How LISS Cardio Changed My Life

Look, this is not going to be some post about the amazing amount of fat you can burn by doing this type of training. I still haven't changed my opinion on the vast majority of cardio as it relates to fat loss. I still thinks there are things that are much more important to changing your body other than hours of slaving away on the treadmill. In fact, this post isn't really going to be about the fat loss benefits of LISS at all, but the benefits I've received in other areas of my life since I started doing it.

Although that will be the case, I still want to give you some insight into what I've been doing. Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (LISS) is a form of cardiovascular training that is extremely beneficial but is very underrated. It is pretty much exactly what it sounds like; maintaining a low heart rate for an extended period of time in an attempt to use as much body fat for fuel as possible. It's simple, it's boring, but it might be the best type of cardio to lose body fat. The other super important aspect of LISS from this perspective is to do it fasted, which is usually the easiest first things in the morning. Here is exactly what I've been doing for my fasted LISS every morning.

• Wake up.
• Drink a glass of water and a cup of black coffee.
• Go to the gym and walked 30-60 minutes while keeping my heart rate between 90-110 BPM.
• Walk at 3 mph and increase the incline to get my HR to where it needs to be. Typically I start at 5 incline and increase as needed.
• I cycle my time by day to prevent burnout. So Monday and Thursday is 60 minutes, Tuesday and Friday is 45 minutes, and Wednesday and Saturday is 30 minutes, Sunday I take off. 

So the first question you may have from this is "Why low intensity? Doesn't higher heart rate burn more calories?". Well yes, a higher heart rate will burn more calories but we need to look at where those calories are coming from. The higher your heart rate gets, your body uses a higher percentage of carbohydrates to fuel the exercise. In lower heart rates, your body uses a greater percentage of fat. So while you're still going to use some fat for fuel at higher heart rates, the total amount you use will be less. 

The second question you may have from this is "Why fasted?". Long story short, because of the lack of insulin present increases the amount of body fat you will use for fuel because it becomes the most available fuel source. When you pair this with lower intensity exercise like walking, you maximize the potential to use stored body fat as fuel. 

Question three is usually "Can I do something other than walk?". The answer to that is yes, but you need to be careful about keeping your heart rate down in the lower range. It's pretty easy to get your heart rate too high with something like a bike or an elliptical, but it is an option you can use if walking is not a option for you. I choose to walk because I can, and because I am a human being who was literally designed to walk (also it's really helped me build up my calves).

So that's a quick rundown on what I've been doing and why I'm doing it. It's definitely not the entire story so if you do have additional questions then please let me know. Although I have lost some body fat from everything I've been doing lately (check that out here), that is not even close to the best benefit I've gotten from doing this cardio. The best benefit has been so much more important but we need to switch gears really quick to explain. 

Raise your hand if you listen to music when you do cardio. Don't lie because I know most of you do! But guess what, you're wasting some unbelievable potential by listening to music and not using that time to improve yourself. I was introduced to personal development 6 years ago about the time I started Grad School and I really haven't taken a day off of it since them. Every day I either read a book, listen to a podcast, listen to an audiobook, or watch a video about something that I want to improve on in my life. This is usually related to exercise, business, marketing, or leadership and I can never fully explain to you how much this has changed my life. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that I've learned more about exercise and nutrition AFTER I graduated Grad School than I did when I was there. That's not meant to say anything bad about my education, but just to show how much info there really is out there to learn (usually for free).

This is where LISS comes back in. That 30-60 minutes every day is 30-60 minutes of time you could be learning, improving, thinking, or building your ideas, career or business. It is impossible to explain to you how many ideas I've come up with (including this post), how much clarity I've gotten in my goals, and how motivated I've become just from the this time spent every morning. It's actually crazy how your brain just start to go. You usually latch on to a topic or sentence from what you're listening to and your brain just goes on it's own. You zone out and crazy things happen. But here's the thing, I also listen to the same programs on my 60 minutes of driving every day, but I don't get anywhere near the same number and quality of ideas that I do when I walk. There is something about listening and moment together that helps you get into a flow state where the combination of the two is more powerful than either separately. This has lead me to not only tolerate cardio every day, but actually look forward to it! I promise you that's not something that I ever thought I would say!

To finish up, I just wanted to give you a quick list of some of the podcasts (my go to lately) that I've been listening too when I walk.

