6 EASY Steps to Getting your Dream Body

Step 1)  Keep Away from Processed Foods

You hear it all the time. Why? Because it's true.

Processed foods don't make you fat because they're processed, but it doesn't help.

Processed foods are NOT FILLING.

Top that off with the fact that they contain a massive amount of calories compared to natural foods.

They lack the nutrients that real foods have as well.

The closer it comes to the original source, the better it is typically.



Think Potatoes VS Mashed Potatoes VS Potato Wedges VS Potato Chips, it just gets more and more processed, less filling, way more calories, and devoid of nutrients.

Processed Foods you can give up and lose weight quickly would be:

Soda
Chips
Any Snack Foods that are meant for you to just keep eating while sitting idle
Frozen Foods like Chicken Nuggets and Hungry Man
Fries

Found this on some random blog. Summed up a typical bad diet perfectly.

Step 2) Eat Real Foods

Oatmeal, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice, Red Potatoes, Whole Fruit, Whole Vegetables, Lean Meats, are all real food.



Which means the opposite of earlier.

1) They're all extremely filling. It's very difficult to overeat on grilled chicken and apples.
2) They're low calorie. You'll be surprised how hard it is to hit your caloric goal when you eat real foods. You'll often end up eating less because it's so hard to get it all down.
3) They're full of all the nutrients that the people taking all those vitamins lack.

Eat the foods you like. If you don't like any of the foods I just named, don't eat them. Eat the ones you do like. There's plenty out there.

If you don't like Cottage cheese, don't eat it. If you love Tuna, eat that.

Step 3) Read Food Labels

Most people would be shocked if they read what they ate. It's often willful ignorance. You don't want to know how bad it is, just like you don't want to know how your hot dog was made, or that your clothes were made in a sweatshop. So people turn a blind eye.



But there's no room for that if you want better shape and live a healthier life.

When you start seeing how much fat, and carbs are in the foods you were eating you'll start making better choices...hopefully.

You'll realize that nuts and peanut butter are actually horrible sources of protein, and that chips are way more fattening than you thought.



You'll seek out foods that are high in protein, low in fat, and portion your carbs better.

Step 4) Use a Food Scale and Measuring Cups

Food scales and cups are cheap. Plus what's the point of reading food labels if you're not going to measure out the portion sizes.



Once you do it long enough you'll be able to eyeball it moving forward.

I still measure because I'm OCD, but that's me.

Also, a scale is always more accurate than a cup, in case you want to be extra careful.

And it's definitely easier to measure peanut butter with.

Step 5) Track Calories

Since you've gone this far why not use that fancy yet simple, and most importantly FREE app on your smartphone or computer.

Back in the day of yore you had to log it with pen and paper. And have all the food labels on you.



Now you can get it all done on your phone in under 3 minutes.

Now you have in plain sight what you're eating, how much, and what percentage of protein, carbs, and fat.

We now have the answer to why you're losing or not losing fat/ building or not building muscle.

If you're not getting enough of something, eat more of it. If you're eating too much of it, scale it back.

It helps you plan your day, and learn from your past mistakes.

Step 6) Stick the same Meals

They've done studies on athletes that stay in the best shape later on in life and they had one thing in common.

They eat pretty much the same thing most of the time. I do it as well.

I'm not saying never deviate, but we all have our routines.

When you have a healthy routine, with foods you love to eat, why change it up all the time and confuse yourself.

It's decision and mental fatigue. You have enough things going on in your life without planning your meals every single day.



Just eat the way that works for you and stick with it. Then when you have a cheat meal or random food every once and while and it won't effect you that badly.

As I say all the time, we are what we CONSISTENTLY DO... Did I just quote myself.

FINAL THOUGHT

You don't want to change. You might think you do, but your brain and body don't want to. They love routines. They want you to stick to the same house, job, relationship. TV shows, foods, and even route to work. You can't depend on motivation, you MUST FORM HABITS the same way you have habits now. You just need to replace them with better ones.



The best way to do that is not let yourself know it's happening. By making these baby steps you can do it slowly, without as much resistance. As you keep seeing results you'll be driven to make the next steps and keep building off that momentum.

5 Worst Excuses

1) I Don't Know What to Eat

We are currently living in the year 2016 and you still don't know what to eat?!

