Listen and hear Ryan and I discuss:

Ryan Hurst, GoldMedalBodies.com.

• How gymnastic skills can be incorporated into a fitness program, even for beginners.
• The importance of technique and movement precision.
• Ryan’s general training schedule and diet.
• What happened when Ryan focused on only one skill (one armed handstand!) for 14 weeks.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Gold Medal Bodies

Books For Africa

Gold Medal Bodies Training Programs

Ryan’s Free Handstand Course On Udemy.com

Steve Atlas

Nate Miyaki

Ryan on Twitter

Gold Medal Bodies Facebook Page

Video:

Google Hangout video of the interview:

Ryan’s path to the one arm handstand:

Ryan nailing 10 pullups and then a strict muscle up after 14 weeks without doing any pull ups:

Many thanks for listening to this episode.  Please head over to iTunes to subscribe and/or give the show a review.  You can do so at the link below:

Get Fit With Vic Podcast on iTunes

Thanks again for listening.  Share your thoughts gymnastic skills for fitness training in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post GFWV 015: Movement Mastery And Gymnastics Fitness With Ryan Hurst appeared first on Vic Magary.

The post 7 Week Spotlight appeared first on Vic Magary.

Pork Buttoosk and Riceless Rice Recipe

This is an excerpt from Los Paleo: Mexican Paleo Recipes, a Marla Sarris creation.

Cinco de Mayo just happened, but that’s no reason to stop eating Mexican food. Let’s face it, Mexican is delicious & is one of everyone’s favorite guilty pleasures on the menu.

But you don’t have to feel guilty about eating Mexican anymore. Sure, traditional dishes have a ton of corn, beans, and sour cream, but with a bit of quick thinking you can adapt most mexican recipes to 100% paleo versions that are both delicious and healthy.

Take for example this pork buttock and rice-less rice recipe. You might be asking, “rice-less rice? Is that rice without the rice? What is this wizardry?” Well don’t worry. In order to make this dish, we employ absolutely no wizards and only a little magic . In fact, it’s quite easy to make a simple rice substitute from one our favorite vegetables – cauliflower – and if you follow the directions below, you won’t even notice that it’s not rice. Add it to this pork buttoosk and you might even surprise yourself with how good it tastes! Here’s exactly how you go about making this delicious dish happen.

Pork Buttoosk and Riceless Rice

Medium

Serves 8-10

(Notice, the lack of “rice” as an ingredient ).

Ingredients:

• 5-6 lbs pork butt
• 1 head cauliflower, riced
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
• sea salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)
• 2 limes, juiced

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat brown the pork butt, on all sides.
2. To rice the cauliflower, use the shred attachment on a food processor. Then transfer the cauliflower rice to a large crock pot.
3. Add cilantro and leek and combine with the cauliflower in the crock pot.
4. Layer sliced jalapeno peppers on top of cauliflower.
5. Season with a layer of sea salt and black pepper.
6. Add the browned pork butt to the crock pot. (You may have to push down to make it fit but it will work.)
7. Pour in chicken stock (or water), lime juice and add one of the halved limes in as well.
8. Cook on high for 7-8 hours, or until pork easily falls apart with a fork.
9. Serve with a touch of sea salt.
10. Enjoy!

So there, you go, rice-less rice with pork buttoosk. No wizardry involved, but your friends still might call it magic. All that’s left to do is dig in and enjoy your delicious mexican dishes – guilt free!

Los Paleo, by Marla Sarris contains 42 of the most delicious paleo versions of traditional mexican dishes you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Paleo & Mexican together at last.

Joel Runyon is the creator of Impossible HQ as well as Ultimate Paleo Guide, a new paleo guidechock full of great paleo resources and paleo food lists.

The post Pork Buttoosk and Riceless Rice appeared first on Vic Magary.

