Guess what?

This is only for this blog and no one else. If you’re here right now you get to take advantage of something pretty cool.

It’s called the Fat Loss Crew.

It’s a series of interviews I did with 5 people who have conquered their fat loss struggles and I got them to share everything with you.

You can now go over there and get Lynn Haraldson-Bering’s interview for FREE.

You might not recognize the name, but she’s actually pretty famous.

I mean she was on OPRAH….and CNN featured her weight loss too.

If you want it, just go to www.thefatlosscrew.com and get it.

Have a great weekend,

Dan Grant

PS - If you want the all the interviews I have it at a dirt cheap price right now, because this is the unofficial launch of it and I love my blog readers so you’ll always get a special deal with me.

PPS - Unfortunately that price won’t be like that for very long. Remember you get Lynn’s interview FREE by going to www.thefatlosscrew.com.

I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people regarding my baseball comeback. So I’ll briefly answer the main one’s here.

Why? - Well, because it was a dream of mine when I tore my hamstring practically off the bone, which put baseball on hold big time. And I also want to lead by example. I talk so much about doing what you want, I need to practice what I preach.

What are you doing to get ready? - Training in the gym 3 times a week, speed and agility work 2-3 times a week. And I’m throwing at every opportunity I can. It’s a little challenging to get swings in, but I’m working on it.

What supplements are you taking? - Fish Oil, Whole food multi-vitamins, and Prograde Workout and creatine.

What about your fitness business? I am still going to do phone and email consults, and all the internet stuff will run as normal as possible. It’s going to be a journey where lessons will be learned and I want to share it all with you. I am probably going to start another blog about it so I can stick with fitness on here (what it was made for in the first place).

Everybody has dreams right? I know you do.

What are yours?

Do you dream of a slimmer figure?

Maybe you just don’t know how to go about it?

Taking the first step is usually the hardest one to take…maybe you just need that little ‘nudge’ forward.

I’m going to give you an answer to all that Friday. And it will only be for this blog only so it will be worth it to check back.

Think big, baby!

It’s all worth it,

Dan Grant

Right now I’m reading Get In The Game by Cal Ripken Jr. and I’m loving it so far because I get to read stories about what he went through and what he had to do to get to the level he eventually acheived and continues to acheive. I love finding out what successful people are actually doing in their everyday life. What makes them so successful or fit.

I get emails or have people come up to me sometimes asking what I actually do as far as a program.

I coach high school varsity baseball here in Winchester and about 4 weeks ago things to busy. Tryouts, practices, decisions, more practices, scrimmages and finally the games came. Because I love baseball so much, I get really involved in it and helping the kids learn.

I actually miss my playing days so much (I used to play at Parkland College, which is a Junior College, and University of Northern Iowa, with is Division 1 NCAA) that I’m actually training right now to get back into pro baseball.

There’s me ‘back in the day’ playing college ball

But anyways, as the past few weeks have gone on and how baseball is starting to take up a lot of my time, I started noticing my workouts were slipping and my nutrition has been doing the same. If you’ve ever been around a baseball field for any lengths of time you know that the nutritional choices aren’t exactly the best….especially on the road when choices are really limited. That’s one reasons I carry some Cravers with me and some fruit.

I also noticed last week that my stomach was a little ’soft’.

So this week I did 2 workouts in the gym for a total of 50 minutes (both workouts COMBINED) and I did 2 sprint sessions. I did 4 60 yard sprints last Saturday and 3 30 yard sprints and 4 60 yard sprints this afternoon. I also did some agility work today as well.

And there’s nothing magic about 60 yards, if you’re wondering. It’s just the length of the speed test in baseball (why…I have no idea).

My last workout looked like this:

Kettlebell Swings x15
Kettlebell Front Squat x6
Kettlebell Swings x15
Kettlebell See Saws x10 ea. arm

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes

1-leg squats x 8 ea. leg (standing on a box)
Pullups x MAX
Mountain Climbers x 25 ea. leg
Squat Jumps x 10
Power Pushups x 10

As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes

So my workout took 20 minutes and my metabolism was cranking afterwards.

