Welcome to the Look Good Naked Blog: an expression of my attempts to help you, for those that are ready, reach your body’s fullest potential.

A lot of people always asked me: Is it possible to lose/gain an X amount of weight  in a year, month, or week. However, this is not the type of question you should be asking me, yourself, or anyone else for that matter. The question(s) you SHOULD be asking are: How hard am I willing to work? How bad do I want it? and most importantly, Am I willing to let go of my current beliefs about what I am capable of? About what is really possible?

If the answer is no to any of the questions above, then I implore you, stop now. No amount of information can help you. Stop your fanatic search, looking for some weight loss/gain secret. The secret is indeed the fact that, there is no secret. You have all the information you already need. Stop the faulty thinking: if I could just find the right book/diet/program, then I would reach my goal or even start for that matter. The problem is not with the information, programs, or books, but with you. You have neglected the only muscle that truly needs to be trained the most. Your mind. This is where you must start.

Therefore, I hope this blog will not only inspire you, but provoke you. Provoke your mind, your habits, and the very reason you do, whatever it is you do.

Whatever your goal, I will show you a path. But you must be willing to walk it. Willing to say enough is enough, this day, this month, this year, I will look good naked regardless of the obstacles. I will commit.

- Ethan Crum

Private Trainer, Health Consultant

A Word About Comments:
Please fell free to express yourself in any means necessary other than anything derogatory and/or detrimental  towards others. If you disagree with a post or another comment, by all means lets hear it. But those who have no regard for others will not be tolerated and therefore, suffice to say, removed.

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When I was a personal trainer I was constantly hounded by people asking me why they were not seeing the results they wanted, even though they were working out on a daily basis.  My simple and often dreaded response was: You not working hard enough.

Unaware to most people is the fact that your body does not want to change. Thus the reason why most people really never see any real significant changes in their body composition. They never quite end up looking the way they truly want to look. But they could, and they most certainly could in a relative short period of time. In fact, if you do what I’m about to propose, you could litterally see changes in your body in a matter of weeks. But before we get into that, I want you realize something very important.

Pain, discomfort, and stress are a good thing and should be embraced. Most people shy away form this very thing, which is why their results end up sub par. When it comes to working out, you must strive to feel them if you want to see results fast. When you feel discomfort and stress it means your body is reaching it’s threshold for your body’s current makeup. This is also where most people stop  because well quite frankly, it hurts. However, it is this stress and discomfort that causes your body to change and change fast.

The next time you workout I want to intensify your workout and embrace the discomfort you feel. This is the stress that is neccesary to force your body to adapt to whatever it is you are doing. The secret to looking good naked is to constantly do things that cause the greatest amount of stress on your body in a safe and effective way. This stress causes the hormonal shifts you need to make to get the body you truly want. Your hormones are the biggest factor in deciding your body composition and what it does with the food you consume.

Yes, diet does play a part and I will discuss more on that later, but the single biggest thing you can do when it comes to looking good naked is intensifying your workout and pushing past your pain threshold. This is what forces your body to change. Get to this threshold and push past it and you will see noticeable results in a matter of weeks not months. Remeber you body will not change quickly if you do not push past it’s current self imposed limit. Embrace discomfort, it’s a signal to your body that it’s time to change.

In case you’re curious, this is how you should look after a workout.

Much More to Come, Subscribe to our Feed!

Technorati Tags: Fat Loss, Fitness Health, Look Good Naked, Weight Loss

Reduces your risk of cancer -  As more and more health professionals study this vitamin there are finding out that a deficiency in this vitamin could be the cause of many of the popular cancers around to day.

Helps fight Diabetes -Of course this goes hand in hand with increasing insulin sensitivity.

Promote Insulin Sensitivity – Remember, anything that does this helps to keep ones weight in check.

Fights Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder – This is a popular one and has been around for a while.  When I was younger I actually sleep a ton and was later diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder. The cure, more sunlight and vitamin D.

More to come later.

The moment you begin to digest food, your body begins to turn the food you just ate into glucose.  Insulin, when released, causes the liver, muscle, and fat cells to absorb this glucose. Insulin also signals your body to slow down and even stop burning fat for fuel, all depending on how much insulin is released, which depends on how much glucose and the type of food you just ate.

When insulin levels are low glucose, it is no longer taken up by the body and the body begins to use fat for fuel. Thus the craze for low insulin releasing diets.  The lower you keep your insulin levels, as well as steady, the longer you will burn off fat.