In this episode I discuss:

• The real issue people have when it comes to cooking at home.
• Cheap sources of protein if beef is not in the budget.
• Whether or not you should spend the money on organic produce.
• My thoughts on including carbohydrate dense foods in the diet and how to save money if you do.

Links mentioned in this episode or related to eating healthy on a budget:

Final Five Formula

My Youtube Channel

Episode #11: How To Workout On A Budget

Easy Caveman Cookbook

Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen produce lists (scroll down the page)

Many thanks for listening to this episode on how to eat healthy on a budget.  Please head over to iTunes to subscribe and/or give the show a review.  You can do so at the link below:

Get Fit With Vic Podcast on iTunes

Thanks again for listening.  Share your thoughts and tips for saving money while eating healthy below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post GFWV 014: How To Eat Healthy On A Budget appeared first on Vic Magary.

You know… those final 5 – 10 lbs that always seem to “hang around”?

If so, you are not alone.  Losing those final 5 – 10 lbs is THE most common frustration that people bring to my attention when I ask them about their biggest issue with fat loss.  So as I mentioned in my last post, I set out to slay the Final 5 dragon by developing a new program and testing it with 8 people.

If I were to sum up the Final Five Formula in one sentence is would be this…  You have to do something different.  And not something “radically different” mind you, just some adjustments to what you are currently doing to make things different enough to yield different results.

I’ve designed the program with three different “tiers” for each of the major components of fitness (diet, recovery, and exercise).  So in some ways the Final Five Formula is a “choose your own adventure” kind of program. Instead of a cookie-cutter static program for everyone, it takes into consideration what you are currently doing for diet, recovery, and training and recommends what to do to take things to the next level.  You can hear Alain talk about his experience in the video below:

Now, the Final Five Formula is not for everyone.  This program is NOT for you if…

• You are a “fresh off the couch” beginner to fitness.  If you only have 5 – 10 lbs to lose, I’m making the assumption that you already have some training experience.
• You are a vegetarian.  If you’ve followed my work for any amount of time, you probably know that I lean towards the Paleo diet especially for weight loss.
• You still think you need some potion, powder, or pill to help you lose that last bit of fat.  I make no supplement recommendations in the program.
• You are not willing to try some new tactics for 28 days.  Different results will only come from different actions.

That being said, the program has proven successful.  Watch the video below to hear Charlotte talk about how she and her husband had great results in just two weeks:

So how do you know if the Final Five Formula will help you lose the final 5 – 10 lbs?  You try it!  That’s really the only way to know for sure.  Like all of my programs, it comes backed with a money back guarantee so there is no risk for trying it out.   And I think people are going to be shocked at how low I’ve priced this program…

Here’s one more interview with one of the test participants.  Thanh Le lost 6.6 lbs (3 kg) and some of his workouts were only 8 minutes long:

Are you ready to lose the final 5 – 10 pounds with the Final Five Formula?  Get your copy now by clicking here.

What questions do you have about losing the final 5 – 10 lbs?  Let me know in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post How To Get Rid Of That Last Bit Of Fat appeared first on Vic Magary.

• M1: 6.6 lbs.
• M2: 7.0 lbs.
• M3: 13.0 lbs.
• M4: 13.8 lbs.
• M5: 0.0 lbs.
• F1: 4.6 lbs.
• F2: 7.5 lbs.
• F3: 0.0 lbs.

As you can see, two people had results above and beyond my expectations by losing over 10 pounds.  Four people lost the targeted 5 – 10 pounds.  And two people did not lose any weight.  That’s right, two people did not lose any weight and I am still calling the test group a success.  As I’ve said many times before, no single method works for everyone and personal experimentation is the only way to find what works for you.  But I consider a program that worked for 75% of a test group to be a great place to start if you want to lose the final 5 – 10 pounds.

