Sixpack Abs

By Tom Venuto

BurnTheFat.com

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps it’s because escape is easier than change.”

Success psychologists say that 95% - 97% of the people in the world do NOT have written goals and fail, while 3-5% have written goals and succeed.

If these statistics are correct, then Mr Rohn’s observation really IS quite fascinating isn’t it?

Unfortunately for most people, the odds for success are actually even lower, because out of the few people who do set goals, most don’t take goal setting seriously, they don’t do it scientifically and they only do it once a year.

Goal setting is so important, that I always teach goal setting and mind dynamics first, and only THEN, do I teach nutrition and training second.

It doesnt matter how much you know about nutrition or exercise. Until specialized fitness knowledge is linked with goals and directions, the knowledge is useless and you won’t accomplish very much or keep the changes long term.

In fact, I devoted the entire first chapter of my book, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (www.burnthefat.com) to the subject of goals and constructive “mind programming” for successful, permanent behavior change.

I’ve also studied neuro linguistic programming (NLP) for many years and more recently spent many months researching the latest information about neuroscience to see just how much of the traditional self help and goal setting wisdom is actually backed by brain research.

As you start thinking about your goals for 2009 right Now, I’d like to help you start the year off right by sharing two very valuable, science based tips on acheiving your goals:

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SCIENTIFIC GOAL SETTING TIP #1: Repetition is an effective way to “plant” a goal in the non-conscious mind

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Why don’t most resolutions stick? Psychology and neuroscience today are giving us the answers.

Thanks to new technologies in brain imaging, such as PET scans, SPECT scans and functional MRI’s, we can now actually see your thoughts as electrochemical impulses and we can see the formation of new neural connections in real time right before our eyes.

We can also see where, geographically, in your brain, a particular type of thought is occuring.

Most importantly, we can see how long it takes to form strong neural patterns and what types of stimuli cause the patterns to form more quickly

Here’s what we’ve discovered:

Setting a goal once is a conscious activity. Willpower is also a conscious activity. But research has shown that at least 5/6 of your brain power is in the non conscious mind and that the information and instructions that reach the non conscious mind are responsible for your automatic behavior.

Some pyschologists believe that 95% of our behaviors are unconscious and automatic… more commonly known as habits.

Long term behavior changes don’t take place when you set goals one time as with most new years resolutions. There’s an old saying in “self help” circles that it takes at least 21-30 days to form a habit. This has now been proven to be fairly accurate on a neurological basis.

New neural patterns begin to form only after they’ve been repeated enough times. They continue to strengthen with further repetition. If you make resolutions on January 1st and you don’t continue to repeat and reinforce your desire for those “goals,” no new neural connection is formed, no new habits are formed, no new behaviors are formed….

Your resolutions wither away and die and any results obtained through willpower (trying to force the new behaviors through conscious effort), are quickly lost when you slip back to your old ways.

What you repeat over and over again is programmed into the subconscious mind and begins to take root. On a practical level, this means RE-writing your goals everyday and thinking about them in positive terms and in mental pictures, every day, repeatedly until the habit is formed and turned over to “auto-piliot.”

In 1956, when Earl Nightingale wrote “The Strangest Secret is that we become what we think about most of the time,” we didnt know what we know now about the brain.

Nevetheless, Earl was right.

You don’t change your body by trying to change your body. You change your body by creating new habitual patterns of thinking and visualizing.

Trying to force new behaviors with willpower while continuing with your old ways of thinking will always fail because your automatic behavior is mostly under non-conscious control.

Its not the resolution you set once… its the goals (mental thoughts and images) you focus on all day long that create the long term (and automatic) behavioral change… when you change your behaviors, you change your body and your life…

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SCIENTIFIC GOAL SETTING TIP #2: Emotion is a goal-turbocharger

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Is there any way around this tedious process of “mental programming” through repetition? Not really. The fields of NLP and hypnosis have given us some tools for creating more rapid changes, but ultimately you have to begin to “run your own brain” and change your habitual way of thinking. No one else can do it for you and there’s no way around it.

There is however, a scientifically proven way to to speed up the process and that is with the use of strong emotion.

Since modern imaging technology can see activity in the brain and scientists have located the seat of emotions in the brain, we know that the strength and number of neural connections associated with a thought or behavior are increased when you’re in a highly emotional state.

The neuron connections are also stronger, longer lasting and it takes longer to lose a neural connection when it was formed with great emotion.

With this knowledge, we see another reason why new years resolutions fail: They are set casually with no emotion and no strong emotional “reason why” that gives you the leverage to you need to make a change permanent.

On January 1st, you may think you’re setting “real” goals, but if you’re like most people, you’re not only doing it a mere once a year and then losing focus, you’re also likely to be making flimsy, wishy-washy, emotion-less “resolutions.”

Zig Ziglar once said that, “A goal casually set and lightly taken will be freely abandoned at the first obstacle.”

You might want to back up and read that quote again, maybe even write it down or print it out, because this one hits the bull’s-eye!

This truly explains why New Year’s resolutions almost never work, and why so few people can keep off the pounds after they get rid of them.

Goal setting should not be casual or lightly taken. Goal setting is an important and serious matter. This is not a game - this is your life, and you only have one life to live.

Goal setting is also not a one time event - it is an ongoing process of literally “re-wiring your brain.” With the discovery of brain plasticity, we now know that this is science fact, not self-help fiction.