However, as I’m sure many of you have heard, being resistant and sensitive to insulin, also plays and important part as to where your body decides to store the incoming nutrients. When people talk about being resistant or sensitive they are usually talking about your muscle cells.  Resistant of course will send the glucose to your fat cells, whereas sensitive will cause the muscle to absorb it. I will discuss later how to become more sensitive to insulin since that’s what looking good naked is all about.

Anyway, certain foods also determine how much insulin is released. Simple sugars and simple carbohydrates are the worst because they cause your insulin levels to spike. Now this is OK if your are extremely sensitive to insulin, thus sending all the glucose to your muscle cells. This is why people who have just worked out are usually coached into eating higher insulin releasing food and shakes.

Now if you are resistant to insulin, simple check, look at your belly, then this is bad news. Now all the food you just ate goes to  your fat cells.  One of the more interesting things to note is that healthier foods do not cause high insulin spikes and keep insulin levels steady. Thus they burn more fat and lose weight.

Hopefully by now you have a faily good understand of just how insulin works and what insluin is capable of doing.  Insulin, at times, can be rather confusing so if you have any question pleaes feel free to ask.

Technorati Tags: how does insulin work, Insulin, insulin resistance

Breathing Ladders

Rob Lawrence, RKC

“Breathing ladders” are a very effective technique I’ve come up with for developing cardiovascular endurance. They are based on my observation, in karate training, that endurance is at least 50% mental. People who are out of shape tend to get in a panicked state as soon as they breathe a little hard. Not surprisingly, this rapidly makes the situation worse. Before they know it they’re huffing and puffing and their technical skills go right to hell.

In karate they would often tell us to breathe calmly, but they did not show us any way of cultivating the skill. The breathing ladder is designed to do exactly that — i.e. teach controlled breathing as a skill. The idea is to do a set, take a number of breaths (based on some ratio to the number reps you just did), then do the next set. For a simple example, let’s look at a snatch breathing ladder with a 1:1 rep/breath ratio.

1. Do one snatch left, one snatch right, take two breaths.

2. Do two snatches left, two snatches right, take four breaths.

3. Do three snatches left, three snatches right, take sixth breaths.

4. Etc. …

As you will rapidly discover, the way to survive is to slow your breath down as much as possible, to get maximum air and to increase your rest period between each set. If you panic and breathe quickly, your rest period is decreased and you are quickly dispatched to the dustbin of history. On the other hand, the only “timing” involved is your breath — and the idea is to “cheat” as much as possible by drawing out the breaths and increasing the rest periods.

Of course, you can work with any ratio of reps/breaths that you prefer. If you’re out of shape, you can work 1:2 or even 1:3; if you’re in good shape, you can do 2:1, 3:1, or whatever. The results of this training have been tremendous for me. When I teach my 45-minute kettlebell classes, I often do the workout with the students, not only doing the work, but instructing (and occasionally bellowing at) them as well, and never breathing hard. Needless to say, this tends to increase their impression that they should listen to me. I recommend this technique highly for instructors, or for anyone who needs to develop serious physical and mental endurance.

Be warned, these are much harder than they seem. Most will have the tendency to panic and lose track of their breathing.  While the article above describes the exercise with the snatch, it can be done with any type of exercise. A few others I like are: dumbell swing, deadlift, and box jumps. Remember, this type of exercise is right in tune as discussed in Why Your Still Fat!

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Take the time for a second to really think about how you feel towards others who have things you want. Do you get angry or mad, or do you get excited and wish them ever more of whatever it is that you want. The feelings you have towards others could be what is holding you back for getting these very things.

There is an old Hawaiian philosophy and saying that says “Bless that which you want.”  Why is this so effective and so important when it comes to health and fitness? It all has to do with neuroscience and the way in which your mind works.

Lets say you see someone who is as fit and as healthy as you would eventually like to be. You look at this person and their body and you soon become filled with anger and envy. The more you think about this person the more hated you seem to have. Believe it or not, I heard this all the time when I was coaching people. Many times people would often say how skinny, fit people would litterally make them sick. Why is this a bad thing?

Well lets think for moment. When you see someone with something you want and you feel distaste for this person, you are telling your mind that having this or that is a bad thing. That it is literally wrong to look this way or even wrong to have whatever it is you are looking at. You mind therefore relates this as something to stay away from and it will never bring it into your life.

