Sometimes life gets busy.
About 8 years go, I was in a situation where I working 55-60+ hour weeks running a suit store.
The commute was about 45 minutes each way to get to my job, so a lot of time was dedicated to working.
When my blog took off, I was spending about 3-4 hours per day on average writing posts and answering questions.
Between my blog, work, and my commute...I was putting in about 80 hours per week.
During the Christmas season is was even more brutal.So how do you workout when 85-90 hours are dedicated to work?
Answer: You don't <---or you scale WAY back.
Throughout the year I could get in the gym 3-4 times per week back then.
...but couldn't hit the gym at all the 6 weeks before Christmas.
Here's a video of a body weight circuit I used during that time.
...but what if you don't even have time for that?
Although this isn't ideal, it is possible to drop fat without exercising.
If I was in that position today, here's what I would do.
Create a strong calorie deficit by following a protein sparing modified fast.
I'll outline a brain-dead simple approach.
The Protein Sparing Chicken Soup Diet
An aggressive low calorie, muscle sparing diet to follow for 6-8 weeks...when you absolutely cannot train.
What you will need.
1) A large pot to hold 3 days worth of soup. 2) 3 days worth of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
For most people this will be 8-9 chicken breasts. I like to broil these first with a bit of soy sauce and salt and pepper. I'll also experiment with other spices to add flavor to the soup.3) 3-4 containers of chicken broth.4) A large variety of green vegetables.
You will need to avoid corn, peas, and carrots since they are starchy carbs. What you are looking for are things like celery, kale. onions, peppers, brussel sprouts, etc. I also like to put in a large batch of cilantro...because cilantro makes it extra tasty!5) 3 medium sized containers to divide the soup into 3 equal size batches.
This is a pretty easy diet to follow.
Each container is a day's worth of food.
It makes is psychologically easy to follow when you know exactly how much food you have left for the day.
You can ration your day's worth of food however you want. It could be that you like to have a small bowl of soup every few hours...or possibly you do better with 2 big bowls of soup throughout the day.
You can add salsa to the soup, make it spicy with a bunch of jalapeno pepper's, etc.
You can dramatically change the flavor depending upon what spices you put on the chicken before broiling.
I'd recommend making two 3 day batches per week...and giving yourself one day of higher calories and carbs.
...eat normal for one day without purposely trying to cheat as much as possible.
This is a solid diet to follow for 6-8 weeks, when life simply gets too busy to hit the gym.
Cheers,
-Rusty
Fitness Black Book & Visual Impact fitness courses
PS: I've used this chicken soup diet in the past to create a large deficit while training as well.
One approach that has worked well for me is to eat nothing but the soup Mon, Tuesday, Wednesday...then eat at maintenance with more carbs the rest of the week.
Another approach I've used over and over again is simply eating 2 shakes and chicken salad each day.
...but the chicken soup probably creates a larger deficit, and it is what I'd recommend if you absolutely cannot train and want to lose body fat rapidly.
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Monday, 19 May 2014
Rusty Moore - The biggest strength training mistake I see is...
I'm not going to lie.
I'm definitely not the strongest person in my gym.
I'm between 6'3" and 6'4" and have arms almost as long as Plastic Man....but this is the hand I've been dealt.
Being somewhat tall is cool, but with downfalls:
Sucks trying to fit into plane seats (I never ride first class).
The sleeve length of 99% of shirts and coats are too short.
When you are young people ask if you play basketball (I didn't).
Higher chance of bumping your head on stuff.
Note: When you have a greater chance of hitting your head and you are also bald, you are almost guaranteed to see a bit of blood.
...but it's not all bad. Here are some things I like about being tall.
I don't have to invest in step stools.
I get a great view at most concerts.
I don't have to worry women I'm dating being taller than me.
People can easily find me in a crowd.
Note: Being tall doesn't really give you the ability to find other people in a crowd. When I'm looking for a group of friends they always spot me before I spot them...but then again, I might stand out because of my freakishly long arms.
So...although I'm not the strongest person, I do know what it takes to increase strength.
Let's talk a little about the bench press.Most guys...not matter what height or bone structure should eventually be able to bench press 225 pounds at least 1-2 times.
I'm tall with a light bone structure...it took me a long time to get to this level of strength in the bench.
I could squat 405 X 5 before I could bench press 225 pounds one single time.
Looking back, I was making a huge mistake.
A couple of them actually.
I was using pyramid sets working up to the heaviest weight.
I was using forced reps and training to failure.
Know why my squat increased so quickly compared to my bench press?
I typically stopped warm-up sets well short of failure...so not a true pyramid setup.
I never trained squats to failure, because failing in squats is a brutal process, even in a power rack.
