Here are some random cool pics from our 2-week getaway in Jamaica.
If you ever go to Jamaica, we highly recommend you stay in Negril on Bloody Bay. We’ve been there a few times and it’s always a fantastic experience. Karen has been to Ochoa Rios and Montego Bay and she says it’s not nearly as nice. It’s more of a tourist trap in most cases. I’m sure there are exceptions because the Jamaican people are fun and happy people who love to serve you anyway they can. Ya MON! Respect.
Pic 1:
This was the view from the lobby of our hotel. We had beautiful weather the whole time we were there. A few clouds here and there (and even a little rain) but overall it was phenomenal. Usually 85 to 90 degrees with sunshine.
Pic 2:
While Karen and I were walking the beach, we came across these Jamaicans who were catching fresh lobster out of the ocean and then barbequing it for you right on the beach. The timing wasn’t right for us, but talk about fresh seafood!
Pic: 3:
One of the cool things about Negril and Blood Bay is the sun sets right over the water, but unfortunately it was cloudy almost every night. This was the one night it wasn’t and I grabbed this awesome shot.
Pic: 4:
Here’s a pic of me getting some Jamaican love from our favorite waitress, Althea. Once you treat a Jamaican good, you have a friend for life.
Pic: 5:
Karen and I enjoying little pre-dinner wine. Althea took this shot for us. She reserved us a spot in the private steakhouse 3 nights while we were there.
I love steak, but ironically my favorite part of the dinner was the dessert. It was chocolate upside down cake filled with hot fudge, served next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a bed of Oreo cookie crumbs. Can you say…“cheat food”? It was heavenly and I had no problem finishing off Karen’s.
Pic 6:
Karen hanging with her main man Ricardo. He was our cook at the Jerk Chicken hut. Everyday he cooked wood grilled chicken with Jerk sauce (this stuff will make your nose run even in 90 degree weather, but it’s deeeeelicious), rice and beans along with cabbage to go along with it. It was awesome.
Karen even got Ricardo to deliver us a big bottle of authentic Jamaican jerk sauce for home (not the stuff you buy in stores…this is the real deal). That’s when I snapped this picture. Ya mon!
Thanks for checking out our pictures and reading about our trip! Now it’s time to click the links above and get to work on that body. I know we sure need it after 2 weeks of indulgence.
Eliminate Your Turtle And Hamster Mentality To Transform Yourself Into
A Lean And Mean Fat Burning Gazelle…
In the last blog article, we introduced you to the 3 PROVEN pillars of fat loss.
Today we’re back (just like we promised) to give you an example workout from each individual Pillar (animal) so you can transform your turtle and hamster mentality into that of a short burst, fat burning gazelle.
And we’re not talking about a Tony Little-style Gazelle here either. This isn’t some gimmicky philosophy. This IS the real deal.
Remember that if you want to be a real fat-burning Gazelle, you will sometimes act like a hamster (Pillar 1). This is for recovery purposes and to prime your metabolism to burn more fat when coming out of your turtle shell to act like a Gazelle (Pillars 2 and 3).
Also, it’s crucial that you incorporate some type of resistance training like weights or MRT (Metabolic Resistance Training) into this plan if you really want this to work. We know this is kind of obvious to most of our readers; we just wanted to make sure we didn’t leave it out.
Speaking of metabolic resistance training (MRT), one of the world’s best metabolic resistance training experts (our “go to” guy and friend), recently shared some of his best stuff with us…you can learn more about how to use it at the end of this post.
Before we give you some sample workouts, remember that you’ll never see results unless you understand the number one component of fat loss. What is it? One word.
INTENSITY
Without applying proper intensity you’ll simply be stuck in your turtle shell or be trapped forever on a hamster wheel. (Ok. Enough of the animal analogies already
Are you intimidated by intensity? If so, relax. You’re not alone.
Here’s the key. Apply our intensity scale below to YOU personally.
Your current age…your gender…your current level of condition (or any other limitations you may have).
*GL-12 Intensity Scale
Level 1 = Warm-Up or Slow Pace
Level 2 = Jog or Medium Pace
Level 3 = Run or Hard Pace
Level 4 = Fast Run or Very Hard Pace
Level 5 = Sprint or All Out Burst (based on your current level of personal condition)
*Intensity levels are different for every person and are based on your current condition, age, gender, or other limitations, so please gauge your intensity level based on where you’re at right now personally. You can also apply this scale to other types of exercise besides running or sprinting.
