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The Top 5 Most Unconventional Things I've Ever Done To Lose Fat,
Build Muscle or Gain Strength
By Nick Nilsson
Because sometimes, the "normal" things just don't get the job done!
Check out the most unique things I've ever tried in the past 17
years I've been training to rip off the fat and build massive muscle
and strength.
I like to do things completely different from what most people do.
If conventional wisdom says "train each bodypart once a week for
best results," I immediately start thinking "I wonder what'll happen
if I train each body part EVERY SINGLE DAY?"
And let me tell you, this mindset has allowed me to discover some
pretty amazing things about how the body works...how it burns fat
and how it builds muscle and strength!
But that being said, when you're training to make rapid changes to
your body, you MUST start with the basics. There's no getting around
it...not even with the stuff I'm about to show you! Without first
having the basics in order (such as good nutrition and training
technique), even the best "tricks" won't help.
So the purpose of this article is to help open up your mind and
EXPAND upon the basics, NOT to replace them.
One thing I'm going to tell you right up front...these techniques
are sometimes based on logic, sometimes based on scientific studies
I've read and tried to find practical applications for, and
sometimes they're just based on some wild idea I wanted to try out!
Feel free to try all of these - I've used them with varying degrees
of success myself and I'm going to let you know how effective I
thought they were.
The key here is to read these and not think "wow, that's stupid" and
close your mind, but instead to read these and think "wow, I wonder
if that might actually work" and "wow, I'm going to try and think of
things I can do differently in my training."
THAT is what I want to accomplish here...
1. FAT LOSS - Cold Water Immersion
With this technique, the basic idea is this: submerge your body in
cold water and let it bring your body temperature down enough to
cause shivering. Shivering is almost completely fueled by fat,
specifically the brown fat of the body (this is fat that is more
metabolically active - the stuff that makes you look fat is known as
white fat).
Also, the hormone release in response to the stress of cold water
immersion may lead to an increase in metabolic rate.
I came across this cold water immersion idea in a past issue of
Muscle & Fitness and the research they presented to back up the idea
looked interesting so I decided to give it a try!
The exact study they quoted involved performing activity while in
cold water but since I didn't have a big cold water tank, I decided
to try it out with just the shivering in a tub.
Three times a week for a month, I filled a tub up with cold water
and went in and started shivering. Now when I say cold water, there
wasn't a hint of warmth in it - it wasn't ice water but was probably
about 50 degrees F.
Let me tell you, you can really find out what you're made of when
you're faced with a tub full of cold water that you have to get
into! You step in, lay down up to your neck then just stay there for
20 minutes. You'll start shivering pretty quickly!
** Naturally, watch out for signs that you're getting TOO cold - we
don't want hypothermia here! If you start breathing rapidly or you
can't touch your index finger to your thumb, stand up out of the tub
and turn on a warm shower to heat yourself back up.
The Verdict:
I DID actually notice some results over and above what I've
experienced with standard fat-loss programs. It wasn't a HUGE
difference but I definitely did see a difference. If you want to
burn fat while lying down, this is about the only way to do it!
The cold water also has an AMAZING diuretic effect on the body - it
flushes subcutaneous (under the skin) water out of your body FAST. I
think (and this is just my theory) this is another survival
mechanism of the body - when your body starts losing heat rapidly
(as it does in cold water), it immediately tries to flush out the
best conductor of that heat (which is water). I noticed a major
difference in muscle definition immediately after getting out of the
cold water.
This MAY be a good technique if you have some stubborn fat you'd
like to get rid of AND you're willing to sit in a cold tub 3 times a
week for 20 to 30 minutes. The hormones released (specifically
norepinephrine is one that has been mentioned in conjunction with
cold water immersion) have the ability to unlock those stubborn fat
cells.
You'll have to weigh these factors to decide if you want to try it.
One other bonus...you'll develop GREAT resistance to cold weather by
doing this regularly. Your body will be better able to maintain core
temperature because you're training it to adapt to cold.
2. FAT LOSS - Swishing the mouth with oil before doing cardio
This particular technique is a case of taking a scientific study and
running with it in terms of practical applications. The specific
study showed that the mere presence of fat in the mouth (not even
swallowed) resulted in the liberation of fatty acids into the blood
stream from fat cells.
It sounds strange but basically, this means when you have fat in the
mouth (e.g. olive oil or vegetable oil is what I used), it signals
the body to release fat from the fat cells and into the bloodstream.
