I just made the decision to install some Stahl bars in my home gym.

They’re hard to describe (googling them is best) but if I had to describe them, I’d say they look like a giant floor to ceiling magazine rack.

The reason for this addition is because I’m relying on body weight exercises more and more in my workouts, and Stahl bars are a cool way to add in some extra variety.

Truth be told, the older I get, the more I love body weight training.

The best part about body weight exercises is that you don’t really need any equipment (the stahl bars are really just a treat for me), and you can do them anywhere.

Now, I’m not talking about just jumping jacks, pushups and squats – these are a great starting point, but I think that body weight exercises eventually have to become body MOVEMENT exercises… They should become more complex as you get stronger.

In fact, the big issue I have with Body Weight Exercises is if the movements don’t progress, then you end up doing a super high amount of reps in order to properly challenge yourself, and if you’re not careful this can lead to overuse injuries.

This is very similar to what happens with runners, only now it’s your shoulders, elbows or wrists. This is why you need a TON of variety in your exercise repertoire – You can’t just do push-ups, squats and chins.

But if you have enough of the RIGHT exercises – then your body is actually the BEST piece of home gym “workout equipment” in the world for helping you GAIN muscle and BURN fat without spending tons of money.

…and for a little extra money there is basically nothing you can’t do with your own body weight (my Stall bars are going to cost 1/10th of what I paid for my squat rack, and you can pick up a chin-up bar for dollars).

Here’s a quick example – the next time you do pushups, squeeze your butt and flex your thighs for the entire time you are doing your push ups. You can also try spreading your shoulder blades at the top of your pushup to make them even more complex, and you can play with your hand positioning.

People like to neglect bodyweight training, but when done properly you can get an impressive workout completed in around 20 minutes.

When it comes to making body weight exercises ‘work’ it’s all about execution – it’s how you do them that matters (actually, this is probably true for ALL exercises)

If you are interested in body weight training and / or body weight exercises you can check out BODYWEIGHT BURN (YES, it is a video infomercial… and an amusing one at that, however the product is excellent).

PROMOTIONAL LINK → BODY WEIGHT BURN

If I were to ask the average person to “Give me 3 reasons why people struggle to lose weight?” They would probably answer:

1. Food company marketing
2. Simple Sugars
3. Lack of Exercise

And this would be a good answer… but I have a different big three. The big 3 reasons why I think so many people struggle with weight loss year after year…

1. Halloween
2. Thanksgiving
3. Christmas

The reason this Big three is so devastating is that they all happen within an 8 week period.

An average person can get into AMAZING, picture-ready shape in 8 weeks following a good diet and workout program. So what do you think can happen in an 8 week period that starts with 5-6 days of eating way too much chocolate, followed by 5-7 days of turkey and leftover turkey and then capped off with 5-6 days of turkey AND chocolate and 1 special bonus night of way too much champagne (New Years Eve)?

That’s right – a great body can turn average, and an OK body can get really bad, really quickly.

No WONDER most people’s New Years Resolutions are about weight loss… they’ve just finished an 8 week food and drink bender!

Make no mistake, for most people the next 8 weeks are the hardest of the entire year. However, if you WIN these next 8 weeks, then you are setting yourself up for massive success in 2014.

So start now.  Promise yourself that by Sunday at midnight there will be NO Halloween candy in your house.

Next week, re-read Eat Stop Eat… get a ‘feel’ for fasting again as you head into this high-stress 8 week period…

Stick to your workouts,  because this is the time of year when people start to say “I just can’t find the time”. This cannot be you, you must find the time.

Enjoy your food, but be mindful of when it’s time to stop.

Look, there are no magic tricks. I wish I could tell you if you do a couple pushups before each meal then you’ll be fine and won’t gain any weight, but it doesn’t work that way.

Stay strong, these next 8 weeks are the hardest weeks out of the entire year for most people. If you win these weeks, you win the year.

In past years I’ve had some trouble putting my exact thoughts on health and nutrition into words.

There was always something I just didn’t like about where health and nutrition was going, and I wanted to rally against it… Revolt if you will.

Eat Stop Eat was the result of this feeling. In a sense it represented my own personal health and fitness revolution.

But it was more than just fasting, it was the mind set.

I had grown tired of people promoting suffering as dedication, exhaustion as a virtue, and obsession as health.

It’s not that I don’t want people to workout, or make conscious decisions about what they eat, it’s actually the opposite.

I want you to work hard in the gym. Very hard. And I want you to be aware of your food choices. I do NOT want you to eat passively.

I also want you to learn to be patient and take breaks from eating. You don’t have to eat all the time, but you certainly don’t need to fast all the time either.

I needed a way to convey ‘dedicated but balanced’, instead of ‘obsessed and inflexible’.

Today, I think I figured it out.

It’s the art of ‘Detach and relax’

I want you to workout and workout hard, but when you are done your workout I want you to Detach and Relax. Don’t take it home with you, don’t obsess about it.

I want you to be aware of what and when you are eating, but once you are done making a food decision, I want you to Detach and Relax. Don’t obsess about your food choices, don’t let food control you.

Detach and Relax.

You simply can not be all health and fitness all the time.

Eat less, move more, don’t be afraid to break a sweat every once in a while, and remember to be balanced.

As much as some people may hate to hear it, there’s more to life than 0% body fat, blood and puke in the gym, and macronutrients on your plate.

It’s ironic that looking for weight loss information on-line involves sitting in front of a computer, and sitting in front of computer involves expending very little energy and (more often than not) it also involves some amount of passive eating.

Going outside and going for a hike does not involve finding any new, fun, weight loss information to read, it also does typically does not involve eating, and involves the actual act of burning extra calories.

Even more interesting is that going to the gym involves burning calories, building muscle and not eating… UNLESS you’ve gone on-line and found some weight loss information suggesting you should eat something during your workouts

Funny how these things work.

One of the easiest things you can do to improve your weight loss is to find activities that you can do that do not involve eating.

Eat less, move more and don’t be afraid to break a sweat occasionally.

Sounds simple, but it works.