Progression is a key factor in getting better results with your workouts.

I wanted to share three simple ways that I am progressing with my current weight lifting routine.

Before I share those three methods I am doing a three day per week (every other day), full body weight training workout plan that focuses on multi-joint complex exercises like deadlifts, push-presses, rows, lunges, etc.

Without further delay, here are the three methods

PROGRESSION METHOD #1. Increase Intensity of Your Lifts

This one is simple. Increase the amount of weight you lift from workout to workout. So, on Monday, the first week of a program you lift 150 pounds on a lift such as the bench press. On week two for your Monday workout you should try to increase the weight to 155 pounds.

PROGRESSION METHOD #2. Increase The # Of Reps/Set

Another simple way to progress from workout to workout is to increase the number of repetitions you complete for a given set. So let’s say Week 1 of your Wednesday training session has you set do 5 sets of 8 repetitions for each exercise in your workout. On week 2 of that same plan you would try to get 5 sets of 9 repitions. That’s an extra 5 repetitions per exercise per workout so that will put a greater training stimulus on your muscles.

PROGRESSION METHOD #3. Decrease Rest Periods Between Sets

This form of progression is great if fat loss is your goal. Here’s how this one works. Let’s say your Friday workout calls for you to do 4 sets of 15 repetitions with 60 second rest periods. On week two for your Friday workout you would decrease your rest periods to 55 seconds while keeping the weight and reps/set the same. This decrease in the rest period will make the workout more metabolically challenging on you. Week 3 you would drop it to 50 seconds, week 4 drop it to 45 seconds.

So there you have it - Three simple ways to progress with your resistance training workouts.

I hope these ideas are helpful and I hope that you use one or more of them.
Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

One of the biggest success principles that I follow is accountability. Having a way of checking in with yourself is important to keeping you on track with your goals - and they don’t have to be fitness goals either. Accountability is useful for every pursuit.

Accountability has a way of motivating me into action. Just knowing that someone is going to ask me about my progress with “X Goal” is enough to keep a fire going, and ensure that I stay on track.

Here are three tips for maximizing the power of accountability.

1. Just Do It - Find a way, any way, to keep yourself accountable. I think the best way is by having a close friend, or co-worker, to check in with from time to time. Set aside a time each week, or every day, to meet with your accountability partner and review your progress. It doesn’t have to be anything formal. You could just talk on the phone for a fewminutes, but having this one ingredient makes a recipe for success.

But there are other ways to stay accountable…

-join a social networking community online with people that have similar goals as yours.

There are so many different ways to stay in touch with people and there is a support community for virtually every different pursuit: blogs, facebook groups, myspace, ning communities, squidoo lenses, paid membership sites, the list goes on.

-Write your goals down and post them somewhere you’ll see them every day.

-Make a weekly checklist of action items that you MUST accomplish to reach your goals.

The key is starting today, starting RIGHT NOW.
 
2. Find Your Groove - everyone has something that makes them tick. For me, it’s COMPETITION.
Put me in a group of cut-throat competitors and I am likely to succeed - it’s in my blood.

If you’re not into competition, that’s fine too, and there are other hot buttons you can utilize to maximize the power of accountability.

-setting a deadline, and WRITING IT DOWN.

-tell everyone you know that you are going to achieve “X Goal” in “X Amount of Time,” and you’re going to feel “X Times Better” for doing it

-decide on a reward for achieving your goal on time.

Anything that will keep a fire under your butt to TAKE ACTION will work perfectly.

3. Be the One to Initiate Accountability.  For some people, asking for an accountability partner is awkward - it’s open and honest, revealing even - and it can be taken as a sign of weakness or neediness by some. Sometimes, it feels like We live in a stand-off culture, and it’s true to an extent.

Be stronger than that, and understand that by asking someone for help, you will build a sense of comraderie and help each other with what is truly important.

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

P.S. My training partner, John Sifferman, just posted a video about accountability at his
blog. Check it out by Clicking Here

I was reading Tom Venuto’s New Hardcover book this moring at the Gym while doing morning cardio on the stationary bike and came across a great quote I wanted to share with you.