So that’s a mini look into my world and I’ll be telling you a lot more about it on this blog.

Do you have a workout that you do when you’re short on time?

If you do, feel free to share it with everybody.

Happy Easter!

Dan Grant

Nope.

I would guess about 80% of people say they want to ‘tone up’ when I ask them their fat loss goals.

I would also say that 99% of those people are confused when I tell them that you can’t tone or shape your muscles to look a certain way.

It’s been drilled into their heads for so long that if they use a certain product they can ‘tone and shape’ their muscles.

Hell, I even saw this RIDICULOUS thing on tv the other day where this lady had this thing jammed in her mouth and she was practically chewing this thing and they said it would help tone your face…..

Can you say bulls**t?

Anyways, before I start writing every profanity down here on my thoughts on stupid exercise equipment I should get back on track and just tell you what I wanted to tell you in the first place.

You can’t tone or shape your muscle.

If you want that toned look, then you have to build muscle and burn fat. You can’t do 15 reps of curls and expect it to have a toning effect.

And genetics are going to determine how your muscles will shape or look. Notice how some guys or gals six packs look different. They didn’t workout a special way to make them like that…it’s just genetics.

So if you want to look toned, focus on doing some heavy lifting and building some muscle.

Oh ya, and if you want to see some of those abs you got don’t forget your interval training :).

Or if you just want a world class program that’s already helped thousands of people loss a lot fat. Plus, it will remove a lot of stress of having to figure it all out on your own and you can do it at home check out Craig’s program here.

He’s got a pretty cool article up there on the top 5 myths of fat loss too so be sure to go just to check that out.

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

For years and years we’ve all been told that spot reduction is not possible. Recent research might be telling us something different, however.

As a body transformation coach, one of the number one areas that people want to ‘lose’ is the stomach. The problem is, though, that most of those people are trying to get rid of their belly fat by doing an endless amount of crunches and abdominal exercises.

Unfortunately that doesn’t work. Another way people are trying to lose their belly fat is by doing a long, steady state aerobic cardio. This is what the fitness industry has taught since the Arnold days and especially in the 80’s and 90’s. Long cardio, however, hasn’t really proven to be totally efficient at bringing everybody shredded six-packs.

Over the last few years the tide has been shifting to a training protocol called High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. HIIT is performing a short burst of high intense activity at about 80-90% of your maximum effort (100% is as hard as you can possibly go) and then ‘resting’ for a longer period of time at about 30% of your maximum effort.

Keep in mind that your 100% intensity might not be what mine is, for example. Mine is a full out sprint. Yours might be a fasted pace walk.

Another thing you need to know about how to perform interval training properly is taking into consideration the length of the ‘work’ interval. If the ‘work’ interval is 30 seconds long then your 80% intensity should be able to handle the 30 seconds, but you should not be able too much longer than that.

Steve Boucher, a fitness professional in Australia, came out with some interesting findings in a research study he performed about HIIT.

During a 15 week study he had women perform either HIIT or steady state cardio for 45 minutes 3 times a week. The HIIT group performed a 5 minute warm-up, did 8 seconds of bike sprints at 90% intensity with 12 seconds of ‘rest’ at 30% intensity for 20 minutes, and then finished with a 5 minute cool-down.

At first the HIIT group only did 5 minutes of HIIT and built up to 20 minutes by the sixth session (2 weeks).

Here’s what he found:

• The HIIT group lost 3 times MORE fat then the steady cardio group
• The HIIT group worked out HALF as much then the steady state cardio group
• The HIIT groups aerobic fitness actually increased MORE than the steady state cardio group (26% and 19% respectively)
• The HIIT group lost a SIGNIFICANT amount of fat off of their stomach

If you are currently performing long, steady state cardio you could be holding yourself back from maximum fat loss. And if you’re trying to shed that ugly belly fat from your body then interval training is the way to go.

Here’s what I do with my clients.

