Tuesday, July 29, 2008

How to get rid of flabby arms without getting scammed!

If you want to avoid being scammed in your quest to get rid of your flabby arms, you need to do two things:

1) Stop reading fitness magazines
2) Don't buy supplements

As I touched on a couple posts ago, nearly all the major fitness magazines are owned by large companies that sell supplements, diet books, or exercise equipment.

Worse yet, the fitness models that appear in these magazines are nearly always sponsored by the same company.

I remember reading an article in a muscle magazine back in the day, and the newest champion professional bodybuilder had an interview in this issue with one of the editors.

In the interview, he attributed his recent success to a fantastic new fat loss supplement he had introduced to his nutrition program. He went on to talk-up this product for the remainder of the interview, then finished by recommending that any young guys looking to get into professional bodybuilding should seriously consider using the same supplement regime that he did - and then went ahead with outlining the laundry list of products he was using. Of course, they were all made by the same supplement company, and that supplement company just so happened to own the magazine that this article was printed in.

This type of thing is so commonplace, it's nearly impossible to pick a magazine off the shelf that doesn't use this shady form of self-endorsement. There are some publications that still offer useful information, but they are an exception rather than the rule.

Furthermore, the supplements that the magazines promote, rarely, if ever, work. 99.9% of the stuff on shelves out there doesn't do a damn thing, and it doesn't have to. As I have eluded to before, because it's classified as a 'supplement to a healthy nutrition plan' it doesn't have to do anything at all. Supplement companies can make all the outlandish claims they want and don't have to back any of it up because it's not classified as a drug that is used to diagnose or treat an illness.

So what do you do? Who do you trust?

First off, leave the supplements and magazines on the shelves. You'll get light years further by spending your hard earned money on real, wholesome and nutritious food, and a good personal trainer.

Second, keep reading this blog.

I have your best interest at heart, and I hate seeing people getting taken advantage of.

If something is crap, I'll be the first to tell you. And better yet, if I find something that I think is worth taking a look at, I'll let you know about that too.

And don't forget, your inquiries are what fuels the content of this blog. If you have questions or comments, I want to hear from you so I can post content relevant to you, my readers.

For that, you can reach me at info@gosleeveless.com

Helping you achieve sexy and toned arms
,

RD

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Rylan, does your fiance use this program?

I was working with a young bride-to-be the other day in her home gym. She has been part of my very exclusive "sexy bride" program where I take brides-to-be and put them through a total body makeover training program before their big day - to help them look and feel their best.

I put the emphasis on feel because I think this is the most important thing about what I do. I allow women to finally feel good about themselves - for some that means fitting into a couple sizes smaller, and for many more, it means simply being able to wear something sleeveless in confidence.

Anyway, with my own wedding less than a month away, my client was asking about whether my fiance was using the Go Sleeveless program to get ready for our big day.

And that's when I told her the shocking truth...

No...she doesn't use it at all.

But before you freak out and think that I am a scam and a fraud because my own wife-to-be doesn't use my own program, keep reading.

It's not because it doesn't work.

And it's not because she is 'too young' to have this problem (in fact many of my clients on the Go Sleeveless program are only in their early 20's).

And it's not because I give her a 'top secret' program that works even better.

The reason that she doesn't use the program is because she knew the secret to eliminating flabby arms way before I ever met her.

And what's that secret?

Well, no secret really, I've been talking about this all along.

And here it is...

She wasn't afraid to build muscle.

Very early in her life she instinctively knew that she should be strength training and building muscle - for a variety of health reasons, and to look great.

And this girl trains hard!

I've seen her lift weights heavier than some of my male clients.

Never once have I heard her mention the words "but I don't want to get big and bulky' come out of her mouth.

She is anything but bulky...

She is lean, toned, and gorgeous.

Because she isn't afraid to lift some serious weight.

And as a result, she has melted away her body fat and created sexy, lean, and toned muscle underneath.

Therefore, when I met her, she had already eliminated the chances of her having flabby arms because she worked hard at building muscle, boosting her metabolism, and staying lean for life.