Make the time to set REAL goals, today! Take it seriously, do it scientifically, re-write your goals every day, think about them constantly, and then take massive action

Do it and this will be the most successful year of your life!

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: BurnTheFat.com

By Tom Venuto

BurnTheFat.com

Happy New Year! In this article, I’m going to predict your future and forecast exactly what kind of results you’re going to get in the next 12 months. Sylvia Browne, step aside… I’m pretty good at this.

Several years ago, a public relations firm in New York City asked me to write an article for one of their publications about fitness trends and predictions for the coming year.

It turned out that my “crystal ball” was pretty darn accurate. I nailed most of the predictions I made about aerobics classes, yoga, core training, “holistic” approaches, online personal training technology, the baby boomer market, increasing obesity and many other subjects.

I do confess, it wasn’t that difficult, because instead of just guessing, I actually did some research on industry statistics and I also had some “inside insights” because I’d been a health club manager for so many years and was privy to fitness business trends.

This year, instead of making predictions for the whole fitness industry, what if I could take out my crystal ball again and predict with 99% precision exactly what kind of results you will achieve with your body by the end of the year?

Well, no problem, I can do that too!

I would claim that I have some kind of “gift” for this, but to be honest, you and I don’t need to be psychic to make predictions like these.

There are two things you can always count on: (1) Nature’s laws of cause and effect, and (2) human nature.

On that basis, here are my 20 fitness predictions for the new year:

I PREDICT that if you can reach into your pocket on any day this year and pull out a card or piece of paper with all your body and fitness goals written on it in vivid detail, the odds are 95 to 1 in favor of you achieving every one of those goals before the year is out.

I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on your goals and how you are going to achieve them, all day long, you will reach your goals so fast this year, it will make your head spin.

I PREDICT that if you focus your thoughts on health woes and body fat problems and if you think about what you don’t want, all day long, your problems will get worse than ever this year.

I PREDICT that if you made a new year’s resolution, but you didn’t turn it into a specific, written goal with a deadline and a strong reason why you must achieve it, you will freely abandon it the moment the going gets tough.

I PREDICT that if you can tell me all the reasons why achieving your health and fitness goals are important to you, you will be motivated from within to stick with it when the going gets tough.

I PREDICT that at times, the going is going to get tough.

I PREDICT that if you can tell me today what is your life purpose and what is your lifelong vision for your body and your health, you will still be as motivated and driven at the end of the year as you were at the beginning.

I PREDICT that if you don’t have long term goals and a “big picture” vision for your life that you will lose your New Year’s enthusiasm and motivation in a matter of months or even weeks.

I PREDICT that the way you see yourself in your mind’s eye today will be an exact reflection of what you see in the mirror at the end of the year.

I PREDICT that if you have a setback that seems to get in the way of you reaching your health and fitness goals and you tell yourself “this just is temporary; this too shall pass,” then it will pass and it won’t set you back.

I PREDICT that if you believe the way your body looks today is out of your control and you feel helpless or powerless to change, you won’t even make much of an effort this year.

I PREDICT that if you accept complete responsibility for the way your body looks today and you believe that you have the power to change, that you will take action and keep taking action, even through the tough times.

I PREDICT that if you’re unhappy with your physical condition and you say, “it’s not my fault” or you blame it on genetics, hormones or age, then your body will look pretty much the same at the end of this year as it did on New Year’s day.

I PREDICT that the more you have patience, a long term perspective and the ability to postpone immediate gratification, the more likely you are to be a success one year from now.

I PREDICT that the more you seek “miracle pills” or “quick fixes,” the more likely you are to be a failure one year from now.

I PREDICT that you will be tempted by many quick fixes this year.

I PREDICT that if you hang out with losers and negative people this year, you will become just like them.

I PREDICT that if you hang out with winners and positive people this year, you will become just like them.

I PREDICT that you will run into more negative people and losers this year than positive people and winners.

I PREDICT that if you recruit just one friend or support partner that stands behind you and the lifestyle changes you want to make this year, you will double your chances for success. If you surround yourself with numerous support partners, you will become virtually unstoppable.

So how does your future look for the year ahead?

Based on my “predictions,” if it doesn’t look as bright as you’d like it to be, then don’t worry, because a prediction is not predestination.

You can’t do anything to change the past, but by changing your thoughts, attitudes and actions in the present moment, the future is yours to create.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto

To see a complete fat burning system that takes you by the hand, step by step and shows you what to eat, how to exercise and how to stay motivated, all year long, visit: BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: BurnTheFat.com

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

BurnTheFat.com

My mom makes the most amazing Christmas cake in the world; it’s been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. First, she mixes up a light, fluffy, vanilla cake mix, pours it into the pans and then pops it in the oven. After it’s been baked, she stacks the cake in two layers with whipped cream spread generously between each layer. She then pours on red and green Jell-O, which gets soaked up inside the cake. Next, whipped cream is smothered all the way around for frosting. And finally, she garnishes it with red and green sprinkles. A few red and green-striped candy canes are stuck in the top as the finishing touch, and off it goes to the refrigerator so it can be served chilled later.

