Image by Erik Charlton The Core Principles that make up the Shah Training methodology include the 80/20 principle, Parkinson’s Law, Mental Strength, Practice, and Recovery.

80/20 Principle – states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. In fitness terms, this means that 20% of the exercises you perform and methods you employ are giving you 80% of the results. Your job is to find that 20%.

Parkinson’s Law – states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” In fitness terms, if you allot 2 hours for a workout, your workout will last two hours, but it may not be as effective or efficient as a workout lasting just 20 minutes. To cut the “fat” so to speak, attempt to steadily decrease the length of a workout.

Mental Strength - is the degree to which your mind can sustain internal and external stress. In fitness terms, this means pushing yourself to the maximum. The only way you can do this is by performing workouts that are seemingly impossible, but not so impossible that they put you at risk for injury. Constantly challenge yourself.

Practice – a method of learning by repetition. Practice is consistency and passion to achieve a desired objective.

Recovery – to regain ones fitness level after a workout, or during a workout. It is vital to nourish the body with proper nutrition so that it’s performance may consistently improve. Recovery abilities during a particular workout are just as important as between workout recovery.

Hey guys, I will be suspending the Fat Loss is a Battle series for a few weeks. The reason is that there are things I must write about before I restart the series again. Thank you for your understanding.

Click here to Learn how to Train at a High Intensity Level in the Comfort of your Own Home

The following is guest post from Josh Levine of FortisMag. Traditionally we think that in order to increase aerobic capacity (the ability to take in oxygen and use it efficiently) that we need to run, bike, or swim at long distances at a moderate intensity. We also tend to think that in order to increase anaerobic capacity (the ability to work without oxygen) we need to sprint or do short highly intense workouts. While that traditional view is not wrong, it is becoming more and more outdated. The problem with the traditional view is that an athlete is only able to work on aerobic or anaerobic at one time.

So, what’s the solution?

High intensity work with short rest intervals between work sets:

• By doing this the athlete trains the body to work without oxygen during the high intensity work period and then subsequently trains the body to take in oxygen and use it efficiently during the short rest intervals.

Below are some sample sprint workouts with rest times that you may want to try.
Short Sprint Workout Program Day 1
60meters 4reps 45sec rest
40meters 6reps 30sec rest
20meteres 10reps 20sec rest

Short Sprint Workout Program Day 2
80meters 4reps 45sec rest
60meters 6reps 40sec rest
40meters 8reps 30sec rest
20meters 10reps 30sec rest

Short Sprint Workout Program Day 3
80meters 4reps 40sec rest
60meters 6reps 35sec rest
40meters 8reps 30sec rest
20meters 10reps 25sec rest

You can modify this program to suite your needs. Simply decrease rest or increase the length of the sprint to make the program harder.

Make sure that you stretch out very well before doing these workouts. Also, you should do light sprints before doing this workout. Ideally, you should do a few light sprint workouts a few days before you start this program.

For more high intensity workouts, check out the Gladiator Body Workout:

Gladiator Body Workout

• Gladiator Body Workout is an Athletic Fitness system which combines Dumbbell and Bodyweight exercises along with interval training to help you Drop Fat, Build Lean Muscle Mass, Get Stronger, and Improve Athletic Performance.
• If you purchase the Combo Pack, you can also get two other eBooks which Author Coach Eddie Lomax sells separately: “Ultimate Gymless Workout” and “Extreme Dumbbell Fitness.” When you include all the workouts in all three systems, you’ll get literally months worth of fitness programming.
• The Basic version sells for just $27. Each separate eBook in the Combo Pack sell for $27 but coach is giving them to you for just $49.00.

Click here for more information.

Train Hard. Eat Well. Live.
Fortismag.com

Earlier today we talked about four facts, or lessons, that we can learn from Dom’s training. Well, what exactly is Dom’s training?Dom’s training is actually very simple, and reminds of a post I wrote about fat loss: “Three Simple Principles for Easy Fat Loss.”

Principle One: Strength Train

Dominic’s strength training routine changes from week to week. He follows a simple split routine consisting of Chest, Legs, and Back. He’s actually lightened up on the leg workouts, but still trains chest and back heavy. Notice he doesn’t really do much direct arm work. Dom gets most of his arm work from chest and back. And if you ask me, he has a pretty impressive set of arms. Dom doesn’t exactly want to be some freaky bodybuilder here.

Principle Two: Metabolic Conditioning

All of Dom’s workouts are full body circuits designed to push his body to the max. But honestly, we do not use light weights. This isn’t some sort of 15lb dumbbell jazzercise workout. This is hardcore work designed to help you get stronger, faster, and leaner. We use movements that work multiple muscle groups at once, such as the Kettlebell Swing and Hindu Pushup, and combine them with cardiovascular activities such as Sprinting or Jump roping to develop intense, creative circuit workouts.

Principle Three: Eat More

Dom’s eating has improved dramatically over the past few months. His caloric needs are extremely high and all he needs to do to continue losing fat is to eat enough to recover, but not enough to put on weight.

