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Vaughn Gittin Jr. shows off his moves in a brand-new Mustang

Bust boredom and increase the intensity of your workouts with this 55-minute treadmill interval workout.

What’s your body image? If you’re punishing yourself for your physical flaws, learn how to change your body image from your About Exercise Guide

Whenever new people find out I’m a personal trainer and fitness writer, a look of horror comes over their faces. It’s probably the same reaction I have when I…

Fitness, strength and flexibility do not inevitably fade away with age, and are more often a matter of lifestyle choices, according to a new report.

People who put off regular exercise until they hit the age of 50 can still benefit from physical activity but it appears to take 10 years for the effects to kick in, Swedish researchers said Friday.

Hey! We made it through the first week of March! Only 2 more weeks until the official start of spring. Let’s see if we can make it without more snow (we’re typing in purpley pink for good luck).

This is what happened this week in yoga…

First off…we learned today that FitYoga empress Beth Shaw won the megamillions of yoga and scored herself a nice pad for $1.3 million.

Recession Yoga Update: We pondered the lessons the Great Depression can teach us about our current situation and the boom of Recession Yoga.

Yoga Crime Update: The Graspin’ Aspen yoga teacher was slapped with more counts of sexual misconduct, and 2 felony charges. We’ll see him back in court come April.

We learned yoga can be translated into any language, even sign language for the deaf.

We declared Cat Yoga Day! and put out the call to yogi investors out there for the much needed Yoga Holster.

Weekend plans? Watch the animated story of Ramayana, “Sita Sings the Blues”

And don’t forget, most of us will lose an hour this weekend due to daylight savings time. So make like Belinda Carlisle and get in some restorative yoga to reclaim your energy.

oh and we announced a little SALE on our Yoga Is My Bailout tee… we might have mentioned that once or twice.

Have a great weekend!

Friday has come to mean laughter yoga around these parts…here’s this week’s morsel.

In the unanswered questions category of “who on earth would spend their time making a toilet out of candy?”, comes a toilet, made out of candy!

Talk about a potty mouth! (thank you, thank you very much)

We’ve been dreaming of cupcakes all day and this is what the gods of sweetness bring us. Eat or sit? Willy Wonka would know what to do.

See the rest of Listicles’ 14 Artsy Toilets

Listicles via Buzzfeed

Ok so which one of you misanthropes thought Indonesia wasn’t serious about yoga? Cause they are SO serious. And now they have the obligatory foundation to prove it!  The Bali Yoga Festival has been a success so far and a highlight to yesterday’s festivities was the announcement of  the inception of their first yoga association. It’s kind of a big deal considering yoga was ostensibly banned in the country by the ruling Muslim Council, even though Indonesian yogis carried on anyway (chilling out on the chanting, presumably). As it turns out, all the attention yoga received, with the ban first in Malaysia and wafting into Indonesia, actually seems to have benefited yoga in the nation. Sure yoga practitioners existed in pockets, but now they’re associated!

Under the auspicious supervision of Somvir, an Indian guru who started the Bali India Foundation about a decade ago, the new association is meant to unite and spread awareness:

“There are many yoga centres here in Bali and elsewhere but hardly anyone knows each other. This association will be like an umbrella organisation to exchange ideas, information and ultimately spread awareness that yoga is a medium to good health,” Somvir told IANS at the festival Thursday.

Already 30 yoga centers from various parts of Indonesia like Bali, Java and Lombo have hopped on board. We don’t blame them. We’d sign up too if there were a major religious organization out for our demise. Congrats to the Indo-yogis. Coconut waters and high fives all around.

[Sindh Today]

And here we were thinking only Yoga Don Bikram lived the extravagant life of  Rolls Royces and Rolexes. Beth June Shaw, marketing guru and captain of the YogaFit ship, must’ve had $1.349 million burning a hole in the hidden pocket of her Lululemon pants, because that’s what she paid on Jan. 22 for a three-bedroom, two-bath at 736 Calle De Arboles Dr. in Torrance, from the very regal sounding Herbert and Kathryn Goodrich. Since the housing market is so in the gutter right now maybe this was a great deal*, though for that much she could’ve bought up all of Detroit. Or purchased her own island which is probably what old Herb and Kat are up to as we speak, after pawning their jewels and buying up as many gold bars as would fit in their suitcases.

As you can see from Google Maps street view above, the new crib is either a lovely split level home or a vacant dirt pile. We’re hoping for $1.3 mil it’s the former.

*probably not though - according to Blockshopper the Median Sale Price for the last 12 mos. in Torrance is $585,000.