This one quote basically sums up in concise paragraph EXACTLY what it takes to improve your fat burning and get super lean.

Check it out:

“You are what you think. You are what you believe. You are what you eat. You are the exercise you get. You are the company you keep.” –Tom Venuto

Pretty simple ehh?

It is easy to look at this one quote and dismiss it as common knowledge. I would challenge you with the following questions:

1. What are you thinking about ona daily basis? Are your thoughts conducive to a leaner, and healthier physique?

2. What are your beliefs about eating, your beliefs about exericse, your beliefs about what you are capable of, your beliefs about how successful you can become?

3. What exercise do you get every week? Do you lift weights a few times per week? Are you getting enough cardio? Are you progressing with your weight training AND cardio workouts? Are you working hard enough? Can you work harder in your workouts? Are you getting enough variety in your workouts?

4. What company are you keeping? Who are you hanging out with? Are they supportive of your dreams and goals or are they holding you back? Do you have accountability partners to help you stay on track? Do you have a support network to get your questions answered?

Think about that Tom Venutu quote and the answers to these questions. I hope that you can identify a “Weak link” in your current plan and make some changes that will help you improve your fat burning results.

If I can help let me know!

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

I’m not sure if you’ve heard the buzz yet about Tom Venuto’s new hardcover book, to be released by a major New York City Publisher (Avery/Penguin Books) on January 8th 2009.

If you haven’t, you will. Tom has already been contacted by some of the largest fitness magazines in the world to talk about what’s inside his new book… (the women’s magazines have been especially interested for reasons you’ll learn inside Tom’s new report)

In a new 21 page transcript I’ve just uploaded to the web for you to read, you will learn Tom’s newest insights, techniques and strategies for fat loss success in 2009

To grab your copy, Click Here!

Download and read this report and you will learn:

- Tom’s simple solution to End emotional eating and stop diet self sabotage once and for all

- The massive confusion-causing and myth-making problem even worse than information overload and Tom’s fool-proof solution

- Tom says, Body fat is NOT a problem, it’s a _________________ (get this, or you’ll be barking up the wrong tree forever)

- Why people are failing with applying positive thinking and law of attraction to their fitness efforts

- How to go beyond goal setting by crafting a powerful “vision” that motivates you for life

- How to eat healthy food almost unconsciously by using science-proven mental re-programming

- Why it may be fat loss suicide to listen to 12 week transformation contest winners or TV show weight loss contest winners

- Weight maintenance strategies of people who lose and keep of 50 lbs or more for 5 years or more

You’re going to see Tom and The Body Fat Solution Book in the major media everywhere in 2009, and you will see the book on the shelves of every major bookstore in America….

But you don’t have to wait until January to learn some of Tom’s newest fat loss discoveries!

I just got a sneak preview for you from the first full-length interview Tom has ever given about his New Book!

Subscribers to my newsletter (that’s you) are getting the inside scoop TODAY, before anyone  else in this 21 page transcript.  To come grab it Click Here

This transcript is from a full one-hour tele-seminar where I picked Tom’s brain about what’s inside his new book and how you can use it to get leaner, healthier and stronger in 2009 and beyond.

The audio was already made available for inner circle members (inner circle members get the first dibs on everything), and now we’re sharing the transcript of that call with all of our newsletter subscribers.

I can guaranteee that when you read this report from Tom, his new insights on the reaons people are still failing with fat loss and why 90% of losers are regaining the weight, will give you the most
enlightening “A-HA’s” of your life.

You can download the report, “An Introduction To The Body Fat Solution” from the link below, and get Tom’s newest advice that will help you NAIL your fitness goals in 2009 and more importantly,
Maintain your results FOR THE LONG TERM.  To learn more Click Here

You can also pass this download link along to your friends, if you think it will help them.