The Decision to Train more Clients

I’m very proud of what Dom has been able to do in these few short months. One of the most important things I can ask for in a client is respect. When I first decided to train people, I had a whole bunch of people come to train with me for free. But no one came back, and I felt like I had wasted my time. Just before I made the decision to quite trying to train people, Dom was on my doorstep ready to workout. At first, he was just a training partner, but as time went on, we developed a strong trainer-client relationship. He respected what I had to offer, and took my advice for facts. We can all see the results he’s achieved.

I have two guys that train with me right now. Training both of them has made me realize how immature I was when I first decided to become a trainer. I’m a new person now, with greater knowledge, better workouts, and improved body composition. I’m now ready to take on the world of fat loss, one client at a time.

Stay tuned for more info.

Yesterday, I ran a short interview with my good friend and client, Dom K. Re-reading the interview made me realize four strong facts about fitness that he expressed through the short interview:

1) You can put on muscle and lose fat at the same time, it just takes longer.

Dom stated that he was 170 lbs when he first started, and he’s still a 170 pounds. However, his arms, legs and chest are much leaner. He’s also starting to see some signs of a six pack, whereas before, you could see that this guy was on a “bulking” phase. Everyone around him’s telling him he looks a lot “smaller.” Smaller while maintaining the same weight only means one thing: he’s put on muscle, while losing fat.

2) You can’t do everything in one day.

When Dom started out, he was hitting the gym 3 days a week, training with me 5 days a week, and playing basketball 5 days a week. I suddenly saw a decline in his performance in my workouts and he constantly complained of feeling tired. I knew he’d been over training. I told him he had two choices: eat more, or cut down on training. He decided to cut back on basketball at first. But when school started for him, he dropped our sessions to two days a week. Since then, his performance has gone up.

Image by phoneyman
3) Train fast and explosive for a higher vertical jump.

When I asked Dom what results he’s seen in basketball game, he said “I don’t know how, but I can jump higher.” Our training involves a lot of explosive moves such as the kettlebell swing, a variety of cleans, and sprinting. We also train as fast as humanely possible as we’re constantly pushing ourselves against the clock. This style of training is what helps with your explosive power.

4) It takes time, consistency, and proper form.

Dom said that he’d wasted three years before he got it right. I gave him his first gym workout a little more than a year ago and I trained him for a few days with a free one week pass to LA Fitness. In that time I basically taught him the big lifts he wasn’t doing: push press, deadlift, power clean, and bent over row. He has been following my advice ever since and the amount of time he spends on bicep curls has dramatically decreased. Everything takes time and consistency, but only if you’re doing things the right way.

Dominic has been training with me for quite some time now. I decided to do a brief interview with him over AIM. Take a look at how how he feels about my training methods and how they’ve helped him with his goals:

So, Dom how long have you been training with me?

Five months I think?

Really? Has it really been that long?

Think so. Or maybe four months.

Ok, what are your goals, and do you think that my methods have helped you achieve them?

My goals are to loose all the fat while maintaining the muscle I have now, and then building more muscle later for a lean look. Shah Training has helped me in a way of approaching workout and and reaching my goals in a new way with whole body workouts in a short period of time. It’s more cardio for me since I do heavy lifting in the gym. Even though I’m still the same weight 170. I see a lot more definition in my arms, legs, chest, and am finally seeing some signs of a six pack.

So you’re saying Shah Training has helped you maintain, or possibly even helped you build new muscle mass, while dropping fat? Do you feel sometimes that the workouts interfere with your regular gym workouts?

Yes the workouts sometimes do interfere with my gym workouts thats why I work with you during the weekends when I’m off from the gym.

I know you play basketball a lot, and hold a brown belt in Karate. From an athletic standpoint, have you seen any specific benefits, say, in your basketball game?

I don’t know how, but I can jump higher.

Last question, if you were to recommend this program to someone, what kind of person would you recommend it to?

To people like me, who are not beginners to working out, but suffered enough to see the answer NOW!

What do you mean?

I’ve been working out for like 4 years and 3 of the 4 years was a waste, only when I started working out with you did I realize how to properly build muscle and loose fat with proper form, consistency, and time.

So do you think a complete beginner would benefit with workout out with me?

Actually I do. He won’t have to waste three years without getting any results.

There you have it. A true testimonial from someone who’s been training with me for the past few months.

Shah Training is looking for some contributors. If you have a website, or if you are just a fitness professional, shoot us an email at shah@shahtraining.com. Include a brief description of who you are and your fitness background, and one sample article which will be your first article.

Why post on Shah Training?

There are numerous reasons for you to post on Shah Training. Some of these include:

• Promote your own Blog, Website, or Business
• Get your name out there
• Network with other professionals and enthusiasts in your area of fitness.

What should I write about?

Fitness is a very broad topic and so you can pretty much write about anything that you wish. However, Shah Training specializes in the following topics:

• Calisthenics training
• Home training
• Kettlebell training
• Exercises using one dumbbell
• Exercising with time constraints
• Weight loss without cardio
• Practical nutrition ideas
• Vegetarian nutrition
• Training for combat sports

How can I promote my own blog?

This information will be given to you via email if you show serious interest in providing good and consistent content.

If you are interested in writing for Shah Training, simply send an email to shah@shahtraining.com!

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of losing fat without cardio. When I lost the first 15lbs of fat last summer, I lost half of it with steady state cardio, and the second half with short, intense workouts. So, in actuality both methods work exactly the same. Here are the pros and cons of both methods: Read more.