News and Rants (slightly informative)

Have you been getting on your scale while stuck at home? Or are you afraid of what it might say? There are different methods of tracking whether or not you’ve gained the quarantine 15 with a simple bathroom scale. Some step on every day, meticulously tracking the ups and downs. Others jump on it once a week. Still, others skip the scale altogether and simply focus on how they look and feel. Which method is best for you? Let’s dive deeper and find out… The Everyday Method:  There’s a large school of the thought that says in order to lose the most weight in the shortest amount of time you must get on the scale every day. Weigh yourself at the same time, preferably first thing in the morning, wearing as little as possible. Record the daily number and react accordingly. If your weight has gone up then make modifications to your diet (eat less) and to your workouts (exercise harder). If your weight has lowered then keep on doing what you’re doing because it’s working. Every...

You’re stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic with Netflix and comfort foods causing you a huge amount of temptation. Not to mention the stress of this uncertain time making it easy to resort to stress eating… The fact is that after this quarantine you’re either going to be in worse shape – having gained many at-home pounds, OR you could use this extra time off to make visible progress towards your best body ever. Here are  12 Steps to Getting Lean while in Quarantine: Step One: Do Some Burpees.  Can burpees safely be performed at home? You bet. Incorporate a few minutes of burpees into your morning and evening routines to burn extra calories and tighten your core. Here’s how to do a burpee: 1) Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. 2) Drop to a squat with your hands on the ground. 3) Kick feet back while lowering into a push-up. 4) Return to the squat position. 5) Jump up with arms overhead. Step Two: Reduce Sodium.  Did you know that salt cau...

Oops, You’ve relapsed Is this you? Have you relapsed into your old unhealthy habits? The sad truth is that nearly everyone who started off 2020 with strong fitness goals has by now given up. I sincerely hope that this is not you. This is the cycle that happens when you relapse into your old unhealthy habits, and here’s how to pick yourself back up: 1) First You Fall Your fall off the wagon could take place in a single moment, or it could be the result of a drawn-out process. You may fall out of exercise slowly as a result of health problems or other various life issues that spring up and monopolize your time. Illness, vacation, holidays, changes at work or any other change in your schedule are all things that’ll get you off the wagon. Once you’re off the real damage begins. 2) Second You Surrender There comes a point after you fall off the wagon that you simply throw your hands up in the air and give in. It may be a dramatic moment when you decide to eat anything you want, ...

Spring has arrived, bringing with it the promise of warm weather to come. You know what happens when the weather warms up? People put on bathing suits. Are you ready to bare it all on the beach? If not, no worries, there is still time. Follow these 12 steps to get your abs beach ready: Step One: Do Some Burpees.  Can burpees really help flatten your abs? You bet. Incorporate a few minutes of burpees into your workouts to burn extra calories and tighten your core. Here's how to do a burpee: 1) Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. 2) Drop to a squat with your hands on the ground. 3) Kick feet back while lowering into a push-up. 4) Return to the squat position. 5) Jump up with arms overhead. Step Two: Reduce Sodium.  Did you know that salt causes water retention? Puffy skin is not going to make your abs look great in a bathing suit! Take the time to pay attention to the sodium content of your food. Limit salt intake by not eating packaged foods and by putti...

1. Breakfast pastry: muffins, doughnuts, bear claws, and croissants sure taste good with coffee, but all those refined carbs are going to cause unwanted weight gain. But you knew that, right? 2. Granola Bars: Watch out for the breakfast bars that claim to give you fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Check the number of carbs and sugars on the back of the label - most contain the same sugar as a pastry. That is probably what makes them taste so good (and why you should avoid them like the plague) 3. Cereal: here's another popular breakfast item that has tons of sugar lurking beneath its surface. I think the concept of a "healthy" cereal is one of the BIGGEST lies perpetrated by the health food industry. Carbs upon carbs. 4. Drive-Thru Breakfast Sandwich: Oh please. Don't even think about heading to the drive-thru for a quick breakfast sandwich. You are much better off grabbing a...

The Real Food Challenge Processed foods, additives and chemicals are inferior to real food and are potentially harmful to your health. So why do you still eat it? Why do you still eat that packaged granola bar and snack on those whole-grain crackers? You may think that a heart-healthy label means something, but it doesn't hold a candle to real food. What is Real Food? Here's an easy way to tell if your food is real or not: If your food can go bad, it's good for you. If your food can't go bad, it's bad for you. Real food is fresh and unprocessed. The Real Food Challenge This real food challenge has the potential to change your body forever. Take the next 7 days to ONLY eat real food. One week is a very short time in the grand scheme of things, and I know you can do this. Just try it for one week to see and feel the difference in your body. The Rules During the next 7 days you will avoid eating all of the following food items: Bread Grains Rice Crackers ...

