The Fitness Journal

I recently sat down with muscle building expert Jimmy Smith, author of The Physique Formula and contributing fitness expert to Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, to talk about how he’s helped over 9,725 busy men and women build muscle and lose fat in as little as three, short workouts per week.

Q: Jimmy, what’s one secret that busy men and women need to know about sculpting a more muscular and firm body right now?

A: This isn’t really a secret but here goes. The best piece of advice that I can give anyone is to use all of the training tools available to him or her. If you’re busy you don’t necessarily have time to read all of the fitness magazines to stay up-to-date on all the new techniques and you are actually better off that way. There’s too much information floating around today.

I’ve seen too many arguments with trainers fighting about which type of training is better and it’s all a waste. The best thing that busy men and women can do right now to sculpt their bodies is to go into the gym with a purpose.

Saying ” I want to lose fat” isn’t a goal or purpose

Saying ” I want to lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks” is a great goal.

Set a goal and go into the gym. The thing that makes the Physique Formula programs so interesting and different is that, like the intermediate program during weeks 5-7, you are using multiple different training methods during one workout. You are using full body exercises like squats but you are also doing curls so you can target your arms. Just going into the gym and doing one bodypart per day is a waste but you’ll still be able to get more muscular arms. Doing cardio is a waste but with a workout that makes you squat, lunges, curls and press, you’ll actually burn more calories then a boring cardio workout.

Q: That’s good advice, especially about goal setting. Where are two areas that most people usually fail badly in during their quest for more muscle and less fat?

A: These two areas are big problems. The first is nutrition and since a good diet is 95% of the battle, that is the first place we have to look. Most people just have no clue what they are putting into their mouths. I remember a time when I was training to build muscle and I thought I was eating a lot.

I couldn’t gain any size until I played around on the computer and made some software that held me to my goals. If I entered the amount of food that I wanted to eat and didn’t actually put in foods that equaled that amount, the software would let me know. Once I started seeing that I wasn’t eating what I was supposed to be eating everything changed and I started growing fast.

(Note: The software Jimmy describes is the Nutrition Elite Software which is free bonus with The Physique Formula but is only available until midnight Wednesday July 30th.)

The second area is in your social life. Training and eating right is mentally tiring and our bodies will actually slow down our metabolism as a result of that. So the best thing to do to continue to build muscle and lose fat is to have a few cheat meals per week.

Plus, we really wants to become a slave to their training and dieting? I don’t. So there are guidelines that you need to follow in order to be able to go out and have a few drinks or eat pizza or another food you enjoy on the weekends. I go into greater detail in the No Fail Social Guide to The Physique Formula but here’s some tips.

-Make sure you eat protein with every meal since protein will stop any cravings and increase your feeling of fullness.

-Make sure you eat a healthy fat with each meal since that will slow digestion down and prevent your from making horrible food choices.

-Eat what you want but try not to stay out too late. Sleep is a bigger factor is building the ideal body then most people give it credit for.

To find out more about Jimmy and his training methods go to jimmysmithtraining.com

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If you are interested in me working with you to achieve your health and fitness goals, go to busy-fitness.com/online-personal-training/
Train Smart, Love Life.
Wayne