If you're new here, you may want to check out the Home Gym coupon codes and deals page. This page is updated regularly so check back often!
Have you ever looked at the models on the covers of health and fitness magazines and wondered how they can look so good?
I know I have, and one day I decided to find out what their secrets are. I went to a local gym, where several professional fitness competitors trained. I told them I was interested in getting into “competition” shape and asked what I needed to do. Here is what I learned.
Diet is 90% of Looking Fit
It doesn’t do you any good to have a toned frame if it’s covered by fat. You can lift weights and run all day long, but if you eat foods that are high in fat and carbohydrates your hard work in the gym won’t be noticeable in your appearance.
To get in the best shape of your life in 90-days or less you need to be pretty disciplined in your eating. You’ll need to eat about five or six small meals a day. Each meal should contain a source of lean protein and a green vegetable and the first three meals of each day should contain a single serving of complex carbohydrates per meal.
While following this plan, you’ll need to drink about a gallon of water a day – yes, I said a gallon. It sounds like a lot, but you’ll come to appreciate the faster recovery time and increased energy that water can give you. Water will also assist in the digestion of large amounts of protein and it will help flush toxins from your body.
Cardio, cardio, cardio!
While striving to achieve optimal fitness levels in 90-days or less you’ll need to do cardio for at least thirty minutes a day six days a week. Once you’ve cleaned up your diet, you still need to use up the calories that you consume but don’t burn during every day activities. This can only be accomplished with an increase in activity levels. This doesn’t mean you have to spend 30 minutes a day six days a week on the treadmill. There are plenty of cardio options that are fun and burn calories. Here are just a few unorthodox cardio choices:
- Vigorous house cleaning (this is great for multi-taskers)
- Washing your car, just not at the car wash!
- Playing in the yard with your kids
Build Your Muscles
Many people worry that working out with weights will make them bulky. Please, if you are one of those people, try to change the way you think about fitness. You have to work extremely hard for a long period of time to build “bulky” muscles. You have to have the proper balance of intense heavy lifting workouts combined with adequate amounts of protein, sufficient rest and proper vitamins and minerals.
Simply lifting weights every day will not make you bulky, it will; however, increase your ability to efficiently burn calories since your body uses more energy to maintain muscle than it does to maintain fat. By increasing you lean body mass you will burn more calories all day long – even while you sleep!
To properly build a base of muscle, you should try to work each muscle group one or two times a week and no more. If you over train your progress will be slow and painful. So, be sure to train smarter, not harder.
Get Your Beauty Sleep!
The final principle that the pro’s told me to adhere to if I wanted to get into competition shape in 90 days or less is rest. You can’t increase your strength and endurance if you consistently break your body down and never rest long enough for it to repair itself. You should aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Trust me, with this workout and nutrition plan, you’ll be happy to miss your favorite television shows in order to get some extra sleep at night!
Well, that’s about it. I followed this program religiously for three months and sure enough, at the end, I was in the best shape of my life. I went on to compete in, and win the 2001 South Carolina State Fitness Championships.
The only warning I would like to put out to you is that, once you achieve results from this plan, you can’t just resume old diet and exercise habits or your fabulous new physique will be gone much faster than you were able to acquire it. Look at this 90 days as an introductory period to long-term healthy living.
Once the initial 90-days is over, adopt a moderate approach to eating and exercise. Make smart choices and try to ”move” every day. You’ll find that maintaining your new look isn’t nearly as challenging as it was to get it in the first place.
Bowflex
SelectTech Dumbbells
Related posts on HomeGymJunkie.com