If you are a beginner you should shorten up the length of your high intensity intervals. Generally, most of my beginning clients do 15-20 second intervals at 80-90% of their max with 90-120 seconds ‘rest’ at 30% of their max intensity. Typically 5-6 intervals are sufficient to begin with.

Remember to always do a 5 minute warm-up and a 5 minute cool-down.

As you progress all you have to do is make the intervals longer. Perform anywhere from 30-60 second hard intervals with 30-120 ‘rest’ intervals. Perform anywhere from 6-8 intervals and you’ll be shedding belly fat in no time.

Let me know what you think below or by sending me an email.

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

PS - There is an UNANNOUNCED sale happening right now for readers of THIS blog only. The Degrees of Change Fat Loss Plan with 10 of the top fat loss experts in the world told me their secrets on what they do with their clients. Plus there are some pretty amazing bonuses I’ve picked up for you too.

PPS - You can find out all about it at www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

PPPS - This unannounced sale ends Tuesday, March 18 at good ole midnight.

It’s been a few weeks since you’ve heard from me consistantly for a couple
reasons. First my computer had a MAJOR meltdown and I lost quite
a bit of ’stuff’ so it’s been very time consuming getting everything
re-set up.

Another reason is that I’m currently in West Palm Beach, Fl on a
little mini vacation. It’s been a lot of fun so far and from a
combo of beach time and just walking around I’ve gotten a pretty
sweet sunglasses burn, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, sitting on the beach and looking at the ocean sure gave me
some good thinking time about a lot of things.

I LOVE to think…way too much according to some people, but
non the less I did some thinking.

One was about the fitness industry and how a lot of people are just
flat out tired of paying lots of money for fitness information.

A lot of my mentors tell me to raise my prices so I can make more
in less time…but I have a really hard time with that because that
would mean I would have less people to help.

So I’m actually LOWERING my prices. I’m not taking on new one on
one clients right now, but I do have time blocked off for phone
consults and program consults. If you’re interested at all in any
of them you can check those out here: http://tinyurl.com/2l5u8l

But let’s talk exercise now.

I’ve been getting great feedback on my previous emails about
critical thinking for fat loss so here’s another one.

The heavier weight you lift will give you a greater amount of lean
muscle gain, which will therefore boost up your metabolism.

So my question is this then.

Why is the BOSU ball (the half stability ball) so friggin’ popular?

I know most people’s answer would be because it helps you work your
core too, but that just seems to be non-sense in my eyes.

For one thing, I see a lot of people doing a lot of bicep and tricep
exercises on them, which if you read my last email you now know that
that’s not going to help your fat loss very much.

Secondly, this whole ‘working’ your core thing has gotten a little
out of control in my eyes. Yes, you should do some ab exercise but
you don’t need to bring in a BOSU ball to do it.

Squats, dealifts, lunges, pushups, sprinting, skipping, ‘work’ your
core…just to name a few off the top of my head.

And i realize if you do a squat on a BOSU ball it will challenge
your balance and you’ll feel a good ‘burn’, but it’s not going to
have an optimal effect on your fat loss.

Why? Because you aren’t really building any lean muscle…you’re
just maybe improving your balance a little bit.

Now, remember we’re not talking about balance or performance type
training here. But if you want to improve those things then the BOSU
ball may be a good option.

I’m just saying lift some weight and stop worrying about this whole
‘work’ the core thing that comes along with stability equipment.

I hope that made sense…

I’d love to know your thoughts on it. And if you’d like me to
expand my thoughts a bit just let me know.

I’m off to walk around the city a little bit and maybe try to work
on blending my permanent white skin sunglasses look to match the
rest of my burnt face :).

Have a great one,

Dan Grant

PS - If you do want to get a consult with me, you can sign up now,
and I will contact you by email or phone by this Friday or Saturday.
I’ll be giving a copy of my ebook True Weight Loss Revealed along
with some special audios as well to sign ups. http://tinyurl.com/2l5u8l

PPS - I’ve been getting a lot of questions about supplementation
lately. I’m assuming from all the commercials that I’m seeing on
TV. I will try and cover them next time and if you have any
specific questions about supplements and supplementation just
email me at admin (at) dangrantfitness.com.

