This Industry is NUTS sometimes...

I'm sorry but this is the PROBLEM with our industry....but it sure as hell made me laugh my *ss off.



Dare I say more???

Have great one,

Dan Grant

PS - If you want to learn the REAL way to drop the fat forever GO HERE.

The Truth About Weight Training

It's been a busy week...a lot of decision making
regarding the future. Business wise, I'm happy to
announce that I will have a newly designed blog
coming very soon where I will talk about EVERYTHING
fitness.

It's actually going to be like 4 blogs in
one so no matter who you are or what type of fitness
info you're looking for, I'll have it for you.

I also designed a new program for myself so I'm
excited about that. It's a fairly involved workout,
but as I was doing it it reminded me of an interview
I did with Mike Geary of Truth About Abs recently and
I wanted to share a little bit of it with you.

Enjoy,

DG - For total beginners to weight training what's
the very first step?

MG - Well, I think it's important for beginners to
master some very basic bodyweight-based exercises
before getting too involved in a lot of weight
training. So this means we focus on making sure the
beginner learns how to do a proper bodyweight squat,
bodyweight lunge, and step-ups for the lower
body.

For the upper body, I'll make sure they're proficient
at pushups and inverted body rows up to a bar. If
they aren't able to do pushups from the floor, I'll
have them do pushups with their hands on an elevated
surface. I find these more effective than modified
pushups with the knees on the ground.

Also, I make sure the beginner is working some very
basic core stability such as holding full pushup
positions, plank positions, etc.

Then, when they're strength is improving, we'll
start to introduce basic multi-joint exercises
(mostly with dumbbells, barbells, and possibly a cable
exercise or two) keeping in mind the following basic
movement patterns:

*Upper body horizontal row (1-arm row, bent over row,
cable row, inverted body row)
*Upper body horizontal push (chest press, pushup, etc)
*Upper body vertical pull (lat cable pulldown, pullup)
*upper body vertical press (overhead dumbbell press, etc)
*Lower body pull (deadlifts, romanian deadlifts)
*Lower body push (squatting movements)
*Lower body unilateral exercises (lunges, step-ups, etc)

DG - What are your favorite exercises for fat loss?

MG - These are the top of my list without a doubt:

*1-arm swings (dumbbell or kettlebell)

*1-arm snatches (dumbbell or kettlebell)

*barbell clean & presses

*barbell or dumbbell high pulls

*any form of squatting (bodyweight, barbell front
or back, dumbbell, jump squats, etc)

*any form of deadlifting (standard, romanian,
sumo-stance)

*any form of lunging (standing fwd, standing
reverse, walking, walking/twisting, etc)

*step-ups (bodyweight, dumbbells, med ball,
step & press, etc)

*dumbbell squat & presses

DG - How important are ab exercises for losing weight,
because I see A LOT of people doing them in the gyms?

MG - Ab exercises have virtually nothing to do with
losing weight... yet for some reason, that seems to
be the first thing people do when they want to
lose belly fat.

We should all know by now that you don't "melt off
body fat" from a specific area of the body just by
contracting the muscle group in that area of the body.

There are many more important factors for losing body
fat such as your resting metabolic rate, your activity
level, your training routines as a whole, your nutrition
quality and quantity, the hormonal balance in your
body, the amount of lean muscle mass you have, etc... all
of which affect the grand-poobah of whether you lose
weight or gain weight... your overall caloric deficit
or surplus compared to your current metabolic needs at any
given time (are you eating more than you're utilizing
in a time period or vice versa).

Have a great week,

Dan Grant
http://www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

Fat Loss Rules You Must Follow..

I just got off the phone with Jon Benson for the Inspire product many of you will be getting for free because you took advantage of certain promotions last month. The interview was incredicle...actually all the interviews I've done so far for it have been amazing.

You're going to learn so much information. I also just so happen to have the 'tube' on right now and there's a show about a 13 year old girl trying to get liposuction. They refused for her to have it because the iron levels was too low in her blood.

It's a sad deal. But something just frustrated the hell out me just happened. Within the next minute of the show her mom made her steak and salad for dinner. The girl said she's never had a meal like that before and the mom JUST said that it wasn't her fault that her 13 year old daughter was so obese (321 pounds).

Then they go on vacation and her mom just left her with her friend, while she gambled all day, and i don't even have to tell you what her daughter ate at the buffet. Obviously the daughter has to be smarter and her mom has to start being a leader.

There is obviously a problem in this country with the rapid weight gain and I think one of the major problems is that nobody is willing to take responsibility for themselves.

Obviously the fast food joints don't care about your health...they want your cash.

You can even make the case that some personal trainers don't really care too much either. Most just got in the business because you can 'make' $50 an hour...I mean, how hard can it be right?

