Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey everyone,

I hope everyone has had a great week. I’m writing more huge posts like the one I wrote the other day on rep ranges, so keep checking back!

This weekend will be busy for me – I have a late night of training tonight, morning clients tomorrow and on Sunday, I film my spot for the Springtime 65 show on Public Access here in San Antonio. I have a few ideas for topics but I’m open for suggestions. If there’s something you’d be interested in having me discuss, let me know and maybe I’ll use your topic on the show!

I’ve been absolutely murdering it in the gym myself over the last several weeks, and I’m taking some scheduled downtime after what was a brutal week of lifting. It’ll be tough to keep myself out, and may even go against my mind and do an extremely light day to keep the blood flowing tomorrow, although I know rest and recovery is exactly what I need as I’m about to begin a brutal microcyle of training next week to get to the next level of my program!

I hope everyone has a great weekend – as I finish my upcoming articles, I’ll post them here and link them off of Twitter and Facebook.

Remember, we are still running our Two For One Personal Training Special, so if you would like to get in shape with a friend, co-worker or family member, this is the perfect opportunity. Training goals and condition differences do not matter, as my personal trainers and I are extremely comfortable of training individuals simultaneously with contrasting goals.

Make your weekend 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

Here’s one of my more in-depth pieces that I’ve written in a very long while that I think will benefit everyone that is remotely interested in training and working out, male or female, novice to expert.

The number of repetitions performed for a specific goal is one of the most confusing topics for most novice exercisers for a few reasons. The myth that higher reps help define a muscle or sculpt a certain body part that is regularly perpetuated by uneducated personal trainers and other sources of misinformation is a large reason for this. I’ve discussed this hundreds of times here on the blog, but to reiterate, “sculpting”, “toning”, and/or “defining” are simply the product of lowering body fat levels. No movement, weight training or otherwise, spot reduces fat from a certain area, no matter how many reps you may do of the exercise. Body fat must be removed from the entire body and without surgery (liposuction), one cannot control where the fat is lost from (crunches and Ab Ripper X do not sculpt the midsection).

In this writing, I’m going to discuss some general guidelines on rep ranges, the pathways of energy (what fuel is being used during a specific rep range) and a few exceptions to help you determine what rep range you should be training in for your specific goals. Hopefully, it will help you better understand why you perform a certain range of repetitions and maybe debunk a few myths about “getting large and bulky by lifting heavy weights” and a certain rep range being used for “sculpting and toning”.

First, it’s important to understand that simply performing a certain rep range means nothing if the load that is being used is not adequate. For example, if I refer to the 10-12 rep range, I am implying that the last 1-2 reps are near or at maximum effort. Sorry, but training is a lot more than just going through the motions.

Below are a list of goals obtained from weight training. As you will see, toning or defining a muscle is not listed. The best way to lose fat? Increase the resting metabolic rate by intense weight training and increasing lean body mass. The actual increase of muscle is a very slow process, and most people have a very low capacity for muscle growth. Read: women, you will not get big and bulky.

So what is the deal? One personal trainer says anything over 8 reps is a waste of time. The next Beach Body fad (okay, that’s a joke, so P90Xers, please don’t waste the time to send me a message unless you just want to chat :D) is 100+ rep sets. Is the holy grail of training somewhere in between? Does it matter which exercises are used for specific rep ranges?

Before I move on to specific rep schemes, I want to cover two important topics that will help you further understand the body’s response to training. Over the last 15 years, I’ve written about Energy Metabolism and the Pathways of Energy numerous times, and with good reason: understanding these principles make it easier to understand how to reach specific training objectives.

But I need to preface THOSE TWO sections with one simple question.

What is ATP?

-Without getting overly technical here and boring the everliving piss out of you, ATP is simply the molecule that stores energy in a form that can be used for muscle contractions. Energy from the body revolves around using the current ATP stores and rebuilding those stores quickly for more workload. Every human movement requires ATP. Unfortunately, the muscles are limited in how much ATP they can hold. Larger muscles are stronger muscles. Why? Because they hold more ATP!

ATP Production/Pathways of Energy
ATP/CP Energy Pathway:
-This pathway is anaerobic, meaning it requires no oxygen for energy use. Think explosive movements (one all out rep, tearing a car door off or lifting it off of someone in a panic – it happens).

