Q. Here is what I want to do, in no particular order:

- build muscle, especially in my upper body (my legs and butt are crazy muscled already)

- get rid of some bodyfat

- look like I can kick some butt (I’ve been skinny, don’t want that again)

I’m 5′1″ and female, currently 131 and 29% bodyfat. I lift heavy (squats, deadlifts, leg press, bench press, more–all that stuff, try to vary each workout) for 30-40 minutes 3 days a week with a 10-15 minute cardio warmup (rowing). I’m about to throw some HIIT in there, too, but haven’t started that yet. Right now I’m eating maintenence (around 1600) most days, but I know I need to adjust that. I just don’t know whether to adjust up or down!

So, do I first concentrate on building muscle for a while (increase calories) and THEN cut back calories to get rid of the fat?

OR, do I cut the calories, lose the fat, and THEN work on building the muscle?

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A. It’s funny because losing fat and building muscle go hand in hand when you lift weights. Building muscle is the best way to lose body fat. Over the years, cardio got a lot of focus and people started stepping away from the weights. When it is actually weight lifting that leads to a better overall body transformation. Cardio is still a component of fitness, just not as important as people think. As a whole it isn’t really about what you do first. It all goes together.

Overall fitness basically comes in a three step process.

1) Nutrition – All the exercise in the world won’t matter if you aren’t eating the right way. So the first thing to do is to re-examine your nutrition plan. You have to make sure you are eating enough calories of the right types of foods. More often than not, people who exercise aren’t eating enough. They think getting too many calories will make them fat. You need food to help with recovery and to get stronger. The trick is eating the right types of foods. So you want to eat 5-6 small meals a day (1 meal every 2-4 hours), and aim for one gram of protein per pound of body weight, 1.5 grams of complex carbs per pound of body weight from whole grains/vegetables/fruits, and healthy fats. Also drink a lot of water. If you follow this six times a week and have only one day where you eat what you want, it will get you results.

2) Weight Lifting- Lifting weights is second most important in body transformation. Building muscle is what leads to losing body fat. Also, when you gain muscle you raise your metabolic rate which helps to burn more calories through out the day. Make sure to lift at least three times a week for 45-60 minutes. Free weights yield the best results. Also, make sure that you lift heavy (a weight you can only do 6-8 times) because it helps build muscle better. You don’t have to worry about it bulking you up either.

3) HIIT Cardio – A lot of people waste hours and hours per week doing regular cardio. It does burn calories and help to maintain weight. However, the weight people are losing more times than not , is from losing muscle. That is what you don’t want. You only need 90-120 minutes per week to maintain cardiovascular fitness. So the secret is doing an effective form of cardio that will spare muscle, target bodyfat, and keep your heart in shape. The answer is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).

You will find that Barry’s Boot Camp Total Body Video uses HIIT and many others. I’ll make a list here of the videos I use.

• Barry’s Boot Camp Total Body Workout (44min) or anything by Barry!
• Jillian Michael’s either her 30 Day Shred or The Biggest Loser Videos
• Body by Jake – He also has a strength training for women video

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photo credit: JaeYong, BAE

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

Gain Muscle First? Or Lose Fat First?

I know what you’re thinking. You’d really love to be fit as a fiddle, but you just can’t seem to make it happen. Instead of making sweet music, all you get is a bunch of sour notes. Too much weight, too little energy, too much flab, too little tone.

Believe me, I totally understand — because my coaching clients come to me with the very same problem. They’ve “been there and done that,” but still aren’t getting the results they want.

Major Insider Fitness Secret: The #1 key to success is NOT to keep trying harder, but to stop doing what doesn’t work, and start doing what’s been proven to work. Amazingly, that one simple shift can give you — literally — twice the results with half the effort.

Problem is, most people have no idea what actually works. Why? Because all our lives we’ve been buried under an avalanche of hype, misinformation, wild claims, and outright lies about fitness, fat loss, and health in general. (Ever watch Saturday morning TV?)

So to help make sure 2006 will be the year you get fit — and stay fit — I want to help you avoid “The Top 7 Fitness Mistakes Just About Everybody Makes.”

Any of these ring a bell?…

1.     Wasting your precious time, energy, money, and emotion doing things that simply don’t work. This leave you burned out, frustrated, and wanting to quit before you even get to see any measurable results. If that sounds painfully familiar, I urge you in the strongest terms to take this article to heart. You deserve to succeed, and I want to help you do it!

2.     Fuzzy goals / wimpy motivations – A huge factor in reaching your fitness goals is to have a clear understanding of (a) where you want to be, and (b) why it’s so important to do be there. If you don’t have clear goals AND see that there are tremendous benefits in reaching them AND huge costs of not reaching them, you simply won’t have the motivation it takes to get you off your butt, put down the fork, or make wise choices in the supermarket.

3.     Expecting results from “generic” solutions – and failing to recognize that you are a totally unique individual in a unique situation with unique needs. To succeed, you absolutely must have a program that’s custom-tailored to your unique needs, and it must involve not just your diet and exercise plans, but also your thinking and motivation.

4.     The “Trojan Horse” between your ears. Are you trying to get fit and healthy through diet and exercise alone? Extensive research has shown that the REAL reasons we succeed or fail at fitness / fat loss has a lot more to do with what goes on between our ears much than what goes on our plates. Odds are, you’re not even aware of your own self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes. But until you correct them, no amount of obsessing about diet and exercise can make any real or lasting difference for you.

5.     Unrealistic, unenjoyable, unsustainable exercise program – The first time I ever went to a gym, they put me through such a routine I was sore for days. And you know what? I’ve NEVER been back to a gym. But I do get exercise. I’ve simply figured out what I like to do, so I have no resistance to doing it. (Well, maybe a little now and then.) And what a huge difference it makes! I actually get my exercise now!

6.     Failure to build your fitness program into your lifestyle – I’ll tell you, I always had a pretty decent diet, but I struggled for years with the exercise thing. What finally worked — and still works great today — is to build my exercise program into my daily life. So now, instead of never being able to “find the time” to get the exercise I need, it’s simply become part of my day, like eating, showering, or brushing my teeth. The result? It gets done — automatically, and without stress, struggle, or procrastination.

7.     Failing to involve “all of you” in the success process – You are not just your body! You are body, mind, and spirit, and unless you get all three aspects of yourself “on board” for success, you’ll only be running on “1/3 power.” You’ll be like a 6-cylinder car running on just 2 cylinders! The result? Very little power, and a mighty rough ride! That’s no way to get to your goals!

Making these mistakes — even just a few of them — will just about eliminate any real chance of getting or staying fit and healthy. There are quite a few other mistakes we make as well, but avoiding these “Super 7″ will make success a whole lot easier for you!

Next time we’re going to zero in on that “Trojan Horse” between your ears and see how to kick it out of your castle. You’ve got enough problems “out there” without having to fend off “psycho terrorists” inside your own head!

“Dr. Frank” (aka Coach Frank Smoot)

Dr. Frank B. Smoot, MA, DD

This post via the My Boot Camp Workout! blog where you get boot camp workouts, dumbbell workouts and more.

The Top 7 Fitness Mistakes Just About Everybody Makes