[LA Blockshopper]

Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness magazine recently asked me for 3 of my best fat loss secrets. Since most times the magazines just don’t have enough space to run my full tips, I thought I’d give you a more detailed explanation of my secrets here (plus a few extra bonus tips that I didn’t send to the magazine).

Before I get started, let me vent a little. The information in this article is cutting edge, it is real, and it is not commonly known. If you take it in, and utilize it, you will be able to radically change your body and your life in as little as 12 weeks.

From what I can see from the literally thousands of people that have come to me for help is that most are confused on exactly what works and what does not work for fat loss. They have too much information. I see the most progress with my own physique, as do my trainers, and my clients when we take information away, and get back to the basics. I believe that no one is fat and lazy when it comes to fitness and fat loss. Every one wants it, every one tries, but when you keep trying over and over again with the wrong strategies, it’s easy to just say “what’s the use.”

But when some one tries with the right strategies on nutrition, resistance & cardio vascular training, goal setting, positive mental mindset, and social support, magic happens. Many times people ask me what the secret is to getting my body-fat % under 5% (my body is most comfortable around 15% body fat) at the age of 43. I tell them that there is no secret. I simply do the basic simple strategies that I have outlined in my book “The Fatloss Lifestyle” to the 100th degree. It’s as simple as that.

But here is the key.  Even I do not live “The Fatloss Lifestyle” to the 100th degree all the time. You see, my day is just like yours with things coming at me from all directions. Plus, I like to have fun with my family once in a while. Things like staying up really late, eating junk food at the movies, going to a club and having a few drinks and dancing with my wife, going to the ball game and having a beer and a brawt.

So here is the key, picking a dead line to peak your fitness for once, twice, or three times throughout the year.  For me, it is to stand on stage and compete against other professional drug-free for life bodybuilders once or twice a year. The 12 weeks before the contest, I sacrifice some of the fun stuff and focus on the fitness lifestyle. It is important to have something to get ready for, something that excites you.

Maybe it is a wedding, a vacation or a class or family reunion. Or you can hire a professional photographer and do some glamour shots. It does not matter what it is, just pick something that excites you to get ready for once or twice per year. And for the next 12 weeks before your deadline live the “Fatloss Lifestyle” to the 100th degree. That is the only fat loss secret that I know of. Do not underestimate its power because of its simplicity.

Another note that has radically helped me, my trainers, my one on one clients, and my e-book clients is to limit your information and keep things simple. The best chance that you have at doing that is to have a guideline or blueprint. For that I highly suggest my system at www.fatlosslifestyle.com. I am not going to sit here and tell you that I know everything about fitness, fat loss, and longevity. But what I can tell you is that over 500 people have graduated from my system and are now training themselves. And the major reason is that I simplified everything for them and got them excited. Once they read my book they new exactly how to exercise (weights and cardio), how to eat, how to set goals, how to habitually think positive, and how to use a support group of others that have gone through the same trials and tribulations before them.

Let me vent a little here again. What I see with the majority of other fitness and fat loss guru’s on the internet is that they give away about 7 bonus’s with their program. Each bonus is some other trainer’s tips on fitness and fat loss. So what you get with their program is a lot of maybe good ideas and tips from 7 different view points.  While each and every one of them might have good information included, the main thing that you will get with their program is confused. So I highly suggest that you get one simple plan of action at a time, and focus on that strategy for 12 weeks.

Secret #1 – Focus on burning carbohydrates, not fat, during your fat-loss workouts.

Sounds backwards, right? But not when you look at how routines that have been proven to be effective are structured.  Remember that “The FATLOSS LIFESTYLE” focuses on resistance training and cardio training that are both performed in a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), meaning 60-90 seconds of intense exertion followed by a 60-90 second rest. Just long enough to catch your breathe and slow your heart rate down. By training this way we are using carbohydrates as the main source of energy.  So you see, the most effective fat loss work-outs use maximum efforts (heart rate may peak at 95 – 100% of your maximum)  for short duration and thus forces the body to use carbohydrates for fuel.

I have no interest in you trying to train in your "target heart rate zone" for fat burning (aka – the fat burning zone, 55 – 65% of your maximum heart rate) like the text books teach. If you want to get the most results in the least amount of time, focus on burning carbohydrates, not fat.

Why do my fat loss workouts and those of fitness trainers “in the know focus” on burning carbohydrates rather than fat? In order to burn more calories after the workout, that’s why. When you exercise with intervals and heavy resistance training, your body uses more calories in the hours after exercise than it would if you did traditional cardio and lifted lighter weights. Once you are done with a “fat burning zone” work-out, you are done burning calories. PERIOD. 