How's it going'! This is me your old' pal, Belly Fat. We had a great run this 2019, didn't we? Lots of good times, great food, and plain old' sitting around eating too much. Well, I'm thinking about sticking around another year if you don't mind. But you might need to get a bigger pair of pants, as I was thinking about expanding my place down here. So do me a favor, avoid that interval training you were thinking of doing. The last time you did that stuff, I nearly had to look for a new place to live. I felt like the Wicked Witch of the West in the land of Oz. Did you hear me yelling, "Help me, I'm melting!"? Instead, stick to that slow cardio stuff. Sure I get a little sweaty, and the ol' brain up there thinks it's doing "a real fat burning workout", but it's never enough to melt me outta here. Another thing, keep listening to those experts who say strength training doesn't burn body fat. Since research sho...

Hey now, With the Holiday season in full swing here are my thoughts on what's happening around you. Remember if you don't know what happened before you, you don't know what's happening around you. "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." - Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Churchill was not just known for his years as a  leader he also had a  healthy appetite and a wonderful sense of humor. In most of his quotes, there is a tinge of truth mixed with a bit of that English dry sense of humor. For this reason, they hit you right between the eyes, yet retains a subtle gentleness that does not offend anyone. If you look at this in the context of a good diet, you see how it isn’t something with a beginning...

10 years ago people called me crazy for warning against the dangers of excessive cardio. It doesn't work, I said, and you'll get overuse injuries that can ruin your life. Well, today, not only am I no longer a lone voice in the wilderness, but major newspapers - like the  Wall Street Journal  - are reporting on studies that show excessive cardio harms the heart. According to the WSJ, research in the The British journal, " Heart ", says: Running 20-25 miles or more per week eliminates the benefit of exercise as you grow older and cause's excessive wear-and-tear on the heart. Of course, exercise ADDICTS will ignore dispute this information, and runners will continue to post "I hate Coach Clarence comments, but the #truth about long slow cardio and running is this... 1) You can get better fat burning results in less time 2) Less exercise = less wear-and-tear on the body, including your heart, skeletal muscles, and yo...

"Man does not live by bread alone..." - Matthew 4:4   This may the battle cry of those who insist on dieting. However, without proper planning and a good nutritional guide, a diet is bound to fail and bring down one’s health in the process. Definitely, we should not live to eat, but neither should we live to be a model dress size. There is more to life than how you look and what you eat. When the Bible talks about eating, it is more for the nourishment of the body; and studying is nourishment for the mind. It emphasized both equally, and we should take heed. Dieting is not a bad activity to undertake until we start taking it to the extreme. If that happens, then we’re playing around with our health, and possibly our lives and the people who love us. This may sound trite right now, but regrets usually come too late. Are you willing to take that chance?   How often do we try to fool ourselves by saying we’ll just take small meals, but sneak in junk food in ...

Hey, Fitness Family I hope your week is going well! I have 10 more 21-day programs that weren't claimed so I want to discount them and give them away at a steal! If you recall the original program sold for $197 dollars I have discounted them over 70% percent off. So now you can claim the last of the best program I have offered to date for only $60 bucks. If you forgot what the program entails here are the details below. "21 Day jump-start Your fat loss" this program is designed to give you FAST RESULts to get you back on track. It will give you everything you need to cleanse your body of toxins, regulate your blood sugars, and flatten your STOMACH! If you are looking fora a diet, this is not for you! In case you haven't figured it out yet... THEY DON't WORK! But if you stick to the "done for you " plan for ONLY 21 Days, I can promise you'll... * Lose Inches * Lose Weight * Reduce all bad cravings * HAVE a...

Hello Fitness family, One question I often get asked is... Clarence, How many days a week should I workout? I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question. Let me first answer your question with a question. (Something I learned from my clever daughter Angelina who wins every argument) How many days a week do you take a shower? Let me ask you another question..... How many days a week do you brush your teeth? I'm really hoping you answered every day. Now that you admit to brushing your teeth and taking a shower every day, let me ask you another question. Just a couple of hundred years ago, did our ancestors brush their teeth and take a shower every day? Highly unlikely? As a matter of fact... NOPE We didn't have running water till the 1930s. And as far as the toothbrush is concerned... The toothbrush was developed in the 15th century. So over the years, we've have trained ourselves to AUTOMATICALLY take care of our hygiene. It's a NON NEGOTIABLE....