Being a trainer, knowing the “inside secrets” and “tricks” to a great body, somehow doesn’t always ensure that we have – or keep – this great body. Sometimes, life gets in the way. There could be a death in the immediate family throwing us off for a while, or a divorce with complications; the subsequent move to a new place, a new life … what we tell our clients are excuses, not reasons J

They are excuses. A divorce, no matter how messy, still leaves time for workouts, and you have more energy to deal with it when you eat right. A move/ relocation can warrant a week off to get your bearings, but no more. There either is a gym near by, or you make the decision to train at home right away; and food – well, you’ve found the supermarket that first day. With a mourning situation, it can be a little harder, but your family member wouldn’t want you to eat junk and get out of shape on their account, and it’s not being disrespectful to hit the gym after a week or so.

Excuses. I made them too, just like you do or did. My new partner made them. For the gym, it was traffic if he went after work with me joining him, and then there was the line-up at the free weights that bugged us both. Training at home wasn’t good because of the rental place we had and the musty smell in the basement where we’d set up the dumbbells and a few other things. Training dwindled and died!

Nutrition wise, same bad excuse of the rental place being so miserable – not so much the place itself as the landlord being an *** and making us not even want to spend time there if we could go out; plus my new partner wanted to show me off, show me the good places to eat around his city. Well, pretty soon there wasn’t much to show off! Or three was too much …

Enter our own house. We even made sure we chose one with a nice room for a gym. That was one criteria. The other was that I wanted a kitchen with counter space! Most kitchens (in Canada and the US) seem to be large enough to fit a table in a corner, but there is no counter space. Put a coffee machine and a toaster on it and you can’t even slice a tomato on what’s left (slight exaggeration of course), so I eliminated all houses with “postage-stamp kitchens no matter how nice they might be otherwise. Added bonus, a pool – and this house even had an in-ground one. So we have no garage … big deal.

I got back to the workouts, cleaned up the nutrition, but never really got into the strict swing of things. We were approached to do one challenge whose name I won’t even mention, it was boring, demanded the participants buy their supplements only in order to be eligible for the final draw, and their workout was boring.

Marriage right before Christmas, then Christmas and New Year, we were trudging along, knowing we were out of shape, seeing a double chin here and a few rolls there, not liking it at all.

Then as you know from this blog, we entered Combat The Fat challenge on March 28^th 2008 (http://combatyourownfat.com). Finally getting somewhere, this program is really fun. It’s fun to do, and it’s fun to see the rapid progression as well as the results.

While we were on the CTF challenge, we followed Jon Benson’s original Every Other Day Diet program (http://myeveryotherdaydiet.com)  . I’d started us on it before the challenge came along, and the nutrition plan in CTF was so close to EODD, I just kept going with it.

We didn’t win the contest, but we won anyway! We were back on track, back to the serious training, clean nutrition plan, and throwing out our fat-clothes.

Jon Benson comes up with plan nr 2, or rather, he releases his “secret” training program, 7 Minute Muscle (http://your7minutemuscle.com). New challenge, and of course, I was on that too! Still didn’t win the challenge J still didn’t care, I had to buy new jeans!

Finally, 45 days ago, the EODD 2.0 SNAPP! version (http://myeveryotherdaydiet.com)  came out. Exit the old EODD e-book, it’s no longer available even. All links lead to the SNAPP! version, which is … a snap! And a 90-day challenge set to span over the Holidays – now that’s interesting!

This new version doesn’t include the Detox Plan from the old version for some reason. When I hit a plateau in the middle of the challenge, and right before the Holidays (I don’t count the US Thanksgiving, we had ours a month before here in Canada, and the rest of the world has none), I dug out my old EODD and did a detox week.

I’ve just finished it actually, and it was a great success. I reduced bodyfat by over 1%, and “lean” mass as well. However, I am confident that this “lean” was at least 90% water and old – how shall I put it – “internal build-up” if you see what I mean, as well as accumulated toxins of various kinds. The detox week allows for one cup of caffeinated beverage for three days, then none for 4; I cut my one cappuccino a day from the start, because there is also no dairy for the week, and I cannot handle black coffee.