1. The MFCEO Project by Andy Frisella
2. Empire Podcast Show with Bedros Keuilin and Craig Ballantyne
3. Renegade Radio by Jason Ferruggia 
4. The Mike Dolce Show

Again, these are typically more in the area of fitness, nutrition, and business but I would still recommend them to anyone, as they are all created for the every day person. You can chose to take my advice or not, because I know there still may be a weird stigma around "personal development" that can push some people away. But I promise that it won't take very long for you to understand exactly what I mean if you just decide to give it a shot.

The 8 Things I Did to Melt Off Body Fat

Before the move back to Cleveland in late March, I knew my body fat was the highest it had been in a long time. For the first time, probably ever, I didn't like to have my shirt off around people and I really didn't like what I saw in the mirror in the morning. I knew I had let myself go with the stress of managing a team, less emphasis on my workouts, and eating like an absolute asshole. The change of pace in my life that came after the move was the perfect opportunity to refocus on losing fat, getting shredded, and getting confidence back.

I not only decided that I was going to lose fat, but that I was going to use EVERYTHING I knew about fat loss all at once and see how fast I could get shredded. I put those things into a list in a general order of importance for you all. Number 1 is the most important and can get you some results and number 7 will do damn near NOTHING if you don't have the rest of the list down. There can be some leeway in the order but overall it sits pretty well. Bottom line is make sure you start at the top of the list and, once you've got that one down, work your way down. As for my results so far, I started this 2 weeks before I got to Cleveland but did not do my body fat. My first week a Life Time the Inbody put me at 15.1% and yesterday it put me at 11.6% which is a 3.5% decrease in 4 weeks. The goal is under 10% on the Inbody ASAP. Now to the list. 

1.Eat real food

This is the obvious place to start. Stop eating garbage and start eating things that are actual food. Clearly we all know this, but when it really hit home for me was when I was listening to a podcast with Mike Dolce (you'll probably hear that name a lot in this post) and he said "Stop poisoning yourself with synthetic chemicals, artificial sweeteners, and artificial colors. Just stop poisoning yourself". At that time, my meal prep wasn't super existent and I was living off of protein bars and Bang at work. It struck a cord with me and I catch myself saying it in my head multiple times a day. Another great and simple way to think about it is this; eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meat, healthy fat and whole grains in the most natural and minimally processed forms are you can. Stick to this and you will be lean and healthy, guaranteed.

Some of the swaps I personally made were to be a real adult and cook some meals, switch my post workout Gatorade powder for OJ and cranberry juice, cut out most protein bars in favor of food, and vastly reduce my energy drink consumption for black coffee and green tea.

2. Eat enough real food to start, then decrease over time

Once you've made this switch to actual food, now we need to look at amounts. Notice I don't start right away with "Eat less!' but simply "Eat enough". As crazy as it sounds, most people spend most days not eating enough total calories and their metabolisms take a beating from that (especially when those same people overeat on the weekends). So we need to get your food up to a decent baseline to start before we can cut the amount down. One of the biggest complaints I hear from extremely successful weight loss programs like the Renaissance Periodization templates or Mike Docle's "3 Weeks to Shredded" is that there is so much food at the beginning that people can't even eat it all! I do the same thing with my clients to make sure their eating up to a caloric neutral before they start to cut.

Once you're there (bodyweight should be maintaining or decreasing) then simply make small changes in the amount of food you eat each day. Based on your body type and preference, I would reduce either carbs or fat. I would definitely not reduce protein so keep that as high as ever. Make a change then give it some time. Once progress slows then reduce a little more. You really do not need to over complicate it.

The decreases I have been making have been to reduce the rice and sweet potatoes in my meal preps, and removing some of my post-cardio, pre-lifting OJ and fruit. Next week will be almost no rice in my prepped meals (probably 1/4 cup) as my next decrease.

3. Drink a lot of water

I shouldn't need to spend a lot of time on this. Water is important so drink it! Plus, when you finally give your body the amount of water it wants, you'll actually reduce your bloating and water weight because your body won't feel the need to hold on to as much. That alone can make you look leaner! I usually recommend 1 gallon a day to most people so buy a reusable water bottle (preferably not plastic, I don't care if it says "BPA Free") and math it out to see how many you need to drink a day. Don't forget to add extra for workouts and more is not always better so you don't need to be putting away 2-3 gallons a day.