When you are done with a high intensity interval resistance or cardio work-out your body fights for 3-6 hours to get back down to homeostasis. During that time frame your body burns more calories than you normally burn.  This is where the advantage comes in between slow go and high intensity interval. It is not nearly so important where the body gets the energy for the work-outs (from the fat cells for slow go “fat burning” or from glycogen stored in the muscles and the liver for high intensity interval) as it is about the total calorie usage.

Plus another advantage that you receive from HIIT style training is you train your body to become an energy storing / fat burning machine. This is something that you must understand, it is huge. And you will rarely ever hear this info in the fitness world.

Two points that are important to understand;

You see when you eat carbs your body breaks them down into glucose and stores them in your liver and your muscles. Glucose is to your body what gasoline is to your car. It’s your fuel. When you eat too many carbs and calories then your glycogen stores in your muscles and liver become full, then the body has no other choice then to take the excess and store it in the fat cells as fat.

Your body uses glycogen stored in the liver and the muscles for anaerobic (not needing air / high intensity for short duration) exercise. Things like high intensity cardio intervals or interval type resistance exercises.  That’s why I incorporate those types of exercises in the “Fatloss Lifestyle” exercise library on page 256. In fact there are 34 exercise of this type there with four pictures per exercise so you can master them all quickly.

When you utilize anaerobic exercises into your program, you become very time efficient. In fact, I and all the graduates of my program only exercise 3-5 hours per week. And that is including weights, and cardio. 

When you use aerobic (needing air / low intensity for long duration) exercise in your program your body can not use your glycogen stores in the muscle and the liver, it must use fat stored in the fat cells. 

So finally here is the second advantage to doing high intensity short duration interval style training a majority of the time. The first is because of the extra calories that are burned in the 4-6 hours after the session is over.

The second is because the majority of benefits from exercise comes from how the body adapts after the exercise. So after a very intense interval style training session, your body says “Wow, it’s a good thing I had that glycogen stored in the liver and the muscles for that short duration high intensity work-out.” And what it will do is store more of the future carbs that you eat into those glycogen stores to be better prepared for future intense interval work-outs, essentially increasing the size of those glycogen storages.  So that means less fat stored and more glycogen available for work-outs. That is huge. Your body adapts and becomes energy storage, fat burning machine. 

When your body stores fat, it just sits there. But when your body stores glycogen, it burns calories just sitting there.  It is like lean mass. Therefore it raises your BMR (how many calories your body burns in a day).

We are selling books very fast. We are in four different countries now and very close to selling out of the free access to our 24/7 on-line support forum with direct access to me through my head trainer Cordell. We only have a few more spots so if you have been thinking about changing your waistline, lifestyle, and life with my system, you should go on over to http://fatlosslifestyle.rxsportz.com now.

[ Editor's Note:  Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

If you ever needed another good reason to exercise, I’ve got one for you:

Exercise makes your brain bigger.

Actually this isn’t entirely accurate. To be more specific, exercise was found to increase brain size slightly, but far more important to increase "spatial reasoning."

This is the ability to recognize patterns, remember phrases, numbers, and so-on. This was discovered by researchers at the Universities of Chicago and Pittsburgh.

It is also one of the most important factors to the prevention of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

My mom suffered with dementia the last ten years of her life. But unlike most dementia patients she was fully functional thanks to exercise. She drove and had a mind that was unbelievably sharp right up until an accident injured her beyond the ability to exercise.

After that, she mentally went downhill rapidly. Thankfully, she passed in peace… and she had ten wonderfully active years thanks to her willingness to take up weight training at the age of 71.

She eventually walked up to 3 miles per day and trained in the gym 3 days per week.

That kept her mind sharp, along with fish oil and N-Acetyl L-Carnitine, a wonderful brain nutrient.

Once again, we see the power of exercise. It increases the QUALITY of your life.

Quantity is no where near as important to me as quality.

The links at the bottom of this newsletter are to my books on exercise. Pick the one that appeals to you most and take action.

Your brain will thank you, as will the rest of your body.

One of the best ways to start exercising when you are over 40 is by using the routines covered in "Fit Over 40".

This book profiles 53 different men and women, age 40 to 80, all sharing their workouts, nutrition plans, and mental empowerment techniques.

It is a MUST-HAVE for anyone wanting to begin exercising or improve their level of fitness after the age of 40.

For a freee fat-burning course from Fit Over 40, go here —

http://fitover40.rxsportz.com  <— Freee Fat burning Course

Remember when you FIRST started "lifting" and you could practically watch the muscle grow as you stared into your bathroom mirror?

Ahhhhhh…those were the days, eh?

But like most people, those gains slowed down after a while and probably came to a CRASHING HALT at some point, right?

