Postprandial cytokine concentrations and meal composition in obese and lean women. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2008 Sep;16(9):2046-52.

* It’s Not the Make Up of the Diet as Much as it Is the Diet.

"Weight loss achieved through different diet programs (low-fat, high-protein, or hypocaloric diet) in combination with exercise or nutritional counseling ranged from 3 to 15 kg resulting in concomitant reduction in C-reactive protein levels by 7 to 48%."

Basu A, Devaraj S, Jialal I. Dietary factors that promote or retard inflammation. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2006; 26

________End of Notes________

A Few "Takeaways" from These Notes

Well it looks like it is best to stay somewhat lean and not overeat on a regular basis. I occasionally like to eat really big meals, but I typically feel terrible after. If you do want to avoid inflammation it makes sense to avoid or limit massive meals. You also want to keep insulin levels low and avoid blood sugar spikes. Eating too much and too often will often lead to chronically high insulin levels…this is one of the biggest causes of inflammation. This also causes weight gain, which adds more inflammation. What is the best way to reduce insulin levels and virtually eliminate inflammation?

A 24 Hour Fast Has a More Dramatic Effect on Reducing Insulin than Any of the "Insulin Based" Diets

There are several popular diets that are aimed at keeping insulin at low and stable levels: The Paleo Diet, Mediterranean Diet, South Beach Diet, Atkins, The Zone, etc. There is nothing wrong with eating this way, but nothing comes close to fasting for a way to get insulin under control.

An Excerpt from "Eat Stop Eat"…

"Fasting for as little as 24 hours has been shown to drastically reduce your insulin levels. This is especially important because in order to burn body fat, insulin levels must be very low. Simply ‘evening them out’ may not be enough, especially if this ‘evening out’ of your blood sugar levels is due to chronically high insulin levels."

[Diagram Courtesy of Eat Stop Eat™ With Brad Pilon's Permission.]

Short Term Fasting + Low to Moderate Carbs = Success

Some of the leanest people I know combine short term fasting with low to moderate carbs. As Brad Pilon points out in the studies as well as in Eat Stop Eat, lower calories and calorie deficit have a greater impact than eating low carb. You can get really lean with short term fasting and calorie control and prevent chronic inflammation…keeping the carbs somewhat under control just makes this way of eating that much more effective.

* Don't Become Overweight or Obese
* Limit Massive Meals
* Don't Go Too Nutty on the Carbs
* 1-2 Short Term Fasts Per Week

Note: As I mentioned earlier, Brad Pilon just wrapped up his newest version of Eat Stop Eat. Everyone who has ordered in the past gets the new version this week for free. Make sure and read it, because this new version really shows you the big picture of the heath benefits of this method of eating. If you don't have this ebook, I give it my highest recommendation. Almost every person I respect in the fitness industry uses Brad's version of Intermittent Fasting with great success.

One Last Thing: I started this blog to help people lose weight and keep that weight off. My intention isn't to make people who are overweight feel bad. My hope is this article pushes more people into action and towards a healthy state. If you are reading this and have weight to lose, then go for it! I am here to help as are a lot of others who respond to comments in the comment section.

[Ever heard of terms like "Stored Elastic Energy" or "Sequential "Summation of Forces"? When you learn conditioning from Scott, prepare add about 10-20 new terms to your vocabulary!]

How I Landed The Interview With Scott Sonnon

Back in October of last year, I purchased a fat loss course put together by Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock. I dropped my gym membership setup a private blog for people from this site who also purchased the course. I spent 3 months posting to this private blog daily and worked through this tough program along with everyone else. Out of the 200+ that joined me on the private blog, less than 20 finished the program to completion with me. I learned that Scott Sonnon was the guy behind what Ryan and Adam were teaching and that they learned these brutal (but effective) training techniques from him. All 20 of us who finished the program got great results, but it was a tough and humbling 90 day period. I knew that I wanted to eventually get an interview with Scott. It took some time, but Adam and Ryan finally hooked me up. Thanks guys!