4. Progressive overload based resistance training 

Notice that this is ahead of cardio of a list about fat loss. Weight training will not only build more muscle to help you burn more calories, but it will also give your body better signals about storing and burning fat, as well as have powerful hormonal effects to get and keep you lean. Ideally, you should start a program that uses a lot of compound movements, has varying rep ranges, utilizes tempo time-under-tension techniques, and follows progressive overload. If you want all of that in one then keep and eye out for the release date of the Herceg Size Cycle 2.0 coming in the next few weeks. It has all of the above plus more! Fill out that annoying pop-up you probably clicked away from if you want access to a copy for yourself.

5. Fasting morning LISS

For a long time I thought fasted cardio was useless. Not that it was bad, just not any more effective than fed cardio. This opinion was based on people I trust and a meta-analysis of a ton of studies on both forms of cardio. BUT, when enough of the majorly influential fitness people in your life say they use it with everyone who wants to get lean, you set your ego aside and take a listen. Primarily, those two people were Jason Ferruggia and Mike Dolce, who I know you've seen pop up a few times in my blogs and posts. Check them both out for some awesome info. 

Long story short, Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (LISS) in a fasted state can be beneficial for fat loss. The LOW intensity part is super important and I think where most people mess this up. At lower heart rates, your body is more likely to use fat as a fuel source. Combine that with a fasted state (thus a lack of insulin) and your body is in the best state to burn fat. Again, more is not better so aim for a heart rate between 90 and 110 BPM. Too much higher and your body will begin to use carbs to fuel your workout. 

I have been cycling my LISS to prevent burnout so mine looks like this.

Monday: 60 minutes

Tuesday: 45 minutes

Wednesday: 30 minutes

Thursday: 60 minutes

Friday: 45 minutes

Saturday: 30 minutes

Sunday: off

I do 3 miles per hour and adjust the incline to what I need to keep my heart rate in that zone. This cycle also pairs perfectly with my weight lifting program and gives me a ton of time to listen to podcast and learn. It was actually where I came up with the idea for this post as well as a lot of other cool things to come!

6. Carb cycling based on activity

This is what Precision Nutrition would call a "Level 2 strategy" and something that most people shouldn't need to worry about. But since I want to get stupid lean this year I added it in. Basically, carbs are your main fuel source for your workouts so some days require more than others. Simply, you eat more carbs on the days where your workouts take more energy and less carbs on the days your workouts take less energy. I eat the most carbs on Mondays (Squats, legs, and core) and the least carbs on Thursday, and Sundays (off days). The other days stay pretty even as they are all about the same energy expenditure.

7. Supplements

Sometimes, this is the first thing people default to and skip aaaaalll these other steps above. Really, any fat loss supplements will not do very much and will do damn near nothing if steps 1-6 are not in check. If you have every one of these other steps down, there are some products I like by the company 1st Phorm that you can try. I started this cut with the DB-Overdrive Fastpack and since have gone back to a stack I've used in the past, the Royal 21 King System. Both are similar but the DB comes with a greens powder which is cool, and the 21 King comes with a sleep supplement that I personally love. Both seem good so far but the DB is a newer product are probably more potent.

8. Green tea

Last thing on this list is green tea. Clearly the least important (could be swapped with 7) but it is something I added recently so I wanted to talk about it. This is another Dolce recommendation which he mentioned in a podcast and added to his "3 Weeks to Shredded" book. Basically, I added green tea to my meals 3 times a day. Green tea and green tea extract (found in many fat burners) has been said to have some thermogenic properties and can aid in some fat loss. According to Mr. Dolce 1 cup is good, 2 is better, but 3 is where you start to see some real fat loss benefits. 

Outside of that, green tea is just genuinely healthy and most people can benefit from it. I bought Salada organic green tea for a good price on sale and have been drinking that. 

So there you have it! Everything I've been doing to melt off body fat so I was able to regain my confidence and get ready for summer! Give these a try and don't forget to start from the top of the list!

A Better New Year's Resolution

Hey everyone! It's been a while, I know. I have definitely had to focus on others aspects of this job for the past few months but this seemed like an important time to drop a new post. I was just going to write a Facebook post but that didn't seem as fitting as writing on here.

The day I'm writing this is December 29th which means that New Years is just a few days away. I'm sure that tons of people are already getting their New Year's Resolutions in their head and deciding how they want to better themselves in 2018. In this post, I want to go over how I feel about Resolutions and how to write a better one so that you won't be like most people this coming year.

