Hey Guys, I know it’s been ages since have posted a workout…or ANYTHING FITNESS RELATED…if we’re going to be honest with ourselves :/ :/ :/
I guess we have sort of taken a Sabbatical from our personal training careers…
We have been working out and staying fit, but because our workouts are very basic and “maintenance” oriented, I guess we felt they were a bit boring to share.
Sorry, if some of you missed our posts/emails about fitness and healthy recipes.
We’re honestly going to start sharing some stuff about fitness more often. We promise! ***with our fingers crossed behind our backs*** 😛
So for the first workout post, we have Ruby to thank. She liked our 1000 Rep Workout Challenge (back in our Maxfit days) and wanted to do it again, but she couldn’t remember the whole workout, so she contacted us…
So Ruby, here it is, just for you…and of course for anyone else who wants a good challenging and sweat inducing workout!
Please note that it’s a bit revised (from the one we did at Maxfit) as we know not everyone has tires, battle ropes or sledge hammers available 😛
Happy Workout and May the Muscle Aches Be Kind to you the Day After 😛
Today I will show you 5 steps you SHOULD do if you want flat abs.
Step One: Stop eating junk. (You can enjoy your favorite foods SOMETIMES ?)
The best way to do this is by purging your kitchen. Throw out the sugary, processed and fat-filled foods. Once the junk has been cleared out, don’t buy any more of it. Remember that your beach-ready abs depend on what you eat – don’t eat junk! Instead eat more organic unprocessed food.
Dinner: Paleo meal. (Usually I order a big Paleo meal from www.paleorobbie.com and eat only half of it for lunch and the other half for dinner)
I know, I know, that’s like eating 5x a day? Isn’t that too much???
No, you see eating small meals every 3-4 hours will actually increase your metabolism and make your body burn fat all day!
And like I said in my previous post DON’T STAY AWAY FROM CARBS ALL THE TIME because your body needs healthy carbs for energy.
Of course you should minimize unhealthy carbs such as pastries, burgers and alcohol…but if you only “cheat” once in awhile (no more than 3x a week) you can still enjoy yourself and stay on track.
Step 2: Lift weights
Using compound movements with barbells, dumbbells or just your body weight will burn way more calories then all those fancy machines in the gym.
Basic power lifting are the most effective exercises because they using multiple muscles to complete them.
But if you don’t have any equipment available or if you are traveling like my wife and I will be SOON…here’s a body weight variation anybody can do–anywhere at anytime ?
Step 3: Cardio
I’m not talking about walking or running on the treadmill or spending hours on the elliptical (cross trainer)…
I’m talking about HIIT (high intensity interval training)
High Intensity Interval Training involves alternating between very intense bouts of exercise and low intensity exercise. For example, sprinting for 30 seconds, then walking for 60 seconds is high intensity interval training.
HIIT can be used both anaerobically (in the gym with weights) and aerobically with cardio.
My favorite HIIT exercises involve pushing or pulling loads (something that has weight or something that you can put weight in!!)
Like a tire pull ↓
Or a motorbike push ↓
Or pushing your car or golf cart ↓ ***make sure someone is steering safely 😛
You might have seen this type of training in the strong man competitions, except those guys go to the extreme and push or drag trucks and trains :O
It takes some balls to train like this, but the results are worth your time…Just 10mins of pulling a tire with a bit of weight in it (10-20kgs) will give you all the fat-burning cardio you need and you will burn 5x more calories that boring yourself to death on the treadmill for an hour…
Pushing or pulling something will increase the resistance a lot and will tire you out quickly. You’ll attack your legs but also your core and upper body muscles. Having to exert strength and power to move that weight across the distance will also jack up your heart rate which is important for cardiovascular health.
You’ll also be moving your body, instead of sitting stationary at some machine. You will activate so many more muscles in your body that even after 38 hours you will still be burning due to this style of HIIT training. We call this the afterburner–and believe you me–YOU WANT AS MUCH AFTERBURN AS POSSIBLE AS THAT’S WHEN YOUR BELLY FLAB START GETTING TORCHED!!
Another benefit to pushing and pulling some weights like a tire or motorbike is that it’s low impact cardio. This means your joints won’t get beat up as much as sprinting, jumping or bouncing around like most cardio exercises make you do.