It doesn't have to be swallowed - the body senses the fats in the
mouth and responds to it.
So here was my thought process...take a spoonful of olive oil and
swish it around for about a minute or so, then spit it back out.
Then immediately go do some cardio! The liberated fatty acids will
be burned by the cardio. If you do this and don't do anything to
burn the liberated fat, it'll most likely just get taken back up by
the fat cells again.
The Verdict:
I was on a low-carb diet at the time I tried this technique and
noticed an IMMEDIATE increase in my energy levels. At this point, I
was doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and
normally, I don't have a whole lot of energy in the morning. When I
swished with the oil, I actually did feel more energetic and I
believe the process was effective for increasing fatty acids in the
bloodstream.
But here's the issue...what I DON'T know is how effective a
long-term strategy this is. Does this cause a significant increase
in fat-burning? Enough to be a useful technique? It's a definite
maybe.
Signaling the body to begin opening up fat cells faster is a good
thing as it helps you increase energy levels and access that stored
bodyfat more easily.
3. FAT LOSS - Doing ALL training (my Metabolic Surge fat loss
program to be precise) wearing an 85 lb weight vest
This technique resulted in one of THE toughest training programs
I've ever done. Basically, I took an 85 lb weight vest (the X-Vest,
if you're familiar with it) and wore it for each and every workout
on my Metabolic Surge program (including cardio...non-impact
training like incline treadmill walking, elliptical and stair
machine).
Note: if you're interested in seeing what the X-Vest is all about,
you can find more info here:
http://www.fitstep.com/goto/x-vest.htm
I'm going to be doing a detailed review of it in an upcoming
newsletter as well.
The idea here was to dramatically increase caloric expenditure by
increasing my bodyweight with the vest. Studies have shown the
weighted vest to be a very effective way to increase metabolism and
calorie-burning so this one wasn't "out there" in terms of theory.
It's already been well-proven. What it WAS far out in was how HARD
it was to do!
And let me tell you, it was VERY brutal.
The Verdict:
This was a VERY effective technique for increasing the rate of fat
loss. The increase in bodyweight (adding 85 lbs to myself)
dramatically increased my metabolism each and every workout, even
beyond the high levels I normally noticed on the Metabolic Surge
program.
But I would NEVER do it again (at least as I did it this time).
Wearing the vest combined with this challenging of a training
program was VERY tough on the body, especially while eating
low-calorie. By the time I finished, I was TRASHED. In fact, I was
unable to even perform the last 2 sessions of the program.
If I were to do it again, here's what I would change: eat more while
on the program to help with recovery, wear the vest every other
workout instead of every workout, and reduce the number of sets done
in those vest workouts. I'd keep the heavy weight on because I
actually enjoyed that part of it! But even a more modest weight load
in the vest would yield good results.
Overall, it's an excellent technique and definitely worth trying out
if you have access to a weight vest.
Click-Here If you're interested in checking out the "Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss" program I used while doing the vest
training, you can find it here - it's effective whether you're
wearing the vest or not!
4. MUSCLE AND STRENGTH - Total body workouts, 6 days a week, two
times a day.
You may have heard me mention this program before...when it comes to
unconventional training for muscle growth, this about as good as it
gets! Basically, for 3 weeks, I performed total-body workouts twice
a day, 6 days a week.
But here's the catch...I was on vacation from work at the time and
was pretty much doing nothing but eating, sleeping and training. I
was actually able to recover enough to make it work and make AMAZING
progress. Also, I only did this type of training for 3 weeks before
backing off.
I realize this goes TOTALLY contrary to what the vast majority of
trainers and authorities in the field recommend, but let me tell
you, your body has TREMENDOUS adaptive potential when you give it
the proper stimulus AND the proper tools for optimum recovery.
The Verdict:
I gained a tremendous amount of muscle and strength from this
program that, according to conventional wisdom, should have left me
smaller and weaker and totally over trained.
The key with how I did it was in accounting for recovery. I wasn't
doing anything strenuous outside of training, I was getting plenty
of sleep and quality food AND I was varying the TYPE of training I
was doing for the muscles between partials, negatives and
full-range, normal training.
Also, each total body workout was done with an eye on training
volume - not too many sets each time. The high frequency of the
workouts was what kept the momentum going.
After 3 weeks of this, I backed off somewhat on the workouts for the
next 3 weeks (only working each bodypart ONCE per day). In total,
after 6 weeks, I had gained about 20 lbs of bodyweight, much of it
lean mass.