Of course, there is no training during a week like this, but Mother Nature saw to it that I was busy by dumping over a foot of snow on us in 4-5 days. So yes, I did get workouts: pushing the snow shovel, digging with the other meaning squat to pick it up, lunge to walk to the dump site, twists and throws, curl.s as I picked up the shovel … full-body workout with cardio in the cold outside air. That’s another reason I feel confident there’s been no or minimal muscle loss on this detox.

Further plans then; that was what I was going to tell you about after all. Well for one thing, I am keeping up the EODD 2.0 SNAPP! (http://myeveryotherdaydiet.com)  Challenge until the end January 31^st. And I’m still using 7MM (http://your7minutemuscle.com) because it’s fun, intense, gives results, and it’s fast. Total 16 minutes, plus set-up time for the exercise, max 20 minutes in and out of the gym. My husband uses it too, and he goes to a commercial gym at lunch time. He’s out on the gym floor and back to the locker room before a lot of the others are even out of the locker room to start with! And he gets weird looks, but they also all see what a difference he’s made to his physique, so they don’t make stupid comments, some wonder what the heck he’s doing though J

The last week of January I’m stopping the 7MM (http://your7minutemuscle.com) program for now. Taking a week off, keeping up the SNAPP! till the end, and reading up on te next protocol I’m going to be using: 1 Rep Fitness!

Remember, I gave you a post about Fabrice Rinaldi’s program the other day (http://www.atozfitness.com/sarahsblog/shocking-news-about-the-new-year/ ). Of course, the special offer is now over, but the program is available at regular full price at http://www.1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor/.  I since spoke to Fabrice, and he’s happy to add me to his client list and have me follow his program, blogging about the results and also putting updates in the AtoZFitness Newsletter. A trade-off basically J but I can promise you that if I don’t like the program, or don’t see any particular results, I’ll be telling you straight. A favour doesn’t automatically mean good reviews – at least, not from me.

So there you have it, my plans to move from here to … where ever this program takes me. I still have about 5-6% bodyfat I’d like to get rid of (19.9% is still too much for my liking), and hope to have burned half of that by the end of January, attacking the rest with 1 Rep Fitness (http://www.1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor/) while maybe adding some lean muscle. Probably actually, having read the protocol, I don’t see how anyone could avoid building muscle on this program!

Before any of you ladies back away in a panic, building muscle does not mean I’ll be getting huge and bulky, ok; and neither will you. We do not have the testosterone levels the guys have! And even they have trouble adding the muscle they want. Those big, bulky women you see on TV or in magazines are all “juiced up” on hormone injections and/or pills, and you and I do not want to go there, it’s more than unhealthy!

As a last note today, you may be wondering how I plan to handle the Holidays … that “dangerous” time of year we have to “survive”. Simple really. Take this week – Friday is traditionally family dinner at my sister-in-law’s, Saturday is our anniversary and we were going out, Sunday my in-laws want to take us out for an anniversary dinner as well. Three “danger-days” in a row? No, we asked my in-laws to take us out on the Friday instead and cancelled our reservations for Saturday. Three days down to one, and as you all know, one treat-day a week is fine – dwindle it down to one treat meal and it’s even better.

Christmas itself is more of a challenge, as I celebrate the 24^th (being from Norway, Northern European countries mostly celebrate the 24^th), there’s a buffet lunch at work that day; and we’re having the family over on the 25^th, but a little planning will avert any catastrophes. The buffet has salads and grilled chicken. “Problem” solved. Dinner is just a pork roast, cabbage (with carvi, vinegar and sugar – replaced with stevia), a potato and gravy – portion control will handle that. And the 25^th, a turkey with stuffing, salads and vegetable side-dishes, so there is no real problem at all, portion control!

New Year? Haha, we’ll most probably toast it three hours early (it’s already 2009 somewhere, right?) and go to bed hoping no one will call to say Happy New Year at midnight L Supper might be some leftover turkey or something, no special plans there at all.