Disclaimer: But that doesn’t mean push and pull work is any easier than lifting—anyone who has ever done it knows that it can be devastating. Don’t blame me if you puke ?the first time you try it…AND IF YOU HAVE ANY HEART PROBLEMS DO NOT DO THIS. We can give you an alternative which will also have similar benefits…just contact me now.
Step 4: Set some goals and measure them
One of the most important benefits in setting fitness goals is identifying the barriers and facilitators to reaching those goals. … When setting a 12 week goal, also set shorter term goals such as 1 – 2 week goals. To be helpful these goals should be measurable, and realistic.
We use different measurements in our program to keep you accountable and focused. And we try to keep is SIMPLE!
For instance, the weekend is a few days away and you have guests coming to visit. You jot down a quick list of things to do before your guests arrive. These are your goals.
The list serves as a reminder of what your goals are and helps you organize your thoughts and you strategize about how to get them done. Next, you begin to perform tasks on the list and you systematically cross off the items that you have accomplished on the list, feeling a sense of achievement.
Apply the simple method above to your fitness goals!!!
Step 5: Get a coach….
If you’re a beginner and you don’t know where to start, you might get some advice from friends and the ending up doing something completely wrong or dangerous.
Some people are worried about their injuries and don’t want to make it worse.
And a lot of people are frustrated because they have reached a lot of their fitness goals already but are now on a plateau and don’t know how to push themselves to the next level.
Or perhaps the 5 Steps I just outline here are still too vague and you want it all laid out for you.
This is why we are here for you…let us be your coach and we’ll help you to flatten your belly the fastest and safest way possible…
If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀
Most people want to slim down before baring it all, so I’m here to warn you of the 5 Flat Abs Myths that DON’T WORK!!
Myth #1: Do extra crunches to flatten your abs.
Excessive crunches aren’t the answer for tight abs. In order to achieve a toned look you’ll have to focus on burning off the layer of fat that is covering up your tummy.
Tip: Don’t obsess about crunches – instead focus on fat burning and full body “ab” exercises like planks, mountain climbers and burpees
Myth #2: Take diet pills to speed results.
I know it’s so tempting! The ads make compelling claims about the power of popping a pill, but don’t fall for it. There is no ‘magic pill’. Diet pills are more likely to burn through your pocketbook than to slim you down.
Tip: Don’t pop a pill – instead burn calories with intense exercise and A CUPPA BLACK COFFEE 😉
Myth #3: Turn to packaged diet products to boost results.
Don’t fall for the foods that are packaged as ‘diet’ or ‘weight loss’ aids. Quite often these products are packed with refined sugar and other artificial ingredients that your body doesn’t need, and certainly won’t help you attain that tight tummy.
Myth #4: Avoid all carbohydrates in order to achieve tight abs.
Carbohydrates have been given a bad rap, which is unfortunate because you can (and should) eat carbs while slimming down. The key is to stick with whole grains, oatmeal and brown rice while avoiding processed and refined flours and sugars.
Tip: Don’t give up all carbohydrates – instead stick with wholesome carbs like sweet potato, rolled oats, lentils, quinoa, corn on the cob etc.
Myth #5: Starve the chub away.
Trying to lose weight by starving yourself is not only ineffective it can also be dangerous. It may seem that severe calorie restriction would deliver the quickest weight loss, but your body is complex and by doing so you’ll disrupt your metabolism and slow your results.
Tip: Don’t starve yourself – instead eat small wholesome meals throughout the day. You can download 42 awesome FREE HEALTHY RECIPES HERE
Now that you know what not to do in order to achieve tight abs, next Monday I will show you 5 Thing you SHOULD DO to get Flat Abs.
If you’d like me to design a training + nutrition plan for your body, and the equipment you have available, check out our Online Personal Training option–we give a 30 Day Free Trial + 60 days money back guarantee… 😀 😀 😀
How many times have you attempted to reshape your body by dieting (or eating “healthy”) alone? Or by doing hours of cardio, walking in the park, running on a treadmill? But after all the sweat and tears, you see no results. It’s frustrating and bit depressing, no?
Why?
Because exercise is an equally important factor when it comes to fat loss. While clean eating helps by restricting fattening calories, exercise revs up your metabolism for an all-day calorie burn.
