Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; It's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
This is another client testimonial I think you will appreciate. I found it pretty inspiring. It just goes to prove that you should never use age as an excuse for being unfit! I hope these testimonials are helping you stay motivated over the holidays...
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I began following Josh’s StayFitMinute to build strength around hip replacement and an ACL tear from a skiing mishap and used it to drag those revitalized parts of a 61 year-old body to the top of the crater of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Pre-ascent training dropped 10 pounds off my frame and the climb itself caused me to lose another 10, most of which I have kept off through exercise and nutrition adjustments since my return. I am now at the weight I was as a high-school hockey player and a resting heart rate in the low 50’s. My work days are fairly intense, but the path I am on gives me the stamina to face each one with enthusiasm.
Regards,
Barry Michael Fisher
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Please feel welcome to share your own story of inspiration in the comments below!
Here is another client testimonial that I think you will find inspiring:
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As a parent to a type 1 diabetic child and a family of 5, I was constantly searching for new ideas of how to keep my family healthy and fit. My search ended when I found StayFitMinute.com! This is the best source of information I have ever come across and it is geared for all ages.
This web site continually does a remarkable job in bringing our family the latest nutritional tips, exciting workouts and new training methods that can be done anywhere and still remain fun and challenging. We keep motivated by the positive reminders and words of encouragement as well as knowing we can incorporate all of our newly gained knowledge into our lives without consuming all of our time.
One particular thing we really appreciate is the personal touch we get from the web site. The videos are awesome and it gives us a better understanding of how to perform the exercises properly and safely. StayFitMinute.com has helped my entire family get to a whole new level in understanding fitness and we are constantly inspired to keep an active and healthy lifestyle.
I am overjoyed to see that my son who has type1 diabetes is living proof on how StayFitMinute.com has helped him throughout his life. He is truly benefiting from the knowledge he gains and guidance he gets which keeps him happy and healthy. He is in the best shape of his life and is he already achieving many goals he has set for himself. Thank you and keep those e-mails coming because it has helped give my family and I a better quality of life.
Here is another testimonial I wanted to share with you which I think you'll enjoy. I found Diane's story amusing and got a good laugh from it, but it was also interesting how she recognized where she was making excuses or 'talking herself out of' making better decisions around her health and fitness. This is an important realization for her.
I think many of us are coming up with our own stories about why we can't accomplish something, without even realizing it. What story do you tell yourself? Since we're making it up ourselves anyway, you might as well make your story a supportive one!
Diane's Story:
How has StayFitMinute.com made a difference in my life?
Great question, I have thought about whether it has made a difference and yes it has; a significant one. StayFitMinute keeps me engaged in my long term goal of loosing excess weight, building a strong body and generally being a healthier person. I know what I am supposed to do... I'm a rather intelligent person, or so I thought.
When I first asked Josh for his help in training me to be Fit he said he would if I would commit and not just say I would but actually do what he told me to. I said yes, of course I would but little did I know how much I would change. I skipped the odd workout because I had a cold or was too busy with work etc.
When Josh asked I'd give him the excuse of not feeling well etc. and he would just seem to be ok with it (but I felt very guilty) and when I would talk with him about food and I'd explain that I use to be very active and eat very healthfully until I got married and started picking up the husbands bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyle (the husband never got fat, life is so unfair). Josh just listened to me until I was done with my excuses and simply said, so it's somebody else's fault that you fat. I just looked at him dumbfounded - I had no come back. I control what I eat, I'm an adult.
Once I was eating a nice fresh piece of fluffy white bread with butter and savouring every bite and Josh happened by and asked innocently, Is that white bread you're eating? Again I started defending the bread and the fact that it was leftover from last night's dinner which my daughter had made for the whole family (her first attempt at cooking a family dinner) and what did Josh say? "Oh well that's ok then". He continued to talk about something else and I just looked at him thinking #*#!*!!! until I finally tossed the reaming bread in the trash and said "That's it, I don't want it anymore" and he just smiled and said nothing! We no longer have white bread in our house.
Josh asked me if I'd like to be on the mailing list for the StayFitMinute and I said yes, why not. I'm glad I did. It is a constant reminder of the goals I have set for myself; it is full of great tips and exercises to try so my routine does not get tiresome. It's a mini motivational boost.
My life has changed for the better since I made the commitment to getting fit, I have started to become more energetic, more focused and a little more appreciative of my body. Josh guided me through the workouts and pushed me a little each time and when I told him I thought the work out was too advanced, he modified it (or so I believed) and kept me moving.
Anyone can give you a workout program and get you moving when you’re in the gym together, anyone can teach you what to eat, you can find bits of information about fitness and health all over the internet and in magazines. Josh combines it all and delivers it with humour. He gets in your head and removes the roadblocks you set up for yourself and that's what has made the difference in my life, and it is what will ensure my success in reshaping my soft flabby body into a powerhouse of strength!
