Dave Soucy

16 Benefits of Healthy Weight Inner Circle

Everyone has their own reasons for making a decision to improve their life through a fitness program. And while most people are concerned with losing weight and looking better, here is a list of many of the other important potential benefits that Healthy Weight Inner Circle can provide:

Loss of body fat
Do you know that when you attempt to lose weight by dieting alone, you end up losing some fat, but also much lean muscle and water?

Also, calorie restriction causes your body to slow down your metabolism, so as soon as you increase calorie intake again, the fat comes back on faster than ever.

A strategy built around sound nutrition and exercise can help you maximize fat loss while maintaining or gaining valuable lean muscle.

Weight control
Unlike diets, a sound nutrition and exercise strategy can lead to a lifetime of stable weight, getting you off of the weight loss - weight gain roller coaster that comes with diets.

A fad diet may get you back into those size 4 pants again for a month, but a well thought out fitness lifestyle can keep you in them forever.

 

Look better naked

 

Well, who doesn’t want that?

Increased metabolism
Contrary to popular perception, a fast or slow metabolism is not a gift or curse you are given at birth.

It is easy to blame your metabolism for weight gain, but in reality, we are NOT the victims of our metabolism, rather we are the CREATORS of our metabolism.

While calorie restricted diets literally destroy your metabolism, a properly designed exercise and nutrition plan can dramatically fire up your metabolism so you burn more calories all day, every day.

Increased muscular strength and endurance
Whether you participate in competitive sports, or just participate in activities of daily living such as carrying your child up and down the stairs or lifting the groceries out of the car trunk, increased strength will allow you to perform better.

And for women, you do not need to worry about developing big, bulky muscles in order to see improvements in muscular strength and endurance.

 

Increased cardiorespiratory efficiency and endurance Do you get winded just going up a flight of stairs?

In less time than you think, a properly designed exercise regimen can deliver marked improvement in your endurance. Research has repeatedly shown that a regular exercise routine can improve the performance of the cardiorespiratory system.

Do you realize that if you were able to reduce your resting heart rate by only 5 beats per minute, that translates into 7200 fewer times per day your heart needs to beat? That is more than 50,000 fewer beats per week!

That is a lot less work that your heart will need to do.

Increased bone, ligament, and tendon strength
Resistance training and weight bearing exercise not only strengthen the muscles, but strengthen the skeletal system and connective tissues as well. This can greatly reduce your risk of injury.

Increased muscle mass
Along with an improved physical appearance, increased muscle mass causes you to burn more calories throughout the day. Muscle is metabolically active tissue and is the furnace in your body where fat is actually used for energy.

More muscle means a faster metabolism.

Reduction in resting blood pressure
Did you know that high blood pressure increases the risk for coronary heart disease, and can cause heart attacks or strokes?
According to the American Heart Association, one in four adult Americans has high blood pressure, and nearly a third of them do not realize it. Of the 50 million sufferers, nearly half are women.

While medications are often warranted, lifestyle changes including improvements in nutrition and regular exercise are key elements in the control of blood pressure.

Improvements in cholesterol levels
Cholesterol, a fatty substance found in cells and blood, is necessary for many normal bodily functions.

Unfortunately many people have cholesterol readings that are too high - 200 and above - putting them at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

If you are overweight, losing body fat can reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise your HDL (good) cholesterol, and as little as thirty minutes of exercise on most days can help improve overall cholesterol levels.

Decreased risk of diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes, where the body makes little or no insulin, is usually diagnosed in childhood. Currently there is no known way to prevent Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes, where the pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose at normal levels, usually occurs in adulthood and is far more common, making up 90% of all cases of the disease.

Maintaining an ideal body weight and an active lifestyle are two of the main factors in preventing the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.

Decreased risk of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and bone fragility, which leads to increased risk of fractures. Men as well as women may suffer from it.

Studies have shown that resistance training and weight-bearing exercises are effective in increasing bone mineral density.

Improved self-esteem
There is truth in the saying "When you look good, you feel good." The positive changes brought on by a structured exercise and supportive nutrition program are not only physical. Increased confidence, energy, and vitality are all benefits of a fitness lifestyle.

Improved posture
Whether it is behind a desk at work, behind the wheel of a car, or on the couch watching TV, we all spend a lot more time than we should on our butts.

These positions can lead to lower back problems, weak and rounded shoulders, tight chest muscles, and a hunched over posture.

 

A properly designed exercise program can address these issues, and help undo the damage we unintentionally do to our bodies all day long.

Decreased stress
Studies have shown that exercise can cause the brain to release endorphins and other neurotransmitters that actually help to improve your mood and leave you relaxed.