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis
Site Manager,
Burn The Fat Inner Circle
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com

PS - I almost forgot!  we have an exciting announcement:

Tom will be launching a new Body Fat Solution website to help promote his book and the 2009 radio tour and 2009 virtual book tour, but he has just announced that the BURN THE FAT INNER CIRCLE has
been named the official support community for his new book, The Body Fat Solution.

This means that The Burn The Fat Inner Circle will support BOTH of Tom’s books, and it’s not necessary to join another website to get support for Tom’s latest book. In fact, the Body Fat Solution Discussion forum is already open inside the member’s only area

If you want to lose fat then you should be doing some form of cardio training in conjunction with
a good nutrition plan and resistance training. 

To get the most out of your cardio training you must use progression to keep the fat loss results
coming and to make progress towards your goals.

Here are three ways to crank up your fat burning cardio results:

1.  Increase Time - A simple way to get more of a calorie burn is to simply add more time to your
cardio workouts.  This is not my preffered choice for intermediate or advanced trainees but it is a great way to start if you are new to cardio workouts.  

2.  Increase Intensity - You can get more work done in less time by cranking up the intensity of your
cardio sessions.  There are two main ways to do this.  The first is to increase the speed of your efforts
(pedal faster).  The second is to increase the resistance of your cardio.  If you have been pedaling
at level 15 on the stationary bike you can increase it to level 16 to do more work in less time. 

3.  Increase Frequency - The final way to add progression to your cardio training is to increase how often you do your workouts.  If you have been doing cardio 3 days per week you can add a fourth cardio session to your weekly plan. 

Just be sure to balance work and recovery.  As you get closer to your fat loss goals you may eventually move to daily cardio to give you that extra push.  

Just keep in mind how you can improve from workout to workout and try to beat your previous performances. 

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com  
P.S. - If you are short on time and equipment in your home gym training the 4-minute H.I.I.T. workouts are powerful way to crank up your fat loss results.  To learn more Click Here   

Here is a video I shot at Ryan Lee’s Bootcamp with author of Turbulence Training Craig Ballantyne on the topic of Interval Training for fat loss.  Interval training can help you boost your fat burning potential so you’ll want to check this one out…

Hit the play butto to hear Craig’s explanation: 

To learn more about Craig’s program click here.

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com  

Many other factors are involved, including the type of saturated fat, individual genetics, current health status, exercise and the big picture of what else is consumed in the rest of the diet.Research Says Eggs Are Not Evil

Recent research has been showing that the cholesterol in eggs is handled by most people’s bodies in a way that doesn’t cause heart disease and that dietary cholesterol does not necessarily translate to increased blood cholesterol or an unfavorable ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol.

After a recent study published in The Journal Of Nutrition, Dr. Robert Nicolosi at the University of Massachusetts said, “Our data shows that eating an egg a day is not a factor for raising cholesterol.”

A study reported at the 2006 experimental biology meeting in San Francisco made similar findings. The researchers discovered that when people ate three or more eggs per day, the amount of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in their bloodstream did in fact increase as previously reported.

However they also found that the subjects actually made bigger LDL particles which were less likely to enter artery walls and build up as artery-clogging plaque.

As a result of these and similar findings, head researcher Christine Green said that a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that eggs should not be considered a “dietary evil.”Whole Eggs Have “Super-Food” Qualities

Whole eggs have a lot going for them nutritionally speaking. The egg yolks contain a highly bioavailable source of lutein and zeaxanthin which are carotenoids that protect against cataracts and macular degeneration.

Eggs are a great source of high biological value, complete protein and the protein is split almost evenly between the yolk and the white. One large egg contains 6.3 grams of protein with 3.5 grams in the white and 2.8 grams in the yolk.

Although whole eggs appear to have been exonerated, it still may not be wise to suggest that anyone can eat eggs in unlimited quantities, for both health and body composition reasons.

Dr. Udo Erasumus in his book, Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, said that in 70% of the affluent populations of the world, increased cholesterol consumption decreases cholesterol production in the body through a regulating feedback system that protects them. The other 30% of the population may not have adequate feedback, and are wise to limit their dietary cholesterol consumption.Unlimited egg consumption is also not wise from a caloric perspective. In a fat burning program, you need to consider calories as well as nutritional value and health impact.