That and the fact I see Josh's face in my mind's eye every time I reach for a chocolate bar or think about skipping exercise (how he did that is a mystery).
In this issue I want to focus on some useful tips you can implement for staying lean or losing body fat over the holidays.
1. Focus on Strength Training:
Short, intense strength training workouts using multi-joint "primal" movements such as squats, lunges, pressing and pulling will give you more 'bang for your buck' than long, slow cardio workouts. If your goal is fat loss I suggest you turn up the intensity by using supersets, for example: pair up lower body and upper body exercises, or pushing and pulling exercises, and move back and forth between each exercise in the pair. Enjoy the burn!
2. Get your workout in at home:
I've always been a big fan of basic barbell training using compound exercises for getting stronger and leaner, but I also realize that not everyone has access to free weights. I also know that the holidays can be a difficult time to make it to the gym regularly. The good news is you can still get a great workout at home using little or no equipment! By performing challenging bodyweight exercises (such as variations of pushups, squats, chinups, lunges, dips, burpees, and various core exercises) in a circuit training workout, you can maintain your strength while burning fat during your holidays this year. This should leave you with no excuses!
3. Use Interval Training:
There's an old saying, "You can't out-train a bad diet." However, some research subjects claim that interval training CAN help you lose fat even if you're indulging a little over the holidays. Let's face it, we all know that we are going to surrounded by large meals and too many treats this month, so we need to use every method at our disposal to help us avoid belly fat - and research has shown us that interval training is the best system to do that. (ALSO, you can use bodyweight exercises in circuit format to burn fat without equipment in place of intervals.)
In the email I sent you on Monday I told you about the new "Holiday Fat Loss Workouts" ebook Craig just released. In it he explains interval training and describes several great body-weight workouts. You can check it out at:
He still has it on sale for $20 until tonight at midnight if you're interested. I like his approach when it comes to fat burning and I recommend his training material.
4. Sweat before you eat:
Studies have shown that your body can handle extra calories (especially carbs) better after exercise. If you know you have a big meal coming up, plan your workout as close as you can before you eat. You will be less likely to store fat... however, don't use this as an excuse to over-indulge!
5. Set up mini-challenges for yourself:
Having a competition to train for can be a huge motivator for your fitness program. But you don't need a big contest to take advantage of this motivational tactic. Just set yourself up with small weekly challenges to help you stay consistent with your workouts.
Here are some examples I got from the Man Of Steel challenge (by Zach EvenEsh and Jim Smith): perform 100 Burpees in 10-15 minutes; or Bear Crawl 400 meters in under 4 minutes; or do 75 parallel bar dips in less than 6 minutes. In the new year I was actually planning on posting a Weekly Top Form Fitness Challenge for my subscribers... I'll let you know.
6. Bonus Tip- Keep it SIMPLE!
It doesn't have to be complex to be effective. Many fat loss programs are either too easy or too complex and some are impossible to do at home. That's what I liked about Craig Ballantyne's products... basic and effective. He has been creating these types of workouts for over 10 years for Men's Health and for his thousands of online clients. Again, you can take a look at his program here:
Just say NO to excessive cardio, and say YES to results!
Stay Fit and enjoy your holidays!
Josh Hewett
PS - If this is something your interested in, the 75% off sale ends TONIGHT at midnight, EST (Sorry everyone... sale is now over; but it's still worth checking out this program!)
Be confident in the changes you are making and you will succeed.
Here's a guest article from fat loss expert, Craig Ballantyne:
3 Problems with Fat Burning Workouts
While interval training is better than cardio, "generic" interval training is not as good as *they* make it out to be.
Seriously.
By *they*, I mean the brand new trainers and generic fitness magazines who don't really know what they are talking about.
In fact, the advice they'll give you can cause a LOT of problems with your interval training -- including the BIG 3 I'm about to share with you...
After all, you're probably already doing some form of interval training, but what kind of RESULTS are you getting?
Are you truly enjoying your workouts?
And when is the last time you did an interval training workout where you thought 'wow, that was really fun'?"
Trust me, you CAN have fun, fast, proven, and powerful interval training workouts. I'll show you how in a second, but first...
The 3 Problems With Interval Training
1) Intervals can stop working if you do the same workout over & over
Yes, you MUST switch up your interval training every 4-6 weeks.
If you continue to do the same interval workout, you're results will slow down.
So if you're doing intervals and you're stuck at a fat loss plateau, then it is time for a new interval workout.
2) Intervals can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing
Jumping into an advanced interval program on the treadmill or with kettlebells is a bad idea. That's why you need to start safely.
