Free Workouts on the Xpress Workouts Website?

Could it be true?

Is Xpress Workouts at www.xpressworkouts.com really offering to become a free membership site instead of charging a fee?

What’s the catch?

Is it a raffle?

Is it a contest?

Do you have to submit a winning essay?

Come on! Inquiring minds want to know…

Well, then check back on Monday, August 10th for the answer!

Robert Garza, Xpress Workouts Founder

p.s. Feel free to leave me a comment as to whether you think [or why] I should offer all the workouts and articles on Xpress Workouts for free.

How to Stay Fit When Finances Are Low

With the economy the way it’s been how the heck do you afford to join a gym let alone pay the monthly fees? And, what about hiring a personal trainer – or, continuing with your personal trainer if you have one? Well, here is an option that may work for you to stay fit through the financial mess of this country.

Why not workout at home with Xpress Workouts? Xpress workouts offers numerous workout routines that can take anywhere from 4 minutes to 30 minutes to complete.

Whether you are a beginner or advanced athlete we have an Xpress Workout created for you. For a mere $47 for one full year you’ll gain access to workout routines of various levels of ability (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and with various categories (fat loss, muscle building, athletics, cardiovascular).

We have tons of resources as well with our library of fitness and nutrition articles. Need exercise equipment? We have that too and at incredibly low prices that are cheaper than most sports stores.

What about motivation to help you workout on your own? We’ve got an answer for that too! It’s called, Workout Muse.

Workout Muse offers downloadable music you listen to while working out. Not only is the music great but you get an additional benefit no other music offers exercise enthusiasts – a systematic voice countdown while working out.

No more counting reps or looking at your watch to time your workouts. Each song with Workout Muse automatically offers a voice overlay that tells you when to begin, when you’re halfway done, and when to stop each exercise – all while the music is playing.

You can choose from several times workouts:
1) Continuous Work
2) Tabatas- 20 sec on / 10 sec. recovery
3) 40-20 Supersets
4) 30-60-90 Tri-set Mixer
5) 30-30 and 60-60 Interval COMBO Workouts
6) 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit

For some workout demos and more information go to: www.WorkoutMuse.com or click this link: http://xpress62.workoutmus.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=DALLAS24

Tabata Workouts Available on Xpress Workouts!

I have created some awesome 4-Minute workouts utilizing the Tabata protocol method and placed them on my Xpress Workouts website. These workouts are really intense due to the very short rest intervals. Originally, the Tabata Protocol was created for cardiovascular training, not resistance training. However, there is no reason not to incorporate this style into your resistance exercise routines. You can click HERE to see the category at the Xpress Workouts website.

A Little Background on the Tabata Protocol:

The Tabata Protocol–named after Izumi Tabata, Ph.D., a former researcher at Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya–is an interval routine developed by the head coach of the Japanese speed-skating team. (It’s called a protocol because Tabata and his team took the speed-skating coach’s workout and studied it to quantify just how effective it really was.) The workout consists of six to seven 20-second full-speed sprints interspersed with rest periods of 10 seconds.

In Tabata’s study, the researchers found that guys who used the routine five days a week for six weeks improved their maximum aerobic capacity (a measure of your body’s ability to consume oxygen–the more oxygen you can take in, the longer and harder you’ll be able to run) by 14%. What’s more, it also improved anaerobic capacity (which measures your speed endurance, or the duration you’re able to sprint at full effort) by 28%. So the Tabata Protocol is the rare workout that benefits both endurance athletes and sprinters–hard to accomplish. Consider: A study of traditional aerobic training–running at 70% of aerobic capacity for 60 minutes–for the same number of weeks showed an improvement in aerobic capacity of 9.5% and no effect on anaerobic capacity.

So again, what I have done is utilized the Tabata principles into creating a series of workouts that challenge you with 20 seconds of resistance exercise with only a 10-second rest period. The exercises I picked are only multi-joint, large muscle group oriented so you expend the most amount of energy and calorie-burning in the shortest amount of time (4-minutes).

Robert Garza, CPT, RTS
www.xpessworkouts.com

Let The Perspirometer Shirt Show Your Workout Progress!

“Perspirometer” shirts are now available in the Store section of our main website at mybeyondfitness.

Chart your perspiration progress while wearing your Perspirometer shirt.

You have 3 levels of perspiration progress:

1 – Light Workout

2 – Good Workout

3 – Hard Workout

And, of course, at the very bottom is “Shower Time.”

Click Here to order your Perspirometer shirt now!

*Of course, you know that your workout progress is not determined by how much you sweat but we seemed to like these fun shirts to wear while working out. At the least it’ll be a conversation starter.

I’ve Got News For You…

“To lose unwanted body fat
all you have to do is eat less and exercise more.”

Could it be that simple? Well, yes, it can! So then why aren’t people losing fat? It’s simple; they’re 1) consistently consuming more calories, 2) than they are burning off.