Rusty: Okay Scott, you have some serious credentials. I have about a zillion questions that you could answer, but I will keep this narrowed down to Special Ops Training. So how did you go from martial arts to full blown trainer for the Russian Special Forces and Israeli Counter-Terrorism Units?

Scott: I happened to be in the wrong place at the right time, and I guess I had the perfect combination of character flaws to want to go places others are smart enough to steer clear of. As a multiple-time champion and national coach of SAMBO – Russia's national wrestling style — I was offered a difficult choice.

I could be the first American to formally intern in Russia at the SAMBO-70 Academy, or I could be dropped into a government "think tank" of trainers made up of ex-USSR Olympic coaches, Russian Special Forces, Military Intelligence and Political Security. I chose the latter…

…and I spent 6 years traveling back and forth to Russia and all around that country. I gained incredible insights into the now defunct Soviet Superhuman Sports Machine. Fortunately, we were able to absorb their research and take it to the next level in our country.

Over the years our work has leaked out of the government side and into the sports community – the NFL, NHL, MLP, UFC, etc… – and eventually out into mainstream awareness through public fitness programs. But I still nurture my contracts in the special operation and federal law enforcement communities, because frankly, I find them easiest to relate to. I guess I've never been quite right in the head. I find that by going where I've never been within myself, finding out just how deep this apparently bottomless rabbit hole of human potential goes, seeing both life and training as a martial art to be mastered every day, I can only find solace with other like-minded spirits who revel in the same brand of spiritual masochism. For me, it's an honor to train among them and to share my experiences with them, whether that be with our hard-core heroes here at home or when I'm invited to train allies like the Israeli special forces and the Italian secret service.

Rusty: I went through a course by Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock last year that was tailored around your Circular Strength Training principles. This might be the first routine that actually increased my flexibility and increased range of motion. Can you explain why your techniques are so much better than traditional stretching for flexibility?

Scott: In general, static flexibility training is meant to change the resting length of soft tissue. It stretches tissues long or hard enough to cause a permanent deformation, much like pulling a plastic bag until it can't spring back to its original length. You certainly could address tight muscles that way, but ultimately it's a danger to joint integrity, and it isn't helpful for muscle growth or sports performance.

By contrast, mobility exercises focus on restoring the natural range of motion of the tissues surrounding a joint complex. It's a little bit like shaking out a muscle when it's tight. Tension is a frequency, and meeting it with vibrations of the same frequency releases and restores the natural resting length of all muscles involved. It's more complex than just shaking out a muscle of course, but that can be a starting point.

[I turned 40 this year as did Scott. One of us is really flexible. Can you guess who? Hint: it isn't me by a long shot!]

Understanding why mobility exercise produces superior results over static stretching requires a quick primer from the leading edge of anatomical theory. The structure of the body resembles two bags connected to each other. The inner bag contains the hard stuff: bones and cartilage. The outer bag holds the muscle, and it's tacked down to the inner bag at the points we refer to as "insertions." If you want to restore the resting length of a muscle, you must first release the inner bag at the points where it connects two or more bones – the "joint capsules." Releasing the inner bag not only gives you the ability to load and absorb resistance in exercise, but since the body's balance, coordination, agility and reactive strength all lies there, it also improves your sports performance and the contractibility of your muscles, allowing you to grow bigger and stronger.

Both static flexibility training and regular resistance training cause the outer bag to become glued down to other bags, forming attachments or "adhesions." If you don't use mobility exercise to restore the resting length of these tissues, the tightly knotted muscles become thick and leathery, and they shorten. Short, tight muscles have less ability to contract, which means you'll plateau fast in your training, and you'll stop growing.

Mobility keeps your outer bags fluid and prevents them from being glued down. It also releases the inner bag, so you're always growing.

Rusty: My guess is a lot of the special forces guys you train, and bodyguards are probably similar to me when they start out. They are traditional gym trained guys who are in great shape, but most likely get rocked by your routine. What do you find are the biggest weak points for guys who haven't gone through your flow and Circular Strength Training based routines?

