Fat Loss ZONE

1.8%

2011-02-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

If you were to personally train with me 3x a week for 1 hour, 1.8% is the percentage of your week that I am actually with you.

Assume you sleep 7.5hrs every night... I would still only be with you 2.6% of your waking hours.

Lets subtract the typical 40 hour workweek from your available hours... I would still only be with you about 4.0% of your waking/non-working hours.

My point here is that I take personal responsibility for my client's success even though they are outside of my control 98.2% of their week. When it comes to fitness goals, most people cannot afford to pay their way out of making a majority of the critical choices that affect their results. I'll do my best to leverage the 1.8% of your time I get with you, but your success/failure is ultimately your own damn fault!

50 push-ups

2011-02-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

I believe every adult male should be able to complete 50 chest-to-deck (your chest touches the ground) push-ups from their toes without rest! The ability to complete this test will demonstrate upper body strength, enduarnce and mobility as well as adequate core strength and endurance. The reality is that you will be hard pressed to find many adult males who could complete 20 unbroken chest-to-deck push-ups!

One reason for this is that a lot of people just want to finish a task rather than do it correctly. One of my less attractive qualities is my willingness to call out someone's BS! A guy will tell me he squats 400lbs. Rather than being impressed, I will ask "but did you squat to full depth?" What a jerk I am! However, 99% of the time I'm right! That's the exact reason why I cannot squat 400lbs, why would I let you claim the glory of completing a task that you didn't do correctly? Same often holds true with push-ups. For no good reason, people like to go a third to half way to the floor and claim a huge number of repititions. Might as well give yourself credit for imagining doing the movement.

When I start working with a client who has previous experience in the gym, I like to set the expectation that they will be "humbled by form". Almost every movement you perform should have a standard so you can measure and compare with yourself and others. There are only a few reasons why you should limit your range of movement on any particular exercise during training (injury, specific adapative goals, practice). When measuring the actual movement you should always use the full standard. I couldn't claim to run a 6 minute mile becuase I can run a 90 second 400m! They're not the same.

So next time you hit the gym. Try to do 50 push-ups, chest-to-deck, unbroken and see how good you really are! If you can't, it's alright. You'll get there quicker by practicing the full movement. If I catch you going 1/3 the way down, be prepared to get a swift kick to your gut!

A phillisophical question...

2010-05-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

Where does responsibility lie? Is it the media to tell the truth or is it the audience to question what has been presented? Is it ignorant to seek knowledge or is it the offended to teach the ignorant? Is it the weak who have to get stronger or the strong who need to help the weak? Is it the wrong who need to apologize or the right who need to forgive? There are many other dichotomies like this that exist in our world.

Now imagine a world where the media strives to be just and truthful and the audience objectively filters his/her own information. Where the ignorant is actively trying to understand and the offended shows compassion and tolerance. Where the weak try to help themselves with out envy of the strong and the strong give all they can to elevate their fellow human. A world where apology and forgiveness are concurrently given and received.

Now here is the actual question... Why does anger and anymosity exist? Do you think if we focused on being better in our own side of each dichotomy the world would be a happier more productive place to live for everyone?

How Bikram Yoga kicked my A$$!

2010-02-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

So I signed up for a $29 trial membership to Chicago Bikram Yoga (www.105f.com) and have gone the past 3 days in a row. Here is what I noticed:

I'm not very flexible yet still maintain decent symmetry.
I'm improving with every practice.
I've never slept better in my life.
I'm losing weight and can see more definition in my muscles.
My skin is definitely clearer than when I started.

I've come to realize that the health and fitness industry has sold the idea that aggressive athletic training 'is' what training is all about. From my experience in the gym what most clients need is good flexibility, functional stregnth and some cardiovascular power (in that order). It seems like bikram yoga challenges those three areas perfectly. Not to mention it's crazy difficult. Check it out!

Why exercise is not a good response to a bad meal...

2010-02-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

Point #1: We can consume energy at a much faster pace than we can expend.
Point #2: Stored body fat is energy we haven't used yet.

Ask yourself how fast you could eat a cheeseburger, fry and pop (about 1000-1500 calories)? With a bit of focus probably less than 5 minutes. Do the math and that's about 200-300 calories per minute. Now lets look at some popular activities we use for exercise... At best you could run at a nearly impossible pace (over 10mph) and only produce 20 calories minute expenditure. So considering the worst case scenario for eating and your best case solution for exercise and you have a huge discrepancy (nearly 280 calories per minute which is nearly 1lb of fat every 12.5 minutes)!

Okay... so the math is a little fuzzy and there are a lot of other points to consider, but I think this is another example of why diet and exercise behaviors need to work together as a part of a healhty lifestyle rather than being two behaviors that battle each other.

Just try...

2009-08-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

No matter how little sleep you got....

No matter how much work you have piled ahead of yourself...

No matter how sick you feel...

No matter how many bills you have to pay...

No matter where you need to be...

No matter who you have to deal with...

No matter what life deals at you... Just remember one thing...

While you can't always control the incoming stress, you are always in complete control of the outgoing response. Start every day as positive as you can, suck it up and just try to have a good day!

Pick 3

2009-07-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Pick 3 exercises:

Upper Body Push or Pull (eg. Push Ups, Dips, Pull Ups, Reclined Pull)
Full Body (Kettle Bell Swing, Dead Lift, Squat Curl Press, Burpee)
Hi Intensity Cardio (Sprints, Incline Walk, Bike, Rower, Swim)

Now pick your repetitions/time/distance (make sure to challenge yourself):

(20-30) for the Upper Body Push or Pull
(20-30) for the Full Body
(60-100 seconds of work) For the Hi Intensity Cardio

Repeat your "Pick 3" 5 times for time. You can also make this a "No-mercy" workout by choosing a duration of time (2-3 minutes) to finish each set. The quicker you finish a set, the greater the rest you will earn.

Good luck and remember to hit your 100%. The higher the intensity the more belly fat you'll burn!

More Travel Workout Ideas

2009-06-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Here are exercises that travel well.... and require no equipment....

Push Ups (modified, plyometric)
Squats/Squat Jumps
Lunges/Lunge Jumps
Burpees/Squat Thrust/Burps
Crunches
Leg Raises
Planks (Plank to Pushup, Side bridge)
Reverse Bridging
Jumping Jacks (Seal Jacks, X-Cross Jacks)
Mt. Climbers
Triceps Dips (on chair)
Inch Worms
Bicycle Crunches
Anterior Reaches (1 Leg)
Single Leg Romanian Dead Lift
Knee Tucks
Supermans/Bird dogs
Sprints
Penguin Crunches
Russian Twists

Now, what to do with all these exercises....

Option 1: Pick 10 and do 30 reps of each with no rest between exercises; Repeat 3 times
Option 2: Pick 10 and do :45sec o each with :15 rest; Repeat 3 times
Option 3: Pick 5 exercises, do 20 reps of each and repeat every 3 minutes with no break; Repeat 10 times
Option 4: Pick 5-10 exercises and do 100 reps of each exercise before moving to the next

Each of these workouts will take you 20-30 minutes to complete. As long as you have good intensity, this will be more than sufficient for your daily exercise requirement!

