Myth 2 – You have to go to a gym or buy expensive weight training systems at home to get fit and have a good workout.
Absolutely not. I do everything at home, except for most of my running of course, with a set of dumbbells, a basic weight bench and a pull up bar. Some people might also want to use a yoga mat if you don’t have a nice rug, or carpeted floors for comfort. You may also prefer resistance bands to weights. I prefer the free weights. A weight bench is very handy but not necessary. Also, an extra chair or stool that you may have lying around will come in handy as well. So what does all of this mean? It means don’t waste your money on stupid gimmicks, quick ab machines or pills that you see on TV! Save your money and buy some healthy food next time your at the grocery store instead.

Myth 3 – Spot fat removal.
I’ve been asked by many people what certain exercises just target the love handles, or abs, or my man boobs to get rid of that fat? The answer is, there’s not. You can’t spot fat remove. As you start losing fat your body will determine where the fat comes from. It may pull some chicken back fat off from your lat area, or some from under the arms. It might pull some thigh cheese from your legs or your ass. Maybe a little from your love handles or around your spare tire gut. So I’m sorry to have to say it, but you don’t get a choice. You will notice that you are slimming and shaping up in multiple parts of your body at the same time. Now, in this regard, it is called “stubborn belly fat” for a reason. Typically, when your body stores fat the lower abdomen is the first place it gets stored, and again, typically, the last place from which it is removed.

Myth 4 – I saw Rocky eating raw eggs in that movie before he whipped Mr. T’s ass! Eating raw eggs must be good for you right?
I think I blew a wet fart from laughing so hard the first time I heard this one! Let me say this – NO! Raw eggs are NOT good for you! Unless your trying to be sick from salmonella and you don’t want to be able to work out for weeks while you recover from diarrhea cha cha cha, and puking your guts out! I will cover more on eggs in the nutrition section and why you should and shouldn’t eat them, but for now just don’t eat any raw ones OK?

Myth 5 – I can do certain exercises to just “tone” selected areas.
A lot of people have asked me what they can do to tone just abs or tone just arms or chest? First let me start of by saying there is no such thing as a “toning” exercise. What you will need to do exactly all depends on what your trying to achieve. For example if you want to make your muscles stronger and bigger you need to do resistance training. If you want to become leaner and more defined and get rid of the goo that’s covering up that sexy body of yours, then you need cardiovascular exercise and good nutrition.

Myth 6 – I can lose weight just by dieting.
I get this one a lot also, so let me just go ahead and get the whole dieting thing and why it will never work out of the way. Diets are bad. Even saying that your “going on a diet” implies that you only intend on having better nutrition for a predetermined period of time, and at the end of it your going to return to your butt-crack nasty eating habits again. You need to change your mindset completely about dieting and understand that good nutrition should be a permanent change in your life. Here’s a quickie about why diets don’t work. When you eat less your body (and metabolism) adjusts to the lower caloric intake. So after about a month you lose six or eight lbs because your not eating enough and then you feel happy about where your at so you start going back to your bad eating habits again. Well, it takes your body almost twice as long to speed your metabolism up to compensate for taking in a lot more calories now that your off your diet, than it does to slow it down, by eating less. So not only do you gain the weight back, but most people end up fatter than they were before they started by screwing with their metabolism.

Myth 7 – If you want to be super ripped or super huge you have to use supplements or steroids.
How many times have you seen an advertisement for the “magic fat burning pill. Just take two a day and you’ll get ripped without ever having to do a single exercise!?” Or another one of my favorites “Take our mega muscle 10,000 powder shake and you can gain 40 lbs of muscle in only four months!” The fact is, if it were that easy then everyone walking around would be ripped and cut and there wouldn’t be such an obesity problem in America.

OK your reading this because your wanting my opinion, so here it is. I am extremely picky about the supplements that I use because I want to know exactly what is going into my body. “But Sgt E, I heard Arnold say “creatine will pump YOU up!” Look, the truth is the supplement industry recognizes the obesity problem in America and is making a fat ass gangster-knott roll of cabbage off of desperate people spending money on it. Supplements while legal, are unregulated, and untested. I could get a Bunsen-burner and my trusty spoon and make a crack rock out of some caffeine, aspirin and exlax and call it Mega Bulk 10,000 if I wanted to.

For example, let’s look at a popular brand named supplement named Hydroxycut. On May 1 2009, WebMD Health news reported 14 Hydroxycut products were being recalled by the manufacturer after the FDA received 23 reports of serious liver injuries ranging from jaundice to even death. Don’t think I’ll be taking that gamble today.