Scott: "Get rocked" is a pretty accurate description. The biggest lack I see in guys who come from the "Go Big or Go Home" mentality is that they're incapable of moving pain- and injury-free through any obstacle with ease and imagination. By contrast, my guys and gals move very much like parkour or cirque performers within just a few weeks of training. It has to do with two geek concepts that I learned from Russian bioengineers: Stored Elastic Energy (the ability to absorb and retranslate force – to change direction, twist, bend, dive, climb, and leap suddenly and from odd angles), and Sequential Summation of Forces (or "expressible power" – the difference between getting hit by a bat and getting cracked by a whip; the bat will hurt and maybe even break a bone, but the whip will sever a limb).

Think of it this way. Most traditional exercises are performed by pressing or pulling front-back, up-down or side to side. But the body isn't built to express power that way. The body expresses power through angles and diagonals.

You don't walk by stepping forward with your right leg and right arm at the same time. Try it. You look and feel like a motor moron, don't you? We walk asymmetrically: left arm forward, right leg forward, alternating with right arm forward, left leg forward. We also throw, swing, strike, etc that way. If you only train in 1 or 2 dimensions, you become less and less able to translate your power into other skills, eventually becoming encased in a coffin of your own dysfunction. And that's how most of these folks train.

But with a couple weeks of TACFIT under their belt, these "go big or go home" guys suddenly feel like martial art masters. Why? Because that's how old-school, hard-knocks martial artists have always trained – at least they did until the past couple decades, when "exercise physiology grads" decided to impose their robotic movements upon the lethal power of sophisticated movement in traditional martial arts conditioning.

Rusty: You are training guys to get in top condition to defend their life or the lives of others. What makes your principles so effective when it comes to combat, self defense, etc?

Scott: Because real fitness is self-defense. Real training is combat. There is no other determining factor. Ultimately, when we say "fitness" we mean "fit to perform in the worst crisis, for as long as possible." I realize that my definitions are controversial, but frankly, I'm not concerned with what other organizations think about us any longer. I once sought their approval and I spoke at their conventions and conferences, but now I just call it as I see it.

What are you fit FOR? You should be fit to fight, and fit to fight for as long as humanly possible. If you're not, then you're just a hobbyist.

Now, don't get me wrong, most martial artists nowadays aren't fit to fight sleep, much less an attacker. They've memorized dance moves with as much expressible power as a 5 year old mimicking The Last Airbender.

If you're actually FIT… you are tactically fit. And if you're tactically fit, you're far better off than the martial artist who has memorized thousands of techniques but couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper death trap.

Conditioning is the ultimate submission hold. Whoever can absorb and retranslate collision, change angles, reorient and ground at odd angles, wins. Not bigger, faster, stronger. We've proven that in every arena, from the micro of human combat to air battles with armed and armored jets.

You walk into a room and you see a circus of puffed Jersey boys with Mr. T starter sets bedazzling their wife-beater cleavage. And then you see that one wiry, ripped guy leaning against the exit banister, smiling quietly amongst the noise – and you instantly recognize that the "commando in the corner" is the man you want at your 6 when the shit hits the fan.

Rusty: I have a work space in a downtown area that is getting tougher by the day. If I have an extra 2-3 hours per week to learn good self-defense techniques, how is my time most well spent. Any particular classes that you would recommend? What are your thoughts on Krav Maga?

Scott: You'd be best off working a generalized mobility session first solo, and then with a partner. Helping a person through mobility drills with your hands teaches you where he can be most efficiently manipulated for takedowns, throws and submissions. The movements encoded in TACFIT Commando are defensive tactics. They're not just a random adjunct to defensive tactics but are actually the support system for them. You can't do sometimes what you don't do daily. TACFIT Commando is exactly what you need.

Krav Maga in Israel is like Sambo in Russia or Jiujitsu in Brasil or Muay Thai in Thailand: ugly, brutal and short. Unfortunately, that doesn't sell a lot of classes – and most martial arts schools are designed to put asses in the seats rather than power in your performance.

You'd do much better by training to the point that you can't see, can't talk and can barely think, and then going one repetition further with good form. That final repetition, where you'd do anything to surrender but you manage to keep form and go one more step, is more valuable than any "black belt." Take that from someone who has earned several black belts that are buried somewhere in my closet.