But for those of you who haven't accomplished this yet, it's not about age, it's not about diet, and it's not about doing endless cardio.

It's about building muscle with the proper exercises and in the proper combinations, to torch your body fat and leave you with a lean and sexy body.

Your step-by-step manual to Eliminating Flabby Arms and discovering how to create a body that is lean for life can be found by clicking here.

Helping you achieve sexy and toned arms,

RD

Friday, July 25, 2008

OHH So close!


Sorry folks, nobody got both the answers I was looking for but here are a few of my favorite answers. Congrats to these ladies for paying attention and sending some really great replies - I really enjoyed reading your guesses!

She didn't realize that sometimes workouts can't happen, but no need to postpone working out for a month. Come on. Even when you miss your scheduled time, there is always time an hour later or what. - Katie

Her workout isn't tailored to her body. It is a standard workout and it might not be what her body needs. - Shanna

Today is the day to start - not tomorrow - tomorrow never comes - Action needs to be taken today for its the only day that counts! Then the results will come. Having a plan and alternate plans and working it, will get you to your goals. - Diane

...she didn't stay on her food plan and didn't remain consistent with her exercise or diet. - Barbara

she has an all or nothing mentality (and) she didn't plan ahead. - Jeanette

She doesn't plan her meals, or if she does, a change in plans (like having to pick up her son) sends her into a tizzy and she gets pizza for dinner. She doesn't have a "plan b" for workouts if her schedule changes. - Angela

she makes one little mistake, her attitude is that she has failed miserably and thus not only falls off the wagon, she rolls on off the trail, through the field and into the next territory - Stefanie


Lots of you got one part of it right, but nobody was able to get both answers.

There were lots of really great answers, and it seems that many of you have been listening to my advice.

So on to the answers...

The two big reason's Sally's plan failed:

Mistake #1: Sally didn’t plan

She left everything up to willpower and a hope that she would do the right thing at the right time. But when she was confronted with a sudden schedule change, or a momentary lapse in willpower, she threw in the towel for the time being and told herself she would start fresh some other time.

Lesson #1: Life WILL get in the way.

Most people plan their workout schedule around a ‘best case scenario’, but think back to how many weeks you’ve had in the recent future when everything went as you planned. Probably not one. You must, I repeat, you MUST have a plan, and a backup plan. If you can’t get your workout in after work, then maybe you get up early the following day and go for an extra jog. If you miss Monday’s workout, do it on Saturday, if you know you get busy in the afternoon, workout in the morning. Make it a priority, and have a PLAN.

And the big one that nobody got...

Mistake #2: Her workout plan was only good for 6 weeks.

Sally got a program that was supposed to be 6 weeks long, and she ended up dragging it out over three months. She then wondered why her results sucked when she actually did it properly.

Lesson #2: Change your program, and change it often.

I've preached this time and time again, but so many people underestimate the need to constantly adapt and change your program. Never use and re-use the same workout program. When you start a new program your body is learning everything from scratch – you recruit muscles in ways they haven’t been used before, and it’s a complete shock to your system. This shock is what causes your body to change by losing body fat and building muscle. But when you don’t follow through, you are missing out on a tremendous window of opportunity where your body could see dramatic changes. Worse yet, when you pick away at the same program by getting in a workout here or there, your body is still learning and adapting even if the results aren’t showing. So when you finally do get around to doing that workout program the way it was intended, your muscle memory is there and already knows what to do so the results are dismal.

I see this so very often with people who stop working out in the summer, then pick up their old workout routine in the fall. Even though it’s been quite some time since they did that workout, their results will never be close to what they could have been over the first 6 weeks they started that program.

If you’ve been using the same workout program for longer than 6 weeks, EVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN CONSISTENT…it’s time to change it.

And for bonus points...

Sally was using a program from a magazine.

I was really quite impressed with the number of people who mentioned this one to me. Good work!

How can a program really work for you if it was designed for everyone and their dog? It can't.

However, this isn't the REAL problem.