And of course, the bodybuilding magazines told you to "work harder" as they gave you a "plateau buster" workout that only REALLY works for "steroid-juiced" pro’s!

It may have worked a tiny bit, but then you were right back where you started again!

Well, I have the solutions for you and I’m going to reveal them right NOW in these…"5 Mass Building Mistakes…And How To INSTANTLY Correct Them For Thick New Growth" http://mass.rxsportz.com

Here’s what you’ll find in this F.R.E.E. Special Report:

1.) How to EAT to build mass…based upon your SPECIFIC “BODY TYPE”! (One-size-fits-all nutrition plans are for “newbies”!) Do you know the exact changes YOU need to make if you’re either a skinny Ectomorph, or “chubby” Endo?

2.) Which training frequency has been scientifically PROVEN to work better for building muscle: 3-, 4-, 5-, or 6-DAY training routines? (Hint: No matter how you answer, you’ll only be HALF RIGHT! I’ll fill you in on the OTHER HALF and why it’s one of the KEY GROWTH FACTORS if your goal is to really pack on some serious size.)

3.) The PROPER way to "cycle" your training to ELIMINATE no-growth "plateaus" once and for all!

4.) How the TIME OF DAY affects your ability to grow muscle (and the 2 EXACT TIMES you should target to pack on some insane mass!)

5.) The secret to awakening "dormant" muscle fibers that have never grown before…and kick them into "super-growth" mode for the gains of your life!

PLUS…there are a bunch of other KILLER "mass building" tips waiting for you!

Just go to…
http://mass.rxsportz.com

[ Editor's Note:  Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]

A lot of my readers ask me how long to rest between sets while exercising.

The answer is: It depends on your goals.

If you are training to increase strength, I recommend resting a bit longer – up to two minutes for exercises like squats and heavy dumbbell work. But if you want to burn the most amount of bodyfat and gain lean muscle, I recommend resting for very short periods of time.

"The Iron Guru" Vince Gironda used to recommend leaving your hands on the bar between sets — now THAT is short rest intervals!  He would frequently rest only 15-20 seconds between sets.

This is similar to the strategy I use in 7 Minute Muscle — very short rest intervals and very intense training. Smart, short, efficient. That’s the way to go.

A good place to start is simply reducing your rest intervals by 10 seconds. No matter what workout you’re using, decrease your rest by 10 seconds between sets. You may not be as strong on the last few sets (if you are training traditionally… if you use 7 Minute Muscle your rest is "built-in" and not an issue.) Over time you will work your way back up to the same amount of sets and reps but done in far less time.

This means more work output, which means more muscle if your nutrition is good.

This is the best way to train most of the time:  Limited rest, intense sets, and short workouts.

They are the ones that produce results.

Go here for more information —

http://7mm.rxsportz.com  <— Short, effective workouts

Breathing – what is that?

When I went to bed last night, it was pouring rain.

Now, if you’re anything like me, the wonderful pitter-patter against the windows and the roof of the house creates such a wonderful symphony of sounds that it seems to rock me to sleep.

And sleep I did –  until I awoke in the middle of the night with a splitting headache and a very, very dry throat. No worries; I drank some water, lay my head back down on my pillow, and attempted to enjoy the sound of the beating rain. But then my head began to pound to the rhythm of the rain, so that was the end of trying to get back to sleep.

I tossed and turned for ages, hoping to get some kind of relief.

Nothing seemed to work.

I got more and more tense, and because my throat continued to feel dry, I kept drinking more water. I’d been awake for more than an hour and my feeling of restlessness just kept escalating.

My son, who sleeps in a bed beside me, must have felt my angst because he climbed into my bed with his pillow, snuggled his little self beside me and put his head against mine. I looked over at him and he was still fast asleep. How children have this intuitive sense is still a wonder to me. Immediately, I began to feel an incredible energy of peace spread through my body.

I became aware of his quick-paced child’s belly breath and realized that, because of all the tension that had been building up in my body, I wasn’t breathing fully myself. It was almost like I had forgotten to breathe.

How did I forget to breathe? Why did I not think of Shivasana? My forgetfulness baffled me because this was the one form of relaxation that I’d been keeping up even though I had not been going to classes. I realized that for some reason, having started my classes again, it was almost like I had forgotten the basics. Somewhere in my subconscious, I had blocked it all out.

Well, you can imagine how frustrated I was! However, I also recognized that I couldn’t do anything to change what had already taken place. So instead, I focused my breathing and began to relax each section of my body – and the next thing I knew my alarm was ringing.

Tags: shivasana, breathing, headache, sleep, peace, energy, relaxation

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