Now let me tell you, as a bodybuilder, I have a lot of discipline. But when that moist, delicious, red and green, Jell-O-filled, whipped-cream covered cake is sitting on the table in front of me on December 25th, it takes every ounce of my willpower to keep from calling it a “VERY high carb day” and devouring numerous very large slices.

Despite the temptation, I don’t “pig out” nor do I deprive myself. Instead, I’m content with eating my single piece, savoring every mouthwatering bite, all the while repeating my mantra, “Nothing tastes as good as being lean feels.”

The next day, on December 26th, I’m on the bike or Stairmaster at the crack of dawn, followed by six perfect meals of lean protein and complex carbohydrate - just like every other day of the year.

A week later, on December 31st, I usually go out for a nice dinner (very naughty food, I must admit), and then we toast champagne to the New Year at midnight. I’m in bed at a reasonable hour shortly thereafter.

Unless it’s a scheduled day of rest on New Years day, I’m not groggy and hung over like many of my friends are. I’m in the gym squatting, bench pressing, curling, or “stairmastering” just like I usually am.

And here’s the point: You can and should enjoy the holidays. You can enjoy being with family and going out with friends. You can go to holiday parties and have fun. You can enjoy a few “naughty” meals. You can have a piece of cake and a glass or two of champagne. There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy yourself AND stay healthy, lean and fit through the holidays. All it takes is some planning, some goal-setting and little dose of old-fashioned discipline.

I’d like to share with you 10 ways that you can follow your diet and stay in great shape over the holidays without turning into a “miserable Scrooge.” If you follow this advice, then you’ll be one of the proud few with a New Year’s resolution to be the best you’ve ever been in the new year to come - instead of one of the guilt-ridden many who must resolve to reclaim what they lost over the year that’s just passed them by.

1. Expect to stay on your program over the holidays

“Fail to plan and you plan to fail” is a time worn and cliché statement, but it’s still some of the best success advice you will ever hear.

Not only do most people fail to plan, they consciously plan to fail over the holidays. Most people expect to “blow” their diet and skip workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, to exercise less and to gain weight. As a result, they don’t even make the effort.

You can avoid this trap by planning to succeed during the holidays. Set up a positive expectation. Resolve now that you will not tolerate slipping backwards. Keep your standards up and don’t settle! Not only can you plan to “stay in shape” over the holidays, you can plan to improve! All you have to do is make the decision and expect success.

2. Plan all your workouts in advance

You know your schedule is going to get hectic over the holidays. You’ll be cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts, sending cards, going to parties, traveling, visiting family, and so on. To stay on your training and nutrition regimen is definitely going to take some sound time management skills.

Plan your schedule in advance. Anticipate what’s coming up. Write it down. Put it on your calendar. By doing so, you won’t be caught unprepared.

Use a schedule book or monthly calendar and “make appointments” for ALL your workouts for the entire holiday season. Then, post a copy where you will be forced to look at it every day. This is a powerful exercise that will keep you focused and force you to think about and prepare for each upcoming workout.

If you try to “wing it” and squeeze in your workouts and meals whenever you have time left over, you’ll find that there never is any time left over! Somehow your daily activities always seem to “expand” to fill the hours in every day. So schedule your workouts and meal times in your calendar just like you would any other appointment or event. Once you’ve done that, stick to your schedule religiously.

3. Set some compelling training and fitness goals over the holiday period

Don’t wait until January 1st to set your goals just because you think it will be harder to achieve them over the holidays. On the contrary, studies on personal achievement have shown that you’ll usually reach 80% of the goals you put onto paper. The problem is that few people set any goals at all, and fewer still set them during the holidays.

Why wait? Why not do it now? Set some big goals that you can start working on during the holidays:

Set a goal to lose the 25 lbs you’ve always wanted to lose NOW Set the goal to gain 10 lbs of solid muscle NOW Been contemplating a competition in bodybuilding, fitness or the new ladies figure division? Pick an early spring show and GO FOR IT - START TRAINING NOW!

Goal setting should not be a once a year affair, it should be a continuous process. You should always have your goals in writing and your list should be regularly updated and rewritten. If you only set goals once a year, you’re not going to accomplish much in your life.

4. Give yourself permission to have “free meals” - and schedule them in

A planned “free meal” or “re-feeding day” helps you to stay on your program better in the long run. If you’re too strict all the time, you’re setting yourself up for cravings and binge eating.

A few free meals per week will have very little effect on your physique. Also, if you’ve been on a strict, low carb and/or low calorie regimen for a long time, a full day of maintenance level calories might actually be good for you! It will boost your metabolic rate and give your body the signal that you’re not starving and that it’s ok to keep burning a lot of calories.

Over the holidays, schedule your dinners and parties so they become your “free meals.” Then, for the rest of your meals, be steadfast! Just the fact that you know you have free meals coming up will relieve the pressure of staying on a strict diet for a long time.

Also, when you do have your free meal – ENJOY IT! If you’re going to eat it and feel guilty, then don’t have it at all. If you’ve stayed with the program all week long, then when your free meal rolls around, you deserve it!

5. If you fall off the wagon, get right back on it

So you had about a dozen too many of those Christmas cookies did you? Don’t worry; because you have free meals built into your plan, you shouldn’t let guilt immobilize you. Even if you fall completely off the wagon, don’t beat yourself up. All you have to do is get right back on your program without missing another beat.

