1. Antagonistic Supersets

You’ve probably heard about supersets, right?  Most people do these by pairing two or more exercises for the same muscle group.  You might torch your triceps with back-to-back extensions and dips, or fry your chest with flyes right after bench presses.  However, an even more effective method for rapid muscle growth is to superset exercises for opposing muscle groups!

For example, you might do a set of rows for back immediately after completing a set of incline presses or dumbbell presses for chest.  These exercises are antagonistic because they use the same joints in opposite ways.  You use your arms and torso to push during the presses, and you use the same joints (but different muscles!) to pull during the rows.

Another good pairing would be pull-ups and military presses – pulling and pressing in the vertical plane.  Or, you can train your arms with antagonistic supersets by performing back-to-back curls and extensions.  This method works with tons of different exercises, as long as you pair movements that use the same joints and body parts in opposite ways.

The advantage of this technique is that you can get A LOT of quality work done in a short amount of time.  While you let one body part rest, you can hoist some heavy weight with the opposing muscle group, allowing you to blaze through workouts when you’re short on time.  As long as you can recover well enough, you can also train all of your body parts more often and achieve faster growth!  Just remember that this will require a larger food intake and plenty of rest.

2. Rest-Pause Sets

Even when you’re looking into advanced training techniques, you still need to focus on getting stronger.  You’re not going to get a massive chest with a 135 bench or a huge pair of legs without a big squat!  However, not all strength routines are created equal.  For some seriously rapid strength gains, give rest-pause sets a try.  A rest-pause set simply involves going to failure or near-failure, resting for 20-30 seconds, and then getting some more reps.  You can repeat this process once or a number of times.

For example, you might normally get ten reps with 185 on the incline press.  However, you can probably get another three or four after resting for a half-minute.  Do those few reps, rest again, and it’s a good bet you can still eek out one or two final reps.  Once all’s said and done, you’d get about five reps more than normal – a huge increase!  Those extra reps will cause your body to quickly adapt by rebuilding the muscle bigger and stronger.

Just make sure you use rest-pause sets with the right exercises.  It works well for bench presses, dips, and other pressing movements for chest, shoulders, and triceps – as long as you have a spotter.  It can also be great for certain pull-ups and rowing exercises.  However, you probably want to avoid using this technique for squats, deadlifts, and other exercises that heavily tax your lower back.  Performing these movements while already fatigued can lead to serious injury.

3. Improve Your Form

Whether you’re a rank beginner or a seasoned veteran in the weight room, you should always strive to improve your form.  In some cases, this will simply make an exercise safer, but it can also make your favorite movements more effective for building muscle!

For example, you might feel your quads doing most of the work when you squat.  You could widen your stance and focus on sitting back more in order to hit your hamstrings and glutes – muscles which are under-developed on most trainees.  Squatting this way isn’t necessarily “better” in all cases, but it would be just what you need to target your weak points.

You might also have trouble working your chest when you do bench presses.  To make your pecs do more of the work, you could take a wider grip on the bar and lower it closer to your clavicle than your lower chest.  This would mean using less weight, but you’d get a lot more chest involvement out of the exercise.

Overall, form improvements are largely individual.  As long as you’re staying safe with heavy weights, you need to make the adjustments necessary for your needs!  If you’re a beginner who’s struggling to gain strength, then you’ll want to look for form-fixes that allow you to lift more weight and build more overall mass.  If you’re advanced enough to have weak points and strong points, you want to manipulate your form to target your less-developed muscle groups.

Article by Sixpackfactory’s Muscle Building Expert and Top Fitness Model Justin Woltering. Get more info on Justin at: http://www.justinwoltering.com/

1. Remember how great you feel when you get done with your abs workouts.  Energy can be a huge motivator.  If you’re facing a growing to-do list, take 10-15 minutes and do your exercises.  It’s the perfect way to put some pep back in your step

2. Abs workouts and other exercises are the perfect way to get a little time for you.  Whether you disappear to the basement, your room, the backyard or the gym, you can have some alone time to run around in your head quietly – away from kids – while you better yourself through fitness.

3. It might not seem like fun, but that’s because you’re not making it fun.  Boost the enjoyment of your abs workouts and get an exercise buddy.  You’ll be more motivated working out with a friend.

4. Appearance can be a big motivator.  While some might argue about the psychological ramifications of putting too much emphasis on appearance, there’s nothing wrong with fantasizing about how you’ll look after all those abs workouts.  Sometimes the best motivation to reach a goal is to visual it.

5. Read success stories.  Look around the web and talk to people who have successfully lost weight and improved their physique with abs workouts and regular activity.  Knowing that other people started out like you can be a big motivator when you see their results.

