Get The Hollywood Look Fast!!

Think about it. Wouldn't you rather look more like the picture above rather than a bloated looking professional wrestler in the WWE?

Do you feel that workout programs are not unique to men or women?


Learn how to get this Hollywood Look Today!!!

Men can learn to grow muscle in the right places and get that muscular Hollywood look like actors such as Taylor Lautner, Cam Gigandet, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Dwayne Johnson (now he has slimmed down), Hugh Jackman, etc...  Hollywood Look For Men

Women can learn to tone the muscle they have and lose fat to get the Hollywood look like actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, etc...  Hollywood Look For Women

Your Guide To Losing The Last 5 Pounds

If you are like many people who start a workout regimen, then you know all to well about the plateau effect.  This is the main limitation in losing the last five pounds of you goal weight.  It is a cruel thing to happen because you have worked so hard and yet not able to reach your goal.  It happens to everyone at some point in their workout life, but don't be to dismayed as you can overcome this obstacle and lose the last 5 pounds.  It is a difficult road to get to the goal weight, but if you have been diligent in your efforts so far, then you can get even more focused on losing those last five pounds.

The first way to really accomplish this is to ask yourself what is so special about those last 5 pounds?  If you are a boxer or wrestler and need to make the weight then that is different than the person who is trying to lose five pounds to fit into their skinny jeans or look good at the beach.  The reason for knowing your purpose will help you realize what are the consequences of succeeding or failing.  As you can see the above scenarios are quite different and have different outcomes if they succeed or fail in their goal weight.  Therefore, you need to realize your purpose so you can get your dedication in check.

Most people fall into two categories:

         The first category is the person who has been exercising and dieting for weeks and would like to finally start losing those last five pounds to reach their goal weight. 

         The second category is the person who doesn't really exercise or diet but just needs to lose those last five pounds to fit into their clothes a little better. 


Find out which category you are in and follow the recommendations below.

Let's tackle the first category person and losing their last five pounds.  If you are in this category, then you have inevitably hit a plateau in your weight loss efforts and just are not losing those last stubborn five pounds.  The first step to accomplish this is to forget everything you have already done.  Just try to wipe it out of your mind, because if you keep focusing on what you have already done, then you will lose sight of what you have to do to move forward.  Remember your body has the beauty of adapting to all of your efforts and when it adapts to the point where your workouts and diets don't cause them to change then you have hit your plateau.  Also, if you keep focusing on the fact that you have sacrificed so much and just cannot lose those last five pounds and get too discouraged to make the changes needed.

Now that you have forgotten everything, you can start from scratch.  Weigh yourself to get your starting weight and realize that you have to give yourself a deficit of 3500 calories per week to lose a pound a week.  If you want to lose 2 pounds per week then that it is a 7000 calorie deficit for the week.  I do not recommend trying to lose more than 2 pounds per week but some will lose more than 2 pounds even if they follow this advice perfectly.

Now that you know where your caloric deficit should be, you need to pick your time frame.  If it is in a week, then you can try but you just may not accomplish the goal of losing those last 5 pounds, especially in a week.  I would give yourself at least 2-3 weeks to accomplish the goal.  If you lose it gradually by keeping your diet in check then it will not feel like dieting and will be more of a lifestyle change.  When your changes become automatic and feel normal to you then you have the recipe for weight control for the rest of your life.  You will then start losing those last five pounds rather quickly.

Dietary changes are just a matter of tracking calories in and calories out.  Try to keep track of your daily caloric intake for a few days to get a ballpark idea of how many calories you are actually consuming.  Then you will have an idea of how many calories per week you are eating that maintains your weight at your current state.  Once you have this number just look at the formula above to calculate your caloric need to lose the 1-2 pounds per week.

One of the easiest ways to cut some calories is to cut out all simple sugars.  As a matter of fact, I really recommend cutting out all carbohydrates at this point and eat mainly vegetables and lean proteins.  I would not even recommend steaks as there is slightly more fat in them compared to lean chicken, fish and turkey.  by eating only vegetables and lean protein you are limiting your carbohydrates and your body will  burn the remaining fat on your body for the energy and you will begin losing weight.  Just measure your amounts of food and stick to tracking your calories within your limits above.  Don't forget that you may retain water given your sodium intake so be aware of that little factor because water has weight and can keep you from your final number.  Remember to eat smaller meals every 3-4 hours instead of 2-3 large meals per day as this will keep the metabolism elevated.

