Greg Carbone's

This upcoming week will mark the 3rd anniversary of my arrival to New Jersey.  It has been an amazing ride so far as I have been extremely lucky to meet some great people (including my incredible fiance), learn a lot about training, and be part of building a new exciting business.  It is hard to believe that I ever had second thoughts about returning here to stay after my 2 week "trial" of New Jersey. 

Not only will this mark my 3rd year here, but I will also be celebrating my birthday this upcoming Sunday.  This year I would like to give everyone else a gift by offering an incredibly sought after present...Incredibly fast fat loss, guaranteed!  Starting in June, I will be running a 28 day extreme fat loss class that I will guarantee you to lose at least 15 pounds or I will return your money.  Not only will you have access to 12 workouts upervised by myself, but I will also give you a customized diet plan and the 12 remaining cardio workouts that you can do at home or another gym. 

Many of you realize that offers like this are next to unheard of.  There are lots of guarantees out there, but there is usually little or nothing to back them up.  In this case you literally have nothing to lose...except weight.  Classes will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-7 PM and Saturday mornings from 9-10 AM and will finish by July 4.  Class size is limited, so reserve your spot quickly.  Depending on demand and availability, a second class may be offered, but there is no guarantee on that. 

Email me at gregcarbone@summityouth.org to sign up or for more info.

Do You Want to Lose 25 Pounds of Fat Quickly? If so, read on...

Many of you may remember reading about a program I was in the midst of developing a few months back called The Rock Hard 12.  I have had quite a few of you asking if I had finished it yet or if it had come out.  Unfortunately, being extremely busy most days I have had little time to work on the project and have left the last couple of days of work waiting.  Luckily, the product is being tested out as we speak.  Although pictures and explanations are being added to a few last touchups on the diet, the program has been complete for some time now.  In just over 6 weeks I have had one participant lose nearly 30 pounds of fat.  Another participant who just recieved and started the plan lost 6 pounds in the first 2 weeks. 

Needless to say, I know the program works.  However, I need help spreading the word to others who may be skeptics.  That is where you come in to play.  I am looking for 5 more people looking to try the program out, free of charge.  All I ask you to do is follow the program the best that you can and take before and after photographs.  If you are local I will do a free body fat assessment and weigh in for you.  If not, most gyms will do a free body fat assessment for you. 

Here are the details of the program:

*12 week fat burning program designed to lose 2-4 pounds of fat per week

*Meal Plan

*Exercise Encyclopedia with pictures and descriptions

*The Myths associated with fat loss

*Why diet or exercise just isn't enough by itself

*New exercises that won't bore you to death

*A different workout nearly every day

*A program designed by a real trainer-not just a magazine writer

The last few touches on the prototype should be done by next week, so please email me as soon as possible to reserve your spot. Remember, only the first 5 get the program for free.  Email me at gregcarbone@summityouth.org with Rock Hard 12 as the heading and fill in your name, age, address and phone number in the body of the email.  I look forward to hearing from you!

With only 3 full weeks remaining until Summer I will answer questions based on last minute training and nutrition for those of you who waited til the last minute.  Let's hope many of you have been reading tips and started weeks or months ago.  For those of you who have not...

Q: Greg, My life has been crazy the last few months and I have had little time to workout.  Is it even worth starting this late?  How much can I expect to accomplish?

A:  Of course it is worth starting this late.  The start of Summer is 3 weeks away, which means a serious dent can be made into your overall goals.  Depending on the program you engage in over the next few weeks, you could expect to lose 2-5 pounds a week.  This can be done with a solid diet (cut out the alcohol and spaghetti and meatballs the next few weeks and trade it in for water and vegetables and chicken).  Obviously you can not lose more than a pound or 2 a week and be healthy with just diet, so you must take part in some exercise.  Light to moderate will have you reaching that 1-2 pound mark and difficult will have you pushing that 3+ a week.  Remember that just because it is Summer does not mean you have to be at your goal.  Continue working and striving to where you want to be.

Q: I have been dieting for the last few weeks and been working out at least twice a week, but still can not drop any weight at all.  I think I just have a slow metabolism.  (This is a question I have heard many times, but is not an actual question from a reader...so don't fear that I offended anyone here with my answer.)

