“But I don’t have Time to Exericise!” – Image by higekuma

The single biggest excuse people state for not exercising is a lack of time. This is due to the belief that you must train for 90 minutes a day at an expensive gym, or purchase some expensive equipment or a set of DVD’s in order to get into great shape. That’s not true.

How to Get Exercise Done Faster

The key to getting exercise done quickly is to improve your workout density. The concept of density training is very simple: perform more work in a given time frame, or perform a given amount of work faster than you’ve done it before. Of course the “work” we’re talking about here is exercise.

The Benefits

The greatest benefit of density training is that you are able to complete your workout in a shorter period of time. This is extremely helpful for busy professionals who have no more than an hour per week to train.

Another advantage of density training is that it allows you to lose fat and build muscle with relatively light to moderate weights. The point is to condense more work within a given period of time, thus increasing the intensity and overload without having to increase the weight.

Image by alizinha/CrossfitNYC
For example, say that you squat 200lbs for 10 reps, resting 2 minutes per set. Drop the rest period down to 90 seconds and perform the workout. The weight will feel harder because your body is more fatigued. Your body really doesn’t know how much weight it’s lifting. Your body only knows that there’s something there that it can’t lift because it’s tired, and the only way for it move that object is to get bigger and stronger.

The Program

Two methods of improving your density are supersets and trisets. Supersets are simply two exercises performed back to back without rest. They have also been called couplets and compound sets. Trisets are three exercises performed back to back without rest, and are also known as triplets.

So lets put this theory into practice. Suppose you had one hour to exercise in the entire week. Lets split that one hour per week into four sessions per week. This means that each session can not last more than 15 minutes. Here is a training program using supersets and trisets:

Monday/Thursday:

Perform as Superset:
Hindu Pushups 3×10
Bodyweight Squats 3×20

Perform as Triset:
Kettlebell Swings 2×10
Kettlebell Front Squat 2×10
Push Press 2×10


Tuesday/Friday:

Perform as Superset:
Burpees 3×10
Pullups 3×5

Perform as Triset:
Kettlebell Push Press 2×10
Kettlebell Windmill 2×10
Sumo Deadlift High Pull 2×10

For some more great high intensity workouts and techniques, check out the following programs:

• Gladiator Body Workout (Combination Bodyweight and Dumbbell Program)
• Workout Without Weights (Bodyweight-Only Manual featuring Unique Intensity Techniques)

Well, obvious, isn’t it?

I’ve written a lot of article about my training philosophy and why exactly I am not a bodybuilder.

I’m not these guys! (No Offense) – Image by daioni1976 But I think more clarification is in order. Because I really do not like being called a bodybuilder. Hence, I will be starting a sort of min-series which seeks to pinpoint exactly what this website is all about, and what my philosophy is based upon. I will call it “Shah Training is Not Bodybuilding.”However, I have written about this topic before. So, to get started, I want to point you guys to a few article. I suggest you read them in the order listed.

• What Are the Core Principles Shah Training is Based on?
• How to Choose the Best Exercise For Your Goals
• A Simple Primer on the Shah Training Methodology
• What’s Wrong with the Shah Training Philosophy?

Please post your questions to comments, and I will respond as this series takes off.

Cover image by Malament

A while back I started a series known as “Fat Loss is a Battle.” I started FLB without much of an explanation, and I temporarily suspended FLB without much of an explanation. So, let me explain:

Image by Nicole Hamm

I wanted FLB workouts to be starting points of progression. For example, FLB 3 listed 15 levels of progression one can perform, with three main levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The goal was to show people how to scale workouts to either make them easier or difficult.

I want to start the FLB workouts right where I left off. But, before I start the program again, here is what I want you to do with them:

1. Choose a workout and a level, and attempt it. Write down your time and post it underneath the actual post. You can use any substitutions you wish, as I realize that not everyone trains with kettlebells.
2. Stick to that workout, perhaps performing it once per week, until you are able to get up to the next level. For example, if you started off at beginner level 1, then you’re goal is to get up to beginner level 5. If you started off at intermediate level 3, then you’re goal would be to get up to advanced level 3.
3. I am hoping I can attract more participants and we can get a whole bunch of people with varying fitness levels competing with each other over the web.

Stay tuned for FLB 4!

Cover image by Suka74

We’ve been brainwashed to believe we need expensive gym memberships or fancy equipment to improve our health and physique. Nine months ago, I launched my site ShahTraining.com to debunk this myth. I’m going to take everything that I’ve been talking about in the past few months and let it all loose right here. In this post, you’ll learn how to lose fat without needing to go to a gym. Read more.