---> If I would have trained my bench press like my squat workout...I'm convinced I would have hit my goals much earlier on.I avoid heavy squats these days, just to keep my legs in proportion with my upper body. If you need mass in the lower body they work well, but at some point you may find squats TOO effective at building lower body mass.
My advice on gaining strength?
Train all lifts in a similar fashion to a typical squat setup.
1. Start light, but don't exhaust yourself on the lighter sets...save that energy and effort for your heavier sets.
2. Stop 1-3 reps before failure on even the heaviest sets.
Back to the bench press...I see a lot of young guys who ask for spotters on each and every set. They exhaust the muscles being worked before they hit the most important strength producing sets.
By the time they are lifting heavy, they can't give 100%.
I just saw a group of young personal trainers in my gym struggling the past 2 months trying to increase their bench press max.
I figured this would be a quick tip others could benefit from as well.
Cheers,
-Rusty Moore
Fitness Black Book and Visual Impact fitness courses
PS: I do realize that it is tough to hold back when so many trainers are pushing the "lift till you puke" workout philosophy. I've never trained until I puked. Am I alone? I haven't even seen this happen in my 27 years of having a gym membership in over 15 different gyms.
If your workout involves buckets...you are doing it wrong :)
I'm definitely not the strongest person in my gym.
I'm between 6'3" and 6'4" and have arms almost as long as Plastic Man....but this is the hand I've been dealt.
Being somewhat tall is cool, but with downfalls:
Sucks trying to fit into plane seats (I never ride first class).
The sleeve length of 99% of shirts and coats are too short.
When you are young people ask if you play basketball (I didn't).
Higher chance of bumping your head on stuff.
Note: When you have a greater chance of hitting your head and you are also bald, you are almost guaranteed to see a bit of blood.
...but it's not all bad. Here are some things I like about being tall.
I don't have to invest in step stools.
I get a great view at most concerts.
I don't have to worry women I'm dating being taller than me.
People can easily find me in a crowd.
Note: Being tall doesn't really give you the ability to find other people in a crowd. When I'm looking for a group of friends they always spot me before I spot them...but then again, I might stand out because of my freakishly long arms.
Let's talk a little about the bench press.Most guys...not matter what height or bone structure should eventually be able to bench press 225 pounds at least 1-2 times.
I'm tall with a light bone structure...it took me a long time to get to this level of strength in the bench.
I could squat 405 X 5 before I could bench press 225 pounds one single time.
Looking back, I was making a huge mistake.
A couple of them actually.
I was using pyramid sets working up to the heaviest weight.
I was using forced reps and training to failure.
Know why my squat increased so quickly compared to my bench press?
I typically stopped warm-up sets well short of failure...so not a true pyramid setup.
I never trained squats to failure, because failing in squats is a brutal process, even in a power rack.
---> If I would have trained my bench press like my squat workout...I'm convinced I would have hit my goals much earlier on.I avoid heavy squats these days, just to keep my legs in proportion with my upper body. If you need mass in the lower body they work well, but at some point you may find squats TOO effective at building lower body mass.
My advice on gaining strength?
Train all lifts in a similar fashion to a typical squat setup.
1. Start light, but don't exhaust yourself on the lighter sets...save that energy and effort for your heavier sets.
2. Stop 1-3 reps before failure on even the heaviest sets.
Back to the bench press...I see a lot of young guys who ask for spotters on each and every set. They exhaust the muscles being worked before they hit the most important strength producing sets.
By the time they are lifting heavy, they can't give 100%.
I just saw a group of young personal trainers in my gym struggling the past 2 months trying to increase their bench press max.
I figured this would be a quick tip others could benefit from as well.
Cheers,
-Rusty Moore
Fitness Black Book and Visual Impact fitness courses
PS: I do realize that it is tough to hold back when so many trainers are pushing the "lift till you puke" workout philosophy. I've never trained until I puked. Am I alone? I haven't even seen this happen in my 27 years of having a gym membership in over 15 different gyms.
If your workout involves buckets...you are doing it wrong :)
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
My True Story - Rusty Moore
The worst injury of my life
(happened 20+ years ago)
How on earth could I have injured my back on the leg press?
Looking back, I always figured it was because I rounded my back at the bottom of the rep. I'm sure that was part of it. I still think it is a terribly dangerous machine.
...but why was my spine so fragile in the first place?
Now I know what really caused the injury.
I used to start off each workout session with crunches.
I wanted ABS badly and thought this would do it!
Unfortunately, all my sets of crunches were weakening my spine. Similar to bending a coat hanger repetitively. With enough bends of the coat hanger, it breaks.
The leg presses were just the final forceful bend.
...that rocked my spine.
My plea to you:
Try not to do ab work before heavy lifting where you rely on spine stability. Save the ab work for the end of the workout.
If you do prefer to do ab work first, avoid anything that resembles bending a coat hanger over and over. Planks and renegade rows are fine. Maybe save leg raises until the end.
