How were all those hotdogs, hamburgers, and pasta salads on the 4th? I’m not going to lie, I had a few too many chocolate chip cookies myself so I have no room to talk. The chocolate cake was tasty too. Alright, I have a little bit of a chocolate obsession, sue me!
Just a little FYI to all those people who feel guilty about eating all that bad food over the 4th of July: 1-2 days of OVER-eating will NOT cause your body to store fat. Sure you will feel bloated and probably tacked on a few lbs, but that’s just water weight (for every gram of carbohydrate you ingest, the body will store 3-4 grams of water). Research has shown that in order for ‘in vivo’ lipogenesis to occur (the making of NEW body fat), one has to consistently OVER-eat for more than 1-2 days. The body does a pretty good job at up regulating and down regulating metabolism based on one’s caloric intake. So trust me when I say that your two day food binge is not that big of a deal.
However, now that the holiday is over and we all had a day to recuperate, it’s time to get back to “bidness” and hit the gym with a mission again. One massive mistake that people make is that they often take a ONE day holiday and make it into a week long personal excuse to eat crappy foods and slack on their training.
It’s time to revert back to normal eating habits (ie: no more chocolate cake dammit) and it’s also time to kick your own butt in the gym.
One tactic that I like to use with clients is what I call a complex (these are especially good for those trying to shed a little body fat in general). If you’re like me, I HATE steady state cardio and I think I have an allergy to the treadmill. After you’re done with your normal training session, instead of your 10 minutes of “ab” work (waste of time) or your 20 minute “cool down” on the elliptical (more waste of time), do this instead:
Complex: a series of movements that you complete without putting the bar down.
1. Grab a barbell or dumbbells (anywhere from 35-65 total lbs will work great for most people)
2. Walk over to a spot in your gym that gives you a good 4 feet around.
3. From here you’re going to perform a series of 6 movements without stopping or putting the bar down.
The Movements:
Romanian Deadlift
Bent Over Row
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Dymanic Lunge
4. You will perform 6 reps for each movement. Example: Romanian Deadlift x 6, bent over row x 6, etc…..
5. Rest for half the amount of time it took you to complete the complex
6. Repeat for the allotted time (10 minutes). Most people will get 4-6 rounds in
7. Keep the puke bucket close
Complexes are great for those people who have limited space available (and hate the stairmaster) and they are superior as far as total conditioning and overall ass kicking is concerned. I don’t necessarily want people to vomit, but I will forewarn you and say that complexes are not for the weak of heart. They’re hard. But getting the body you want isn’t supposed to be easy. If it were easy, then all those people who do nothing but watch Oprah while doing their “cardio” and lift the same weights they used three years ago would look fantastic. You’re not that person.
