Lose Stubborn Fat!

Pullup Bar Hang Complexes

2012-05-23T23:47:26-06:00

I saw a video from the awesomeness that is Level 2 RKC Kettlebell Instructor Adrienne Harvey about pullup complexes and I totally had to email her about it.

We exchanged a couple emails, and she said something that totally blew my mind: Pullup bar hang complexes are like the opposite of kettlebell overhead complexes.

So the same way I like to balance pushing and pulling movements, hanging complexes are the balance to overhead kettlelbell complexes.

I immediately saw how Adrienne's bar hanging complexes could be a great way for people to build wicked pullup strength, and I even have some crazy mad scientist ideas about how they could be used for fat loss with intermediate and advanced athletes.

I asked Adrienne if she would be kind enough to drop knowledge on the LoseStubbornFat blog, and she was cool enough to say yes:

-Josh

A fun way to mix up pull up bar training: mini complexes

by Adrienne Harvey, RKC Level 2, CK-FMS

Bar exercises are something I love as much as kettlebell exercises—which is saying A LOT. A few of my clients are working towards their first pull up right now, and the honor of helping this process is incredibly exciting. The pull up and other bodyweight exercises are fun and oddly empowering (performed correctly). At the RKC Level 2 last July, I learned a lot of subtleties that helped take bar exercises to the next level, and how to teach them to others more easily. In my own practice, being a HUGE fan of Pavel's Naked Warrior, Paul Wade's Convict Conditioning, and now Al Kavadlo's Raising the Bar, I've been inspired to program new challenges. The fun thing about these little complexes is that they are short, intense, and challenging.

Of course, always always always pay very strict attention to safety—and don't rush to progress or cheat your way to the next exercise. One of my big “secrets” is taking a LOT of rest between sets when necessary, and even dialing back the number of total iterations of a given complex, or the number of repetitions within. To me, it's never a contest—it's a progression to greater strength and skill.

When doing timed hangs or flexed arm hangs at the top of a pull up, either watch the second hand on a nearby wall clock (somewhere that doesn't require you to contort your neck!), or have a friend with a stopwatch or gymboss timer help you. Sometimes, I just count in my head! Also, when I'm doing a complex like this, I make sure to stop before muscle failure, so I have “something left.”

Also, I find that performing “tactical” pull ups, in the style of the RKC Level 2 is truly a “full body exercise.” Make sure that during the hangs (flexed, straight, one arm or two) that your abdominal muscles are engaged. If your arms are straight, make sure your shoulders are down and back. PACKED into the socket—this is a strong, safe place. I also flex my feet and think of being in a plank-like position.

(L) Totally relaxed and stretched shoulders = bad
vs. (R) active, safe, "packed" shoulder on the right = good
*notice how much farther off the ground her feet are in the picture on the right. The only difference is that she pulled her shoulders back and down, and that lifted her body up like three inches

Here's a complex that's similar to what I practice with some regularity:

5 tactical pull ups, stay at the top at the last one for a....
flexed arm hang until I feel like it's time to come down
then one hanging leg raise (under strict control, use a regression if necessary)
Finally a straight arm hang, again, not to failure.

Notice that same active shoulders-pulled-back-and-down active shoulder in every step

Depending on what else I may have to do that day, I may do this 3-5 times with active rest or mobility drills between each iteration. Sometimes I do small household chores as active rest.

One I designed for a client working towards adding additional pull up reps:

1 tactical pull up stay at the top...

flexed arm hang, coming down to

5-10 very controlled knee raises (see Convict Conditioning)

and finally a straight arm hang, not to failure.

Here's one for a good day when I'm feeling extra crazy:

1 slow “skin the cat”

5 tactical pull ups

1 hanging leg raise

1 arm hang on each side (counting to the same number, as dictated by the “weaker” side)

Check out more awesomeness from Adrienne at www.GiryaGirl.com

The TRUTH About Supplements (and if you can really buy results?)

2012-05-20T22:20:33-06:00

I want you to start segmenting supplements into three categories:

1.) Magical Super Lies

2.) Drugs

3.) Food

Those are the three kinds of supplements that are out there. And I know what you are thinking - "drugs aren't supplements!" and you're right. And the more deeply you understand that, the less you are going to get sold crap that doesn't work.

Supplement Category One: Magical Super Lies

This is what most people buy, and this is the majority of supplements for sale.

"Super fat burning awesomeness with no work at all!" Obviously this is a lie. But people buy it.

In fact, Jillian Michaels just got in a class action lawsuit over her fat burning pills. Which I think is kind of funny - whether you love or hate The Biggest Loser - anyone watching should know that it wasn't pills that produced the fat loss on that show.

Massive muscle growth like never before! Another one that's definitely a lie.

These kinds of supplements sell because people want to believe there is an easy way out. Or that there is some trick that other people know that they don't.

It's not really your fault: We're a consumer culture, and we've been programmed that we can buy a solution to anything.

And you actually can buy a solution, but it isn't supplements. If you want to buy a result, then ephedra and/or steroids would do the trick that Magical Super Lies supplements would claim to produce. And that brings us to Category Two...

Supplement Category Two: Drugs

This will explain a lot about Supplement Category One.

You see, if the supplements in Category One could produce the results they claim... they wouldn't be supplements. They'd be drugs.

Let me repeat for emphasis:

*******************************************************************
If a supplement can produce a result, it's not a supplement. It's a drug
*******************************************************************

For example: That super amazing muscle supplement that's going to blow up your biceps like nothing else? Well... if it's a STEROID it might actually do some of that.