Author Of
Visual Impact Muscle Fitness Program
EXACT Diet Plan - Rusty Moore
I'm not a fan of exact meal by meal diet plans.
In the past, I've received many requests from people like this.
I tell you EXACTLY what to eat for each meal for fat loss
Here's the problem with that.
...your calories and what you eat change as your body composition changes.
Image
Both muscle mass and fat mass burn calories.
A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories per day.
A pound of fat burns about 3 calories per day.
So as you get lighter, you typically burn less calories per day at rest.
Unless you add muscle.
...but typically you maintain or even lose a little muscle when getting lean.
So your diet should change to reflect this if you want to continue to lose body fat at a steady rate.
Image
Things get even trickier, the leaner you get.
Once you are within 5-10 pounds of your goal, you really have to watch how your body responds to your diet.
Does your body hold on to fat when you eat low carb?
Do too many carbs, cause spillover?
Do carbs help you train more intensely to burn off that last bit of fat?
Do you do better with frequent meals, or less meals?
Do you look a little more lean when you don't eat before bed time?
Does not eating before bedtime increase your cortisol?
Ask yourself this question:
"What is the most comfortable way to create on ongoing calorie deficit?"
If you enjoy carbs, then obviously your diet plan should include carbs.
I've seen people get super lean following both high carb and low carb diets.
For me personally...I get lean by mixing low calorie moderate fat days, with high carb low fat days. Once I get lean, I do best by increasing the fat a bit to ensure optimal hormone levels.
A buddy of mine...Drops fat like crazy by using really high fat days that are also pretty darn low in calories. Some of the days during the week, he simply eats one big rack of ribs. He likes to go higher in fat, because he says it helps keep him satisfied and he can keep those high fat days super low calorie without starving.
Another friend...Eats small balanced meals 4-5 times per day. She stays lean and eats a balanced combo of carbs, protein, and fat. Her diet is low to moderate in fat and she can easily hit a deficit and systematically get as lean as she desires eating like this.
There really isn't any particular right way to eat.
Just some guidelines to keep in mind:
If you want to lose fat, expect to be hungry from time to time. You shouldn't feel deprived all the time, but there will be times when you are going to crave more calories than what you are taking in.
Don't let yourself get so hungry that it forces you to binge. Eat an apple or something before you get to this point. It is better to take in 50-100 extra calories now, to avoid 500-1000 calories later.
If you are stuck at a certain weight, make sure and track you calorie intake. I would recommend using My Fitness Pal, a free app that lets you track calories.
Note: If you are 100% certain that you aren't taking in too many calories, consider changing your macronutrient ratios.
*If you aren't very active, then eating a larger percentage of your calories as fat...and lower in carbs, could be what you need.
*If you are training hard, then perhaps lowering your fat intake and increasing your carbs could be what you need.
To summarize: The exact meal plan approach works well for people with a lot of weight to lose. It's pretty easy at that point. Things get more complicated when a person wants to get exceptionally lean.
Again...find a way to get an ongoing calorie deficit that is slightly uncomfortable from time to time, without torturing yourself.
Wish You Good Luck,
Rusty Moore
Fitness Expert and the author of Visual Impact fitness courses Visit official webpage link
http://health.reviewship.com/visual-impact-muscle-building-review/
In the past, I've received many requests from people like this.
I tell you EXACTLY what to eat for each meal for fat loss
...your calories and what you eat change as your body composition changes.
Image
Both muscle mass and fat mass burn calories.
A pound of muscle burns about 6 calories per day.
A pound of fat burns about 3 calories per day.
So as you get lighter, you typically burn less calories per day at rest.
Unless you add muscle.
...but typically you maintain or even lose a little muscle when getting lean.
So your diet should change to reflect this if you want to continue to lose body fat at a steady rate.
Image
Things get even trickier, the leaner you get.
Once you are within 5-10 pounds of your goal, you really have to watch how your body responds to your diet.
Does your body hold on to fat when you eat low carb?
Do too many carbs, cause spillover?
Do carbs help you train more intensely to burn off that last bit of fat?
Do you do better with frequent meals, or less meals?
Do you look a little more lean when you don't eat before bed time?
Does not eating before bedtime increase your cortisol?
Ask yourself this question:
"What is the most comfortable way to create on ongoing calorie deficit?"
If you enjoy carbs, then obviously your diet plan should include carbs.
I've seen people get super lean following both high carb and low carb diets.
For me personally...I get lean by mixing low calorie moderate fat days, with high carb low fat days. Once I get lean, I do best by increasing the fat a bit to ensure optimal hormone levels.