You are basically programming your mind that those with the things you want are evil. As long as you see yourself as a good person, I can guarantee you will never have those things. Remember envy is ingonorace.

Begin today to monitor how you feel towards the people who have the things you want. If you feel negative towards these people, immediate switch your thinking and begin to bless that person and bless whatever it is that has caused you to become negative. You are now telling your mind that these are good things to have. Eveutally this will become a habit and you will soon feel your feelings towards these things change.

Please don’t dismiss this simple yet powerful principle. You literally have everything in your life what you keep telling your brain you want. Neuroscience has proven it. Are you telling your mind it’s OK to look good naked or are you telling it the opposite? It is completely up to you.

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Ever wonder how sumo wrestlers are able to get so big? It is surprisingly quite simple; they follow a few set of rules that trigger their bodies to store massive amounts of fat. If you are looking to lose a few pounds, you should make sure you break all these rules.

Rule #1: Skip Meals – Preferably breakfast. After your body has been deprived of food for 8 hours your metabolism is extremely low. A great way of keeping it low is by skipping breakfast and other times you feel hungry throughout the day. The more meals you skip the more stress you will put on your body which will trigger it to store more fat when your finally do eat.

Rule #2: Eat One Meal A Day. Sumo wrestlers eat one very large meal day right after they practice throwing their weight into one another. How are they able to eat so much in one setting? They have staved themselves all day to the point that they become extremely hungry. Does this sound similar, is this the way your feel when it comes time for dinner?

Rule #3: Only Exercise On An Empty Stomach. I know many people who think exercising on an empty stomach will burn more fat. Will it really? Yes of course, your body will be tapping into its fat storage for fuel your workout, but only applies to the exercise you put in. However, this will also cause a stress factor on your body and when you do eat, you will store more nutrients as fat. Again, when you keep your metabolic rate low, lack of eating, your body will look to store more fat. Besides, you want to focusing on burning more fat throughout the day, not while your exercise. EPOC is what you want.

Rule #4: Sleep After Eating A Large Meal. One again coming back to metabolic rate. When you sleep your metabolic rate drops. Sleeping unfortunately burns little calories and causes the food you just consumed to be stored. Also, eating a big meal triggers the release of larger amounts of insulin, which will also help move nutrients into your fat cells.

There you have it, the 4 rules for becoming a sumo wrestlers. Do any of these rules sound familiar ? Most people tend to follow one or two of these rules. Usually skipping breakfast, having a small lunch, a possible workout, and then having a huge dinner to end the night. Quite simply, the perfect eating pattern for weight gain.

Perhaps its time you try the opposite. Breakfast, by far, should be your biggest meal of the day, followed by a medium lunch and a light dinner. Of course snacking in between also helps keep your metabolic rate high.

The rules for looking good naked are as follows:

Eat Breakfast like a king, Lunch like a Prince, and Dinner like a Pauper.

Giving your body time to burn off the calories you comsume is a key factor, when it comes to weight management, that so many seem to ignore. If weight loss happens to be your goal, here is your formula.

Technorati Tags: Diet, Fat Loss, Fitness, Health, Look Good Naked, Sumo Wrestlers Diet, Weight Loss

Welcome to the world of gymnastics; where men and women are able to sculpt incredible bodies strictly through the weight of their own bodies.

This article, written by Coach Sommers, is a fantastic introduction into the world of gymnastics training. Gymnastic work is also one of the secrets to looking good naked fast. Just by implementing the two progressions below can give you staggering results with respect to strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Now another question that we should ask ourselves – is the bodyweight training of the Olympians also beneficial to the fitness enthusiast? And if so, is it possible to apply at least some of it to those without a professional instructor to guide them or tens of thousands of dollars of specialized gymnastics equipment? And the answers are once again – yes and yes. There are some of our specialized exercises that are relatively easy to learn and require little or no equipment beyond a chin-up bar and some floor space.

In this article, I will cover the basic progressions needed to learn two primary gymnastics exercises: the planche and the front lever. This will be by no means a complete bodyweight training program, but rather an introduction. These two movements were chosen for their novelty, the simplicity of the movements and for the excellent strength gains that are possible for those who are willing to commit the necessary sweat and dedication. The planche will be our pressing movement and the front lever will be our pulling movement. At advanced levels, adding a pushup to the planche and a pull-up to the front lever will effectively give a fairly intense full upper body workout, including the abs and lower back.