The following is Guest Post by Ali from The Office Diet.

I run two blogs, aimed at very different audiences – one is for office workers, the other for students. At first glance, the “busyness” problems faced by each group might seem very different:
• Office workers typically have an 8am – 4pm or 9am – 5pm workday
• Students consider 8am classes to be inhumanly early
• Office workers’ weekdays follow pretty much the same pattern day after day
• Students have flexible, variable and sometimes unpredictable schedules
• Office workers don’t tend to do anything “job related” at the weekend
• Students often work on essays and assignments over the weekend…

…and so on!

But when thinking about making time for fitness, both groups can benefit from surprisingly similar advice. And exercise doesn’t have to take up hours of time (in fact, you’ll probably get better results if it doesn’t.) Here are four habits that can help busy office workers, busy students, and anyone else who has ever said “I’m too busy to stay fit.”

Integrate exercise into your day

Instead of seeing exercise as something which has to take up a huge chunk of your non-existent spare time, look for ways to tweak your daily routine so that exercise fits in naturally. My favourite method is to have an active commute; instead of driving to work or college, walk or cycle. If the distance makes that impractical, can you walk at least part of the journey?

Image by Amsterdamize

Another great way to fit in exercise without it taking up time is to walk or cycle to the store when you’re going grocery shopping. Carrying all the bags home will help boost your fitness too. Plus, if you haven’t got the car, you’ll be less tempted to buy things you don’t need – like those family-sized packs of chocolate cookies.

Get away from your desk and computer

Students and office workers typically spend a lot of time hunched over a keyboard and desk. This is bad for your body and can lead to serious back problems, or RSI. Although students tend to feel invulnerable because they’re young and usually not prone to aches and twinges, student study facilities can be particularly poor for comfort – offices at least have good quality chairs with proper back support.

As well as being bad for your body, spending hours at a desk is bad for your mind. If you find yourself unable to concentrate on studying or work, it’s probably because you’ve not taken a break in a while. Make a point of getting up every hour to stretch your legs and give your eyes a break from your screen or book. And take a proper lunch break to go for a walk or jog, or even to fit in a quick gym session (students can often get great deals on gym membership).

A great way to take a break from studying.

Avoid vending machines and greasy canteen food

Two features common to both college buildings and offices are vending machines and canteens. Both are best avoided. Vending machines are not only pricey compared to grocery stores, they typically only sell high-fat, high-sugar and high-salt products. Chocolate bars, bags of crisps and sugary drinks are common. If you find yourself scoffing a mars bar or two from the vending machine every day, try leaving all your cash at home.

Canteens can be highly variable, and some do serve healthier ranges like wholegrain sandwiches, low-fat entrees and salad bar options. The danger is that the plates of greasy fries and the slabs of oily pizza will prove more tempting (until you eat them, that is, at which point you realise they’re disgusting). Take your own sandwiches to work or college: you’ll save a lot of money, you’ll know exactly what you’re eating, and it’ll probably be better-quality food.

Stay active at the weekends

The final danger for college students and office workers comes once the week is over. Saturdays and Sundays may involve some study if you’re in college, but you’re unlikely to have classes. This can mean barely leaving your dorm room all weekend – hardly conductive to staying fit. Office workers, tired out from a long week, may feel that the last thing they want to do is to hit the gym on a Saturday.

Rather than forcing yourself to do exercise that feels like a chore, try planning something that’s both active and social. If you’re a student, you might want to arrange a Frisbee game or boating trip with friends; office workers could take their partner and kids to the park to play ball or fly kites. Weekend social events can easily end up revolving around too much food and alcohol, and introducing an active element is a great way to minimise the possibilities for over-indulgence.

Image by brophy_prep

Like it or not, we’re all busy people. Some of us make time for exercise, and some of us don’t. These two quotes have stuck in my mind, and I think they’re a good reminder for anyone who’s ever said “I can’t find time to exercise.”

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”
- Edward Stanley

You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.
- Charles Buxton

About the author:

Ali blogs about “healthy living for busy people” at www.theofficediet.com and “getting the most out of your time at uni” at the newly-launched www.alphastudent.com. She lost 50lbs during her late teens and college years, stayed fit during two years in an office job, and is now keeping fit and healthy as a grad student and freelancer.

Cover image by Mobile Fitness Software

Image by rondavis The Push-up is where it all begins. However, many beginners do not have the basic strength to start a push-up program. Here is a video to help:

I have put together a short progressive routine to help you develop the required strength to perform your first full push-up.