Travel Band Workout

2009-06-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here are few ideas for a workout you can do on the road using some very inexpensive equipment. The keys to this workout are:

Using all movements to hit all muscles in the body (Push, Pull, Lowerbody and Core)
Minimize rest: Move from one exercise to the next without rest and limit the time between sets.
Add intensity: Make sure you maximize the resistance the bands are placing on your muscles.

You can purchase these resistance bands at Perform Better. For more information email cheston.bogue@gmail.com or visit www.westloopgym.net

15 Minute Kettlebell Complex

2009-06-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Kettlebells are a great way to build strength, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility all at the same time. Here is a 15 set workout designed to challenge all levels of fitness. Perform each set for 1 minute with no break in between:

Kettlebell Push Up
2 Hand Swings
:30 RH Swing, :30 LH Swing
Alternating Swings
Russian Twists
Tactical Lunges
RH Full Clean and Press
LH Full Clean and Press
RH Windmills
LH Windmills
Alternating Rips
Push Squats
Renegade Rows
RH Getup Situp
LH Getup Situp

Below is a video explanation of all the exercises. You do not have to use the same weight of kettlebell for every exercise, so make sure you have a variety of kettles available during your workout.

Weights and Reps

2009-05-25T08:27:00.001-07:00

I get a lot of questions about how much weight and how many reps you should be lifting during your strength workout. My lame answers is always... "it depends". It is important to vary your routine in order to maximize your results and get the quickest/safest Fat Loss possible. Therefore, depending on where you are in your current program will dictate how much weight and how many reps you should be doing. Here are the 4 phases of lifting and the recommended weights/reps for each:

General Strength (12-15 reps, sub-maximal weight): This phase serves the purpose of teaching your body proper technique and coordinating your muscles for the more intense phases of lifting. It is important to activate the correct muscles and in the correct sequence before you attempt heavier lifts. I'll recommend 12-15 reps for each set. You'll choose a weight that you can control without major struggle through the 15th rep. Every lift should be smooth and symetrical (both limbs moving at the same rate).
Maximal Strength (4-6 reps, maximal weight): The purpose of this phase is to activate as many muscle fibers as possible. When you first start resistance training, your brain will only be able to activate a small percentage of fibers in each muscle. The heavier your lifts become, the more fibers the brain is recruiting. When in your strength phase I recommend lifting the heaviest weight you can successfully move for 4-6 repetitions. The final rep should look strenuous and slow, otherwise you haven't truly hit your maximal effort.
Hypertrophy (8-12 reps, near maximal weight): The purpose of this phase is to stimulate the growth of lean muscle. The most important variable is how much time your muscles are in tension. I recommend lifting as heavy weight as possible for 8-12 repetitions. However, because time under tension is critical we are going to adopt a 4/1/1 tempo. This means you will decelerate (lower) the weight for 4 seconds, pause at the lowest point for 1 second and then accelerate the weight for 1 second returning it to its starting position. Each set you perform should take around 60seconds to complete.
Power (4-8 reps, less than 1/2 of your max weight): The purpose of power is to teach your muscles how to move explosively. I usually only recommend hi-intensity power training for athletes, however general populations can also benefit for lower-intensity versions of power training. Power teaches your body how to produce maximal velocity while under tension. You will use lower repetitions (4-6) and lower weights (often just your body-weight). However you will perform the exercise as fast as possible. While power training will make you tired, it is important and unsafe to get this style of training confused with circuit training. Power lifts require skill and complete focus. Therefore you should rest completely between each set or attempt.

Stay tuned for more blogs on how to utilize the phases of strength and assemble a program.

Workout of the Month (April)

2009-03-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Check out the latest workout from my gym....

April Workout of the Month from Cheston Bogue on Vimeo.

There's a difference between important and urgent...

2009-03-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have read "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", you will know exactly where I'm coming from here. In this book the author examines how effective people get ahead in life by focusing their attention towards important non-urgent tasks. Basically all the things we do fall into 4 categories:

Non-important and non-urgent
Important but non-urgent
Non-important but urgent
Important and urgent

Categories 1 and 3 are time wasters and barriers to effectiveness. These are things such as tagging pictures in facebook or answering a silly text message from a drunk friend. Category 4 is where most of us get hung up. These are the things that are important day to day tasks such as answering a ringing telephone or getting an oil change in your car. While these types of tasks need to get done, they do very little to actually get us ahead.

The most effective people tend to focus heavily on category 2. These are the things that are important in getting ahead, but are often put aside when category 4 calls. The reason why I am writing about this in my blog is that for most of you, your health and fitness is a category 2 item. If left un-attended for too long, it will gradually present itself in category 4 and will prevent you from living a fullfilling and effective life. There are many serious health risks that accompany a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Most of these risks don't present themselves immediately. Imagine achieving success in almost all other areas in your life only to find that you have developed type II diabetees, hypertension, sleep apnea or even heart disease due to a simple lack of physical activity.

The good thing for you is that it doesn't take much to prevent a lot of these diseases and it takes almost nothing to get started. Here are a few tips to help you become a category 2 person:

Be aware: Educate yourself and know your family history. If good gentics are not in your corner of the ring, then it is even more important that you take extra good care of yourself and start soon! Get a regular physical exam and take action if you notice negative changes.
Seek professional help: The biggest mistake many people make when trying to get healthy is they attempt to figure it all out on their own. Every successful athlete has coaches, and so should you! There is a lot of great information out there. You may just need to have someone explain it to you in a way that you will understand.
Make room for category 2: This means eliminating as much clutter in your life as possible. If you're a grown adult and you can't last 24 hours without checking your facebook (even your email), then you have a problem! Try to consolidate as much category 1, 3 and 4 items into designated times. Imagine if you only answered your phone, email and texts from 10am-11am every day.... You may actually find enough time to get to the gym!
Evaluate yourself: Take note of everything you accomplish in a day... This is different than everything you did. Accomplishing tasks get you ahead and closer to your goal. Simply being busy will keep you spinning in the same place. If you recall your day being filled with answering the phone, replacing a light bulb, cooking dinner and watching the news, then you pretty much accomplished nothing. All of the above mentioned tasks are important and needed to get done (with the exception of the news) and I'm not saying to ignore these. If every day you can accomplish just 1 task that gets you closer towards your life goals, in one year you will be 365 steps closer! That seems pretty significant to me...

Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense to you. Many of our goals and aspirations at first seem unattainable and far away. For some of us, getting that slim waistline and 6 pack stomach seems impossible. If the reality is that all it takes is accomplishing 1 task every day to achieve that goal, does that seem like too much to ask of yourself?

Escape your excuses

2009-03-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

My first piece of advice to anyone who wants to change their body and get healthy is... Stop talking and go DO something about it! As general Patton once said...

"A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."

The longer you wait, the more justifications you'll come up with why now is not the right time to get started. Which leads me to my next observation... It's never the right time! There will always be a project at work or an event/holiday that's too hard to diet through. As soon as you decide you want to make the change, start it immediately and with vigor. Don't tip toe around the idea and gradually work into things. Unless you are a very methodic type B personality (not your typical Chicagoan), the "slow and steady" approach only teaches you lazy habits and it lacks full commitment to your decision. The best analogy I can think of is the space shuttle... Without an explosive launch, gravity wins and the shuttle plummets back to earth. With sufficient power however, the shuttle will escape gravity and will orbit nearly effortlessly. Think of excuses as being gravity trying to stop you from effortlessly realizing your goals. The faster you abandon and escape your excuses, the more likely you'll see sustainable success!