6. Exercise is great at relieving stress.  Whenever you’re feeling overdone and mentally stressed, try a few abs workouts or just go for a jog.  It offers some respite from the tension of the day and can help you work through an issue or just clear your head.

7. Join a class that includes a variety of routines like abs workouts.  By yourself you can easily quit.  If you’re part of a class where others count on your attendance it’s much harder to walk away, and you’ll stay motivated to show up and do your part.

8. Lastly, share your efforts and results with your friends and family.  Social media is a great way to talk about the results of your abs workouts and the struggles you’re having.  Your friends and family will likely be extremely supporting and offer words of encouragement.  Sometimes that’s all you need to stay motivated.

The problem, of course, comes with sticking to that program and making it a habit.  For most people, the initial enthusiasm and drive quickly wanes.  This tends to happen when we get distracted by other things and tamper with our priorities.  It doesn’t take much to talk yourself out of home workouts, but then you’re riddled with the guilt of throwing in the towel.

So what’s the secret of success for those people who tackle home workouts and weight loss like it’s as normal as a daily shower?

For many it’s because they have their priorities in order and they don’t let anything get in the way.  They rank fitness, feeling healthy and the enjoyment of that renewed energy over other things – and often put weight and appearance last. 

Want to solidify your dedication to home workouts?  Here are 5 tips for making home workouts and fitness a part of your daily life.

1. Do Home Workouts You Enjoy - There’s no rule that says you have to buy a bunch of equipment, subscribe to a gym and beat yourself silly every day just to lose weight.  It’s less about hardcore exercise and home workouts, and more about physical activity.  Try a variety of exercises and activity at home that you enjoy; walking, running, cycling, dance while you clean, lift weights.  Any activity can be transformed into a workout.

2. Bring Someone In on Your Home Workouts – You don’t need to invite people over to do home workouts with you, but if you include a social aspect to your physical activity and exercise routine then you’re creating accountability.  It’s easy to let yourself off the hook, but if you agree to walk to meet someone for dinner, then they become an impromptu personal trainer in a way.  You don’t want to let them down.  If you can find someone to work out with you, that’s even better.

3. Make Home Workouts a Priority – Think about your day and how you prioritize your time; if you spend an hour watching TV each night, then mix in some home workouts while you’re watching your show or while the commercials air.  Exercise and physical activity should be non-negotiable, and you’ve got plenty of little opportunities to work it in.

4. Make Home Workouts Your Wake Up Juice - A lot of parents want to lose weight, but it’s hard to get exercise in when you’re juggling children’s schedules on top of your own.  Your excuses can vanish when you start waking up before your children wake.  You don’t need to do Zumba or Pilates, but do something.  Devote 10-15 minutes to home workouts, get your shower, and you’ll be amazed how energized you are.

5. Exercise Even When You’re Tired - This is the best time to jump into your home workouts.  When you’re run-down, just 15 minutes of exercise can boost your circulation and wake up your brain.  You’ll breathe deeply, improve the oxygen exchange in your tissue and you’ll experience an exercise-induced euphoria.

Consistency is the key to developing a habit.  Don’t let time, energy or the cost of a gym deter you from making changes and achieving your goals.  There are countless home workouts you can use to reach those goals, you just need to develop the habit and be relentless when it comes to overcoming your most common obstacles.

The short answer to this question is YES, it is possible to build muscle and lose fat in the same time period. However, it is not physiologically possible for your body to accomplish both tasks at any one moment in time. This is why it’s almost always more efficient and productive in the long run to focus on one goal at a time. You spend a few years gaining lots of muscle, along with just a bit of fat, and then you take a few short months to blast that fat away with strict dieting and some cardio.

However, doing both at once can be a decent change of pace when you want to re-composition your body. This means your weight stays the same while you add a few pounds of muscle and strip a few pounds of body fat. This method isn’t so great if you’re looking to make dramatic changes in your muscle mass or body fat levels, but it can be pretty helpful if you just want to get a little leaner while still making strength and size gains. Here are two of the best body re-comp techniques.

Intermittent Fasting

A few years ago, most bodybuilders would have scoffed at the idea of PURPOSEFULLY not eating for sixteen, twenty-four, or even thirty-six hours. Recently, however, many lifters have begun to realize that short-term fasting won’t make your muscles waste away to nothing. In fact, it can be amazingly effective for losing fat fast without sacrificing muscle mass.

The most common fasting method is to simply avoid all food for the beginning of the day. Combined with eight hours of sleep, an eight-hour fast in the morning allows your body to go without food for sixteen hours straight. If you maximize the potential of fasting, that means sixteen straight hours of fat-burning! You can then squish your normal meals into the remaining eight hours of the day and still have great training sessions with powerful post-workout nutrition.

Longer fasts can work, as long you do them infrequently. Some bodybuilders have begun to use a twenty-four or thirty-six hour fast once every week or two. These are almost always done on off-days. You can certainly get through the day without food, but don’t even think about trying to train with zero calories!