Glycolytic Pathway:
-This pathway is also anaerobic. Once you’ve depleted all stored ATP, the body must breakdown carbohydrates to produce more ATP (glycolytic – think, glycogen, glucose, etc). Glycogen is stored in the muscle cells and glucose is found in the blood. See the importance of carbohydrates BEFORE training?

How effective your muscles function in this pathway is determined by several factors:
-How quickly can you get rid of lactic acid (get rid of the burn, get back to work) – increased workload leads to overload of the muscles which is stimulus for change.
-How well you can tolerate lactic acid build up. I’ve had numerous novice clients that completely lock up at the first sight, while more experienced exercisers can push through it.
-How far can you push it before the pain makes you say “to hell with this”.

Oxidative Pathway:
This is the aerobic pathway. It’s tough to understand this for some, but this is the pathway which most ATP is actually produced – it just takes much longer (which is why one cannot all out sprint for 5 minutes).

Obviously, you’re doing a bit more to build lean body mass in the other two pathways, which explains why marathoners and distance athletes typically aren’t muscular (please, don’t confuse “skinny” for “lean”. There’s a big difference). But here’s something that causes a ton of confusion: this is the only pathway in which fat can be used directly for energy. This is why many people believe that they’ll get rid of fat faster by doing cardio, and during the exercise, more carbohydrates are used as intensity as increased. When carbs become depleted at high intensity cardio? The body will tap into muscle for protein (the aminos leucine, isoleucine and valine). The effect? Lost lean body mass, slowed metabolism, less definition.

Don’t be confused: even with extreme volume lower intensity cardio, fat loss is still greatly limited, and the body has a very small window before it will look to breakdown muscle mass for energy.

Energy Metabolism
Physical activities can be based into four groups based on the energy systems (below) that are used to support these activities.

1. Strength/Power
-Energy coming from immediate ATP stores. All out, one rep effort that lasts typically no more than 3 seconds.

2. Sustained Power
-Energy coming from both ATP and available Creatine Phosphate (CP) stores. Near all out effort from 0-10 seconds.

3. Anaerobic Power-Endurance
-Energy from ATP, CP, and lactic acid. 400 meter sprint, 50 rep leg press, 100 yard swim sprint, lasts 1-2 minutes.

4. Aerobic-Endurance:
-Energy from the oxidative pathway, typically any event that lasts over 2 minutes in duration.

With this being explained, is it anymore clearer as to why I refer to P90X and circuit training as cardio based programs with minimal effect on body transformation (you’re spending most of the time in the oxidative threshold, never allowing ATP/CP stores to reload).

And without further adieu – which rep ranges are appropriate for your goals?
Training Goals/Appropriate Rep Schemes
It’s important to understand how muscle fibers are recruited – the body will attempt to use the smallest fibers when it can (slow, then intermediate, then fast twitch fibers).

Goal: Strength/Power – 1-5 reps
Optimal rep range for strength and power are lower reps, usually somewhere in the 1-5 range. As the reps increase, the capability of the load to increase strength and power begins diminishing.

Heavier weight means more muscle fibers recruited and strengthened, enabling us to place a higher degree of overload in other rep ranges, leading to greater muscle development.

Exercises that greatly benefit from training in overall strength and power rep range: compound exercises such as squat, bench press, dead lift. Due to injury risk, it is not optimal to work in this rep range on most isolation and single joint exercises.

Regardless of your overall training goal(s), a foundation of strength and power will transfer well across the spectrum in all rep ranges and training objectives.

Goal: Overall Muscular Hypertrophy (growth) 6-12 reps
The moderate rep range of 6-12 reps is probably the most commonly used rep range and for good reason, as it has many of the benefits of the higher and lower rep ranges. This rep range combines the capabilities of moderately heavy weight to increase intensity, while also allowing the individual to perform a set that lasts long enough to allow the muscle to remain under tension (and cause that lactic acid burn that so many people enjoy).

Exercises that will benefit you most during the muscular hypertrophy rep range: you’re pretty safe here with compound and most isolation exercises, but consider joint structure, tendon and ligament strength and stabilizer issues before going overly heavy with some movements (and by heavy, I mean lower reps vs higher reps).