I want to start off with this: New Year's Resolutions are a good thing! A very good thing in my opinion because any time someone is trying to better themselves in any way is great! I'm sure you've already been seeing the memes making fun of "Resolutioners" and how they're never going to stick to their goals and I think that's bullshit. Why are we making fun of anyone who's trying to improve? We should be encouraging anyone and helping them get there instead of contributing to their failure. Of course I'm aware that most people do fail at hitting their new year goal but a lot of that actually has to do with their goal in the first place.

Take a second and think of a Resolution you've come up with and the past and failed at. It may have been somethings like "I want to get in shape" or "I want to start eating better". The problem with setting goals like that is that they are destined to fail based on the simple fact that there is no actually goal to hit! What constitutes "in shape"? What does "eating better" mean? You need to define these terms and make you resolution a specific goal that can be accomplished.

So taking from one of those examples you can switch "eating better" to "I want to eat vegetables at one meal per day for 30 days" or "I will only eat out instead of at home 2 times per week instead of 8 for 60 days". Both of those things constitute "eating better" but are changed into something that is actionable and specific.

Have you ever heard of S.M.A.R.T goals? S.M.A.R.T. is a good starting point for goal setting that you can use to write a better Resolution. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Bound and while I don't always use or agree with all of these (having unrealistic goals can be very, very beneficial), it can help a ton in this instance.

I'll use my NYR as an example. I got the idea last week and I've actually already started doing it (practicing what I preach of course). The idea was to not purchase any energy drinks, protein bars, snacks or anything else from the gym I work at for 60 days. We have a ton of different drinks and preworkouts that I would buy almost every day (sometimes twice a day) and I would use our protein bars and other snacks as an excuse to be unprepared with my own food. This goal will help my life in a couple different ways, specifically saving me a ton of money and helping me rebuild good habits that I have lost in the last few months. Now I'm forced to be more prepared with the food and coffee I bring each day which is a better option for my health anyway. I also picked 60 days as a goal because that is enough time to really cement a new habit. (Here's a tip too, you've probably heard that it takes 21 days to learn a new habit, or maybe 30, but it's probably actually longer. That 21-30 days is actually the most critical time in habit building so losing focus there can be very detrimental).

So here's my advice, take what you're already thinking and make it more specific, make it something that can be attained in the first few months, or, if it's a longer goal, set short term goals along the way so that you can check up on your progress and stay motivated. For reference, healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week for most people and weight gain should be around .5-1 pound per week. You should definitely set yourself up to succeed but that doesn't mean make it so easy that it won't make a difference in your life. You don't want it to be so small that you get there right away and have nothing change in your life. And, like I mentioned early, don't be afraid to ALSO set unrealistic goals for the long term. It may sound weird  but aiming for seemingly impossible goals will help you improve drastically and even if you don't accomplish that goal, you'll be in a much better place than you were before.

Once you have a specific, measurable, and time bound goal think of a reward to give yourself when you hit it. Make it something you really want and something that will motivate you do get through the hard days when you want to quit. Likewise, don't make it something that will undo any progress you made during that time period. Having a reward in mind will greatly increase the chances of you succeeding and you'll get something cool in the end. Win win.

If you do have a health or workout based goal and you feel like you need some help then reach out to me and I'll show you how I can help you get there. One of my life goals is to be a household name in the fitness industry and be the first person you think of when you need help or have questions. I am definitely here to help and make sure you succeed this year for, maybe, the first time ever!

See you next time

- Greg the Trainer

Top 5 Tips for Every Aspect of Fitness

What's up y'all? First post back since my 84 day trek. I'll be posting about once or twice a week now just to keep getting you guys good info and working on different types of posts outside of just blogging. I've definitely been using Instagram more, mostly because of the increased post engagement vs Facebook, so make sure you're following me on there if you're not you can find me at

@Greg.the.Trainer

Today I wanted to do something basic and important and give you my top 5 tips for every aspect of fitness; Nutrition, Resistance Training, Cardiovascular Training, and Lifestyle. If I had to give someone a 5 minute breakdown of the most important aspects of each one this is what I would tell them. I'll post in list form for convenience then go into a small bit of detail in each one.