IMPORTANT: Always warm-up and cool down for 4 to 5 minutes minimum
PILLAR 1: Aerobic/Endurance (Steady State Cardio)
In the aerobic pillar, oxygen is used to break down fatty acids and glucose to release energy. In other words, oxygen is primarily present so you can go for longer durations at a steady pace and the majority of fat calories burned happens during the workout itself.
Just remember: Aerobic means with oxygen and anaerobic means without oxygen.
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Duration:
30 minutes
45 Minutes
60 Minutes
Intensity:
Level 1 to 2
Level 2
Level 2 to 3
PILLAR 2: Threshold (Intervals)
This is the pillar just above Aerobic training. You can typically stay in this anaerobic pillar for 2 to 5 minutes at a time before letting your heart rate come back down and recovering.
This pillar has several important benefits.
Research shows that threshold training allows your body to respond continuously from the aerobic type training discussed above. This is important to know because so many people hit a wall when they get stuck in the aerobic pillar (a.k.a. the hamster wheel).
It will also help you burn more fat and calories when incorporating a base of pillar 1 and pillar 3 along with it.
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Duration:
30 minutes
40 Minutes
40 Minutes
Intensity:
2 min @ 3
2 min @ 1
(repeat x 5)
3 min @ 3-4
3 min @ 1
(repeat x5)
3 min @ 4
3 min @ 1 or 2
(repeat x 5)
PILLAR 3: Creatine Phosphate (High Intensity Bursts or Intervals)
Gazelle time!
Lastly is creatine phosphate (Get Lean In 12 intervals and H.I.I.T.). This system can only support high intensity effort for 15 to 60 seconds at a time.
The main thing to remember with Get Lean In 12 intervals and H.I.I.T. workouts is that although they are only 12 to 20 minutes in duration, they will increase both the “aerobic” AND “anaerobic” systems at the same exact time.
This is typically unheard of when it comes to exercise. Also, study after study shows your metabolism will be elevated for up to 48 hours from just one pillar 3 workout.
Again, just remember the “more” is not “better” GL-12 philosophy. Doing a bunch of pillar 3 workouts every week is not the answer, but it definitely yields the most results for the time invested.
Continuously using all 3 pillars is the solution.
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Duration:
20 minutes
12 Minutes
12 Minutes
Intensity:
1 min @ 4
2 min @ 1
(repeat x 5)
30 sec @ 4-5
30 sec @ 1
(repeat x 5)
20 sec @ 5
10 sec @ 1
(repeat x 8.)
It’s nice to know that the time and effort invested into pillar 3 will still be working up to 2 days later…even while you’re sleeping. Now that’s a beautiful thing!
One final note on Pillars 2 and 3.
Feel free to walk briskly for 10 to 30 minutes afterwards if time permits. A lot of research shows this will help the heart utilize oxygen properly and enhance fat loss by burning off the Free Fatty Acids that your body will release during high intensity bursts of exercise.
The strategy above is how we personally went from exercising 8 to 10 hours every week, alllllll the way down to just 4 or 5 hours a week. Ironically, we doubled our results at the same exact time. I know we’ve beaten this drum to death, but more is NOT better. Got it?
There’s one more final strategy that will help you maximize your body’s natural fat burning potential with this approach. We call it “sequencing”.
When you use this approach sequentially in the proper order, you can force your body to feed on more fat.
At least 20 comments and we’ll be back in a few days with the exact weekly exercise schedule you can use to make all 3 of the PROVEN pillars work together synergistically and sequentially.
There’s more metabolic trickery coming your way in a couple of days. But you have to leave your comment and we’ll be back to help you cross the finish line.
Committed to your fat burning success,
Shaun and Karen
P.S. If you want to learn how to use this exact same approach (at home or anywhere) with resistance training, just check out Metabolic Resistance Training guru and expert (and friend of ours) Craig Ballantyne’s bodyweight cardio…
If You’re Adding Resistance to Your Cardio Machine, YES!
As a former bodybuilder who went on to own a gym, I have spent more than my share of time around cardio and weight machines.
The one thing that always amazes me is how people will take a perfectly effective, scientifically designed, thoroughly adequate exercise machine and adapt it thinking “more is more.”
In fact, more is more is one of the worst philosophies to have when exercising because, in fact, when you do it right less is actually more.
