No More Excuses Video
By · CommentsIt’s easy to have our list of excuses for why we aren’t taking care of ourselves, especially in the area of fitness including things like: I don’t have time or money or energy or I don’t feel good or my metabolism is slow or I have bad genetics or I’m tired or I don’t like to sweat or have bad knees or I’m too busy, blah, blah, blah….
And our excuse seems pretty good until we see someone like Matt Scott who has a “No Excuse” mentality. Then there’s a perspective change. I love guys like this that don’t make excuses and just go for it. Props to Matt (and Nike) for the example and wake up call. Time to suck it up and go….
To Squat or not to Squat…Part 1
By · CommentsSquats are one of my favorite exercises. Not because I love doing them so much but because of all the many benefits you get from doing them. So to answer your question, yes you should squat and here’s 3 reasons why:
1) It is a functional movement. 
The squat movement is a daily part of life. Every time you sit in a chair or stand back up, you are doing a variation of a squat. When you get in or out of bed, down on or up off the floor, on or off the toilet, guess what you have to do…squat. If you’re not able to squat, your mobility in life is very limited.
2) It burns a lot of calories. Caloric burn is the name of the game when it comes to weight loss and getting lean so why not do the exercises that are going to burn the most calories. The squat is one of those. You get a lot of ROI with this one (Return on Investment). We call that “getting a lot of bang for your buck.”
3) It boosts your metabolism. Not only do you burn a lot of calories while doing them, squats have the ability to help you build a lot of muscle. And the speed of your metabolism is a direct product of the amount of muscle you have. This means you will burn more calories while you AREN’T working out. Sounds like a pretty good deal huh?
Most people don’t like doing squats, though, because they aren’t a comfortable exercise to do. I mean I even have a Love/Hate relationship with them. Love them for all the benefits but I’m not going to lie. They are tough and can cause some serious nausea when done with some intensity as well as a lot of soreness…Check back soon for more on the squat in Part 2.
Just Checking In…
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So we are 1 week into the New Year. A week ago, a lot of you made resolutions to “get in shape,” or “lose weight.” So, a week later, how is it going? Have you done anything to move toward that goal yet? Put some actual goals in writing, or maybe even made some sort of lifestyle change-in the way you exercise, eat, etc? The more time that passes from the day you made your “resolution,” the chances of you acting on it are get more slim (no pun intended!). So, here are 3 simple things you can do TODAY to help you from becoming one of the majority of people fall off the wagon before January is over.
1. Make specific goals, not just vague resolutions (so “get in shape” becomes “I want to lose 15 lbs by April 1st).
2. Write them down and put them somewhere you can see them everyday.
3. Share them with someone in your life who can hold you accountable.
Simple, but effective. Create some accountability in your life. Now, enough talking and thinking about it, go do something about it today!
The Eat Less / Move More Principle
By · CommentsYou say you’ve tried everything, right? Well weight loss isn’t near as complicated as people make it. To break it down in it’s simplest form is: If you burn more calories than you are taking in, you will lose weight. It’s been proven thousands and thousands of time. If you eat less (than you are now) and move more (exercise more than you are now), your body will lose weight. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to burn more calories than you are consuming and gain weight. IMPOSSIBLE!
Here’s a classic funny video that displays this principle pretty clearly.
The problem with this method is your body changes as you try to change it so you have to change your approach to be a step ahead. So how fast you lose weight, how your body actually changes/whether you become lean or not, how you feel as far as energy, whether you’re improving your overall fitness level and function in life, etc. are all dependent on more specific factors.
The main 2 factors are the type of exercise plan and nutrition plan you are on. This is where it gets more complicated and really becomes a science if you want to maximize the results you’re going to get because using the same method of attack will work for a little while but your body will catch up eventually. e.g. The amount of calories your body burns when you do a certain exercise lessens over time. So keep the Eat Less/Move More principle in mind but remember you need to change to keep your body changing.
It can be overwhelming/frustrating trying to figure all this out so one great solution is Bootcamp and we’re offering a trial right now for $1.
Fitness Bootcamps Are Dangerous – Part 1
By · CommentsIt’s January, the time of year when New Year’s Resolutions are kicking and FITNESS GETS HOT (at least for a couple weeks). People are looking for quick solutions to lose weight and firm up and are looking for help on how to do it through books, magazines, gyms, miracles in a bottle, personal training, etc. One area that’s gotten popular is group training also known as “bootcamps.” Fitness Bootcamps are a growing trend in the fitness industry today and for good reason. They typically are MUCH MORE affordable than personal training. They also offer more camaraderie and social support and are much more exciting while still providing expert supervision and guidance.