The benefit of these longer fasts is two-fold. First, you simply get a longer period of fat-burning. In fact, it’s common to wake up the morning after a day of fasting and look visibly leaner! Second, fasting can improve your body’s insulin sensitivity and make it easier to use food for muscle-building – not fat gain. A great strategy for re-comp is to fast the day before you train your weakest or smallest body part. Then, eat a slight calorie SURPLUS the next day. You’ll lose a ton of fat during the fast, and you’ll take full advantage of those extra nutrients for muscle building.

Timed Carb Diets

If you want to be a successful bodybuilder – muscular AND lean – you’ve got to properly manipulate your carbohydrate intake. Carbs are powerful nutrients, to be sure, but they can easily blow you up like the Michelin man if you’re not careful.

For re-comp purposes, it’s not enough to simply focus on eating complex carbs like oats, sweet potatoes, and the like. This is fine if you want to build muscle and stay relatively lean, but you’ve got to get a little more sophisticated if you want to actually LOSE fat while you get stronger.

Most people simply cannot lose fat while they’ve got carbs in their systems. You therefore want to limit your carb intake to the times you really need them: pre and post-workout. Intense weight training allows your body to take full advantage of carbohydrates for muscle burning and keeps them from being converted to body fat. Plus, you’re not going to burn fat WHILE you’re lifting no matter what, so you may as well take advantage of carbs at this time.

Overall, a time-carbed diet for body re-composition involves eating only protein and fats during most of the day. You’ll need to maintain a significant caloric deficit, too, if you want to drop fat. For the four-to-five hour window before, during, and after training, load up on carbs, but keep it clean. Sugar, white flour, and other crap foods are still going to keep you from reaching your goals. Eat a slight surplus of calories just for this time period to balance out the deficit from the other parts of the day. Your calorie intake for the whole day should maintain your body weight, but timing your nutrients just right will allow you to alternate periods of fat loss and muscle gain.

Choose Wisely

As you can see, nutrition is the most important part of gaining muscle and building fat at the same time. There are a few changes you might make to your training, and you probably want to be doing some form of cardio. However, the basics of training for muscle growth are the same no matter what diet you’re on. If you choose to attempt a body re-comp, keep training heavy, stick to your diet, and you’ll soon reap the rewards of your hard work.

Just remember, though, that this is not the most efficient long-term method for getting big, strong, AND lean. Spend three to four months maximum on this goal before getting back into full-on muscle building mode, and keep your diet strict to stay lean while you gain weight.

Article by Sixpackfactory’s Muscle Building Expert and Top Fitness Model Justin Woltering. Get more info on Justin at: http://www.justinwoltering.com/

Fitness model Scotty Lindsey is a native of Houston, Texas that has a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Stephen F. Austin University.

He played professional football for 6 years before becoming a highly sought after personal trainer, fitness competitor and model. Scotty is an apex certified, corrective exercise and performance enhancement specialist that has certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

He is also certified in CPR and has travelled the country to lecture/educate people about the benefits of healthy living and fitness.

Scotty has taken his training and experience from professional football to maximize his stellar fitness modelling career to the next level while being featured on the covers and in numerous fitness videos, magazines and advertisements.

We recently had an opportunity to sit down and ask this up and coming fitness star just how he has managed to climb the fitness ladder so quickly and how the heck did he get those abs!

One word to describe yourself? TRUTH What has been your biggest accomplishment in the fitness field? There are just too many to mention. I am truly blessed.

How did you get into fitness/bodybuilding? My life has ALWAYS revolved around fitness because of all the sports and physical activities that I was involved in. I was a Fitness/Health fanatic even before playing professional football for over six years. People (mostly agents and scouts) would always compliment my physique and encourage me  to look into modeling and competing. So I decided to compete in a couple of fitness modeling competitions as they were a good fit for my physique and my personality. Shortly after, I won the 2011 REAL Fitness Modeling Competition and TKO’s Sports Brand “Model Of The Year”Award. What is your eating plan like? My diet/eating plan really depends on my career demands. When I have a fitness photo-shoot or competition scheduled then usually I am on a high protein/low carb diet. If I don’t have an event scheduled within months, I mostly stay balanced across the board. (300 grams carbohydrates / 300 grams protein)  For my protein I consume mostly tuna, chicken, fish and protein shakes. My carb intake is mainly from yams, fruit, brown rice and veggies. I mostly eat lean and clean to stay prepared for a fitness shoots,  workout videos, etc.