Have you ever had those days, weeks or even months that just seem to be so out of control that getting a workout in is the last thing on your mind?

Just because you feel that way, does not necessarily mean that there is not time for a solid, fat burning workout. Here are some ideas I use with my clients that will help you out, even if you only have 15 minutes to spare. As a bonus, you won’t need any of your own equipment to do these workouts, although they can be done in a gym too.

There are many ways to incorporate these short workouts into your day. If you are feeling tired and need an energy boost during the day, the 4-minute workout below will get your blood pumping and your energy high in no time.

The Fastest Workout Ever

Got 4 minutes? The following workout is based on research done by a man called Dr. Izumi Tabata. It’s called the Tabata Protocol.

What you do is pick 2 to 4 bodyweight exercises. For this example, we will choose bodyweight squats and pushups.

For 20 seconds, perform as many bodyweight squats as possible, safely. Then rest for 10 seconds. Once the 10 seconds is up, immediately do 20 seconds of pushups. Then rest for 10 seconds and then go back to 20 seconds of squats, and so on, until you have completed 4 minutes (or 8 intervals).

If you repeat that process 2 to 3 times you are going to be shedding fat in no time.

Here are a couple pointers for performing this style of workout. If you have weights that you would like to use, then set your intervals up so that you are doing an upper body exercise immediately after a lower body exercise, and vise versa.

If you are only using just your bodyweight, add in full body calisthenics movements, such as jumping jacks, running on the spot, burpees, etc.

The Race to 100, 200, 300 and Beyond

If you are super short on time, but need to get your workout in, then my advice is to race yourself. Pick a challenging amount of pushups, squats and an abdominal exercise of your choice. See how many of each you can do in one minute and then multiply that number by 2 or 3 depending on how much time you are going to have or depending on your experience level.

Let’s say you can perform 25 pushups in 1 minute, 50 squats in 1 minute and 30 crunches in 1 minute. If you are a beginner or really crammed for time, multiply those numbers by two.

So your goal is to perform 50 pushups, 100 squats and 60 crunches as fast as you can. This will be how the race works. Perform as many pushups as you can. Then immediately try and perform as many squats as you can. Then try and complete as many crunches as you can. Then repeat the cycle until you have reached your desired target number of each exercise.

You can take as many breaks as you like. Keep track of your time so you can observe your progress.

Fun at the Playground

If you find some of your time is spent with the kids at a playground then why not join in on some of the fun yourself. If you are a little shy about getting out there, then hold a race with your kids. Make it a game.

Include pushups, pull-ups (courtesy of the monkey bars), sprints or laps around the playground, etc. Be creative and have some fun. You can also create an exercise game in your backyard. It’s great fun and it will keep everybody healthy and happy.

__________________________________
short doesn’t mean easy

Just because you are strapped for time doesn’t mean that you can’t get an intense and challenging fat burning workout in. Remember to perform the exercises with proper form the whole time to ensure you remain injury free.

Have a great workout!

Cheers,

Dan Grant
www.degreesofchangefatlossplan.com

Nutrition Strategies to Turbo Charge Your Metabolism

By Scott Tousignant, BHK, CFC
Creator of Unstoppable Fat Loss
Author of “The Fit Chic” and “The Fit Bastard”
Co-Author of “101 Great Ways To Improve Your Health”

First of all this is not about a new miracle pill that melts the fat off your body. The best strategy of fat loss is to EARN IT.

The first step in earning a lean and tight body is to consume five to six small meals per day. It is something so simple yet many of us choose to ignore it. This alone is enough to kick-start your metabolism.

You should eat every 2 ½ to 3 hours. Each meal should be small and leave you feeling satisfied but not full. If you are not quite hungry 3 hours after you’ve consumed your meal, it’s a sign that you ate too much. Basically, take what you would eat during your 3 meals each day and spread it out over 6 meals.