Goal: Anaerobic Strength Endurance 12-20 reps & Aerobic Strength Endurance 20+ reps

I’ve decided to combine these two goals into one, although they’re very specific. For most guys, they’re reading this thinking “Well, I really don’t have a need to do anything over 12-15 reps, right? WRONG. These rep schemes cause massive glycogen depletion. Why do you care about that? The body compensates by forcing the muscle to hold more glycogen (the main source of fuel for muscle contraction), making the muscle become more efficient. Glycogen also buffers lactic acid – meaning you can do more before the burn becomes so severe that you have to stop.

As far as exercises, you’re safe with any group. Obviously, higher rep compound exercises are a bit more difficult (think 25 rep squats) than isolation work. You can also group cardio based work into this threshold as well.

Putting This Information To Use In Developing Your Workout
Should you be training in one rep range? I think a better question is “why limit yourself”? While I prefer to warm up with lighter weight, due to fiber recruitment and the energy pathways, it makes more sense to perform your heavy work early in your workout before transitioning to single joint/higher rep work. But don’t be afraid to experiment: I often perform 20-50 rep leg presses, 25 rep squats, 20 rep bench presses and other rep schemes to keep things fresh and offer different types of stimulus. Don’t “marry” one rep range. Your specific goals are important, but injury history and risk aside, I’ve given plenty justification to train using every rep range.

Need clarification? Feel free to leave questions or comments below!

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

It is human nature to attempt to walk before we crawl. Unfortunately, just walking into a gym does not make you an elite athlete. That takes years of training and perfecting principles and techniques of whatever your specialty may be.

Weight training is no different. When I work with someone, we begin at the basic level: form must be perfected. There’s NO cheating. Safety is paramount. Ironically, when I train people that have in-depth exercise histories, they often respond to my training very quickly because those “bottom 2 inches” of a given exercise, control of the weight and attention to detail on proper form recruits muscles they’ve long considered problem areas and helps them rapidly get through a self-perceived plateau.

Here are five basic things that every weight trainer should pay close attention to:

Range of Motion.
(ROM) This refers to the complete movement of a joint. To improve a joints ability to perform, every muscle spanning a specific joint must be recruited and trained appropriately, which is accomplished by performing exercises at complete ROM.

Resistance.
Simply put, the resistance is the load of a specific exercise. Resistance must be small enough to perform the full Range of Motion while keeping proper form yet heavy enough to tax the muscle for the desired amount of repetitions.

Repetitions.
Repetitions are the number of times an exercise is continuously performed during a “set”. In an upcoming post, I discuss how to determine the number of repetitions based on one’s goals, as a lot of people are confused and mislead by numbers of reps and what is achieved by performing a specific range of reps.

Rest.
Amount of rest between sets is also directly related to a specific training goal. The body has numerous pathways of energy and each pathway is utilized based the amount of rest between sets. Training is very specific, and the body will respond directly to how it is trained from a workload, repetition and rest standpoint.

Recovery.
Weirdly enough, recovery may be the most important, yet most dismissed of the five R’s. The body changes at rest during recovery. Training is simply the stimulus. There is a fine balance between training the body often enough to stimulate progress, while not taking too much time off between sessions to avoid regression.

These principles are broad, yet important to understand to take your body to the next level. The body is highly adaptive, and based on condition, what is appropriate for one person who may be trained may be entirely too much for someone who hasn’t trained. With that being said, being undertrained (not doing enough) is as common as doing too much.

Find an expert fitness trainer to help you determine what is the right balance for you!

Strong mind, strong body – be educated!

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,

Monday has come and gone after a slow, relaxing weekend. I’m having a hard time believing my son starts Kindergarten in a week, and it has really made me understand the importance of cherishing every single minute of every single day.

I have a brutal training week scheduled for myself this week. Tuesday will be an attempt at a squat personal record, Wednesday will be an attempt at a bench press personal record, and Thursday will be an all out dead lift day. Mix it in with the brutal, all out assault full body workout that I will annihilate myself with on Saturday (my day of growth style training instead of total strength training) and I will be ready for another relaxing weekend next week. The current goals are to add strength (getting ready for a push/pull – aka dead lift/bench press meet) and slowly add muscle. My days of bulking up to 265lbs to diet down to compete in a bodybuilding show are long over. I prefer to stay lean all year round and add lean body mass at a much slower rate while keeping my body fat percentage in single digits. It’s healthier and in my opinion more enjoyable. Besides, keeping a high level of discipline from a nutritional standpoint makes it easy to switch into competition mode and be ready to diet down for my next bodybuilding show.

