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Combat the Fat Week 12 Update

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I just completed ctf-coveranother week of Combat the Fat training and I must say, while I love heavy lifting, this was a very effective workout plan that I will keep on my shelf for future use.  The intensity was perfect for me.  The concepts were sound and they really worked.  I wound up losing 5 inches from my midsection and I lost 10 lbs. on the scale.  All of my numbers were extremely positive.

The biggest lesson I learned from Combat the Fat is that low intensity cardio can be extremely intense.  When I do the one hour session I wind up drenched in sweat.  The hour goes by so fast that it feels like 10 minutes.  I am always amazed when I realize that I am done with the workout.  It is strange, but a great feeling.

Another big lesson is something I already knew, but this program reconfirmed for me—discipline brings about progress.  The Combat the Fat program really forces you to be consistent with your workouts and your nutrition.  That consistency pays off in a big way when you do it for 12 straight weeks.

I honestly miss lifting heavy weights and throwing the plates around.  I am looking forward to my next cycle of training because I am planning to go heavy with very slow repetitions.  The challenge will be amazing.  However, I have alot of respect for both body weight exercises and unconventional approaches to working out now that I’ve basically completed the Combat the Fat program. 

Top 5 Lessons From Combat the Fat Training

1.  Low intensity cardio can be intense when done correctly and with maximum effort.

2.  CTF Pyramids are nightmarish and will become a part of my arsenal when trying to shock a stubborn body part into growing.

3.  Consistent nutrition is the key to successful fat loss.  I would say it is as much as 80% of the results you get from a program.

4.  Having a plan of attack is essential to successful fat loss.  The haphazard approach just does not work.

5.  Fruit is a great snack for energy.  While many think fruit is bad for you, chosen wisely, it is an awesome part of your nutritional plan.

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Breaking Through

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The Muscle Building Fat Burning Video Blog #108
September 16, 2009

 

    

    

 

What's on my mind today?

Day 693
Day 3 of 335

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they are facing a barrier and they cannot simply climb over it or go around it.  The barrier can be mental or physical, but no matter what type of barrier it is, you just have to break through.  Anything less is failure.

Break Through Attitude

Our attitude always determines our success.  If you have a terrible attitude you get terrible results in life.  If you have a good attitude, it doesn’t guarantee good results, but it definitely makes them alot easier to achieve.  Having a break through attitude means that you acknowledge the difficulties you might face, but you tell yourself that you can and will accomplish something. 

Break Through Mindset

When you enter the gym, your mindset will determine your progress on that day.  Hit the weights with the right mindset and you will have an incredible workout.  Your mindset will drive you to new heights.

Break Through Workouts

Picture yourself in the gym.  You are about to do a heavy set of deadlifts.  It is the final exercise of a particularly grueling workout.  You are exhausted as you step up to the loaded bar.  You squat down and grab the bar.  This is the moment that will define your entire workout.  Will you have a break through workout where you completely decimate the set of deadlifts or will you just give up?  That’s entirely up to you.  If your attitude and mindset are right, you are sure to have a break through workout.  Step up and decimate those deadlifts.  You will feel incredible afterwards.

 
Find out what I'm doing to my body!
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Today was a really good workout.  I worked hard.  Matty worked hard.  We felt great when we left the gym.

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It is important to note that we are doing an extremely slow repetition.  The cadence is 3-0-3-0.  Three seconds up and three seconds down is intense.  Our goals are to hit 4-6 repetitions on the upper body exercises and 8-10 repetitions on the lower body exercises.  It is a tough workout for sure! 

 

 
No pictures until this mission officially starts next week.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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You Asked?

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There isn’t a day go by at the studio that questions aren’t being asked.  And, it seems the same questions are on the minds of a lot of people.  So, I thought I would share just two of the very common questions that get asked.

Is breakfast important?

Yes, breakfast is important.  In fact it is the most important meal of you day.  As you sleep at night, your body is in a fasting state taking in nutrition.  Depending on how long you sleep, and when you would normally take in your first meal, you could be in a fasting state from 6-12 hours.  For example if you  normally got to bed at 11 at night, get up in the morning and head to work, your first meal may be coffee break or lunch the next day.  That is far too long without food.

If you think of a furnace requiring fuel or wood to burn, your metabolism is no different.  Without fuel a furnace will not operate.  The same holds true for your metabolism.  Without food or fuel, your metabolism will not burn.  The best way to kick start a slow metabolism is by feeding it.   If weight loss or weight control is your objective, then it is imperative that you keep your furnace or metabolism burning.  The best way to stall your weight loss efforts is to skip meals and the best way to halt any weight loss is to not eat breakfast.  This most important meal does not have to be a large meal as I realize that some people do not have an appetite first thing.   A couple of suggestions for breakfast would be:

1) Smoothie or Shake: Mix 1-2 scoops protein powder with 8 -12 oz skim milk or water.  Add fresh or frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries).    Add 2 tbsp flax seeds, ice and put all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.

2)  Omelet – Beat together 1 whole egg plus 3 egg whites (or 1/2 cup egg white from carton).  Cook the egg mixture in a skillet.  Add handful of fresh spinach or about 1/3 cup frozen spinach, chopped onion and 1 slice fat free cheese.   Enjoy.