What YOU need to know is what is effective and safe to use. Because of the nature of the supplement industry, I only recommend Nutrilite vitamins and supplements. Nutrilite offers a good variety of snack bars, vitamins, fat burners and carb blockers that I have had great success with. Nutrilite has a proven track record of success and many professional athletes also recommend the Nutrilite brand. I also use 100% whey protein powder because I just don’t want to eat a pound of chicken or turkey breast every day to get the full amount of protein that my plan requires. Now depending on your goals you may not need as much protein as I do, or you may need more, but we’ll cover that later on as well. To see a full list of the supplements I do recommend just Click Here.

“But Sgt E, Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire broke records using steroids. Should I hit the juice too?”

The quick answer to this question obviously is no. You don’t need to get juiced to get ripped and bulk up. Now do roids actually work? Yes and they are very effective. They are also illegal and a lot of people have ruined their lives by misusing them. Most steroids are counterfeit and getting them from your gym rat buddy on the black market only means you really don’t know what’s in it. So, the roids do not get Sgt E’s seal of approval. They are not necessary to achieve results and not worth risking the side affects such as stunted growth, gyno, acne, hair loss, fat gain, “beer belly” and not to mention a shrinking of your “cash and prizes.” That’s right, I just went there.

Myth 8 – I can gain 20 lbs of muscle in only two months according to some magazine articles.
Ever heard that saying about never believing anything you read and less than half of what you see? These same magazines are in filled with advertisements for products claiming to get you ripped and bulked and this and that, not because they do, but because that’s how they make their money. The simple truth is, outside of adolescent years one can expect to gain about six to eight, maybe ten pounds of muscle in a years time. That means doing resistance training five days a week for about an hour a day, with focus and intensity, and having a good nutrition plan.

Myth 9 – I can still get ripped while stoning out on pot, or getting smash hammered drunk every night after playing guitar hero!
Ok let’s start with the pot first on this one. It reminds me of the commercial with the kids smoking pot in the basement talking about “nothing ever happened in their lives.” This is pretty much what’s going to happen to your fitness routine if your smoking a lot of pot while trying to workout and exercise. There are a couple of problems here because of the side affects of dancing with the talented Mary Jane. First is the munchies. When you smoke weed you get the munchies and trust me, you don’t go to the fridge and reach into the veggie tray for cauliflower and carrot sticks! You end up eating stacks and bags of mega nacho cheesy-poofs and just getting fat. Another problem is the mellowing affect that pot has, which is what reminded me of that commercial. When your working out and staying fit you need to have drive and desire, and the ability to stay focused and determined. After a joint or two you usually just want to chillax naked in a bean bag chair eating Cheetos… or so I’ve heard. The last problem with pot is also the same for people who also smoke cigarettes and that is, it lowers your bloods ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles.

Now lets look at alcohol. Drinking alcohol and fitness are like those nasty cement mixer shots your stupid friends trick you into drinking. They just don’t go well. Now, I’m not saying that it’s not ok to have a beer or glass of wine a couple of times a month, that’s fine and dandy. I’m talking about daily use and excessive weekend-warrior syndrome (Binge drinking). I tell people to stay away from drinking lots of alcohol for the same reason I tell them to stay away from sodas. It has no nutritional value what-so-ever and is full of empty calories. Imagine taking in an extra 450 calories from two or three beers every night to have to work off with tons of extra cardio! Alcohol also lowers your strength and endurance for up to as much as forty-eight hours, making it that much more difficult to have a focused and intense work out.

Myth 10 – It’s impossible to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.
A lot of people ask me whether they should try to lose weight or bulk up first. Well the answer is why not do both at the same time? I’ve never been a big guy. At my largest I was about 160 lbs. And while some would say this is about right for a guy that’s only 5’8″ I wasn’t happy with my physical appearance or mental health. Most people are just looking to slim down a little bit, and that’s ok. But, others are wanting to burn the goo and add some muscle nuggets at the same time. This requires the addition of heavier resistance training to your exercise regime, and some more protein to your already excellent nutrition plan. For example at 150 lbs, I should be taking in about 150g of protein a day to help give my muscles what they need to recover from workouts. I still eat low fat, low carb, higher fiber foods though. I keep my calories lower and still do at least three hours of cardio a week to burn the fat away. So it certainly is possible, you may just need to adjust your nutrition plan a little and make sure your doing six to eight reps of heavier weight during your resistance training.

Popular television shows like “The Biggest Loser” have popularized competitive group weight strategies. The winners and losers are often determined by the percentage of weight loss opposed to the number of pounds. Why you ask? Mainly because generally the heavier that you are the greater the number of calories that you are likely to burn while exercising. Therefore the more that you weight the easier it is to lose weight rapidly when compared to thinner persons. Utilizing a percentage calculator opposed to some other techniques creates a fair playing field to gauge gains or losses for everyone regardless of their weight.

