Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey San Antonio,

I wrote and posted this yesterday on the Caveman Lifestyle Program blog, and wanted to also put it up here, as it explains the role of resistance training in both fat loss and building muscle, and puts a few misconceptions to rest. I employ several different philosophies when training different clients, and this is one of the systems that I’m working to perfect for many people looking for amazing body transformation. Unlike other personal trainers, I willingly put out as much information about my training principles and philosophies for the world to see.

Enjoy!

When following the Caveman Program, my personal favorite training split is the Horizontal/Vertical split. Let me reiterate a point from earlier post – the training split has very little to do with progress in the grand scheme of things, but I definitely prefer a split that lends itself to training large groups of muscles in every workout, focuses on movements as much as body parts and stays as far away from the “a muscle group per day” mentality that is perpetuated by the bullshit message boards and by most bodybuilders, who are, in most cases, as full of shit as just about any group of people who should know better that simply do not. I’ll probably touch on that comment more on my San Antonio Personal Trainer blog.

Understand that I am a huge proponent of maximum muscle fiber recruitment during training and maximum effort during training. Of course, this is relative, and for those who simply aren’t conditioned enough to focus on the 1-5 rep range can benefit greatly from higher rep schemes anywhere from the 6-15 range. There’s never an “always” in my training programs, and there are exceptions to every rule.

One thing that many people do is drastically change their resistance training program when their focus changes from fat burning to muscle gain – this is a mistake. It’s important to understand that muscle only has two states: atrophy (shrinking) or hypertrophy (growing). There is no maintaining. This is why that it is important to ensure that your primary goal when you’re focused on losing fat is not weight loss, it is maintaining muscle by inducing growth! This may be difficult to understand, but remember that the more lean body mass your body has, the higher your resting metabolic rate is. A higher metabolic rate will lead to more fat being burned during every activity. Too many people become obsessed with actual “weight loss” which leads to a lowering of the metabolic rate which, in turn, leads to the body going into preservation mode.

Every workout is for body transformation, which is the addition of muscle mass (and no, ladies, that doesn’t mean to become overly large) and the reduction of body fat. The difference in specific goals (getting huge or getting absolutely shredded to the bone) require dietary and cardio modifications, not modifications in resistance training.

Body fat has no nutritional requirement. What most people do is lose weight and then adjust their caloric intake, without considering where the weight actually came from. However, if that individual actually increased muscle mass and still lost weight, the body would require a higher caloric intake, not a reduced amount, which is a mistake that so many people make.

I didn’t intend on turning this into a nutritional article but I will elaborate on those things in upcoming posts. For now, let me get back to the sample training day in the horizontal/vertical split.

Vertical Plane Training Day 1
For today, I’ll focus on 6 exercises on the vertical plane: rear squat, dead lift, front squat, stiff leg dead lift, db snatch and plyometric box jumps.

Rotation 1 – Rest 1 minute between sets, 2 minutes after the final set, repeat rotation for five total rounds. Warm up adequately before beginning rotation. Below are work sets and do not include warm ups.

Squats x 3-5 reps
Dead lifts x 3-5 reps
Front Squats x 8-10 reps

Rotation 2 – same rest protocol as above, repeat rotation 3 times.
SLDL x 8-10 reps
DB Snatches x 5 reps each arm
Plyometric Box Jumps x 10 reps

Each rep scheme describes the set’s intensity level. For example, 3-5 squats means to find a weight that is heavy enough to where you can barely do 5 reps but light enough to do at least 3 reps. The goal is to increase the weight each time you train – I prefer keeping the max amount of weight you can do for the entire rotation, not allowing the weight to fluctuate up or down during a given workout. It may take a couple of workouts to nail it down, but once you have a baseline, focus on slight increases each time you perform this workout.

Sample Week Training Split
Monday – Vertical Day 1
Tuesday – Horizontal Day 1
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Vertical Day 2
Friday – Horizontal Day 2
Sat and Sunday – Off

Depending on the individual, I may advocate for three different training days. In this case, the following weeks would be:

Monday – Vertical Day 3
Tuesday – Horizontal Day 3
Wednesday Off
Thursday – Vertical Day 1
Friday – Horizontal Day 1
Sat and Sun – Off
Monday – Vertical Day 2
Tuesday – Horizontal Day 2
Wednesday Off
Thursday – Vertical Day 3
Friday – Horizontal Day 3
Sat and Sun – Off

Each workout may utilize different exercises, rep schemes, or a combination of both. In future posts, I’ll explain which would be most beneficial for you depending on your fitness level and how to design each program to maximize your progress by eliminating specific weaknesses you may have.

