The first thing we need to address is how often you should strength train and do cardio. There a few rules of thumb:

1. Never strength train more than 2 days in a row. Doing 3 days in a row is not beneficial and often leads to injury and burnout.

2. You CAN do cardio and strength in the same day.

3. Always make sure to take 1-2 days off of working out completely each week.

As far as strength training goes beginners should strength train 2x/week, intermediates 3 times/week, and advanced exercisers 3x and maybe 4x/week. What’s most important is that you structure your workouts in two ways. The first way is so you never do more than 2 days in a row, this means working out on M/W/Th/Sat or M/T/Th/F or some other combination. The second way to structure your workouts is so you hit different body parts or do different exercises each day. You don’t want to be heavy benching 4 days nor doing heavy squats 3-4 days a week. Its just too much. Make sure to  structure your workouts so you do some sort of compound lift, then 2 exercises that can be supersetted, then some type of core/conditioning work.

Cardio is is slightly different but the same principles apply. You want to do cardio 2-4 days/week with 3 usually being pretty optimal for most people. Make sure that you change up the workouts that you do each day. You don’t want to do sprints everyday nor do you want to run 5 miles every day. Try sprints, intervals, hills, temp runs, long distance, etc… When it comes to cardio you have high intensity workouts like sprints and low intensity like walking. If you are a runner or use high intensity workouts you can use low intensity workouts for recovery days if you want to get in extra work. Lastly, you can do cardio and strength in the same day as they use very different systems and break down the muscles much differently.

Lastly, as far as abs are concerned they are primarily an endurance muscle. This means they can work for long periods of time but don’t use much energy. You can train them 3-5 days/week. I usually train them twice a week as almost every exercise that I do incorporates the abs so I don’t see it neccessary to do more than needed here. If you want you can do isolated ab work at the end of workouts, BUT, spend no more than 5 minutes on abs. Abs can be worked slightly more than other muscles but don’t really need to be.

Scary Trend #1: Mimicking Weight Lose Shows

I am sure that most people have seen shows like “The Biggest Loser” or at the very least have heard about them. I have watched some of the show here and there but nothing regularly. Now, you may also see the show and think its so cool to be doing what they do and lose 5-15lbs in a week or two. If they can do it I can do it is usually the mentality. Yes, they are putting in the hard work each and every day but they are also surrounded by doctors, nutritionists, trainers, and physical therapists. They are surrounded by people who can moderate what they do and to make sure that they are “usually” safe doing it. Mimicking this at home can lead to injury, especially if you try some of the advanced exercises that they are doing.

Scary Trend #2: Extreme Workouts Without Exercise Regression

I think its awesome when I see people pushing themselves and really pushing the limits in a SAFE and EFFECTIVE way. This does not mean to go from nothing into an extreme workout or gym setting. This is a surefire way to get hurt and/or be sore for days. There’s a reason why we have progressions, regressions, and modifications to almost EVERY exercise that we do in our program. Its to keep people safe. When you jump right into an extreme workout, gym, or DVD with little thought to the build up process a few things happen:

1. You start lose your form. This doesn’t matter because as long as you can keep up with everyone else or the DVD that’s whats important. WRONG!!!! This is why building up and learning the fundamentals is a critical step. So many times we see people that are in great shape but do not know form. They never learned the basics.

2. You never make it past the first 10 minutes because you simply don’t have the stamina to do so or you slow down considerably.

If an extreme gym or workout is where you belong I think that’s great. Just make sure that there is either regressions/progressions to they have a beginners program to follow. A one size fits all extreme workout is a thing of the past.

1. They make it way too complicated. They want to figure out every gram of protein, carbs, sugar, calories, etc… You name it they want to track it. This becomes very mundane over time and just leads to nutritional burnout.

2. They are way to strict and want to follow the program word for word. Many times people find a great diet and start it on Monday, when Saturday rolls around and they go out to eat or get out of their dieting element they don’t know what to eat or how because its not laid out for them

Now, I love to track my workouts and my cardio. I track every rep, set, weight, mile, and time that I do. I have this dated back to almost 7 years ago. I use it to see what works and what doesn’t. BUT, tracking nutrition never worked for me so I go with the Monday through Friday easy to do meal planning. What I mean by this is that I eat relatively the same thing Monday through Friday and then do my best on the weekends.

