I’m not sure whether the ladies were serious when they said to post this workout as “sexy at sixty,” but here it is anyway.



This was a Wednesday morning beach boot camp class, and the ladies handled it.  All of the ladies were over sixty (I think. Although, if I’m wrong that could land me in some trouble!) and took care of the workout twice as well as most women half their age!

The Workout
The ladies warmed up by performing sprints and side sprints around a cone I had set up.  Then we spent a good part of the workout performing a circuit designed to get them sweaty and out of breath:

Exercises
1. Squats (30 secs)
2. Lunges (30 secs)
3. Mountain Climbers (30 secs)
4. Sprints to the cone and back
5. Side Lunges to the cone and back
6. Walk to the cone and back while doing tricep extensions witht eh heavy ball
(Repeat 5-6 times)

Then we worked through a fun ab circuit.  After that, we did some twist and toss with the heavy ball and some planks.  The workout ended with a nice stretch session (only made less pleasant by the 100's of sand fleas!)

Way to go ladies:-)

After two weeks on a Greek cruise and another two weeks renovating his cabin in Big Bear, Curtis looks none the worse for wear.  Still shredded and buff after almost a month off...  Glad to have my good friend (and client) back at it!!

Everyday people ask me what the secret formula is.  You know?  The secret formula that allows you to eat whatever you want and still have 6-pack abs and nice legs?  I will tell you right now that there is no secret formula.  If there were a secret formula this would be it: consistent exercsie combined with consistent and moderate food consumption is the key to building the body you want.

The problem is that this simple fact is shrouded in mystery.  People, such as the creators of the Primal Blueprint Diet, The South Beach Diet, The Atkins Diet, The ketosis Diet, The 17-Day Diet, The Cookie Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet, The Lemonade Diet (Also known as the Master Cleanse), The Zone Diet, The Cambridge Diet, The Slim-Fast Diet, The Eat Right for Your Blood Type Diet, The Burrito Diet (I am not making that one up), The Bread-and Butter Diet, The Chicken-Soup Diet, The Scaresdale Diet, The Air Force Diet, The Russian Diet, The Liquid Diet, The-Diet-to-Go, Nutrisystem, Medifast, The Sonoma Diet, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, The P90X Nutrition Plan, The 5-Factor Diet (to name a few), want you to believe that there is a secret so that you will pay for the priveledge of knowing it.  The following article from Muscular Development examines the premises and research behind the hCG diet.  I think it is an even handed and informed analysis and worth the read.  My next news post will give a synopsis of the main points and what it means to the average consumer, so if you don't get through the whole article, don't worry:-)

I got a little shot in the tiltmode zine of a skateboarding pic.  Kyle took this one the other day.  It could have been a lot worse considering how sarcastic the tiltmode dudes can be.  I couldn't link to the site very well, but it is Zine #3 page 85.

I compiled a list for a client of a variety of common foods and their calorie content per 4 ounces.  The list is to the left.  The goal is to give you an idea of how many calories you are eating when you eat a tomato as opposed to a chicken breast.

Notice that foods with a high water content have proportionately less calories per 4 ounces.  For example, chicken has more than a sweet potato, which in turn has more than a tomato.  Knowing the caloric content of your food choices is the most important aspect in shaping your body.

Also notice how, even though it is considered a "good fat", olive oil has a much greater number of calories per 4 ounces than peanut butter or even regular butter.  This is because olive oil is a pure fat in liquid form, and because of this very dense when compared to butter, which has been whipped and so contains air (Even though you will never eat 4 ounces of butter at one sitting, it is important to remember that the ratios hold even for a tablespoon.  So, a tablespoon of olive oil has more calories than a tablespoon of butter).
One more thing:  the burger pictured up top is the Carl's Junior Double Six Dollar Burger and it contains a massive 1520 calories.

-James

Why do we put ourselves thorugh the torture?  Why do we eat less than we need and wiegh food?  Why do we skip dessert... Every day?  Why do we lift regularly? Why we put ourselves though a series on 10 horrific exercises as quickly as possible in 30 minutes? (In Elliott's case 7.2 cycles of those ten exercises in a personal-best-beating effort yesterday).

The answer is simple....  Abs by August  :-)

Good job Elliott, you and everyone else; keep up the good work!!!!

It was judgement day for Randy Valli today.  17 days ago I put the challenge to her to lose 10 pounds by today 05/27.  I said if she kept to the diet plan, WITHOUT cheating, she would shed the pounds.  So 17 days of clean and healthy eating saw her meet the challenge.  Now we just have to keep the momentum going...

Good job Randy:-)

If you thought the "bulking phase" of the traditional bodybuilding protocol was too good to be true you were probably right.  Here's a link to a great article that advocates, of all things, a moderate approach to natural muscle building and leaning up.  It's a little long, but stay with it till the end cos it has some great info:)

"The Truth about Bulking"

Enjoy,  James

Olly and Emilio both did the Fitness test today.  Olly came all the way from Enlgand to do this kind of thing for 2 months.  Emilio does this kind of thing every day of his life and he was out to beat his old record of 5.2 rounds.

The routine is tough and Emilio beat his previous best of 5.2 with a massive 6.25 rounds of the circuit.  Check out the video if you want to see the master in action...