Check out Alamo City Times for the video I did for the Springtime65 Show:

Affordable Fitness – Exercising at Home

I’d like to thank Alamo City Times for hosting the video and Roland for being patient enough to work with me while filming the video!

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

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

I’ve mentioned sprinting and it’s affects on fat loss numerous times. Like resistance training, the fuel during the exercise is glucose, but in an effort to preserve itself, the body, post-sprinting, forces itself to burn stored adipose (or fat tissue) for energy.

Sprinting in itself takes a certain level of conditioning. It’s not easy, especially if you haven’t done it in a while. But if you’re looking for a way to mix it up a little, throw a day of sprint training into your workout program and watch the fat disappear.

I’d consider this an intermediate sprint workout. Enjoy!

Warm up with a light lap or 3-4 60% 40 yard sprints…

40 yards x 6 sprints (60 second rest between)
60 yards x 6 sprints (90 second rest between)
100 yards x 2 sprints (120 second rest between)

I had an online client who is already in decent shape do a similar protocol to this the other day and he told me he felt as if he was jogging toward the end. It’s NOT easy, but focus on staying within the rest times.

Let me know what you think!

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

Here’s the first workout to be done 3 times per week in the eight week program. Sorry it’s a couple of days late, but I have been completely swamped. The range of reps simply means find a weight you can do the minimum rep range with and heavy enough you can’t go over the max. Warm up with 6-10 minutes of light cardio work (this does not count as a cardio workout) and then do a warm up set or two for each exercise. I’d prefer a day off between training, but since it’s Wednesday, get three in however you can (my fault). I’ll be quicker for the rest of the program, promise. :D

Rest 45-60 seconds between sets.

free weight bb squat 4 sets x 10-15 reps
flat db bench press 4 sets x 8-12 reps
lateral db raises 2 sets x 15-20 reps
Cable Lat Pulldowns 4 sets x 10-15 reps
Face Pulls 2 sets x 12-15 reps
Standing DB lunges 3 sets x 10 reps each leg
Tricep V-Bar Pressdowns 2 sets x 25 reps
Superset last set by bench dips until failure
Easy bar curl 3 sets x 15-20 reps
Your choice of ab exercise 25-100 reps (make it hurt)

Remember this is a very general workout created for the masses – for very specific direction on both nutrition and training, contact me about my online personal training programs.

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

Zero week will be here Monday! Here are the goals of the week to begin your fat loss and body transformation.

Let me reiterate – this is a program designed to maximize body transformation! That means fat loss and muscle maintenance to maximize definition and changing the way you look. This is not a starvation program designed to make you lose 50lbs. It is for re-partitioning what you have.

The goals:
1. Keep or increase what lean body mass you have. This is extremely important. I can hear women all over the world saying “I just want to be smaller” and “I don’t want big muscles.” Here’s the kicker: you are not going to gain huge muscles at a rapid rate. It is physically and hormonally impossible. I mean, think about it – how many guys do you see in the gym that DO want huge muscles? Ok, now how many of them actually have huge muscles?

Keeping what lean body mass you have is important for metabolic reasons. The more lean body mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate you have. This is important, because I want your body being a fat burning furnace when you’re doing nothing. LOSING lean body mass slows the metabolism, which means you have to continue to eat less and less. What does that do? It invokes the body’s natural defense: the starvation reflex. The metabolism comes to a screeching halt, making the body more likely to metabolize muscle rather than body fat. Lean body mass looks better than fat. Skinny isn’t always desirable. If you want the toned, defined look, it is important to control where the pounds you lose comes from.

2. Burn fat. This goes without saying. But the goal is not to lose sheer weight. Remove adipose from the body – that’s it. To do this, there is a lot of nutritional timing, nutrient manipulation and training strategies that go behind this. Forget what you think you know. I don’t care about “Well, I burned 300 calories doing this” and “500 calories doing that”. You’re wasting mental capacity and effort. I am concerned about nutrient intake more than I am concerned with caloric intake. A calorie is NOT a calorie, and the body DOES pick and choose where it burns calories from based on your current nutritional/fed state or the type of exercise your doing. Oh, but there is more – the body is picky and will go out of it’s way to compensate in a way you don’t want it to. If the body feels like too much fat has been burned during a given time period, it will go into a fat preservation mode.

3. 8 Weeks is NOT a long time, so there’s no margin for error. No excuses, no “I did OK”. You either commit or you don’t. I’m laying this all out to give you what you need to make the maximum amount of progress in a very short amount of time.

4. Set your baselines NOW. What are your baselines? Over the next week, it’s important that you figure out what your capabilities are in different exercises. I’d spread this out over a week’s time to figure it out, but the point is that we have to force the body to adapt by progression.