A: Unfortunately I hear this way too often than I would like.  First, let me address the metabolism issue.  Many people out there are cursed with bad genetics and a slow metabolism to show for it.  However, this is no excuse.  Metabolism can be changed through diet and exercise.  By adding muscle and dropping body fat your body is forced to put more energy into making your body function, which essentially increases your metabolism.  So now that we know metabolism can be changed, lets focus on the rest of the question.

This person has been dieting (which I assume means they believe they are eating less) and they are working out (which means they are burning more calories).  Let's assume that they are eating about 250 fewer calories a day (a healthy decrease per day) and also working out for about 30 minutes, which should burn about 200-250 calories.  This equals a 500 calorie deficit for the day, which over a 7 day span equals 3,500 calories (equal to a pound).  Over the span of a few weeks there has been zero loss of weight. This means that the "diet" they have been following most likely has too many calories and a defecit is not being created.  You must know what is going into your body through food and drink.     

Since I began helping individuals with reaching their physique goals, I have noticed that many people wait until the last minute to start their transformation.  Whether it be training future brides getting ready for their weddings or the common soccer mom getting ready for bikini season, May and June are always the busiest times of the year for training.  For that very reason, Summit will be offering a few incredible specials that I hope many of you take advantage of and let us help you reach your goals this year.

Personal Training Special

Not sure what exercises are best for your goals?  Want a guaranteed weight loss solution? Try our certified trainers for 3 '60' minute 1 on 1 sessions for $99

Nutrition Consultation

Are you starving and not losing weight?  Are you struggling to drop those last 10 pounds?  Have our trainers guide you through a 60 minute nutrition consultation and help you plan your diet for success without giving up great tasting foods.  This can be done at our facility or by phone and email.  50% until June: $75 for consultations, diet plan and weigh ins

Metabolic Assessment & Personal Training Package

Have you always wanted to know how fast your metabolism is?  Not only will we tell you where your metabolism stands, but we will also set you up with a chart displaying how many calories you can eat to maintain or lose weight and '10' personal training sessions to quickly transform your body. Metabolic assessment and personal training package for $550

Please contact me at gregcarbone@summityouth.org to take advantage of these specials.

Q: This is a question I hear quite frequently...I want to lose weight and have been exercising at my local gym by doing a machine circuit similiar to Curves.  My weight still has not changed and it has been over 2 months. I think my metabolism is just slow. Any advice?

A: First off, unless you are in special circumstances (injury/extreme condition), I absolutely hate putting people on machines.  I know Curves and similiar places make you feel better by allowing you to take a step at a time and build a support group.  I think there are great ideas that can be taken from these type of places; however, their workouts are not one of them. (I suggest you try the Women's Body Sculpt class for support and a good solid workout that anyone can do.)  Sitting on a machine doing 50% of what you can do is 1 step away from sitting on your couch watching Oprah (I have it in for her if you can't tell) shoveling large handfuls of "fat free" popcorn in your mouth.  Stand up, lift something that makes your heart beat and your body sweat and you will already be 10 steps ahead of where you just were.  Second, your metabolism may very well be slow.  That is exactly why you need to be working hard. Metabolism can be changed.  Do you think Jarod from Subway had a kickin metabolism when he weighed over 300 pounds.  People can be changed, but it takes effort and time.  Nothing comes easy, and if it does it won't last.

Q: Why are you so hard on all of us middle aged women?

A: Someone has to be.  Everyone who reads this wants help and advice...with the exception of my Mom, who is just being supportive.  You sure as hell don't read my blog for my incredible grammar or spelling skills, so I figure I should take full advantage of you reading what I write.  I used to care so much about what people thought of me and hoped they would like me that I would be easy on them, all the while failing at my job because I didn't push people to their potential.  I then came to the realization that I would much rather help motivate people and get them healthier than have them invite me over for a cocktail party.

Q: As a trainer, what has been the toughest expereince you've ever had to deal with?