Sad but true fact: Dieting alone won’t cut it.
The best and healthy way to get the best results is a combo of weight training, cardio and nutrition (or what most folks call dieting)
I am speaking from my own frustrating experience.
I was a fat teenager. I loved to eat so I didn’t want to “diet” or eat healthy. But I was desperate to stop being “fat” so …
⇒ ⇒ ⇒ I ran on the treadmill for hours.
⇒ ⇒ ⇒ I jumped around and did all the aerobic exercises on TV to try to sweat and “burn” all my fat off.
I succeeded somewhat, because after a few months of hard BORING gym workouts I lost 5 kilos…whoohooo!
But I still felt terrible and I didn’t really look all that different. I still was fat and flabby because I didn’t just burn of my fat…I also burnt some of my precious muscle mass.
Fortunately, I met this fitness pro who helped me on the right path of truly transforming my body. He told me to do LESS CARDIO and focus on weight training. He made me do basic movements like: squats, deadlifts, bench press and pull exercises.
I don’t know about you, but weight training was soooo much less boring than endless hours of cardio…
He also told me to eat every 3-4 hours small meals high in protein and low in carbs and fill up on veggies.
I still did some cardio but instead of running around like a chicken for 1 hour, I did intervals in the pool– I swam fast for 1 lap, and then slowed down for 1 lap.
These 2 simple changes transformed my body from a fat and chubby 120kg insecure 20yr old into to 95kg and 4% body fat amateur bodybuilder…
Now that might not be your goal– but I completed my transformation 15 years ago and now I have 15 years of helping hundreds of folks with their own transformations and lifestyle changes since then.
You can download my free “Fat 2 Fit” e-book for more details about HOW I did it and how you can be on your way to get the fastest fitness results ever!
This is a bit of an embarrassing confession, because I’m a personal trainer and most folk’s ideas of personal trainers are that they are perfectly fit and healthy.
But I’ve decided having back pain has made me an even better trainer because I’ve had to study and learn even more about the human body than what my personal training course taught me.
Because of my injury and limitations, I’ve learned how to challenge my clients and give them a good workout without causing more (back) injury and I’ve discovered my simple 3 Step Routine to “fixing” back pain.
But first let me tell you my story of how I got my back pain…
It all started about 12 years ago, I had just started to get serious with my bodybuilding and felt huge and strong. I want to show off to my dad and got the brilliant idea to snatch him above my head.
Ok, I’m not a small guy (around 6ft and 100kg) but my dad is a bit bigger than me–he weighed at least 110-120kg of Heineken 😛 and I was lucky that I did manage to get him hoisted above my head…
But while I was holding my dad above my head I heard a loud “crrrraaack” and I felt a sharp pain in my back. I quickly put my dad down and laughed off the incident. I was showing off so the last thing I wanted was for folks to know I had hurt my back with that stunt.
I was young (I was only 22yrs old at that time) and strong, buff like a bull, so the back pain didn’t bother me so much then. I felt a dull pain in my back for a couple of weeks but because I could train and lift my weights I kept on going.
I was passionate about fitness and building muscle so a little niggling back pain was not going to stop me..,LOL!
It was around this time that I decided to become a full time personal trainer. I overhauled my life and quit my secure and fairly well-paid job as a master electrician in my home town of Den Haag and moved to Thailand.
In Bangkok, Thailand I opened two successful personal training fitness studios (Maxfit Performance and Maxfit Bangkok) and continued my love affair with heavy weight lifting.
All was going well, but one day while dead lifting my regular weight of 180kgs I felt and heard the “craaaack” again. This time the pain was unbearable, and my lower back muscles just completely seized up on me. I couldn’t walk, I was literally rolling on the gym floor writhing in pain.
This was a massively embarrassing experience for me, as I was working out by myself, so some other dudes in the gym (complete strangers to me) had to roll me into a cab so I could get to a hospital.
It was really bad this time and I ended up not being able to walk for 2 weeks and had to go for an MRI to see what really was wrong with my back. The MRI confirmed that my L4 and L5 were degenerative and quite damaged from a serious injury from awhile ago.
It took me a second to remember when I got injured, because I had not taken the pain I had experienced when I was 22 seriously. I was a bit shocked, I guess I had thought I was healthy, strong, packed with muscle and indestructible.