Rusty: I know that most of your training is geared toward strength, mobility, and function…but what about a guy who wants to look great on the beach? How does a body trained using your principles look different compared to a typical gym trained body?

Scott: Puffy jiggly bumps do not make a beach body. The girls just laugh at them anyway… or at least they do as soon as some badass steps out of the waves with his skin shrink-wrapped around the gnarled limbs of a commando physique LOL. No, I can't say that my program will give you the typical gym-trained body. And I'd sell my soul to the Devil before I'd do you the dishonor of giving you the appearance of strength alone. I give you both GO Muscle AND Show Muscle. A body that'll serve you just as well on mission as it does on shore leave.

Rusty: I am pretty darn interested in TACFIT. I didn't get back in February when you guys launched it…mainly because I was launching a muscle building course.Can you give me an outline of what this program is all about?

Scott: Sure. We put the Commando program together to maximize continued muscle growth while ensuring optimal fat loss. The program targets the energy systems of tactical response: that means high intensity, three-dimensional movements done for repeated bursts of short duration, with fast recovery. Each "mission" can be completed in less than 30 minutes, and those 30 intense minutes melt fat faster than hours of cardio-style exercise. When you're on vacation, too busy to get to the gym, or simply want to shake things up a bit while still building muscle, this is the perfect equipment-free solution.

Each individual exercise in the program has been carefully chosen to forge the highest level of specific conditioning while building and reinforcing tactically relevant skill sets. This translates to tireless stamina, extreme range reactive strength, ballistic speed, the agility and coordination of a Free Runner, and active recovery and pre-habilitation. And it's simply a hell of a lot of fun to do.

Oh, and each exercise in the 3-month plan comes with 3 different levels of movement difficulty, so it's completely accessible to beginners while still difficult enough at the higher levels to challenge even elite athletes. If you follow all 3 months of the program and then repeated them with each level of movement difficulty (building your neurological sophistication as you increase your "go muscle"), you'll have 9 full months of challenging training right there at your fingertips.

Rusty: I was looking at your Facebook page and it looks like you travel around to train Police Departments with TACFIT. Is this the same material as what is in the course?

Scott: Yes, police, military, security, fire. Everyone trains with the same program, just not at the same level. Most systems toggle variables like intensity, volume, density, frequency, speed, etc. But what sets TACFIT apart is that it manipulates complexity. When an agency comes to TACFIT, they have a diverse fitness population that needs to train together as a team. That's one reason why there are several levels to each exercise in the TACFIT program.

The way the program is trained is more important than the specific level of the technique, and the level of the technique is more important than the type of tension produced, and the type of tension produced is more important than the tools. That's why we can do a TACFIT session with absolutely no equipment: anywhere, anytime.

And many times that could be in the desert, in the jungle, on a mountain, on the tundra, on a ship, at a hotel, or wherever you happen to be.

There are no excuses. Everyone trains, no one quits. Everyone finishes with perfect form, just not at the same level of movement complexity. And that's why TACFIT commandos are always improving at such a rapid rate. They don't train poor technique just to finish.

Your nervous system is the only real weapon you'll ever have. We treat it like gold.

Rusty: I love traditional gym workouts with free weights, etc. Can I successfully alternate TACFIT for a few months along with my favorite gym routine for a few months? Is there something I should do to insure I maintain joint mobility when not doing TACFIT?

Scott: Yes. It's not the type of tool that's important, it's the formula used. If you understand the formula you can alternate in some of your other favorite workouts, if you wish. Understanding how to use "mobility" as a specific warm-up and "compensation" as a specific cool-down holds true whether you're doing a traditional gym program or TACFIT. And you'll learn how to incorporate these elements by doing the TACFIT Commando program.

Rusty: Chuck Norris in his prime vs Bruce Lee in his prime….who comes out on top?

Scott: Whoever's friend shows up first with a gun.

Rusty: I appreciate your time in answering these questions. I know you are extremely busy, but I know the readers here really appreciate hearing directly from the originator of this cutting-edge training program.