One of the people who lost more weight than expected was Frank Gebauer, with a 13 lb loss.  Frank was kind enough to talk to me about his experience with the Final Five Formula program and you can watch the interview below.  The interview is about 6 minutes long and Frank talks about what he tried previously to lose the last bit of fat and what he liked best about the Final Five Formula program.  Check it out:

The Final Five Formula is now available to the first 100 copies at a 50% discount.  Get your copy today by clicking here.

What questions do you have about the Final Five Formula?  Let me know in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post How Frank Lost 13 Pounds In 28 Days Using The Final Five Formula appeared first on Vic Magary.

I get it.

I want to bring out some of the REAL reasons people struggle with fat loss.  You know, the stuff that everyone is thinking but no one wants to say out loud.  Join me as I go off the deep end a bit and talk about The 7 Deadly Sins Of Fat Loss…

1. Fear. Change scares people. And the fears associated with losing weight are as diverse as the people who have them… What will I do when I can’t fit into any of my clothes and I don’t have the budget for a new wardrobe? Will I lose all of my friends when I no longer want to hang out and eat a large pizza and drink a pitcher of beer? How will I deal with new-found attention from potential romantic partners when my entire life I’ve been overweight and socially awkward? These fears and others are harbored by many and can lead to the self-sabotage of your fat loss efforts before you even get started.

2. Rigidity. You know it all and you refuse to try anything different. So you pound away on the treadmill and continue to eat prepackaged frozen meals that have the words “Lean” or “Healthy” emblazoned across the box. And you stubbornly stick to your regimen, even though your weight loss has been minimal.  As I’ve said before, getting pissed that you must change your habits to lose fat is like getting pissed that the sky is blue when your favorite color is red.  Some things simply are.  And if what your are currently doing to lose weight isn’t working, then you must try something new.

3. Denial. My jeans must have shrunk in the washer and dryer. The humidity must be why I’m breathing so hard while walking up these stairs. My blood pressure was high at my check up yesterday because I was nervous about the presentation I had to give at work that afternoon. We tell ourselves all kinds of stories to duck the fact that we have allowed ourselves to get fat and out of shape. Denying our responsibility for our current poor state of health and fitness robs us of the power to make positive change.

4. Absurdity. There is no magic potion, powder, or pill that is going to help you lose weight. No infomercial contraption is going to give you six pack abs. Yet we continue to hold out for the silver bullet that will allow us to circumvent the hard work and discipline that we know is the only true path to fat loss.

5. Acceptance. Somewhere along the line – after counting calories, tallying points, slurping shakes, and enduring the latest dance craze fitness class – you give up. You take false solace in the fact that you tried. And you really did try, but your lack of corresponding results has left you frustrated and defeated. So you accept your spare tire, open another bag of potato chips, and leave the diet and exercise to those “other people”.  Effort is only part of the equation. Your efforts must be focused on actions that bring results. And sometimes it takes a while to find the path that works for you. Never give up.

6. Idleness. I’ll start my new exercise program next Monday. I’ll stop eating bread as soon as this loaf is finished. But Monday turns into Tuesday, the last loaf of bread turns into the last box of pasta, and once again you are paralyzed with inaction. There is power in taking immediate action. Do a set of squats as you read this article. Give the loaf of bread to a neighbor. Do something, nearly anything, and do it now.

7. Entitlement. Damn it, I deserve it! I deserve that chocolate cake. I deserve to sit on the couch and watch rerun sitcoms all weekend. And I also deserve to have the body of an underwear model at the same time. Sure, there are those freaks who hit the genetic lottery and can eat what they want, barely exercise, and still look amazing in a swim suit. But if you’re reading this article, I’m guessing that you’re not one of them. I’m definitely not one of them. For most of us, losing fat is only going to come from the direct result of our consistent efforts.

As I’ve said over and over again, losing fat is simple: eat real food in appropriate quantity, train outside of your comfort zone, and allow for adequate rest and recovery. That’s really all there is too it. But simple becomes complicated when you succumb to the 7 Deadly Sins Of Fat Loss.

