Ever find yourself starving at night, stopping in a drive thru, having the internal struggle? You are not alone.

As soon as you commit to a good diet, start working out and seeing progress, suddenly, you are down and out.

When injuries occur, you have to take a ‘glass half full’ perspective.

Let’s say you hurt your shoulder. You can still train your quads, hams, calves, abs, obliques, lower back, and possibly your biceps and triceps if you can effectively isolate them.

Watch this short video I made below:

Fat Loss Training – Fat Loss is dependent on several factors:
1. Nutrition – what you are eating and drinking
2. Resistance Training – Strength Circuits
3. Cardio - Intervals
4. Cardio – Steady State Cardio
5. N.E.P.A. – Non Exercise Physical Exercise

1. Nutrition – Author Tom Venuto once said that it’s the quantity of calories that determine weight loss, it’s the quality of those calories that determine good health. To see success, you must follow this:
LEVEL ONE: Are you showing a caloric deficit?
LEVEL TWO: Are you eating portion-controlled meals?
LEVEL THREE: Protein/Carbs in Am, Protein/Fats in Pm
LEVEL FOUR: Organics

2. Resistance Training Strength Circuits – Perform Compound movements in circuits using various rep ranges (8 – 15) using Supersets (2), Tri-Sets (3), or more.
3. Cardio Intervals, also known as HIIT Training. Performing alternating time intervals (30 or 60 seconds) of hard cardio with slow cardio/recovery. (Duration: 10 – 15 minutes)
4. Cardio Steady State Cardio, any continuous activity where heart rate is elevated. (biking, treadmill, elliptical, etc..) (Duration: 20 – 45 minutes)
5. N.E.P.A. (Non-Exercise Physical Activity) cut the grass, go for a walk, take the elevator, do chores)

Options:
1. Strength Circuits – combine 3 – 4 Compound exercises (3 strength, 1 cardio) perform in a circuit for 12 minutes, perform 2 of these circuits in a 30 min. period.
2. Metabolic Circuit Training – perform 20 – 24 exercises in a circuit using bodyweight movement patterns designed to burn as many calories as possible.
3. MetaCardio – Treadmill 1 minute, Strength training 1 minute, repeat for 30 minutes. (side note: the MetaCardio system was developed by me and used to help Mike Morelli of the Biggest Loser take 2nd place at the Biggest Loser Finale in 2009. You can read more about the workout here.)

Last night was the worst.

I ‘had to have’ some ice cream, but I didn’t.

I had to have some cupcakes, but I didn’t.

I had to have some chips, but I didn’t.

With my good decisions to not indulge, I will reap the reward of the last 3 lbs of bodyfat coming off my midsection. I will also reap the benefit of having more consistent energy, better sleep, skin, etc…

Realize that every single day, you will be faced with decisions. Sometimes it’s not a black and white decision, but sure enough, one of those ‘grey’ decisions will be better than the other, and lead you closer to your goals and hearts desires.

Make the right choice!

How about when you pull into the parking lot of your gym? Do you sit and stare at the door, letting negative thoughts and limiting self-talk paralyze you before you even step foot in the door?

If many of us are honest, we’ve all had moments like this. To overcome these moments, I have found it helpful to not think about it, just do it.

Sure there are times when you need to step back, plan your steps, and then execute. What’s the old saying, ‘measure twice, cut once’? But oftentimes, there are actions that will benefit us that require no second thoughts, just immediate action, if they are going to happen.

When do you find yourself being paralyzed with fear, doubt, or simply laziness? Start today, don’t think, JUST DO!

Ever hear somebody convey a point a certain way, and suddenly, what you thought you understood made even more sense?

The person looked at us and said,

“Commitment is always painful.”

OMG, how true is this? Whenever you commit to anything, whether it’s a training program, a diet plan, or a relationship, it’s going to come with a price. When you focus your intentions in one clear direction, you will reach that goal faster than if you simply play around and do things that ‘feel right’ in the moment.

How many times have you decided to stick to a plan of action only to find that when the going got tough, when it was time to really dig in and stick out the hard stuff, you bailed?

That being said, perhaps its a good time for each of us to reflect on those areas of your lives that don’t seem to be ‘working out for me’ and consider that maybe it’s ‘me’ and nothing else.

Commit or recommit today with purpose, passion, and precision!

Was 2010 everything you hoped it would be?

If not, what are you going to do differently to make that happen?

Are you excited to get started? 

Do you get out of bed with excitement to get started or do you turn over and decide that the pain of regret isn’t as bad as the pain of discipline?

C’mon you guys, step up this year.  Enough talk, let’s apply some ACTION!

While walking up to work one day, I noticed a member just sitting in the car and gazing off into space.

I had seen this look before.

This person had the ‘deer in headlights’ look about them, so I decided to go up and see if everything was okay.

Just as I had suspected, this person suffered from a common condition called, ‘N-M-S’, ‘No Motivation Syndrome’. They were trying to get motivated to come into the workout room, but they just couldn’t find the motivation to get out of the car.

Has this ever happened to you? It’s like Sunday morning, you wake up and find that you don’t have the energy to get out of bed and go to church. Sure, you can think of a million reasons why you shouldn’t go, but if you can muster up the strength to put on that ‘Sunday best’, after the service is over, you are always glad you went, right? If not, you can always visit my church
Shameless Plug: Visit Detroit World Outreach at www.dwo.org

Okay, back to business!
I have two suggestions to help you get and stay motivated to workout!

1. Hire a Personal Trainer – The benefits are many. Here as just a few:
Accountability – you are being charged AND the trainer is waiting for you!
Motivation – a good trainer will be able to draw more out of you during the workout.
Inspiration – our trainers have a long list of accomplishments that are inspirational.
Challenging – one of our trainers can design a workout that is both challenging and exciting.
2. Train with a friend/workout buddy – Below are some of the benefits:
Accountability – just see what happens when you don’t show up at 6 a.m.!
Motivation – this is a great opportunity to spend time together.
Inspiration – share your goals and push each other to achieve them.
Challenging – they can bring out the competitive side of you like nobody else!
Unlike team sports or group activities, the weight room can be a lonely place of solitude. It doesn’t have to be. The benefits of a well-designed strength training program are only productive if you actually do it.

With the Summer winding down and the kiddies going back in school, stack the cards in your favor this Fall! Consider this strategy for protecting yourself against the deadly ‘N-M-S” virus and get into great shape in time for the holiday season!

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TIP OF THE MONTH:

If you are frustrated over the hardness/density of natural
peanut butter, try the following tip:
After your whole-grain bread is toasted, immediately put
a portion of your hard, but healthy NATURAL peanut butter
on the hot toast, wait 45 seconds, the peanut butter will
have softened by the heat of the toast! Enjoy, don’t forget to
sprinkle lightly with cinnamon!

TIP OF THE MONTH:

If you are looking to curb the nighttime ice cream
cravings, freeze some red or white grapes in a
freezer bag and pull a few of them out during
those weak moments. A handful of grapes
will save you several hundred calories.

Contact Information
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email: JimiVarner@aol.com
web: www.JimiVarner.com
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