Less time, less effort, less weight, less often – IF you follow the rules and give it your all each time.
Unfortunately, everyone is so busy multi-tasking in every other part of their lives – eating while in the car, taking a conference call on your morning commute, with multiple windows open on every computer screen – that we naturally think we must do the same at the gym.
So I see people barely using any weight and trying to perform an exercise while talking on the cell phone. They use the gym more as a time to socialize than for what they are meant to do there: lift weights!
Others do the same workout every time (with no break in the routine): they come in and go down the circuit of machines in the same order and then decide, “Well, that’s it; workout’s over and I feel good! Time for a post-workout smoothie…”
Resistance training (free weights, stationary weight machine, etc.) can be a fabulous way to build muscle, boost your metabolism, increase toned muscle mass and increase your overall health.
Likewise, cardio exercise (Stairmaster, exercise cycle, treadmill, etc.) can increase your heart rate, burn fat and expend calories quickly.
So naturally, you might think, combining the two is the surest way to both build muscle and burn fat, get your heart rate up and expend lots of calories fast. But, in fact, doing more when it comes to resistance and cardio actually produces fewer results.
That’s because when exercising you should put like with like.
In other words, a great resistance workout can produce much better results when you concentrate purely on resistance, focusing on the tension of the weight, the number of sets and reps, really feeling the burn and completely focused on those main goals of resistance, i.e. building muscle and boosting metabolism.
Likewise, a great cardiovascular workout should focus strictly on cardio to produce maximum results.
The last thing you want to be doing while running around the neighborhood is fiddling with your weight straps or figuring out how to drink from your water bottle in one hand while adjusting your easy-grip, five- pound barbells in the other!
So when it comes to exercise, put like with like; resistance, resistance, resistance, cardio, cardio, cardio – not resistance, cardio, resistance or cardio, resistance, cardio.
I see this drastic mistake at the gym all the time.
I witness people, especially women, on a stair stepper machine, who add resistance thinking, “Wow, my butt (glutes) and legs are getting a hard workout.”
And they are, but the fact of the matter is this is THE most counterproductive way to perform cardio.
In fact, this is using a method of weight training called “time under tension” and what it will do is force the body to store more glycogen – and possibly fat – to the lower half of your body—actually making your butt bigger, because your body has to know how to anticipate the load, so the body says, “We need help; store more there!”
And that sure isn’t the reason why you are doing cardio in the first place, right?
So remember to use no resistance when doing cardio and only apply resistance when weight-training. One of the best methods I teach my clients to burn the most amount of fat is to do a method called H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training) or fat burning intervals.
The treadmill should always be set with no incline and if you use other exercises remember to stay away from resistance or any type of tension when doing cardio.
ALWAYS make sure to do weight training first and cardio last to get the most fat burning results out of your workout.
Remember, like with like: resistance with resistance, cardio with cardio for the most effective results every time.
Written by N.Y. Times Best Selling Author and Fat Loss Expert: Wendy Chant
*END ARTICLE*
Now that you understand “time under tension”, just hit the “like” button below and we’ll be back in a couple days with THE absolute best approach to interval training and cardio.
Conclusion: 25 people or more hit the “like” button = The 3 most powerful, proven, and effective Pillars of Attacking Body Fat with the GL-12 interval cycling workouts. (coming your way in the next few days).
A growing body of evidence and real-world results from our members and clients show that the benefits of our high-speed workouts extend far beyond our cardiovascular system and muscles – to our biochemistry and even our brain.
Here are 5 very powerful reasons to use Get Lean In 12 workouts to go fast on a regular basis.
1- GL12 workouts change your hormones.
Several key studies indicate that a series of 20 to 30 second sprints sharply increased HGH (human growth hormone) in the body while exercising – and also for roughly 2 hours AFTER a workout.
Once the Get Lean In 12 HGH is released, it will target body fat like a wood burning furnace.
How do you know if you’re going hard enough to produce fat-blasting HGH levels?
Here are some guidelines:
lack of oxygen and feeling out of breath (duh!)
muscle burn (lactic acid overload)
increase in body temp or breaking a serious sweat
you must “feel the pain” (also known as adrenal response).
We’ve seen many students and members lose up to 20 pounds in eight weeks using Get Lean In 12 intervals/sprints.
2- GL12 gets you fitter, faster.