The real problem is that all of the major fitness magazines are OWNED BY BIG SUPPLEMENT COMPANIES!!! They just throw random workouts into their magazines, then promote their recommended diet that, of course, must have such-and-such supplement to see the best results.

I'll talk more about this in a later post, but for now, leave the fitness magazines on the shelf. If you want the real answers to your fitness questions...yours truly is only an email away.

Yours in health,

RD

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A Quiz For You...



Q: Rylan, what’s the biggest mistake you see people making with their fitness programs?


To answer this question, I’m going to present you with a scenario. There are TWO major things that Sally does wrong here. To test your knowledge of fitness, and to see how closely you’ve been following my instructions, send me an email me with your answer. The first person to email me with the correct answers for both of Sally’s mistakes will get a nice little prize!!

Here’s a prime example of a scenario I see waaay too often:

Sally picks up a fitness magazine that contains the latest workout routine that guarantees to give her a bikini body in 6 weeks. She’s going on holidays in less than two months, and she’s got about 10 pounds to lose so this gives her just enough time.

Sally starts her new program on Monday, and has a great week. She manages to fit in all her scheduled workouts and sticks a healthy diet plan, but then next week rolls around. She forgets to pack her gym shoes, misses her workout, and gets off to a bad start.

“Ah screw it” she thinks. “This week is too busy, since I already messed up this week, I’ll start fresh on Monday.”

Next week rolls around and she get four workouts in, but then Friday some people from the office want to go and grab a drink after work. She caves in - “I deserve a drink, I’ve worked hard all week” - so she skips her workout and has a couple drinks followed by a few wings and some garlic bread.

On Saturday she’s so disappointed with herself for ruining an almost perfect week of her new program, that she vows that she will be 100% next week.

Monday through Wednesday she does great and gets her workouts in and all is well. She then gets a call from her husband on Thursday afternoon that she needs to pick up little Timmy from soccer practice because he’s going to be stuck doing overtime tonight.

So Thursday’s workout is scrapped, and since everyone is so pressed for time, she picks up pizza for dinner because she’s too exhausted to cook.

Friday afternoon she’s still pretty tired, and just wants to go home at the end of the day, so Friday’s workout is a no-go as well.

On the weekend she comes to the realization that there’s no chance in hell she’s going to look good in a bikini before her holidays, so she gives up because it’s just not worth the stress and guilt of trying to workout and then not. So she decides when she comes back from her holidays, she’ll start the workout plan again, and this time she won’t have the stress of preparing for holidays so it will be much easier.

What then happens is Sally gets home from her holidays, and since it’s the third week of the month, puts the program off again until the beginning of the next month because she’s going to be really busy with catch up at work.

She finally gets around to doing the full program, and although she’s not 100%, she’s pretty close, but her results are dismal and she can’t understand why. She only lost a few pounds, and when she looks in the mirror she can’t see any difference in her body.

Why hasn’t Sally got the results she wanted? What two critical mistakes did she make that kept her from reaching her goal?

Send me your answers to info@gosleeveless.com and check back here in a couple days for the answer.

Helping you achieve toned and sexy arms,


RD

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Here I Am on Youtube

Hi everyone,

I thought I should introduce myself with a little video clip so you can put a face and voice to my name.

Please excuse the shaky video, I was shooting this from my MacBook and the screen tends to wobble a little bit.

You can check it out by searching for Exercises For Flabby Arms on YouTube or simply by cutting and pasting the link below in your browser address bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pxGsbl-y0U

Nice to meet you!

Helping you achieve toned and sexy arms,

RD

Monday, July 21, 2008

Supplements: Magic Bullet or Major Waste?

This morning I was making my way through my huge Monday monday morning stack of emails, sorting through questions from clients, and deleting the usual batch of viagra spam, and I came across a weekly flyer for an on-line supplements company that I've used in the past.

It reminded me of one of the most common questions I get asked...

What supplements do you recommend for the Go Sleeveless Program?

Well, that's kind of a loaded question, but let me tell you this...