When have you failed?

2009-02-20T17:59:00.001-08:00

Failure happens! Everyone miscalculates, loses focus, gets outwitted or falls victim to the unforeseen forces of nature at some point in their personal endeavors. These setback are too often equated with ultimate failure. The reality is that plans sometimes don't work, but important goals themselves should never fail! If your goal is to lose 25lbs of fat in 12weeks and you only lost 5lbs, this doesn't mean that your goal failed just the plan you used to reach that goal. If your downfall was cheating on your diet, then your new plan should include methods that deal directly with such cheating. If your problem was staying focused, then your new plan should include mechanisms that help keep you on track. Every time a plan fails we are presented with the opportunity to improve our methods and make stronger plans for the future. Here are the keys to success when you hit road blocks:

Objectivity: The more objectivity you include in your plan, the greater your ability will be to evaluate and asses the effectiveness of such plan. Anytime you can use numerical measures such as weight, reps, % body fat, heart rate, ect... you are removing subjectivity from the evaluation process.
Test and Re-test: You need a point A to determine point B. And if you don't arrive at point B by a pre-chosen time frame you need to consider if your plan is defective or if it doesn't realistically match the pace of your overall goal.
Seek Help: Too many people feel compelled to do everything themselves. Your goal should be important enough to you that you will seek any means necessary to achieve it (assuming the means you take do not harm or disrupt the lives of others). Just because you utilize the power of "collective knowledge" doesn't make you any less intelligent. In fact, nearly all of the greatest successes in history (Lincoln, Carnegie, Edison, ect...) learned how to effectively hone the knowledge of others for their benefit.
See the Good: As mentioned above, the failure of plans are actually opportunities to learn new things and improve on your methods. Try to open your mind to new ideas and opportunities that arise from you miscalculations. Sometimes your original goal/plan will evolve into something greater than you could have ever imagined. (My goal when I was 16 years old was to lose 40lbs.... now I make my living helping people lose thousands of lbs every year!)

The quicker you can accept and see the opportunity that failure presents to you in your life goals, the quicker you can react and make significant changes! Failure happens, live with it!

SOUP for Thought!

2009-02-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

According to a recent study, people who ate hot soup as an appetizer before a meal averaged consuming 135 calories less during their meal. By slowly consuming a bowl of hot soup you allow your body a chance to feel satiated and may eat less when it comes to the higher calorie portion of the meal. Remember, it takes 10-15 minutes for your brain to receive and register the sensation of fullness from the stomach. Aside from the soup trick you can also try:

Chewing!
Cutting your portion into smaller pieces
Drinking 8-12 oz. of water 10 minutes before a meal
Eating a low calorie salad 10-15 minutes before your main entree

Many of us are constantly on the go and rarely take the proper time to slow down and savor the food we eat. Do yourself a favor and start enjoying your healthy meals... Slowly!

The 2 Minute Drill

2009-01-30T04:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a solid 15 min workout that is sure to get your hearts and muscles pumping. This would qualify as a hi-intensity interval workout and can be used on the days you are not lifting heavy weights. You can also perform this routine once at the end of a weight lifting session for that extra burn!

THE 2 MINUTE DRILL
Do each of these (4) exercises in order without breaking between exercise. Each exercise is performed for :30s making each set 2:00 minutes long. Count the total number of repetitions you get between all (4) exercises. Take a 1:00 recovery break minute between each set.

:30s Push Ups (On your knees or toes, but all the way up and down. Your chest should come within a fists height from the floor)
:30s Squats (Keeping the chin up and back straight, touch the floor with your finger tips every rep and return to locked knees)
:30s Sit-ups (With your knees bent and feet on the floor, cross your arms holding your shoulders and sit-up until your elbows touch your thigh, return back and touch your shoulder blades to the ground)
:30s Burpee (Squat all the way down and place your hands flat on the floor, jump both feet out behind you until you are in the push-up position, hop your feet back in and jump straight up raising your hands above your head every rep)

Try to stay on schedule meaning every 3 minutes you will start another set. Repeat this routine 5 times in a row with no more than 1 minute breaks. You should aim to improve the number of repetitions ever set. Below is the repetition ranges you should aim towards based on your fitness level:

Beginners: 55-65 total reps every set
Intermediate: 65-75 total reps every set
Advanced: 75-85 total reps every set
Elite: 85+ total reps every set

The record for a single round stands at 108 quality repetitions. Remember, if you are cheating you are only cheating yourself!

Cheston on a Treadmill?

2009-01-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

Those of you who have asked me about cardio know that I'm not a huge fan of treadmills and ellipticals. Here are a few reasons why I don't recommend either for fat-loss:

Treadmill

Hi-Impact: The amount of stress and impact that your body endures over a long duration is damaging. Remember: Stress is cumulative! I've met so many runners with damaged knees, tight hips and other chronic movement dysfunctions. If you compare the amount of stress endured by an elite marathon runner (under 2hr 30min) and an amateur (4hr+), you'll find less damage in the elite competitor. This is because their joints and muscles are under tension for a much shorter period of time.
Kills your metabolism: Long duration running eventually becomes catabolic and eats away at your muscle proteins. Remember: Less muscle = Less Metabolism!
You become efficient: After the initial few weeks of treadmill running, your cardiovascular system begins to learn how to conserve energy better. Our bodies adapt to the stress we place upon it. When we run for a long period of time, our body reacts by saying "Hey, I need to find a way to make this easier so I don't ever run out of fuel". If fat is fuel, the last thing we want is to be thrifty and efficient. The only way then to increase your fat/calorie burn during long slow runs is to run longer (which brings us back to reasons #1 and #2 why I don't recommend treadmill running).

Elliptical Machines

They're easy: The reason why so many people run to the elliptical for their workout is because they are the easiest machine in the gym! You'll crank out 45-60minutes in your very first workout and barely break a sweat. And best of all the machine tells you that you've burned 500 calories. The reality is you've probably burned less than 200 calories and you've lost 30 minutes of your life that you'll never get back! Is it possible to get a good workout on an elliptical machine? YES! (I'll explain in a minute how to do so)

I still use the treadmill as part of my fat-loss program, but I use it in a way that doesn't break any of my rules/objections from above! The name of the game with fat-loss is intensity. When you push yourself into the higher heart rate zones you create what I like to refer to as "Metabolic Disturbance". The higher the intensity, the greater the Disturbance! What happens after the workout is the magic part... you are still burning calories (mostly fat) for up to 36hrs. This doesn't happen with traditional long duration slow/moderate cardio exercise. The other beautiful part is that your workouts are generally 30minutes or less. Lets look at my 3 objections again with respect to this style of exercise:

Hi-Impact: Yes, this workout is still hi-impact, but you've reduced your time under tension to less than 30minutes! Therefore the cumulative stress is much less than a long run. For people who are overweight or have minor joint pain, hi-intensity workouts will do less damage over time.
Kills your metabolism: At these intensities your primary source of energy is almost entirely carbohydrates during the workout and fats after the workout. Proteins do not play as much of a role as a fuel source saving your metabolism from destruction!
You become efficient: The trick here is you never get used to sprint intervals! Since we are always working in an anaerobic heart rate zone, your muscles will always demand more oxygen than your cardiovascular system can supply making economy and efficiency impossible to attain.