OK, last note, promise! I was listening to a video-call between Jon Benson and Scott Tousignant the other day, and Jon said, regarding leftovers, “Take them if your aunt or grandma offers you, and give them to the first homeless person you see under a bridge!”  Frankly, that’s great advise not only at Christmas, but all year.

Happy Holidays to all (in case I don’t blog before 2009) J

Sarah, CPT

www.trainwithsarah.com

I am soooooooo EXCITED!

As you probably know, I’ve been personally part of a crack team

of "Average Joe’s & Jane’s" to see just how much body fat we could

blast off in just 12 SHORT WEEKS using the "military" fat burning

program, "Combat The Fat" from Jeff Anderson!

And the winner of the "best transformation" gets a cool $1,000 cash!

But here’s the absolute COOLEST PART…

…YOU help decide who the winner is!

That’s right… the one voting on the winner…IS YOU !

Whichever contestant gets the most votes…wins…PERIOD!

And these are NOT "hand picked fitness models" like those bogus

muscle mag promotions!

These 30 men and women range in age from their early 20’s right up

into their 60’s.

We’re just your "normal" everyday people you’d see down at your

local gym (or grocery store), with one major difference…

…THESE "average" people committed to busting their butt for 12

full weeks.

And just WAIT until you see the results!

The page I’m going to send you to will FINALLY prove (beyond a

shadow of a doubt) that Jeff’s Combat The Fat program is THE most

powerful "fat burner" on the planet.

I mean, I don’t think there’s EVER been any other system I’ve seen

that’s delivered such AMAZING RESULTS across the board.

I’m talking EVERY single contestant!

Look …you simply have to see for yourself why I can’t

contain myself!

Here’s a link where you can see all the contestants AND place YOUR

VOTE for the ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN who you feel had the best

"transformation", ok?  (of course, you can guess who I hope you’ll vote for )

Just go to…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

http://www.combatyourownfat.com <- Click For Photos

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The contestants’ final photos started coming in on Friday and Jeff’s

eyes just got WIDER and WIDER!

He have to admit…

He had my doubts as to whether his "CTF Soldiers" would really give

it their all and work hard.

Even if they DIDN’T do well, he was still going to follow through on

his promise to post their "after" photos!

So he was taking a pretty big risk in putting his johnson out there

for the whole world to see as he silently prayed that at least ONE

of the contestants would take it seriously.

But HIS soldiers are a different breed!

This one single web page will leave no room for doubt that

absolutely ANYONE can use these "military principles" to burn off all

that unwanted blubber.

I don’t care if you’re trying to get rid of 10 lbs or 100!

I don’t care if you can’t even see your toes!

Just take a look at what THESE men and women accomplished in such a

short period of time…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

http://www.combatyourownfat.com <- Click For Photos

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I know you’ll be as shocked as I was!

Your "Champion For The Average Joe & Jane" is The "Muscle Nerd"

Jeff Anderson

The challenge was fun; the training program hard at times but we were constantly challenging ourselves to get more out of each workout. As one level became easy, we just switched up to the next level. I went from assisted push ups (you know, the "girly" kind on your knees) to elevated push ups! Even a lot of guys don’t do those. So yes, there is progression on the program you can SEE with your own eyes.

Nutrition wise it’s dead easy. We were given the same guidelines the soldiers with their chow hall get: use common sense and visual portion sizing.

Worried about cardio? It’s so cleverly incorporated, you don’t even notice you’re doing any!

So please, http://www.combatyourownfat.com <- Click For Photos and give your votes!

Vote ends July 6th, the winners will be announced on Monday July 7th – in one week.

That’s not a typo in the title, I did mean best ways and not best way. Because there is no one way to train optimally. Or … there is. Confused? Good  

So many trainers and "gurus" are telling us that their way is the way, the only way you’ll ever … burn fat, build muscle, etc. Some of them are just repeating something they’ve read in a magazine, some have really tried the program they claim is the one to end all search for your solution. However, they are all wrong, to a degree.