Whole Eggs And Fat Loss

Whole eggs are not low calorie foods - they’re fairly calorie dense, while egg whites are extremely low in calories, which is why egg whites are one of the top choices for lean protein on fat loss and bodybuilding diets.

Now that this news about the health value of whole eggs is starting to become more widely circulated, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts have been criticized for their long held practice of throwing away the egg yolks.

However, In all my years of training and consulting, even back in the late 1980’s, and 1990’s I’ve never thrown away all my yolks.

My menu plans typically contain one or two whole eggs with 8-12 egg whites. I know that’s a lot, but that’s a man-sized bodybuilder meal. For non-bodybuilders or people with lower calorie needs, it might be one whole egg and 3-6 whites.

Why do I do this? Because this provides the high protein without so many calories.Take a look at this egg white - egg yolk comparison:

3 whole large eggs: 225 calories, 18.9 g protein, 15 g fat
8 egg whites & 1 whole egg: 211 calories, 34.3 g protein, 5 g fatDo you see what was accomplished here? I didn’t remove egg yolks because I’m afraid of cholesterol. I removed most of the egg yolks because I was on a calorie budget and I was on a higher protein diet and I wanted more protein with fewer calories. Make sense?

Another reason that bodybuilders use liquid egg whites so often is for convenience. They can pour them from the carton right into the fry pan and they don’t have to do all that shell cracking and egg white separating.

Let me leave you with a funny story.
 
Whole Eggs - “Better Than Steroids?”

When I started bodybuilding as a teenager, I latched onto the teachings of a bodybuilding guru trainer from North Hollywood named Vince Gironda.

Gironda trained all the top movie stars back in his day including Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Chong, Carl “Apollo Creed” Weathers and too many others to mention.

He was also the Trainer of bodybuilding champions such as Larry Scott, the First Mr. Olympia, and believe it or not, he was Arnold’s first trainer when Joe Weider sent the budding young star to America from Austria.Gironda had been saying from day one (back in the 1950’s and 1960’s) that the whole egg was “nature’s perfect food” and he compared them to “natural steroids.”

On some of his low carb “muscle definition” diets, he said you could eat as many whole eggs as you wanted and even scramble them in butter. He said that he had some of his champion bodybuilders on up to three dozen eggs a day!I didn’t really understand what a ketogenic diet was at the time, but being an obedient, guru-following teenage bodybuilder, desperate for muscle, I did what he said. I ate up to 3 dozen whole eggs a day for months on end.

Well, there was no miraculous steroid-like effect, and I didn’t drop dead of a heart attack either.One thing I did notice is that I DID NOT LOSE FAT like Gironda said I would.

The reason should be obvious: three dozen whole eggs is 2700 calories (more if you use extra large or jumbo eggs). I was at nearly maintenance calories from the eggs alone, and eggs weren’t the only thing I was eating.Gironda, like many other low carb gurus, did not place any restrictions on calories, only on foods. Gironda was a genius, years ahead of his time, but this was the flaw in his program. Even on low carb diets, you STILL need a caloric deficit to lose body fat.

Thus, my approach changed and I started removing yolks to keep me more easily within my caloric deficit without losing the quality protein… but I never cut all the yolks because of their nutritional value.

To this day, I still keep one or two yolks in my omelettes and scrambles… sometimes more, as long as it fits in my calorie budget.

Get crackin!

Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
http://www.askthefitnessexpert.com/burn

P.S. One last thing. Keep in mind that the quality of the egg is only as good as the quality of the bird it came from. This is why many health experts recommend free range eggs and/or omega-3 eggs.

P.P.S. For more information about fat burning nutrition, visit: http://www.askthefitnessexpert.com/burn

About the Author:

Have you read the news claiming that organic food is better for you? Have you been told to eat as “natural” as possible?