Scott: Rusty, it's my pleasure. Warriors aren't born, they're made. They're forged in small towns and in garage gyms, and they're hardly ever what people expect. They're usually the ones who simply bust ass every day while others blab about the latest reality show or game station. They're out there, and if you're any indication of what your readers are like, I suspect you've got quite a few "commandos in the corner" brother. Be safe.

[Scott recently made his advanced TACFIT body weight workout available online. Click the banner above to get the details of perhaps the most advanced body weight conditioning program ever devised.]

Note: I don't think people (including myself) did a good job explaining just how innovative this program was when it first launched back in February. I mean…How many people have Scott's credentials? Really innovative cutting-edge stuff here!

[I am going on a 2 week road trip this year and a large part of it will be exploring Highway 1 and Highway 101 on the California Coast. Some of the coolest spots are located in between major destinations, which is why road trips (just about anywhere) are a blast. This picture was taken off Highway 1 in the central California Coastline.]

Would Love to Hear Readers Tips as Well

I plan on listings some strategies I have implemented over the years to maximize summer, but would love to see reader tips as well. My hope is that this will include dozens of tips to shorten the time doing structured workouts. This will be one of those posts where the comment section will become a better resource than the actual article. I just want to get things rolling, so here goes…

Tip 1: Get Your Workout Done in the Morning

If at all possible get your workout done early in the morning before work. I am not a morning person, but it is easier to get up early when you are waking up to a sunny day. I realize that some lucky people live in areas where it is sunny 365 days out of the year, but most of us live in climates where it is cold during winter and warmer in the summer time. Anyway, get the workout done so you don't miss out on BBQ's, picnics, boating, afternoon boating, etc. For some reason, people seem to organize a lot of last-minute activities during summer afternoons…If you are in the gym, you will be unable to join your friends.

Tip 2: Use Non-Competing Supersets In Your Workout

Craig Ballantyne is the master of this technique. This article <--- on his blog gives a full explanation along with what a workout would look like (opens in a new window). Basically a non-competing superset is alternating 2 exercises without rest in between, but these 2 exercises are working different muscle groups. This is why this is called a "Non-Competing" superset. An example would be alternating dips with barbell curls -or- military presses with calf raises. This is a way to do the same amount of work in roughly 1/2 of the time. I don't think you want to train like this year round, but it is a perfect technique for summer. You can get the lifting portion of your workout done in 15-20 minutes if you structure this properly.

Tip 3: Skip Gym Cardio if You Are Going to Be Active Later

I would never recommend that anyone perform 2 gym workouts per day. That being said, it is actually an extremely effective way to burn body fat. In fact, a lot of actors and actresses in Hollywood do this when they need to drop weight quickly. So why don't I recommend it? Training twice per day sounds to me like a life obsessed with training. The way to get the benefits of a daily split workout (without becoming a gym rat) is to do a brief intense gym workout in the morning and then simply do a fun outdoor activity in the afternoon.

[I like to use Matthew McConaughey's workout approach when summer hits. Here is his quote about exercising..."I think the body is a beautiful thing, and you should take care of it. Whether it’s going for a run, dancing or loving, my rule is break one sweat a day."]

Tip 4: "Break One Sweat a Day"

Matthew McConaughey's rule is a great one to follow for summer. Just really try and do some type of activity that works up a good sweat, each and every day during summer. Whether that is playing tennis, jogging, ultimate frisbee, HIIT, basketball, etc…you are on the right track. Try your best to get in some brief resistance training 3-4 times per week (in the morning) and you will be good. If you can do something that makes you break one sweat a day you will be able to maintain low body fat without having to worry as much about structured HIIT. Just throw in the occasional HIIT after lifting on days where you have more time.

Tip 5: Track Weekly Calories NOT Daily Calories

I've talked about this in my newsletter (to people who have downloaded my free report). The idea is to not worry about how many calories you eat day to day, just try to insure that your total weekly calories aren't way too high. So for instance if you eat 3,000-4,000 calories per day on a weekend camping, simply eat quite a bit less the following 2-3 days. When I say "track" calories, I don't mean calorie count either (I never do that). Just eat quite a bit less early in the week and on days where there aren't social events happening. It doesn't hurt to have 2-3 low calorie days right after a couple of high calorie days (in fact it works pretty well in helping you stay lean).