Too many people mess up once and then think their entire diet is ruined. They feel as if everything they’ve done prior to that day was wasted and there’s no sense going on. Or even worse, they rationalize to themselves, “Well, I already cheated, so it doesn’t matter now, I might as well keep pigging out.”

That’s nonsense. If you threw in the towel every time you didn’t score 100% on your diet, most people would never get through more than a few days on any structured program. Just because you slip up once doesn’t mean you should quit! You’re only human. Don’t let one small slip keep you derailed. Firmly plant your wheels back on the tracks and start rolling again.

6. Maintain your consistent eating schedule

If there’s one thing that all people who successfully get lean and stay lean have in common, it’s consistency. Without it, you never get any momentum going. It’s like taking two steps forward, only to take three steps back.

Many people allow the busy holidays to throw them off their regular eating schedule. They completely veer off their usual meal frequency, or they start eating foods they would normally never eat (because “it’s there”).

Once you have a habit or pattern going, it’s fairly easy to keep it going. But once you lose momentum, it’s very difficult to get it going again because you must overcome inertia all over again. (An object at rest tends to stay at rest!)

On the major holidays, when there’s a big dinner scheduled, many people think that skipping their morning and afternoon meals to “save room” for the big one later is a good idea. It’s not. This is actually a good way to invite a binge that could set your back for days.

Don’t lose your consistency or your momentum. Continue with your pattern of eating small, frequent meals all year round. All you have to do is count your holiday dinners as one of your regular meals and keep them small.

7. Control your portion sizes

You can have your cake and eat it too – you just can’t eat the whole thing! One of the most important rules to remember this holiday season is the law of energy balance, which states: To lose body fat, you must consume fewer calories than you burn up each day.

There are two corollaries to the law of energy balance:

1. A caloric surplus gets stored as fat – even healthy food.
2. Small amounts of anything – even junk food – will NOT get stored as fat if you stay in a calorie deficit.

There’s no reason to deprive yourself of things you enjoy. Just make sure you don’t overindulge. As long as you enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, and you keep working out, it won’t end up around your waistline.

8. Don’t buy into the low standards and expectations of others

Keep your standards high, but don’t expect other people’s standards to be as high as yours. Remember that most people have already planned in advance to fail at fitness over the holidays. You’ve decided to stay strong (haven’t you?) Don’t let their negative influence drag you down.

When you’ve reached your pre-ordained drink limit, say “When” and switch to water or a non alcoholic, non caloric beverage. When they offer you seconds on dessert, politely say, “No thank you, it was absolutely delicious, but I’m full, I can’t eat another bite.” And when the wee hours of the morning start to roll around, and your friends are egging you on to keep partying, politely tell them you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a work out day. If they’re really your friends, they’ll understand.

9. Make the best choices possible in every situation.

You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also notice that there is usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery and other healthy snacks too?

No matter where you are, you always have choices. Sometimes you have to choose between bad and worse. Other times you can choose between good and better. But always make the best choice possible based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of something “bad” rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.

Chances are good that there’s probably something healthy on the menu at every holiday gathering. As you know, lean proteins and fibrous carbs are a great for getting lean, so fill up on the turkey breast, try to get a vegetable in there, and go easy on the desserts.

10. If you drink, enjoy alcohol in moderation

If you enjoy having a few drinks on special occasions, then go ahead and have a drink or two. But if you’re serious about your fitness goals, then drink infrequently and in moderation. Alcohol puts fat oxidation on hold while providing a large amount of calories. When there’s alcohol in your bloodstream, you’re not in fat burning mode.

I’ve never met anyone who was truly serious about fat loss or bodybuilding who was a heavy drinker. Alcohol and muscles just don’t mix. The impact goes beyond added body fat; your energy levels and workouts can be affected for days after a night of heavy drinking. A glass of wine may have health benefits, but there’s never any reason or excuse for binge drinking or getting drunk.

So go ahead and toast to the New Year, but know when to say when.

In conclusion, there’s no reason to let your exercise and nutrition program spoil your holidays, but there’s also no reason to let your holidays spoil your exercise and nutrition program! Put these 10 holiday tips into practice and you can start losing fat today, not next year.

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

BurnTheFat.com

Media reports say that most people gain between 5 and 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. According to research from the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount is much more modest - just over a pound. However, even modest holiday weight gain may be cause for concern: A study by the National Institutes of Health found that this seasonal weight gain - even just a pound - is usually not lost after the holidays; it simply adds to the “weight creep” that sneaks up on us as we get older.

Whether the weight gain is a pound or ten pounds, did you ever ask yourself why does holiday weight gain happen at all?

Here are some common answers I’ve heard:

“I’m too busy over the holidays to work out as often as usual.”

“I’m more stressed over the holidays, and the food is there, so I eat more.”

“I have at least three parties to attend and then there’s Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s impossible to stay on a diet.”

“No one can tell me not to enjoy myself over the holidays, so I’m just going to eat whatever I want.”

These answers all have a few things in common.

First, they assume that it’s an either/or proposition: You can either get in better shape or enjoy yourself, but not both. Stated in reverse: You can either deprive yourself of holiday enjoyments or gain weight, but it has to be one or the other. The truth is, “either/or thinking” is a very limiting form of thought.