Below is a sample 30minute hi-intensity workout that I use 1-2 times a week in my program. This workout can be performed on any piece of equipment (tread, bike, elliptical). The only rule is that during the hi-intensity (red) interval section, you are pushing yourself to your max intensity! This is the only way for this workout to be effective. If you're only going to work at 50%, then there's no use in even trying it. You can print this workout by "right clicking" the picture and select "OPEN IN NEW WINDOW". It should open the picture file in a separate browser from which you can print it and bring it to the gym.

If you need help getting started on your hi-intensity cardio workout you can email me at cheston.bogue@gmail.com or visit me at the gym!

Mission

2009-01-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

One thing that is absolutely necessary for success when committing to a new positive lifestyle is having passion. Goals without passion are hobbies. Goals with passion become a mission! The word mission adds strength to your cause. It signifies a desire to succeed even when times are difficult and you experience temporary defeat. Keep in mind that you CAN succeed at every mission you set out for. There is only one condition to the previous statement... you are never allowed to give up!

Too many people throw away their dreams on account of a single failure. Failure simply signifies a lousy plan. It is important that you differentiate a plan from a goal. Plans are the rules you've decided to follow while on your mission. Plans are allowed to change and fail throughout the mission. Your goals however are clear, desirable and never change. The failure of a plan is what helps us learn how to develop stronger plans. The larger the failure, the more opportunity there is to succeed in subsequent efforts. Some of the greatest success stories in history involve individuals hitting rock bottom only to spring to the top and achieve successes beyond their original goals. The one thing all of these people have in common is they were able to accept and move on from the failure of their plan, but not the failure of their goal/mission.

Here are some tricks to keep you on your mission:

Cut off all forms of retreat: This is like the story of the warrior chief who burned all of his boats after landing on an island with his army. By doing so, the only options were to win or die (even though he was out-numbered, he won)! A common way to cut off retreat is to make your goals public. By doing so you will be held accountable by your peers
Autosuggestion: This is a mental exercise where speak your written goals twice a day to help affirm your desire and implant your positive mission into your subconscious. Considering that your subconscious accounts for almost all of your daily physical actions, having your goal programmed in this corner of your mind will assure that all of your actions are directed towards achieving your major purpose.
Get Emotional: By recognizing and attaching human emotion to your mission, you are breathing even more life into your goals. Try to focus on positive emotions. If you focus on negative emotions you will tend to only recognize the negatively associated results.
Measure and evaluate: Don't fall in love with your plan! You should always objectively measure and evaluate the effectiveness of your plan. The quicker you can recognize a failing plan, the faster you can change course and realize your overall goal. I see soo many people doing their same stagnant routine day in and day out with the hope that someday they'll magically start seeing results. Hope is not a viable plan!
Use people: You don't have the answers to all of your problems. The more effectively you utilize the help, knowledge and strengths of others, the faster the success you'll find on your mission. There's no use in reinventing the wheel. Learning from the hardships and mistakes of others helps you forgo the same setbacks.

Get passionate. Get desire. And most of all, GET STARTED!

I'm Back!

2009-01-20T06:22:00.001-08:00

4 days away from the gym seems like an eternity! For those of you who didn't know, I spent last weekend in Breckenridge, Co. doing some sweet skiing! While I wasn't lifting weights or doing any kind of structured routine, I still burned a bunch of energy on the mountain.

Downhill skiing can be an amazing workout because it heavily involves the lower body and core. Like I've mentioned in previous blogs, the legs are your metabolic freight trains. The combination of gravity and velocity while blazing down a mountain can place loads on your legs many times greater than your own body-weight. Not to mention the rotational core strength and endurance necessary to change directions a few dozen times before reaching the end of a run! Combined with the cold air and short supply of oxygen at higher altitudes, skiing is one hell of a workout.

Now the question is, how well did it work? From my initial weigh in just 9 days ago, I've lost just about 4lbs and .5% body-fat! As a reminder, without a conscious/proactive diet I would have probably gained weight on vacation. While I didn't food journal when I was away, I did plan to only eat chicken salads, lean sources of protein, nuts and veggies and for the most part stuck to the plan. The key for last weekend was not letting the menu control my diet. I was in control of the menu and only chose to eat at restaurants that served my pre-planned options.

When God gives you lemons!

2009-01-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

If you use good form, shoveling snow can be a metabolically challenging and rewarding workout! I just spent the last 20 minutes removing piles of snow around 7 cars on my street. Not only did I break a pretty heavy sweat underneath my jacket, but I saved 6 of my neighbors the hassle of having to move the hundreds of pounds of wet slush that would be delaying their morning commute. Think of it as good karma that will come back to you when you least expect it.

Here are the keys to making your snowy workout safe and effective:

Buy a good snow shovel: I spent $30 to get a lightweight snow shovel that is still sturdy enough to move the heavy wet street slush. Make sure the shovel you get is designed for both pushing and scooping snow (this will allow you incorporate both your pushing and pulling muscles during the workout)
Warm-up: Of coarse you probably won't be performing a dynamic functional matrix before you start moving snow, but it is still important that you work your intensity up to the heavy loads you may encounter. I always start with the easiest sections such as sidewalks, stair and the steps. By the time I've finished those sections, my core and legs are activated and prepared for the chunky street mess!
Vary your style: As I mentioned before, you should use a shovel that allows you to both push and lift the snow. These two movements utilize different muscle groups. Pushing snow will require your triceps, pectorals, calves, glutes and hamstrings. Lifting the snow will use more biceps, shoulders, core and quadriceps. When I work on a section I will try to alternate between 10 pushes and 10 lifts. Also vary your grip so that you are pushing and lifting with your non-dominant side as often as your dominant side.
Be core conscious: It is crucial that you have a tight core any time you attempt to lift the snow. Since this is a workout, every repetition should be focused and performed with sound lifting technique. When lifting the snow, do as much work with your legs as possible. Try to maintain a flat back and solid footing. If you are not yet a well conditioned lifter, you should avoid explosive movements such as rotating and tossing a full shovel of snow. When throwing snow, use 1/4 and 1/2 shovels full and keep some distance between your hands to provide more leverage for lifting.
Monitor your exertion level: Since most of us won't be using a heart rate monitor during this workout, it is important to know your limit. The cold weather causes your body to naturally constrict the blood supply putting greater stress on the heart. So keep the intensity a few notches below "full steam ahead"!

I would not recommend shoveling for more than 15 minutes at a time. Like any repetitive movement, you run the risk of overuse injury. Depending on your equipment, the amount of snow, and your skill/strength you can easily clear 4-5 parking spaces in that amount of time. Imagine if everyone on your street pitched in?!?! We wouldn't need plows and we wouldn't be fat!