Now before continuing further into our training, let’s first regress and consider the question of why to do bodyweight conditioning in the first place? A common misconception is that bodyweight exercises do not build substantial strength but are rather more suited for building endurance. For most people this conjures images of endless pushups, sit-ups or for the strong, perhaps pull-ups and dips. Great maybe for general fitness or endurance, but of little value in building real strength.

First of all, exercise is exercise. Period. The name of the game is resistance. A muscle contracts against resistance and, with perseverance, over time, becomes stronger. For strength to increase, the amount of resistance or load worked against must also increase over time. Hence the problem with bodyweight conditioning – as the resistance (weight of the body) is fixed, how to continue to increase strength? Surprisingly the answer is simple – by decreasing the amount of leverage it is possible to exert on an exercise, the resistance of an exercise becomes increasingly greater. For example, a hanging straight leg lift is much harder than a tucked leg lift. In both exercises the weight of your legs remains constant, however by reducing your leverage (i.e. in this case straightening your legs) we are able to greatly increase the resistance. By straightening the legs we have effectively doubled the difficulty of the exercise even though the weight of the body has remained constant.

With experience and creativity it is possible to learn or design exercises that, done correctly and with the proper progressions, are so lacking in leverage that even at bodyweight levels of resistance it is possible to build staggering amounts of strength. In addition to strength, the athlete will also develop excellent balance, coordination, agility and exceptional core strength. Perhaps that is why spectacular film athletes like Jackie Chan and Mark Dacascos always include gymnastics training in their physical preparation.

How well do the progressions that I am going to share with you work? Well, consider that fact that Mr. Mas Watanabe recently visited my men’s gymnastics program and was astounded by the levels of strength and development he saw. For those of you outside the gymnastics community, Mr. Watanabe has been for the past 30 plus years, one of our primary leaders of men’s gymnastics here in the United States and has personally worked with and evaluated every Olympian, World Championship, National, and Junior National Team member that our country has produced during this time. After observing my current athletes completing their daily bodyweight conditioning program, Mr. Watanabe informed me that they were the strongest most physically prepared group of athletes he had ever seen. In fact he went so far as to state that he had never even seen another group come close. Now the main point that I would like to emphasize here – is that their physical development was procured almost exclusively through consistent progressive bodyweight conditioning.

How strong is it possible to become with bodyweight exercises? Amazingly strong. In fact I would go so far as to say, done correctly, far stronger than someone who had trained for the same amount of time with free weights. Want some concrete examples? One of my former students, JJ Gregory (1993 Junior National Champion on the Still Rings) developed such a high degree of strength from my bodyweight conditioning program that on his first day in his high school weightlifting class he deadlifted 400lbs., and this at the scale breaking weight of 135 lbs. and a height of 5’3”.

After this I was curious and wanted to measure JJ’s one rep max on weighted pull-ups. We started fairly light with 10 lbs. or so. I continued adding more weight while JJ performed single rep after single rep. Unfortunately I didn’t know about chinning belts and chains at that time and the cheap leather belt we were using broke at 75 lbs. Once again, I repeat, at 75 lbs. and JJ had never performed a weighted pull-up in his life. But he had performed years of my specialized bodyweight conditioning exercises. How much could JJ have chinned that day? We will never know for sure, but I will tell you that at 75 lbs. JJ was laughing and joking with me and did not appear to be noticeably bothered by the weight.

And JJ, while the strongest, is not an isolated case. For example, over the years I would occasionally (once a year or so) allow my athletes to test their one rep max on weighted chins (an exercise we never perform as part of our regular conditioning) simply so that they could have proof positive of the enormous measurable strength gains which they were enjoying. My own son at the age of 13 and a bodyweight of around 110 lbs. could chin 50 lbs. for 8 reps and it was not at all unusual for a 60 lb. younger athlete to perform 5 or more reps with 25 lbs.

In addition to his amazing strength, look again at the incredible physique that JJ built solely through various bodyweight exercises. Also look at the pictures of some of my current group of athletes. Pretty buff for boys who mostly range from 7-11 years old and have never lifted weights. As well, consider the fact that as competitive athletes, they never train for appearance. Their physiques are solely the result of their training their bodies for the function of becoming better athletes. In other words, their physiques (and anyone else’s who trains in this manner) are functional first and ornamental second.

