A Day Without Food May Help Maintain a Heart Without Disease

A Day Without Food May Help Maintain a Heart Without Disease

How to Lose 13 Pounds of Fat and Gain 13 Pounds of Muscle in Eight Weeks, Part 3

Monday Weeks 7 & 8: Upper Body

A) Bench Press - 1 x AMRAP

Week Seven: 280 x 7

Week Eight: 300 x 5

B) Barbell Push Press - 8 x 1, 1 min RI

C) Hammer Strength Pull-down - 3 x AMRAP, 30 sec RI

D) Bench Press - 5 x 10, 1 min RI

Week Seven: 185 x 10 x 5

Week Eight: 205 x 10 x 4, 205 x 5

Wednesday Weeks 7 & 8: Lower Body

A) Squat - 1 x AMRAP

Week Seven: 320 x 14

Week Eight: 360 x 11

B1) Leg Curl - 5 x 8, 30 sec RI

B2) Prowler - 5 x 10 yards, 30 sec RI

Week Seven: 535

Week Eight: 575

C) Squat - 5 x 10, 1 min RI

Week Seven: 225 x 10 x 5

Week Eight: 245 x 10 x 5

Saturday, Weeks 7 & 8: Speed and Agility Training

Dynamic warm-up followed by 4-6 10 yard sprints and 2-4 40 yard sprints

How to Lose 13 Pounds of Fat and Gain 13 Pounds of Muscle in Eight Weeks, Part 2

Monday, Weeks 4-6: Upper Body Speed Strength

A) Paused Bench Press - 10 x 1, 1 min RI

Week Four: 275

Week Five: 285

Week Six: 295

B) Pendlay Row - 5 x 5, 1 min RI

Week Four: 225

Week Five: 245

Week Six: 265

C1) DB Front Raise - 3 x 15, 0 sec RI

C2) DB Lateral Raise - 3 x 15, 0 sec RI

C3) DB Muscle Snatch - 3 x 15, 2 min RI

D) DB Bench Press - 1 x AMRAP

Week Four: 70 x 30

Week Five: 80 x 26

Week Six: 100 x 14

Tuesday Weeks 4-6: Lower Body Limit Strength

A) Trap Bar Deadlift - Work up to a max set of 5, 3, or 1, 3-5 min RI

Week One: 330 x 5

Week Two: 390 x 3

Week Three: 435 x 1

B1) Walking Lunge - 4 x 12 steps each leg, o sec RI

B2) Hamstring Leans - 4 x 3-5 with 10 sec eccentrics, 0 sec RI

B3) Negative Accentuated Leg Raises - 4 x 3-5 with 20 second eccentrics, 3 min RI

C) Prowler - 10 x 20 yards, 1 min RI

Thursday Weeks 4-6: Upper Body Limit Strength

A) Bench Press - Work up to a max set of 5, 3, or 1, 3-5 min RI

Week Four: 275 x 5

Week Five: 295 x 3

Week Six: 345 x 1

B) Chest Supported Row - 6 x 6, 1 min RI

C1) Parallel Grip Pull-down - 4 x 12, 0 sec RI

C2) E-Z Bar Nosebreaker - 4 x 12, 0 sec RI

C3) Hammer Curls - 4 x 12, 3 min RI

Friday Weeks 4-6: Strongman Conditioning

A1) Keg Loads into the bed of a pick-up truck - 8 x 3-5, 0 sec RI

A2) 20 Yard Sprint - 8 x 1, rest as long as it takes to walk back to the starting line

B1) Heavy Tire Flips - 5 x 5 flips. 0 sec RI

B2) Farmer's Walk - 5 x 100 yards, 0 sec RI

B3) Light Tire Flip - 5 x 15, 3 min RI

Sunday, Weeks 4-6: Speed and Agility Training

Dynamic warm-up followed by 10's, pro agility drill, and three cone drill practice

How to gain 13 pounds of muscle and lose 13 pounds of fat in eight weeks

Dillon, a 22 year old Division 2 college football player, has gained 13 pounds of muscle and lose 13 pounds of fat in just 8 weeks. During that time, his strength improved drastically also. For example, on our testing day Dillon was able to bench press 300 pounds for one rep and 225 pounds for 11 reps. Eight weeks later he did 300 for five reps and 225 for 21!

During the eight weeks, he followed a basic version of my "Insulin Control Diet" and supplemented with fish oil and whey protein. Here is the first phase of the workout plan I implemented with Dillon:

Monday, Weeks 1-3: Upper Body Speed Strength

A) Paused Bench Press with Chains - 8 x 3 (8 sets of 3) with 45 second rest interval (RI)

Week 1: 185 + 120 in chains

Week 2: 205 + 120 in chains

Week 3: 225 + 120 in chains

B1) DB Push Press - 5 x AMRAP in 10 seconds, 10 sec RI

B2) Speed Row (DB Row with maximum "body english") - 5 x 30, 1 minute RI

C) DB Muscle Snatch (a dynamic external rotation) - 4 x 15, 45 second RI

D) Bench Press Chain Drop Set - 1 x 5-5-5-5-5-5 (5 reps each with 5 chains, 4 chains, 3 chains, 2 chains, 1 chain, and no chains)