I’ve come to realize, and admit to myself, that if I had taken care of myself back then, and hadn’t chosen to ignore the pain I felt, I might not have the serious back condition I have now.
Tweaking my back and not being able to walk has happened a few times now and the last time the doctors recommended that I have surgery. But after some research and asking folks who have had surgery to fix the condition I have, I decided to see if I could “fix” my back without surgery.
Ok, I can’t technically “fix” my degenerated discs as the damage has been done. But because I’m a personal trainer and constantly helping other folks get their strength and mobility back after injuries I figured I should try to “fix” my back through modified exercises and mobility work first—before committing to surgery.
I also took this as a great opportunity to learn more how to train other folks with back pain or back injuries like myself.
I devoured books like:
The 7‑Day Back Pain Cure: How Thousands of People Got Relief Without Doctors, Drugs By Jesse Cannone
I also learned a lot from Donnie Thompson he’s a great power lifter and Physical Therapist with a lot of knowledge about back injury. You can watch me practice some of his tips of how to relieve back pain using a resistance band in Step 2 below.
It took a bit of time for me to decide what really worked for me. But I believe I have narrowed down my “fix back pain” routine to 3 steps which I will share with you soon…I promise!
So, if you don’t have time to read all the books I posted above. And if you’re not sure how to implement all the exercises/stretches your physiotherapist says you should do, you can try to follow the 3 steps that worked for me.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, physiotherapist or physical therapist. But I am an experienced personal trainer that experiences back pain and I’d like to share with you what worked for me. If you have tried the conventional methods to alleviate your back pain and they haven’t worked for you, you can try my routine. Just do it slowly and listen to your body. If any of the movements I share with you trigger your back pain, instead of relieving it, my routine is probably not for you.
Let’s get it started. Here’s my simple 3 Step Routine to “Fix” my Back Pain
Step 1. Trigger point massage using a foam roller or trigger ball.
Why trigger point massage? Giving yourself a trigger point massage (aka myofascial massage) is important before and after a workout to loosen your muscles and encourage better circulation in the injury prone area. It will also help the tight or strained muscles to “release” thereby giving you immediate pain relief. If your back is really stiff, you should spend 5-10mins doing this every day.
Instead of giving you a lengthy description of how to do your own trigger point massage. I will show you how to do it in this video
I use a tennis ball and a lawn hockey ball (which is quite hard) in my video.
You can get proper trigger point therapy balls HERE
Step 2. Mobility stretches to promote flexibility. (You will need a heavy-duty resistance band)
Your back is connected to a lot of muscles and your hip joints. If these muscles are tight and your hips are inflexible they can cause stress on your spine and you will feel back pain.
Making sure you stretch and keep these muscles and joints (I’m mainly talking about your quadratus lumborum and your hips) healthy, mobile and flexible will go a long way to avoid back pain. But how to do this?
Watch my video here:
Step 3. Strengthen the muscles “connected” to the back.
Ok, some of these muscles aren’t connected “directly” to the spine. But if these muscles are weak, your body will compensate and will use your injured back to perform the movements required for our day to day activities.
I’m talking about your core (front and back) your glutes and your hamstrings.
Sadly, most of the conventional exercises to strengthen the muscles above (like sit ups, squats and deadlifts—which were my favorite) will no longer work, because it causes too much pressure on the spine. But I have found some exercises to “replace” those exercises.
Watch my video here to find a variety of exercises you can do without “loading” your spine.
The first exercise will focus a lot on the hips and the outer thighs. Use bigger and stronger bands once you get stronger. You can purchase your own set of bands HERE
So that it! My 3 Step Routine to “Fixing” (lower) back pain.
If you have back pain and you would like me to make a training program that won’t injure or hurt your back further. Contact me by filling out the form below for a free online training program specifically made for you and your personal situation.
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
–Stefan Lamping
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Myth #1: Do extra crunches to flatten your abs.
Myth #4: Avoid all carbohydrates in order to achieve tight abs.
Myth #5: Starve the chub away.
It all started about 12 years ago, I had just started to get serious with my bodybuilding and felt huge and strong. I want to show off to my dad and got the brilliant idea to snatch him above my head.