When I was 16 and just starting to hit the gym and lift weights (and new absolutely NOTHING about anything) I used to walk by the supplements store in the mall in awe. This place was stacked full of 10 pound laundry tub sized buckets of protein and things with labels like "Obscenely Massive Hippopotamus Mass Gainer 8000" and "Ultra shredded lean cutz fat blaster XXL" (not real names of products - but not much of a stretch either).

I remember thinking to myself, "All I need is to save up a little money, get the biggest tub of that Rhino protein, and I'll be the biggest baddest dude in high school".

Man was I wrong.

Years later, and literally thousands of wasted dollars flushed down the drain I came to realize that 99.99% of the crap sold in these stores is just that...crap.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to getting in shape. If it were as simple as popping the right pill, or choking down the right powder two or ten times a day, then everyone would be in great shape.

The sad reality is, most of the stuff on the shelves of these places is absolutely worthless. Because supplements are sold as 'supplements to your healthy diet' they don't HAVE to do anything. They bypass the FDA regulations as they are not promoted as Food or Drug.

Have a look at the fine print on any supplement advertisement or bottle, and you'll find a little blurb about "These claims have not been evaluated by the FDA blah blah blah..."

And just because they don't work, doesn't mean they won't also HARM you. I can think of countless times over the course of my career when supplements have been pulled from the shelves because they were found to be harmful AFTER they had been in wide spread use for a lengthy period of time. Most recently it has been fat loss products containing the potentially deadly ephedrine, and steroid like prohormones such as Androstendione and the toxic Methyl 1-Testosterone.

The latter is actually a full blown steroid that was being sold in supplement stores! They got away with this simply because it was so new to the market that it hadn't been scrutinized by the FDA and classified as such yet. Of course once the government caught on it was pulled immediately, but not before thousand upon thousands of teenage kids had gotten their hands on this extremely harmful steroid and caused some potentially irreversible damage.

Proper nutrition, and exercise is the ONLY way to get the body you want, and no amount of supplementation will even make a dent in your progress until you have this down.

Once you have your diet dialed in to at least 90% clean and your exercise program has progressed well and you have been steady and unwavering for at least the past 6 months, then there are a few supplements that can be helpful to give you that little extra boost.

Until then, spend your money on home exercise equipment and healthy food - that will get you light years further then an overpriced jug of Mammoth 2500.

Yours in health,

RD

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Starvation doesn't work!

You CANNOT starve yourself, and ever hope to have a great, lean body, PERIOD.

It is simply impossible.

When you cut the amount of calories you eat, your metabolism (the rate at which your body burns fuel) slows to a crawl.

If you are able to sustain this starvation diet for an extended period of time, your body will start burning muscle tissue for fuel (not fat) because muscle uses up a lot of energy.

You will lose weight, but you will actually be getting FATTER proportionately because you won’t be losing any fat. And because you now have less muscle mass, your metabolism with drop even further.

And when the inevitable happens, and you slip up on your diet, or have a ‘cheat day’, your body is going to hold on to those extra calories and store everything as fat.

What essentially happens, is that your body is being starved, and so when it finally gets some calories, it thinks “we might not be getting any more of this for a while, so we’d better store it quick!" And you wind-up packing on extra fat tissue (even if you now weigh less).

Eventually you give up on the diet completely (because deprivation diets are always impossible to maintain), and go pack to your normal eating habits - except now your body is set to ‘storage mode’ and everything you lost comes right back - except this time its all fat, and not the precious muscle you lost.

And the cycle continues.

You diet – you lose muscle, you lower your metabolism

You slip up on the diet – you gain fat, and you gain it easier because your metabolism sucks.

After every diet, you’ve lost some muscle, and gained more fat so you end up getting fatter, and fatter, and fatter.

Deprivation does not work.

Strength train to build muscle and boost your metabolism. Get cardiovascular exercise to help burn off even more calories. Eat sensibly, and get enough calories of the RIGHT foods.

It’s a simple as that.

Helping you Go Sleeveless in confidence,

RD