Tuesday, Weeks 1-3: Lower Body Speed Strength

A) Box Squat with Chains - 8 x 3, 45 sec. RI

Week One: 185 + 200 in chains

Week Two: 205 + 200 in chains

Week Three: 225 + 200 in chains

B1) Bulgarian Split Squat - 4 x 8 each leg, 10 sec RI

B2) Hamstring Lean - 4 x 3-5 10 second eccentrics, 10 sec RI

B3) Sprinter Sit-up - 4 x 20-30, 3 min RI

C) Metabolic Rhythm Squats - 2 x 50, 2 minute RI

Week One: 225

Week Two: 275

Week Three: 315

Thursday, Weeks 1-3: Upper Body Limit Strength

A) Incline Log Press from Pins - work up to a 5 rep max(RM) week 1, a 3 RM week 2, and a 1 RM week 3, 5 minute RI

Week One: 230 x 5

Week Two: 255 x 3

Week Three: 280 x 1

B1) Wide Pronated Pull-downs - 4 x 10, 0 second RI

B2) Medium Pronated Pull-downs - 4 x 10, 0 second RI

B3) Close, Supinated Pull-downs - 4 x AMRAP, 3 minute RI

C1) One and a Quarter DB Overhead Press - 3 x 8, 0 second RI

C2) Arnold Press - 3 x 8, 0 second RI

C3) DB Overhead Press - 3 x AMRAP, 3 min RI

D) Rolling Triceps Extensions - 8 x 8, 1 min RI

Friday, Weeks 1-3: Strongman Conditioning

A) Tire Flips - As many flips as possible in 15 minutes

B) Log Complex I - 5 x 5, 1 minute RI

C) Prowler Push - 1 x 60 yards, 1 x 40 yards, 1 x 20 yards, 1 x 60 yards, 1 minute RI

Sunday, Weeks 1-3: Speed Work

Various mobility, agility, and speed drills. Sample workout video here:

The "You're crazy if you think I'm not eating bread" Weight Loss Plan

A typical reaction to my diet plan goes something like this:

"So I can't eat any bread?"

"No."

"How about pasta?"

"No."

"OK but cereal in the morning is OK right?"

"No."

"Not even oatmeal? Oatmeal is healthy."

"No."

This is followed by an awkward silence. I can almost hear their brain saying "This guy is crazy I can't possibly do that! What the heck does he expect me to eat?"

And I can relate. Cutting all the grains out of your diet is a daunting task. It can be a very hard change to make overnight.

If my last blog caught your attention but you just can't fathom the thought of cutting all the bread, cereal, pasta, oats, etc. out of your diet, don't!

Even cutting your processed carb consumption in half can have a tremendous positive effect on your health and body weight.

Here is a testimonial from one client who has been following the "stage one" version of my insulin control diet plan for two weeks:

"Just read your latest blog post and wanted to share my results. For the last two weeks, I have been eating a low carb dinner, keeping the carbohydrates to about 20 grams at that meal, mostly from vegetables. At breakfast I eat zero carbs, eggs with cheese and/or meat and some coffee with cream. All my snacks are low carbohydrate, cheese sticks, celery with cream cheese or peanut butter, or maybe a serving or two of nuts. At lunch I eat whatever I want. I don't count carbohydrates or calories at that meal. I think I'm averaging almost 3000 calories a day but have still lost eight pounds in the last two weeks and have more energy than ever! Thanks for your help." - Beverly C, 43 year old stay at home mom

Here is the plan:

Breakfast:

Option A

If you are not usually hungry in the morning or regularly skip breakfast anyway, don't eat! When you are trying to lose weight, it is NEVER a good idea to eat when you're not hungry. I know this goes against what nearly every "expert" says, but there are many studies showing that when people eat a big meal in the morning they tend to eat more all day long. So if you don't like to eat breakfast anyway skip it and please don't feel guilty.

If you choose this option I do recommend you melt two or three tablespoons of coconut oil into a half cup of warm water and drink that upon rising. The medium chain triglycerides in the oil will boost your metabolism and provide a quick energy source that cannot be stored as body fat.

Option B

If you are hungry in the morning you will need to forget about nearly every typical breakfast food. Instead choose from eggs, meat, natural cheese, olives, avocados, and nuts. Keep the carbohydrates under ten grams. Zero is even better. A typical breakfast should look like this:

Three egg omelette cooked in butter or coconut oil with 1 ounce of feta cheese and a tablespoon of sliced olives

Four ounce beef patty topped with a fried egg and one ounce of cheddar cheese

Three hard boiled eggs and an ounce of almonds

Have a half tablespoon of fish oil and a tablespoon of coconut oil before eating. Try this for one week and your energy levels will skyrocket and your hunger the rest of the day will be greatly reduced.

For the remainder of the day, strive to eat half of the bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc. that you normally would eat. If you usually get a 12 inch sub for lunch order a 6 inch with double meat. Take off half the bun if you order a cheeseburger. Don't finish the fries or chips that come with it. You get the idea.

Take another half tablespoon of fish oil and tablespoon of coconut oil before dinner. If you snack throughout the day, try to choose lower carbohydrate options.

Even with these changes, I expect two to four pounds of weight loss per week! It will slow over time, and you will need to move to more strict variations of the insulin control diet. But it is a great place to start if you need to lose weight.