With this being said, I’m often asked if I only train bodybuilders and female fitness competitors. While I do assist numerous people with contest prep, it is actually a very small part of what I do. In reality, 90% of my clients are training to feel better and look better – lose body fat, tone up, become more defined, while feeling better and performing better in every aspect of their lives. My training philosophies vary greatly from client to client: no two workouts are ever the same and I integrate every aspect of training that has ever been used: high intensity, circuits, all out strength, full body, body parts, cross-training, plyometrics, Olympic Style lifts, powerlifting, etc, etc, etc. I believe in breaking the mold and the key to long term success is variety and regular progress.

It’s time to down my last meal of the day and get ready for bed, as I have a full slate of clients tomorrow. Mid-August is always a very busy time of year for me, as people have a bit more flexibility with the kids going back to school, and since I also extended my Two For One Training Special, I’ll be very busy. I have an awesome staff of expert trainers that are more than capable of handling the workload, so being busy is a very good thing in this business.

Train with a purpose – don’t waste a rep nor a second!!!

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 you want to drastically change the way you look? Well, time to stop the excuses and get started. It’s a never ending progress and drastic changes do NOT happen overnight. But the first step is the hardest one, and if you’re going to walk 1000 miles, you have to take that first step. This advice may be general in nature, but if you’re wondering how to get started or what to do to change your body, lose fat and start feeling better RIGHT AWAY, this is a start.

Are you ready to take that first step? Here’s what you need to do:
-Follow these nutritional guidelines to the “T” for two weeks without deviating, skipping a meal or cheating.

-Train intensely with weights three times per week focusing mainly on compound exercises that train multiple muscle groups (bench press and variations, squats and variations, rowing variations, lunges, stiff leg dead lifts, leg press, pull ups, pull downs, dips, push ups, presses, etc). I don’t care if you train a few muscle groups or the entire body each day, but train with intensity and break out of your comfort zone. Add weights, do a crazy 50 rep set here and there – whatever. Just mix it up, do things you don’t normally do, and train with a purpose. I have numerous sample workouts here on the blog, so check out the little search button on the side.

-Intense cardio three times per week, 25-30 minutes each session. Sweat. You should not be able to read a magazine or chat. Be focused and push it.

-Shoot for between .8g – 1.2g of protein per pound of bodyweight from protein sources that I have listed in my food list.

-No refined carbs, sugars, processed or fast food for the entire two weeks

-With the exception of protein drinks (sparingly, not the centerpiece of your diet), drink nothing but water for two weeks. No soda, no juice. And absolutely, NO ALCOHOL. Spread your water consumption evenly throughout the day, but strive for an ounce per pound of bodyweight. Coffee drinkers, I can allow you a little coffee, but keep it raw – no creamer or sugar.

-Eat a source of veggies in at least 4 meals.

-The most important thing? Stop delaying – get off of your ass and put the plan in motion.

There you go, simple and sweet – this obviously will not turn you into an underwear model overnight, but within 2 days you’ll start feeling more energetic and you’ll begin flushing the body of toxins and excess waste. After two weeks, this behavior will almost be habit, and you’ll be in a position to really start making progress.

Don’t waste time wishing. No more excuses. You must make time and you must put forth the effort. It takes consistency and effort, and everyone has to start somewhere.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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’ll just do more cardio to make up for the enchiladas I had for lunch.”

Ever heard something like this? Better yet, ever thought this?

In theory? Sounds great. I can eat a bunch of food that I know I shouldn’t and yet negate it by banging out an extra 30 on the elliptical or treadmill. Or “I workout SO I can eat whatever the hell I want…”

Unfortunately, we ARE what we eat. Also, the body WANTS to preserve itself by storing fat, and that means at the expense of lean body mass (which keeps the metabolism running at a high level).

Burning 750 calories is a task. That means you invested a little time and effort. Sad thing? No matter how hard you work to follow the heart rate charts for fuel burned during exercise, your body is going to do everything it can to burn things you don’t want it to burn before it burns adipose tissue (fat). The body does not automatically tap into the “stuff” we want it to burn during exercise. However, if you feed the body with junk? It will gladly store it. It’s not very hard to throw down a ton of calories over a short amount of time.

Food is a huge source of enjoyment for many people. Of course, more utility is gained when we “reward” ourselves less often. Properly fueling our bodies for exercise and recovery will lead to rewards that are much greater than a simple bite of food.