A buddy of mine...Drops fat like crazy by using really high fat days that are also pretty darn low in calories. Some of the days during the week, he simply eats one big rack of ribs. He likes to go higher in fat, because he says it helps keep him satisfied and he can keep those high fat days super low calorie without starving.
Another friend...Eats small balanced meals 4-5 times per day. She stays lean and eats a balanced combo of carbs, protein, and fat. Her diet is low to moderate in fat and she can easily hit a deficit and systematically get as lean as she desires eating like this.
There really isn't any particular right way to eat.
Just some guidelines to keep in mind:
If you want to lose fat, expect to be hungry from time to time. You shouldn't feel deprived all the time, but there will be times when you are going to crave more calories than what you are taking in.
Don't let yourself get so hungry that it forces you to binge. Eat an apple or something before you get to this point. It is better to take in 50-100 extra calories now, to avoid 500-1000 calories later.
If you are stuck at a certain weight, make sure and track you calorie intake. I would recommend using My Fitness Pal, a free app that lets you track calories.
Note: If you are 100% certain that you aren't taking in too many calories, consider changing your macronutrient ratios.
*If you aren't very active, then eating a larger percentage of your calories as fat...and lower in carbs, could be what you need.
To summarize: The exact meal plan approach works well for people with a lot of weight to lose. It's pretty easy at that point. Things get more complicated when a person wants to get exceptionally lean.
Again...find a way to get an ongoing calorie deficit that is slightly uncomfortable from time to time, without torturing yourself.
Wish You Good Luck,
Rusty Moore
Fitness Expert and the author of Visual Impact fitness courses Visit official webpage link
http://health.reviewship.com/visual-impact-muscle-building-review/
Monday, 5 May 2014
Rusty Moore Muscle Building Rules
I'm convinced that abs have slightly different rules than other body parts.
If you spend 1-2 years improving your mind-to-muscle link and increasing density to your abs, you can maintain your abs with very little work.
A prime example of this is Franco Columbu.In his bodybuilding days, Franco did zero direct ab work.
...but my guess is that he built up base ab muscles when he first started lifting. I read an article in an 80's issue of Muscle and Fitness where Franco explained that he squeezed his abs when he performed other lifts.
This ability to easily contract a muscle hard is the result of a strong mind-to-muscle link.
Once you develop this ability to contract your abs hard, you can maintain exceptional ab definition with very little effort.
...as long as your abs aren't covered with a large amount of body fat.
If you haven't developed a strong mind to muscle link in the abs?
Spend the next 6-12 months going through my Visual Impact Muscle building Program.
Note: No need to enter your email address or anything, this is a direct link Click on image. Also, this was originally going to be a paid product, but I wanted to give something valuable away a few years ago. It's a really solid program.
Once you develop a strong mind to muscle link?
1. You can get away with planks and a very watered down ab workout.
2. ...or you can simply do a targeted ab workout once every week or two.If you have years of lifting experience, my advice is to spend the time you would have worked abs...and do strategic fat loss cardio instead.
The reason I wanted to bring this topic up is something I see in the gym.
...men and women doing 20 minute ab workouts, who have a good 20+ pounds to lose.
If I was their trainer, I'd tell them to spend that time dropping their excess body fat before worrying about endless sets of ab exercises.
Again...once you develop density in your abs, it takes very little to maintain.
If your abs are a little less dense than you want, it just takes a couple of weeks max of direct ab work to get them up to par.
Have a good one :)
Fitness Expert Rusty Moore
Fitness Black Book and Visual Impact fitness courses
If you spend 1-2 years improving your mind-to-muscle link and increasing density to your abs, you can maintain your abs with very little work.
A prime example of this is Franco Columbu.In his bodybuilding days, Franco did zero direct ab work.
This ability to easily contract a muscle hard is the result of a strong mind-to-muscle link.
Once you develop this ability to contract your abs hard, you can maintain exceptional ab definition with very little effort.
...as long as your abs aren't covered with a large amount of body fat.
If you haven't developed a strong mind to muscle link in the abs?
Spend the next 6-12 months going through my Visual Impact Muscle building Program.
Once you develop a strong mind to muscle link?
1. You can get away with planks and a very watered down ab workout.
2. ...or you can simply do a targeted ab workout once every week or two.If you have years of lifting experience, my advice is to spend the time you would have worked abs...and do strategic fat loss cardio instead.
The reason I wanted to bring this topic up is something I see in the gym.
...men and women doing 20 minute ab workouts, who have a good 20+ pounds to lose.
If I was their trainer, I'd tell them to spend that time dropping their excess body fat before worrying about endless sets of ab exercises.
Again...once you develop density in your abs, it takes very little to maintain.
If your abs are a little less dense than you want, it just takes a couple of weeks max of direct ab work to get them up to par.
Have a good one :)
Fitness Expert Rusty Moore
Fitness Black Book and Visual Impact fitness courses
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