Overall improved health
The health benefits of exercise have been known for thousands of years, as evidenced by this quote:

"Speaking generally, all parts of the body which have a function, if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed,
become healthy and well developed and age slowly. But, if unused and left idle, they come liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly."

Hippocrates 370BC

The Starting Line: Goal Setting

Most people have heard that when it comes to setting goals, you're supposed to set SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, and Time-based.

I'm in agreement with the first 3 of those.

Goals need to be specific, not wishy-washy. "I want to lose weight" is not a goal, it's a daydream. "I will weigh 184 lbs by the end of this fitness bootcamp" is a goal.

"I want to be invisible" is neither measurable nor achievable, so we're back into daydreaming again. Obviously you need to be able to measure your progress towards your goal, and your goal must ultimately be achievable if it is going to have any real value. Simple enough.

I've got a little bit of an issue with setting Reasonable goals though. Always being reasonable means you never really have to reach out of your comfort zone and push yourself. Unreasonable goals, if still achievable, will force you to push yourself further than you are used to, into the area where real growth and accomplishment occur.

Always being reasonable (at least as far as goal setting goes) is for babies. Run with scissors once in a while. Be unreasonable.

 

As far as Time-based goes, that is okay, but could be improved. I prefer to have Event-based goals. The difference is subtle, but important.

If you say you want to lose 9 lbs of fat by August 31, and you don't do it, well, so what? Where is the consequence for not meeting your deadline? There is no consequence. With some random date as a deadline, it is too easy to let yourself off of the hook when you really need to push yourself to make your goal.

With an Event-based deadline there will be a consequence for not making your goal. Let me explain.

Instead of picking an arbitrary date on the calendar, pick an event based in the future: a school reunion, a wedding, a family gathering, a trip, etc. Don't have any of those coming up? No problem. Call your doctor and set an appointment for a physical.
Now, tell someone close to you about your goal to lose 9 lbs by the reunion/wedding/gathering/trip/physical/etc. Now you have a real incentive to stick to your plan because you can picture yourself 9 lbs lighter at your specific event, and if you don't make it, the person you told will know.

The other benefit is that when you do reach your goal, not only will you feel great about it, but you'll have that other person to share your success with.

That being said, it is important to set both short and long term goals for yourself. If you have goals in mind for an event 16 weeks away, set additional goals for 8 & 12 weeks. Also set goals for 6 & 12 months, and make sure that you write all of them down.

Always remember to look at the big picture with your goals and accomplishments. A client may be disappointed that her body fat percentage “only” dropped 4% over 16 weeks. But think about it: At that pace she will be able to go from 30% body fat to 18% in a year!

Obese to athletic in 12 months.

 

That is spectacular!

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."
Michelangelo

Exercise is Only Half the Battle

While the exercise movements and routines in this program are vital to developing a strong, healthy body, maintaining a healthy weight, and losing weight if necessary, also plays a critical role.

The reality is, you can do all of the exercise in the world, and undo your efforts very quickly with poor nutrition. The key to proper nutrition is a commitment to making some lifestyle changes.

Remember, fad diets will not work in the long term, and actually do more harm than good.

At Healthy Weight Inner Circle, we have something called HWIC’s Ridiculously Simple Rules of Good Nutrition. Take a couple of minutes to click that link and read them now.

So What Does All of This Mean? Fat loss is not complicated.

 

Eat right and exercise. Pretty simple stuff. While it may be hard to actually do it, the strategy certainly is no more complicated than that.

 

Hopefully that article has at least helped you to gain a better understanding of what eating right means.

Understanding gets you nowhere though. You have to take action and implement what you now understand about nutrition, and couple that with a consistent exercise program.

That is the only true way to healthy, long term fat loss.

The Cardio Myth

There are probably hundreds of myths surrounding fitness that I could explode here, but an important one for you to understand is The Cardio Myth.

 

When I said that it is important to lose excess weight, how many of you thought you’d need to do hours and hours of cardio every week?

 

I will tell you right now that you will not find any instructions in this book telling you to 45, 60, 75 minutes or more of cardio exercise.

 

Sounds good already, doesn’t it?

 

Cardio Girl

Maybe you are one of those people spending 45 minutes a day, six days a week, on the treadmill at the gym. If you aren’t, you have at least seen this woman, Cardio Girl.

Cardio Girl wants to lose fat.

So she gets on the treadmill and checks out the little chart on the treadmill display that shows her what her heart rate needs to be for her to be working in “The Fat-Burning
Zone”.

Of course, there is a cute guy on the next treadmill over, so she cranks up the speed to about 8 mph and starts her arms and legs pumping like she is running from a chainsaw murderer.

She lasts about 45 seconds at that speed and decides it will be tough to look cool if she has a myocardial infarction, so she slows it down and instead decides that she is going to walk uphill.