If you’re going to put in the effort, do it right and reap the benefits. Obtaining a lean body is not impossible, but it does require consistency, discipline and effort.

So today at lunch or tonight at dinner, don’t think you can just undo “overdoing” it by some extra cardio. Practice moderation – build in times to allow yourself to get over cravings, but stick to your plan and be rewarded by a leaner, healthier body!

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

Without a doubt, few exercise and fitness programs have come along in the last several years with the hype that has been generated by P90X. Since I wrote my Why P90X Sucks article, most people assume that I hate the program. I received so many hate emails and comments because of that article, and many of the messages that disagreed with my assessment of P90X regurgitated exactly what I wrote in the opening of that post, mainly: anything that gets people off of their asses isn’t a bad thing. I would guess it would be safe to operate under the assumption that most of those people didn’t take the time to read my article, saw the title and decided that they should fire off a message to me to defend P90X, even though my article, aside from the title, wasn’t an assault on the P90X lifestyle and program.

It isn’t P90X in itself that I dislike at all. It definitely isn’t the people that do P90X that I dislike. Doing absolutely ANYTHING is better than doing nothing. I don’t care HOW people workout, but life is too short to live it inactive. With that being said, I am actually objective, yet very direct in my assessment. I understand the immense popularity of P90X and most people look at my assessment as saying “he just hates it” and that’s not the case.

I’ve never said that P90X is “easy” or yields “no results”. When I speak out against it, that seems to be the retorts I get. There are simply much smarter ways to reach what so many feel is an unreachable goal.

Please understand what my chief complaint about P90X is: Tony Horton and his crew of Beach Body Coaches have perpetuated every popular myth about fitness and weight training to market their product. I am not saying P90X has NO USE nor am I saying that P90X is a scam. It does have use (albeit not as it is advertised) and I do not feel that is a scam.

And by the way, don’t fall under the hypnosis and believe that every model in that video has only exercised using the P90X system AND/OR ONLY uses P90X as their sole workout program. If you believe that, I have a very nice beach house in Arizona I’d give you one hell of a deal on.

The purpose of this post is to take the myths they are perpetuating, identify the fiction they’re using as support of their program, and evaluate the entire P90X program as a quality form of overall training based on the Laws of Training.

The Miracle of Muscle Confusion…
Hardly a miracle at all and most definitely not created nor discovered by Tony Horton or the Beach Body crew. It’s simply referring to periodization and the SAID Principle. Mixing workouts up is a no-brainer, and I can honestly say that I personally do not know anyone that knows anything about fitness that does the same workouts over and over. A note: muscles do not become “confused”. A muscle responds to a new stimulus – the reaction is known as hypertrophy (or growth). In short, progressively increase the resistance and your muscles will grow. Stimulate and strengthen weak links by using multiple movements and you will see progress with any weight training program, but the key is progressive resistance.

Ab Ripper – Sculpt the Abs of Your Dreams!!!???!!!???
Can you sculpt your abs? Does ab work remove fat from the mid-section and give you that elusive 6 pack? NO, IT DOES NOT. Ab work is done for functionality and strengthening purposes, not for aesthetic purposes. Doing more ab work does not “bring out your abs”. Simply put, the “Ab Ripper” suggests that spot removal of fat is possible by exercising a certain area, and this is not the case. You cannot “sculpt” any area by targeting it – this does not remove fat! Loss of body fat is a product of proper nutrition and training, and one cannot control WHERE their body fat is lost.

Never Plateau!!!
Mixing things up does assist in avoid running into a plateau. However, as you read below and understand the Principle of Overload below, you’ll be able to understand why a plateau is unavoidable. Continuously making fat loss progress while maintaining lean body mass to achieve a defined, toned or ripped physique (you choose your favorite term) is not easy and requires a very specific approach. As I’ve stated numerous times: any guy can get to sub 10% body fat and any female can get into her lean (yet still safe) range, but to become even more defined and to achieve that “Hollywood” or “fitness model” look (read: visible, defined abs) requires a more specified program for 99% of individuals than P90X’s general approach.

Three Phase Nutrition Program
This is what I call “throwing shit on the wall to see if it sticks”. Advanced concepts such as nutrient timing and rotational carbohydrates are completely ignored. Everyone responds differently to not only different forms of exercise, but also to different nutritional techniques. The one-size fits all approach of P90X may help you lose weight, but it does not help you find the optimal nutritional approach for your current condition, body type and other genetic factors.