However, most people don't realize that even beginners can do interval training if they get a professionally designed program.
Fortunately, there are beginner interval workouts in the new 31 Interval Training Workouts manual and holiday home fat burning workout package.
3) You don't know what else to do for intervals
Okay, great, now you know that you need to do a different interval program every 4 weeks, but what are you to do?
Well, the great news is that there are dozens and dozens of ways to do intervals. You can do the 30-60 method, Adrenaline intervals, Tabatas, and even aerobic intervals (perfect for runners who want fat loss).
(PLUS, you're about to discover the power of bodyweight cardio circuit training. A strange name, for sure, but a powerful way to burn fat at home WITHOUT equipment.)
There is absolutely no reason you should ever be bored of interval training or wondering what type of intervals you should do next.
BUT WAIT...One more problem: You don't have any fancy equipment
Most people think you need a treadmill or bike to do interval workouts, but that can't be further from the truth.
In the 31 Interval Training Workouts manual, you'll discover how to do intervals with kettlebells, hill sprints, and even bodyweight exercises (including a NEW bodyweight cardio 5x5 circuit).
In fact, I've spent the entire spring of 2010 in my Turbulence Training lab creating the Ultimate Interval Training Guide, featuring over 31 different interval workouts and replacements...
...including NO-equipment bodyweight cardio circuits, kettlebell intervals and "ladders", hill sprint workouts, and much, much more.
And then I followed that up with more time in the lab to create the "TT Bodyweight Cardio" program, without using any equipment!
I then combined those two programs along with an extra special workout for you to create the COMPLETE Holiday Fat Burning Workout package.
(But hurry, this offer is only available until Thursday!)
With these workouts you'll have the exact prescription for fast fat loss from intervals. No more of that generic "get on the treadmill and then go fast and then go slow" advice you get from uneducated members at the gym or at work.
This is the real deal.
You'll soon be boosting your metabolism with proven, powerful interval training workouts from one of the first trainers to introduce fat loss intervals to the world.
I've been using and preaching intervals and bodyweight exercises for over 13 years now, and having trained thousand of clients - in person and online - I know exactly what works.
Fixing intervals to help you lose fat fast,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Men's Health Contributer
PS - Get all of those new interval workouts here before they are gone on Thursday at midnight.
To discover the research-proven workouts that DO work for holiday fat loss while often not requiring any equipment at all, please read my article on "home fat loss training" here:
Here is the testimonial from the winner of our Jungle Gym Contest!
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Cheryl’s Testimonial:
Three years ago, I was as inactive as they come. I weighed well over 200 pounds, and I was generally embarrassed by my appearance. I finally had enough of feeling bad about myself and decided it was time to change my ways and start being more active.
I started on my own, doing workout DVDs three to four times a week. I kept this up for a month or two, ensuring that I was making the workouts work into my schedule, and making sure not to miss out on things or stretch myself too thin.
Once I was set on my workout schedule, I tackled my eating habits. I wasn’t a HUGE eater, but I would eat a lot of the things that weren’t good for me. I would snack on chocolate and chips, and eat a larger portion of starch in meals versus the vegetables and protein. I started eating more well-portioned meals, reducing my starch intake and upping my vegetable intake especially. I also made sure to bring homemade meals to work for lunch and snack on healthier things most of the time.
When I started seeing physical success from my DVD workouts, I felt comfortable enough to join a gym. My workouts jumped up to 5 to 6 times per week, and really saw the improvements I was making. I was losing weight, and I could sense that I was stronger and my endurance was leaps and bounds from where it had been.
I was happy with how far I had come since starting this lifestyle change, yet I still wasn’t happy with where I was at. I decided at this point that it was time to involve a professional who could teach me how to achieve the goals I had set out, and who I could be accountable to. I also had specific areas of my physical self that I wanted to focus on and I didn’t know how. I got in contact with Josh, and immediately found his way of training and teaching his clients very enlightening and extremely useful for me. I found the process to make sense, which is important for me to maintain this plan long term. I don’t want to do something just for the sake of doing it, I want to understand how it is helping me and what it is doing.
Through Josh’s guidance, and the information he shares on the StayFitMinute site, I have gotten more on track to my ideal weight, ideal look, and ideal overall image I have of myself. I have also been empowered to share what I have learned from Josh, his SFM blog and his e-newsletter through this process. I have since started a blog of my own where I am sharing my story to a healthy me, things I have tried and what has worked or hasn’t worked for me.
Sharing this has proven already to be a great deal of help to a lot of my friends and family. They are so inspired by what I’ve shared that they are becoming more active themselves. This gives me a great deal of happiness to know I have helped others start their journey to healthy fulfilling lifestyles.