Want to see your abs?

2009-01-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

Super Legs

The Solution

Would you like to know a powerful tip in losing fat and building muscle? Use your legs as much as possible. I love to use the automobile analogy. If fat is fuel like gasoline, and muscles are the engines burning this fuel... the question becomes which muscles are the Tractor Trailers and which muscles are the mopeds. The group of muscle that comprise the thigh and butt are hands down the largest and strongest muscles in the body. They therefore require the most fuel to function. How about the abs? We've found our mopeds! Its all too common to see people in the gym crunching their brains off and seeing very little change in their mid-section. These super-crunchers probably have some of the most amazing looking core muscles... the only problem is that their abs are hiding behind layers of excess body-weight that is screaming to be pumped into the locomotive engines that are your legs!

The Workout
Here is a great lower body set to work into your routine. SuperLegs is made up of a sequence of squats and lunges... Each repetition should be performed through a full range of motion. Do not compromise form for speed.

(20) Prisoner squats (hands interlaced behind the head). Focus on pressing the weight of your body through the heals. Keep your back straight, the chip up and pull your elbows backwards. The legs should drop just below parallel at the bottom of your squat.

(20) Alternating forward lunges. You can keep the hands interlaced behind the head. While lunging, firmly step the front foot a generous distance ahead of your rear foot. Focus then on dropping your back knee towards the ground. You front knee should achieve a 90 degree angle without extending over the front toe. Repeat 10 times with each foot.

(20) Jump/Scissor lunges. These are merely a jumping switch of the feet. You do not have to dip the back knee as low as your did on the lunges. Try to do all 20 continuously without breaking between repetitions.

(20) Jumping Squats. These are the same as the prisoner squats except on the upward phase you accelerate and the feet leave the ground. Make sure you land softly on the toes.

Try to complete these 4 exercises without break. You can add sets of SuperLegs between upper body lifts, as part of a circuit, or as part of your morning routine! A solid pair of legs should be able to handle 5 complete SuperLeg sets in a workout!

Day 1: Setting and outlining my goal...

2009-01-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

So today kicked off the beginning of the 2009 West Loop Gym "I Lost it at the Club" contest. I've decided to become a full time participant this year. There's nothing like going public with your goals as a way to hold yourself accountable! As in previous posts, I've mentioned the importance of setting goals the right way. They need to be specific, meaningful, measurable and well thought out. So here it is:

I will lose 20lbs by March 13th, 2009 by following my fat-loss program guidelines. It is important to me to show the significance of resistance training, a sound diet, proactive eating habits and proper recovery in an effective fat-loss program.

My starting weight today is 212.2lbs. In order to reach my target weight of 192.2lbs I need to objectify the goal. I'll have roughly 9 weeks to reach this weight which equates to an average of 2.22lbs every week. If 1lb of fat is approximately 3500 calories, then I need to average a 7,700 calorie deficit every week to loose this weight in fat! This is roughly 1,100 calories a day in deficit.

I next used a general equation to estimate my basal metabolic rate and found it to be 2114 calories a day. I can multiply this number by factor of 1.2 because I am on my feet for work most days of the week bringing my daily caloric expenditure to around 2500 calories a day. I'll add an additional 500 calories a day for my exercise which brings that total to 3000 calories a day burned. This means in order to loose my desired weight in fat (1,100 calorie a day deficit), I need to eat less than 1900 calories a day in food! Recap:

I burn 2500 calories a day just doing daily activities
I plan to average 500 calories burned a day doing supplemental exercise (weights, circuits, interval cardio)
I need a 1,100 calorie a day deficit in my diet to lose my desired weight in fat
I will eat less than 1900 calories a day to achieve this deficit

As far as my weekly schedule is concerned:

Heavy weights on 3 days every week (300-500 calories/session)
Metabolic Circuits on 3 days every week (600-800 calories/session)
Moderate to Hi Intensity Interval Cardio on 1-2 days every week (400-600 calories/session

Remember that during weight training, metabolic circuits and hi-intensity interval cardio, I will burn calories beyond the end of the session (EPOC). Many of these workouts may be combined and none will be over 1hr in duration!

If anyone needs help setting and outlining their goal, email me at cheston.bogue@gmail.com

Goal Setting v2.0

2008-11-20T03:07:00.000-08:00

The first step to real progress...

Go ahead and take 30 seconds to identify you current fitness goal. Now answer all of the following questions:

Why did you pick this goal?

How long will it take you to reach the goal?

What is the first step you will take in starting this goal?

How will you measure your progress?

What short term objectives will you have to reach before getting to your ultimate goal?

How will you know when you've reached your goal?

What will reaching this goal allow you to do that you can't right now?

Is your goal achievable?

What will your life be like if you don't fulfill this goal?

How will you reward yourself for reaching your goal?

When I ask clients about their fitness goals, I usually get predictable responses. Most of the time what I'll hear is too broad/general and therefore is un-achievable. From my experience, goals have to be specific, meaningful, measurable and well thought. An example of a poorly state goal would be "I want to loose some weight". A better example would be "I want to loose 15lbs before my vacation in January so that I can feel confident in a swimsuit". The second statement is specific, measurable, has meaning to the person and is achievable.

If you've successfully answered the 10 questions above. The next thing you need to do create a written record of these answers. The act of writing things down and committing your ideas to paper will help in assuring that you follow through. Title the document:

"My Fitness Goals"

Below the title you'll state your specific, meaningful, measurable and well thought out goal. Below your goal statement, list your 10 answers. When you've finished, spend a minute or two to think about what you are about to take on. Once you're sure that this goal suits you, sign your name at the bottom John Hancock style.

Your new goal contract shouldn't take you more than 20-30 minutes to complete. While solid planning is an important phase of any new endeavor, the fact is that if you get tied up planning for too long you run the risk of losing interest and motivation to accomplish something that may be really important to you!

If you need help with any step in creating your goal contract or in planning your fitness journey you may contact cheston.bogue@gmail.com

Where's the Magic?

2008-11-12T03:31:00.000-08:00

So where does the magic happen? Is it the during the warm-up? Is it when you are busting your tail doing a "1000" workout? Is it somewhere in the middle of your run when you've finally hit your stride and get that runners "high"? Or is it not even in the gym at all?

It is all too common that gym goers only focus their attention on the calories they are burning and the progress they are making during the actual workout. This however is not when the "magic" happens. If you were to take a tissue sample of your muscles during a workout, tests would show that resistance training destroys muscle mass! We know this isn't true because the only way to build lean muscle is through resistance training. So what is actually happening?

When we exercise we are placing physical stress on our muscles and cardiorespiratory system. During the workout and immediately following this stress (breakdown) is greater than the rate of rebuilding, so temporarily we are weaker than before we started. The magic happens somewhere between 12 and 24 hours after the workout (outside of the gym). This is when the rate of muscle and cardio rebuilding occurs at a greater rate than it is being broken down. It is during this period that our bodies actually get stronger and results are made.