So, training for her next Everest hike, she cranks the incline up as high as it will go, and grabs onto the handles for dear life. If she lets go, she will be on her butt.

Cardio Girl hangs on and keeps climbing Everest for the next 45 minutes. She is confident that, since she is walking, she must be in “The Fat-Burning Zone”, and fat must be melting off of her faster than ice in Phoenix. She gets off the machine, most likely doesn’t wipe the sweat off of it, does about 50 or so of the most poorly performed crunches ever seen, and declares herself a gym diva.

Of course, Cardio Girl has been doing this exact same workout for 6 months now, still has jiggly arms, flabby thighs, wears baggy sweatshirts, and hasn’t lost a pound in 2 months.

But she continues to do this day in and day out, steadfastly refusing the temptation to do any resistance training, because she doesn’t want to get ‘bulky’.

Smaller Muscles Burn Less Fat

This section of the book is not intended to be an in-depth science lesson, but the notion that long duration aerobic exercise (endurance training) is not preferred for fat loss goes against what most people mistakenly believe, so a little depth is beneficial.

If you think about it logically, it will begin to make sense.

First, muscle is the tissue in the body where fat is burned for energy. Endurance training does not make your muscles bigger, and in fact it can make them smaller.

Thus, less muscle mass will result in fewer calories burned throughout the day.

 

Next, endurance training makes your muscles more efficient at energy utilization.

 

What does that mean?

Well, if today it takes 100 calories of energy for you to run a mile, and you stay consistent with your endurance training, you will eventually only need to use 70 calories to perform that same task.

In other words, to burn that same 100 calories, you will now need to run almost 1.5 miles!

So, now not only are your muscles possibly smaller and burning fewer calories during your workout, they burn fewer calories throughout the rest of the day because of the effects of the endurance training.
Now are you beginning to understand why Cardio Girl could not lose those flabby thighs?

Efficient Muscles Are Good, But...

Don’t misunderstand the point here. Endurance training can make your muscles more efficient, and efficient muscles are a good thing if that is your goal.

But, we are talking about losing excess fat, not running a marathon.

That’s a different goal, and when fat loss is the goal, relying solely on endurance training is one of the least effective exercise
routes to get there.

Think about this: picture an Olympic 100 meter

 

sprinter. Body like a Greek statue right?

 

Well, guess what?

They don’t do long duration cardio. They sprint, they
rest, then they sprint some more. Short duration, high

intensity activity.

Would you rather look like an Olympic sprinter, or an Olympic marathoner? Have you seen what marathon winners look like?

 

I’m not implying that you can achieve the body of an Olympic sprinter, but that is certainly a better target than a marathoner.

 

Why Cardio Girl is Wrong

 

Let’s be clear on the fact that Cardio Girl’s goal is to lose fat and get her weight down.

Obviously there are plenty of health benefits that can come from doing long, steady sessions on the treadmill including stress reduction, lower blood pressure, and improved cholesterol just to name a few.

But, as far as a strategy to lose fat and get into her skinny jeans, Cardio Girl is going about it all wrong.

 

More Calories, Less Time

 

So if long duration, steady-state cardio isn’t the answer, what is?

 

High intensity interval training.

The truth is, long duration, low intensity training does very little to keep your metabolism elevated after you finish your training session.

What?

Yes, you are burning more calories when you are walking on that treadmill, but within 30 minutes or so of finishing, your metabolism is right back down where it was before getting on the treadmill.

On the other hand, research has shown that high intensity training routines, even if they are shorter in duration, will keep your metabolism elevated for a much longer duration after the training session is over, possibly for as long as 12 to 24 hours.

Sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it?

A study published by the Journal of the American College of Nutrition by RW Bryner and others documented this fact. The subjects of the study were split into two groups: a high intensity exercise group and low intensity exercise group.

Even with no change in diet, significant fat loss was observed in the high intensity group.

 

That was not the case in the low intensity group.

Again, positive changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. could be experienced by both groups, but for a goal of fat loss, the long duration, low intensity group lost out.

Starting to make sense now? But What About The Fat-Burning Zone?

One of the worst things fitness equipment manufacturers ever did was put those foolish “Cardio Zone” and “Fat-Burning Zone” charts on their equipment. This caused people to obsess over the percentage of calories burned coming from fat while they are on that piece of equipment.

Who cares!?

How about worrying about how much fat you are burning the other 23.5 hours during the day? Doesn’t it make sense that that would be much more important?

Cardio Girl is focusing on proportional fat calories burned instead of total fat calories burned.

Sure, the percentage of calories burned coming from fat may in fact be higher while she is in the “fat-burning zone” on the treadmill. But, if she performed shorter duration, higher intensity exercise coupled with resistance training, she would burn more total calories all day.