For most of us our weekdays are pretty much the same week to week so it shouldn’t be hard to find a balanced nutrition that works for us. I suggest  figuring out a 3 day plan and cycling through it. Right now one of my days are as follows:

Breakfast- 1 egg, 1 cup of egg whites, half and apple with peanut butter

Snack 1- Greek Yogurt with pineapple or berries

Lunch- A cold cut sandwhich and the other half of my apple

Snack 2- Either a post workout recovery shake, or chicken or turkey burgers and hummus (yes I eat them together they just taste good to me) OR red peppers and hummus.

Dinner- Salad and protein or a lean protein. This depends if Ro is home or not.

Snack- Optional and sometimes I eat a piece of fruit.

Thats it, no tracking every day. This is what works for me, has been working for me, and I will use this till its broken. Its easy to do and it allows me to buy the same foods at the store week after week with no prepping or grocery store list. If tracking each day works for you then use it, if having a pre-set meal plan every day work then use that, if using a laid out meal to meal diet plan from a book works than use that!! What’s important is that you use what works and throw out what doesn’t.

1. Steady State Cardio- This is the most basic form of cardio you can do. Running, walking, elliptical, biking and swimming for a pro-longed period of time with no breaks. This is where most people start and also the reason most people get bored of cardio.

2. Interval Training- I talk about interval training all the time and is the next logical step for people. Interval training is all over the media right now and for good reason, IT WORKS. This can be as simple as running for a few minutes and then walking for a few minutes.

Those are your 2 most basic forms of cardio and what every other type of cardio is based around. These are what most people start their routines with and often never get out of this type of training. There are many other ways to do cardio.

3. Track Training- How about going to the track and running 1, 2, or 3 laps for time? After getting down a base time, resting and doing it again to see if you can beat your time. This is a good way to track results and often times different than your basic intervals.

4. Mailbox Running- This is exactly like track training except that you sprint between 2 mailboxes. They can be 3, 4 or 20 houses apart. After sprinting you will rest and repeat. Can you beat your time, every time?

5. Tempo Runs- This is a steady state and interval mix. You will simple start off by doing you normal cardio routine and then every 3-5 minutes do a 1-2 minute sprint. Instead of slowing down to a recovery pace like walking you will go back to your normal speed. This can be extremely challenging.

6. Hill Runs- This can be done running, biking, or increasing the resistance on the elliptical machine. Find a hill, sprint up it and walk down it. If the hill is very long you can also do timed sprints such as 1-minute uphill 1-minute walk downhill. This is brutal on the legs and lungs.

7. Every Day Cardio- This certainly isn’t direct cardio but a good way to burn more calories. Simple walking around more in your daily routine, taking the stairs, parking farther away, mowing the grass, shoveling the driveway etc.. Its basically anything that keeps you active and on your feet. Like I said its not exactly cardio but will burn more calories than sitting.

8. Multi-Type Cardio- This may be one of the best ways to stay motivated in the winter. Pick 2-3 different cardio machines like the treadmill, rower, and elliptical. Then get on each one for 10-15 minutes. After the time is up switch to a new piece of cardio equipment. It will keep your attention because you are constantly switching machines. You can also do this with intervals as well.

9. Cardio Done Somewhere New- This is also a very simple trick that I use. If you run, walk, or bike outdoors then this is perfect for you. Simply do a new route or drive somewhere and do cardio. I use patriots path a lot for my cardio because it gives me a nice change of scenery. I run from my house, from my gym, or sometimes just drive to a parking lot and run from there.

10. Goal Minded Cardio- This is a good way to do cardio because it gives you something to strive for each and every time you do cardio. Set a goal to reach each time you go out. It can be running for 30-minutes or doing 5 quarter mile sprints. Even better, sign up for a local 5K. This way you will have something to work towards.

11. Tabata Intervals- This is a neat one that I have tried a few times. You would warm-up and then do a 20/10, 30/15, 30/10, or 40/20 intervals. That means 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest or for the 30/15, 30 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest. Then you will pick a number of sets like 5, 8, 10, etc… It may look easy but as you continue and you start doing 8 -12 sets it becomes very hard. Still think its easy? Try doing this on hills.

12. Cardio Strength- The last type of cardio that I want to touch on is great for both getting in cardio and strength training. This is THE ideal way to train for any of the new races like the Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, or Mud Runs where there are obstacles every quarter mile. Simply find a track or a loop that you can run around that takes about 2-4 minutes. After each loop do some form of body weight training like squats, pushups, jumps, core work, planks, etc.. Do them for 1-2 sets of 15-25 reps and then do another loop or lap. This is a great way to totally mix things up and get ready for the one of those races.