Now on to the exercise regimen.  If you are already exercising then the easiest thing to do is change your exercise regimen completely.  By changing your exercise regimen your body will be forced to adapt, which will make it work harder and burn more calories.  For instance, one week do nothing but cardio and mix the cardio activity from either long sustained cardio like a run to short burst cardio like sprinting.  Listen to your body but try and do at least 3-5 days per week of exercise at this point.  Then the next week do nothing but lift weights with either heavy weights and low reps or lighter weights and higher reps.  Keep your body guessing and before you know it losing weight will be inevitable.


If you fall into the second category, which is the person who doesn't exercise or diet and just wants to lose five pounds.  This scenario is a little easier, because when you are starting an exercise regimen you can lose weight quickly, because just a slight change in diet or activity will give you the caloric reduction to accomplish weight loss.  The program for this person is relatively easier than the above regimen.  Just follow the instructions below.

First of all make a slight change in your diet that will pay off quickly.  Cut out sugar!  That's it, just cut out sugar like in your coffee or tea.  Then cut back on simple carbohydrates.  Simple carbohydrates are things such as pasta, potatoes, rice and white bread.  If you are going to eat carbohydrates then eat complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, wild rice and wheat bread.  Whole wheat food takes the body longer to break down and you will burn calories to just digest this food.  It will also make you fuller quicker so you will consume less food and be able to stick to correct portions.  In addition, eat lots of green vegetables and lean meats as they too will take the body longer to break down and also keep you fuller longer.  Stick to correct portion sizes and try to eat small meals every 3-4 hours instead of 2 or 3 large meals per day.

In regards to the exercise regimen, just do something.  Kind of simple for this person.  That's right, just get off the couch and do something.  Go for a walk, run, play tennis, golf, hiking, etc...  Just do something that will burn a few calories as this will help decrease your total caloric intake for the day.  Losing calories equals losing weight.  Keep track of your calories in and calories out and remember that a 3500 calorie deficit is a pound of weight loss.

In conclusion, just remember to find out why you want and/or need to lose those last five pounds.  This will keep your dedication in check.  Start tracking the calories you eat now so you now how many you will have to decrease to get to the magic 3500 calorie number.  Make the dietary changes and the exercise changes as outlined above and you will lose the last five pounds quickly.

Try your best and both men and women will lose those last five pounds quickly.


For what it's worth,
Dr. B 

The Best Upper Arm Exercises

Throughout the centuries men have always wanted huge arms to impress people and women have always wanted lean and toned arms without the flab.  Everyone seems to struggle with this at one time or another in their workout life.  It should not be that difficult but there is more to it than just lifting weights for upper arm exercises.  So here is my take on this concept and what every man and woman can do to help themselves achieve their best looking arms.  The concept is a two step approach which consists of exercises and diet management.
Well I believe the first thing you need to accomplish is the actual arm exercise routine, but your goals will dictate your workout.  The two obvious goals are to either get huge defined arms or lean and toned arms.  The approach is vastly different and below is a typical workout regimen to help for either goal.

UPPER ARM EXERCISES TO GET LEAN AND TONED ARMS: 

If you have flabby arms with a lot of fat and skin then the workouts you need to accomplish are two-fold.  The first part of your exercise regimen will have to start with a cardiovascular routine.  I recommend a routine that is a high intensity interval training.  For example, if you are working out on the elliptical then try to adjust your intensity every 2-3 minutes from a low to high level or a high to low level.  This will allow your body to keep guessing which way you are going with the intervals and then it has to work harder to get the workout done.  Burning off the fat will enhance your upper arm exercises and their outcome.  Further, you should adjust your cardio from one exercise to another, such as a elliptical to treadmill to biking, etc...

Next, you need to workout the muscles of the upper arm to get the results you desire.  The above cardiovascular routine will help burn fat off the arms and then the weight exercises will increase the strength and size of the arms.  This result will lead to lean and toned arms with less flab and more definition.

The upper arm exercises I recommend to begin with are as follows:

BICEP EXERCISES:
This is the muscle on the top of the upper arm.

Each exercise is for 10-12 reps per set for 3 sets.  However, the Three Part Bicep Curl, which is 18-24 reps for 3 sets.

1. Alternating Dumbbell Supination Curls.  Begin with a dumbbell weight you can handle and hold it with your palms facing behind you.  As you curl the weight up rotate your arm to where your palms are facing you.  Pause at the top and give an extra squeeze with the bicep.  Then slowly lower the weight back to where your palms are facing behind you and repeat.  You can curl each dumbbell at the same time or alternate arms, it's your choice.

2. Isolated Dumbbell Curls.  If you have a weight lifting bench then put it at an incline and take a weight you can handle effectively.  Bring yourself to the top of the inclined weight bench and stick the top of the weight bench in your arm pit.  You may have to bring a stool to the weight bench so you can sit on the stool with your arm over the weight bench.  This will allow your arm to lower onto the weight bench fully.  Then without taking your upper arm off of the bench, curl the weight up and as noted above give an extra squeeze and pause at the top of the curl then slowly lower the weight and repeat.