Everyone knows that in order to lost fat you’ll have to consistently consume less calories, less fat, less simple sugars (carbohydrates) and eat smaller food portion sizes. Then expend more energy (calories) by exercising. However, when people don’t adhere to these 2 simple rules they wonder why they aren’t losing any fat?

Here are a few hard (to face) facts:

1. People consistently choose to eat more of the things they know they shouldn’t and also eat too much of it.

2. People don’t exercise as often as they should whether it be long enough, consistent enough, or intense enough.

3. They choose to consume excess foods and calories (and know it) yet, come up with some excuse to justify their overeating. Or, they simply ignore the fact that they are eating too much.

4. They’ve chosen to develop the habit where the desire to do the wrong things is still stronger than the desire to do the right things.

Let’s face it: your health, fitness, and physical looks are a direct result of what you are doing — and have been doing for quite some time. When I am out of shape it is because I am not working out consistently. When I am beginning to pack on the pounds, it’s because I am not regularly eating proper. I know it and sometimes even justify my actions or inactions just like everyone else. But when I drop my excuses and pick up my integrity to do the things I know work then I’ll begin to get back the body I desire. You can too!

Now I know some people have issues with hormone levels, medications, or addictions that add to the mix of why they aren’t losing unwanted fat. However, if you are one of them are you really doing the simple things like eating less calories than you should, and exercising consistently? Also, were you doing those things before (or along the way) of becoming overfat? Probably not.

I also know that there are many other factors that can contribute to further fat loss like eating less processed foods and sugar substitutes. And, that you could also be eating more fruits and vegetables in place of sugary snacks. But, are you even doing the first simple steps of eating less and exercising more?

For now, just do these two easy modifications in your life consistently and you’ll begin to see and feel a change in your body. It won’t even cost you money. For most folks it’ll save you money! You’ll spend less money on food by eating less and then workout at home for free by doing some bodyweight exercises like squats, push-ups, crunches and jumping jacks. If you do have some additional equipment like a treadmill or free weights it will make it even easier.

*Want quick and efficient workouts
you can do in 30 minutes or less?

Then, check out www.xpressworkouts.com!

Robert Garza
Certified Personal Trainer
www.xpressworkouts.com

Full Movement for Fat Loss

Here’s a secret to your success for building quality muscle and shedding fat from your body: use full body movement exercises in your workouts.

Using full movement exercises, like squats rather than leg extensions for example, allow you to use more muscles, build balance and coordination, and expend more calories during your workouts. Full movement exercises will also give you more quality muscles which mean having the strength to complete physically challenging tasks with more ease.

Why waste your time doing isolation exercises that target one specific muscle like biceps when you can do a biceps curl with shoulder press combination exercise (also called a Hybrid exercise) and still build your biceps along with strong and shapely shoulders. You’ll also be strengthening your body for a typical task of curling and then lifting an object up and overhead like lifting a box to put on a top shelf.

Here’s a quick, yet challenging, 300 Workout you can do with your own bodyweight and dumbbells to develop usable muscle while burning more calories, and thus, fat, from your body.

Key: Bodyweight (BW), Dumbbell (DB)

20 Mountain Climbers
20 BW Push-ups
20 DB Single arm clean and press (10 reps each arm)
20 DB bent over row (10 reps each arm)
20 Bodyweight squats
20 DB curl and press
30 Jumping Jacks

For a visual of this routine with moving animation CLICK HERE.

Use a weight that you can handle for 10-12 repetitions and repeat these 7 exercises for 2 rounds which will get your 300 total reps. For recovery, rest only 20 seconds between the exercises and a full 90 seconds between the rounds.

You’ll be on your way to building quality muscle, losing unwanted body fat, and burning calories for hours after your workout is completed.

Robert Garza, CPT, RTS

www.xpressworkouts.com

Losing Fat During the Holidays

With holidays such as Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years’ coming up fast we all should be preparing our bodies ahead of time to prepare for the onslaught of foods coming our way. Therefore, the key to stay lean – or, even shed a few pounds during the holidays – is to plan and act ahead of time.

I am not suggesting you totally banish all holiday foods, but rather, choose to moderate your food intake and plan your workout accordingly.

Why suffer and watch others eat heartily at Thanksgiving dinner while you eat sparingly and then blow your diet on some insignificant Tuesday? I say eat that Thanksgiving meal but be careful with your eating habits the weeks before and the weeks following up to the next winter holiday.

As for your workouts, do them short, intense, and with a strategic purpose. By that I mean to choose full body movements and use full range of motion with each exercise. This will burn more calories, strengthen your muscles functionally, and save you valuable time.

Here are a few workouts for beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercisers:

Beginner Holiday Fat Loss Circuit

20 Jumping Jacks
20 Bodyweight Squats
15 Kneeling Push-ups
20 Mountain Climbers

*Repeat 2-3 times resting 20 seconds between exercises and 60-90 seconds between each circuit. 2 circuits = 150 reps, 3 circuits = 225 reps.