Questions and comments always welcome!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I hope everyone’s ready to have a great week and hit the ground running today!

Of course, the largest portion of people that come to me for personal training are looking for rapid body transformation and fat loss. Of course, the nutrition plays a huge role in that, but the one thing I really focus on is also ensuring that their training routine will also transfer over into other aspects of the client’s life and activities.

I am a big believer in functionality training. I see a lot of people doing a lot of different exercises that really don’t a) stimulate the body to induce muscle growth and b) do not consider functionality. Exercises that force the body to work as a single unit, that mimic real life movements, and that recruit many different muscle groups are the exercises that I design most routines around. Of course, all of my routines are not only designed to simply help you lose fat, but to also maximize all parts of the training spectrum: muscular endurance, balance, overall strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, etc.

Finally, I am a person of numbers – of course, I perform circumference and body fat measurements on my clients on a regular basis, but I also believe in performing functionality and strength tests, and based on their goals and lifestyles, set up assessments and circuits designed to measure their physical progress as well.

While fat loss is the most popular goal of my personal training clients, there’s definitely some positive side effects to a well thought out fitness plan, and it is my intention to maximize your training experience and your time spent training.

I plan on putting out a few training articles early this week on both the personal trainer in San Antonio blog and on the Caveman Lifestyle Program Blog as well, so keep an eye open!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I had a small break, so decided to throw up a video blog. In this one, I discuss my goals as a personal trainer and how I separate myself from other personal trainers in San Antonio.

I’ve also added a few updates to the Caveman Lifestyle Program, so check that out as well!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Yesterday over at Caveman Program I wrote about the four phases of the Caveman Program. Right now, I’m working on a grocery list for each specific phase.

I’m also working on rough outlines for specific goals during each phase (whether it is to increase lean body mass, decrease body fat, etc). Of course, these are very user specific, and body transformation – simply looking better – is always our goal!

The best part of the program is that I want to make it adaptable no matter the fitness goal. It is a “LIFESTYLE”, and the principles can be applied no matter what your objective is. The nutritional portion of the program is the least gimmicky, overall healthiest and most simple way to eat of any diet program you’re going to find.

It’s Friday all – let’s get ready for an amazing weekend!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I opened two new websites, so check them out.

The first is the Official Site for the Caveman Lifestyle Program, www.cavemanprogram.com. The Caveman Principles are those that I use for individuals that are willing to do whatever it takes to reach their extreme fitness goals. It’s a scalable program for all fitness levels and when followed closely, the results are absolutely amazing.

The other site is simply a new site that I opened for my Online Personal Trainining Service, www.thebodyguru.com. As I have mentioned in past posts: all online personal training programs include complete nutritional programs, individually designed based on condition and goals, and a variety of training principles based on whatever your goals may be. I currently work with people from all points of the fitness spectrum: from professional athletes and fitness models to stay at home mothers and college students. Whether your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, increased athletic performance, bikini body preparation (hey, it’s in HUGE demand) or something that may not seem so common, drop me a line and let’s see if we’re a match.

Check out the new sites and spread the word!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

Here’s a quick video blog on my Caveman Program, which I believe will become the top fat loss and body transformation program you’re going to find absolutely anywhere.

I’m going to be all over this, so bookmark this page and feel free to pass it on!

Make your Tuesday great!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

I’ve been working on a lot of things over the last few months: my online personal training service, expanding my personal training studio and a few other projects. Right now is the perfect time to introduce you to my “Caveman Program”.

Most people look at a lifestyle change (and a subsequent physique transformation) as a daunting and overwhelming task. Reading through the accumulated resources that we have available (magazines, books, internet message boards, etc) is tedious and a bit nerve-racking in itself, because as soon as you “learn” something, the information is completely contradicted in the next article you read.