Yes, I realize there's a lot of bad info out there but that's still not an excuse.

You're following my blog and have my contact info, so there's no way you don't know what to eat by now.

Just to be nice here's a quick list from Tom Venuto of the 12 healthiest foods to eat.

Oatmeal (or other whole grain cooked cereals such as barley, wheat, rye, etc)

Yams (or sweet potatoes)

Potatoes (white or red)

Brown Rice

Whole wheat bread and 100% whole grain products

Vegetables

Fresh Fruit

Low fat & non fat dairy products (yogurt, cheese, milk, etc)

Chicken or turkey breast

Egg whites 

Lean red meat (top round, extra lean sirloin)

Fish and shellfish

2) This is Healthy Right?

No, no it's not. Not even close.

I see it all the time.

"I got this from Whole Foods so that's okay right?"

"These Wendy's Fries have sea salt on them so that's okay right?"

"These cheeseburger buns have sesame seeds so that's okay right?"

"This pizza was cooked in a brick oven so I can eat that right?"

I don't care how natural it is, how organic it is, or  if it's 300% whole wheat, if it doesn't fit your macros!

You know what's healthy, quit lying to yourself and rationalizing poor decisions.

3) There Was an Event

A birthday, a dinner invite, a guest, a wedding, a party, a holiday, a vacation, I DON'T CARE.

Unless you're a complete shut in, events will be happening around you all the time. If you give into every single one of them you'll never get anywhere.

I ate cake on my birthday, I ate pie on Christmas and Thanksgiving, I ate popcorn at the Alamo Drafthouse. Despite rumors I am an actual human being for the most part.



The thing is, I eat right all the rest of the time, so when an event comes around it doesn't mess me up. We are what we do consistently.

4) I Don't Have Time

You know how much time it takes to log calories. The way people complain about it you'd think you'd need a background in Excel spreadsheets and an accountant.

We're not doing taxes here!



It takes about 3-5 minutes on an app that does all the work for you.

If you don't have that time, I understand. Those Facebook updates aren't going to check themselves.

Oh, you don't have time to eat right either? You can't cook a  bunch of food in bulk and put it in Tupperware 1-2 times a week?

You can't eat healthier fast food?

Grilled chicken sandwich plain?

Chipotle bowl instead of a burrito?

Protein bar instead of a Snickers bar?

5) I've Tried Tracking and it Doesn't Work

Well, call up Charles Xavier and see if he's still accepting applicants to the X-Men Mutant Academy because you have powers that defy all research and logic.



This is pure science, if you're on a caloric deficit then you will lose weight.

I don't care if you have thyroid issues because that would only account for at most around 300 calories.

If you're tracking and not getting results, either 1 of 2 things is happening.

1) You're on a bad program and need to lower the calories, up protein, exercise more, etc.
2) You're not tracking correctly and eating way more than you think.

Final Thought

We live in an information age (Yes, I know the photo above is pure irony)

Which is sad for most people, because when you have all the available tools we run out of excuses, and get filled with guilt. Because, now you know without a doubt it's your FAULT.

Lack of information isn't peoples downfall, it's lack of adherence.

Will you be one of the few percent that actually can maintain, visualize your goals, and stay the course.

Or will you be like the rest and make excuses for your failure?

6 Ways to Avoid a Bad Personal Trainer

Things to Look for in a Good Trainer

Why would I as a trainer, give people advice for seeking another trainer.

1) Not everyone lives close enough to train with me.

2) I won't be doing this forever so you'll eventually have to find somebody else.

1) Find a Trainer that's Actually in Shape

Nothing worse than someone in worse shape than you  telling you how to do things.

Even if they're knowledgeable, they lack discipline and it's not inspiring.

But... just because a trainer is in shape, doesn't mean they're a good trainer.

Some just look that way easily because of great genetics. Have any friends like this?

Some take steroids to look that way. If your male trainer is extremely vascular, or unnaturally ripped and buff, than he's on roids.



If your female trainer sounds like James Earl Jones, then she's on roids.

Stay far away from them.

Train with someone that not only looks like a trainer, but trains like a trainer.

2) Don't Fall for Before and Afters

They're very misleading. It's more up to the client to get in good shape than the trainer.