How to Calculate Weight Loss Percentage

Calculating your percentage is quite simple to do. The first step is to divide the number of pounds that you lost to this point by the weight of which you started your plan with. The next step requires you to multiply the answer from the first step by 100. For example, if you lost 20 pounds and you starting weight of 250 pound your percentage of loss calculation would look like this (20/250 x 100=8% weight loss).

Additional Tools

Because obesity and being overweight are such enormous topics and there is such an interest by many people in it, you can enjoy the benefit of having options. Although I strongly encourage you to invest in calculating your own weight loss percentage there are several other systems that are available and that you can try.

The body mass index or (BMI) calculates your score based on your height and weight and compares it to a standard or average figure. Body fat analyzers do exactly what the title suggests-analyze body fat. Although able to produce some valuable information, these tools can sometimes be inaccurate and are quite expensive. The tape test was developed by the U.S. Army and is a far more accurate and cheaper system compared to body fat analyzers. With an non-elastic band, you measure around your waist, writs, hips, and forearms and enter your data into a computer generated calculator which computes your average.

Dieting and Exercising

Regardless of your goals it can and should be done in a healthy manner. With the common objective of most to lose as much weight as quickly as possible, the prospect of quick fix plans are quite intriguing. However, these methods are only short-term solutions and in many ways unhealthy. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), one pound per week should be the maximum amount of weight that you lose. Anything more than that puts you at risk to create a harmful imbalance to your metabolism and will leave you feeling an irregular amount of fatigue due to the lack of calories from eating.

The Zone

Aerobic exercise is most effective for weight loss when you are in the fat burning zone. This is the period in which you are exercising with a heart rate at an optimum fat burning level. You can determine your specific zone by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying it by .75. For example, if you are 30, your target heart rate would be about 143 beats per minute. Of course, this is a general estimate and it is fine if you keep within 10 beats or minute over or under your target rate.

When should I exercise?

There are better times of the day to increase the fat burning powers of aerobic exercise.

• In the morning, before breakfast. Drink a few glasses of water to keep yourself hydrated and head out for your run, walk, swim, bike, and so on. Cardiovascular training at this time burns 300% more fat than any other period of the day because your body is low in glycogen (sugar reserves) and so it burns fat instead.
• Directly after you lift weights. If you leave the weight room immediately for your preferred form of cardio, you will burn more fat. This is because after the morning hours, it takes your body a while to warm up to fat burning, about 20 to 30 minutes. This is the time it takes for your glycogen reserves to become depleted and force your body to switch to fat for energy.

How much should I exercise?

Your exercise needs are greatly influenced by your age, weight, fitness levels, state of health, and specific goals. Experts generally recommend that you perform some type of aerobic activity three to five times a week. Each session should last longer than 15 minutes to have any sort of effect. It is advised that you exercise for 30-60 minutes at a time for optimal benefits.

Additional advice and things to remember

You should always combine aerobic training with weight exercises to build and tone muscles. Aerobic exercises only burn fat while you are doing them, and so do not offer sustained fat burning benefits. However, weight training provides continuous benefits. Muscle burns more calories, so it helps you lose weight even while sitting around!

Of course, you should always start slowly, listen to your body, talk to your doctor if you have any underlying medical conditions or concerns, and be careful not to overdo it, which can lead to injury.

Additionally, it is important to eat a healthy diet to keep your body fueled with the nutrients it needs to provide you with energy, stamina, and strength.

We know that trying to get trim is difficult enough without having to look at countless products to find the right one. To assist you with the selection process and your weight loss goals, we looked at numerous products to pinpoint exactly what users should be looking for in a weight loss supplement. Despite the vast array of products, we found that all the best and most effective ones shared three characteristics. First, they were formulated with superior ingredients scientifically shown to promote weight loss. Remember, if a manufacturer is being truthful about what a product can do, they won’t make an effort to hide what’s actually in it. Instead, they will provide a full list of extracts in the formulation, indicate the concentrations of each one, and give you information about scientific research and clinical trials showing that the product is effective. Next, high quality weight loss supplements contain ingredients that can boost the metabolism. This helps the body break down fat to encourage weight loss and reductions in levels of body fat. Finally, the best supplements contain one or more ingredients shown to curb appetite. Calorie reduction is vital if you hope to lose weight, and when you feel less hungry you’re not as likely to overeat.

On a final note, it’s important to remember that—despite what you see on television—healthy weight loss is a slow process. If you’re losing about two pounds a week, you’re doing everything right. When you lose weight at this pace, you’re also more likely to be able to sustain your results. Starving yourself may help you lose weight faster, but you’re more likely to give up and gain all your weight (and possibly then some) back when you feel deprived and hungry all the time. Following the tips above and using a product made with proven ingredients that can suppress your appetite and boost your metabolism will help you get a leaner figure and improve your health over time.