A: When I first moved out here from Ohio I had a very high class attorney "take me under his wing" and start training with me.  This guy made more money in an hour than I made in a week, maybe a month at that time.  Needless to say he could have hired anyone to be his trainer, whether it be Jillian Michaels, Bob Greene, or one of those other celebrity trainers.  Instead he picked me and helped me realize there was a lot more to this business than making up programs and training people.  After training together for about 6 months and learning a lot about training and about business, Mike told me he believed that I could be extremely successful leaving my job and starting my own business.  He said he would help me out with the planning and also help me financially (I could barely pay my rent at the time let alone purchase equipment to start a business).  About halfway through our planning Mike's stressful lifestyle and job caught up with him and he died of a massive heart attack in his sleep. It killed me to realize that if only I had more time I may have been able to save him and continue to help him build on his healthy lifestyle.  This is one of the few events in my life that have made me push as hard as possible to help with fat loss and make people healthier.

Watch things get exciting at about 1:30 in...

 All too often have I run across people lately who think my workouts are too difficult to do.  I even got to the point where I almost began to believe it myself.  This was one of those nights where you go to bed absolutely exhausted from a long day, but your head is filled with everything from how to make a better workout to thinking about if I should grab those last 2 fudge brownies sitting in the cupboard.  This is when I realized I don't want to be the next fat trainer that I always complain about and forgot about the fudge brownies.  With my mind back on training, I started to think about a lot of the workouts I have done with people at totally opposite ends of the spectrum.  I came up with something that I have realized all along, but never quite brought it to anyone's attention. 

Let me take you back about 4 years ago to possibly one of the greatest stories I have ever told.  I will change the name just for confidentiality.  Sally was a woman in her mid 50's when she came to me.  She had lost her husband nearly 6 months earlier and was a wreck mentally and physically.  She worked extremely long hours as a nurse and had little time to train other than after her 12-14 hour shift and sometimes before her long shift.  I would rate her athletic ability about a 3 on a scale of 10.  After a couple of weeks I realized Sally did have 1 thing...determination.  She wanted to get in shape and be healthy more than anything.  A few more weeks went by, many sets of exercises (all done to her fullest potential) were completed, which finally took us to "the day".  It was a day just like any other, except that Sally had in her mind that she wanted to no longer only do her planks for 3 minutes (she started at 1 minute 4 weeks earlier), but rather she would do it for 6 minutes.  For anyone who has never done a plank, anything beyond 3 minutes is quite difficult, even for a trained athlete.  I myself only had a best of 4:30 when I was in my best shape.

3 minutes went by as Sally and I told a few terrible jokes. 4 minutes passed with some shaking of the arms. 5 minutes went by as I looked over and saw the look of someone who totally took her mind off of this amazing feat. At just over 6 minutes Sally dropped.  A woman who was just 4 weeks out from being extremely unathletic and sleep deprived had just done one of the most incredible things I had ever seen.  Still to this day I have never seen anyone (I have trained some great athletes and very gifted people) reach that 6 minute mark.

You can take a lot from Sally's story.  The workout or task is only as hard as you make it out to be in your head.  Many times your body is not holding you back as much as your mind may be.  By the way, Sally ended up at a size 2 after 3.5 months of training. She was originally a size 12. She also continued working the same shift the entire 3.5 months.  If she made this amazing transformation, anyone can as long as they believe they can.  Think about that 6 minutes the next time you think the workout is getting too tough for you.

Here is an amazing analogy I came across recently...

"Let’s assume you go out and buy two rolls of paper towels, each with 112 paper towels on it. You put one aside, and keep it for future reference (your “before” picture). The other one represents you (I’ll call your paper towel “Ed”). The core represents the lean Ed. The towels represent the fat that is covering the lean Ed.

For sake of argument, let’s say that Ed wants to lose 28 pounds of fat, so (112/28) each sheet represents a quarter-pound of fat lost.

Let’s also assume that Ed loses his fat equally during each day of the program.

Each day during the first week, you tear a sheet off of Ed, representing the fat he has lost for the day. Next, you put Ed next to the full roll (“Big Ed”) for comparison.

No noticeable difference! Even at the end of the week!

Three more weeks go by, the sheets peeling off day after day, before Ed gets up the courage to stand next to Big Ed again.

Now there’s a big difference!