To get the most out of each meal and turn up your metabolic furnace it’s best to combine a lean protein, a complex carbohydrate, vegetables, and essential fatty acids with most meals.

Eating carbohydrates alone will result in quick digestion and an insulin spike. Protein takes longer to digest and requires your body to burn more calories during the digestion process (thermic effect of food). Consuming proteins with your carbohydrates will cause the digestion of the carbohydrates to take longer and you will stay satisfied longer as well.

A common problem with the typical low calorie diet is the significant reduction in calories for extended periods of time. During the beginning stages of the diet you may lose a significant amount of weight but then you notice that your results start to decrease until eventually you are no longer losing weight even though your are still following the strict diet.

At this point you figure that you probably hit a plateau and you decrease your calories a little bit more so you can lose those last ten pounds. The plateau that you have experienced is due to your bodies ‘defense mechanism’ that is on red alert screaming, “We’re starving!”

So what does your body do?

It releases more fat storing hormones and enzymes into the bloodstream and decreases the fat burning hormones and enzymes. Why? The answer is that your body is simply trying to protect itself so it stores whatever it can as fat in order to prepare for this famine that you are putting yourself through. The end result is a decrease in your metabolism. So what can we do to prevent this from happening?

The first strategy is called ‘calorie cycling.’ It goes by other names as well, but this pretty much sums it up. To lose weight you definitely need a caloric deficit, meaning that you need to burn more calories than you are taking in. You should never drastically reduce your calories. Aim for a 15% to 20% reduction in calories.

With calorie cycling you follow this deficit for 3 days and on the fourth day you go back to your maintenance caloric intake, which is the amount of calories that you could eat without gaining or losing any weight. You then repeat the cycle.

What this strategy does is just when your body starts to think that it better make some changes to lower your metabolism and store up some fat, you trick it by slightly increasing your calories. This also gives you a boost in energy and does not leave you feeling deprived.

The second strategy improves upon the calorie cycling and is called carbohydrate cycling. So if you reduce your calories by 15%, the reduction would come entirely from carbohydrates.

This is not your typical low carb diet. A 15% decrease is not an absurd amount, and you get to bring it back to normal on the fourth day, which will replenish your glycogen stores in your muscles to give you more energy and strength to get through your workouts.

The third strategy is called calorie tapering. In a five to six meals per day plan, you consume more calories in your first few meals of the day and reduce the amount of calories in each meal as the day goes on. For example at breakfast, mid morning and lunch you may consume 400 calories at each meal. Then for the next two meals you consume 300 calories and finally 200 calories at your last meal.

To improve this strategy you should consume your starchy carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and brown rice in the earlier meals and for the remaining two or three meals consume fibrous carbohydrates such as vegetables. The reason for this is that the starchy carbohydrates are more calorie dense meaning that a small portion of them would equal the same amount of calories as a large portion of vegetables. By consuming the starchy carbs in the morning it will provide you with the right amount of fuel to get you through your day.

This is not a quick fix weight loss strategy. Incorporating nutrition packed whole, natural foods into small frequent meals is not rocket science, but it definitely works. It will take some planning to prepare meals ahead of time, but the results will be worth it. Best of all, this is a program that you can follow for life. Eating frequent meals will leave you satisfied and the temptation to binge will be reduced.

Nutrition is a very large piece of the puzzle in your battle for fat loss and should be taken seriously. To truly ignite your metabolic furnace, it is absolutely necessary to include weight training, cardio, and the most important piece of the puzzle, which is developing a powerful mindset.

Your body will only go as far as your mind will take it.

About the author:

Scott Tousignant, BHK, CFC is the creator of Unstoppable Fat Loss, “What separates the people who achieve fat loss success, from those who struggle to lose weight.”

Scott has also authored 2 books that are transforming the bodies of people around the world. “The Fit Chic” and “The Fit Bastard” not only contain a FULL YEAR of workouts, they provide intense motivation to drive you to fat loss success.

You can grab a free month of workouts at the following sites:

Gals - The Fit Chic

Guys - The Fit Bastard