hey man, my dad's an ex army Delta guy who know some SEAL friends and they say that to go threw the Hellweek ( 5 nights non stop continuous training) its almost 90% mental work and 10% body work so SEALs require more of mental then phsyical toughness.

I wonder if you could tell me what the name of the guy was.

If you did circuits followed by HIIT, fat will not have a chance. Seriously, you will burn off every little bit of fat. The steady state cardio on the other days will make this workout even more intense. Do this workout, but skip that Saturday session every now and then. Maybe you would do just every other Saturday. It just seems like a lot of exercise!

Rusty

If u were to recommend a schedule for someone just trying to lose a few pounds but really lower body fat, u think circuit training 30 mins, HIIT 30 mins and steady state 10 mins, m, w, f alternated with steady state cardio 1.5 hours t, th, sat will b ok?

i'd like to b in the best shape of my life (after having 2 kids) by this summer…hence the desperation in my questions…haha! thanks!
eleni

Thanks a bunch for the referrals! I respect the heck out of men and women in the military…especially their fitness levels. I really like the emphasis that the military puts on functional strength and cardio. To me, fit soldiers have much better looking physiques than most of the men and women in fitness magazines. Sure…the people in the magazines get ripped for a magazine shoot and they get tan with the ideal lighting , etc…I just think military personnel look better day-to-day.

Mike,

Taurine is a great way to insure high Nitric Oxide production. This is a way to deliver more blood to the muscles and increases "the pump" during a bodybuilding workout. It is a great supplement for bodybuilders, but isn't as beneficial to others just trying to get slim and lean. I would recommend that you save your money.

Rusty

As far as my workout routine goes, I have a LONG way to go, and being in the military it also allows me to take out of work a little early each day to go to the gym, and sometimes I come in a little late, but not too bad.

Matt, I must say I also had the biggest crush on Dominique. She was so good looking.

Mike,

Don't eat anything before or during your workout to preserve mass. When you lift on an an empty stomach your body will respond by a larger output of HGH…this will not only help you maintain muscle, it will help you burn fat. What you may want to do is drink a protein shake right after your workout…fast the rest of the day and eat a meal at night after your cardio. This will work very well for you. That tip of lifting a few focused lifts after HIIT, has been working like a charm for me as well. Good stuff!

Melissa,

Thanks for the compliments…I love doing this. As far as drinking and eating junk food and falling off the bandwagon…I guess I view it as a natural way to make sure your metabolism doesn't slow down to a crawl. Reaching your fat loss goals is about taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps back at times. Over the long term you will reach where you need to be…it rarely is the case that you will continue to lose without gaining a bit back from time to time. To stay motivated, try this. Put on your swimsuit sometime when you are at home and wear it for 3-4 hours while you are on the internet or watching TV. You will quickly get disciplined if you still have a ways to go,

Matt,

Yeah…I can't wait! They have a few new track stars that are out of this world fast.

AFDerrick,

Yeah…eat the sandwich as your first meal and the shake a little later. This will make your evening workout much more effective. Great idea for sure. You will transform your body quickly with the workout you described. I'm feel a little bit like a slacker when I read your routine. Great job buddy!

hawk-eye,

I love any type of explosive plyometric jumping type movements for the legs. They don't build mass at all. In fact, I'm not even against jumping squats or power clean or anything of that nature. Explosive ballistic movements harden up and tone the body like crazy. When I was a high jumper back in school, my legs were ripped and not big at all. Same with other high fliers like NBA players. Their legs are defined as hell without being bulky.

That is amazing that you stay at 3% body fat year round! Very cool…stay lean and don't fall into the trap of trying to get big. I see young guys who ruin their physiques trying to get big like the older pudgy personal trainers in the gym. It should be a crime! Also…thanks for the compliment. The first three months of this site was slow going as far as visitors and comments, but now it is insane. I decided to be myself and add a "bit of color" to a topic that many people write about. so many sites bore the hell out of me…that is the last thing I want to do. I'd rather piss someone off then have them get bored. Keep reading…I really appreciate it!

Great comments everyone!

Rusty

a question, sir…what is your opinion regarding explosive movements like burpees, frog jumps, and other plyometric movements which involve lots of squatting and jumping…i play a lot of basketball and some of this stuff has really made me much more explosive, it's just that in a lot of your posts you seem diametrically opposed to the squat motion, though you're sentiments pertain to heavy weight bearing squats which certainly do add an ugly bulk to the legs and overall physique (in my opinion) i'm super lean (around 3% bf year round) and my legs are pretty long at 6'2, so i haven't noticed any unwanted size in my leg, hip or butt regions, just wanted your opinion on the matter.

also, congradulations on the popularity the site has amassed! i've been a reader for about five months, and have really enjoyed your unique insight as well as the frequent intervals of humor in all of your posts.

hawk-eye

Great post as always! I'm so pumped to see the summer olympics now. I never really thought about how all those athletes already have that "hollywood-body-look" from all that training. Last time I seriously watched the summer olympics I was 12 watching the '96 womens gymnastic team. I had the biggest crush on Dominique Moceanu!

peace,
matt

Thanks for any advice, and looove what you have going on here!

am i overexercising? i want to lose fat and just a few pounds. if i m overexercising, how do those athletes not overexercising when they surely have to train so much? i actually like to do cardio but i don't want to burn protein. i've been researching catabolic state and from what i read your body burns glycogen the first 20 minutes then goes to protein the next easiest source of energy.

final question: would it b better for me to split up my cardio into 3 half hour sessions on my days off from circuits/HIIT.

thank you so much! love the website. i recommend it to anyone who is serious about fitness!!