Nutrition

• Eat real food most of the time: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean meats, and healthy fats. This is healthy nutrition in it's most simple form. EAT REAL FOOD! That basically covers it. It's ok to stray sometimes but the vast majority of the time should be spent eating real, nutritious foods.
• Eat protein and veggies first and at each meal. This should be your priority each meal, regardless of goals. If you don't directly track macros then a good goal is 1-2 palm sized servings of protein and 1-2 cups of veggies each meal. 
• Eat slowly and pay attention to your food. This is a great way to eat less food, just eat slower. If you've ever eaten with chop sticks you'll know exactly what I mean. You can also try putting your fork down in between bites. Also, practice eating without any distractions (phone, tv, computer) and think about the food you're eating. 
• Eat based on your workout each day. If you have a harder workout, eat more carbs, if you don't workout, don't eat so many carbs. The harder the workout, the more carbs you get because you need to fuel your workouts. 
• Start tracking your food but learn not to have to. Tracking your food is important when you're just starting and is great for learning portion size and daily intake. Although I recommend everyone do this as the beginning, tracking should be something you wean off of as you actually learn portions and good habits. 

Resistance Training

• Focus on compound, multi-joint exercises. Squat, deadlift, push, pull, carry, rotate. These things should make up most of your program with some accessory work following. Perfect these exercises to the best of your ability and do them often.
• Try to get as strong as possible. Strong people live longer and strength is the most important controllable factor in longevity. You should be trying to get as strong as you can in the movement patterns listed above. 
• Try to build muscle, even if you're trying to lose fat. Muscle is extremely healthy and increasing muscle mass is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Not to mention it makes you look awesome. 
• Keep workouts short and intense. Don't waste your time on 12 different chest exercises and 8 different bicep curls. Try to keep workouts around an hour using mostly the movement patterns listed above. 
• Lift 3-5 times per week. This will cover it for most people. Lifting more will not mean better progress and you need time to let yourself recover. Rest days are when your muscles heal and get bigger so make sure you have a few each week. That doesn't mean don't exercise, just don't have a hard lift. 

Cardiovascular Training

• Some days do low intensity, some days do moderate intensity, some days to high intensity. Variability is key here and no one form of cardio is terribly superior to the others. Walking is underrated as a form of cardio and is one of my favorites, but so is High Intensity Interval Training. To get the best results use a variety. 
• Cardio is great for health and performance but not great fat loss. This is one thing I need to try and break so many people of: you can't just do more cardio and expect to lose fat, as overall research shows it doesn't do much. This doesn't mean you should skip cardio, but just go into it with the right intentions. Cardio is great for increasing heart and lung strength as well as increasing recovery ability from resistance training. 
• Do it separately or the same day as lifting. For longer sessions you might want to do it on it's own day, which makes a good active recovery day, but shorter sessions can be don in conjunction with lifting. Do it before or after lifting, whichever you prefer. 
• Get outside sometimes. Don't spend all your time in a gym! Get outside for a walk, run, bike ride or water sport and get into nature, you'll be happier and healthier the more often you do this. 
• Do what you enjoy and stick to it. It doesn't matter what the "best" or "most effective" workout is if you're not going to do it. There's 1,000 different ways to do cardio so find what you enjoy because that's what you're going to stick with. 

Lifestyle 

• Reduce stress as much as possible. Stress, the bad kind, will make you fat. I have a full post planned for this but for now know that you should be trying to reduce stress as much as you can. Breathing exercises and daily meditation or two great ways that I do this.
• Sleep 7-9 hours every night. Not sleeping will also make you fat and it will kill you. Everyone has their excuses for not getting sleep but I don't want to hear it, I'm up at 4am every week day and still get my hours in. Want some good news? Naps count towards this. There's research showing that daily total hours is more important than just overnight hours. 
• Focus on building good habits, not quick progress. Health is a lifelong goal, not a short term sprint. Although everyone wants to lose weight right now, you need to think about building good, healthy habits that will keep you strong and healthy forever. 
• Get outside. Yes this is on here twice because it's important. Even if you're not working out outside you still should get some sun every day. One recommendation I liks is 20 minutes of sun and outdoors each and every day. 
• Move as much as possible. This one is big, maybe the biggest, at least from a health standpoint. Not moving will also make you fat and kill you and you need to try to move as much as possible. Just hitting a 1 hour workout a few times a week won't do much of anything is you're spending the other 23 hours a day sitting on your butt. Get up and move as much as possible each and every day. 