Why does correct bodyweight conditioning work so well? There are several, the first is contraction. Basically, the harder the contraction over a greater part of the body during an exercise, the more effective the exercise. For maximum improvements training to failure is not necessary, but maximum contraction is. One of the main advantages to these advanced bodyweight exercises is that they require a complete full body contraction. In fact, at advanced levels, they are so demanding that it is simply not possible to complete them any other way.

Another primary reason for their beneficial results is the nature of the static holds themselves. By holding the bodyweight in a disadvantaged leverage position, we are effectively multiplying the resistance of our bodyweight. Or more simply stated, we are supporting a heavy weight in a locked static position. This has tremendous positive impact on the strength of the joints and connective tissue and aids greatly in overall strength development. Many great weightlifting champions have sworn by the benefits of holding heavy weights in a locked position. Two that immediately come to mind are Paul Anderson and John Grimek, who both made heavy supports a regular part of their early training.

Success at these exercises requires consistent incremental improvements. Do not seek improvement quickly or become frustrated after only a few weeks. You would not poke a seed into the ground and then jump back waiting for the plant to explode out instantly. You must be patient with physical conditioning also. While you may become more skillful or feel more powerful while performing a new exercise relatively quickly, this is due to becoming more neurologically efficient (“greasing the grove”), rather than experiencing an absolute gain in strength. It takes approximately 6 weeks to establish the first concrete strength gains. In other words, make haste – slowly.

Be prepared to spend at least six months at these exercises to work through the various progressions. What?! Six months?! Yes, that’s right, at least six months. Some people may need to spend a year or more. You wouldn’t expect to bench press 300 lbs. right away. Nor should you expect to build high level bodyweight strength instantly either. Be consistent, be patient and soon you too can be enjoying the benefits of greatly increased strength and athletic ability.

Alright enough talk, let’s get down to work and learn these progressions so that we can begin building some muscle. The following progressions will teach you how to perform the planche and the front lever as well as their more advanced variations; planche pushups and front lever pull-ups. We will begin with various static (non-moving, held) positions. From there, we will progress to the more dynamic pushing and pulling movements.

You will use the same basic strength progression on all of the following exercises. Be sure to master one position in a progression before moving onto the next. Hold for sets of however many seconds you feel comfortable, while continuing to combine the time of your sets until you reach 60 seconds total time. The number of sets it takes to reach the 60 seconds combined total time is irrelevant. All that matters is that you accomplish 60 seconds of “quality work”. Once you can hold a position correctly for the entire 60 seconds in one set, it is time to move on to the next harder exercise and begin the training procedure all over again. Now there are some exceptions to this rule, but we will address them later as we come to them.

Static holds can be performed each day for maximum benefit. However it is also possible to obtain excellent results with other workout schedules. The traditional Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday work well. My personal favorite that allows maximum work combined with substantial rest is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Everyone’s recovery ability is different. Simply experiment with the various schedules to see which suits your individual needs best.

Static holds can easily be placed anywhere in your current routine. My preference is to place them at the end of our physical preparation time. Once you have progressed to the more demanding planche pushups and front lever pull-ups, they should be placed in your workout in an appropriate spot for that exercise and body part and the static holds can continue to be placed at the end of the workout.

You should work your way through the various progressions of both the planche and the front lever at the same time. As they work complementary muscle groups, working these two exercises together will actually increase the speed of your overall improvement as well as providing you with balanced development and strength in your shoulder girdle and core.

The Planche Progressions

Obviously, for those of us who are mere mortals, it is not possible to simply remove the legs from the floor and go directly to the planche. However with the proper progressions and patience, this position is attainable by a reasonably fit, hard working athlete. While working the various planches, strive to hold the hips level with the shoulders. Make sure that the elbows are straight. Bending the elbows greatly lessens the intensity of these exercises and will greatly slow your progress. Almost straight is still bent, so be diligent and keep them straight.

One final general note on planches; hand positions on the planche series exercises is completely optional. Some prefer fingers forward, others to the side. Some swear by support on fingertips (my favorite) and others completely flat. Just experiment and find the grip that you prefer. If you find that a flat hand support on the floor is too uncomfortable for your wrists, these progressions can also be performed on a set of push-up bars.