How have you sabotaged your fat loss efforts in the past? What are you doing now to ensure success? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

___________________________

The Final Five Formula is coming soon!  This is my latest program specifically designed to help you lose the final 5 – 10 pounds in 28 days or less.  I put 8 people through a test run of the program, and the results were excellent (more on that next week).  I will be selling the first 100 copies of the program at 50% off.  If you want to receive an email a day before the “official” release of the program so that you can get the jump and be one of the first 100, enter your email address below:

Email:

Also, this weekend only I will be giving away my 40 Days Fit program to anyone who purchases Impossible Abs from my good friend Joel Runyon.  See some great success stories from the Impossible Abs program and get the details on how you can get 40 Days Fit at no additional cost by clicking here.

The post 7 Deadly Sins Of Fat Loss appeared first on Vic Magary.

I have an amazing and inspiring transformation story for you today!

In this episode, Lisa and I talk about:

• The moment where she made a firm decision to get in shape and stay in shape.
• What she did to lose 75 pounds in 9 months at the age of 49 with no prior history of exercising.
• Lisa’s tips for women over 50 who are just getting started with fitness and weight loss.
• And much more…

Links mentioned in this episode:

LivingHealthyLisa.com

Lisa on Shape.com

Lisa in Full Swing Magazine for triathletes over 50

Final Five Formula

Many thanks for listening to this episode.  Please head over to iTunes to subscribe and/or give the show a review.  You can do so at the link below:

Get Fit With Vic Podcast on iTunes

Thanks again for listening.  Share your thoughts and experiences on creating healthy habits, Olympic weightlifting, and intermittent fasting below in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post GFWV 013: How Lisa Lost 75 Lbs And Fitness Tips For Women Over 50 appeared first on Vic Magary.

Fitness is simple!  In case you haven’t noticed, that is the tagline of this blog (go ahead, check out the upper left corner of the header).  Too often we get bogged down in set and rep schemes, macro nutrient counts, and optimal work-to-rest ratios.  Geeking out on those finer details are fine if you really want to take your fitness to an elite level of performance.  But for most people, getting lost in the variables can lead to paralysis by analysis and a whole lot of inaction.  So let’s keep things simple… below are 17 ways to simple fitness and fat loss:

1.  Cancel your gym membership.  I talked about this in my recent podcast episode.  Exercising at home eliminates the travel time to and from the gym, avoids the crowds, and you’ll never see that one old dude in the locker room who refuses to wear a towel to the shower again. Oh, and you’ll save a few dollars each month on gym membership fees.

2. Rotate a few simple meals.  I pretty much eat the same thing day after day.  Coffee for breakfast, a green smoothie for lunch, and beef and broccoli for dinner (sometimes with white rice, sometimes not).  That’s 80% of my meal plan these days.  It keeps things simple and consistent.

3. Buy precut vegetables.  As I mentioned above, I eat broccoli almost daily.  But I hate chopping up a head of broccoli.  I’ve found that the extra money spent on the precut broccoli is worth it because it greatly increases the likelihood that this lazy bachelor will actually eat the damned broccoli.

4. Stop counting calories.  Seriously, just stop.

5. Play. Release the concept of “working out” and move in a manner that is fun. Go climb a tree or something.

6. Eat less. Eating less means less food. And less food means less time shopping and prepping meals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating starving yourself. But experimenting with intermittent fasting can not only improve fat loss, but simplify the process of eating.

7. Throw out your scale.  Especially if you have mental and/or emotional attachment to that number on the scale, stop weighing your self.  The way your clothes fit is a much better indicator of if you are on the right track.

8. Forget meal timing.  If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat.

9. Quit your goals. Yep, I said quit your weight loss goals. How’s that for radical? Freeing yourself from goals (like my friend Josh Millburn from The Minimalists) can keep you in the moment and help you enjoy the process. If you are eating real food and training in a manner that is continually challenging, your body will go where Mother Nature intended regardless of the number on the scale or the circumference of your waist.