Cardio for the first 2 weeks is simple: 20 minutes on Days 2 and 4 at a very intense effort. What is intense? Warm up for 5 minutes and then push it at an effort that requires deep breaths before speaking for 20 minutes (and then cool down for 3-5 minutes). I PREFER lower impact machines like the elliptical or recumbent bike, but if you’re a runner, run. The goal is to go all out as much as you can for 20 minutes. If you need to take a breather for a minute or two here and there, that’s fine. But the goal here is to establish an efficient cardiovascular response.

On day 6, this cardio is much less intense, yet longer in duration. 5 minute warm up, moderate intensity (you should be able to talk, but should be breathing heavy and breaking a sweat) for 35 minutes. Cool down for 5 minutes.

Exercise baselines.
-Warm up for 5 minutes on your favorite cardio machine.
-For each exercise, do 2-4 light sets to acclimate the body to the exercise.
-Once perfect form ends, the set ends and that is your baseline. No swinging, rocking, cheating, leaning, etc.
-A rep range is just that. Find a weight heavy enough that you can’t do more than the higher number and light enough to where you can at least do the minimum reps.

On Day 1:
Determine how much weight you can do for 8-12 reps on db front squats

Determine how much weight you can do on the flat db bench press for 8-10 reps

Determine much weight you can do for 12-15 reps on the lat pulldown

2 sets of standing lateral raises x 15-20 reps
3 sets of 12-15 reps of standing db curls
3 sets of tricep pressdowns for 15-20 reps

Day 3:
Determine how much weight you can do on the leg press for 12-15 reps

Determine how much weight you can do on the db incline bench press for 10-12 reps

Determine how much weight you can do on the seated cable row for 8-10 reps

Standing Ez bar curls 3 sets x 15-20 reps
Bench Dips 3 sets until failure
Front db raises 2 sets x 15-20 reps

Day 5:
Determine how much weight you can do on a bb stiff leg dead lift for 10-12 reps

Determine how much weight you can do for 6-8 reps on a flat bb bench press

Determine how much weight you can do on a bent barbell row for 6-8 reps.

Seated incline db curls 2 sets x 12-15 reps
Flat bench bb skull crushers 2 sets x 12-15 reps

These are not the only exercises you will be doing – this is just to get your baselines on a few simple exercises and are the ones you will work to progress in. Weekly, workouts will include different exercises from the list that is posted in the 8 Week Program section here on the blog, including squats, dead lifts, lunges, bench press variations and several other that really stimulate the body.

IF you don’t understand how to do some of these exercises, I would suggest to either email me and ask me where you can find a video of someone doing it properly. I am in the midst of adding an entire library of every exercise that I can think of, but it’s going to take me a little bit. At least if you email me, I can tell you where you can find the correct way to do it, and not a video of someone with terrible form.

Of course, for my online personal training clients, I do offer webcam conferencing and step by step instruction for any exercise you may need help with.

For now, choose a few core exercises that you enjoy and finish your workouts with them, but once week 1 starts, I will be adding specific core exercises to your regimen.

Questions and/or comments? Feel free to email or comment!

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

Here are the goals for the first two weeks of the 8 week training program. With the Super Bowl this weekend, I decided to start the 8 week program the day after (on Monday). Nonetheless, these are the objectives for the first two weeks.

Weight Training: focusing on all aspects of fitness, especially strength, muscular endurance, form, safety and consistency. Progression is the key, but before we can decide where we are going, we have to decide where we are at. This is where baselines are established for a few important lifts.

Cardio: The key to becoming efficient in both cardio exercise and training is by establishing an efficient cardio base. This is done by training at the upper end of the “heart rate” chart. I won’t obsess about you keeping up with your heart rate, but I will show you simple ways to gauge your effort. The key here is to make the heart more efficient to help recovery and to become more fat burning efficient with less perceived exertion.

Nutrition: This is where most people have issues but there are no excuses. The goals are cut and dry: regular feedings (at least 5 per day). Increased and regular water intake. Basic guidelines of my nutrition timing principles (which I will be reviewing very soon). Oh, and there are absolutely no cheat days for the first 2 weeks. Hey, I went 16 weeks without as much a piece of bread in the prep for my last bodybuilding show, so it’s a small price to pay (and the reason why I’m waiting until after the Super Bowl).

Who is ready? The feedback has been high, so I’m anxious!

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

So here is the starting of the program! This program operates under the idea that you have access to some training equipment (ie at least a moderate equipped gym).

I’m going to make this scalable for individuals, so that they can workout at whatever time they’re able to based on their schedule. I’ll be posting nutritional guidelines and exercise ideas for each day, but today is jammed and I’m making due.