Second, these are all excuses or rationalizations. “I’m too busy” for example, is always an excuse, because I have never known someone who was too busy to make time for his or her highest life priorities. The problem then, is not lack of time, but that most people do not make exercise or eating healthy a priority. We all have the same amount of time - 24 hours a day - but the way people prioritize the use of time is the difference between success and mediocrity. And remember, words mean little. Actions reveal a person’s true priorities.

Third, none of these are the real reasons most people gain weight over the holidays to begin with. The real reason is because an intention was never set for the opposite: To get in BETTER shape over the holidays.

Most people set a “goal” to get in worse shape over the holidays!

It’s not consciously set, of course, as few people would intentionally set out to gain fat. They simply do it by default. In their minds, they accept that it must be just about impossible to stay in shape with everything going on over the holiday season, so why bother?

Once the decision has been made, then the rationalizing (“rationing lies”) continues:

“Why should I deprive myself?”

“Family is more important”

“Worrying about diet and exercise during the holidays is neurotic”

“I don’t care if I gain a few pounds, I’m going to enjoy myself anyway”

“It’s only these two or three weeks that I let myself go wild”

“I’ll start the first week in January and lose the weight then.”

As a result of this “negative goal-setting,” they expect to work out less, eat more and gain a few pounds, and they don’t seem to even consider alternatives.

But what would happen if you set an intention and a goal to get in better shape between now and New Years’s Day?

What would happen if you decided that it was not an all or nothing proposition and that you could enjoy the holidays and all it has to offer and get in better shape at the same time?

And what if you decided that your health and your body were the highest priorities in your life, because you realized that can’t enjoy anything else in life, including family or holidays, if you don’t have your health?

Here’s what would happen: You would get in better shape!

I’m not all that different from you just because I’m a bodybuilder and a fitness professional. I have many of the same problems, concerns and struggles as you do. Although today I always get in better shape between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, that’s a result of a conscious choice, a close examination of my old belief systems and a lot of action. For me, it all started about six years ago.

For most of my adult life, I wasn’t much of a traveller and I didn’t enjoy flying or staying in hotels. I had a belief that if I traveled, my workouts and nutrition would suffer. After all, “it would be hard to stick with my usual bodybuilding diet, and I wouldn’t have access to my usual gyms.” Because of these reasons (excuses), I never did much travel back in those days.

Then I was forced to take some trips for business reasons. Predictably enough, my nutrition and workouts suffered while I was spending time in airplanes and in hotels. With my experience having confirmed my beliefs, I re-affirmed to myself, “See, traveling is nothing but a pain. You just can’t stay on a diet and training program when you’re out of town.”

After several more trips, I noticed that something very negative happened: I surrendered. I had resigned myself to “not bother” while I was on the road. I let my expectations create my reality.

But I didn’t let it go on for long. As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I decided that I wouldn’t tolerate it, so I challenged myself and my previous limiting beliefs. I asked myself, “Why the heck not? Why let myself backslide? Why even settle for maintaining? Why not challenge myself to improve while I’m traveling?” The answer:

There was no reason, there were only excuses.

From that day forward, I set a challenge for myself: To come back from every trip or vacation in better shape than when I left. Of course there were exceptions, as when I went on a vacation for total R & R. But I never let travel get in my way again…

I prepared food that I would eat on the planes so airline food was never an excuse…
I only chose hotels that had kitchens, so I could cook my own food…
I went food shopping immediately after check-in…

And I actually found myself training harder than usual!

No matter where I was training - it could even be some “dungeon” of a gym in the middle of nowhere - it didn’t matter because my mind was focused on improving and looking better when I came home than when I left. I had a goal!

What do you think happened? It’s not hard to guess: I always came home in better shape than when I left.

Since then, my “travel challenge” has become somewhat of a ritual in my life. When I’m away from my “home-base” it becomes a “fitness road trip.” I search the Internet or yellow pages or ask locals to help me find the most hard-core gym nearby wherever I will be staying. When I get there, I train every bit as hard as if I had a competition just weeks away. I look forward to it now.

In fact, this experience is what led me to my “holiday fitness challenge.”

Like many people, I travel over the holidays, so I’m automatically in “travel challenge” mode at thanksgiving, Christmastime and New Year’s. But with the additional temptations and busyness that the holidays bring on top of the usual travel stresses, I saw fit to declare a new challenge: “The Holiday Challenge.” The difference was that for my “holiday challenge,” I pledged to not only to return home in better shape than when I left, but to enjoy the holidays to the fullest at the same time.

People who think I “deprive” myself to look the way I do would be shocked: I eat some damn good food over the holidays including Pie at Thanksgiving and my mom’s famous red and green Jell-0 Christmas cake. Then on New Year’s I’m usually toasting champagne and having a blast with friends or family. The difference is, every other meal stays right on schedule and I work out hard and consistently over the holidays; I don’t let everything fall apart just because ‘tis the season.’ In fact, I work out HARDER over the holidays!

The idea that you can either enjoy the holidays or stay in shape - but not both - is damaging and limiting. It hurts your social life, your emotional life and your physical life. Life is not an either or proposition; it’s a matter of balance. Success does not mean going to extremes. Success can be a simple matter of re-examining your beliefs, rearranging your priorities, setting goals, changing the questions you ask yourself, re-evaluating your expectations and acting in accordance with all of the above.

Your expectations will become your reality.