10. Push, pull, legs.  I’ll let you in on a little secret… ”push, pull, legs” is the foundation of all of my training programming whether for myself or my clients. A simple resistance training program of push ups, pull ups, and body weight squats can take you far.

11. Get rid of most of your kitchen gadgets.  Toasters?  Rice cookers?  Bread makers?  Freakin’ ice cream makers?… get rid of that crap.  Most kitchen gadgets are either making foods that are not helping you lose weight or are duplicative (I use a basic sauce pot with a lid for when I make rice).

12. Consider the Paleo diet. One of the things I love most about the Paleo diet is that it is so damned simple. Eat lots of vegetables, some meat, and small amounts of fruit, nuts, and seeds. And that’s it. With such limited parameters, diet becomes very simple.

13. Quit comparing yourself to others. I get it, you want to look like Gerard Butler in 300. But unless you are Gerard Butler, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. What you can do is maximize your personal genetic expression – make the best physical version of yourself through eating real food, engaging in challenging movement, and allowing for recovery. Quit comparing yourself to glossy fitness magazine cover models and movie heroes.

14. Sprint. Does it get any simpler that sprinting? Assuming you are able from an injury standpoint, sprinting is one of the best forms of exercise you can do for fitness and fat loss. Run as fast as you can until you can’t run anymore.  Rest.  Repeat.  Simple.

15.  Just pick up the damned barbell.  Quit thinking so much about it.  Whether you do 6 reps or 8 reps or whether you do 3 sets or 5  sets is insignificant when compared to whether or not you actually grab the damned bar and pick it up.

16.  Stop reading so many fitness blogs.  That goes for magazines too.  Select one or two that resonate with you, and stop reading the rest.

17.  Smile.  Maybe it sounds cheesy, but one of the best things you can do for your health and fitness it to make the choice to be happy.  We all end up knee-deep in the shit sometimes, but we also have a plethora of things to be thankful for… where we place our attention is up to us and will have a direct reflection on our health.

So there you go!  17 ways to simple fitness and fat loss… what simple fitness and fat loss tips or tactics do you have?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post 17 Ways To Simple Fitness And Fat Loss appeared first on Vic Magary.

Clearly, I am not a body builder.  

What can I do to work my triceps?

Should I do crunches or sit ups for great abs?

Is there an exercise I can do to make my butt as firm as a bowling ball?  (not joking, that’s a direct quote)

Unfortunately when someone typically asks about a body part (how do I get rid of my belly fat?!), they are asking about fat loss and not muscle building.  They want to know how to change the appearance of a particular body part, and the best way to do that is through reducing body fat which is done primarily through diet.

For fat loss, you cannot spot reduce a specific problem area by doing an exercise that uses the muscles of that body part.  So crunches won’t give you great abs, leg lifts won’t erase the cellulite on your thighs, and the shake weight WILL NOT fix those flabby triceps.

But with muscle building, you can target a specific body part through exercise.  Having a clean diet is always important.  But a clean diet without deadlifts, ketttlebell swings, or some other exercise using the glutes will not result in a bowling ball butt.  With that being said, here are my favorite exercises by body part…

Thighs: Squat

I suppose I could get a little more technical and say “quadriceps” but when people ask me about this, they say thighs or legs and not “quads” or “quadriceps”.  However you want to refer to the front of the upper leg, I’m going with the squat for building muscle and strength.  That’s not to say that other body parts are not involved (glutes and hamstrings will do considerable work, especially if you are using a full range of motion), but the front of the thighs are the primary movers.