What if we combined the heavy lifts, the high reps, and the burn all into one set? This is something that we call drop sets and it will double as a strength builder but also as a muscle burner. This will take your muscles and mental capacity to exhaustion if done right. Before we go into the program I want to make one comment on exhausting the muscles and this program. You should always work to 1 rep before exhaustion but NEVER to actual muscular failure as this does intense damage to the fibers.

The program is to be used on only the last set of an exercise, never on the first. You can use this to burn up the abs, legs, shoulders, and arms. The way that it works is that you perform your normal sets of exercises as you would in your workout. So, lets say that you are doing KB Squats and Pushups. You go through 3 sets or rounds of each exercise. On the last set/round you would drop the KB weight down to about 40-50% of what you were using. So if you used a 50lb kettlebell you would drop to 25-35lbs. IMMEDIATELY, with no rest continue squats for another 8-12 reps to burn up the muscles. Then proceed to pushups. This allows you to go heavy on the 3rd set for 8-12 reps but also drop down in weight and feel the burn.

The same can be done for biceps and triceps and is one of the mist effective ways to work the arms. Simply drop the weight by about 50% and crank out as many reps as possible at the new weight. I guarentee that this will leave your arms screaming.

In many of the topics that I have written I pull from campers experience and from stories that I have been told. I am not familiar with a 30lb weight lose but have campers who are and have talked to them about it. I am not familiar with having kids, running around, and finding the time to fit in exercise, but I have campers that are. I AM familiar with over training and what it can do to your body so I can speak from experience.

Sometimes we get so into working out that we forget to take breaks or days off. Strength training every day or multiple days in a row can not only lead to overtraining but also injury. When you strength train you are breaking down the muscles, when you do this every day you get NO time to recover and thus feel like you are making little to no improvements. When you start pushing your cardio or more specifically training for a running event like a 5K or half marathon you need to program in rest days as well because your body can only take so much before it shuts down.

In the above 2 examples I am talking about a stage that for many of us we will probably never reach BUT what if exercise its self is stressing you out because you are already on time constarints? Here are a some ways to know if you are overtraining or should decrease the amount or volume of training you are doing:

1. You have trouble sleeping at night or you are tired all the time.

2. You feel hungry all the time or never feel hungry.

3. You dread going to the gym or working out.

4. You are always sore and never seem to recuperate. If you take a day off you feel great when you return.

5. Weights, times, and distances that used to be easy are gradually becoming more difficult to complete. This is usually from the central nervous system shutting down.

If you feel that you are starting to over train or do too much you need to back off or do something different for about a week. Then start back to a modified routine and build back up to where you were. This will actually lead to strength and speed gains if you can stop before you burn out.

Now, obviously nutrition also play a vital role in many health risks such as diabetes and heart disease as well so I am not denying that. Nutrition is also the first step that many people take in hopes of losing the first few or last few pounds. So, my take on the whole carb issue goes as follows.

I think that carbs are a big reason for the obesity problem we are facing. They are easily accessible, taste good, and we over eat them. I think that doing a no-carb diet for an extended period of time is NOT  a good idea. Its not realistic and eventually you will go back to carbs. I have heard and seen it first hand that once you do go back to carbs it can be a nasty weight gain if you don’t do it correctly. Many people do the no carbs for a trip, vacation, or wedding and as soon as they are done its back to what they were eating before and I believe that this can severely mess with your metabolism.

On the other hand I think that a no-carb diet for 2-4 weeks is perfectly fine as long as its followed up by gradual carb loading weeks. Each week you will eat a little bit more carbs than the week or two weeks before. The no-carb or low-carb phase can be used for weight lose or as a general detox of carbs. I have seen both. Whats important is that you slowly and gradually reintroduce the carbs back into the nutrition.

After the carbs are brought back the most effective way is still to have a low carb, REALISTIC nutrition that allows you to eat less carbs some days and more carbs other days. Lastly, I also believe that mindset and why you are dieting is vital. As I said before if you are doing this for the short-term, many times people neglect the carb phases and just go back to where they were before and the cycle continues until the next big event when they need to do it again. This type of dieting makes it harder and harder to lose weight every time you do this. If you are doing this for the long-term or are at least willing to follow the entire protocol or phases this will be much more successful and safer for you.

That’s my take on the whole carb revolution. What are your thoughts??

The number one thing people want when summer is here is to look good in the bathing suit and have a flat stomach. This can be achieved with a little hard work and planning. The first step in getting the stomach that you desire is nutrition. Eating is the make or break and there is no way around it.  Here are 3 easy steps to improving your nutrition:

1. Limit carb intake to 2-3 meals a day and make sure that the carbs are in the form of veggies, whole wheat, and fruits.