Losing fat and drastically changing the body is not an easy task whatsoever. In theory, it is a simple thing. Make no mistake – there IS a lot of science behind the process. Every exercise you do and every bite of food you take should have a distinct purpose. However, unless you just like to know “how” things work, you need not bog yourself down with these details to will lead to “paralysis by analysis” and eventual discouragement (leading to not reaching your goals).

With that being said, my personal training service is built on “doing it” AND “understanding it”. I’ll get you where you want to be and help you understand, to any level of detail you may be interested in, why we’re doing what. However, after training hundreds of clients over the years, I realize that many people just want to get from point A to point B and know how to sustain the results while continually making progress once they have completed their personal training program with me. Obviously, the more simple I keep things, the more progress they are able to make in the long term, even long after they have stopped using my services. Hence, the creation of my “Caveman Program“.

Don’t confuse this with anything else you’ve read or done before. I could tell you how easy it is and how you will obtain the greatest results anyone has every obtained on any exercise program or diet. Exercise OR diet – which is the Caveman approach? Neither. Or, maybe both, and a bit more. I prefer to think of it as a lifestyle.

No matter what your goals are, the first thing you have to do is understand one simple thing: “Why am I not already there?” Is it because you eat junk food? Is it because you’re unable to stay consistent? Is it because you’re too busy to do what you need to do? Ask yourself why you aren’t where you need to be and face it head on. While there are many programs, books, DVD’s, and websites out there that tell you that you only need to eat this, take this or do that, this is not one of those.

Regardless of who you are, the greatest exercise program and nutritional strategy will not work if you are not willing to address your personal faults and do what is necessary to fix those issues.

This program is NOT for every person that is looking for a quick fix. I’m not going to push any crazy supplements on people. No miracle fat loss pills. No 15 minute workouts. This is about correcting bad habits, putting forth effort, working hard and being accountable. Everything has a purpose, even the name of the program.

There’s a difference between this program and our ancestors from thousands of years ago. First and foremost, through science, we know that the caveman was actually not in physically appealing shape, mainly, because they went against many of the principles that I preach and require clients to practice (had I been around, I would’ve kept the caveman in much better shape). The caveman, due to circumstance, had imposed fasting (as they obtained food by hunting and gathering, and these things are greatly restricted by conditions such as inclement weather). Of course, the caveman didn’t have the modern gyms and fitness centers that we have now. Believe it or not, this isn’t as important as one may think, as training in itself, in a primitive style (the simple lifting of objects) is the most effective style of exercise ever created. The over-complication of program design, crazy machines and ridiculous exercise gadgets has turned the science behind exercise into a joke and had limited more people than it has empowered. Think I’m wrong? Walk into any gym in your town right now – tell me how many people are actually in shape. You’ll see that very few people even look like they workout. I think that’s kind of funny, as there are several franchises, such as Planet Fitness, that sale the “no intimidation zone” as part of their sales pitch. Trust me, the condition and shape at your average gym or fitness center is typically no better than you’ll find at your local bar or coffee shop.

We have a couple of advantages that the caveman simply did not have:
-Availability of food. We control when we eat and what. The latter, for many people, is a concern that will be addressed. I will be educating you on WHAT to choose and HOW to choose it.

-We have more than trees and rocks to lift.

No matter your fitness goals, if followed, this will be the most effective fitness program you will ever follow. It is not a one size fits all program. It isn’t casual. It isn’t as simple as doing one thing or the other. It will not work well with Nutri-systems or Weight Watchers. The program is scalable and is designed for all fitness levels and fitness goals. Whether your goal is to look better in a bathing suit, lose fat and transform your body, compete in a fitness competition, get ready for the beach or a wedding, or to simply improve performance in day to day tasks, this will be the only program you will ever need.

What makes me so sure? Well, I’m fortunate enough to have my own group of test subjects (clients) and their results are anything but typical.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing much more and also posting a few video blogs about the Caveman Program. I’m also working on a website dedicated strictly to the program. And yes, the book is coming as well.

There’s so much to discuss and so many aspects of the program that I will be discussing, but I wanted to take a second (or over 1000 words, sorry) to get the idea out there. Get ready – the Caveman Program isn’t for everyone. It’s only for those that are completely serious and committed to obtaining the body of their dreams.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454