What are you expecting this holiday season? Are you expecting to be in better shape after holiday parties, celebrations, banquets, dinners, and desserts? If not, then why not? What’s preventing you from enjoying all of the above and still getting in better shape? Do you have a limiting belief which dictates that it’s one or the other? Could it be that you never set a goal, intention or expectation to do it? Could it be that you’re rationalizing or making excuses? If so, then I challenge you to change it this year.

I CHALLENGE YOU TO BE IN BETTER SHAPE ON JANUARY 1st THAN YOU ARE TODAY! I CHALLENGE YOU TO BE FITTER, HEALTHIER, LEANER AND MORE MUSCULAR!

There’s less than a month until the end of the year. Why not see how much you can improve your physique over the holidays, without depriving yourself of any holiday enjoyments or festivities? Just step up your expectations. Step up your standards. Step up your nutrition. Step up your training. Step up your action. Step up to the “holiday fitness challenge” the minute you finish reading this, and then just see what happens!

Eat right, train hard, and expect success,

Tom Venuto CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Fat Loss Coach

——————————————————————
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Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: BurnTheFat.com

After years in the fitness business, “How do I get great abs” is still BY FAR the most frequently asked question I receive out of the 30,000+ emails that come into my office every month. No doubt,
it’s because abs are the one body part that most people are the most frustrated with. Although their questions are often phrased differently and each person’s situation seems unique, my answer to “how do I get great abs” is almost always the same and you’re about to hear it…

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“1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!”
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One question I received recently REALLY got my attention because a young guy told me he was doing 1,000 crunches and sit ups a day and said he still couldn’t see his abdominals. He wrote:

“Tom: I have been working out for around a year now and I cannot get my lower abs into any type of shape. I’m starting to see my upper abs a little bit, which is great, but despite doing 900 various crunches, ab roller, and 100 sit-ups four days a week, along with my regular workout on the weights, I still have a tire around my waist. What else can I do?”

What did I tell him? Well, I gave him the same answer I’ve given thousands of people over the years, which is the only true “Secret” to great abs…

It takes training to increase strength, build endurance and DEVELOP the abdominals, but to SEE the definition in your abdominals - or any other muscle group for that matter - is almost entirely the result of low body fat levels.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you can’t see your abs, it’s not an issue of “muscle development” at all. You simply have too much body fat covering up the ab muscles. The lower abdominal area also happens to be the one place that most people - especially men - store the body fat first.

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There’s a Scientific Reason Why Your Lower Ab Flab Is
The Last Place To Go:
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Most people don’t have their fat distributed evenly throughout their bodies. Each of us inherits a genetically determined and hormonally-influenced pattern of fat storage just as we inherit our
eye or hair color. In other words, the fat seems to “stick” to certain areas more than others.

There’s a scientific reason for this. Your fat cells are not just inert “storage tanks” for excess fuel. They are actually endocrine glands which send and receive signals from the rest of the body.
You could say that your fat cells “talk to your body” and your body “talks to your fat cells.” This occurs through a hormone and receptor system.

For bo dy fat loss to occur, you must first get the fat cell (adipocyte) to release the fat into the bloodstream. THEN, the free fatty acids must be delivered to the working muscles where they are
burned for energy.

For fat to be released, the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) must be secreted and send a signal to your fat cells. Your fat cells receive this hormonal signal via adrenaline receptors called adrenoreceptors.

Fat cells have Beta 1 (B1) and Alpha 2 (A2) receptors. B1 receptors are the good guys. They activate hormone sensitive lipase, the enzyme that breaks down the fat and allows it to be released into the bloodstream to be burned. A2 receptors are the bad guys. They block the fat-releasing enzymes in the fat cell and encourage body fat formation.

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How Body Fat Storage Patterns Affect You And Keep
Your Abs From Showing
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What’s the point of all the physiology? Well, it turns out that in men, the lower abdominal region has a higher concentration of A2 receptors, so this gives us one possible explanation of why the lower abdominal region is often the first place the fat goes when you gain it, and the last place it comes off when you’re losing it. (Incidentally, the fat in women’s hips and thighs is also higher in A2 receptors). This situation is dictated by genetics and by the hormonal and enzymatic pathways we discussed.

Think of ab fat like the deep end of the swimming pool. No matter how much you protest, there is no way you can drain the deep end before the shallow end. However, don’t let this discourage you.
Lower ab fat WILL come off, it will simply be the last place to come off. First place on - last place off.

This helps to explain why abdominal exercises have little impact on body fat l oss. It’s a huge mistake to think that hundreds or thousands of reps of ab exercises will remove lower abdominal fat, except to the degree that it burns calories and contributes to the calorie deficit. What removes the fat - all over your body - is a calorie deficit and that comes from decreasing food intake, increasing activity, or a combination of both.

What I suggested to this young man was cutting back the ab training, spending the time he was wasting on excess ab exercises for more intense, calorie-burning cardio and weight training for the rest of the body. I also suggested he do an accounting of his food intake, get his nutrition in order and decrease his calories slightly if necessary.

As it turned out, his diet was a mess, and as nutrition experts like to say, “You can’t out-train a lousy diet.”