What food can’t you go without? I can’t go without my Sherbet (ice-cream) and Sprite. What is a typical daily routine for you? Here is my current workout broken down daily. Monday- Heavy Leg Exercises Tuesday- Biceps/Chest      Wed- 1 hour Cardio  (treadmill) and Ab Exercises Thur-  Shoulder/ Back Friday- Light Legs Exercises and 1hour Cardio  Sat- Triceps/Calf’s  Sunday- Off *Note: My upper body develops even faster from working out my legs about two times a week.

What are your workouts like? My workouts are very intense! I refuse to just go in the gym and push some weights just to impress everyone. Some people are impressed when they see others lifting a lot of weights. In my opinion…..that doesn’t make you a complete athlete, it just means that your strong. My workout consist of plyometric exercises like plyo push-ups super set with bench press.( 4 sets/ 15reps of  235lbs) On leg days, I super set squats and squat jumps with 135lb bar across my back. Now that’s a workout, anything else is child’s play. Famous fitness icon/bodybuilder you would most like to have coffee/protein shake with? Definitely Arnold Schwarzenegger! No one can deny his physique and presence in the fitness/bodybuilding community. I would have to give him those well-deserved props and I would have a ton of questions to ask too.

What is the most challenging thing you deal with about consistently staying in top shape? Honestly, there are no challenges for me to stay in shape. I eat, breath, sleep, teach and live fitness! You own physical feature you are most proud of? I always get compliments on my abs and chest, but I am very proud of my legs.

What is the biggest fitness (weight loss, work out, diet) myth you encounter in the fitness industry every day? Eat less to lose more! Some people believe that if they only eat two meals a day, they will lose weight. That is HILARIOUS! Top 3 tips for people who want to get in shape? 1. Write out a plan. (A goal properly set is half way reached.) 2. Follow through with what you wrote down. 3. Stay consistent to what you wrote down. (Don’t try to find a easier way or substitute……..even if the road gets tough!)

Your favorite ab exercise? To get the complete ab package, you have to work all planes of motion. Reverse crunches and medicine ball wall throws are just some of my favorites….. but the list goes on. What keeps you motivated to stay in shape? Me, Myself and I. My motivation comes from within me. No one should have to push you to perfection, it should already be in your heart, mind and soul to truly obtain your well-deserved greatness. Any final words of wisdom? Don’t just talk about it…..Be about it!  Anything in life is worth working for and waiting for. We all want results, but those results would be appreciated even more if you put the hard work in as well.

In this article I am going to share 3 of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to cardio and if you avoid them, you will start burning fat and seeing your 6 pack abs much faster!
 

Doing Cardio on an Completely Empty Stomach

When most experts talk about doing cardio on an empty stomach they actually mean you should not eat carbs before you do your cardio. See, if you want to take advantage of the fact that your body is in a carb depleted state, especially first thing in the morning, you can’t go and feed your body carbs just before you do cardio, it defies the whole point of what you are trying to do. And what you are trying to do is force your body to look for other fuel sources, hopefully in the form of fat and so you can really dig into those fat stores and get better results. The problem is that your body will use whatever it can find as fuel and that might also include your muscle ( catabolism ), something you definitely DO NOT WANT. So to make sure your body targets fat and only fat you should avoid carbs, as that is the first fuel source your body will use due to it being easy to convert to energy. But you should also take in some protein. Now I wake up every morning and go for a 30min jog before breakfast. I have been doing this for years and it works wonders for keeping me ripped and in shape. However, before I get going I will drink a protein shake and a have cup of black coffee. This way I get the kick start I need and I make sure I don’t end up losing muscle.

You still only do Slow Cardio

Don’t get me wrong, slow cardio has it place but if you want to really burn a serious amount of calories during your cardio workouts you should definitely do some form of HIIT ( High Intensity Interval Training ). Now the reason people still do slow cardio, if you don’t know, is because they say it targets your fat more and so you can really focus on just burning fat. Now that is all good and well and especially if you are doing it as your second or even third workout of the day, but if you are only doing one workout per day and today is cardio day, it better be HIIT cardio. Why? Well you can burn the same amount of calories doing 20mins of HIIT as you would doing 60min of slow cardio. You will also burn more fat, yes you heard me right, you will burn more fat! But how is that possible. Well it all comes down to the fact that if you do HIIT cardio you will burn more calories overall than when you do slow cardio for the same time. Now a larger amount of those calories you burned might be from carbs but because you burned so many more calories, even though the amount of calories burned that came from fat is lower, percentage wise it is more. Confused? Ok let’s look at some numbers.

Let’s say for a 30min slow cardio workout you burn 300 calories. 60% of that comes from fat. So 180 calories you burned came from fat.

Now let’s say you did an HIIT cardio session and during the 30 minutes you burned 600 calories but only 40% of that came from fat. That will mean that from the 600 calories you burned, 240 came from fat. And so you will have burned even more fat during the same time doing HIIT than you would have doing slow cardio.