Unfortunately, bootcamps do have their downside. Many fitness instructors want to jump on the bootcamp bandwagon without having any of the skills or experience to design custom workouts for the wide variety of fitness levels typical in large group training. This can be flat out dangerous (not to mention a waste of your time and money) so I thought I’d offer you 10 tips on how to properly select a bootcamp that will be a good investment, get you results and keep you safe at the same time.
Outdoor Bootcamp
The Top 10 Bootcamp Safety Checklist
1.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Certified With Nationally Recognized Institutions such as the American Council on Exercise or the National Academy of Sports Medicine. There are many online pay-for-certifications where people can get a certificate with little or no knowledge of proper training methods. And many of them have book knowledge but no hands-on/practical experience. This is a big part of what gets people hurt and gives fitness a bad name!
2.) The Instructor(s) Must Look The Part And Walk The Walk. If the trainer takes physical fitness seriously and is on the cutting edge of new training methodologies, they will be fit themselves, plain and simple. After all, who wants to take advice from someone who is in worse shape than they are! I’m always perplexed at why a client would choose an out of shape trainer but regardless this is seriously an embarrassment to the industry, not to mention the trainers themselves.
3.) The Instructor(s) Must Be Experts With Exercise Progressions. Every exercise has the appropriate regression and progression based on your current fitness level. Overweight, de-conditioned beginners SHOULD NOT perform the exact same exercises as their more fit counterparts. If you ask your trainer if he/she can show an exercise modification that better suits your particular situation and they have no idea and give you a blank stare, you should leave and leave quickly!
4.) The Instructor(s) Must Make Themselves Available for 10-15 Minutes Before and After Every Session. Although a good trainer can effectively train the group as a whole and still give that personal touch, he/she must be willing to speak with clients before AND after every workout to answer questions and address any personal issues that might arise within the scope of your training or in related to other very important topics like nutrition.
5.) The Program Must Emphasize Body Weight Before External Resistance. There should be no added weight to any movements until you have mastered the key foundational body weight exercises in full ranges of motion like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc. A red flag should be raised if you are being instructed to add weight to a movement that you have yet to master with your body weight alone. This one’s important because it’s not a matter of if you will get hurt… it’s a matter of when! Too many trainers are more concerned about putting on a show and “hurting people with exercises that are too advanced” than taking the time to teach proper technique. Foundational movements must be mastered and safety should always be a top priorty.
If you’re looking for a bootcamp (or personal training) in the Charlotte, NC area, I’m confident that I meet these criteria and would love to have you join us! Our next phase begins next week. More info here.
Check back for part 2 of this post soon…
Prograde 10.10% New Years Day ONLY Sale
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Happy New Year’s Day! And to celebrate 2010, Prograde is allowing you to save 10.10% off all your favorite Prograde products with a 10 hour sale!
It starts TODAY at Noon EST and runs until just 10:00pm EST.
All the details are right here at http://bodybybuck.getprograde.com/specials.html.
Seriously, it only lasts for 10 hours so get your order in NOW.
Happy New Year!
Don’t Fall Into These Traps…
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Christmas is over and the New Year is just around the corner. The parties and holiday “splurging” you were going to enjoy is now coming to an end. So now what? You told yourself you were going to start that new diet/exercise routine after the holidays, and yet you haven’t made a plan for yourself to start. Watch out for these traps that will have you in a pit, discouraged and getting no where…and maybe even packing on the pounds instead of shedding the excess ones you already have.
- The “I’ll start tomorrow” trap-You know you’ve said it. We all have. For some reason, we can excuse our way out of making change TODAY, while still setting us up for failure TOMORROW. Guess what? There is always going to be a tomorrow. So, if your mentality is “I’m going to eat this/enjoy that and start my diet/exercise tomorrow,” then when tomorrow actually comes, we can just tell ourselves that we will start the next day. There is always another party. Someone else’s birthday is next month. More cake and more vacations. More reasons (in your head) why you shouldn’t be disciplined than reasons why you should buckle down and really go after your goals. This is a dangerous trap as it can have you putting on excess weight in the meantime, while you are prolonging your start to a healthy life, making it that much harder for you to lose the weight you want. The reality is, when you want it bad enough and get yourself motivated, tomorrow becomes today, and there are no more excuses!