Frog Stand
Begin this position by assuming a full squat and placing your hands on the ground directly in front of your feet. By directly, I mean right next to your toes. Arrange yourself so that your knees are resting against your bent elbows. Now gradually lean forward taking your weight both unto your hands and also unto your knees by leaning them on your elbows. Using your knees on your elbows will allow your legs to help your shoulders bear the load of your bodyweight. As you continue leaning forward you will eventually be able to remove your feet completely from the floor and hold yourself up with only your hands on the floor and your knees on your elbows for support.

Balance is also a key to this exercise. As you first begin to learn how to lean forward in this position, you will often probably overextend and fall forward. Don’t worry have fun with it and enjoy some new training. Some pillows placed in front of you will help to cushion any crash landings.

Notice that this is the only static position in our progressions with bent elbows. Continue holding sets of this position until you have reached your one minute total time.

Tuck Planche
The main difference between the frog stand and the tuck planche is that now your weight will be entirely supported on your arms only. Once again begin in a full squat and place your hands next to your toes. Now, as in the frog stand, lean forward taking all of your weight on your arms and shoulders alone. Do not use your knees on your elbows for assistance. Holding the knees tightly to the chest will make this exercise easier.

At first you may only be able to briefly raise off the ground. Do not worry. Keep adding small sets together to reach your goal of 60 seconds total. Simply continue working the position, striving to lift your hips to shoulder high. With consistent practice it is possible to increase your strength in static positions relatively quickly.

Advanced Tuck Planche
Once you feel comfortable with the tuck planche and are able to hold it for 60 seconds with correct hips and elbows, you can increase the difficulty of this exercise by progressing on to the Advanced Tuck Planche. The primary difference between the tuck and advanced tuck planche is the position of the back. Note that in the tuck planche the back is curved, while in the advanced tuck planche the back appears flat. While holding your hips shoulder high, try to extend your hips back behind you until your back is flat. This “flattening” will greatly increase the intensity of the tuck planche. In fact, I think you will be extremely surprised at how much harder such a small movement can make the tuck planche.

Continue working this position, until you are once again able to hold the static for 60 seconds correctly in a single set with your back completely straight (“flat”).

Straddle Planche
Once you have mastered the advanced tuck planche position you are ready to work on the straddle planche. Finally! After months of hard consistent work the end is now in sight. While learning this skill, it is also beneficial to practice the next progression (the tuck planche push-up) at the same time. One will build upon the other.

From the advanced tuck planche position, simply begin to extend your knees behind you from their position on your chest. Balance is critical here. As you extend your legs farther behind, you will also have to lean a little farther forward to compensate. The wider your legs are the easier the straddle planche will be (note: for those of you planning for the future, as you get stronger in the straddle planche you can increase the difficulty by bringing your legs closer together).

Make small adjustments from workout to workout trying to either increase the length of your static hold or the extention of your position. Do not try to increase both at the same workout. BE PREPARED – just a small movement will greatly lessen your leverage on this exercise and make the movement much harder.

This movement is so much more difficult, that it is not necessary to be able to hold it for 60 seconds before moving on. Once you can hold a straddle planche correctly for 10 seconds you will be able to move on. I know, I know . . . only 10 seconds! But trust me, it will feel like much longer while you are doing it.

Tuck Planche Pushups
By the time you begin working straddle planches, you will have achieved a reasonable amount of static strength and are ready to begin adding a dynamic movement to your static hold. The description of a tuck planche push-up is fairly straightforward; while in an advanced tuck planche position, simply attempt to perform a pushup. To receive the full benefit, be sure (or at least try!) to maintain the hips level with the shoulders during the descent and ascent of this movement. Don’t forget to fully straighten the elbows at the to of the movement. Reps and sets are completely up to you.

Straddle Planche Pushups
Once you have learned both the straddle planche and tuck planche push-ups, you are now strong enough to tackle straddle planche push-ups. You could consider the planche pushup a super bench press or a full body press. In addition to working the triceps, chest and front delts, you also have a full contraction of the lats, middle back and lower back as well as the traps. The triceps and the forearms are also working hard stabilizing the elbow joint. Core strength is extremely taxed as the upper and lower abs, obliques, serratus and hip flexors all struggle to maintain the stretched (body) position.

From the straddle planche, begin to lower yourself to the ground. Be careful to keep the hips level with the shoulders as you descend, as there is a tendency when first learning this skill to simply try to dip the shoulders forward. Pause just off the ground and extend back up to the straddle planche. Also be aware that as you rise from the bottom position, it will be quite a struggle to maintain your hips level with your shoulders.

