So here it is, the secret to body transformation from your rogue trainer...
There are two chapters in In Pursuit of Weightlessness - located back-to-back in Part 2: The Austrian Actress and the Shaolin Imperative, and From Businessman to Beast.
These chapters together consolidate the most practical and expedient information, gained over decades of coaching, on how to transform the body in record time. The first chapter deals with rapid fat loss, and the second with muscle and strength gain, the two critical components of the physical transformation game.
First, the secret to muscle gain, which is not just for the fellas (for women this equates to shape and tone), is sustained tension across key vectors of movement. The two most essential vectors - likely covering over 80% of your total needs - are the push and squat vectors. For a detailed breakdown of all vectors and applications, please visit that chapter.
For those looking for practical steps you can implement today, keep reading!
Whether you’re an absolute beginner or an experienced trainee who may have stalled in the results game, here is a rapid hack. Do the following program three days per week (before either dinner or breakfast). If you’re more advanced, don’t overlook the simplicity of this approach, merely add it to your current program to flush the muscles with blood and nutrients more effectively.
-Squats - To failure
-Pushups - To failure
-Plank - 1 minute
Do these back to back with no rest. After the plank, rest one to two minutes, and do the sequence 4 more times, for a total of 5 sets. The total number of reps isn’t important (though if you cannot do more than 10 full pushups, proceed with knee pushups!), what’s most important is moving SLOWLY through the full range, mentally connecting with the muscles involved, and creating and sustaining as much tension as possible throughout. This means that your decline (eccentric movement) should last 2 to 3 seconds, and your ascent (concentric movement), no less than 2 seconds. (This is longer than you think!)
Use this base for three to four weeks, either to launch your new fitness ambitions, or to supplement your efforts if you feel you've plateaued.
Now, the other half of the equation...nutrition. The secret to rapid fat loss (without a loss of lean muscle mass) is to control your insulin response, a hormone that largely dictates where energy gets stored in the body, if at all. This too, is a very simple, minimalist hack, namely:
-Eat veggies (lots) and meat, fish, or eggs (whole protein) ONLY.
-The only time you may add carbs (complex carbs (like whole grains or yams) or a piece of fruit) is in the meal following your workout.
-If you’re not sure if you can eat a certain food, or not sure if a food is actually a vegetable...DO NOT EAT IT. Period.
Beyond the basics, intermittent fasting can be incorporated to regulate blood sugar and calorie intake once food variety is increased after a time.
This will seem overly simplistic compared to most approaches on the market, but keep in mind, we’re not aiming here for comprehensive development or long term sustainability, we’re aiming here for the 20% of tools that give us 80% of the results, if not more. We're looking for rapid results!
It’s simple. It’s straightforward. But it’s not easy. Don’t be dismayed by it’s simplicity. Having a protocol that you can execute on your worst day, given unpredictable schedules is the key to staying the course and making big changes. You can always build on top of it, but you must start with meaningful things.
If you commit to it, schedule it, and execute on this plan, you WILL see changes.
For those who can find a bit of extra time, add 20 to 30 minutes of light jogging or walking 3 to 4 days per week, either post workout or after dinner.
Let me know how this goes for you, and make today count.
You’ll become tomorrow what you do today!
Next post I’ll share with you the secret to unburdening the mind.
And we're one step closer to becoming weightless!
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