There is no universal program that will truly end all search. What works well for one person, may not do a d***d thing for the other; or at best give them slower and weaker results, which is of course, discouraging!

Where you will have the best chance at finding the right program for you, which is what you want after all, is when you find the program inventor/discoverer or whatever you want to call them, who was at a similar point in life to where you are now, before they changed to become the person you admire today.

Let’s say you’re a scrawny person, the kind that cannot seem to put on any weight no matter what you do. If you like the looks of an internet "guru" you will be tempted to follow their advise, right? But make sure you follow the advise of one who was a scrawny "before" person (Jeff Anderson being one of those), not the former fatty!

The same goes if you are now overweight or obese. Look for a "guru" who used to be overweight or obese themselves before they developped their program and look as fabulous now as you want to look by your goal date(Such as Jon Benson).

You may still not find the optimal program for your body, your ambition, your lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to shop around a little, look at other programs as well. Your body adapts, it gets used to what you ask of it. After a year, the program that worked perfectly may no longer be the best thing for you, or you want to have two programs to switch between every 6 months or so.

When you get the "HIIT or nothing" cardio pushers vs the "steady state cardio is the only way" they are in fact both right; it just depends on how their bodies work and accept the different cardio training. It’s a little more complicated thatn that really, but just to keep it simple for now, I’ll put it down to body-type and previous training experience. What the HIIT-guys probably don’t think about either, is that everyone can’t do those spurts they ask for – not necessarily because their hearts or lungs can’t handle the pace, but the bladders could have that stress related leak problem, and running certainly is not an option in that case.

The same thing could well be the case with weight programs. It’s not because one says to use only circuit training or the other says to use as heavy a weight as you can and rest between sets, that either is right or wrong. These are just different routines, different ways of targeting the muscles and tricking them into adding strength and size. Some of the exercises you may not be able to do, either physically or mentally (and by that I mean that you can’t seem to get the mind-muscle connection from an exercise), but there are always alternative exercises for any bodypart. The "guru’s" claim that you must use only the exercise chosen in the program … don’t let it phase you and keep you from doing that program if there is just one or two exercises you feel you need to switch, it’ll still work!

In light of all this, why am I then doing Combat The Fat, since it’s designed by an ex-army guy and a hard-gainer, when I’m an ex-couch-potato and gain easily? Good question.

Reason nr one, good old female curiosity  

Reason nr two, the guy is over 40 and had added some "winter fat" all of a sudden, and he used this program to burn it off, so it could work on me too.

Reason nr three, the army gets all kinds of people in as recruits, hard gainers, people who gain (fat) easily, all three  -morph types, so it had to work, right? Well, it does.

I’m jealous  Lewis has a 4-pack already! In just 6 weeks, he gets a 4-pack! I know, men and their testosterone, right? They drop that bodyfat faster, the pack on muscle faster, and as a result look better/good faster. The pictures tell me I’m looking better than on day 1, which is obviously why I say this program works; and there are 6 weeks left till the challenge dead-line. I am confident that I’ll at least have a shadow of a 4-pack by then! (so there!)

In any case, if you do opt for a 12-week challenge – almost every program has them, especially in spring – remember that life does not stop after those 12 weeks.

You may not win the challenge itself, but you will have won your own self respect and admiration ("hey, I can do this! I work out regularly, eat clean, and I’ve dropped x-nr of lbs of fat or gained so many of muscle"!). Don’t stop because the challenge is over!!

My plan is to keep it up for 13 weeks in fact, then take a week off (possibly doing the EODD detox, not sure yet) and start up again for another 13 weeks of the same Combat The Fat program before taking two weeks off. By then, we’ll be mid-October, and I have no idea what I’ll be doing after those two weeks off while my parents are visiting from Europe, but I do know I won’t just sit on the couch all winter! BFFM? Jon Benson’s new program to be launched next week? I have NO idea right now, but I’ll let you know when the time comes!