If you’re looking to eat healthy these money-saving tips will help you slash your grocery bill and still eat burn the fat friendly.

Here are three of the top twenty best strategies for healthy shopping on a budget from Inner Circle contributor Marc David…

———————————-
TIP 1. TAKE A LIST AND FOLLOW IT.
———————————-

Never shop without a list. This is probably the most important tip out of my top 20 tips.
  
A list will “help you avoid impulse purchases of foods you don’t need.”  Dieticians estimate that 40 percent of supermarket purchases are made on impulse. According to best selling food author and NYU professor Marion Nestle, 70 percent of shoppers bring lists into the supermarket, but only about 10 percent stick
to them.

Developing a standard list of foods to replenish weekly will save you money by avoiding purchasing an excess of food that might spoil and go to waste. It will also help you avoid impulse purchases of
foods you didn’t need.

By the way, planning your shopping can also help you avoid unnecessary trips to the store, which saves you time as well as gas money!

—————————————–
TIP 2. CLIP COUPONS AND WATCH FOR SALES. 
—————————————–

You can save a pretty penny if you read the paper, watch for sales and clip some of those ads. A coupon here and a coupon there can add up to thousands of dollars in savings over the course of a year.

If you want to know just how much savings is possible, look up the story about “The Coupon Queen.” She leaves the store with 3 baskets full of groceries for $50.00!

Even if you don’t go that far, if you spend just 20 minutes a week searching for coupons, you could save 20% off your grocery bill!

—————————————
TIP 3. FREE GROCERY STORE COUPON SITES
—————————————

(These are some of the most popular coupon sites I’ve found. Unlike other frustrating sites that ask for an e-mail address and then spam you to death, these websites give you printable coupons with great
deals, without all the excessive email.

Suggestion: use a secondary email address to keep your main email safe, just in case.)

• Coupons.com Enter your zip code and find printable coupons for your area.

• CoolSavings.com Offering food coupons for online and brick & mortar shopping.

• SmartSource Savings Network (www.coupons.smartsource.com) Comprised of leading grocery and retail chains, newspapers, lifestyle websites, interactive companies and others bringing online savings to you. Printable coupons available.

• Upons (upons.com) Offering free grocery coupons, special promotions and product samples. Local coupons available.
————————————————————
16 MORE TIPS TO CUT YOUR GROCERY BILL BY 25% TO 50% AND
STILL EAT HIGH QUALITY, HEALTH-PROMOTING, FAT-BURNING FOODS
————————————————————

In the rest of this two-part special report you will learn 16 additional tips for bagging serious grocery bargains. Coupon-clipping tricks to keep more of your money in your pocket while still stocking
your kitchen with ‘burn the fat’ approved foods. More insider tips that will help you become a ‘bargain hunter’ on your healthy food choices.

9 grocery store shopping tips to help you navigate the isles and find the healthiest items - cheaper. Where to find natural “clean eating” staples that are surprisingly inexpensive.

To read Marc’s entire report on ‘How To Cut Your Grocery Bill By 25% to 50% And Still Eat High-Quality, Health-Promoting, Fat-Burning Foods’ visit this link. 

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com  

This morning I went for a walk and brought along one of my favorite training tools that easily tripled the effectiveness of my workout

Later in the day, I used the very same training tool during my weight training workout, and, once again, it boosted the effectiveness of my workout:

-It helped me burn more calories in less time
-Increased the load on my muscles

Check out this favorite training tool of mine by Clicking Here 

I interviewed the creator of this training tool and he shared some great insider information about it.  I invite you to come give it a listen by clicking here.

I hope that you enjoy this training tool! 

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com  

It’s true,

Tom Venuto, author of the best-selling E-book called “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle” and creator of the Burn The Fat Inner Circle recently finished writing a much-anticipated NEW physical book.

I am excited about this new book and there has been a lot of buzz over at the Burn The Fat Inner Circle from members ‘chomping at the bit’ to read this new book.

Here is the Press Release that reveals what Tom’s New Book is all about. (I recommend Pre-Ordering your copy now!)