2. Kick out as much processed foods as possible.

3. Add in protein to every meal and eat it FIRST. This will ensure that you don’t overeat carbs at any meal because you will be filling yourself up with protein first.

Also, just a few things to keep in mind in regards to nutrition. Eating 5-6 small meals a day is better than 3 meals a day your metabolism and weight lose. Fruit has sugar and carbs so this should not be considered a “free food”. This needs to be taken into account like all other carbs. Lastly, make sure to look at not just the frequency of eating but also the amount you eat at each meal. If you aren’t getting the results that you want, decrease food intake at 1-2 meals.

The next step is cardio. Cardio will burn off the fat and ensure that your stomach will look trim. To start off, begin with 2 days of cardio each week and build up to 3 days. Have fun with your cardio program. Run, do the elliptical, intervals, long distance, sprints, or anything else you can do to increase the heart rate. The best program is to alternate between intervals and long distance cardio. There is an endless way to change up your cardio routine. The next step is to increase the intensity, not the amount of days or time spent doing cardio but your intensity. If what you are doing is not producing results, STEP IT UP!!

Lastly, strength training is critical to developing the toned look everyone wants in the stomach, arms, and legs. Don’t get caught up in working just the “beach muscles”. This is the stomach, biceps, chest, and legs. Make sure to also work the back, butt, and triceps. This is important to keep the body balanced!! Start with 2 days of strength an build up to 3 days. Sessions should last between 30-40 minutes and should be full body workouts. If you want to strengthen or tone specific areas leave it for the end of each workout and spend about 5-minutes in total in these areas. Hit them with high reps and burn them up but make it quick and to the point.

Make sure to start thinking about the summer now before its too late. Working on that summer body in the beginning of June will only lead to frustration because you want the weight to come off NOW instead of taking the time to work for it.

The next thing you need to do is to figure out each week when you can run. I would suggest 2-3 days a week, no more is really needed for beginners. The program for someone new to running or just getting back into running is simple. Don’t get caught up in specific programs that tell you to do intervals on day, a long distance run the next, yadda yadda yadda. Those programs are ideal for runners who can run a whole 5K without stopping but not for someone that is building up to it.

To get started simply go out and warm-up for 5 minutes, run for 1-5 minutes and then walk for 1-3 minutes and repeat. Track exactly how long your running time was and how long you walked for. Each day try to increase your running time by 10-30 seconds. If you do this for the first 4-weeks you will have built up a good base.

After the initial 4-weeks the focus then changes to running for 1-2 miles straight with minimal walking time. Your goal is to continually increase the distance or time spent running until you can run an entire 5K without stopping. This may take 10 weeks it may take longer or might be shorter. It all depends on each person and their current fitness level. After you have successfully run an entire 5K then you can move into more specific programs with track workouts, hill workouts, tempo runs, etc…

Lastly, a few things to keep in mind the week of race day. The week of race day you should perform 2 runs. Your last run should be 2 days before the race and is no more than a mile or two. Its a day to get loose and get the blood moving. Make sure to drink lots of water the entire week but DO NOT load up on water the day of the race. The most important thing to take into account is that nothing done the week of the race will benefit you on race day. What I mean by this is don’t try and go out for a 4 mile run, don’t start changing what you eat, and don’t try some new form of exercise in hopes that it will improve your times on race day. These sorts of things can only hinder your race and should be saved for the next cycle of training when you have a few months to train and try new things.

Lastly, have fun on race day, get a good start, wear a watch and track your miles, and most importantly have FUN. You trained hard for the race so enjoy it.

1. If you really want it, I mean you are truly dedicated and have the desire to go after it then get up early or stay up late. So what if you have to wake up a little earlier than most or stay up and miss your favorite TV show. If you are dedicated to your goal you will make it happen. Those who lose weight and reach their potential make it happen. They don’t sit around waiting they take action no matter what.

2. Make each workout feel like its the last. Look around the gym next time and find the people that are working their butts off. I guarentee those are also the people that get great results. WHY?? Because they truly work for the results and make every workout count and are always looking for ways to make it better. There is no magic pill or easy way to get these kinds of results. Set your mind to working hard each and every time you set foot in the gym.

3. Don’t make up excuses. Workout around your excuses. I have personally broken my strength workout into small sections during the day just to be able to get it all in. Hotel workouts, vacation workouts, active recovery, outdoor workouts, there are countless ways to workout with or without equipment and no matter where you are. Nothing should stand in your way and if it does, reassess, and figure out how to overcome it.