The message I’m trying to get across is basically to shop around for a couple of programs that suit you; then stick to them, switching between one and the other to ward off boredom and keep your muscles "guessing" at what’s going to hit them next. You can also mix and match programs … pick the EODD for the nutrition part, especially if you don’t feel like calculating and weighing and doing more maths than cooking; use CTF for the fat burning training; switch to BFFM for winter training or keep CTF until you have the bodyfat levels where you want them … it’s up to you. You will be the one designing the perfect program for you!

You are the one who knows you best, so listen to you and take care of you while you’re still there to do it!

Never mind what you did before, how you erred and messed up and got to the out-of-shape state you’re in (assuming you are). You build the future starting now, the past is … well, gone really isn’t it!? So forget it, or learn from it and move on to better ways and better days!

Check out www.atozfitness.com for all programs we have tested and trust. Remember there are a number of free e-book downloads by the same authors as the programs, so you can have a sneak-peek into their way of thinking and explaining before you decide who you want to give your trust to.

Oh, and you don’t have to have a female trainer if you’re female and male if you’re male … a muscle will respond just as well regardless of trainer gender! The main difference I’ve found, is that many "female programs" are too soft in the approach; which is why Karen Sessions is on the AtoZ page … nothing overly soft about that Iron Doll  

There is a free download of hers on the page; as well as one from Jon Benson on cardio, and a chapter by Tom Venuto from the old All Stars e-book  if you sign up for the AtoZ Fitness Newsletter; so yes, you can find your program or combination of programs, knowing they are not there to fill up a web page, but to give you the best choice possible when you decide to make that lifestyle change or look to find a plateau breaker, or just variation.

And if you feel you need someone to be accountable to, or you want help setting up the whole program, I’m just a click or two away at www.trainwithsarah.com

Most important though: have fun with it !!

On April 1st, I told you we’d been shanghaied into going for a 12-week transformation challenge. I also said I wasn’t going to tell you any more before the end, to keep the competition guessing, after all – we knew nothing of their progression!

Jeff "the Muscle Nerd" Anderson launched his Combat The Fat program back in February, with audios and videos and downloadable work sheets. Some of you may have heard me do an interview with Jeff at that time.

In March, he released his Combat The Fat program in a pdf, with all the extras you’ll need to track your progress, a nutrition plan, training program, the main book, and then some. Well, so far so good, we did as usual, told our readers about this program and that was that, basically …

Not quite. Jeff also launched a challenge! 12 weeks on the Combat The Fat program, starting March 31st. OK? I wondered if I was eligible, being one of the affiliates, and asked. So I guess I wasn’t really shanghaied into this, I did ask …  anyway, turns out it was yes, I could enter. Well you know how it is, procrastination set in!

Should I? Should I not? Had it been summer, I might have plucked a daisy for the answer! Finally, the day before the deadline to enter, I made up my mind and had the dreaded "before" picture taken, sending it in that evening, before I could change my mind again!

The next day, I get an e-mail from Jeff … where was Lewis’ entry? Wasn’t this a couples thing? Well, I did set him straight on that one, the couples thing, it was on the Biggest Loser  and Lewis would have to do his workout after getting home from his day-job at around 5 pm, so it was a bit late (procrastination, big time, right?). Funny, when Lewis saw the copy of that mail, he sent one to Jeff himself, saying "don’t count me out just yet, I might just do it" and sure enough, before the deadline at midnight March 28th, he’d sent in his "before" picture too!

We spent the weekend pouring over the training plan, the exercise choices, putting our program together for the first 4 weeks. There are 3 levels to this, Beginner, Novice and Advanced, with three levels within each level. In other words, there’s the right level there for absolutely everybody!

I was in charge of the nutrition department, and read through it all on the Friday, so that we had our shopping list ready for Saturday – incidentally, Jeff provides a detailed shopping list, all you need to do is cross off what you don’t need/want (have it already or don’t like, such as the cucumber on our list!) and take it to the store with you. Nothing dramatic there, we were still allowed … no, ordered to have a cheat meal per week as well as a daily desert , and the rest was pretty plain sailing for me.

Week 1

Day 1  – I trained in the morning, after breakfast.