- The “I had a great workout today so I can eat whatever I want” trap. The answer to this one is NO! Don’t do it! This is a common misconception that can have you gaining weight even when you are hitting the gym regularly. If you are trying to lose body fat, you definitely don’t want to have this mentality. You cannot out-train a poor diet. Don’t undo all the hard work you put in during your workout by packing a bunch of greasy, high calorie, fatty foods into yourself. Let your workout be a supplement to a great, carefully planned, well-rounded diet.
- The “I can’t do this” trap. This is the most dangerous one of all. So maybe you’ve had a few failures or been uncommitted in the past and haven’t succeeded in reaching your fitness goals. You cannot start telling yourself that you can’t do it, or the reality is, you never will. You CAN do it, you just need the motivation and the right tools to get you there. It might require more effort or hard work than you’ve ever put forth before, but you definitely can reach your goals if they are realistic and important enough to you. Don’t talk yourself out of it.
Let us help you get there! January Bootcamp is right around the corner, and is a great way to start the New Year! No more excuses, let us keep you from falling into these traps and help you get a jump start toward reaching your goals. Click here for more information and here for our new membership program and rates! See you there!
Merry Christmas! / Bonus Home Workout
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Merry Christmas from Body By Buck! Hope you are enjoying this special time of year with some of those you love the most.
Controlling what you eat is extremely difficult this time of year with all the craziness of Christmas and holiday food that’s surrounding you so I included a quick bonus home workout for you (below). I did it earlier today and was feeling it. So try it out…it will rev up your metabolism and help minimize some of the damage you’re doing with all that food 
Also we have some new things in the mix for 2010 including January Bootcamp so get ready – it’s just around the corner.
Bodyweight Circuit:
Here’s a quick circuit you can do from home or on the road. No equipment required.
4 exercises. (15, 14, 13…1) Start with 15 reps on each exercise. 15 pushups, 15 squats, 15 situps, 15 squat jumps – that’s one set.
Then go back through each exercise for 14 reps. The goal is to go all the way down to one rep in as little time as possible so that means little (or no rest) between exercises.
- Pushup (full range of motion)
- Squat (parallel on depth)
- Situp
- Squat Jump
20 minutes is average. Under 15 minutes is advanced. And if you’re feeling really good. Repeat the circuit a second time.
Post your time in the comments section and let us know how you did…Merry Christmas!
Holiday Calorie Control Tip #2
By · CommentsPreviously we talked about how crucial it is for you to have a PLAN to control your calorie intake during the holidays. Today’s tip is even more simple and expands on the premise.
Plan on staying AWAY from the booze.
Look, a drink or two isn’t necessarily going to be the end of the world. But when two turns to three and then four to five (or like the picture below)…I’m not getting on my soap box here. I’m just telling you something you already know:
Booze leads to bad decisions (in more ways than one). And in this case, we’re talking about BAD eating decisions.
When alcohol enters the equation even the best laid plans crumble. The extra calories from the cocktails is one thing which are extra calories that you probably don’t need. That’s why I always tell clients to try to eliminate most liquid calories from their diet. But really it’s the extra calories you chew that start to add up:
One piece of cake turns to two…
A handful of chips turns into a a bag…
The dip sitting in front of you mysteriously vanishes…into your belly…
You get the picture. 
Now you’ve turned your body into a FAT STORAGE FACILITY by consuming a SURPLUS of useless calories. Have fun and enjoy yourself but just be conscious of what alcohol does to your decision making and all the extra calories you’re taking in.
Favorite/Worst Excuse of the Week
By · CommentsExercise takes too much time and it’s boring.
Really? Is exercise really THAT boring that you would risk being unhealthy/and or overweight for the rest of your life? And exercise doesn’t have to take that much time. If I remember correctly, there are still 24 hours in a day, and a lot of people spend a good 1-3 hours of that in front of a television. What if you dedicated a small portion of that time to exercise instead? There are many great workouts that take 45 mins, or even 30 mins or less that will keep you engaged and not have you gazing at the clock waiting for your cardio time on the elliptical to pass. You can burn fat in a short amount of time if you are serious about it and maximize the time you dedicate to your health and fitness.
Need a new workout, passion for exercise or some accountability to help motivate you? Body By Buck Bootcamp can help you with those things! It is anything but boring, and we will have you burning fat with just 45 minutes a session. AND you are working out with other great people, which helps keep you motivated! We will also show you how to get great workouts in at home so that you can still make progress on the days you don’t come to Bootcamp. Stop making excuses about how much time it takes to be healthy or how boring it is. Let us show you how getting fit/staying fit is fun and and time efficient! January is right around the corner, let us help you jump start your new healthy lifestyle in 2010! Remember, invest in your health NOW or pay LATER!