Not Getting Enough From Your Gym Workouts?
I watch a lot of people go into the gym and just go through the motions. You must workout with a purpose. It’s not just about moving weights and breaking a sweat. Every exercise must have a purpose and everything you do should go toward your goals. If you aren’t getting enough out of your gym workouts, educate yourself on what you need to do and do it with some intensity. Progressive resistance is key: you must push yourself each and every single time.

You Don’t Need a Ton of Weights and Machines!!!

I agree with this part, actually. I keep my training approach very simple. But the bottom line is that you do need more than a few pairs of dumbbells, rubber bands and chin up bars. More than anything, Beach Body is playing off of the fear that most females have of lifting heavy weights. I list the videos below – this is a simple myth that I’ve busted numerous times. The “I just want to get ripped” nonsense? The best way to do that is by performing compound exercises – and a few sets of db’s at a high rep pace and short rest period is simply for muscular endurance. What am I saying? The “high reps builds definition” concept is another myth.

This Program is For Those Who Want To Get Ripped, Not Big and Bulky…
“Big and Bulky” is a product of nutrition and genetics. Actually, there are few people with huge muscles. VERY few. Lots of fat people. I’ve decimated this “cardio first for fat loss” and of course, I’ve explained that muscle has two states: it grows or it goes. It does not firm, harden, or tighten. Growth is a slow process and it isn’t going to just “pop up” overnight. Once you get outside a certain training threshold, you’re in the oxidative threshold (cardio) and that is where 90% of P90X is performed. Why is this important? Because weight training (brief duration, high intensity, progressive resistance and staying out of the cardio thresholod) is by far and away the best way to burn fat and transform the body.

Shakeology!
From a supplement standpoint, I don’t think this is a “bad” product at all. It is both sugar and gluten free, which I’m all for. I’m still totally fine with buying a high quality protein blend and self-manipulating fat and carbohydrate content (oils, oatmeal, etc).

The self-administered studies pretty much say what every supplement company does (you’ll lose weight, feel better, etc) so I’m not going to throw them to the wolves over that. I more often than not suggest a quality protein/meal replacement supplement, so I have no problem with their product as long as individuals understand that supplementation is a small part of training and that any nutritional program must center around proper food selection and timing of nutrients. No program, training nor nutrition, should be centered around supplement use, and the use of Shakeology (or any other nutritional supplement for that matter) will not make up for otherwise poor nutritional habits.

The two things to weigh in most relatively “close” nutritional supplement products are cost and taste. If you’re satisfied with those two things, then the choice is yours. At roughly $4 per serving, there are many superior products out there, but again, you can also do much worse.

How Complete is the P90X Workout?
Take a second to re-read my article on the Principles of Training. Every program I create considers and obeys these principles, as any well-rounded program should. These laws are essential for maximum progress in your fat loss and body transformation goals, male or female, novice or expert physical trainer.

Here is a quick breakdown of how well P90X obeys each of the Seven Principles of Training:

Does P90X Obey:
Principle of Individual Differences.
No. P90X is a one size fits all program. I am a big believer in every aspect of a fitness program being custom made for the user from scratch, and this is one of, if not the most important principle, and it is completely ignored by P90X.

Principle of Overcompensation.
Possible, especially initially. In P90X’s case, this goes hand in hand with the “Use/Disuse” Principle. Like other programs, this program will benefit you most in the beginning (regardless of their “Muscle Confusion” claims). The limitations of constant, forced progression are evident in P90X, and overload (discussed below) is restricted greatly when bodyweight is the most used form of resistance.

Principle of Overload.
Possible. As I wrote in the “Why P90X Sucks” article, as long as bodyweight is the limiting factor, progress is possible. After a while, all of the bodyweight exercises in the world will stop stimulating muscle growth (about the time the exercises cross into the “muscular endurance” rep scheme. I know, I know “you don’t want to get big”. Understand that muscle growth is a very slow process and is how you become defined. You must stimulate growth to maintain muscle to obtain the lean, “ripped” (or “toned”) appearance. Rubber bands and light db’s will quickly become “not quite enough” and the practicality of more equipment doesn’t appeal to most. Also, nothing stimulates overload like relatively heavy compound exercises. There’s no bodyweight/light dumbbell exercise that will substitute for classic squatting and dead lifting.