PRESS RELEASE

From Tom Venuto
Via (Avery Books/Penguin Group)
Re: pre-release announcement

New Hardcover Book By Tom Venuto Reveals the 5 Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscles, Ending Emotional Eating and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight.

By now, we all know that we gain fat when we take in more calories than we burn. But we’re not always rational creatures when it comes to food and exercise. Recognizing the emotional and psychological factors that sabotage success, Tom Venuto’s new Book, The Body Fat Solution (Avery/Penguin Group) hones in on the real causes of body-fat and provides a sound plan to take back control of our bodies and end emotional eating for good.

In The Body Fat Solution, Venuto outlines the five principles that will retrain your mind and body for automatic success. Determined to help you keep the fat off for good, Tom shows you how to:

- End emotional eating and stop diet self sabotage
- change your vision through manageable goals for
  indomitable confidence
- eat healthy, delicious food almost unconsciously and
  shed the pounds effortlessly
- reshape your body through lean muscle training for a strong
  core and toned frame
- invite a supportive social network of friends, family, and
  mentors to help you achieve your dream for life

Venuto reminds us that calories do count! But The Body Fat Solution is neither super low carb nor super low fat, and he steers clear of demonizing entire food groups.  Instead, Venuto helps you personalize an eating plan that takes into account your unique metabolism and calorie needs. He then presents illustrated workout programs to maximize the success of the diet plan that are fast and efficient.

Most important, he helps you plan and organize your life so that you can fully implement your new goals and monitor your progress, and finally maintain your perfect weight for life.

Tapping into his years of training expertise and personal experience, Venuto helps readers change their relationship with food, empowers them to take charge of their lives, and delivers a program that promises dramatic and permanent results.

——————————————————-
ADVANCED PRAISE FOR THE BODY FAT SOLUTION:
——————————————————-

“Read this book–if you want to lose weight, improve your body and your health, and keep up these improvements for life. Tom Venuto gives it to you straight, basing his program on solid science and common sense. You will come away with a new feeling of inspiration and a new action plan to get you started and keep you on track to help you reach your goals–and then beyond.”

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D.
Author of The Complete Beck Diet for Life.
Director, Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
“At last, easy, concise, no excuses - get skinny - this is the guide Great work, Tom!”

Richard Bandler, co-founder of NLP, author, “Get The Life You Want”
“Tom Venuto’s Body Fat Solution is one of the most important books on health, happiness and physical well-being ever written. In this fast-moving, easily usable series of methods and techniques, you learn how to enjoy superb physical fitness, achieve your ideal weight, and feel terrific about yourself both emotionally and spiritually.”
 
Brian Tracy - Motivational Speaker, Author - “Reinvention”
In 2003 Tom Venuto changed the fat loss world with his ebook “Burn the Fat - Feed the Muscle”… In 2008 he’s done it again with the Body Fat Solution. The World’s expert on fat loss speaks - I listen.
I’ve often said — Fat loss doesn’t start with an exercise program, a diet or a supplement… It starts with a mindset shift. That mindset shift begins with Tom’s new book. If you want to change your body - you need to change your mind. And to do that - you need Tom Venuto.

Alwyn Cosgrove, Co-Author, The New Rules of Lifting and The New Rules of Lifting for Women

——————————————————-

The Body Fat Solution is scheduled for release on January 8th, 2009.
Now available for Pre order at Amazon.com (Click on the banner to the right to pre-order your copy today)

Tom Venuto is a fat-loss expert, nutrition researcher, and natural, steroid-free bodybuilder. Since 1989, Venuto has been involved in virtually every aspect of the fitness and weight-loss industry: personal trainer, nutrition consultant, motivation, coach, fitness model, health club manager, freelance writer, and bestselling author of the popular eBook Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, and other digital programs such as MP3 teleseminars and weight-loss membership websites.
He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.

=============================================

Train with purpose,

Kyle Battis, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.SecretsOfBurningFat.com
http://www.BurnTheFat-InnerCircle.com