It’s that time again! We want to help someone get started (or keep going!) on the fitness side of their journey. So our first giveaway winner of the year, will receive a free workout DVD set.
The Prize:
Supreme 90-Day DVD workout series
As you’ve probably read by now, EM2WL is all about strength training being incorporated in your fitness journey, for best results. Although we recognize that not everyone will choose to strength train, we highly recommend it. So, we’d like to help one new member of the fam – who may be hesitant due to lack of knowledge, funds, or equipment – to get started with strength training. We will be giving away a 10 discDVD program that uses minimal equipment. Dumbbells and the stability ball are all you need to get started in this program, so if you already have those, then you’ll be ready to go. This is also a 90 day (12 week), program so it will take you right through your metabolism reset or first 12 weeks of your cut. This would be a good way to get in the habit of strength training if you’re not already or to help you break plateaus by incorporating a new routine if you already are. You can read more about the program here.
How to enter:
Just drop us a line in the comments section below.
Let us know: Did you make any resolutions this year? How do you plan on keeping them? If you’re anti-resolution…why?
We’ve heard that most resolutions for the New Year, don’t make it past February. Some may go as long as March before dwindling. As we’ve previously discussed, making small changes, very slowly, has a lasting effect vs being overly-ambitious with our goals.
If working out was part of those goals, we pray that you’ll make it long after that looming Resolution Grave “deadline” that is approaching. So we’re tossing out some freebies to help keep you guys going each month, well past the month of March.
In the meantime, check out the video clip of the DVD set that you’ll be eligible of receiving just for letting us know your thoughts.
Contest Ends:
Winner will be chosen Jan. 14, 2013 at 11:59pm EST, and announced on Jan. 15, 2013. Be sure that your comment is linked to a working email address, so that you can be contacted if you are chosen. We will not use your email for any other purpose, but if we cannot contact you, another winner will be chosen.
I have now been on EM2WL since 1 June 2012, so it will be 7 months on 1 January 2013!! The benefits so far:-
being able to eat more and not feel guilty
putting proper clean foods into my body
more energy
stronger (both body and mind)
a much more confident individual
a lot more self worth…I no longer base it on a number!
being able to enjoy the precious time I spend with family and friends and not constantly having this little voice in my head telling me “don’t eat that, you’ll get fat”
acknowledging that everyone is a different shape and size and accepting that my body is built for strength and independence!
being able to run 3 miles – I have one leg shorter than the other as you can see in the picture so that is a task in itself!
I am listing no burdens because I don’t believe that EM2WL is a burden, I think it does have a few hard points about it like feeling bloated etc but I wouldn’t say they equate to burdens. Therefore I think this process is in itself precious and life changing.
My future goals are to run the Race for Life in May/June 2013 and complete the Insanity programme which I am starting on 31 December 2012. I am going to do it 3 times a week and run 3 miles once a week so I should hopefully be finished by 1 June 2013 which is when I will update you with my final results/1st year of EM2WL. I will update you again in March 2013 as to my progress and take some more piccies.
Love to you all and I hope the New Year brings you all happiness and hope :)
Kels xx
Have an EM2WL transformation to share? Willing to let us tag along on your journey? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformation/Journey page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
The Workout Plan: Part two of this plan. For muscle shaping, defining, and fat loss.
How to work it: Perform days 1-3, then repeat days 1 & 2 for a 5-day workout split. Burn phase will include “drop sets” just like in Build, but also introduces “compound sets” (2 exercises in a row with no rest), and “tri-sets” (3 exercises done in a row, with no rest). Cardio may also increase, slightly, if desired.
Weights: Begin every weight session with a 5-10 minute dynamic warmup and 1-2 warmup sets (using lighter weight). Select a weight that presents a struggle for the last few reps. Remember to log your weight selection, being sure to increase weight whenever possible. If you can do 2-3 more reps than specified with your chosen weight, your weight is too light, and it is time to increase. You must push yourself for maximum results, every set should be challenging. There must be at least 48 hours in between repeating a specific day. Do not perform Day 1 exercises, two days in a row, for instance. End 5-10 minutes of stretching, while the muscle is still warm to prevent injury.
Rest periods: 30-60 seconds (higher reps = shorter rests, low reps = longer rest) for weighted moves, no longer than 30 seconds for core tri-sets.