 Assisted pull-ups, surprisingly easy. How soon will I attempt one unassisted?

 Military press, I used 20 pound Dbs, no trouble there either.

 Exerball squats, never tried those before, but they were fine, no problem again.

Lewis got home from work, and did the same routine, except he didn’t need assistance on the pull-ups except the 3rd and 4th reps of the 4th set; and he used a 60-lbs Bb for the presses.

Day 2  - We’d set the alarm for 04:30 HRS (yes well, it’s a military-based program, military hours!) to do the cardio together Optional cardio, granted, but we wanted to include it at least twice a week. Somehow though, the alarm didn’t go off! I ended up with a solo cardio from 05:50 to 06:50 HRS and then had breakfast.

Day 3  – Circuit training, resistance and cardio alternately. Fun. Fast-paced, no rest, just go-go-go!

Day 4 – More solo cardio before breakfast. The hard part, is actually limiting my speed to keep the heart rate down to 65% of VO2 Max, it’s a lot harder than going all out in a quest for a distance or calorie-burn record!

Day 5 – One week after submitting the start photo and stats, I’m down 1.6 lbs, 1.4 of which is fat!  And yes, it shows as well as being measurable.

I changed the training level today. Monday I’d started with the Beginner Level 1 and just wasn’t getting the feeling I like after a workout, I wasn’t spent. So I skipped Level 2 because it just added a fourth exercise but no more reps; and went to Beginner Level 3 with a pyramid workout using

Cable cur.ls

Push ups

Lying leg raises

I also used only 30 second rest periods between tri-sets and not the full minute. From there, I went to the stepper for 10 minutes and on to the elliptical which has the only heart rate checker we own  and I was right where I wanted to be.

Day 6  – My weigh-in and measurement day. Spotting Lewis in the gym for his 3rd workout, which is also on the Beginner Level 3. And he’s doing elevated push ups now, feet up on a bench! An extra day made a huge difference, 2 lbs over night?! For just 2 hours more sleep? Well, it made sense  a little later that day, when I started my period  well, for once it was in the right week as far as results were concerned!

Treat meal nr 1.  We grilled a 1′ sirloin steak each with 2 tiger shrimp steamed in garlic butter; added sauteed onions, red bell peppers and broccoli; and Lewis had a baked sweet potato as he’d worked out  in the afternoon.  For desert, I’d made an apple crumble-type dish, with apples sweetened by raisins and topped with oats, whole wheat flour, sweetener and 1 Tbsp butter. Add a coffee for him, a capuccino for me, and we ended up with a $ 20,- supper for both of us, ranther than a $ 70,- one for the same menu at a restaurant (where the shrimp are way smaller!). And yes, we started with a caesar salad, and he had one glass of red wine. I stuck to water.

Day 7  –  Well, it is weekend. I started with one hour cardio and went on to make breakfast comprised of fresh  spinach, 2 eggs and a spoon-full of hollandaise sauce; one thin slice of extra lean ham with 2 Tbsp of baked beans; and half of a whole wheat pita.  And there is plenty of sauce left to have with the chicken for supper tonight too.

Week 2 -  fat dripping off my body, not literally, I mean it’s not pooling at my feet or anything obviously! But 2.4 lbs down this week, 1.5% BF, and a tad muscle gain. I went to the hairdresser’s on Friday and Lewis decided he wanted to take me out to supper.  Having taken a full-figure self-shot photo, I noticed that the pooch wasn’t me, it was my tightest jeans I’d been wearing for a few months! Into the closet, would those jeans  fit again ??   Guess what: they did, with no upper bulging over the belt either.  So we went for supper. I chose the Chicken Supreme Salad … grilled chicken breast and salad … with the house dressing rather than the creamier ceasar dressing. He had a hamburger steak with fried onions and  a ceasar salad. We declined the bread while we waited, left without the desert, and I had only water, Lewis  had 2 planned glasses of wine and corked the bottle.

Coffee and desert we had at home, rolled up in one. His was an Irish Coffee, I opted for a Viennese (with  the whipped cream topping but no alcohol). Home made whipped cream of course, with vanilla extract and stevia.