Enjoy Life – Please Don't Live in the Gym

I like working out, but if I could go back in time I would have trained a little less in my 20's during the summer. I wasn't a gym rat or anything, but I think my workouts were close to 90 minutes 4-5 times per week. I think I was worried that I would lose strength or muscle if I didn't do a certain amount of training. Don't make this mistake. If it is sunny and you have the day off, you shouldn't even be allowed to be inside of a gym past 10:00AM. Put on some shorts, flip flops, grab your beach towel, call up some friends and live a little!

Note: Do you guys spend less time in the gym during summer. Please comment and give out any other strategies or suggestions below. I can't wait for summer. Also…I know this site has a lot of loyal readers in OZ and this post won't apply to them for another 6 months. Maybe I will put out another summer post for you guys in December

[A big focus of this program is adding muscle quickly, but not too much muscle. If you gain too much muscle it is hard to fit well into stylish clothes. Looking stylin' is just as important as adding muscle. Who wants to live in sweat pants or workout gear?]

A Three Phase 6 Month Muscle Building Course

This course is mainly targeted towards guys. Women can get value too, but would most likely want to adjust the phases to insure that they don't gain too much muscle. They would want to focus a bit more on phase II and phase III and probably limit phase I (this will make sense in a second). Here is a breakdown of the three phases:

Phase I: Quick muscle gains, by focusing in the higher rep range and limiting rest periods in between sets. This creates "cumulative fatigue"…where each set builds upon the previous set. The growth in this phase is largely due to sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. This is an increase in the fluid (sarcoplasm) within the muscle cells.

Phase II: "Hardening up" the muscle gained from phase I while continuing to increase muscle mass (but now at a slower rate). We are focusing now in the mid rep range with longer rest periods. Each set is separate from the previous set and now we are maximizing tension and avoiding "cumulative fatigue". This rep range and rest schedule builds actual muscle fiber (myofibrillar hypertrophy).

Phase III: Pure density training for maximum definition while purposely avoiding further muscle growth. You will be doing sets in the 2-4 rep range and rest long enough in between sets to lift heavy weights. There will also be a focus on HIIT to lose any excess body fat. This isn't a bulk and cut program, but you will simply try to get really lean in this phase.

Bonus Phase: This is a strategy used after a period of time in phase III to get what I like to call the "Shrink Wrap Effect". You begin this phase 3 weeks before an event or vacation. This will make the skin tight around the muscles for maximum definition…and this is long lasting (NOT like carb-depleting and carb-loading).

[Click Here ---> Visual Impact Muscle Building and head down the page to video #3. This will show you a video I made explaining the "Shrink Wrap Effect" in more detail.]

I Tried to Give Away Great Content on the Sales Page

I guess I hate to be seen as a salesperson. I wanted people to come away knowing at least a little more about getting the lean "Hollywood Look" from visiting my sales page whether they decided to purchase the product or not. If people decide to get the full-blown course, then great…but if they didn't decide to buy I wanted them to be a little more knowledgeable than before they hit the page. I also tried to keep the page pretty simple and clean like the blog, so this content would be easy to find.

I Don't Want to Be Overly Promotional on My Blog…

…So I will wrap this up.

Head on over and watch the 4 videos, because it is valuable content similar to a good blog post: Visual Impact Muscle Building. If you decide to buy then "thanks" and if you just decide to watch the videos, that is cool as well. I am pumped at the response from the Beta testers and believe you will get a lot out of this course if you do decide to invest in it.

What is Included? The main "Visual Impact Muscle Building" ebook is 75 pages including a Q & A section from the Beta testers. The "Exercise Demonstrations" ebook is 227 pages with photos. It is extremely well organized with click navigation (pretty darn cool). The "Printable Workout Charts" ebook is a printer friendly version of each phase of the workout. It is basic on purpose and designed to save ink and paper.

How Much Does This Cost? I priced this at $47. I wanted to keep this around the cost of just one session with a personal trainer. The product is being sold and delivered through Clickbank, so that means that you can pay with any major credit card or Paypal. It also comes with Clickbank's 60 day guarantee.