Cardio: Increase cardio by one, high intensity, 30 minute session in week 3, and again in week 4. When performing cardio and weights on the same day, opt to do weights first (this doesn’t include the warm-up done before weights). If including more than 2 cardio days, choose to lower intensity every other session to reduce leg swelling. Be mindful, though, that the amount of cardio that you intend on doing is figured into your food allowance. Try not to use cardio to do the job that can be done with proper eating. Learn to appreciate cardio and what it can do for you (aid in recovery, heart/mental health), but don’t unnecessarily abuse it.
Food: To truly get the most out of this or any workout routine, the food intake should match the nature of the workouts. During Burn, eat below TDEE (maintenance), for optimal fat burning (if doing a reset, stay at TDEE). The EM2WL weight loss calculator (set goal at “lose fat -15%”) will give you an idea of your best calorie range for losing fat, while maintaining muscle. Attempt to eat 1-1.5g of protein per lb of body-weight (i.e. 150-225g for 150lb person) or 35% of your calorie intake, and sufficient carbs (around 35-40% of your total intake), mostly surrounding your workouts. (If diabetic, insulin sensitive, etc., eat carbs as per doctor/nutritionist orders).
**Want this plan to last longer than 4 weeks? Repeat “Burn” for or up to 4 weeks (4 workouts per week), max. Then move back to 2-4 weeks of “Build” or similar program.**
*Drop set – on final set rep until failure, reduce weight by 25% and go to failure again.
More of a visual person? Check out the “at-a-glance” options for Day 1,Day 2 and Day 3.
Because Burn has been abbreviated into a two week “Kickstart” version, the training frequency is much higher. To adapt this routine to a busier lifestyle, you can choose to make it into a 3 day split: do days 1-3 once each week, for up to four weeks.
Do the terms “bulk” & “cut,” intrigue, yet scare (or confuse!) you at the same time? Are you ready to start really seeing results in your workouts, or at least just “look” like you workout? Incorporate (mini) fitness cycles for better results.
If you’ve followed our video series “Results: why you aren’t getting them and what you can do about it,” then you know that a huge reason that many people don’t see results from their workouts is that they are not being specific enough with their workout regimen. Being “hodgepodge” in our workouts is about the equivalent of not working out at all when it comes to changing your body composition. Bodies that you see and admire are not a result of being random in the gym. The knockout bods that you see on the covers of magazines are the result of specification or fitness cycles. Even if they don’t know it, their trainer does, and they do what the trainer says.
I’ve shared how I’ve incorporated fitness cycles into my own lifestyle, according to different times of the year, that work for me. I work on building strength and adding muscle in the winter (bulk), dedicate my warmer months to more endurance activities/ shedding any fat (cut), and even periods of randomness where I’m too busy to care, and not expecting any physique changes at all (maintain). For me this ends up being about 3-4 months per phase, but what if you’re not ready to dedicate months at a time to specific phases?
Enter: “mini” phases
Mini phases are a great way to introduce the specialization concept into your training. You take a short period of time, and dedicate your eating and exercise to a specific goal. You then repeat this process with a different goal. This could be as simple as dedicating 4 weeks to muscle building (mini-bulk) in between marathons, or inserting 1-2 weeks of higher cardio days into your 6+ month bulk (mini-cut) . Professional athletes, models, and competitors do this all the time, in the “off-season,” and you can too. It’s all about making the cycles work for you, your goals, and your lifestyle. If you want a more muscular physique, then you will want to incorporate “mini-bulks” into your routine as often as possible, so that when you arrive at your desired weight/body-fat percentage, you will have the look that you desire. This type of body recomposition is more appealing than just a wave of weight loss that leaves you just looking like a smaller version of your larger self, with lots of extra skin where fat used to be. You will instead take on a slower approach, giving your skin time to catch up and tighten around your ever firming figure. Doing regular mini-phases similar to this one will also keep your metabolism high because you’re not constantly “dieting” (lowers metabolism), but instead building muscle (increases metabolism). You will likely also reach your goal at a much higher weight than you originally thought, because your body has slowly replaced fat with youthful, lean, dense muscle of equal weight.
Curious about how to start your own “mini” phases or fitness cycles? Why not test it out yourself and let us know what you think?
Need a place to start? Here’s a 30-day, 2-phase plan to help kick-start your year, and provide a gentle intro to periodization. This mini-cycle plan will have everything you need to test the waters of bulk/cut cycles without a lengthy commitment.
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