The same concept holds true with burning calories. During a typical moderate intensity cardio workout the average gym buff will expend around 400 calories. His or her general metabolism however may burn around 1500-2000 calories a day. With this in mind, it is to this person's benefit to focus their workouts around increasing their daily metabolic burn instead of just the workout burn. This is possible by buidling lean muscle and increasing exercise intensity. If the workout yeilds only 400 of the 2000 total calories burned, once again the magic is happening mostly outside of the gym!

I am not at all suggesting that what we do here at the gym is un-important or irrelevant to your goals and results. In fact, each style of exercise you choose to do elicits very specific physiological responses. The way you prepare and care for your body outside of the workout also effects the response your body has to the stress. Here are 5 tips to help ensure you are getting your piece of the magic once the workout is over...

Exercise Nutrition: As I wrote in the previous blog, the way you feed your body around the actual workout greatly effects the way your body performs and recovers during and after the workout. Research has shown that feeding your body carbs and protein immediately following the workout can accelerate your recovery time up to 6X as fast!

Rest: I know you are motivated and want to see results, but sometimes less is more... especially in the beginning. As I stated above it takes between 12 and 24 hours before our bodies are rebuilding fast enough to combat the breakdown. It actually takes around 36 hours to realize the full benefits of a good workout. Therefore make sure you do not schedule back to back hi-intensity workouts. This will result in very little progress and can cause overtraining related injuries. If you want to workout every day, make sure you alternate intensity and the areas of focus.

Intensity: When faced with the choice of duration vs. intensity, research has shown that harder workouts increase your metabolism and fat burn greater than long-slow workouts. In a very recent study, two groups exercised and burned an equal number of calories (400cal/workout) doing either hi-intesity or slow paced exercise. After 8-weeks, while the number of calories burned between the two groups were equal only the hi-intensity group showed losses in belly fat while the slow group lost no belly fat at all. Imagine working out for 8-weeks and seeing ZERO results...

Sleep: There are certain hormones and recovery mechanisms that occur at a greater rate during sleep. If you are not getting 6-8 hours of solid sleep every night you are simply slowing down your rate of results.

Change your workouts: Your body adapts to the stresses you place on it. Therefore if you don't occasionally surprise your body you will become used to your routine and will stop seeing changes. Ways to change your workouts include, varying intensity (reps, weights, tempo), modality (weights, bands, machines, cardio), and duration (sets and time).

The take home message here is that focusing all of your attention on the calories you burn or the weights you lift in the gym is a short sided approach to working out. The reality is that the magic mostly happens outside of the gym and many of the choices you make in during the 160+ hours you're not working out have a greater effect on reaching your goals. If you need help planning your workouts or need more ideas on how to get results email cheston.bogue@gmail.com

1000 Workout

2008-11-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

Meet the objective, reach your goals...

Need an effective workout that doesn't require a lot of thought or time? Try the West Loop Gym 1,000 challenge. With every workout you will get stronger and look better!

You may have heard of the infamous "300" or "Spartan" workout made popular by crossfit and the Hollywood hit movie 300. In this workout you complete 300 total repetitions of various exercises in as little time and with as little rest as possible. The West Loop Gym 1,000 is made up of 10 exercises, 100 repetitions each, totaling a whopping 1,000 repetitions. And for those of you looking for that extra kick, add a 1-mile run (not a jog) to the end of your workout.

While there are many ways to complete your 1,000 workout, I will show you my personal favorite. Here are the exercises we will use for the 1000:

Push-ups
Body Weight Squats
Lat Pull Down
Stability Ball Crunch
Triceps dip (on chair)
Alternating Lunges (50 each leg)
Rubber Band Rows
Bicycle Crunches
Dumbbell Biceps Curls
Rope Triceps extension

Complete 100 repetitions of each exercise in this order before moving on to the next exercise. You do not need to do 100 repetitions in a row, but try to finish each exercise with as few breaks as possible. Once you finish the last exercise, get on a treadmill and crank out 1 mile as fast as you can without break.

An average time to complete everything would be 35minutes. We've even had a few clients finish below 30 minutes! If you finish your 1,000 + mile in under 30 minutes, email cheston.bogue@gmail.com to be added to the list of champions!

Exercise Nutrition 101

2008-11-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

How to keep you body happy during your workout and see results after...

Most novice gym goers do not nutritionally prepare their bodies for a workout. Nor do they supply their muscles with the nutrients to rebuild and recover once its all over. Without sound Exercise Nutrition your progress in the gym will be limited. Imagine brushing a blank wall without any paint in your bucket... You've definitely put in the hard work but accomplished nothing! This is exactly what is happening when you don't feed your body properly.

What do your muscles want before a workout?

Your muscles want fuel to go! While most of us have Days worth of energy stored in our midsections, this source of fuel isn't tapped until later in the workout. To begin, your body needs readily available energy from your blood system. The best sources to meet this need should come in the form of easy to digest carbohydrates (breakfast bar, fruit, juice, ect...) Before you come to the gym you should plan a small meal (100-200 calories) consisting mainly of carbs. To avoid stomach cramping you should eat this meal 60-75 minutes before your workout. This will also allow your body the perfect amount of time to digest the carbohydrates, transfer them into the blood and circulate them around the body to be used to start-up the muscles.

What do your muscles want during the workout?

Your muscles still need fuel. If you've eaten your pre-workout meal then you will have enough energy to get you through the initial portion of the workout. Eventually your metabolism kicks in and you start to burn your body's stored fuels (fat and stored glycogen). Unless you are working out for more than 1-hour your body should have enough stored energy to get the job done. After 1-hour you may experience a "crash" in energy. To avoid this you may want to sip a carbohydrate/electorlyte drink throughout the workout to help supplement your metabolism. And always stay hydrated! You should never feel thirsty during a workout.

What do you muscles want after the workout?

When it comes to exercise nutrition, the post-workout meal is highly important. Immediately following a workout, your muscles are most receptive to carbohydrates and proteins. Carbs and proteins are the supplies used to rebuild your body after the stress of the workout. If you wait too long to feed your body these nutrients, the muscle cells quickly become unreceptive and you miss your window of opportunity to rebuild. You literally have 30-60 minutes to ingest, digest and circulate the carbs and proteins for them to be taken up by the muscles and be effectively used. The best way to accomplish this is by taking your post-workout meal in liquid form (smoothies, shakes and powder mixes). Liquids only require 10-15 minutes to clear the stomach and digest in the intestines. Solid foods take nearly an hour to digest causing you to miss your window of opportunity. Depending on your body-size and goals you should get 15-40 grams of protein and 30-80 grams of carbohydrates in your post-workout drink. Don't be afraid of all those carbs, this is the one meal during the day where it is absolutely necessary to have all that yummy sugar! The sugar is actually what helps transport the protein into the muscle cells. Without it, the protein goes mostly unused and is stored as fat.

Recap:

Pre-Workout: 100-200 calories of primarily carbohydrates to get you started. This should be consumed 60-75 minutes before you exercise.
During Workout: Unless you exercise more than 1-hour all you need is water to stay hydrated. If your workout goes beyond 1-hour you may benefit for a carbohydrate/electrolyte sports drink such as Smart Water to help prevent an energy crash.
Post-Workout: Consume a liquid carbohydrate/protein drink consisting of 15-40grams of protein and 30-80grams of carbs. To maximize effectiveness you should begin this meal as soon as you finish the last repetition in your workout.

