FREE Fitness, fat loss, and health information

Ok, if you have been following any of my posts, you know that I am a supporter of Dr. Kareem Samhouri (creator of the Double Edged Fat Loss System). As one of his followers I get regular e-mails about all sorts of products, health tips, and exercise information, and I want to share that information with you.

Just check out Dr. K’s blog at http://budurl.com/VideoFitnessBlog for some great FREE information that you can receive regular updates on. Now, he does a lot of posts, but one of the best resources is a little down the page on the left under the category called “Pages”. In that category you can find a number of videos on health, fitness, fat loss, and injury management. But best of all, its all free, no e-mail sign up, nothing. Just go to http://budurl.com/VideoFitnessBlog and check out his blog, you won’t regret it!

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

The Importance of Muscle Balancing

In physical therapy I regularly come across all sorts of injuries, surgeries, and ailments that people present with, but one of the most come things that almost everyone has is an imbalance in their musculature.

Ideally, your body should be balanced from top to bottom, left to right, and front to back. If you are balanced in all directions, not only does it significantly reduce you chance of injury, but current injuries that you may have can be improved through muscle balancing. Balanced muscles around a joint give increased stability and protection for that joint as well as decreasing the regular stress that occurs in that joint because it can be placed on the muscles. Additionally, correct alignment improves performance by allowing the muscles and joints to be placed in optimal positions for the greatest range of motion and strength production. There are even some schools of thought that believe a good portion of disease and injuries are preventable through restoring appropriate alignment of the body.

Imbalances in the muscles of the body can cause significantly increased stress through the joints of the body from head to toe, literally! That increased joint stress significantly increases the likelihood for injury. We live in a forward moving and mirror obsessed society. Computers and long car rides place us in compromised posture for hours at a time. This results in forward head posture, rounded forward shoulders, flattened or extended back, forward rotated pelvis, and increased weight bearing through the balls of the feet. All of these postural deviations cause neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, decreased breathing capacity, knee pain, and foot pain.

The good news is that all of these pains and problems can be corrected through exercise alone. Utilizing the right exercises you can work to restore the appropriate alignment of the body to decrease current pain and decrease the likelihood of future injury. Many of the exercises that I am going to write about are easy to do, but critical to restoring correct alignment. So, here is the first exercise to start with to begin correcting your alignment. This one is working on restoring normal head position over the shoulders to decreasing neck pain, headaches, and that tight feeling everyone gets across their shoulders.

Neck Retractions

1. Lay on a pillow with the bottom edge of the pillow under the shoulders and the head at the top of the pillow
2. Gently press the back of your head into the pillow giving yourself a double chin
3. Avoid tipping the head up or down
4. Hold the press for 10 seconds then relax
5. Repeat 10x
6. Repeat 5x/day
7. This can also be done in the car at red light (only at red lights) by pressing your head against your head rest or against a wall with a pillow or small folded towel behind you head

Keep watching the blog for more exercises to help decrease your risk of injury and improve your posture for more effective training. Sign up at the top of the page to receive e-mails when more posts go up.

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

Xtreme Fat Loss

Ok, so Joel Marion is about to release an absolutely crazy fat loss diet called Xtreme Fat Loss. He has been putting out tons of information through his e-mail list and I suggest that you not miss out on it. He even makes the claim that one can lose 25 pounds in 25 days!! Sounds crazy right?

What is really awesome is that the diet is entirely scientifically based. Joel poured over tons of research articles (878 to be exact) and worked on really putting together the best possible program for you to generate the fastest results in the shortest period of time.

If you sign up through this link you can get access to a great interview with Joel Marion, Vince Del Monte, and John Romaneillo where they discuss the tremendous benefits of the Xtreme Fat Loss diet program.

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

Great Interview on Weight Loss Supplements

I got this interview from a company called Prograde. They are a nutritional supplement company that was created by fitness professionals that were tired of all of the false claims and poorly made products that exist in the nutritional supplement industry. The interview talks about all of the lies and myths that exist in the weight loss industry, particularly pertaining to supplements.

They discuss the myths of some popular weight loss supplements like acai, hoodia, and chromium and talk about the research that back other supplements like cinnamon, caffeine, and green tea. They will try to sell you a supplement at the end of the interview, but the information at the beginning is really the best stuff. Of course, I completely support the company because I know the owners and researchers and the quality product that they put out is phenomenal. So, if you are interested in great supplements check out the rest of the site.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://totalnutrition.getprograde.com/lies-and-myths.html

Just click on the “play” icon about half way down the page and it should start playing immediately. You can also download the mp3 and list to it later.

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

FREE 7-Day Body Weight Gauntlet

Seriously, this is totally free. There is no e-mail sign up or anything. Craig Ballantyne is a well known author and creator of a ton of fitness programs from fat loss to kettlebells to body building. He just put out this e-book that is all body weight exercises. The only equipment you need is a pull up bar, but that is only for a few of them. Its a 7-day long program that is always a great change up to your normal workout routine.