Monday: Leg Day/Abs
Tuesday: Intense Cardio Day
Wednesday: Upper Body (Push muscles)
Thursday: Intense Cardio Day
Friday: Upper Body (Pull muscles)
Saturday: Duration Cardio
Sunday: Rest

I’ll be explaining the difference between each cardio day, and each week, the amounts will change!

Stay tuned! I will be posting ideas for carb cycling on different days and rough amounts for you on each day and how to determine what to eat when.

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

‘Tis the season for fat loss! I guess it is always that season in my business, but I love it.

The spring is also big for two other demographics: those who are planning a wedding (and I do a lot of work to make sure people look their best on their big day), but also, April-June is a big time for fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitions.

As many people that read the blog know, I recently competed in a bodybuilding show, accomplishing a major goal of mine. Luckily, many people considered my conditioning absolutely insane and it has parlayed into another niche for my business – helping others look their best for stage.

A couple of my friends and clients have enlisted me just for this reason, and have given me total control over their nutrition and training regimens. With me not currently preparing to get on stage, it’s very easy for me to focus on their needs and have the dialed in for their shows. I have a few different clients in different stages, so it’s fun to watch them go through what I just went through a couple of months ago. A couple of clients are actually located here in San Antonio and are working with me 6-7 days per week (with both nutrition and training). I have one client that is actually traveling into town every couple of weeks for me to track and advise, and I have one more client that I am helping via the internet more than 1500 miles per way.

As a competitive bodybuilder, I completely understand what they are going through, and I also understand that there’s little margin for error.

As their regimens unfold and the work starts to show, I’ll make sure to keep everyone updated on their progress!

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

I admittedly don’t watch a lot of television, but with the NFL Playoffs and College Football Bowl Season in full swing, I am watching a bit more than I do at any other time of the year. With my increased viewing, I am being treated to more exercise infomercials.

First and foremost, I do not recognize any of these “Celebrity Personal Trainers”. I don’t know if that means that the personal trainers themselves are the celebrities or they train celebrities, but I personally don’t recognize them. Of course, if I see Jillian off of “The Biggest Loser”, I do know her, but the others are only celebrities that star on their own infomercials. I advise numerous professional athletes, actors/actresses, fitness competitors and models, and I’m still not interested in tagging myself with the moniker of Celebrity Personal Trainer.

As far as the latest pills, drinks, ab circles, shaking machines, bogus Taco Bell diets and P90x videos – save your money. I’m not completely knocking all of those things, but for any exercise program to work, it needs to be executed. A nutritional regimen (aka DIET)? I like variety – who in the hell wants to eat the same 3 sandwiches, soft tacos or salads every day, every meal?

Use common sense. You aren’t going to add Xenadrine to your arsenal without making drastic changes and turn your “keg” into a six-pack. You aren’t going to add Taco Bell Drive Thru to your diet and become lean (notice the fine print, RESULTS AREN’T TYPICAL).

Changing the body takes effort, consistency and knowledge – there has never been a fad that has produced drastic, sustainable fat loss results.

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

The fat loss and body transformation questions have been coming by the dozen over the last few weeks. I figure now is a good time for a Personal Trainer in San Antonio Q and A!

Q: What do you think of the the weight loss pill “Alli”?
A: I’m going to make this down and dirty. Pills like are simply a quick fix and don’t address “what caused the problem?” They also focus on weight loss, not fat loss. I know at first that sounds desirable, but simply losing weight without controlling where the weight comes from (fat or muscle tissue) will simply make you going from being a large pear shaped person to a small pear shaped person. Why not totally re-compose your body and make it desirable?

Q: Is the Taco Bell drive thru diet legit?
A: There are times when you will be caught off guard and need a quick, healthy bite. Of course, there are always “better” choices, but most restaurants have decent choices. With that being said, when I am preparing for a bodybuilding competition, I make several meals and carry them with me to NEVER be caught off guard and not have a meal ready to eat. The key is to always be prepared and not depend on eating out. Also, I find that if I keep myself from temptation, I have a higher chance of success. Sure, the grilled chicken salad with no dressing is edible, but sometimes it’s tough to bypass the Nachos Grande. Don’t put yourself in that position.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Ab Circle?
A: I think it’d be great to hang shirts on. Ab work is done for functionality rather than aesthetics. Re-read that – all of the ab work in the world will not provide you with ripped abs if they are covered in fat. Abs are made in the kitchen. Don’t waste your money on ab machines and gadgets.

Q: I followed you during your bodybuilding contest prep and it was very inspiring. I am not in San Antonio, but was wondering if you offer contest prep, training and nutrition counseling online?
A: I do offer online training for several different situations. I am extremely strict and thorough, just as I am with in-gym clients. I do prefer training people online that have a decent exercise background.

I’ll be adding more over the next few days, so keep coming back. Stay focused, stay intense!

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