And now for something completely different...

Here are some common fat burning mistakes I see folks make way too often:

1) Spending too much energy trying to figure out and fretting over how many calories are counted on your cardio machine.

Who cares? This “how much did I lose” breakdown in mindset bothers me. I encourage folks to focus on increasing their metabolism. That way you get the EPOC (Extended Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) we’re really after, which lasts for hours and hours, and can forget about the possible 300 calories burned during a boring, steady state, slow aerobic training session. Plus, it’s a much better boon to your mindset to think about the rocket propelled metabolism boost you'll get all day from harder, more effective, shorter workout.

2) Overlooking sound eating as the #1 fat burning solution.

I've probably stated this a thousand times, and for some reason people still don’t get it: No amount of hard work can or will overcome a crappy diet.

The bottom line is that without good nutrition, you’re wasting your time working out. It’s just that simple; with respect to fat loss, your nutrition is more significant than your workout. If you want to see beneficial and long lasting results, you must place emphasis on following a program whereby you ingest fewer calories than you need. You also got to consistently eat sound nutrition, like top-quality, nutrient dense foods and avoid energy dense foods.

What is a nutrient dense food? An apple. A banana. A steak.

What is an energy dense food? How about cake? Or maybe everyone’s favorite breakfast cake, the muffin!

My advice...pick the apple and give the cake/muffin the old heave, ho!

When you travel, just plan ahead. Take foods with you, or purchase them after you get to your destination. Travel with nuts, fruit and the like so you don’t get tempted to chow down on junk while you’re stuck at the airport. It’s the most expensive restaurant in town, you know!

3) Performing the same workout routine over, and over, and over and...

There’s a lady who comes to the gym everyday at the same time. She signs in, goes into the ladies room and changes clothes and from that point on everything is the same; day in and day out.

She wears the same workout gear, does the same sets and reps of exercises in the same order using the same ridiculous amount of weight. She finishes her routine with several of the same fruitless and useless ab routines, collects her belongings and scurries out.

Guess how much her body’s composition has changed over the years?

I’ll give you three, and the first two don’t count.

Cruise-control and auto-pilot are for use on cars and planes, not the human form. The body will adapt to any routine, no matter how much you just love it. So don’t do the same thing again and again and expect to see measurable results.

It ain’t-a gonna happen.

Switch interval training programs every 4 weeks. Do something different on your off-days every month. Incorporate a variety of lifting programs every 4 weeks - never let a more than 6 weeks pass before you change your training routine.

We all know the definition of insanity, right? So don’t be insane. Change is good!

4) People who don’t take notes or track their progress.

A journal is a wonderful tool, both for personal reflection and accountability, in keeping track of your training output and eating input. Every computer type knows that “garbage in equals garbage out.” Keeping track of what goes in keeps what goes out in line.

This also allows you to track what works optimally for you and is in your best interest. By doing so, you can hit a plateau, see what worked before and do what it takes to blast through it.

God bless,
Steve