It all really just boils down to YOU. I talk about it in Degrees of Change Fat Loss Plan. Stop the blaming, start the doing. If you quit when it gets tough or when your results seem to plateau, what makes you think it will be any easier the next time around?

If you want to lose fat do this:

1. Have a good nutrition plan
2. Bust your butt while you lift weights
3. Bust your butt again during your interval training
4. Believe in yourself and in what you are doing
5. Get proper rest
6. Drink water (Wait till you hear what Jon had to say about this)
7. Use common sense

What are your thoughts????

Have a great day,

Dan Grant
www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

Do you practice fat loss excellence?

Well, it's the Pats vs. the Giants in the Superbowl.

I'm actually kind of sad about it. I'm a Brett
Favre fan so it would have been nice to see him at
the big show one more time.

Favre is a guy that practices football excellence.

What I want to ask you today though, is if you are
practicing fat loss excellence.

Definition of excellence:

"Success is being better than other people; excellence
is being YOUR best." -Alwyn Cosgrove

When people ask me questions regarding training, two
words that seem to keep popping up are the words
'easiest' and 'fastest.'

People don't like waiting for things, myself included.
I'm one of the most impatient people around. I want
results and I want them quickly. I used to get
frustrated as hell when after a week of training, my
body wasn't ripped yet. That was back in my younger
years, of course. I understand training a little more
now and because of that I'm more patient now :).

One thing, I think people need to remember is that time
is going to pass no matter what we are doing and we are
going to change and progress with how we spend that time.

Looking for the 'easiest' or 'fastest' way then, could
be a total waste of time. How many times have you tried
the latest diet or supplement promising near instant
results and failed with them?

It's really easy to walk around for awhile and say that
you walk for exercise, but is that really helping you
with your goals?

The biggest problem I see in people looking to transform
their body is that their approach is wrong. They aren't
doing things that will bring them closer to their goals.

If your goal is to lose 20 pounds of fat and get shredded
six pack abs, but you continue eating fast food and pizza
everyday, you aren't really acting the way you should be
to achieve your goals.

And I will let you off the hook a little because maybe
you didn't realize what to actually do to achieve your
goals, but that reason is gone forever now that you signed
up for my newsletter.

The reason you set goals and continue to set new goals
is because there is a desire in you to succeed and to be
your best. That's why we set goals, because you aren't
satisfied with where you are and you want BETTER.

So you really have to ask yourself if your ACTIONS are
helping you to get you closer to your GOALS.

What's the point in setting goals to make you better if
you aren't willing to make the necessary changes to
achieve them?

If you want to use the exact same tool that I use for
goal setting then Dax Moy will show you how to acheive
all your goals here.

Have a great day,

Dan Grant
http://www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

PS - Why are 10,000 personal trainers going to be
listening to me for training advice? Stay tuned to find
out all about it soon.

3 Critical Nutrition Facts for Your Success

Good nutrition during a fat loss program is critical. If
you read my nutrition lesson in my 5 day e-course then
you know my stance on it.

But it's always good to get different opinions. I went
in-depth with the guy I'm about to introduce you in an
interview we did for The Degrees of Change Fat Loss Plan.

Nis name...Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS. What he does...
He's the Director of Research and Development for Prograde
Nutrition.
It was an incredible interview and I wanted to share a
little bit of it with you.


DG - What do starchy carbs actually do to the body to
slow down fat loss?

JH - When eaten by themselves or when they dominate a
meal they tend to elevate insulin levels, which promote
fat storage. This is why I recommend eating a carb
choice that contains 3gms of fiber or more as well as eating
your lean protein because they help to counteract this
rise in insulin level and allows your body to burn these
calories for energy rather than store them as fat.

DG - What about bed time snacks? Do you recommend it?
What types of snacks would you want clients to eat before
bed?

JH - If one of their feeding opportunities which is every
2-3 waking hours calls for them to eat before bed then
yes go ahead and take advantage of the feeding opportunity.
I normally suggest a serving of almonds, or pecans as a
snack before going to bed. Another good snack is yogurt
and a piece of fruit or cottage cheese and a piece of
fruit.

DG - How important is water in fat loss success?

JH - Water is very important because your body conducts
thousands of reactions a day and many depend on water
and proper hydration. If your body is not getting enough
water then your metabolism and all these chemical reactions
don't run efficiently which means you are not going to burn
the ideal amount of calories. Your body worries more about
protecting and saving itself rather than burning calories.


Jayson is just one of 9 others I interviewed and forced
them to give me all of the good stuff in The Degrees of
Change Fat Loss Plan.

Have a productive and successful week and remember if you
have questions just drop me a line :).

Talk to you soon,

Dan Grant
www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

PS - I've gotten great feedback on the article I shared
with you last week. If you missed just head over to my
blog to read "3 Ways To Burn Belly Fat Fast".

