Josh Hillis' Fat Loss and Fitness Blog Where the fact and fiction of celebrity fitness collides with hard core fat loss basics. Celebrity Fitness + Kettlebell Workouts + Diet = Being proud of and inspired by your body™
Posted this to my Facebook profile and got a crazy response back.
It totally sums up my entire philosophy on motivation, but he puts it clearer and simpler than I could have explained it.
I totally had to share it with you!
read the rest:
http://zenhabits.net/discipline-is-illusion-motivate/
So after that last Jessica Alba email, I got a lot of emails about her being digitally altered to be naked in Machete:
Also – for the people who emailed me and asked me what NSFW means – it means Not Safe For Work. Typically that would be something a lot worse than this, but I just wanted to be extra careful. And then it became sort of a joke – like "Don't you want your body to be so hot that you're NSFW in real life?"
As you can see, they digitally altered her to be naked. On top of that, they may have made her a little thinner.
People who are lazy use photoshop as an excuse to not even try to get the body they want. They say things like "It's all photoshopped, no one looks like that in real life."
I think she still looks bangin in the unaltered shot.
Seriously, take a look at the real life original – she still looks awesome.
And to take it up a notch, lets take a look at some papparazzi shots, from real life, 'cause those are never photoshopped.
Papparazzi shots at the beach clearly show that Jessica is a wicked lean girl.
And that's the thing about stars that are photoshopped – most of them look awesome, and then are photoshopped on top of that.
While the photoshopped version might be slightly unrealistic…
…the actual, real version of the stars is totally realistic, and most workout girls would be stoked with the real thing.
So before you get all bent out of shape about "everything is photoshopped" – take a look at the papparazzi pictures.
In fact, you could probably go to any gym and find someone, in real life, who looks exactly like you want to look.
You Can Have A Lean, Healthy, Hot Body
People always ask – what's realistic?
Anything is realistic, depending on the amount of time, work, and discipline you are willing to put in.
You can look like what ever you want.
Most of what passes for scientific discovery about fat loss in the media is worthless drivel.
But the problem isn't that it's worthless – it's actually worse than that. The problem is that it's the kind of misinformation that people can fashion into excuses.
The same way people use photoshop as an excuse.
We're surrounded by a whole army of people with excuses.
Complicated excueses.
We want to complicate things, because if we make it complicated enough we don't have to deal with the fact that maybe we aren't really doing what it takes.
If we were to boil fat loss down to something as simple as say – calories in vs. calories out, then we are immediately confronted with whether or not we've been successful in creating a caloric deficit.
Simplicity will set you free
Look – if it's all calories in vs. calories out, then we can stop dicking around with things that don't work, or spending time worrying about things that don't matter.
We have to give up our old excuses.
We have to deal with – ok, if it's this simple, then what does it actually take to make this simple process work?
What Would Jessica Alba Do?
Look, if Jessica Alba is leaner and hotter than you are, she's either consuming less calories or she's burning more.
Actually, it's probably not an EITHER / OR thing – she's probably doing both. She's burning more calories than you in her workouts AND she's consuming less calories.
And that's why she looks bangin' hot in real life at the beach.
Last Chance To Get The 1,000 Calorie Challenge
The workouts start off at a 300 calorie burn, then it ramps up to 450 calorie burn workouts, 600 calorie burn workouts, and 1,000 calorie burn workouts.
If the game is calories in vs. calories out – you want to burn as many calories as possible in your workouts.
Then with the 1,000 Calorie Challenge Diet, you'll actually maximize the caloric deficit on those days.
Do yourself a favor and make the whole process of getting the body you want a lot simpler. The easiest way to simplify the process for yourself is to get a program, follow it, and ignore everything else.
Set yourself up where you know exactly what to do – then you can deal with the doing of it.
Just don't waste time pretending you don't know how it all works.
by Josh Hillis, RKC2, CPT, PES, ZMIS
Josh is the author of The Stubborn Seven Pounds.
Josh has been featured in USA Today and the Denver Post, and quoted in the Los Angeles Times
Ok, so everywhere you look for Katy Perry's workout, you get the same quote:
“I hate working out, but I love jumping rope. There’s a rhythm. It’s like dancing.”
And then the blogs talk about how great jumping rope is and blah blah blah. Look, jumping rope is awesome, but it's not the whole story on how Katy Perry got that body.