Cheryl Okorofsky
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(Note: since submitting this testimonial, Cheryl has informed me that she intends to become certified as a personal trainer herself, so that she can help others experience the transformation she has enjoyed! Way to go Cheryl!)
Tired of doing the same boring things? Mix it up and try these seven exercises and variations to make your training more challenging. These will add some excitement to your routine and get you bigger and stronger. Women might start paying attention to you…maybe. These aren’t listed in any particular order.
1. Heavy farmer carries: Does your grip strength suck? Give these a try. There isn’t anything like running around with 400 lbs while you grip the farmer carry bar for dear life. Farmer carries will definitely improve your grip strength, and an improved grip means an improved deadlift, bench press, and chin-up.
They also strengthen your traps and core and improve shoulder, core, and hip stability. If you want to work the core more, you can do offset farmer carries by only holding one weight. This will force you to use your obliques to stabilize your torso and keep you from leaning to one side. Heavy farmer carries are tough. The best way to approach these is to grab a handful of chalk, sack up, and hold on to the weight.
One great tip I’ve learned is to chalk the outside of your index finger all the way to the outside of your thumb. That way when you grip the bar, your thumb should be wrapped around your index finger. The chalk will provide an extra solid grip. Carrying heavy things definitely rates high on the badass meter.
2. Fat Gripz: These things are another awesome, simple way to improve your grip strength. They are cheap compared to buying a traditional fat bar and they fit around almost anything. These will challenge your grip by forcing you to squeeze the hell out of the bar. In addition, you’ll take your forearms to a new level of ‘jacktidue.’ You can use them with dumbbells or barbells, for deadlifts, or on a TRX. They can be used on almost anything. The possibilities are endless.
Click Here to Purchase Your Own Pair!
3. Chains: Just the sound chains make in the weight room is badass enough. The idea behind chains is to use accommodating resistance. For example, take the chain bench press. At the bottom of the bench press, the load will be the lightest because most of the chain links are on the ground. As you press the bar up, each chain link rises off the floor and makes the load heavier.
Chains are a great way to add variety and help you blast through sticking points. You can use them for deadlifts, squats, push-ups, and bench presses just to name a few.
4. Low setting Prowler: This sled from EliteFTS will destroy you. Push this bastard on the low setting at the end of a hard training session and you will be on the ground for the next 15 minutes. Try these like Eric Cressey at Cressey Performance. Push the Prowler on an unforgiving rubber floor. They’re probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Your legs will be on fire and you’ll be in a ton of pain, but these will definitely increase the size and strength of your legs. Three 20-yard trips will have you headed for the trash can.
5. Ropes: Battle ropes are a great tool for metabolic conditioning. Wrap these around something sturdy and get after it. There are a ton of different variations you can do to prevent boredom. You can also throw the rope over a chin-up bar and do rope chin-ups. These will challenge your grip and add variety to your program. Or tie these to your badass Prowler and do standing sled pulls Strongman style. Get a good base and start pulling the sled toward you.
6. Tire/sledgehammer: Get a huge tire from a junkyard and you can do some serious work. First off, you can beat the crap out of the tire with a sledgehammer. This is similar to overhead medicine ball slams. It develops power and core strength. Use it for conditioning or just raw power. Once you’re done beating the piss out of the tire with a sledgehammer, use it for tire flips or tire battles. As long as you have good hip mobility, you can get low and flip the tire over.
If you’re doing these for time, the trick is to flip the tire over and drive it into the ground with a hard push to speed up the process. You can also grab a buddy and get the tire upright. Then stand on opposite ends of the tire and push it back and forth trying to completely knock it over while your partner does the same. This is a great upper body plyometric exercise.
7. Airdyne bike sprints: How can bike sprints be badass? Airdyne bikes aren’t your average bikes. These have fans in them that increase the resistance as you pedal. The harder you pedal, the more it sucks. These are a great conditioning tool.
Start out with a 15-second all out sprint with 45 seconds of rest. Do eight total sprints. Each week, add two additional sprints. After three weeks, increase the sprint time to 20 seconds and rest for 40 seconds. Then progress to 0.5-mile sprints. Time and reps can be adjusted to your level of conditioning.
•Week 1: 15:45 X 8
•Week 2: 15:45 X 10
•Week 3: 15:45 X 12
•Week 4: 20:40 X 8
•Week 5: 20:40 X 10
•Week 6: 20:40 X 12
•Week 7: 0.5 X 1
•Week 8: 0.5 X 2 (The goal is to finish in less than one minute, 10 seconds. Time how long it takes to complete the 0.5 miles at a 1:2 work/rest ratio.)
•Week 9: 0.5 X 3
(Guest Post from David Rak, as published on www.EliteFTS.com)