Week One:

Wall Push-ups 3×10
Plank Hold on Forearms 2×10 seconds

Week Two:

Wall Push-ups 3×15
Plank Hold on Forearms 2×20 seconds

Week Three:

Wall Push-ups 1×15
Chair Pushups “Top” Position 3×10
Wall Push-ups 3×15
Plank Hold on Forearms 2×30 seconds

Week Four:

Wall Push-ups 2×15
Chair Pushups “Top” Position 3×15
Wall Push-ups 3×20
Plank Hold on Hands 2×10 seconds

Week Five:

Wall Push-ups 2×20
Chair Pushups “Bottom” Position 3×10
Chair Pushups “Top” Position 3×15
Plank Hold on Hands 2×20 seconds

Week Six:

Wall Push-ups 2×20
Chair Pushups “Bottom” Position 3×15
Chair Pushups “Top” Position 3×20
Plank Hold on Hands 2×30 seconds

Take three days rest, and attempt your pushup again.

Cover art by Clayton Miller

Image by Steve Collins Photography Strength is the backbone of every art. Whether you want to lose fat, build muscle, improve your health, or become a superior athlete, strength is where it all starts. I have created a 12-week program to help you improve your strength levels. This workout is for advanced trainees only and should only be performed by athletes who have been training for at least 2 years.

The program is quite basic actually.It resembles many of the great programs out there today such as Bill Starr’s 5X5, Stronglifts 5X5, and Starting Strength. What makes it unique, in my opinion, is really in the progression. I believe that you can not add weight indefinitely, or increase volume indefinitely, or use straight sets indefinitely, or use the same rest between sets indefinitely.

You will be asked to attempt to increase the weight each time, but we’re going to push things along by steadily increase the number of sets performed, decreasing the number of reps performed, decreasing your rest periods, and decreasing the number of exercises performed.

Lets start off with the basic template:

Workout A:

• Front Squat
• Push Press
• Bent-Over Row

Workout B:

• Overhead Squat
• Deadlift
• Power Clean

Week One

Sets: 5
Reps: 5
Rest: 60 seconds

Week Two

Sets: 5
Reps: 5
Rest: 60 seconds

Week Three

Sets: 6
Reps: 5
Rest: 60 seconds

Week Four

Sets: 6
Reps: 4
Rest: 60 Seconds

As you can see, the main difference here is the 60 second rest. I like to move fast and intense. For an advance trainee, breaking through a strength plateau means trying something new, and I guarantee that the one thing strength athletes are afraid to try is reducing their rest between sets. Yes, it’ll kill you if you’ve been resting 3 minutes after each set.

Lets just assume that you can Push Press 200 lbs, for 5 sets of 5 reps with 3 minutes rest between each set. And lets say after the first set, you’re trying 200lbs again after 60 seconds. There is a big chance that you won’t make it. But lets say you scale down the weight to 170 and and work your way up to 200 lbs, 5×5, 60 seconds rest. Can you image how much more you’ll be able to lift when you go back to a 3 minute rest period?

Image by Si Ollie People forget just how important the heart and recovery ability is in improving ones strength levels. Try the program for 4 weeks, and then I’ll tell you what to do after.Download the Free Training Log here.

For some more great home strength workouts, check out 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.

I’ll Give you TWO FREE Bonuses if you Grab Gladiator Body Workout Today. Click Here for More Information

Cover Image by Chris Lopez

Image by Nadeem

I’m not a bodybuilder!

I’m not a Crossfit athlete!

No matter how many times I try to tell people that I do not belong to a particular category of fitness, people still tend to categorize me!

“Oh but you’re a bodybuilder,” says a customer at my Dad’s store while we’re talking about nutrition. “You’re a CF (CrossFit) athlete,” writes my bodybuilder friend on AIM.

Why do we Categorize?

Human begins use categories as a way to store information. It’s a great way to organize information, but a dangerous way of living your life. If you call yourself a Crossfit athlete, or a Bodybuilder, you will forever be a part of a stereo type of training methodologies and will inadvertently disregard anything that does not fit into the Crossfit or Bodybuilding methodology.

I feel that there are certainly things that bodybuilders can learn from Crossfit athletes, and vice versa. Each method has a particular flaw, and the best way to fill in the gaps is to “reach across the aisle” and try something new.