You Drink energy drinks before and during a cardio Workout

I actually used to see this all the time when I gave spinning classes ( Many years back ). People would do classes for months but never lose much weight. They then started to wonder what the heck they are doing wrong and why working their butts off on the bike did not get them any results. When I spoke to them about it they would say “I come here every single day. I have my energy drink, my towel and I kick butt, but it does not work, I am still fat”. I would then normally say “HOLD ON, what did you say? You drink an energy drink during your workout?” “YES, I even start before the workout to make sure I have enough energy to really push hard”. I would then normally start smiling and tell them this “Guess what you have been doing for the last 6 months? You have just burned the calories that you have been drinking during each workout!” Yip, such a dumb and stupid mistake but it can cost you big time. See, energy drinks are made to help people continue performing at the highest of levels. Like someone doing a sport for 80 minutes or a marathon runner who needs to keep his energy high. These people are not interested in fat loss; they are normally already ripped from training for 5 hours per day.

SO listen to me, unless your goal is NOT weight loss but sports performance, the only thing you drink during ANY workout is WATER! FULL STOP!!!

There you go, 3 simple mistakes that you might or might not be making that you can change easily and start getting the results you have always been looking for!

So here are 5 tips I use each year to make sure I look as good at the beginning of the New Year as I did at the end of the last year!

See each Party as a Cheat Day

If you can, try and organize your schedule as far as your workouts and diet in such a way so that each party falls on a CHEAT DAY. Let’s face it; most parties are not all day events. They are either in the morning, afternoon or evening. So for the rest of the day stick to your diet and if you can even still do your workouts. Then use the party as a cheat meal or day and it won’t have much of a negative effect on your weight.

Don’t drink yourself Fat!

Take it easy on the alcoholic drinks. By now you know that one or two shots can easily come to 200 or 300 calories. And once you get into the rhythm of a good night, we all know you won’t be stopping at just 2. So be aware of empty calories like this from the start and rather have a glass of wine followed by a glass of water all evening long instead of shot after shot of spirits. Take it easy on the beers as well. Another tip when it comes to alcoholic drinks is to use low calorie mixers. If you drink 4 or 5 drinks per night and you can just use Coke Zero instead of actual Coke, you will already be taking in a lot less calories and let’s face it, you won’t even taste the difference!

Eat only the Good stuff

If you know anything about catering you will know that they have PREMUIM foods and then fillers (Cheap foods just to fill up the tables and make it looks good), you know, those cocktail sticks with things on them that you can’t even recognize from the taste or look anymore, that is why they normally come with a sauce, so that it actually has a taste. But look for the good stuff. Prawns, chicken, fish etc. If you have to, even pick the good foods/meats out from the inside of a sandwich or out of a salad that was killed by dressing. And remember, just because it is free does not mean you have to eat as much as you can in 2 hours, especially when it comes to the dessert!

Don’t arrive Hungry

One of the worst things you can do to sabotage your healthy eating plan at parties is to be hungry when you get there.  Rather eat a good healthy meal before you leave home so that when you get to the party you don’t feel the need to stuff your face just to make you tummy stop rumbling!

Keep your Routine

It is actually funny how people do less during the festive season when it comes to physical activity and their diet when in fact many people will have more time to actually go and do a workout or cook nice healthy foods. So try and stick to your routine as much as possible. Not only will this help to continue burning some calories over December but it won’t make getting back into the swing of things in January so hard. For example I go for a 30min jog almost every morning of my life. It does not matter if it is December the 25 or January the 1^st, if I am on holiday or at home, it gets done! Sure I am not always near a gym but that is why I love home workouts so much as I will just take one of our full body home workouts on the website and do it quickly. For me, doing this, just sets me up for great day and makes me enjoy the meals and time spent eating foods and drinking with my family even more as I don’t have to worry about calories piling on.

 So there, your 5 tips that will have your 6 pack stay right where it is throughout December! And yes, I know we are still supposed to have fun and eat some of the unhealthy meals and drink a few alcoholic drinks but just try and add some of these healthy tips in-between all of that so that you don’t completely ruin your body you’ve worked so hard on during the year in just 30 days!

Well we don’t normally do this but by now you know how close the last 6WeekSixPack Challenge was. The main reason was because the top two guys both just did so well that they could not be separated. So I thought why not interview them both. I mean, getting inside info and tips from another guy who also got really ripped in just 6 weeks is not a bad thing is it!? The more info we can get to our readers from guys like this, the better as far as we are concerned.

So below you can read the interview we did with Runner-up of the final 6WeekSixPack, Alberto!

What made you take part in the 6WeekSixPackChallenge?