Note: I apologize about the lack of posts on this blog lately. I try to get a minimum of 1 post per week…I plan on doing so beginning next week. Thanks for being a reader of this blog…I appreciate it!

Height and Plays a Large Role in Lean Mass

Your lean mass is basically everything on your body that isn't body fat. This is different than muscle mass. Your lean mass includes, bones, organs, water, muscles. A taller person will naturally have bigger organs, bigger bones, more water, than a shorter person. So they (will typically) have a higher lean body mass than a shorter person even without much muscular development. Tall people have a huge advantage in lean mass…which means they will typically burn more calories than their shorter friends. But what if someone is shorter but more muscular?

Your Organs Burn More Calories Than Your Muscles

I'm 6'3" and 190…I have a good friend who is 5'10 and 190. We are roughly the same body fat percentage. He has more muscle, so you would think that he would have a higher RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). That assumption would be wrong. I will burn substantially more calories than him. Roughly 60% of RMR is from organs and 40% from muscle. Since I am tall, he will have to reach a higher lean body mass than me to reach the same RMR.

The Biggest Mistake I See Muscular People Make

I was going to do this post just on this idea alone. It is probably the biggest "takeaway". Guys in particular who get big believe they need many more calories due to their increase in muscle mass. Adding muscle contributes very little to calories burned (even less than I used to believe). Think along the lines of 6 calories per pound of muscle each day. So adding 20-30 pounds of lean muscle is just an extra 120-180 calories burned per day.

30 Pounds of Muscle Fails Against One Pack of Skittles

Adding Muscle Makes a Bigger Impact on a Shorter Person

As a somewhat tall guy, I can add 5 pounds of muscle and it won't be as noticeable as someone 6 inches shorter doing the same thing. The advantage of being shorter is that you don't have to spend as much time adding muscle to achieve a certain look compared to someone who is taller. Another advantage is the increased leverage a shorter person has when it comes to lifting. I used to work out with a guy who was 8 inches shorter than me back in high school. It was frustrating how much stronger he was in many of the lifts…especially the bench press. It took me a couple of years to just bench 225 pounds and I think he was doing it within a few weeks of training. Stupid long arms!

Eating With a Taller Person or Lifting With A Shorter Person

As a relatively tall person I have much more wiggle room when it comes to diet than most people. More often than not, I simply have a higher RMR than a person who is shorter than me. I still can't pig out and expect to be lean, but I will have a slightly easier time than a shorter person (everything else being equal). When it comes to the gym it is a different deal. Guys who are in the 5'6" – 5'10" range with the same amount of lifting experience often are stronger than me in certain lifts (mainly pressing movements like bench or military press). This isn't always the case, but just a trend I notice.

These Are Just a Few of the Differences…

I kind of just want to get this conversation started and get the comments rolling along. Height is one of those things I don't read much about when it comes to getting in shape, dieting, etc. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject and other points I missed. Let's get this party started!

Note: Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I just got back from a vacation and I tried my best to stay away from the Internet while I was away.

Gaining Muscle While Losing Body Fat. I Used to Be a Skeptic.

In the past I was brainwashed to believe that muscle gains required an excess of calories. Over the past 2-3 years I have changed my thinking completely. At most, I would recommend a really slight calorie excess for a short period of maybe 2 months. This goes against long-held beliefs as far as gaining muscle is concerned. Luckily, I have been exposed to some brilliant minds who are on the cutting edge in thinking when it comes to muscle gain, fat loss, etc. Let's examine some posts and thoughts by some of these guys.

* Martin Berkhan – of "Lean Gains"

Martin Berkhan is a freak show when it comes to staying lean…but I mean that in a good way. Like me and quite a few others, he likes to use intermittent fasting as a way of staying lean year round. Martin believes that there should be minimal fat gain when adding muscle. The title of his blog, Lean Gains, says it all…maximizing muscle gain while minimizing fat gain. Here are some quotes from his site:

…cycling between overfeeding (training days) and slight underfeeding (rest days) is another excellent strategy to remain lean regardless of your goal. The benefits are not only physiological, but also behavioral.