Variations
At first you may only be able to lower but not lift out of this position. This is fine. Any of Pavel’s kettlebell variations for learning military presses will also work fine here. For example:
1) Lower slightly, hold for a few seconds and continue lowering and holding.
2) Try to lower as slowly as possible, taking 10, 20 or even 30 seconds to complete the descent.
3) Lower all the way, lift up slightly and lower again and repeat.

The Front Lever Progressions

As before, we will begin our training progression with various static positions and from there progress to the more difficult pulling movements. For the front lever series be sure to use a shoulder width overhand grip (fingers pointing away) as this will increase the amount of power you can exert during these exercises. Also, as with the planche series, it is very important to keep the elbows straight as bending the elbow will lesson the intensity and possible gains of these exercises.

Tuck Front Lever
Using any kind of comfortable support (chin-up bar, tree branch, rings etc.), hang using an overhand grip (i.e.. with fingers pointing away from you). Bring your knees to your chest and then strive to lift your hips in front of you while at the same time leaning back with your shoulders. At this time it is fine to allow your back to curve as you learn and build strength in the movement. Your goal is to eventually be able to pull your hips up to horizontal or level with your shoulders with an approximately 45 degree angle between the arms and torso. This is however, a very difficult position for beginners and you will probably need to build up to it gradually. At first, simply lift your hips as high as you can and begin timing your sets. As before, combine your sets until reaching a total time of 60 seconds. Upon reaching a 60-second hold in a single set, it is time to once again move on to the next progression.

Advanced Tuck Front Lever
Once the tuck front lever feels firmly in control, it is time to move on to the advanced tuck front lever. As with the advanced tuck planche, the main difference here is the “flat” back. This position will cause all of the muscle fibers in your back to fire as they struggle to handle the load of your bodyweight. The contraction will be intense. Your goal is to eventually be able to pull your hips up to horizontal or level with your shoulders with an approximately 45 degree angle between the arms and torso while maintaining your “flattened” back. To achieve this position, think of pulling your shoulders back away from your hands while at the same time pressing your hands down towards your hips. Be sure to remember to keep hips shoulder high and elbows tight and straight.

Continue combing sets to your usual 60 second total and striving for that 60 second single set static hold.

Straddle Front Lever
From the advanced tuck front lever position, begin to carefully and slowly extend your legs out from your chest. As with the planche, the wider your legs are spread, the easier the transition from the advanced tuck front lever to the straddle front lever will be. Strive to maintain your “flat” back position. If you are unable to do so, you are too far extended forward and need to pull your legs back a bit. Don’t forget to keep the shoulders pulling back and the hands pressing down.

While working on the straddle front lever, it is also fine to begin learning the tuck front lever pullup.

Tuck Front Lever Pullups
From the advanced tuck front lever you may now attempt to pull yourself up. Basically this is a horizontal pullup. It is incredibly difficult to hold the hip level with the shoulders during the pull. As you pull up, your hips will want to drop down and as you lower, your hips will want to stay elevated. These changes occur as your body struggles to find an easier way to complete the movement. Maintaining the horizontal position here is the key for exceptional back development.

Straddle Front Lever Pullups
Straddle front lever pull-ups are essentially a full body weight row and will make you incredibly sore from head to toe. Do not attempt this movement until you are proficient at both the straddle front lever and the tuck front lever pull-ups. Doing so anyway will not injure you, you simply will not be strong enough to complete the exercise correctly. This movement is an especially good overall conditioner for the back, as this one exercise alone will work the back completely from the traps to the lats to the mid back down to and including the lower back. Biceps, forearms and shoulders are obviously also heavily worked. Core strength is once again extremely taxed as the entire mid section struggles to maintain the stretched (body) position.

From the straddle front lever position, begin to pull your upper stomach to your hands. Be careful to keep the hips level with the shoulders as you rise, as it is very easy to simply let the hips and legs drag and turn this movement into a simple pull-up. Pause at the top and extend back down to the straddle front lever.

Variations
The possible variations are much the same as those for the straddle planche pushups, only adapted to pulling rather than pushing.

Well, there you have it. A simple and effective set of progressions for learning and benefiting from at least part of the training of Olympic Champions.

Remember:

Be patient.
Be consistent.
Avoid regular training to failure.
Give the mother nature time to work for you

Extreme strength, a great build, and a lot of fun -all done in minutes per day. What more could one ask for from a workout?