• A few months ago I didn’t feel very satisfied with my body. So surfing on the internet while I looked for fitness programs to develop sixpack abs, I found Sixpackfactory.com. The most pronounced thing on this website was their new “6weeksixpack Challenge” ( the very first one )  where they even paid a lot of money if you did the best body transformation. So I signed up and started with the program, but I got stuck in the middle of it and couldn’t finish because I’m a student and couldn’t organize my time correctly. BUT when I heard about the third version of the 6weeksixpack challenge, I didn’t hesitate one second and said to myself: “I’ll make it this time”.

What was the hardest part of the challenge for you?

• The hardest part of the challenge was about working out on Saturdays. I personally like not doing any kind of work on weekends, but I had to. After a while I realized it wasn’t that bad, and actually started liking it because I fell awesome and unique (no one that I know works out on weekends) .

What was your eating like?

• I want to start saying that I don’t think modifying your eating plan is an easy thing to do, especially when you are so used to eat the things you like. But believe when I say, it’s totally worth it. My eating plan changed a little bit: I started eating 5-6 meals a day with a 2,5 hours interval between them, I stopped eating any kind of chocolate, fast food, white flour based product, “healthy” labeled food that really isn’t, french fries and potato chips, etc. Basically everything I found on this article by Peter I stopped eating: http://www.sixpackfactory.com/5-foods-you-should-never-eat-if-you-want-six-pack-abs/ Oh I almost forgot, DRINK AS MUCH WATER AS YOU CAN (for me it was at least 3,5 liters a day).

How did you stay motivated throughout the 6weeks?

• My main motivation started after the second week when I could see my 2 week transformation. I was just amazed with the change I could do to my body in only 14 days. After this, my motivation level exploded up and I started increasing my intensity on all the workouts.
   

What advice would give anyone else who want to achieve the same results you did?

• If you wanna get six pack abs in six weeks, all you have to do it follow a fitness program that enhances the afterburn effect (like the 6weeksixpack challenge). Unless you are metabolically gifted, you have to do some changes in your diet habits. Leave all the food that’s too processed and focus on good healthy fresh foods. Organize your meals throughout the day and drink a lot of water. But the most important thing of all is Consistency and Commitment !

Which of the workouts were you favorite?

• My favorite workout was the weight training during the 6th week of the program. I love how it makes you lift weights and do cardio one straight after the other. I was getting so pump I felt like I was going to explode!! This was awesome and definitely the week that I liked the most.
   

What is your favorite ab exercise?

• My favorite ab exercise is the medicine ball jack knives. I love the workout you can get from this exercise. A complete and amazingly effective exercise for the whole abdominal area.
   

What are you going to do with your winnings?

• I will definitely improve my fitness accessories at home. I really wanna get equipment to work out at home, so that way I won’t have to spend money on gym memberships.I wanna start my own youtube channel too, so that way I can teach a lot of people in my country (Chile) how to get six pack abs. I’ve told a lot of people about Sixpackfactory.com, but most of them don’t understand English at all (Spanish is the native language here), so I can take what I have learned and show it to people here in South America (that’s how far Sixpackfactory.com has gone!).

Well what an amazing final 6WeekSixPAck was it not! It went down to the line and we even had to do a RE-VOTE to find the final winner. I am glad I did not have to make that decision because both the guys did really well and they both should be applaud for all the hard work they have put in!

In fact everyone who took part , did their best, and lost some weight, WELL DONE once again. Yes we do pick a winner at the end of each challenge but each person had his or hers own reason for doing this and if you achived your goal that you set, then pat yourself on the back!

But there was a winner and his name is Haitham! Well done buddy!

Below you can read a short interview we did with him earlier today and maybe you can find some tips in there that will help you also achieve the results he did.

Interview

What made you take part in the 6WeekSixPack Challenge?

• I wanted to get into a good shape. I always wanted to have 6 pack abs and get ripped. I knew taking a challenge like this would be fun and keep me motivated. And I also knew if I push hard had a chance of winning it.

 What was the hardest part of the challenge for you?

• I know this mind sound strange, but I was so focused and dedicated that there was nothing to hard for me.

What was your eating like?

• I always try to eat healthy. I mainly ate fruits, vegetables, Tuna cans (Tuna steak in freshwater) red rice.  Brown bread, I mostly take like 5 meals per day. I also had lots and lots of water (around 4 liters). I don’t eat any kind of meat (Chicken or beef). I took a protein shake in the morning and evening and then my daily multivitamins. On Fridays I had a cheat meal but I avoided sugar and salt as much as possible.

How did you stay motivated throughout the 6 weeks?

• I read a lot of articles by successful people in this industry. Peter’s own transformation was inspiring enough to get me going. But I always dreamed about my goal and how it will be when I achieve it. How I will become an inspiration to my friends and others when I achieve it. I wanna be a role model to my daughter who is a little more than 1 year old now. 

What advice would give anyone else who want to achieve the same results  you did?