But if it's some combination of amino acids and caffeine, probably not.

And that brings us to a great example: Caffeine. Caffeine is the only legal drug in the supplement store. You take some caffeine, you can FEEL it. That's a drug.

Compare that to a multivitamin. Not quite the same. Take some vitamins, and you don't exactly feel jacked out of your mind. That's the difference between drugs and supplements.

But is caffeine enough of a drug to cause fat loss? Not usually.

Ephedra was a supplement powerful enough to cause fat loss... so powerful that they banned it.

So that's the deal. If there is a supplement that is powerful enough to produce a result, it will be reclassified a drug and made illegal.

Supplements don't produce results.

Drugs produce results. And the problem with taking something that produces results is that there will always been consequences later. Drugs produce results... and they also have side-effects.

And they're illegal.

Side effects + illegal = not an option.

Category Three: Food

This is the category of supplements that personal trainers, body builders, fitness models and bikini models actually take.

Supplements that either are food, or they are parts of food.

Examples of food:

Protein powder - It's protein.

Fish oil - It's fat.

Examples of parts of food:

Branched chain amino acids: It's parts of protein.

Vitamins and minerals: Nutrients extracted from foods

Essentially, the point of this category of supplements is to add something to the nutrition plan you have in a way that's more convenient to consume. For example, making a protein shake with protein powder is faster than cooking a steak dinner.

Another example would be your multivitamin. It's been shown that the sheer volume of vegetables and fruit you would have to eat to get all of your vitamins is unmanageable. So while you should *attempt* to get all of the nutrients you need from food, it makes sense to add a multivitamin on top of that.

So, even though whole real food is always preferable, supplements that are food can make your life easier.

Every every fitness model, bikini model, bodybuilder I know take these kinds of food supplements. 90% of the personal trainers I know take these kinds of supplements.

Supplements I Like

Olympian Labs Beef Protein: I like it because there are so few ingredients: Beef Protein, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Stevia (Stevia Rebaudiana) Extract (Reb-A). And Stevia is probably the healthiest no-calorie sweetener there is.

Aminocore: I like it because you get mad BCAA's per scoop.

Carlson Salmon Oil: Just my favorite fish oil right now, no good reason.

Conclusion

Don't get sold on Magical Super Lies. If the Magical Super Lies could deliver on what they promised, they'd be drugs.

Don't take drugs. Drugs are like the genie in every movie, while they do actually produce a result, you always pay a huge price later.

If Food Supplements make your life easier, those would be the supplements worth taking. A

Again, you should always attempt to fulfill all of your nutrition needs through whole food. In the real world though, sometimes a protein shake or some fish oil caps can be a life saver.

Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes Drop Knowledge About Calories

2012-05-16T00:32:16-06:00

There are a lot of diets that tell you that you don't need to count calories, that all that matters is quality.

That's bullcrap.

The truth is, the QUALITY of the food you eat and the QUANTITY of the food you eat are both important, and they both effect different results.

Case in point - Rober Downey Jr. has played Iron Man's Tony Stark three times, and he's played Sherlock Holmes twice. There's a 20-25 pound difference between the two characters, depending on the movie. And yet, Robert Downey Jr looks wicked fit playing both characters.

The only difference is QUANTITY of food.

Both times Robert Downey Jr. did Iron Man directly after playing Sherlock Holmes, he said that he upped his caloric intake to 5000 calories per day to gain the weight to play Tony Stark.

More food = bigger and heavier.

But because he kept the QUALITY of food he was eating awesome, he gained muscle instead of fat.

And it goes without saying, he was doing really smart workouts for BOTH characters.

QUANTITY of FOOD = SCALE WEIGHT

QUALITY of FOOD = BODY FAT PERCENTAGE

by Josh Hillis, RKC, CPT, PES, ZMIS

Is Liver Detoxing Legit for Fat Loss?

2012-05-12T17:07:55-06:00

Here is what I've found with clients after a detox:

1.) They aren't addicted to sugar like crack anymore

2.) They don't crave starchy carbs anymore

3.) They aren't crazy about salty/fatty foods either

4.) They can have a free day every week, and they *still* don't go back to craving junk food the day after the free day

So, as you can imagine, I'm a big fan.

And that's totally besides all of the healthy things it does for your liver to function right and be healthy and stuff.

But you know me, I don't dig to much into the health part. I'm all about how this is going to effect your weight loss in the short term and the long term.

It isn't something I have every client do though. It's something that's really effective for people who really just can't shake the junk food.

A good detox will break them free of that, and get them hooked on healthy foods.

And once we break that junk food addiction and get on a long term plan of healthy food, then results come pretty steadily every week. Just always remember - how you eat after the detox is as important as the detox itself.

On top of that, they lose a bunch of weight really fast during the detox, which is fun. And if they have a solid *post-detox meal plan* to go to afterwards, they can keep it off, and/or keep losing fat.

My friend Dr. Charlie's Liver Detox program Fat Loss Factor is pretty awesome. Besides two phases of detoxes, it also has a post detox meal plan, it has beginner, intermediate and advanced workouts. It has home workouts and gym workouts. And it has a program especially for women over 45 years old, and a plan for men over 45 years old.

Fat Loss Factor is on sale this weekend.

Josh

What if you have 20 pounds or more to lose?

2012-05-12T02:32:33-06:00

Mostly I've written about losing the last 5-10lbs, and my first book was The Stubborn 7 Pounds.

A question I get all the time is what to do if you have more to lose. What should we do differently if it's more like 20lbs? Or more like 50lbs?

If you have more weight to lose, you want to handle this first.

Watch the video...