If you embrace each of these things you're setting yourself up for a long and healthy life, not to mention a hot body. Work your way through the list and see what you can do for each one. If you need help of have questions please reach out to me as I would love to help you. There's so much garbage information out there so I'll help you sort through it and find the good stuff.

We Did It! 84/84

Well it looks like I made it. 85 days ago I posted a survey on Facebook asking people what kind of content they were interested in hearing about. In total, 84 total answers were given which prompted me to commit to 84 posts in 84 straight days, every day with no excuses. When I started, I wrote out a list of everything I could think of to talk about and it wasn't even close to 84. I knew that I would have to learn a ton as I went and if definitely wasn't going to be easy. Most days, especially towards the end here, I laid in bed at 10:00 at night trying to figure out something worth your time to post about. I wanted to give up more times then I know but every comment left and everyone who randomly told me they loved my posts kept me going.

Two weeks ago I told my wife, Emily, that I wanted to stop. It was late one night and I hadn't put anything up yet. I thought no one was paying attention and wouldn't even realize if I stopped. She talked me into posting and told me I would be so mad at myself if I quit. The next morning, a comment on that post showed me that people were still listening, and still holding me to my promise.

"Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Only twelve more posts before you've held up your promise. Definitely awesome reading all this though! We don't know each other very well but I've learned a lot from your posts 1000 miles away haha"

That comment was from a friend named Ryan, someone who I believe I haven't talked to years, but someone who's been paying attention. So Ryan, if you're reading this, thank you for that. Seriously. It gave me a new spark to make sure to finish this.

I'm learned a ton through this process, I've had to to make sure I had something to post about. Often times I'd pull from an event from that day or a piece of info from a podcast I'd listened too, which forced me to look into topics I may not have known a ton about. I definitely didn't have a plan but I made it work. It's like what Grant Cardone talks about in "The 10x Rule"' commit first then figure it out later. You don't always need a plan, you just have to act.

Hopefully you guys learned a lot too. My goal was to try to increase my influence and increase the number of people I had contact with. I also had the goal to post free content that was better than what other guys make you pay for. I think I accomplished this goal based on the number of questions I got, free programs I sent out, and phone calls I made with old friends. I loved (and will continue to love) every second that I get to help someone. These topics change lives and I'm blessed to be able to bring that info to people.

Also, wether directly or indirectly, these months of me posting have been the most successful months of my entire career with Xperience Fitness. I don't know if it was the forced extra effort, the increase influence, or something else. It could just be correlation and not causation but regardless, something happened and I owe it to you guys.

Obviously I still plan on posting, but definitely not every day. Instead, it'll probably be more like 1-2 a week if I hear something good on a podcast or have a new program I want to post. I also plan on doing some book reviews for a few books I have lined up. Here's a few to look forward too.

- The sick bench press program I'm on right now that is blowing up my bench
- A review of "Unplugged", the book I'm currently reading
- A full review of "Estrogeneration" which is next on my book list and will go into more detail than my first post about it.
- Breathing techniques that can change your life

I'm being honest when I say I've posted basically everything I know and can conceptualize about health and fitness for you guys. Pretty much any question I could answer for you exists within the last 3 months of posting so please reference them when you need. I need to go back through and categorize everything and it should be easier to find info at that point. Regardless, please feel free to reach out if you have questions. I love getting on the phone with people, especially those who I haven't talked to in a long time. If you need help please ask, even if we don't talk, because I can probably help you. If I cant then I'll at least be able to point you in the right direction.

I appreciate everyone who's liked, commented, and shared any one of my posts and I'm going to ask you to do it one more time. You may not realize how that simple act could have affected someone's life so if you're reading this, please at least hit the Like button when you're done or, if you feel inclined, comment or even share it. Let's make this my biggest post yet and see how many people we can reach. The more people who can see these the better because that increases the amount of people we can help together. Some of my posts have been pretty popular but I want this one to blow them out of the water.

So one more time, thank you all, seriously, if you read even a single one of my posts. There's nowhere to go but to keep going up and I plan of delivering you guys the best free content that I possibly can.