Eleni

I have spoken with a few guys who tried out for Navy Seals. Definitely concentrate hard on bodyweight exercises! Also…the cardio they do is brutal. You should basically be able to run for many miles without dying. Obviously you have to be proficient in swimming. You basically have to reach peak perfection to do what it takes to make it in the Navy SEALs.

If I was going to make it into the Seals I would probably just focus on compounds and bodyweight exercises. Deadlifts are going to translate much better to "real world" movements than squats do.

Pavel Tsatsouline, former Soviet Special Operations instructor, is a huge believer in deadlifts. He believes in doing just two work sets of 5 reps, but doing them many times per week. The low volume builds strength without too much size. Make sure you do them without lifting straps (especially since you will need gripping strength for pullups and climbing rope, etc.).

If it was me, I would go super basic:

Monday: Deads, Chinups, Power Cleans from Dead Hang (not from floor), Standing Barbell Curls…Run outside or on the treadmill for 30-40 minutes

Tuesday: Standing Barbell Military Presses, Dips, Bench Press, Pushups…swim

Wednesday: Circuit training or Interval Training…run stairs or do a bunch of compounds movements with as little rest as possible in between. Go to a track and sprint for 100 meters, walk the next 100 meters, sprint the next 100 meters, etc. Just do something that is going to kick your butt and make you short of breath. Aim for the HGH flush…learn how to overcome pain and push yourself. You know this is going to happen during Navy Seals Training! Also do a bunch of situp variations. I'm not a big fan of situps, but I know the military tests for sit-up ability.

Thursday: Same as Monday
Friday: Same as Tuesday

The weekend…pick either Saturday of Sunday and run 5-8 miles on pavement. You have to get used to this, because this is where a lot of people have a tough time in training.

Eating…this is so individual. You are really worried about pure function and not how your physique looks. You need to get good at lifting your own body weight, so as long as you can do that don't worry too much about body fat percentage. Eat moderate carbs, because your main focus is on performance. I would still recommend going into your lifting routine in a fasted state, because this will raise your HGH levels…which in turn will burn off excess body fat.

So my answer is, as long as your strength to bodyweight ratio is improving week to week…you are eating the right amount. Eat too much and your weight will go up faster than your strength…eat too little and you won't have enough energy to workout hard enough to gain strength.

Get strong at the basics, become a pullup and pushup master, and have the ability to run and swim long distances…and you will have a very solid chance of becoming a Navy Seal. I would avoid any type of machine lifts for a while. Also…you obviously need to mix this up over time.

Rusty

The question I have right now tho is how should I be eating for strength. Right now getting stronger is more important to me than being at a really low bf%. For the past several months I have been working to reach a low bf% and I am around 10% right now. I still have a lil bit of fat covering by bottom abs but I'm not too worried about it. I plan on joining the Navy SEALs in two years, after I finish college, so I am trying to get as strong as possible before then, I have been doing extra pullups and push ups. What is a good calorie range for strength training and what other kinds of workouts would you recommend? Should I concentrate on doing a lot of compound movements like squats, deadlifts, power cleans, and shoulder press, or what?

Avoid Fat Loss Plateaus by Taking Strategic Breaks from Dieting

I would probably wait until you have been at your target weight for a week or two before going into maintenance mode.

AFDerrick,

You have a good point, but the body is a little more complicated than that. It is actually possible to lose body fat and gain mass at the same time. If you really work the muscles hard and damage the muscles, get a pump, etc…the meals you do eat can go toward building mass. Even if you don't gain much mass from this rep range, it does created a slightly "puffy" muscle look vs the hard dense muscles of the lower rep ranges. All that being said…staying in a good calorie deficit is the way to go if you want to get lean.

Hulbs,

The US has attractive female swimmers, but Brazil and a few other countries have amazing looking beach volleyball players. That 4 x 100 was incredible! I still think Thorpe did an amazing job, because the lead that was built up in the beginning of the race was lost by the time he hit the water.

Have a great one!

Rusty

That brought back some great memories of 2000! I had goosebumps and a lump in my throat watching that again despite having watched it so many times before. Great sound track to have it palyed against.
Awesome race that one with so many lead changes, Klim was always a real team man and most of his best swims were in relays and Thorpy what can i say . . . . .

btw i thought Amanda Beard was the hottest female swimmer i'd ever seen the first time i saw her! nice photo. nothing against our girls but IMO the us swim team seems to usually have the hottest female swimmers!

hulbs