Paparazzi pictures let you in on the ultimate workout secret that Katy knows…
Katy Perry may not like strength training,
but she does it all the time
There's like a gazillion pictures of her coming and going from the gym of Harley Pasternak, her personal trainer.
Harley's 5 Factor Fitness includes 5, 5 minute phases, 5 days per week. In other words, you're doing 25 minutes of strength-endurance-cardio circuits, almost every day.
His choice of exercises gets a super thumbs up: Pushing, pulling, squatting and hip extension. He pairs his exercises like pushing/hip extension one day, then pulling/squatting the next day.
What You Can Learn:
1.) You've got to strength train, you've got to do circuits and intervals. It doesn't matter what you like, strength training interval cardio is what gets you a rockstar body
2.) You only get a rocsktar body with a system. At First "5 Factor Fitness" and "The Five Factor Diet" sound a little gimmicky, but they are just catchy names for a really smart strength-interval system.
3.) Sometimes what stars say about their workouts doesn't tell the whole story. Katy Perry talks about jumping rope… but clearly she's working her ass off with her trainer doing strength interval circuits.
Have You Got A Strength Interval System?
I've been talking a lot about the 1,000 Calorie Challenge while the sale is going on. It's a strength interval system that shows you exactly how to progress your workouts to get the most out of them, and that's the awesomeness.
==> The 1,000 Calorie Challenge
Josh is the author of The Stubborn Seven Pounds.
Josh has been featured in USA Today and the Denver Post, and quoted in the Los Angeles Times
This was a really cool book to review. I was super impressed with the manuscript I got a few weeks ago, and when I got the full version this week, it was ten times better than I thought.
The thing is, I'm a huge fan of systems.
Most people working out are lucky if they are even choosing smart movements for fat loss, much less an actual program that takes them somewhere.
And that's where the 1,000 calorie challenge is really a step ahead – it starts with where you are at, and then it progressively and systematically takes you to a new level of fitness.
There are lots of programs with timed sets and interval based strength training for fat loss these days (which is awesome, it wasn't always like that), what's awesome about the 1,000 calorie challenge is that after you set a baseline, it tells you exactly how to progress from that baseline.
It actually even takes it a step further than that – you start the program with a fitness test, and based on the results of the test there are four different starting places. Each starting place is tailored exactly to a certain fitness level. That means that whether you are beginner or advanced, you get to start in exactly the right place for you.
Advanced workout girls and guys may be able to jump right in to 1,000 calorie workouts. Beginner girls and guys might ramp up over four weeks. And I can't stress this enough – having a progressive system to ramp up over four weeks is f*cking amazing.
Having a system that tells you how to progress takes all of the guess work out of working out.
You never have to wonder "Am I making progress?" or "Did I do enough in the gym today" – you'll know, beause you just follow the plan.
Are There Any Downsides?
1.) The first downside, and it's not that big a deal, is that before the workouts, Arnel gets into the science of why it works, and it's a little much. Hormonal response and mobilizing subcutaneous fat and blah blah blah.
If you find yourself getting bogged down in the scientific studies of why to workout like this, just skip ahead to the workouts.
2.) The biggest downside of this program is just that it's ultra hardcore.
It's a little more intense than something I would have a client do year round. This would be the high intensity cycle of your training.
I'm a big fan of treating working out like seasons. Sometimes you're "in season", where you kick ass, break through plateaus and cause something totally new for your body.
And sometimes you're "off season", where you work on form, maybe learn a new skill or take a new class, but basically just maintain.
This would be a serious "in season" workout. This is only for someone who is ready to kick some ass right now.
What Are the Upsides?
It's a really well put together program.
It tells you how to progress. It tells you when to back off. It's a system for working you up to 1,000 calorie burn workouts. How awesome is that?
Now – for the record, I didn't believe 1,000 calorie workouts were really possible until ACE put out that study earlier in the year about kettlebell training burning 20 calories per minute.
GUESS WHAT KINDS OF WORKOUTS THEY USED? Sure obviously they were kettlebell workouts, but they were a progressive, strength training interval system, just like the 1,000 calorie challenge!
On top of that, it tells you what to eat.
If you got Xtreme Fat Loss (and everyone that did got awesome results) then you're familiar with Joel Marion's diet style – carbohydrate cycling setting up a full on cheat day.
Joel has kicked it up a notch by synching it with the 1,000 calorie workouts to create an even bigger deficit…
…and he's made the system simpler. 