Next day results: we were both down some more … so guess what we’ll have next time we go out!

 We both moved up to the Beginner Level 3 program last Friday, skipping level 2 altogether. We’re doing that level for another week, possibly two; then switching to Novice Level 1 the following week which will be  week 5. I’ve added in the cardio three days a week, Lewis hasn’t. Then again, he’s been out of a gym for months, and doesn’t need the extra cardio at this point, keeping it as an extra for an eventual plateau later in the program.

These troops’ morale is good!

Week 3 -

 Well, would you believe a major set-back on the scales? Due to … having to attend a birthday dinner at a  restaurant where the cook seemed to have lost the saltshaker over our grilled chicken breast, and also  added too much in the different "salads" on the salad bar. I remember when salad bars had fresh things on them, nicely cut lettuce (not the coarsely chopped big pieces you get now), cherry tomatoes, eggs  mimosa, cucumber, onion, etc. These days it’s all "stuff" in mayo and oils!

 True, these 2 lbs added from a lousy meal (so salty it was near inedible, and the veggies were cold)    are just water, but they have to be eliminated, again. By Tuesday, they were gone of course, but  I felt I lost 2 days in the process.

Week 4 -

Again, fat pounds gone. Not a lot of visible difference, I think it’s dripped off my back this week; which  is good too of course!  Morale is up there, motivation as well, no slump in site!  I actually added to my workouts all week this week, by doing some heavy lifting in the garden! There  was a stone slab wall (stone? More like concrete, you know, those retainer wall things that are made to  look a little like stone but are really not) dividing the already limited space in two levels, like the  hanging gardens of Babylon. Well, we want a flat area with grass, ok!? Somewhere to put the two  lounge chairs, other than on the small patio that gets super crowded fast. So I dug, pushed, lifted, removed, carried, stacked …

Over the weekend, Lewis got a stump/root out that I hadn’t been able to manage alone; while I went  on with raking and bagging all the dead leaves and twigs and grasses etc that always appear when  the snow melts; and we carried, pulled and dragged 7-8 bags to the front of the house for the poor  garbage collectors.

 A good workout week, weight reduction week, and garden week as well!

Week 5 -

Where did the spring go? Last week we had 26ºC in the daytime, this week we’re lucky if we see 10! Still, training on schedule. I left the cardio alone on Tuesday because I was just totally worn out from all the gardening (concrete slab hauling!) last week, but set records all along the circuit on Wednesday  and cardio is optional on this program after all, so no feeling of "cr***, I missed one!" I napped instead.

 Week 6 -

Here I am, working out in the gym, up to Novice Level 2 now, and also continuing in the garden. It’s  taking shape, so I’m happy about that. This weekend, we were able to sow the grass, as well as flower seeds.

But this is about the Combat The Fat challenge, not my garden  sorry about that!

I said I’m now on Novice Level 2. There are a total of 9 levels in the program. Beginner Levels 1,2, and 3 followed by Novice Levels 1,2 and 3; and Advanced Levels 1,2 and 3. I have decided that I will get  to Advanced 1 by the end of the challenge, even if it’s only on the last day!

I decided to let Lewis put my half-way-there picture as well as my results on the AtoZ Fitness page  along with his progression this week, because I felt the ladies were being left out a little. So for pics, go to www.atozfitness.com and scroll down to where Lewis says "click here" to go to his results update  page. You’ll see how a man does (with his natural testosterone) and how a woman does (without it).

Nutrition wise we’re doing the same thing, I’m cooking so I have control (mwhahaha) but I’m doing a little more cardio than him, and more of the heavy lifting in the garden during the week. Pics will be up this week, promise!

So there you have it in a nut-shell. 6 weeks into a 12-week challenge, the motivation and focus are right where they were at the start, way up there! Of course, as you saw from  my 3 previous posts, Jeff Anderson also came out with a muscle building program. Of course, I’m not jumping from the fatburner to the massbuilder in the middle of a challenge, but I have a plan!