When the client is willing to finally put in the work, than they will lose the weight easily by not eating whatever they come across and actually put some thought into their diet.

It's really mostly a numbers game. If you train a hundred clients, maybe 10-20 will actually lose a good amount of weight. and 1 or 2 will have a break though transformation.

Trust me, I've been doing this for 6 years.

You might ask why I put up before and afters then.

Because it works, and yes it does inspire people.

But it doesn't always mean the trainer is of high quality.

There are trainers that have taken my before and afters and used them on their websites despite not doing the work. There are even trainers that take an after and before and switch them around.

Buyer Beware.

3) Pseudo Science Madmen

A lot of trainers think they're nutritionists despite the fact they only know enough to be dangerous and don't know the first thing about actual science.

-The more over confident they are about things that aren't proven and backed up by scientists, the more you need to run away from them.

-If your trainer believes in juicing or detoxes run away immediately.

-If they speak dismissively of mainstream science, run away.

-If they think the government and big companies are purposely making us fat and sick, run away.



First of all trainers aren't legally allowed to give you nutrition advice unless they have a nutrition certification.

I give advice anyway, but it's mainstream education that's right out of the top books so it's nothing crazy or controversial.

Be like a 5 year old and question everything they say, then you'll really find out what they know.

4) They Don't Take Measurements

It helps you keep progress, it let's you know if the client is following the nutrition program, and if you need to lower or raise calories based on the results.

If they're not measuring, then you should take great MEASURES to distance yourselves from them.

5) The Session is all About Them

It's okay for a trainer to talk about themselves and their goals or whatever. Clients often want to know this stuff, as you're going to become friends as you'll spend a lot of time together.

But some trainers won't stop, they can't shut up about themselves.

Even when they're not talking they're on the phone or staring in the mirror.

6) Where's the Programming

"Today is the 300 workout. 300 of this, 300 of that, 300 everything because today's the 300 workout."

...Why? Did we decide to abandon proper programming in favor of themes?

"Today we're going to run, then we're going to jump a lot, then run some more."

All cardio? Yeah you'll be tired at the end, doesn't mean it was a good workout.

Any idiot could make you workout till you're tired, that's not a program though.

Believe it or not, there's actually successful trainers and gyms where all they do is cheer you on while you do cardio on a treadmill or elliptical.

Trainers should have you on a specific program, since it is PERSONAL training.

You have goals, and your programming should match that.

FINAL THOUGHT

Why would you waste your money or time on someone that's not going to get you results?

As often happens with everything from relationships to investing, people don't do their due diligence.

There's too many horror stories to name of bad trainers, the least you can do is make sure you don't fall victim to it.

13 Biggest Workout Injuries

1) Bench Press

"How much you bench?"  This is the ultimate feat for the meat head gym rats with stupid "I don't call 911" shirts in the gym. How much money you make, how many girls you slept with, all means nothing when you enter the gym, it's about this arbitrary number. Each Bro qualifies himself with this number, usually rounding up about 50 more lbs than what they really did, and it's from 7 years ago before they INJURED THEMSELVES.

These are the kinds of shirts these idiots wear to the gym

Why am I bringing this up?

Because these are the people that let their ego control them and end up ripping a pec because they try to impress the whole gym with how much weight they can push off their chest. But after the description you just read, it's best this person is injured and away from the you and the gym.

Now for you normal people who don't let their ego's rule them, let me address you're biggest issues.

You have terrible from.

Bench seems like an easy workout but most of you still do it wrong. 

How?

You flare your elbows out which puts most of the focus on your shoulders. Many people talk about how their shoulders are more sore than their chest and often injure their shoulders in the process.

What you need to do, even with pushups, is instead of flaring your elbows out, push them forward. This is how power lifters do it, and they have to. If they flared their elbows out when lifting that insane weight their shoulders would be done.

Let's not even get into how crazy power lifters bench form is

2) Lateral Raises

Now I could talk about how people swing the weight too much not getting the true effect of the workout, and abusing their low back in the process.

What I want to talk about is how bodybuilders will do lateral raises with their wrists turned pinkies up in order to hit the deltoids more in the exercise.

While they get a few percent more stress on their deltoids, they're stressing their Rotator Cuff way more. In case you didn't know, YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT.