So the next part of the debate is whether to go with a front squat or back squat.  When push comes to shove, I will usually go with the back squat if for no other reason than the resistance capability is typically greater than the front squat.  To be honest, it’s a decision that comes down to the individual and using both is also an option.  See the video below for a pretty good demonstration of the squat:

Hamstrings: Deadlift

With the hamstrings we are talking about the back of the upper legs.  And no exercise hits the whole of the posterior chain (that’s trainer speak for the muscles of the back side of the body including the hamstrings, glutes, and back) like the deadlift.  Bending down and picking up something from the floor is about as functional as it gets when it comes to movement.  If you are not currently training that movement pattern in some way, shape, or form, then I strongly suggest that you consider the deadlift.  The video below might seem a bit long at nearly 9 minutes, but it is an excellent tutorial on the deadlift.

Glutes: Kettlebell Swings

I could easily go with the deadlift again for the glutes.  But another great exercise for the bowling ball butt is the kettlebell swing.  My preference is to keep the height of the swing to about in line with the eyes, but seeing the swing done all the way until the arms are extended overhead is not uncommon (cough, Crossfit).  Watch the video below to see one of my fitness heroes Steve Maxwell coach a student through some of the common kettlebell swing errors:

Calves: Skipping Rope

Just about any jumping movement could fit the bill here (box jumps, broad jumps, tuck jumps, etc.).  And hill sprints are another good option.  But what about calf raises?  I’m sure they can get the job done just fine for building up the calves but I personally haven’t done them in probably well over a decade.  Besides, picking rope skipping for calves gives me an excuse to post this bad ass video from Ross Enamait:

Chest: Push Ups On Bars

I love push ups on rings as well.  And I love push ups on the ground.  Oh hell, I just love push ups.  But the bars (or rings) allow for a greater range of motion.  I’ve also used bars effectively with clients to eleviate wrist pain that is often experienced when doing push ups from the ground.  The video below shows how using bars increases the range of motion of the push up:

Back: Pull Ups

For pull ups, I tend to go with a neutral gip.  I find them easier on my shoulders than the standard palms-forward pull up.  I’m also a stickler for range of motion on the pull up.  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say they could do 20 pull ups only to watch them crank out a bunch of “shorties” where they never come anywhere close to the bottom of the full range of motion.  The video below demonstrates some good clean reps of the neutral grip pull up:

Shoulders: Dumbbell Push Press

I like to use the push press over the strict press as it allows for heavier weight to be used.  And I prefer dumbbells over the barbell because they allow for a neutral grip which I prefer as mentioned in the pull up section.  But however you do it, pushing weight overhead from a standing position is another one of those basic movement patterns that should be incorporated into your fitness training in some manner.  Here’s a quick video demo from yours truly looking sweaty on a humid Ohio day:

Biceps: Barbell Curl

Ok, ok… I really wanted to list the chin up.  But with the neutral grip pull up listed above, I figured I’d list the single joint exercise that I do most often for the biceps.  The truth is that I don’t do direct arm training very often.  I seem to somewhat cycle arm training, and usually go on a 6 – 8 week period where I do direct arm exercises about once per year.  I’ve included the video below to demonstrate the point I made at the beginning of this post: this guy’s arms look great, but they wouldn’t look nearly as good if he didn’t have a low body fat percentage.

Triceps:  Dips

Whether on rings or bars, dips are one of my favorite upper body pushing exercises.  Sure they hit the triceps, but the chest and shoulders get a good deal of work as well.  The video below shows a good progression for learning the ring dip:

Abs: Feet To Hands

I stand by my position that if you are doing the basic barbell lifts, direct abdominal training in unnecessary for building a strong “core”.  And if you want to see your abs, the best exercise you can do is pushing yourself away from the dinner table.  But for my “favorite” abdominal exercise, check out the feet-to-hands (sometimes called toes-to-bar).  In the video below, I also demonstrate an easier abdominal exercise when hanging from a pull up bar, the knees to elbows:

So there you go, my favorite exercises by body part.  Now just because these are my favorite exercises by body part, does not mean that they are the “best”.  I’d love for you to share your thoughts on your favorite exercises by body part in the comments below.

Stay strong,

Vic

The post Exercises By Body Part: My List Of Favorites appeared first on Vic Magary.