After this challenge – to which I am adding a personal 13th week, I will take a break of 9 days (one week + a weekend). I’m thinking possibly an EODD detox week there, while I’m not training.

Then, I am back to the CTF training again, for 5 weeks; 4 weeks of the Advance Mass Building, and 4 weeks CTF again (even the Advanced Level will seem relaxing after the Mass thing it looks like); and after that, 2 weeks off! Well, 2 weeks + a weekend  which will coinside with my parents’ visit to us this fall.

What I’ll do from mid-October? Don’t know yet, but something fun to bring me up close to the Christmas week, that’s for sure!

I’ve given you advance warning …

You heard it was coming (the buzz is all over the internet in forums and

podcasts!)

Well, it’s finally here…Jeff Anderson’s latest "bodybuilding

breakthrough"…

…"Advanced Mass Building"!

And NO…this is NOT just some regurgitated "bodybuilding 101" stuff you can

get out of any muscle magazine or online!

This is a pure, hardcore, cutting-edge training SYSTEM that Jeff has been

researching and experimenting with for the last FULL YEAR!

If you’re looking for the latest scientific advances in what it takes to

REALLY see some SERIOUS GROWTH, then you MUST check this out NOW!

It just launched at 12:00pm Chicago time (yes…it’s finally LIVE right

now!) and you can see the whole program at…

http://advancedmassbuilding.atozfitness.com 

Oh, and for the record, I’ve had the program in hand for a week, I’ve read it,

and it’s a KILLER that I cannot wait to start using! Just as soon as I’ve finished

the Combat The Fat program (check that out at www.atozfitness.com front page)

Mid July, I’ll be hitting these workouts, and I know I’ll be "fried" every single day

for 4 weeks!

CHECK IT OUT NOW !!!

http://advancedmassbuilding.atozfitness.com 

You see, Jeff’s research and experiments for the last year have been ripping

apart the most "advanced" mass building training techniques to ISOLATE the

core variables that make them so powerful for gaining muscle.

Well not only has he identified the 5 KEY MASS BUILDING VARIABLES…

…he’s found a way to TURBO-CHARGE their results in a few ways I PROMISE

you’ve NEVER heard of before!

This is real "cutting edge" stuff!

But he has a few "warnings"…

. . . . . . . . . . . . Consider Yourself WARNED! . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.) This program is NOT for everyone! Not that it’s "gut wrenching" and

will put you in the hospital…just that you really should have at least 6

MONTHS of training under your belt so you have a good "feel" for the

weights.

2.) If your idea of "advanced" training is simply to work HARDER through

"forced reps" and other grueling techniques, you’ll have to keep an open

mind.

(The breakthrough techniques Jeff has developed are scientifically

structured to stimulate even the most stubborn muscle fibers WITHOUT long,

insane, injury-risking workouts! In some cases, you’ll be in and out of the

gym in 20 MINUTES flat!)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So keep an eye out TOMORROW for my special "launch notice" for when

"Advanced Mass Building" goes live, ok?

There’s going to be a mass feeding frenzy when this program is finally

released at 12 noon and I want to make sure you get in on the front end!

No one likes to be called a "beginner" in the weight room, do they?

But yanking out an article from this month’s muscle magazine and memorizing

it to baffle your buddies at the gym with a bunch of B.S. does NOT make you

a weight room professor.

Fact is, there are some secrets that ONLY "advanced trainers" understand and

it’s what sets them apart from the "beginners" who constantly jockey from

one "wonder workout" to the next desperately trying to see some gains.

Do you know which side YOU belong to?

Well, it doesn’t matter any more because no matter WHERE you’re at, you’re

about to get an instant "upgrade" to your gym ranking!

Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 6th) at 12:00pm Central Time (Chicago), the "Muscle

Nerd" Jeff Anderson will be stepping out of the "lab" once again with a

brand new program he’s PROMISING will "revolutionize" the way you build

muscle mass.

It’s called "Advanced Mass Building" and the name pretty much says it all!

(Use this link tomorrow at 12pm Central…