Intermediate Holiday Fat Loss Circuit

20 Mountain Climbers
20 Push-ups
20 Stationary Lunges (20 each leg)
40 Shadow boxing (40 each arm punches)

*Repeat 3 times resting 20 seconds between exercises and 60-90 seconds between each circuit. 3 circuits = 300 reps.

Advanced Holiday Fat Loss Circuit

20 Mountain Climbers
20 push-ups
20 Front Step Lunges
20 Jumping Jacks
10 Clapping Push-ups
10 Squat Jumps

*Repeat 3 times resting 20 seconds between exercises and 60-90 seconds between each circuit. 3 circuits = 300 reps.

The Fastest Way to Burn off Belly Fat

According to Australian fat loss expert, Professor Steve Boucher, “High intensity intermittent exercise (i.e. intervals) may result in greater fat loss in the abdomen.”

Basically, intervals burn stomach fat FIRST, over all other sources of fat on the body. Nothing else, not crunches, nor cardio has ever been shown to result in stomach fat spot reduction. The best news is that this type of exercise takes less than 20 minutes to complete!

Other research finds that for fat loss the best kind of interval training is the 45 second burst. That is, you do 60-90 seconds of a low intensity cardiovascular activity (like fast walking or a slow jog) followed immediately by 45 seconds of a high intensity burst, like a sprint. You do this interval exchange about 6 times.

If you are a beginner or new to this type of training you might do 60-120 seconds of a low intensity activity followed by only a 30 second burst of high intensity. This will first acclimate yourself to this more demanding type of workout. However, you’ll still find the results astonishing!

It’s harder to do interval training on a machine like a treadmill because you have to wait for it to slow down and gradually pick up speed. But, go ahead and use a machine if there happens to be inclement weather outside.

You can even do bodyweight interval training for fat loss in the belly area. Just like with the walk/sprint mode you can do a high/low intensity bodyweight circuit. Here is an example:

Start by doing a dynamic warm up:

Standing high knee drill
Standing Butt kicks

Then, the bodyweight circuit:

Squats (15 reps)
Standing calf raises (15 reps)
Jump Squats (10 reps)
Push-ups (15 reps)
Triceps dips (15 reps)
Burpees (10 reps)

Repeat this circuit 3 times with 20 seconds rest between the exercises and 60 seconds rest between the circuits.

For more exercises designed to burn body fat and belly fat go to: www.xpressworkouts.com.

How to Rapidly Improve Your Exercise Capacity

Public health guidelines suggest 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on most days of the week. However, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that regular activity is effective in the prevention of chronic diseases and premature death, most adults fail to meet even the minimum physical activity requirement.

Countless studies have shown that the most commonly cited reason for not exercising is a “lack of time” (Godin et al., 1994). This finding is universal; regardless of age, ethnicity, sex, or health status, people report lack of time is the primary reason for their failure to exercise on a regular basis.

Given that lack of time is such a common barrier to exercise participation is why I developed our Xpress Workouts program.

I recently read a study on the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) website by Martin J. Gibala, PhD. on “High Intensity Interval Training (HIT): New Insights.” It reads,

“…From a practical perspective, one of the most striking findings from our recent studies was the dramatic improvement in exercise performance during tasks that rely mainly on aerobic energy metabolism, despite the very low training volume (Burgomaster et al., 2005; 2006; 2007; Gibala et al., 2006). In our initial study (Burgomaster et al., 2005) subject doubled the length of time that exercise could be maintained at a fixed submaximal workload – ~26 min to 51 min during cycling at 80% of pre-training VO2peak – after only six HIT sessions!”

Click here to read the full report

Once again more positive evidence mounts for high intensity short duration exercise such as with our Xpress Workouts program.

Robert Garza CPT, RTS

300 Workout for Everyday People

The Xpress Workouts 300 workout program is featured in our local Daily Herald. I was excited to take a couple of my best clients through the 300 Workout while journalist Robert McCoppin wrote a piece on it for his paper. Here is an excerpt:

“…The exercises are designed to work the body from one end to the other. They use primitive tools like medicine balls and body weight, and compound movements to involve more than one set of muscles, rather than using a machine to isolate one muscle at a time.

This type of training is a variation of what exercise geeks call peripheral heart action, a high-intensity form of circuit training. Instead of doing three sets at a time on each body part, participants go from one exercise to the next, promoting overall circulation.

The beauty of such a workout, personal trainer Robert Garza said, is that it combines cardiovascular exercise with resistance training, so you’re gaining muscle at the same time you’re burning calories and improving endurance.

Instead of just looking muscular, you should end up with “usable” strength and fitness that also looks ripped.

Best of all, you can get a more intense workout in a shorter amount of time.”

Click Here to read the full article in the Daily Herald with additional photos.

Click Here to see the slideshow with audio

Robert Garza, CPT, RTS