That is where your focus should be, not on specific caloric expenditure just during your workout.

 

Think about it this way: would you rather have 40% of $100 or 20% of $1000?

 

Okay, So What are Cardio Intervals?

High intensity cardio intervals are a much more efficient means of working out and burning fat. If you’re interested in burning more fat by spending less time on the treadmill (or bike or elliptical or stairclimber or jogging or whatever), then you should really read this article now.

Two Important Points First

Remember The Belly Button

Throughout the exercise descriptions in this book, you will see the instruction to “Keep the belly button drawn in.” Eventually this will become second nature to you, but before you start, you should practice to get the feel for it.

To do this, simply pull your belly button in, away from your shirt and towards your spine. An observer should see no external movement from your midsection, shoulders, head, or spine. You should not be holding your breath and should be able to speak and breathe normally as you do this.

Another way of thinking about is to “brace your abs”, like you would do if I was about to punch you in the stomach. Not that I would, but you get the point.

The purpose of this is to activate the transversus abdominis and other muscles that act to stabilize your spine.

People often ignore these muscles in their exercise programs, but they are a critical component when it comes to overall strength and stabilization during exercise, as well as during all of the movements that occur in daily life.

It is also important that you do not hold your breath during the exercises. A good rule of thumb is to exhale on the exertion and inhale on the return to starting position.

A Note on Exercise Intensity and Certain Medications

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medication, you must check with your health care provider prior to beginning an exercise program to ensure that you are aware of any possible side effects or adverse reactions, and to gain a complete understanding of any limitations imposed on you by your health care provider.

This is vitally important and cannot be stressed strongly enough.

Now let’s move on to the exercises. If you’d like to see video demonstrations of these, plus about 75 other fat-burning, muscletoning exercises, check out the no-risk trial at
www.HealthyWeightInnerCircle.com.

Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere

The Plank

The Plank is an excellent way to target your
transverse abdominis and the other core muscles that work to stabilize your spine.

Lying on the floor, support yourself on your elbows. They should be directly under your shoulders, so that your upper arms are perpendicular to the floor.

Draw the belly button in and lift the hips off the floor so that you are supported by your elbows and toes.

 

Do not let your butt either sag down, or arch up in the air.

Your body should be straight from shoulders to feet, like a “Plank”.

Be sure to keep the belly button drawn in and do not forget to breathe.

Hold in the up position for 8 – 10 seconds, and then slowly lower yourself.

With a 5 second rest in between repetitions, perform this movement 5 times. As you get stronger, increase the time held in the up position.

As your core strengthens, you will begin to hold the position for 15, 20, 30, and even up to 60 seconds. Don’t increase the number of repetitions as you get stronger. Instead, keep increasing the time held in the up position.

Side Bridges

Lie on your side,
resting on your
elbow, with one
foot on top of the
other.

Keep your body in
a straight line
from ankles to
knees to hips to
shoulders.

Make sure your
elbow is directly

under your
shoulder, so that your upper arm is perpendicular to the floor.

Rest your top hand on your hip as shown in the picture.

 

Draw the belly button in, and lift the hips up off of the floor, so that your body is in a straight line from foot to shoulder.

 

Remember to keep the belly button held in throughout the entire exercise, and do not forget to breathe.

Hold in the up position for 8 – 10 seconds, then slowly lower yourself. With a 5 second rest in between repetitions, perform this movement 5 times, then do the same on the opposite side.

As you get stronger, increase the time held in the up position.

 

As your core strengthens, you will begin to hold the position for 15, 20, 30, and even up to 60 seconds.

 

Don’t increase the number of repetitions as you get stronger. Instead, keep increasing the time held in the up position.

 

Want more ways to get a trim, flat tummy?
Visit our online Fitness Community now.
Stability Ball Wall Squats

Stability ball wall
squats are a great
exercise for the
muscles of your
legs, hips, and
butt.

Place the stability
ball between your
lower back and
the wall and place
your feet
approximately one
foot out in front of

you, slightly wider
than hip width apart.

Looking straight ahead and drawing the belly button in, squat down as low as you can with proper form, but not going below the point where your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Your feet should be far enough in front of you so
that in the
squatting position, your lower leg is perpendicular to the floor.

Exhale as you
push back up to the starting
position in a
smooth, controlled manner.

You should keep your glutes squeezed and do not lock out your knees at the top of the motion. Repeat for the desired repetitions.

 

Split Squats

Another great
move for your
lower body is the
Split Squat.

Stand with a
bench, chair, or
something similar
in height behind
you.

Place one foot on
the bench and
your other foot

approximately two
feet out in front of the bench.

Bend your front knee until your thigh is parallel to the floor, and your rear knee is a few inches above the