Just go to this link and right click over the e-book image a little way down the page. If the link does not work simple copy and paste the text into your web browser. You won’t regret it!!

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

Trying to get on MTV

Hey Everyone,

Dr. K (the creator of Double Edged Fat Loss) is trying to get on MTV to be a featured trainer on a new show that is called High School Weight Loss. One luck high school senior will get a chance of a life time to work with the best trainers to get in phenomenal shape before going to college, and Dr. K is one of the hopefuls (and best choice) for being the trainer on this show.

Check out his audition video here on his blog where you can get a free fast kettlebell giant set that can easily be incorporated into your workouts. Enjoy!

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

Get a Beach Ready Body by June 26th

Vince Del Monte is gearing up for his wedding and has to be in the best condition so it is truly a day to remember. He and his fiance have put together a phenomenal program that will get you in the best shape of your life by June 26th.

Check it out and see for yourself how to get in great shape just in time for the beach season!!

Trust me on this one. Vince Del Monte has the best selling muscle building program on the web rated by ClickBank.com. He has put together a dynamite program that will yield great results. You only have 75 days left until June 26th and for a mere $30 you can get a great plan that will be great for getting you beach ready every year.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet and speak with Flavia and Vince, and both of them are great people and I am so happy for them for finding each other and choosing to spend the rest of their lives together. So, join them on their journey together of happiness and getting beach body ready in no time!

Cheers to your health,

Lynk

Quick Body Weight Fat Burner

Hey Everyone,

This is just a quick body weight fat burning workout that I decided to come up with, but it does require the use of a pull up bar. If you don’t have a pull up bar you can substitute the exercise with a middle trapezius exercise in the down position of a squat. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Warm up: (no rest until completion of entire warmup)

Progressively increasing in intensity, perform high knees, butt kickers, and jumping jacks through 10 repetitions each. Start at 10% of you max speed and each round increase by 10% until the last round is done as 100% effort and speed. Follow this with a lunge progression starting with a forward lunge on the right, then immediately into a reverse lunge on the same side and then into a rotational lunge (stepping into a front lunge to the right and pivoting the back foot, then return to facing forward by coming up explosively from the lunge to pivot back to the starting position). Repeat all three lunges 10x on each side.

Rest 2 minutes

Super Set

Push Up Super Set – until fatigue (loss of form) the move to push up super set on your knees until fatigue (loss of form) (start with tricep push up, then move hands apart to shoulder width push up, then wide set push up and return to tricep push up and repeat). If you need to perform this

Pull Ups – until fatigue (loss of form) (ok so you need a pull up bar, but its still body weight) (If you are unable to do a pull up try attaching a strong bungie cord to the pull up bar to create a sling and stand in it for assistance. Or you can use a lower set bar to perform inverted rows (change angle of body to be more upright to make easier))

Middle Trapezius (substitute for no pull up bar) – 15x  Assume the down position of a squat with your chest toward the floor and abs drawn in (like zipping up a tight pair of jeans) (be careful not to round the lower back). With your head in neutral (not looking up) and your arm straight down pointing at the floor, slowly draw your shoulder blades together in the center as your arms raise out to the side in a “T” fashion. Be sure not to let your shoulder blades move up, keep them down and back until your arms are even with your body. Then slowly lower your arms by allowing the shoulder blades to separate.

Rest 60 seconds

Giant Set

Mountain Climbers – 20x

Squat Thrust with leg spread – 10x  In the push up position in the middle of the squat thrust, jump your feet apart and then back together.
Plank – 60 seconds (perform on knees or incline if unable to perform standard plank)

Side step squat – 60 seconds (alternating between right and left) Step out to one side and immediately into a squat position and then explode through the gluteals back to standing and then repeat in opposite direction.

Rest 90 seconds

Super Set

Rotational Plank – 10x to each side Assume normal plank position on forearms, then rotate shoulders and pelvis together up onto one arm with the other arm held straight up, once stable in this position rotate back down to plank position and repeat to opposite side. This can be performed on knees for decreased difficulty or on unstable surface like pillows.

Bridges – 15x (hold 5 seconds at the top of the bridge)

Rest 60 seconds

Giant Set

Burpees – 15x  Perform a squat thrust with leg spread followed by a push up after the leg spread and vertical jump from the squatted position with arms overhead. When you come down from the jump be sure to cushion your landing by moving directly into the next repetition.

Push up position middle trapezius – 10x each side Assume a push up position, lift one hand and bring the arm up and out to the side by trying to squeeze the shoulder blades together, avoid letting the shoulder hike up to the ear, and then slowly lower the arm by letting the shoulder blades move apart until back to the push up position. Focus effort on maintaining core in neutral without rotating, made easier by spreading your feet apart or by performing on incline.

Front Lunges – 10x to each side with hands behind head and maintaining upright posture

Mountain Climbers 20x

Jumping Jacks – 25x

Rest 2-3 minutes, then repeat above circuit, except for warm up, until you reach 40 minutes.

Cheers to your health,

Lynk