• First of all, Eat clean! That’s very important. There is a saying that abs are made is kitchen and it’s so true ( Looks like someone owns The6PackDiet J ). There might be times when you feel like the progress is slow. But that flabby tummy or love handles didn’t happen overnight therefore it won’t come off overnight. Be patient and push hard. You WILL achieve it. It’s just a matter of time. I know everyone says it, but if I could do it, then anyone can!

Which of the workouts / exercises were you favorite?

• I love Lunge Jumps, that is a killer exercise and why I like it so much. Week 2’s cardio was also fun. 

What is your favorite ab exercise?

• The full Medicine ball ab workout was my favorite. It really takes me to failure and helps my abs to pop!

What are you going to do with your winnings?

• Use it to improve me and my family’s health/fitness.

Are you NEXT? Go to http://www.6weeksixpack.com, sing up, and who knows, we might be interviewing you soon!

Julie Bonnett’s interest in good health exploded into a passion for fitness after being inspired by the athletic competitors featured in Oxygen magazine’s contest coverage. Julie set high goals for herself and began sculpting her physique in preparation for her first fitness competition – a successful venture! Julie placed first in her class, and gained confidence & pride through the accomplishment.

Through hard work and determination she has realized other dreams, including the honour of being featured in the publication that first sparked her interest in the fitness industry – Oxygen Fitness Magazine! Julie Bonnett has also graced the pages of Status Fitness Magazine, MuscleMag, Fit & Firm, was featured by Inside Fitness Magazine in the IFM Hot & Fit 100 list as one of Canada’s top fitness models and being a WBFF Pro Fitness Model.

The choice to make health a priority greatly improved Julie’s life in every way. Because of this, she decided to become educated as a personal trainer and these days, when she is not competing, she and husband Craig Bonnett (WBFF Pro Bodybuilder) also help others discover the positive effects that come with incorporating physical activity into their lives.

One word to describe yourself? Passionate What has been your biggest accomplishment in the fitness field? My husband Craig Bonnett (WBFF Pro Bodybuilder and Mr Manitoba 2006) and I have worked hard to develop our business, ContestPrep.com- an industry-leading physique consulting and online personal training business. We work incredibly hard to dream up new ways to motivate & inspire clients, including helping hundreds of athletes prepare for stage and even more general public clients reach their fitness goals. Both myself and my husband have accomplished so much in our personal competitive careers, however I am most proud of us for finding ways to share our knowledge, experience and network with others.

How did you get into fitness/bodybuilding? Fitness is a passion that has taken over and changed my life in every way. As a teen, I replaced dancing with weight training on my own accord, and enjoyed the improvements to my body and self esteem. The gym became my sanctuary – throwing on my music and pumping out a killer workout is how I deal with stress. There have been difficult times in my life where I could be found there at 3 am! This passion became a sport for me when I had hit a plateau and needed a goal to help me take my physique to the next level. Learning proper dieting techniques while training for my first show likely saved me from developing an eating disorder (which is why I am so proud to share my knowledge now with other women through ContestPrep.com). The new information also corrected errors in my approach to exercise (such as too much cardio). When stepping on stage to win that first Fitness competition, ‘Jewels’ re-invented herself and finally discovered the right path in life.

Top 3 tips for people who want to get in shape? Start today! Don’t continue to procrastinate until tomorrow, that is a recipe for failure. Tell your family & friends what your goals are, and know who will support you during weak moments. Finally, set realistic mini-goals and rewards for reaching them that are not food-related, such as a photoshoots, deep tissue massage, new clothes or – a big reward – a vacation.

What is a typical daily routine for you? While training for my Ms Fitness Manitoba win, my day began with cardio, then I would head to my 8 hr fulltime position as a graphic/web designer, finish work and either go to my part-time training job or home to meet with ContestPrep.ca clients, followed up with my resistance training then either cardio, routine development or gymnastic class, THEN finally home to sleep! I always schedule myself with as much as I can fit – unfortunately leaving little downtime to relax and socialize, but I am great at multitasking so I thrive with a busy lifestyle. (When I began dating my husband, we moved in together within a month so we could see each other! I don’t recommend that, but it worked out beautifully for us.) Now, the success of my online physique consulting business has enabled me to work fulltime for myself, so my routine is different, but equally as busy. My day begins with either 1.5 hr outdoor or indoor bike ride (or rollerblading in warmer seasons), shower, eat breakfast and focus on ContestPrep.com clients. My professional bodybuilding husband and I enjoy our afternoon drive to the gym together in his Corvette (during Winnipeg summers at least!), stop by Popeye’s Supplements or the grocery store en route home, though a few days per week we head to see our athletic therapist Avi Walker at Victory Therapy & Sports Injury Clinic for treatment of any injuries and maintance to keep our bodies functioning at 100%. During most evenings we meet with local members of our training program for weigh-ins and re-assessments which encourage and inspire their progress and ensure our techniques are achieving results. We are night owls, so we are up working until 1 or 2 a.m. before winding down while watching The Late Night Show or Conan. If I am preparing for an event, I add a pre-bed cardio session for 30-60 minutes.