By the end of the program (112 days), Ed is down to his lean dream, or somewhere near it. Big Ed is still - well, big.

The lesson to be learned is that fat, like paper towels, comes off in sheets. When you are heavy, you are big around. And when you are big around, that fat is spread over a MUCH larger area – just like that outside towel sheet. The closer you get to the lean you, the more each lost pound of fat shows, because it is spread over a smaller area.

While the outside sheet may only cover one layer of the roll, the inside sheet may go around 4 times. That last sheet looks like it gives you four times the results of the first sheet, but in reality, the results are the same – your perception is just different! And you’ll never see the inside, if you aren’t patient while the outside is coming off!"

Although many of you get discouraged in your attempt at perfecting your bodies, you must realize that the process takes time.  You didn't gain 20 pounds overnight, so don't expect it to come off that easy either. 

With just over 5 weeks remaining until the kickoff of summer, many of you are probably just starting to think about how you need to get in shape.  Although it would have been obviously much easier for you to start weeks ago, many people feel the blue's of the winter seson and can't break out of it until warmer weather hits.  Don't panic if this is you.  You can make a decent dent into the pizza, cookies, and soda donut you built around your midsection in 5 weeks time.  Here is what you must do if you have time constraints.  The breakdown consists of this...

If you have up to 3 hours to workout per week: #1. Metabolic Resistance Training.  This includes weight training that really revs the metabolism and leaves you short of breath and breathing hard for moderate spans of time.

#2. 3-5 hours: #1 and High Intensity Interval Training.  HIIT includes intervals of high intensity work (9/10 difficulty) followed by short recovery times.

#3. 5-6 hours: #1 & #2 and aerobic intervals. This is similiar to HIIT except you keep the intensity closer to 7-8/10 difficulty followed by short recovery sessions at a lesser degree of difficulty.

#4. 6-8 hours: #1, #2, #3 and steady state high intensity aerobic activity.  Steady state is what most everyone does when they go to the gym or run outside. This is a unchanging pace where you never "lose your breath" and can keep it up for quite some time.

#5. 8+ hours: #1,#2,#3,#4 and low intensity aerobic activity. Think of this as your walk around the block workout.

You will get great results by following this protocol with a good solid diet.

I wrote a post a few weeks back talking about the importance of a post workout drink for anyone who is involved in training, whether it be an adult for fat loss or a kid for sports performance.  I mentioned the various reasons why post workout nutrition is important to the recovery and future gains by the participant and I also gave a few ideas of some examples of what good post workout nutrition should include.  What I did not talk about was the rest of the day. 

You can see from my last post what kids are eating if they eat their lunches at school.  My point is not to bash the school system and their lunches, but rather to educate the parents on what makes up the nutrition of their lunches.  My other main point is to make everyone realize that even though your post workout nutrition may be perfect, your gains may be limited unless the rest of your diet is up to par. 

An example of this wouldbe the typical child in school who will wolf down 2 hot dogs, a bag of chips, and a sugary drink throughout the day.  This same child will workout and follow great post workout habits, but the gains will be minimized by their poor diet throughout the rest of the day.  Make sure to eat nutritious meals throughout the day and then have a solid post workout drink or meal to maximize your gains.

Along with offering up a few hints today, I will open up the floodgates for future Question & Answer forums.  You can email me at GregCarbone@SummitYouth.org with the title "blog" in the subject line.  I will not include your name, so feel free to ask any question, no matter how dumb you think it may be.  If I don't answer in the next Q & A, I will eventually answer it down the road.

As for today...

Lets take a look at the average school lunch for a child in intermediate school. This is actually the exact menu from an area school. 

5 chicken nuggets=230 calories, 12 g carbs, 15 g fat, 12 g protein

dinner roll=110 calories, 17 g carbs, 4 g fat, 3 g protein

mashed potatoes=110 calories, 17 g carbs, 4 g fat, 2 g protein

apple sauce=100 calories, 28 g carbs, 0 g fat, 0 g protein

pretzels=150 calories, 25 g carbs, 1 g fat, 4 g protein

milk=125 calories, 12 g carbs, 5 g fat, 8 g protein

total=925 calories, 111 carbs, 29 g fat, 29 g protein

Although these are rough estimates gathered online, there is no doubt that anywhere near 925 calories in 1 meal is too much for the average middle schooler who should be consuming somewhere between 1200 and 1600 calories for the entire day. More to come later on school lunches...