Although Get Lean In 12 intervals are only part of a well-balanced fitness program and the results sometimes sound to good to be true…they are THE most important part of your regimen if you want quick results.
Researchers from 2 published journals found that GL12 sprinting for 20 to 30 seconds performed 3 times a week for 20 minutes or less produced the same results as 3 endurance (the slow boring stuff) cycling sessions, each of which lasted 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Yikes. Now that’s what we call a great R.O.I. (Return On Investment)
In other words, just one hour of Get Lean In 12 produced what would take up to 6 hours of the normal, boring, textbook, target heart rate cardio.
Also, after just 2 weeks, or six total GL12 workouts, subjects increased their endurance by 100% and they began using oxygen more efficiently to burn fuels.
This explains why sprinters are so lean and muscular. They automatically preserve muscle and burn more fat because of their training protocol.
Caution: the decision to go all out and push yourself to these limits should be cleared by your doctor first. It’s a process and a journey – NOT an event.
3- Adding GL12 intensity to your regimen will burn more calories-especially fat calories.
Although traditional, low-intensity, target heart rate exercise gets a lot of publicity…sprint – speed type workouts actually deliver better, overall fat-loss results.
Here’s why: although you can maintain lower intensity workouts for longer periods of time (1 hour or more) and it allows you to supposedly burn a greater percentage of fat calories (as opposed to carbs or stored glycogen)…minute for minute, the slow stuff burns substantially fewer total calories, therefore fewer fat calories as well.
All this indicates is that adding GL12 intervals to your fitness program also conditions your body to burn more fat during moderate-intensity exercise, as well.
In fact, subjects who engaged in these types of workouts increased the amount of fat they burned 36% more than those who engaged in moderate intensity exercise. It’s because GL12 workouts produce more mitochondria (you body’s cellular fat-burning powerhouse).
Lastly, GL12 activates more fast-twitch fibers, which is something that does NOT happen with the slow, boring cardio workouts.
4- Research shows GL12 workouts fuel your mind and might make you smarter.
Performing Get Lean In 12 workouts is the catalyst for your brain to produce more dopamine and serotonin. These are brain transmitters that reduce stress during exercise and other activities.
There is also some evidence suggesting that GL-12 can increase the amount of Catecholamine your brain produces. These are neurotransmitters found in the amino acid tyrosine which help the body stay sharp during prolonged periods of work, sleep deprivation, and other stressful situations….like life itself!
In other words, when you “Get Lean In 12” you won’t feel lethargic after lunch anymore. Is this the perfect synergy between the brain and the body? Quite possibly – yes.
5- GL12 will put a spring in your step.
Have you ever noticed how kids have non-stop energy, can go alllllll day long without stopping and the last thing they want to do is sleep? We always say, “I wish I still had energy like that, where do they get it?”
I’ll tell you where. Just watch em run around like they have the ‘need for speed’ in their everyday activities. Their bodies are loaded with hormones that your body could be suppressing from traditional, outdated, boring methods.
We all start to lose that drive by the time we hit our 20s and it just gets worse as we age.
Get Lean In 12 workouts 3 to 5 times a week will create new confidence and an appreciation for the spectacular engine that God had given us called our body.
Your body is supposed to have its engine revved up on weekly basis…so put a GL-12 spring in your step today.
Conclusion
So, if you have an interest in producing more fat-burning HGH (human growth hormone), cutting your exercise time in half, burning more fat calories while you go about your everyday activities, cultivating a sharper mind and more mental energy, and having the energy of a 5 year old…then what are you waiting for?
Get Lean In 12 today.
If you think you’ll get bored of the sprinting or you have limitations, just change it up.
You can use GL-12 bursts to do dozens of different exercises; mountain climbers, jump rope, standing jump-squats, squat thrusts, high-step sprints…you get the idea.
Don’t be afraid to change it up. Variety is a spice of life.
Make sure you hit the “like” button below so we can continue to help more people like you. We also need your comments below. This is how we can serve you better and help you achieve your goals.
Your fat burning friends and advisors,
Shaun and Karen
P.S. If you’re interested in exact video instructions of how to put this powerful workout to the test on your body (along with instant workout chart downloads) just head over to www.LeanForLifeCoaching.com right now and learn more.
We show you exactly how to create a unique and fun fat burning lifestyle. How will your life be any different if you’re not willing to take action?
P.P.S. What are you waiting for? It’s either the pain of discipline OR the pain of regret.