What is the most challenging thing for you when it comes to staying in shape? TIME! It’s difficult to balance running a business with pre-contest training/cardio/food prep, nevermind trying to have a social life too! I have a great, support team that helps me through, including my amazing in-laws – Craig’s parents are always 5 mins away to help with whatever we need! What food can’t you go without? I love to eat, but I can swear off anything if my diet demands it.

What keeps you motivated to stay in shape? To maintain my physique requires a lot of cardio, regular weight training and a VERY tight diet. To find the motivation to continue winning the battle against weight gain, I put pressure on myself by setting deadlines and goals, such as competitions, photoshoots or vacations. I also want to inspire my clients to life a balance, healthy lifestyle all year round, and feel privileged and honoured to be their role model. It’s important to me to celebrate my successes and enjoy the physique I am working so hard to create, so I have cute outfits to rock at the gym that flatter and showcase my body while I’m training. Everyone looks better with a pump, so I don’t understand why some people wear bulky sweat pants and loose tees while exercising?

What is your workout plan like? I love compound lifts, however am go-go-go in the gym, so supersets and triplesets are common in my workouts. R/T 5x/week, with rest days as needed, cardio everyday, currently all on my stationary bike – unfortunately I have stress fractures in my ankles, an injury that originated in 2008 from shin splints, so no running or plyos for me right now Your favorite six pack abs exercises/workout? You can catch me doing all of these exercises as supersets in my gym – even after a heavy set of deadlifts of squats! It’s also a great way to tighten glutes in your hotel room on vacation. http://www.sixpackfactory.com/butt-thigh-workout/

What is your eating plan like? I admittedly eat low carb when dieting for a show or big photo shoot. Breakfast for this season has been chicken breast or lean beef with 3 eggwhites and Fusion Omega Oil. Meal 2 is pre workout, often a protein shake with Glutamend, SubQ and Purple K and veggies. (I snack on veggies as much as needed throughout the day.) I often take Purple K before my cardio sessions as well, feeling those bike workouts are killer for my glutes. I drink Fusion Agent M Powder during weight training, mixed with water. Meal 3 is immediately post workout – a protein shake (Magnum Chocolate) mixed in water with Glutamend. By the time I drive home, I’m starving, so I eat a repeat of breakfast for Meal 4. Meal 5 is salad with lean protein (ie: tuna, salmon, chicken, egg whites, basa, etc). Before bed every night I eat lean protein and take in fats such as Omega Oil or nuts. I believe food is the best supplement – there is no quick, over the counter fix for a bad diet. However there are certainly fantastic products that can help in addition to clean eating. I use CLA, BCAAs, Glutamend, Omega Oil, Pre-workout supplements such as Fubar, creatine (Purple K), SubQ at certain times of the year to help my fat loss and energy levels, protein powders, and ALWAYS incorporate a multivitamin to ensure my body has all the nutrients it needs.

Your own physical feature you are most proud of? I think you could ask any one of my female clients this one! I am OBSESSED with glutes!! I began with no bum, and have had to diet and train exceptional hard to shape & maintain my lower body. Body part of a guy you findmost sexy? You got me excited thinking about this one! How do I choose? My man has a very complete physique, so luckily I can enjoy the whole package! lol – delts/tris and butt are always important features, but if it’s on a stage, I am impressed by the men with big, cut legs and crazy striations through their chest.

Famous fitness icon/bodybuilder you would most like to have coffee/protein shake with? Arnold and Monica Brant What is the biggest myth you encounter every day in the fitness industry? Many people don’t realize that sugars found in fruit are just as bad as sugars found in candy if your goal is weightloss. To drop bodyfat, you have to manage your caloric intake and only eat carbs when your body needs them for energy. Fruits are perfect with breakfast or immediately after a workout, but not as a nighttime snack.

Connect with Julie   Bodyspace: http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/MsJewels/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JewelsJulieBonnett Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/JewelsWBFFblog Personal Training: www.contestprep.com     Thanks to everyone who supports me in reaching for my dreams in the fitness industry! Craig Bonnett, family & friends, Fusion Bodybuilding, Popeyes Supplements, Skechers, The WBFF (Paul & Allison Dillett), Amy from Vamp Industries, Avi at Victory Sports, Tanya Theberge, Gymstar.ca Photo Credits Larry Niven Wayne Forrest Mark Bradfield GW Burns Hush Photography Paul Buceta Jason Breeze