PPS - leave a comment on your thoughts of the article
too :)

PPPS - here's the link....finally :)...
http://dangrantfitness.blogspot.com/2008/01/3-tips-to-burn-belly-fat-fast.html

3 Tips to Burn Belly Fat Fast

Here's an article I wrote for The Soko:


The number one question I usually get sounds something like this, “How can I lose THIS”, which is followed by a slap of the hand or a finger pointing to their stomach. The rate of those questions seems to pick up at an alarming rate around New Year’s, since that’s the time when everybody wants to change their body. I think that’s great, first of all, but I also realize that it was probably the same challenge these individuals had last year which means they don’t know the proper way to actually lose that belly that they would rather ring the new year in without.

Focus on the Whole Body

When you’re in the gym and your goal is to shed belly fat, your metabolism should be your prime focus. What do I mean? Well, the higher you can get your metabolism throughout the day, the more fat you are going to burn.

So what you have to do is work as many muscles as you can. If you just work on your biceps during a workout you only worked roughly 3% of your muscle mass. That’s just not going to cut it.

What you should be doing are compound exercises. Compound exercises are exercises that work more than one muscle at a time. Examples of exercises you want to be doing are squat variations, dead lift variations, lunge variations, pushup variations, pull-ups, chin-ups, row variations, etc.

Your Workout Should Not be a Walk in the Park

When it comes to fat loss, intensity matters. It matters a lot. The more intense your workout, the higher the after effect on your metabolism is after the workout. That means that you will be burning more calories during the rest of the day than you would have been by going for a stroll in the park or lifting a lighter amount of weight. Research has actually shown that your metabolism will remain higher for up to 38 hours after an intense weight training session. In comparison, it takes only a few minutes to reverse back to your normal metabolism after a light and easy weight training session.

Understand that I’m not telling you to all of a sudden load 300 pounds onto a barbell and start squatting. What I mean is that you need to be using a weight that challenges your muscles while you are doing repetitions.

If you are doing 8 repetitions of squats, then you need to be using a weight where you can perform 8 perfect repetitions and probably a ninth if you had to. Leaving one ‘in the tank’ as they say is the safe thing to do and it won’t affect your results.

Interval Training Is a Must

You have heard this before I’m sure, but did you know that interval training has been proven to burn a lot of belly fat. Crazy I know.

Steve Boucher, a fitness professional in Australia, came out with some interesting findings in a research study he performed about High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

During a 15 week study, he had women perform either HIIT or steady state cardio for 45 minutes, 3 times a week. The HIIT group performed a 5 minute warm-up, did 8 seconds of bike sprints at 90% intensity with 12 seconds of ‘rest’ at 30% intensity for 20 minutes, and then finished with a 5 minute cool-down.

At first the HIIT group only did 5 minutes of HIIT and built up to 20 minutes by the sixth session (2 weeks).

Here’s what he found:

• The HIIT group lost 3 times MORE fat then the steady cardio group
• The HIIT group worked out HALF as much than the steady state cardio group
• The HIIT group’s aerobic fitness actually increased MORE than the steady state cardio group (26% and 19% respectively)
• The HIIT group lost a SIGNIFICANT amount of fat off of their stomach

If you are currently performing long, steady state cardio you could be holding yourself back from maximum fat loss. And if you’re trying to shed that ugly belly fat from your body, then interval training is the way to go.

What You Need To Remember

Intensity has a large impact on your fat loss success. When you look at the basic concept of weight loss, which is the calories in versus calories out, you will consume fewer calories than you expend resulting in weight loss. But that’s not going to get you the lean stomach you want and it could be a very long and tedious process. For optimal fat loss, be sure to keep your intensity high and you will reap the benefits.

Dan Grant is an internationally recognized body transformation coach certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and is the owner of Dan Grant Fitness Coaching Services. He currently trains (in person and online), lectures in the USA and Canada, and writes. His professional webpage is http://www.dangrantfitness.com. You can grab a copy of Dan’s highly popular e-course at http://www.bodytransformationcoach.com.

Roger Clemens a Liar?....a lesson in your fat loss decisions

Actually, I don't think Roger Clemens ever took
steroids. Just an opinion, though.

Did you watch 60 minutes last night?

His Vioxx conversation reminded me of when I was
'taking it like skittles' as he put it when I was
in college playing baseball to get through games
because of my elbow....but that's really another
story.

And the steroids stuff in baseball doesn't have much
to do with fat loss. I'm just interested because I've
known guys who have taken testosterone in college to
'get ahead', and you know what....never really helped
them out too much.

I coach baseball now and I was actually just in
Philadelphia for the world's biggest coaching conference,
where I got to chat with the New York Yankees Strength
Coach Dana Cavalea. Really cool guy.