[Note:
click-here of you're interested in seeing the exact mechanics of
this program, I have it posted in detail on my membership site
Powerful Training Secrets (just fyi, it IS a paid site...dirt cheap
to sign up, mind you, but paid :)
In the members area, I've written out the exact program (sets, reps,
techniques, etc.) that I used when I was training like this. It's
not a program I recommend lightly but it was VERY effective and can
work well for you IF you've got the time and the energy.
And if you like unique training info (like the things you're reading
in this article!), definitely check out Powerful Training Secrets.
As I mentioned above, the membership price is just dirt cheap for
what I offer when you sign up - not only a library of great, new
exercises and programs (with more being added constantly) but a PILE
of other bonuses (like ebooks, coupons and webinars) that add up in
value to more than the price of the membership itself!]
5. MUSCLE AND STRENGTH - Hybrid Training - combining cables,
bands and free weights to adapt to the strength curves of exercises.
Adapting to the strength curve of an exercise is not a new concept -
some do it through machines designed for the job...some do it by
working on partial movements.
But literally COMBINING two different forms of resistance into one
exercise? THIS is not something you see every day. And, strictly
speaking, even the concept of combining two different forms of
resistance itself isn't new - band training is a TREMENDOUSLY
effective way to increase bench press, squats and deadlifts. Power
lifters do this all the time.
The idea I had was to not only ADD another form of resistance but
also change the DIRECTION that secondary form of resistance was
coming from.
This idea first occurred to me when I was doing db presses. I
thought to myself, "hmmm...I'm getting great tension at the bottom
of the exercise...I wonder if there's a way that I can increase the
tension at the top, too?"
So I went over to the cable cross-over machine and set the two
handles on the low pulleys. I set the bench in the very center then
reached over and grabbed the one pulley handle, then reached over
and grabbed the other. After sitting back up on the bench, I then
leaned forward and picked up the dumbbells.
What followed was one of THE most eye-opening sets of bench press I
had EVER done...
Picture this...when you're doing a db bench press, you get maximum
tension at the bottom of the exercise. But as you press up to the
top, the leverage changes and you lose most of that tension. By the
time you're at the top of the exercise, you've lost pretty much all
of it unless you're actively squeezing the muscles.
Now picture this...when you're doing a flat bench cable flye
exercise (which is same as dumbell flyes but with cables), you get
practically NO tension at the bottom, but, as you bring your hands
together above, you get MAXIMUM tension at the top, with the cables
pulling directly out to the sides.
Got those two exercises visualized in your head? Good. Now mash them
together...
Imagine the cable handles AND dumbells in your hands AT THE SAME
TIME.
This time, when you do the press, you're going to get maximum
tension from the dumbells at the bottom and almost no tension from
the cables.
But, as you press up and lose tension in the dumbell press, the
CABLE tension starts kicking in. By the time you've hit the top, the
cables are at MAXIMUM tension.
The result? A dumbell bench press where your pecs get NO BREAK
WHATSOEVER. The tension is just INCREDIBLE. I would say that one of
these sets is worth THREE normal sets.
When I did this exercise for the very first time (and naturally,
because it felt so good, I did too many sets!), I couldn't bring my
arms across my body without them starting to shake.
And, of course, I couldn't stop there. I went ahead and came up with
exercises like this for the ENTIRE body.
The Verdict:
A definite winner! This training technique has tremendous potential
for increasing strength and muscle mass fast. I train with this
technique regularly and, let me tell you, I KNOW there's a
difference in how these exercises affect muscle growth and strength
compared to standard exercises.
If you're interested in checking out a bicep exercise using this
technique, check out this article:
Cable-Barbell Curls - "Hybrid Training" For Incredible Biceps!
And if you're interested in learning more about the rest of these
"Hybrid" exercises I mentioned, check out my book "Hybrid
Training."
It has ALL the exercises I've come up with using this technique,
covering the ENTIRE body. This is POWERFUL stuff.
CONCLUSION:
These five things I mentioned are only scratching the surface of ALL
the unconventional things I've done in the past 17 years.
If nothing else, I hope you take away from this information a whole
new appreciation for learning and experimentation! Besides the
physical results you get from pushing your body to the limits, it
turns loose the creativity within you and makes training fun!
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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training
company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and
Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more
than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks
including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," “Muscle
Explosion,”"The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to
the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal
Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available by
here
He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
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