Without proper exercise nutrition it is very difficult for your body to build lean attractive muscle which in turn will help you burn off excess fat. Many beginners are afraid of consuming any calories around their workout because they feel this negates the calories they've burned during the workout. While this appears to be a legitimate argument, it is merely a short sided view of what is actually happening. These critical meals help support your metabolism and allow you to burn even more calories throughout the day when you are at rest. In return you will yield a greater number of calories burned and more fat lost!

For more information on workout meals and supplementation email cheston.bogue@gmail.com.

5 Favorite Exercises

2008-10-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've decided to share with you the 5 exercises I believe to be the most crucial in developing overall fitness. Every person entering the gym should know the very basic form and technique of each of these movements before building more complex routines. We too often jump ahead of ourselves and try to build a house before we poured the foundation. Each exercises includes an accompanying link with a video of various progressions you can use to perform on each exercise. Always begin with the easiest variation and move to the hardest.

Push Ups: Those who train with me know I love the push-up. This is one of the most complete upper body exercises. The reason I prefer push-ups to most other pushing movements is that they develop shoulder, core and hip stabilization while building strength in the pecs, triceps, shoulders and lats. Unlike a bench press, you are forced to engage your stomach and shoulder blades which will help prevent many of the common injuries at the shoulder joint and lower back.
Dead Lifts: The name alone sounds frightening, however a dead lift is one of the best exercises for developing your core back. This lift emulates one of the tasks our body was built to perform, which is lifting an object from the ground to waist level. When practiced correctly, the dead lift choreographs your hamstrings, glutes and low back muscles to fire in the proper order so that you do not strain your lumbar (lower) spine when picking stuff up.
Overhead Squats: While the Dead Lift is a more functional sequence of muscle activation, the Overhead Squat is great exercise to uncover muscle tightness throughout the entire body. On your first repetition you will quickly see how tight your shoulders, low back, hamstrings and glutes really are! Each of these tight areas can then be improved through active stretching, strengthening and soft tissue work (massage, foam roller, stick).
Recline Pulls: This is the opposite exercise of the push-up. Just like the push-up, reclined pulls address shoulder, core and hip stability, but also works on strength of the upper body pulling muscles (biceps, traps, lats). Most novice workouts include more pushing than pulling movements when in fact our bodies really need more pulling. Pulls help improve our back support, posture and help combat the dysfunction we acquire from seated work.
Bridging: We've all heard of the need to build a solid core, but what is the core doing for us? First of all, it serves to protect the lower spine from damaging amounts of flexing and bending. Secondly, a strong core allows us to transfer the strength and power from the muscles of our arms and legs into other objects (lifting and locomotion). When our core is weak we lose functional strength. Bridging is the first step in building stability and activating the core. While crunching and leg raises work to build up abdominal muscle, these movements teach our trunk to flex and extend which is not what we want during structural and overhead lifts.

As you've probably noticed, all of these lifts are performed with body weight. My belief is that if you cannot effectively move your own body around, you have no business working with weights.

If you have any questions on how to perform these exercises or would like an evaluation of your form, please email Cheston.bogue@gmail.com

SHOW vs. GO: Incorporate Function into your Workout

2008-10-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

You need to ask yourself... Are my workouts for SHOW or do my workouts help me to GO? Most popular programs are based on "bodybuilding" principles that serve the purpose of creating over-sized muscles. Words like Isolation, Pump, and Burn all fit into SHOW style of training. If you are a GO person, you are incorporating more dynamic and coordinated movements into your workouts. SHOW workouts are scheduled around isolating specific muscles groups such as chest, back, shoulder, arms, legs. GO workouts are based on a variety of movements and directions which coordinate all of the different muscle groups.

Left: Bodybuilder, Right: Gerard Butler from the Movie 300 trained 100% GO!

We here at West Loop Gym strongly believe in GO training. This has been the way athletes have trained since the beginning of time and is the best way to avoid injury and build a lean attractive physique. The nature of GO training helps improve mobility and core strength which in turn undoes the typical aches and pains created by our seated/sedentary culture. Below is a sample full-body workout for you to try that incorporates more GO:

Warm-up: Functional Dumbbell Matrix (2x)

1. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press (12 reps)

Standing Single Arm Cable Row with Rotation (10 reps each arm)

Stability Ball Crunch (20 reps)

2. Lunges (12 reps each leg)

Split Stance Standing Band Press (20 reps)

Seated Medicine Ball Twists (20 reps)

3. Recline Bodyweight Row (12 reps)

Single Leg Squat (8 reps on each leg)

Abdominal Bridge (:45sec)

Perform each numbered group of exercises as a circuit (ie. DB Chest Press --> Cable Row --> SB Crunch). Perform each circuit 3x through before moving on to the next circuit. Because this a GO workout, you should move from one exercise to the next with as little rest as possible. Remember, "form follows function". The better you move, the better you'll look!

If you have any questions about GO training or the workout, feel free to email coaching@westloopgym.net.

Your Body or Your Car?

2008-10-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

by Cheston Bogue and Joe Endzel

Joe and I were discussing the other day how little most people pay attention to their bodies. It occurred to us that we often take better care of our cars than ourselves. Ask yourself:

When was the last time you took your car in for an oil change/scheduled maintenance? When was the last time you've taken yourself in for a physical or had your blood profile checked?

How many miles are on your tires? How many miles are on your gym shoes?

Have you ever attempted a long car trip on empty or overfilled your tank when the car is not being used? How many times have you forgotten to eat during a long stressful day or stayed home and stuffed yourself when you had nothing better to do?

When your engine makes strange noises, do you crank the radio and ignore it, or call a mechanic? When your body is making strange noises do you crank the iPod and run, or do you seek a professional's help?

In a lifetime you may own 10 different cars. A body is a one time deal! It is the only truly priceless asset you will ever own! Why not give it at least the same attention as we give our cars?

A Functional Warm-up: The Dumbbell Matrix

2008-10-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

Traditional warm-ups using the treadmill, bike or elliptical do a sufficient job at elevating your heart rate, but have little practical use beyond that point. An effective warm-up should incorporate movements at every joint used during your workout. In doing so, you not only warm up the body, but you increase the amount of activated (useable) muscle. This will improve your exercise performance and help produce better RESULTS! The Dumbbell Matrix warm-up is a dynamic routine that triggers the muscles, ramps up your heart rate, and develops better mobility. You will perform 3 basic movements in 3 directions. The movements are: Pushes, Pulls and Lower Body. The 3 directions are: Front, Side and Rotation. Every exercise is performed in alternating sets of 6 repetitions. Start with a pair of 5lb dumbbells and follow this sequence (Video):

Pushes (above the shoulders)

Front: Alternating Shoulder Press (6)
Side: Alternating Side Press (6)
Rotation: Alternating Cross Punch w/foot pivots (6)

Pulls (below the shoulders)

Front: Alternating Biceps Curls (6)
Side: Alternating High Rows (6)
Rotation: Alternating uppercuts w/foot pivots (6)

Lower Body (Reaches to the floor)

Front: Reaches to the front (6)
Side: Reaches to the side (toes pointing forward) (6)
Rotation: 3/4 Reaches to the back w/front toe facing forward (6)

All Together

Perform all the Lower Body Reaches again while adding a overhead shoulder press to each alternating repetition. 3x (6)

Perform the Matrix 2x before beginning your next workout. The entire sequence should be completed in around 90 seconds. Make sure you do not compromise full range of motion for speed. When 90 seconds with 5lb dumbbell becomes too easy, advance to a heavier dumbbell. View my full video explanation of the matrix for a better look at this warm-up!