SAID Principle.
This program benefits from the initial “newbie gains” like any other program would (initially overcoming disuse) but considering it trains toward many different objectives, maximum progress is loss due to lack of specificity and regular periodization of different goals and priorities.

Use/Disuse Principle.
Possible. Use it or lose it – in this case, once you are unable to adequately stimulate a muscle group (for example, push ups yield great results early in a workout program for upper body development, but when they become much less challenging, MORE stimulation is required (traditional bench press, progressively more resistance). Considering this example, if those muscle fibers that were once stimulated by push ups are not continuously stimulated, they will atrophy.

The Specificity Principle.
No. As the program progresses, it does not become more specific. Much of this is due to the first principle being violated, as it is for the masses.

GAS Principle.
No. As a whole, different parts of the body and their required recovery times based on their training intensity and volume aren’t considered over a long period of time

Working out is not easy. It is not supposed to be. Is this program completely worthless? Absolutely NOT. Anything is better than nothing. I do, however, believe that there are many better, more effective alternatives for working out and training. A good workout is more than getting the heart pumping and sweating. You must train with a purpose and toward an objective – this is the reason why most people you see in the gym don’t even look as if they workout at all. Time is too precious not to optimize your training experience. Your training should evolve as YOUR BODY changes.

Regardless of what the masses believe, I do not think P90X is effective as a training system beyond being an intense cardio workout. I’ve mentioned many times the benefits of intense weight training as resistance versus cardio for fat loss and body transformation for both males and females. P90X plays on the fear that many women have that training intensely with weights or working hard in the gym doing something other than bouncing around will make them big and bulky, and my many instances of women lifting heavy weights (and here) have far proven that idea bogus and a myth. The results achieved are simply through consistency and overcome disuse, and breaking the monotony of just going through the motions.

Train with a purpose!

Boyd Myers
San Antonio Fat Loss and Body Transformation Expert
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey San Antonio,

For many, August means a fresh start, as it is the month in which school starts. Make it the month you begin getting into the best shape of your life with a friend or loved one, as I have expanded my Two For One Personal Training special.

Whether your goals or fitness levels are similar or entirely different, my personal trainers and I are able to simultaneously able to train both of you accordingly to help you reach your goals in as little time as possible – we have experience in simultaneously training individuals in completely different conditions with completely contrasting goals.

Not only is it motivating and fun, but it’s also less expensive per person/per session to do so. As always, all personal training packages include complete nutritional guidance, 24/7 access to your trainer and complete guidance on what to do when you’re not in the gym with your trainer. Whether your goal is fat loss, body transformation, or athletic performance, our training and nutrition programs will help you reach your goals in the shortest amount of time possible.

For more information, check out our webpage: Personal Fitness Revolution – San Antonio Personal Training

Also, my personal training studio does also offer Occupational Discounts for students, active duty military and teachers.

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

Do you push it a bit further every single workout?

Do you introduce new exercises on a regular basis?

Do you regularly work on becoming better at things you aren’t good at?

When is the last time you went a whole day eating the right foods in the right amounts at the right time without deviation? A week? Ever gone a month? Think you’d look and feel different if you would?

Do you regularly change your nutritional approach to account for different needs based on activity, recovery, and natural hormone manipulation?

Do you have a personal trainer? Does he/she keep you accountable?

Do you regularly assess yourself? More than just the scale: skinfold measurements? Circumference measurements?

Do you set goals and share those goals with friends for positive pressure? Do you reach your goals and set new ones???

Do you miss a workout every couple of weeks?

Be honest and assess yourself: change does not happen overnight but it is not evasive. If you aren’t doing what it takes, why aren’t you? The effort is so very worth it!

You CAN change you! It is NOT easy, and it is not passive. It takes consistency, dedication and effort. You must force progression, not sit around and wait for it to happen. Three more reps, 5 more pounds, one more training session.

Do not settle!!!

Boyd Myers
San Antonio’s Body Transformation and Fat Loss Expert
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

I have a few nice posts coming up over the next few day, including a few great healthy, low fat, high protein recipes, supplement information, reviews and schedules for different goals, and one of my bigger posts, the marketing myths perpetuated by P90X. Be on the lookout!

I’m off to go workout myself. I’m destroying goals and showing no signs of a plateau anytime soon!

Make today YOURS!

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