Do lateral raises, ALWAYS WITH YOUR THUMBS UP.

On that note, you should always do rotator cuff warm up exercises. As your deltoids keep increasing in strength, your rotator cuffs need to strengthen as well. Otherwise there will be an imbalance which make you more open to injuring yourself.

3) Squats

Tall people beware. As good as your form may be, you're always prone to lower back injuries.

I know from experience.

If you're tall like Andre the Giant, no problem.

If you're tall like Dennis Rodman, then beware. 

There's a reason why NBA players aren't allowed to do squats.

Some people are built for it, and some aren't as I've finally come to terms with.

Now, I could sit here and name a hundred things to make you better with form, but you'd be way better off just reading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.

I will say the best thing you can do as a beginner is to start off with goblet squats.

Goblet squats will teach you how to properly hold the weight and do the technique.

Simply hold a kettle bell or dumbbell in front of your chest with your palms underneath, squat down until you feel your stretch reflex and then come back up.

That will put more stress on your glutes and hamstrings, instead of your knees.

Which is caused from leaning forward and stressing their knees.

Which brings up... Knees.

4) Leg Press

Some people damage their knees by keeping their legs too close together to stress the vastus lateralis portion of the quadricep. Don't be one of those people.

Some people put their feet too low to work the quads harder which also grinds on the knees. Don't be one of those people as well.

And whatever you, don't hyper-flex if you're somewhat double jointed. There's a YouTube video that will show you why, if you dare to watch it.

5) Deadlift

So many people hurt their low backs doing deadlifts. I was one of them.

Once again, read Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. Also, some people are meant for deadlifts and others not so. The hips are unique for every individual.

Deadlifts are a full body exercise, not a low back exercise. If you leave it up to your low back, you will put too much stress on it and injure yourself.

6) Single Leg Exercises

If you're overweight, do not do single leg exercises. You're not ready for this yet, and your body will tell you when you get injured.

7) Running, Plyometrics

Easy way to fix a lot these are dynamic stretching, rolling out, wearing proper shoes, and not having horrible form. That will solve most of your running problems, though you should definitely limit how much you run. There's a reason why running magazines are full of pain relief ads.

If you're going to jumping exercises,  learn how to land correctly. When you land you shouldn't hear a loud sound.  

You should land softly on the ball of your foot and roll into your heel, all while coming into a squat position. And just like running, and lifting heavy, don't over do it.

You won't get this kind of body doing Insanity, but you'll probably get injured.

8) Skull  Crushers

Tendinitis is often caused by things like tricep exercises. Skull crushers are a big one. Many people do the actual skull crusher where they bring the weight to their...skull, and they push it back up. This puts lots of stress on your elbows.

What you should do instead is bring the weight behind your head, reaching a stretch reflex, and actually flare your elbows out. This will bring your lats into the exercise and put less stress on your elbows,

9) Close Grip Bench Press

So many people put their wrists by going to close on close grip bench press and close grip pushups.

If your wrists are shoulder width, than that's close enough. If you want to go closer, you can but be careful and if you feel pain go WIDER.

Don't be this guy

10) Dips

Dips are a great workout, but if your feeling your sternum at all, DROP THE WORKOUT.

I love doing them, but my body is not meant for it. Same goes for you if you feel it.

Also don't go lower than parellel, you will over stress your shoulders and injure them.

11) Bent Over Row

Make sure you're not rounding your back, this is a common mistake I see every day.

12) Pullups

Don't do those stupid Cross Fit kipping pullups and you should be okay. Only idiots hurt themselves doing pull ups. It's a simple exercise. 

Problem is there's lots of idiots that think they won't jack up their shoulders doing kipping if they kip correctly. That's an oxymoron.

13) Calves

Calves are mostly genetic, but you can still build bigger ones. Thing is a lot people go heavy on calves, and then BOUNCE up and down putting too much stress on Achilles tendon.

Go slow and don't go too heavy, patience young one.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I could list a hundred rehab exercises for you, but I'm not a physical therapist or a rehab expert. I can tell you that the one thing more important than rehab is PREHAB. Preventing the injury is the most important thing. Listen to your body, lift correctly, take time off every now and then, and make sure to roll out and warm up. Simple rules like this should keep you in the gym and out of the surgery room.