3. Three Part Bicep Curl.  Begin with a lighter weight than what you would normally use.  Have the dumbbells at your side with the palms facing outward.  Curl the weight up halfway and then lower it back to the starting position at least 6-8 times.  Then start with the weight halfway curled up with your hands sticking out in front of you.  Now curl up from the halfway starting position up to the top and then lower back only to the halfway point and repeat at least 6-8 times.  Finally you can then curl from the bottom to the top 6-8 times for a total of 18-24 reps.

TRICEP EXERCISES:
This is the muscle at the back of the upper arm.

Each exercise is for 10-12 reps per set & perform 3 sets per exercise.

1.  Closed Grip Bench Press.  For this exercise you start with either dumbbells or a barbell with the proper amount of weight for you to use.  Keep your hands as close to each other as possible and perform a bench press workout emphasizing on the tricep extension.

2.  Tricep Extensions with Dumbbells.  For this exercise start in a bent over position and pick a weight that you can handle.  Keep your arm from shoulder to elbow locked in against your side and then bend your elbow towards your head and then extend to a full position.

3.  Overhead Extensions.  For this exercise pick a weight that you can handle.  In a standing position raise the dumbbell overhead with your arm completely extended.  Then bend at the elbow and lower the weight behind your head and then extend it back up to the starting position.

Perform the above exercise routine at least twice per week mixed in with the cardio routine.

Now for the next workout, which is to obtain the goal of getting huge arms.  This workout is typically for the man who wants larger muscles in the upper arms.  This is a a size and mass gaining routine.

UPPER ARM EXERCISES TO GET HUGE ARMS:

For these exercises you should perform 5 sets in a stepwise fashion of starting with lighter weights and progressing to heavier weights.  Each set will work the arms muscle fibers differently to gain size, strength and mass.

BICEP EXERCISES:

1. Barbell or Dumbbell Curls. 

2. Alternating Dumbbell Supination Curls

3. Preacher Dumbbell or Barbell Curls

4. Hammer Curls.  Pick your weight and hold the dumbbell in your hand so your arm from elbow to dumbbell looks like a hammer.  Your fist should be knuckles to the outside and fingers to the inside.

TRICEP EXERCISES:

1. Closed Grip Bench Press

2. Bent over Tricep Extensions

3. Overhead Tricep Extensions

4. Lying Down Tricep Extnesions.  Lay down on a bench and hold the dumbbells straight up to the ceiling.  Then lower them to your forehead and then extend at the elbows to a full extension for one rep.

The most important part of this workout is to drink or eat a light snack about an hour before the workout with fast acting carbohydrates.  This will allow the energy you need to finish the exercises.

Once your workout is over you need to drink a post-workout protein shake with protein and carbohydrates.  This will give the muscles the nutrients they need to grow. 

Further, don't forget to rest as your upper arm muscles will grow when you rest.


DIETARY MANAGEMENT:

You should have a healthy diet with lean meats, vegetables and complex carbohydrates.  Look at portion sizes as they should be the size of your fist or palm of your hand.  You should eat at least every 3 hours to keep your metabolism elevated to help with burning fat calories.  Your intake of protein is the most crucial as you should consume at least 1gram of protein per pound of body weight.  The rest of your caloric intake should mainly be with green vegetables and complex carbohydrates. 

This should be a good start for your upper arm exercises to either help with getting lean and toned or huge upper arms that most men desire to carry around town.  There is a dietary start, a cardio exercise routine and the most important a weight exercise routine.  Start today and get the upper arms you want.

For what it's worth,

Dr. B.

For more information on diet and exercise that can lead to great results check out the Visual Impact For Men program or Visual Impact For Women

The Best Way To Increase Muscle And Lose Fat - Part Two

There are many people who want to increase muscle and lose fat.  Sometimes it is located on your waist and other times it is located on your thighs.  Sometimes it is just everywhere.  This article is the second article in the series on increasing muscle and losing fat.  The first article dealt with the dietary aspects of this goal and this article will focus on the workout aspect of achieving fat loss and increasing muscle.  There also is a psychological component to this and we may actually even do a third article on this depending on the response.  So let's get to it...

There are a number of different approaches to a workout.  Should you do mainly cardiovascular training?  Should you do mainly weight lifting?  Should you do a combination of the two and what is the right ratio?  What about heart rate?  What about finding the time to do the workout and what is the best time to do your workout?  Many questions with many different answers.  The first thing you should do is get an accurate account of how much fat you have to lose and how much muscle you wish to gain.  Therefore, weigh yourself but more importantly get some body weight calipers and measure how much fat and muscle you have on your body.