My comments: I have done this in the past with success. I have noticed these days that I just need to do a maintenance calorie day mix with an underfeeding day 1-2 times per week (basically what Eat Stop Eat teaches). I could certainly see the benefit of adding in some slight overfeeding especially if someone was far from their genetic potential in adding muscle.

…I've never been a fan of the bulk and cut approach. An approach often taken to the extreme by some of my peers, with the net result being that they only look decent during the summer months.

My comments: This is something that I have addressed a lot on this site. Why look good for just 2-3 months a year? Plus it is just healthier to avoid having a lot of extra fat on your body in the first place. One more thing I would add is this: People who use the "bulk and cut" approach more often than not underestimate how much fat they have to lose. This usually means they don't get lean until summer is almost over. There are others, who always seem to be stuck in "bulking mode" and never get lean.

A Video Intermission…

[My girlfriend just showed me a great clip from Pearl Jam's 2000 tour. I won't spoil it for you. It is one of the coolest and inspirational things I have seen done at a concert. I just had to share it.]

* Brad Pilon & John Barban – "Eat Stop Eat" & "Adonis Effect"

Over the past couple of years I have had both of these guys do guest posts…I did a collaborative ebook on supplements with them…they have made a few videos for this blog, etc. These two are WAY ahead of the curve when it comes to health and fitness. Many of their ideas are probably too far "out there" for people to take in right away. Here is a link to a video that John Barban made for this blog: Nutrition Plays A Small Role in Building Muscle Mass – Controversial Video. I agree with him that muscle gain is largely an issue of training and not so much about diet (at least not as big of a part of diet as many would have you believe).

Here's that video John Barban made for this site…

[There is a lot of wisdom in this video. If you have never watched it, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes and listen to what he is saying. Good info!]

So…I won't quote Brad or John in this post, but I wanted to link to a video they made to prove a point. Brad Pilon wanted to prove a point about how supplement companies and fitness magazines can mislead us. He shows how you can gain 8 pounds of lean mass in one workout. I enjoyed the video and the webinar was outstanding. Anyway…both Brad on John are big on the idea of gaining muscle while losing body fat.

* Tom Venuto – of "Burn the Fat Blog"

Tom Venuto isn't someone I quote often, but he writes well thought-out posts over on his blog. He also has one of the best selling fitness ebooks of all-time (I think it was one of the first ebooks I ever purchased). Anyway…his latest post is aimed directly at the question of…how to gain muscle and burn fat at the same time. I suggest that you take the time to read the post in detail, but here are the parts that really jumped out at me.

…what if most days of the week you were in a deficit for the entire day, and on some days you were in a surplus? If so, then isn’t it possible that over the course of the week, you’d have a small net gain of muscle and loss of body fat a a result of the caloric fluctuation?

My comments: Tom has a slightly different viewpoint on muscle gain than John Barban, but suggests days of calorie deficit mixed with days of surplus. Eat Stop Eat preaches a related concept and this is close to what Martin Berkhan does as well. Tom also suggests timing your meals around your workouts in this quote…

…it’s entirely possible that you might pass through periods of “within-day” surplus where you were in a highly anabolic state (for example, you eat the biggest, highest carb meal of the day after your workout), and you were in a deficit the rest of the day.

Isn’t it possible that you could gain a small amount of muscle during those anabolic hours, while losing fat the rest of the day? Granted it might only be grams or ounces – but what if you kept that up for a week? A month? Three months?

My comments: This is a strategy that I have seen people use with success. Tom also points out the 4 "X Factors" that make it possible for some people to gain muscle and fat at the same time without having rely on this nutrition strategy. His article explains the factors that need to be in place for this to happen.

So No Need to Add Fat When Gaining Muscle

All 3 of these guys have slightly different beliefs and approaches, but the main thing is that they help people gain muscle without gaining body fat. In my opinion in makes sense to learn from those who will teach you to get the results you want. I am constantly in learning mode and enjoy reading from sharp minds who are pushing the envelope.

Note: So what has your experience been with gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously? Have you ever tried the "bulk up and cut down approach"? Would love to hear about some of your experiences in the comment section!