It’s a monumental error to think that 1,000 reps of ab work a day will make your abs finally “pop” when your diet is a disaster and that’s leading to fat storage. It’s not that ab exercises aren’t important. But all the ab exercises in the world won’t help as long as you still have body fat covering the muscles. You can’t “spot reduce” with abdominal exercise and YOU CAN’T SEE YOUR ABS THROUGH A LAYER OF BODY FAT!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
BurnTheFat.com

P.S. If you would like to finally see your abs by burning bodyfat using my best-selling fat loss program, check out:
BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn abdominal fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: BurnTheFat.com

The answer to what is the best ab workout ever for fat loss is NONE! Ab specific workouts are designed to isolate the abdominal area. The first thing I asks is why in the world would you want to isolate it. Ab specific workouts do not increase metabolic rate enough or stimulate the production of fat burning and muscle building hormones to make a difference.

As a personal trainer the most common question I get asked on a daily basis is what people can do to get rid of excess abdominal fat. They are searching for a miracle ab workout that will strip off the fat and reveal their six pack abs.

The single most important thing they don’t understand is that they won’t lose belly fat by doing ab specific workouts. They are going about the challenge in completely the wrong way.

By wasting time doing ab specific workouts you are losing valuable time where you could be doing the correct exercises to get rid of belly fat once and for all.

If you asked me what the best exercises were for stripping fat and getting six pack abs I would say full body compound movements: e.g. Presses and pulls, clean and press, snatch, squats, lunges, deadlifts etc.

The reason for doing such exercises is that by focusing on multi joint complex movements as apposed to single joint movements you will burn far more calories and elicit fat burning hormones which will help you achieve your goal of fat loss.

I do recommend using certain ab specific exercises but only as a small percentage of the workout. The majority of your time is far better spent on doing the exercises that will generate the biggest metabolic and hormonal response in the body. A by-product of doing multi joint exercises is that you will be working your abs indirectly as they are working as part of the kinetic chain. The abdominals are stabilizer muscles so they are often called into action when doing full body exercises.

One thing to remember is that getting visible abs is as much about your diet as it is your workouts. So it is no good in doing the right exercises if you are going to stuff your body full of junk. A favorite quote of mine is “abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.” Maybe it should read, abs are revealed in the kitchen.

So to conclude, stop wasting time doing hundreds of situps, crunches etc in trying to get a six pack; concentrate on high intensity full body movements. Combine that with a diet of healthy unprocessed food and you will have a visible set of awesome abs in no time.

Check out the url below to get your FREE six pack abs e-report. It reveals the workout and nutrition secrets to getting six pack abs.

http://www.easyfitnesstips.com/AbsWorkoutE-Report.htm

Technorati Profile

I receive hundreds of fitness questions every day from people all over the world, but by far one of the most common themes in these questions revolve around the struggles that most people are having with losing that flabby stomach fat that doesn’t seem to want to go away no matter what they try.

Just recently I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow fitness professional named Mike Geary of TruthAboutAbs.com  Now Mike is a well-known expert who deals exclusively with the most effective strategies for losing stomach fat so that you can finally uncover those elusive six pack abs that everyone desires.

Some of Mike’s strategies deal with nutrition aspects and others deal with training techniques, but I was impressed to see that Mike has put together one of the most comprehensive resources for dealing with all of the aspects necessary to finally get rid of that nasty belly fat for good.

The key is that Mike focuses on the REAL techniques that are going to get you lasting results, and teaches you how to avoid all of these “quick-fix” scams and gimmicks that are all over the infomercials and the Internet these days.

Several of the mistakes that Mike see’s every day where people are going wrong in their fat loss attempts are:

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1. Most people are wasting too much of their time doing hundreds of reps of ineffective crunches, situps, and other “abs pumping” exercises in their attempt at losing stomach fat.
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Mike has discovered that there are certain highly effective exercises that stimulate your metabolism much better, and increase your fat burning hormone levels much more. These exercises that Mike outlines are the best of the best for getting a lean, chiseled body.

Surprisingly to most, the majority of these most effective exercises for stomach fat loss are NOT “abs-specific” exercises. Not only that, but Mike shows you how to combine and sequence them to get the best metabolic and fat loss results possible, changing the shape of your entire body.

 
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2. Most people are wasting way too much time doing hours upon hours of boring monotonous cardio routines.
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Mike has researched this topic extensively, including an entire course he’s taken comparing different modalities of cardiovascular exercise. After all of this research, we’ve come to the conclusion that the majority of people out there are not doing the right types of cardio exercise. In fact, most people may actually be inadvertantly decreasing their metabolic rate by doing too much of the wrong types of cardio!

The strategies that Mike reveals in his program go beyond “interval cardio” too.

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3. Most people are failing miserably with fad diets.
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Mike reveals exactly why most low-carb or low-fat diets are actually working against what your body needs to become lean and ripped and maintain it for life! Mike shows you exactly how to stop falling for the gimmick diets and finally develop a truly healthy eating style that you can actually enjoy for life without being overly restrictive. It’s actually easier and more enjoyable than you believe!

Go to Mike’s Truth about Six Pack Abs site today and discover the exact system that Mike is using to help thousands of his clients from all over the world get leaner than they’ve ever been before. This system will help you to lose that stubborn stomach fat that has plagued you for years, so you can finally get that sexy six pack that you’ve always wanted.

Get your FREE sixpack abs e-report at:

http://www.easyfitnesstips.com/SixPackAbsE-Report.htm

P.s. Listen to what a regular guy had to say after using the Truth
  About Abs Program.