Top Kettlebell Exercises You Should Add Today! 83/84

In the eyes of most hardcore lifters the barbell is the king of equipment. Since it generally allows you to use the most load through a variety of exercises, it's no wonder that it's become so popular. You can argue pros and cons forever but there's no doubting that barbells will make you big and strong. But there is another option that often times gets overlooked. Although kettlebells have become increasingly popular in recent years through the help of CrossFit and Kettlebell only gyms, they still don't get the attention the deserve in my opinion. I love them and I use them every day with damn near every one of my clients. On my long list of certifications I plan to get, the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge, considered by many to be the top notch cert for kettlebells on the planet) is definitely towards the top of the list.

Basically, you can do just about everything with a Kettlebell that you  can with a dumbbell but there are a few exercises where the Kettlebell has a slight advantage. Here are a few of my favorites.

- Swing

Duh. Obviously on top of the list. I primarily use a traditional swing and haven't messed the the American swing (all the way overhead) much since I left the CF world. It's an amazing exercise for working hip hinge and developing fast and explosive glutes and hamstring as well as core and grip strength. It also burns a ton of calories and jacks up your heart rate. You can even build some high level strength with swings if the bells get heavy enough. Just remember, the swing is a hinge, not a squat. There isn't a ton of knee flexion involved and most of the movement comes from hip flexion and extension.

- Goblet Squat

If you've read my post about squat progressions then this shouldn't be a surprise. The goblet squat is where you hold the Kettlebell by the horns up at your chest and use it to add load to your squat. It's the first weighted squat I do with people because it allows them to get into a better squat position then back loading like a back squat.

- Front Rack Carry

If you have been following for a bit (or are a client) you know that I love weighted carries. The front rack carry is unique to the Kettlebell and it is when you're holding a bell in each hand up and your chest. Your hands are together in a prayer-type position and the bell sits in a little space created by your pec, forearm, and upper arm. Once in this front rack you simply walk and try to stay upright. Your shoulders and upper back will be on fire and your core muscle will light up.

- Snatch

The swing is the basis for many Kettlebell exercises and the snatch is one of those for sure, along with the clean. To do a Kettlebell snatch, you start with a basic single hand swing but then drive the weight vertically overhead until it's locked out with a straight arm. One huge mistake people make with these is that they flip the bell over their hand at the top, effectively smashing their forearm with a canon ball. Instead, learn to drive the elbow back and rotate the bell around your arm so that you make contact early. This is one that definitely requires a visual and most likely someone to coach you through.

- Turkish Get-Up

Do you want healthy, stable shoulders, a strong core, and overall great mobility? Then you should do get-ups. I'm definitely not going to attempt the explain a Turkish Get-Up in detail here but basically you start lying on your back with a Kettlebell in your hand and proceed through a series of steps the stand straight up, then get back down to the starting position. They're super fun and extremely beneficially. They can also be pretty scary when you get heavy so be careful. I clearly remember the first time I did a 100# bell and thinking that I could very easily crush my skull.

- Bottoms-Up Press

Shoulder health awesomeness part 2. The bottoms-up press is when you hold the bell upside down so that the main weight is "floating" over your hand. This creates an amazingly unstable exercise that forces your shoulder to work overtime. This is usually done standing with an overhead press but can be done as a floor press or bench press variation as well. Again, just be sure not to crack your skull open.

If your gym offers kettlebells then try adding some of these to your program, if not then find a new gym! Barbells are great and dumbbells obviously have their place but the are certain exercises where the kettlebell is definitely king.

What Works for You Doesn't Work for Everyond 82/84

I just wanted to write up a quick post to remind everyone of something; what works for you will not necessarily work for everyone, and whats working for you right how will not necessarily work forever. This can be about diet or exercise, both of which will change often during our lives. This goes back to my post a few days ago about the 3 goals of nutrition. Goals change and how you respond to stimuli changes, you must be ready to accept these changes and have a plan for when they come.

This thought also should raise up a big red flag to any quick fixes or blanket diets/ programs that spout off about how well they work.  Obviously, just because they worked for whoever is selling them doesn't mean they will work for you. This should also raise an even bigger flag to people who promote diets/ programs that they did and say you can get results like them if you use it!

Everyone is going to respond to things differently and that means that professionals like myself need to be ready to adapt with their clients. You need to have multiple nutrition programs that work as well as multiple exercise program options. And you need to be able to move through these fluidly and adjust to your clients needs so you can serve them the best. Have knowledge of keto, vegan, Paleo, IF, and traditional diets as well as having knowledge of bodybuilding, CrossFit, powerlifting, and endurance sports. You don't have to be an expert in each but you need to know enough to find what's best for you and your clients.