What type of workout will be the first question we will answer as that will open up all of the avenues of workouts.  If you are trying to lose fat and gain muscle, then your workout should incorporate some cardio and weight lifting.  How much to do depends on a lot of factors.  Are you typically a "big boned" person, or someone who is really overweight?  If so then you may want to rely a little more on cardio and also have your weight lifting to be done in a circuit fashion to tone muscle but also keep your heart rate up enough to get a cardio benefit.

An example of this workout would be to do at least 3 days per week of dedicated cardiovascular training for 30 minutes in duration.  The intensity of the workout should be in an interval fashion.  This means that every 2-3 minute intervals the intensity should change from either high to low or low to high.  I am a believer to keep this changing with every workout and to not always increase the same amount at the same time as your body will adapt quickly.  For example, don't always start on level 5 and increase by 3 levels every 3 minutes and then decrease by the same 3 intervals every 3 minutes.  Keep it fresh and change it often by as many intervals as you like, just keep it on an interval basis.  Your heart rate will adjust to the proper range with the intensity changes.  Every now and then you can put in a long range cardio like biking or running a few miles.  This will not be on an interval basis but it will trick your body and keep you from getting bored or used to the same workout over and over.

Furthermore, your weight lifting should be on a circuit course.  For example weight lift 3 days per week and perform a full body circuit workout to hit all of the major muscle groups.  Here is an example:

Chest Press or  Push Ups

Dumbell Rowe or Pull Ups

Shoulder Press

Bicep Curls

Tricep Extensions

Dumbell Squats

Calf Raises

I recommend doing all of the exercises back to back without rest and with a weight to perform between 10-12 reps with each exercise.  After going through the circuit give yourself a 3 minute rest and drink water.  Then repeat the circuit 2 more times.  Then you are done.  Don't forget to increase your intensity with each workout session.  Further, don't forget to increase your weights if you need to do that to increase your intensity.

If you are not an overly obese or big boned person but need to lose about 10-20 pounds, then you can do the above workout or here is another workout that may fit your needs a little more.

I would perform the cardiovascular workout as noted above and of course keep it fresh and keep it at 3 days per week.

As far as the weight lifting portion goes you need to ask yourself how much muscle do you want to gain and how much fat is there for you to lose.  You will get this answer from the initial recommendation of learning your percent body fat and percent of muscle.  You should lift three days per week alternating with the cardio days.  If you want to increase your muscle content significantly then you need to learn to lift with heavier weights with low reps mixed with lighter weights and more reps.  Increase intensity with every workout by increasing weights or changing the exercises slightly.

An example:

Week 1-2.  Lighter weights with higher reps

Day One- Push days-Each exercise should be 3-5 sets with 10-12 reps with each set.

Chest Press

Tricep Extensions

Shoulder Flyes

Day Two-Pull Days- Each exercise should be 3-5 sets with 10-12 reps with each set.

Bentover Barbell Rowes

Bicep Curls

Shoulder Shrugs

Day Three- Legs-Each exercise should be 3-5 sets with 10-12 reps with each set.

Squats

Leg Extensions

Leg Curls

Calf Raises

Week 3-4.  Heavier weights with lower reps

I would do the same exercises but now increase the weight where you can only do 3-5 reps with each set and then do 3 sets with each exercise.

After the 4th week I would alternate lighter weight one week with heavier weights the next week.  Also, at this time, you can change the exercises (substitute chest flyes for chest press) to find a different exercise that will work the same muscle group.  Both changes will help the burn to lose fat and by increasing the intensity and increasing the weights frequently your body will have to adapt and make changes and that will lead to more fat loss. 

Finally, monitor your dietary intake of protein and carbohydrates (look at part one of the article series). You will always need to drink a post workout protein shake so your muscles can take up the protein quickly after a workout and begin the repair process. Don't forget to keep a log of your workouts and weights so you know how to adjust your workouts each week.  This will allow you to see your progress on paper.  Use your calipers to monitor your fat loss and muscle increase.  Get your rest and eat proper food for adequate muscle repair.

The first article dealt with the dietary aspect to increase muscle and lose fat and now you have the beginning workout plan for people of different fitness levels to help you lose fat from your thighs or anywhere else you desire.  It will also kick start your increase in muscle.  Put it use and start changing your life for the better today.

For what it's worth,

Dr. B

For more information on this workout and other workouts you can check out Visual Impact to help with your efforts and achieve the Hollywood Look most people desire.