Is stretching important and when should I stretch – before or after?

The question of when to stretch comes up time and time again.  In fact how often do you see people outside stretching before they go for their run?  It is important to stretch but there is a best time to stretch and it is not before you exercise or before a run.  The purpose of stretching is to return muscles to their resting length following exercise.  There are times when we will stretch prior to exercise.  For example, hip flexors and hamstrings are often quite tight on most people.  Prior to a dynamic warm up in our strength workouts, a stretch of the hip flexors and hamstrings are done.

hamstrings are dynamically stretched using a Romanian deadlift with a light weight.  These dynamic stretches are used prior to the strength portion of a workout to increase range of motion through  specific muscles groups.
Stretches of the body as a whole, is always done following exercise for two reasons.  One reason is that the body is now adequately warmed up and muscles are more pliable and apt to stretch when they are warm.  Secondly, stretching after exercise is to help return muscles to their resting length following a term of intense muscle contractions required during the strength workout.

I hope this has answered a couple of the more common questions that come up.  Please feel free to leave me a comment or a question you would like answered.

Till next time,
Narina

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Reflecting on the Future

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The Muscle Building Fat Burning Video Blog  #107
September 14, 2009

 

         

 

What's on my mind today?

Day 692
Day 2 of 335 

Today I spent a little bit of time thinking about the future and what it holds.  I am approaching this next year with both excitement and fear.  It is a huge undertaking, but a step I’ve wanted to take for a long time. 

I have had a few people ask me what made me decide to do this right now.  The answer is pretty simple.  I was listening to an old podcast from Skip Lacour and he made a very salient point.  He said that goals involve setting a date and going for it.  He used the example of a bodybuilding competition as a goal that people always make, but rarely fulfill.  He said that the reason they never achieve their goal of being on stage at a competition is that they never really pick a competition and a date.  He said by picking a competition and a date you lock that into your brain which then goes to work making it happen.

To me it came down to accountability.  Skip is absolutely right. By setting a date I am forced to achieve what I want to achieve—getting up on stage and winning a bodybuilding competition in my age group.  Thus, I decided to step up and just do it.  I set the date and then asked Carlos DeJesus to train me.  He graciously agreed and began to give me advice right away.

Matty Update

As it is Monday, I am doing my Matty update. 

He is joining me on the new workout program.  He is excited because he really wasn’t loving the Combat the Fat workout at all.

He and I sat down and went over the new workout.  Together we decided that we needed to do 2 “warm up” workouts before the real deal starts.  We both felt that after 12 weeks of the Combat the Fat training we should ease ourselves back into the High Intensity Training mode.  As a result, we plan to do a HIT workout tomorrow and again on Thursday. 

Matty has lost several inches in his abdominal area.  The Combat the Fat workout definitely works to strip the fat off your body and Matty is a perfect example of that.  We have mutually agreed to continue the cardio portions of the Combat the Fat training as we move forward.

 
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Today we hit the gym in the morning and did a 60 minute Combat the Fat training session.  This cardio session is designed so well.  It makes an hour seem like just a few minutes, but at the end I am saturated with sweat.  The intensity is incredible and yet it is all low intensity cardio.  Pretty amazing how that works! 
 

 
No new pictures until Sunday when this mission truly starts.

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

Follow the Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine on Twitter!

 

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Bodybuilding: More than a Passion

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For a few years now bodybuilding has been a passion of mine.  I have worked hard at learning all about it.  I’ve attended competitions.  I’ve dreamt of being on stage.  Those dreams will now become a reality.

I have committed to entering the Western All Forces Bodybuilding and Figure Championships in Anaheim, California on August 14, 2010.  This is a huge goal for me, but one I know I will do well with.  I have enlisted the help of trainer extraordinaire, Carlos DeJesus.  I am going to kick off training for this competition next week (Tuesday, September 22, 2009) using a High Intensity Training full body workout 3 days a week.  I will be hitting the muscles hard with a 3 seconds up, 3 seconds down repetition.  The goal will be 4 to 6 repetitions for the upper body and 8 to 10 repetitions for the lower body.  This sounds easy until you think of the cadence – 3-0-3-0.  That can be very brutal.

The goal of my initial program is to kick start the muscle growth I’ve been experiencing.  I am aiming to accelerate that growth.  I am going to utilize some tricks I’ve learned with Combat the Fat training to burn fat while I’m building muscle.  This is going to be a difficult 11 months of my life, but I am completely sold out for this competition.  I am giving everything I have to this and I will not fail.

I will be publishing daily updates on my progress on my blog, The Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine.   I will post weekly summaries here on Fitness Expose.  Please be sure to comment as your comments help to inspire me.  Knowing that I will be receiving comments each day really pumps me up and invigorates my training.  I will also be tweeting my thoughts on my progress using hashtag #mjmbb from now until the contest has come and gone.  If you are not following me on Twitter, now is the time.  I can be found as @MikeMahony.  You can also find me on Facebook where I will be posting some of my thoughts on this process as well.

I look forward to the next 11 months of my life and I hope you will be right alongside me as I take this journey.

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