I think people should follow some sort of hybrid of a variety of fitness programs. Use the following guide to create your own unique program:

High Intensity Training

• Crossfit, Heavy Duty, Tabata
• Pro: Exercise can be done in a short period of time.
• Pro: You can improve strength and mass dramatically (depending on program)
• Pro: Can drop fat and improve athletic conditioning dramatically (depending on program)
• Con: May not be suitable for beginners
• Con: Can easily lead to over training and fatigue if there is poor focus on diet

High Volume Training

• German Volume Training, The Russian Bear, Traditional Bodybuilding,
• Pro: Great for hypertrophy
• Pro: Simply program for beginners
• Con: Added size comes with minimal gains in strength
• Con: Workouts take a long time

Strength-Based Training

• Stronglift’s 5×5, Starting Strength, Westside Barbell
• Pro: Can put on size and strength extremely fast
• Pro: Can drop fat due to an increase in metabolic rate
• Con: Beginners need more time to learn movements
• Con: Workouts are boring

There you have it. Try each program out for a few months.

Then:

• Choose one program that you really like and know will stick for the rest of your life
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of that program
• Fill in the weaknesses of the program using principles from other programs.
• Now create your own website and brand your program!

Stocks are down, the banking industry is in peril, and many industries are suffering the brunt of Wall Street’s greedy ways. I don’t know much about finance, but I do know one thing: The Health Industry is Still Making Money! Read More.

I’ve been waiting this for a while. For the first time, the government is telling Americans to perform both aerobic and strength training exercises. Well….it’s a start. I mean, I honestly don’t agree with all the guidelines prescribed by the US Department of Health & Human Services in their 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Let me first tell you what their recommendations are, and I will then provide my own.

Image by Vince Outlaw

Recommendations from the Government:

• Perform 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity.
• Perform muscle-strengthening exercises that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week at a moderate to high intensity.

Ok, so lets say we have a busy guy with a family, 30 pounds overweight who decides to follow the government’s guidelines. He decides to perform 2 hours and 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per week,pluse two 30 minute sessions of weight training. That’s 3 hours and 30 minutes of exercise per week. Lets say, for arguments sake, Mr. Busy Guy Newbie ( MR.BGN ) here wants to exercise 5 days a week. will have to spend 42 minutes for each day at the gym. For a guy who works 9-5, with an hour break for lunch and a family to take care of, MR.BGN isn’t going to have time to exercise 42 minutes five days a week.

But lets get even more practical here: He’s not going to be able to recover on a five days a week schedule, unless he has someone handling his nutrition. Might as well just get a personal trainer.

Image by rob@tricentral

Without a personal trainer or nutritionist or some sort of expert hovering around him, MR. BGN will burn out after the first three days on his amazing exercise program. Cutting back to 3 day a week schedule, MR. BGN will have to spend 70 minutes in the gym. Now that’s a bit ridiculous. You can ‘t expect a beginner to just jump on such a rigorous training schedule. Naturally, I’m exagerating here. I’m sure somewhere in the government’s report they talked about gradually progressing into a program, but I didn’t read that part.

Recommendations from Shah Training:

• Perform 10 minutes of intense exercise, 2 to 3 days a week

That’s it! That’s my training program, right there. Now the word “intense” means different thing’s for different people. For example, 10 kettlebell swings with 35lbs does not do anything for me. Doesn’t even raise my heart rate. But for someone who has never trained before, 10 kettlebell swings will have a lot of positive effects on his body and will prove to be an extremely intense workout.

Image by Mars on Earth

I tell this story often. Back when I decided to train people, I had a 300lber friend from high school come over and do a little workout with me. Here it is:

3 rounds:
Dumbbell Swing, 10 reps
Dumbbell Clean, 10 reps

I allowed him a minute rest after each round, and used only a 15lb dumbbell. He was ready to puke after 10 minutes and took him over 45 minutes and lots of water to recover. With that kind of workout, his metabolic rate increased, allowing him to burn fat for a few days after the training session.

I trained my father in a similar manner with the following workout:

2 rounds of:

Push Press, 10 reps
Bent Over Row, 10 Reps

Then,

2 rounds of:

Deadlift, 10 reps
Bodyweight Squat, 10 reps

My dad lost 7lbs in two weeks without following a super strict diet. I had asked him to simply start his days with oatmeal instead of oily indian food and cut down on restaurant food. That’s it. Simply solutions is all it takes.

Ok, I lied. I don’t have a training program for you guys. I just wanted to show you have simple it is to really drop fat without hitting a gym for hours on end. Purchase some resistance bands, or learn some bodyweight exercises. Choose two exercises, and perform them back to back for a few rounds with minimal rest. Or, if you want a really cool, concise training program. Check out 3xMethod.com.