I'm not a big fan of gimmicks…gimmicky diet pills, infomercial “ab belts” and the like.

The real results start when you get serious and lose the “miracle fixes”.

However, some of our camp members were featured on FOX 10 using a little workout gimmick, sort of…we changed things up a little and came up with this. Here’s the video clip from FOX:

Freaky Fat Loss Pumpkin Workout

So what’s the point?

First, effective exercise can be done most anywhere, using most anything (obviously, a pumpkin is being used like a medicine ball here. However, you can still grab a quick 4 minute workout using bodyweight only).

Second, I’m not talking about little walks around the neighborhood (although not bad, just not as effective for accelerated fat loss and strength gain). I am talking about full body movements to burn a lot of calories in a short period of time.

Look, I get it. You’re busy. I’m busy. Everyone is busy, but the bottom line is that excuses are becoming harder and harder to come by. Don't spend your energy trying to find an excuse, instead direct your energy to getting in a quick and intense workout in the pockets of your busy day.

Make the decision. Stop the excuses.

Remember, greater fitness and fat loss are possible with quick, intense calorie burners throughout your day.

Get moving and have a great day!

Horray for New York!

Check this out from http://www.KTAR.com:

NYC takes calorie-counting
campaign to the rails

October 7th, 2008

By KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Craving a burrito with sour cream and guacamole? What if you knew it had more than half the calories you should eat in a day?

The city Health Department is expanding its healthy-eating campaign with subway ads that say most adults should limit themselves to 2,000 calories day.

Posters that appeared Monday in about 1,000 subway cars provide calorie counts for several menu items _ like 470 for a giant apple bran muffin or 1,170 for a chicken burrito with toppings.

The three-month ad campaign is intended to build on the city's new regulation requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus. Officials are betting people will eat fewer calories if they know how many they should consume.

"Small changes in your choices can make a big difference in your calorie intake," assistant health commissioner Dr. Lynn Silver said.

The ads are in 20 percent of city subway cars.

The calorie-posting rule applies to chain restaurants that have 15 or more locations nationwide. It took effect in May, but legal action delayed enforcement until July.

The 2,000-calorie figure is an average. Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations vary by age, gender and level of activity. Men can consume more calories than women without gaining weight, and 20-year-olds more than 60-year-olds.

New York City's calorie-count regulation has paved the way for similar laws elsewhere. California last week became the first state to require restaurant chains to reveal how many calories are in their standard menu items.

Natalia Kaplan, of Queens, said she hadn't noticed the poster directly behind her on an E train featuring that 1,170-calorie burrito, but she approved of the campaign.

"It makes you aware," said Kaplan, who said she pays close attention to the calorie information fast-food chains are now required to provide.

"If I go to Dunkin' Donuts, I look at the calories, and I try to take the least-calorie doughnut," she said.

I just watched two television commercials that said high fructose corn syrup is OK to eat.

They even imply that its "healthy" because it comes from "corn".

Are you kidding me? This is a joke, right?

Is this what we’ve come to?

Are we now just waving the white flag and giving up?

Are we saying that obesity is fine and dandy?

Are we saying that the rise in Type II Diabetes doesn’t mean anything to us?

Are you OK with your kids getting sick and overweight and diseased?

Do you want to continue to put this type of garbage in your body?

Look, High Fructose Corn Syrup is 20% cheaper than sugar.

It’s a 4.5 BILLION dollar industry. Marketers can spend a lot of

money putting together garbage ads like this.

It came to the market in the late 70’s, obesity levels at that time were stable.

Now 50% of our sweeteners are HFCS derived.

That’s a lot of sweetener!!

Obesity rates in teens have TRIPLED

You do the math.

These kinds of commercials need to be banned from the airways as soon as possible.

If you haven’t seen the commercials I’m talking about, you can view them below.

PS: Thanks to Scott Colby for inspiring this rant.

Dear Grocery Shopper,

Are you frustrated trying to find healthy choices for your children and family?

Does your tongue do gymnastics trying to pronounce food label ingredients?

Are you confused by marketing gimmicks, buzz words and fancy packaging?

Completely had it with crazy diets, diet pills, lotions & potions, miracle supplements

or "sprinkle on" appetite suppressants?

(By the way, that "sprinkle" stuff you put on your food has got to be

the most horrible, ripoff, scam-of-a-product I have ever seen!)

If so, you are not alone. I can help.

Let's start with what's in your grocery cart...

*********************
Fox 10 Arizona Morning thought this was a great idea as well...
You can watch the video right here:




You can read more on my website page here.

Happy shopping!

I need to be clear about something.

I'm not long slow cardio "hater", really I'm not.

But I am about getting results in the shortest amount of time,

results in the real world.

Listen, when I was single, back in college, with nothing

better to do than to spend hours in the gym, extended cardio sessions were just fine.

Now days, with my wife, 2 baby boys and a busy life...

seriously, who has that kind of time to spend running on a treadmill?

I sure don't. My guess is that you don't either.

So let's look at this from another angle.

If I had two options for optimum fat loss: interval training or long steady state cardio training, I would always use the interval option.

Why?

Well, I'm a big believer in maximizing time and accelerating benefits for my clients, and the majority of my clients (heck the majority of the world's population) is always short on time.

So realistically, long slow cardio sessions don't work in the real world.

Not to mention the increased results that interval training brings to the table!

But once the weight training and interval training is completed, there is no problem with doing long slow cardio sessions (if you have the time).

Long slow cardio is not evil and it will not compromise your results, if your nutrition is on track and you are performing the proper strength training first.

Just don't make these "cardio-thon" sessions the focus of your fat loss efforts.

Make today better than yesterday and enjoy!

A colleague of mine, Craig Ballantyne, recently shared 3 Olympic Predictions:

Have you caught any of the Olympics yet?
Have an amazing week!