Form more info about warm-ups email cheston.bogue@gmail.com

The Recipe: Cookin' up some fat loss!

2008-09-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

When living a healthy lifestyle, doing something is definitely better than doing nothing, but doing the right thing will always take you a lot further! Now the question is "what is the right thing?" Many of us live hectic lives and work a busy schedule. If you want results, you must use what ever time you have in the most effective way. What you need is the right Recipe for success.

To lose fat and build lean attractive muscle you have to follow a recipe (program) that yields outcome you want. If you were to mix and microwave a bowl of bananas, flour, milk and pasta, you can't expect to get cookies! If you want your chocolate chip cookies to taste just like mom's you need to buy the exact same ingredients, mix them in the exact same way, use the same oven and cook them for the same amount of time. Any deviation from the original recipe will give a different result. A good fat-loss program is just like a recipe. It is important to follow every step with precision and care if you want the outcome to be predictable. You can't omit or add too much of any ingredient. And you can't make changes to the recipe until you've mastered the original. So lets start with a shopping list of the supplies you'll need to start your program:

1. A diet that promotes the loss of fat and building of lean muscle: Diet is the #1 ingredient in a successful weight management plan. You can actually lose weight without exercise, but you will never lose weight without a calorie deficit. The calories in vs. calories out equation is the simplest way to start. The best ways to understand your diet is with a food journal. You should use this tool to identify how many calories you eat and estimate how much you are burning.

2. A diet that promotes the loss of fat and building of lean muscle:
Yes! It is so important that I'm having you buy it twice! Your diet should also include enough protein and healthy fats (monounsaturated fats) to help promote your metabolism and the building of lean muscle.

3. Workouts that promote the building of lean muscle:
Lifting weights plays a critical role in every fat loss plan. Since muscles are the engines that burn fat, the more muscle we have, the more fat we can burn. Full-body resistance training promotes muscle growth which increases your resting metabolism. Weight lifting not only helps you drop the unwanted pounds, but it makes it possible to keep the fat off!

4. Workouts that raise you metabolism:
The key word here is intensity. The harder you push during the workout, the longer your metabolism is elevated. When your effort nears 100%, your metabolism will keep pumping (sometimes up to 36hrs after the workout is over). This "afterburn" effect is the reason that shorter duration hi-intensity workouts have been shown to burn 9X more fat than long duration slow cardio. Examples of hi-intensity training would be circuits, interval cardio or the "1000" workout.

5. Workouts that burn a lot of calories:
These are moderate duration/moderate intensity workouts that may or may not promote lean muscle gains (running, cycling, swimming, x-country skiing). These workouts do not give the same "afterburn" effect as the hi-intensity work. They are used on your non-lifting days to burn additional calories while your body is recovering and rebuilding from weight lifting and hi-intensity metabolic workouts.

Putting it all together!
Now that you've finished shopping for the supplies, you have to assemble the recipe in a way that fits your lifestyle. The final cooking time will depend on the time you've allocated each week to exercise. Here's how it goes... if you have:

0 hours a week: You will work with ingredients 1 and 2. If you can't make it to the gym or workout on your own, it is crucial that your diet is spot on. You can still lose lbs, but don't expect to get the results quickly.

1-3 hours a week: You will work with ingredients 1, 2 and 3. Since lean muscle is the largest component in a lasting fat loss program, drop the cardio and hit the weights! 40 minutes of hard lifting will actually burn a similar number of calories as 40 minutes of light jogging. The difference between weights and cardio is that lifting results in the "afterburn" which equates to more calories burnt in the long run.

4-5 hours a week: Always start with ingredients 1 and 2. You will preform 3 servings of ingredient #3 (weight lifting) and add 1-2 servings of ingredient #4 (metabolic training). Metabolic workouts are short and intense. These can be sprints on the treadmill and bike, or high-intensity calisthenic style circuits.

6+ hours a week: This is like adding the frosting to the cake. You will continue your conscientious diet, along with 3 servings of weights and 2 servings of hi-intensity training. All of your remaining time can be used on ingredient #5 (low/moderate intensity aerobic work such as running/jogging, swimming, cycling, ect...).

If you need help planning and deciding which recipe is best for you, feel free to email me at cheston.bogue@westloopgym.net. These fat loss recipes are scientifically proven to be the most effective use of your time. If you change the ingredients or order of mixing, don't expect a predictable result!

This posting is based on Alwyn Cosgrove's Hierarchy of Fat Loss.

Welcome

2008-09-25T17:19:00.001-07:00

I want to welcome everyone to my Blog. Feel free to check in periodically to find out what is on my mind for the day. I will try to stick to the topic at hand (Health and Fitness), but don't be surprised when I occasionally sway. Here is my promise to any reader of this blog... The information in my head is public domain. Anything I know about health and fitness is Free to anyone who asks. I encourage you to email me with any questions you have. I will try to respond in a post or directly depending the nature of the question. Once again thank you for stopping in! I hope to see you back soon.

Cheston
cheston.bogue@gmail.com

Being Fit.

2008-09-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

Becoming a "Fit" person is not as difficult as you may think. Lets start out with a question... Who would you consider to be a fit person:

A) John Doe, who is 5'10" and weighs 300lbs but has lost over 100lbs in the last 12 months, he now eats healthy and conscientiously, exercises on a regular schedule and takes the appropriate measures to reduce his stress and recover properly.

B) Jane Doe, who weighs 135lbs has gained 5lbs over the last 12 months, works 50-60 stress filled hours per week, eats whenever she can find the time and whatever is most convenient, and watches 10-12hrs of television to "unwind" after a long week.

Based on looks alone, A) John Doe would probably appear to be the less fit of the two. However, he is actually living a lifestyle that most of us can't seem to get a handle on.

Being Fit is just that. It is a lifestyle that you can adopt instantly. Fit is the way you eat, exercise, manage stress, and recover. A compromise in any of these areas and you are not really fit. Someone who runs mile after mile through injury and pain is not recovering/healing properly and therefore not making a fit lifestyle choice. We tend to measure fitness by our weight, inches, strength and cardiovascular power. While these are definitely important indicators of health, they merely serve the purpose of showing us our progress. Rather than worrying about the results that come from living a fit life, I challenge you to live in the present and gain control over the things you can. In most cases you know better, therefore you can do better. When you are starring at that bag of cookies in the store, about to snatch a plate of goodies at a conference or ready to battle the snooze button in place of going to the gym, realize that you one choice away from personal victory! These victories are the stepping stones to becoming a better you. Realize that it's not the cookies, business conference or long day ahead that are stopping you from having a fit body, it's your own poor choices. You always have a choice. You can give in or you become instantly fit!