Christopher Sommer is a professional gymnastics instructor with over 25 years experience and has coached numerous State, Regional and National Champions. He is the Men’s Head Coach at The Desert Devil Gymnastics National Team Training Center in Mesa, Arizona and has the premiere men’s gymnastics program in the Southwestern United States. The preceding article was an excerpt from Coach Sommer’s upcoming book Building the Olympic Body. Coach Sommer is available for seminars, clinics and private gymnastics training and may be contacted at (480) 844-9600 (gym) or email at OlympicBodies@aol.com.

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Technorati Tags: body weight exercise, Fitness, gymnastics, Look Good Naked, strength

Is it possible to lose more fat by doing less exercise? It’s not only possible, it’s mandatory when it comes to looking good naked!

Welcome to hell, or as some call it tabata training. This is the king of energy systems training and more importantly for some, fat loss.

The tabata training protocol was created by Izumi Tabata, whom some who will learn to love and most will learn to hate, an exercise that combines high intensity work with very short rest periods.

The protocol involves 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, a total of 4 minutes of high intensity work, all which can be completed with an array of different exercises. Why is so method so effective for fat loss? Quite simple because it puts an extremely high demand on your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. This causes a massive post exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) which keeps you burning fat long after exercising.

Most people train specifically on an aerobic level, meaning all the work they are engaged in can be done with an adequate supply of oxygen. Picture the people on treadmills who have the ability read magazines due to their chosen exercise intensity. Now you do burn fat while exercising at this level, but ONLY while your exercising and very little, if any, after the fact. If your are trying to burn off excess fat this, in my opinion, is a complete waste of time and very ineffective however contradictory it may sound.

Now when you begin to intensify you workout, your body can no longer keep up with refueling your muscles with oxygen and your anaerobic systems must kick in. This is where you experience heavy panting and a lactate acid buildup (burning sensation). This is also when you begin to burn carbohydrates for energy, due to the nature of intensity, which ultimately creates the level of EPOC we want for maximum fat loss.

Why don’t you see more people doing tabata? While quite frankly, it sucks and it’s hard as hell. However, as I said in While You’re Still Fat, learning to embrace this type of pain and discomfort will have you looking your best in a very short amount of time. Remember the more intense the exercise, the faster results you will see. The tabata protocol is a perfect example of this

Here is a good demonstration I found with one of my favorite exercises using tabata: Thrusters

I personally shoot for the same repetitions in each interval. This may cause you to use lighter weight, but it will really smoke your anaerobic system resulting in a greater EPOC!

Also for those of you who dare to try this, here is an online timer that I often use and recommend.

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Technorati Tags: Burn Fat, Exercise, Fitness, Heath, Look Good Naked, Tabata, Weight Loss

Books

Nutrition:

In Defense of Food – This book really opened my eyes to the way manufactures process food in America and how most of it is not as nutritious as we may think.

The New Glucose Revolution – Excellent book about learning how certain foods control our blood sugar levels, which ultimately dictate our moods, energy levels and fat storage.

Gourmet Nutrition – For the cooking enthusiast. This book is responsible for starting my love for cooking. Recipes only include the healthiest food you can possibly eat.

Fitness:

Total Six Pack Abs – McManus is the man when it comes to building muscles and burning fat. This is worth every cent.

The Men’s Health Cover Model Workout – Owen MicKibbin is the king of cover models, being on the cover of Men’s Health more than anyone. This book is tailored more towards workouts rather than diet and nutrition

Diet:  If you must read a diet book these are the only two I ever recommend.

The Abs Diet

Mastering the Zone

Websites

www.t-nation.com – Tailored towards bodybuilding, this site has thousands of articles on looking your best. Everyone can benefit from the nutrition articles, bodybuilder or not.

www.crossfit.com – Excellent site for intense workout ideas. Not for the feint of heart.

www.gymjones.com – The man behind the training of 300. The schedule section has thousands of workouts that will put you in tears.

www.gymnasticbodies.com – Master of gymnastics training,  Coach Sommer’s site offers a workout of the day for the gymnast enthusiast. Check out the forum for progressions on array of different body weight exercise you can do just about anywhere.

www.rosstraining.com – An excellent conditioning website. Ross can show you how to turn your seemingly un-ordinary body into an extraordinary masterpiece.

Others

The Best Workouts

If you have any other resources you currently use please don’t be shy!

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Technorati Tags: Fitness, Health, Look Good Naked, Resources, Weight Loss