 ” I’m so glad I found this program. This has been a total body
  (and mindset) transformation — and I haven’t even set foot in a
  gym.”

The body by its very nature wants to hold onto fat and get rid of muscle. This is a survival tool, as each fat gram has more energy stored in it than muscle. To be able to get rid of fat effectively you need to use the best tactics to trick the body. This is even more so as you age. Whether you are grossly overweight or you just need to shape up for the beach, you need to attack fat from all angles. This will give you quick and noticeable results. Let’s face it; none of us want fat-loss to take for-ever.

1. Eat Regularly (Every 2-3 hours)
To lose fat you need to keep your metabolism working at a fast rate. The way to ensure this is to eat small meals often throughout the day. It all goes back to cavemen times where the body would store fat after eating a meal as a survival mechanism because the body wouldn’t know when the next meal would be coming. Compare your metabolism to a wood fire. If you leave the fire for hours (if you don’t eat) it will slow down and eventually die (your metabolism will slow right down to keep onto as much fat as it can). If you put too much wood on the fire (eat a huge meal) you will suffocate the fire and it will slow down. So to keep that fire burning you need to regularly feed it small logs of wood (meals)!

2. Change The Type of Food You Eat
Switch from a diet focused around carbohydrates (Breads, Pastas, Fruits) to one focused around lean sources of protein (egg whites, skinless chicken and turkey breast, fish and whey based protein powders.

3. Drink Plenty of Water
No water = no fat loss. Simple as that! You should drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day. The best way to ensure you do this is to fill up a 2 liter bottle in the morning and take it everywhere you go. The same formula applied as your meals. Take small sips continuously throughout the day.

4. Remember its Fat Loss Not Weight Loss
Throw your scales out. Don’t rely on scales. Let your mirror and your clothes be the guide. You could be a 12 stone lean person or a 12 stone fat person. How much you ‘weigh’ has nothing to do with how much ‘fat’ you carry. As everyone knows muscle weighs more than fat.

5. Drop those Long, Slow Boring Cardio Sessions
When you ask a beginner or even an experienced trainer to picture a fat loss session they see themselves on a treadmill or out on the roads running for hours each week (and hating it!) That’s why so many people give it up so quickly or don’t even bother to start. Time and time again I see people in the gym on the treadmill or bike for hours on end with no effect. So what’s the answer? Should they do more cardio? Of course not, that would be insanity! Stop worrying about exercising in a certain heart rate zone for fat loss. Forget about how many calories the machine says you have burnt (they are wrong most of the time anyway.) The way to use cardio machines is to do interval training on them. This type of training involves increases and decreases of intensity in your workout. E.g. 2 mins on a base level and then 30seconds of near maximal effort. Repeat this for about 10-12 mins. This type of training will burn far more calories than a long 40min cardio session and the great thing is that you will be finished within 10-12 mins.

6. Use Full Body Compound Exercises in the Gym
The general consensus regarding resistance (weight) training for fat loss is to isolate certain body parts to improve in those areas. Research has shown the best way to increase fat loss is to use full body compound movements. So some of you may be asking, what is a full body compound movement? I’m glad you asked: Squats, deadlifts, pullups, pushups, kettlebell cleans, kettlebell snatches, overhead presses . These are the kinds exercises used by the actors in the movie 300 in they’re rigorous training routine prior to filming. If you want proof that this kind of training works just check out the physique on those guys!

7. Shop Only When Full
Never go shopping on an empty stomach. Look at your shopping trolley; does it look like the shopping trolley of a fat person or a healthy fit person?

8. Don’t Get Stressed
Try not to be desperate or obsessed. Excess stress will release cortisol, which will break muscle tissue down resulting in less over-all fat loss. Make sure you don’t lose any muscle tissue. The more lean muscle you carry, the more efficient you will be at burning fat by just being there. Sounds a bit unfair, but its true! Fat loss will come, just give it time.

9. Follow a Structured Program
Following a well structured program will dramatically increase your chances of achieving your desired results. You are much more likely to stick to a program than if you try to free style it. What do you think will be best? Guessing what works or follow something that has been proven scientifically and has given countless people results!

10. It’s All in th Mind
These tips will tell you how you can lose fat quickly, safely and permanently. Losing fat is as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. To be successful, you must have a real desire to lose fat; a bit like wanting to quit smoking. You cannot lose fat half-heartedly and you cannot do it without persistence. Always keep you final goal in mind, (to be in great shape and feel great about your body). If you feel like not going to the gym or exercising at home just think about your main goal and all the reasons why you want it to become a reality. Don’t think of the small matter of going to the gym to work out, keep focus on the bigger picture and how guilty you will feel 6months down the line if you have done nothing about it. ‘Analysis of over twenty-five thousand men and woman who had experienced failure disclosed the fact that lack of decision was near the head of the list of the thirty-one major causes of failure. Procrastination, the opposite of decision, is a common enemy, which practically every person must conquer.’

Get your FREE sixpack abs E-report!

http://www.easyfitnesstips.com/SixPackAbsE-Report.htm

Simply put: Make a decision and you change your life. Procrastinate and you’re doomed to failure. So get started today.

 This Brand New E-Report Will Reveal Over 27 Unique Metabolism Boosting Secrets for Striping Off Belly Fat and Getting Six Pack Abs.