I posted a few pics of my Rocky adventure below in a different
blog post if you're interested.

By now (if you're still with me) you're probably
wondering what the hell the point of this email to you
is all about.

#1 - Quick fixes are pretty much pointless, no matter
how much you believe they are going to help.
For a lot of the guys who took steroids it was their
quick fix. And now one of them could spend some time
behind bars because of it.

Now taking weight loss pills probably won't send you to
jail or anything but they have proven time and time again
that they are just a quick fix and never help you out
long term so stay the hell away from them.

Dana talked about how nobody wants to work hard in baseball
anymore...they just want to know what kind of supplements
they should take to get better.

It's the exact same way with fat loss. People just don't
want to work hard at it. They want the quick fix, no work
solution.

Listen, it ain't going to happen. The sooner you realize
that you're going to have to put some effort into it, the
sooner you're going to start looking the way you want to
look.


#2 - Think about the future and how your actions of today
could affect the way you live down the road.
Clemens has had one of the greatest pitching careers ever,
and now these allegations have put everything in question.

A lot of people ask me what they can do to get fit for
trips and vacations. Unfortunately you have to give me
more then 2 weeks notice to get you the body you
want....sorry :).

And again, the quick fixes like crash diets and pills, could have
a NEGATIVE affect on your body in the future. Think about
it really hard before you decide to go on diets. You HAVE to
think long term health.

The reason I mention this though is my buddy Steve Little,
a life coach, told me the other day he's giving away a free
report on how to have an abundant life before and after
retirement.

I know, I know...."What in the hell Dan? How will this
help my fat loss?"

Actually, the info in the report, which is fr-ee by the way,
gives you some pretty awesome information that can help you
through every aspect of your life.

Retirement is going to happen, so why not be prepared to
be totally secure and healthy when it does come about. I
want you to get the body you deserve, but more importantly
to me is that you LIVE the LIFE you want to live.

If you think this is something you would be interested in
go here to pick up the report.

http://www.thesecretforretirement.com

I got some pretty great fat loss stuff coming your way in
a few days. I was going to tell you today, but this has
turned into another long blog.

I hope you're enjoying them :)

Talk to you soon,

Dan Grant

PS - Oh ya....sorry....one more thing. Remember, last
email when I told you that the 7th (which is today) was
the last day to join the Degrees of Change Fat Loss Series
for 50% off? Well it's the 7th and so at 12am EST on the 8th the price
is going back up.

PPS - this is the link if you want to join and get some
extra bonuses too, http://www.dangrantfitness.com/mp3offer.html

Chilly in Philly.....

I'm here in Philadelphia for a conference right now.....not really too bad weather wise today but yesterday it was bit chilly as we walked around South Philly and had the world famous Philly Cheese Steaks at Geno's (I know....not exactly healthy...but you gotta try a Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia if you get the chance).

I also fufilled a little fantasy of mine by running up the famous Rocky steps at the Art Museum. I'm a HUGE Rocky fan so this was a really cool thing for me. Also saw the big statue that was unveilled in Rocky III.

Here's a few pics of me and Rocky...





Me getting ready for the sprint (actually more like a jog)



Celebrating on Rocky's foot prints.....pretty cool stuff.

Alright....now that you're annoyed at me and Rocky I'm going to shove some more down your throat.

Before we went to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (where they signed the Constitution and Declaration of Independence) I found a Rocky book that had famous Rocky quotes from all the Rocky flicks....even number 6.

Being January and people are just starting the journey of going after their Resolutions I found a quote from the book that will hopefully help you keep working until you get there.

Before I tell you the quote, I really hope you went and grabbed a copy of the Magic 100 last week because it will help you so much. It's one of those products where you have concerns about actually getting it, but then you do and are a little annoyed that you didn't get it a long time ago.

Alright...I'm actually going to give you a couple quotes...one's from Mick (Rocky's hard ass, old school, don't question, full of pretty sweet wisdom boxing trainer) and the other is from Philly's hero Rocky.

If you're struggling to think you can't reach your goals then Mick's advice might help you out here.



"What's Can't? There Ain't NO Can'ts!" - Mick

And when you start struggling (which everybody does....it's an unfortunate part of the whole process), Rocky gives some invaluable wisdom on what it takes to acheive anything worthwhile.



"Going In One More Round...When You Don't Think You Can - That's What Makes ALL The Difference In Your Life." - Rocky

Well...It's late Saturday night here so I should go get ready for some sleep as Dana Cavalea, Strength and Conditioning Coach of the NY Yankees is speaking at 8:30am.

Talk to you when I get back in Winchester.

Dan Grant

PS - One last thing. When I do get back in Winchester the sale for the Degrees of Change Monthly Audio Series will be over so head over here to join up for literally pennies a day.

PPS - have a great rest of your weekend!