1. If you burn 400 calories on the treadmill walking and you burn 300 calories doing intense resistance training, which would cause you to burn more fat over the span of 3 days if you did it consistently?  If you stopped counting caloric burn at the end of the workout, you would be correct if you answered 400 calories on the treadmill; however, intense resistance training will continue to burn calories over the next 36-48 hours. A: Intense Resistance Training

2. Is spot reduction a myth or can you really decrease fat tissue in certain areas of your body?  Easy one, right? You have always heard that spot reduction is a myth.  However, direct training of specific body parts will create a significant change in fat tissue.  Is it noticeable? Usually not, but there still is shown to be a difference.

3. You are on a diet that creates a caloric deficit.  Will adding aerobic exercise help to burn more calories and create a greater fat loss?  Studies have shown that working out at medium intensity steady state cardio will show no difference rather than those who just did diet alone.  The cardio wasn't for 5 minutes at a time either-it was 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 12 weeks.  Makes you wish you ran a bit harder now, huh?

4. Weight training will stunt kids growth. T or F?  One of the oldest myths in the book...when weight training is performed correctly and with a certified coach.  Proper loads and reps will actually be extremely beneficial to the health of the child and enhance bone density.

5. A 200 lb man will burn more fat if he works out before he eats breakfast. T or F?  F. Fasted Cardio is one of the craziest ideas in recent history.  Do you actually think you'll lose more fat workoing out before you eat?  If anything, you will just be extremely lightheaded and fatigued very soon into your workout.

6. You will lose muscle mass if you do high reps and get bulky if you do low reps. T or F? F. Has anyone ever seen Lance Armstrong?  He does thousands of reps per day while riding his bike and it is pretty safe to say that he still has a decent amount of lean muscle mass.  Lifting heavy will also not make you bulky-there are many other things dependent on "getting bulky".

7. You will burn more fat if you train in the 'fat burning zone'. T or F? This is probably my favorite question of all time. Many of you read my blog on the fat burning zone. For those of you who didn't, check it out and find out what the answer is.

8. Bananas and carrots are bad 'diet' foods because of their high sugar content. T or F? F. Can youimagine anyone getting fat from eating carrots and bananas? I think we have greater problems that fruits and vegetables in our diets.

9. Treadmill work or biking should be performed before weight training if done on the same day. T or F?  F. As a general rule of thumb, treadmill work should be performed following weight training.

10. Aerobic training is an effective tool for fat loss. T or F?  F. Aerobic training has been proven to be unsuccessful at providing people with fat loss results.  Keep in mind that intervals are very effective though. Jut because you are running or biking does not mean you are performing aerobic activity.

There is so much knowledge out there now about exercise, training methods, and nutrition that you could literally find hundreds of people writing about the same subject and all have different opinions.  Many myths come about from all of these "experts", but at the end of the day there is usually only 1 correct answer.  Do you know what it is?  I will allow you to test yourself on your knowledge and check back again Thursday to see how much you really know.  Good Luck! 

1. If you burn 400 calories on the treadmill walking and you burn 300 calories doing intense resistance training, which would cause you to burn more fat over the span of 3 days if you did it consistently?

2. Is spot reduction a myth or can you really decrease fat tissue in certain areas of your body?

3. You are on a diet that creates a caloric deficit.  Will adding aerobic exercise help to burn more calories and create a greater fat loss?

4. Weight training will stunt kids growth. T or F?

5. A 200 lb man will burn more fat if he works out before he eats breakfast. T or F?

6. You will lose muscle mass if you do high reps and get bulky if you do low reps. T or F?

7. You will burn more fat if you train in the 'fat burning zone'. T or F?

8. Bananas and carrots are bad 'diet' foods because of their high sugar content. T or F?

9. Treadmill work or biking should be performed before weight training if done on the same day. T or F?

10. Aerobic training is an effective tool for fat loss. T or F?