Simpler + More Effective = Most Awesome.
Progressive And Systematic Workout Program
If you aren't using a smart workout program, you aren't even in the game of being rockstar lean.
Maybe you're watching the game. Maybe you don't even know the game is being played.
But if you want to be IN THE GAME, you need a program.
You need to know that program is going to take you some place new. Then you just follow the program.
Josh Hillis, RKC2, CPT, PES, ZMIS
Josh is the author of The Stubborn Seven Pounds.
Josh has been featured in USA Today and the Denver Post, and quoted in the Los Angeles Times
Over the past few weeks you've probably heard A LOT about my friends Joel Marion and Arnel Ricafranca's brand new RAPID fat loss program The 1,000 Calorie CHALLENGE where believe it or not, you'll actually be burning a THOUSAND+ calories EVERY workout.
Well, I've got some great news for you — as of today, October 19th, the 1,000 Calorie Challenge exclusive $50 OFF pre-sale is now OPEN, and YOU are invited via this special link:
Your Exclusive $50 OFF Invitation, 'cause I always hook you up <——- Click Here
Several IMPORTANT things I need you to be aware of:
1. As mentioned, to celebrate the "Official Release" of the 1,000 Calorie Challenge, Joel and Arnel are running a $50 OFF pre-sale on the ENTIRE system until midnight on Thursday.
2. This special pre-sale is NOT available to the general public, but rather is located on a special "hidden" page of the website, for the cool kids only. Yes, this time you are one of the cool kids – Here's the link again:
==> Your Exclusive $50 OFF invitation
3. This program is absolutely NOT for everyone:
While Joel and Arnel's new system *is* all about how to lose fat FAST (up to 5 pounds of PURE fat every single week fast), it is NOT a "quick fix", magic-bullet solution.
Instead, it's a highly strategic system that incorporates cutting-edge 1,000 Calorie Workouts with strategic 1,000 Calorie Diet Days (both just 3 days each week) to yield the FASTEST possible fat loss results.
And perhaps the coolest aspect of the program is their custom "R-Quattro" progression system which moves you from doing 300 calorie workouts to full blown 1,000 calorie sessions in just 4 weeks OR LESS. So even if you HAVEN'T been working out for a while, you're COVERED.
Still, the truth remains: this program is no walk in the park. Simply put, if you're looking for a "laid back" solution to your fat loss problems, I'll be frank in saying that 1) that doesn't exist, and 2) this isn't going to be it.
This program is hard core. Period.
BUT, if you're someone who's willing to put in the WORK, regardless of where you're starting, the strategy of this program will have you reaping the rewards, and FAST.
1,000 Calorie Challenge <—– Your pre-sale link
4. VERY IMPORTANT (TODAY ONLY) – While the $50 OFF debut sale will be available through Thursday, there is a super cool $597 Value FAST ACTION BONUS for Day 1 orders ONLY.
The Bonus – If you order today (and today only), you will be given access to a LIVE 120-minute Fat Loss All-Star Coaching session where Joel Marion, Arnel Ricafranca, John Romaniello (Final Phase Fat Loss), Craig Ballantyne (Turbulence Training for Fat Loss), and Vince Del Monte (No Nonsense Muscle Building) will ALL be on the line to answer your personal fat loss and fitness questions. This type of direct personal coaching from 5 industry experts all at once is not available anywhere else at any price, but if you pick up the 1,000 Calorie Challenge TODAY, you'll gain access to the LIVE coaching session for *FREE*.
==> $50 OFF & your $597 value Fast Action Bonus (today only)
Bottom line, I wouldn't be recommending this program to you if I didn't believe in it 110% — if you're up for the CHALLENGE, this is probably the "smartest" fat loss program I've ever come across. And right now, you can get it before *anyone* else while saving a full $50 here:
==> $50 OFF & your $597 value Fast Action Bonus (today only)
Josh Hillis
P.S. I almost forgot to mention, you get to eat WHATEVER you want the 6th day of EVERY week, and it actually ACCELERATES fat loss (no joke):
P.P.S. I'm giving away a special super bonus, just to the people who get hooked up through this link: I'm giving you three of my best workout programs, previously only available to the rockstar VIPs in my Platinum Coaching Club (which is now closed): Savage Strength Workouts for Fat Loss, Revenge of the Stubborn Seven Pounds, Dumbbell Workouts for a Tight Lean Athletic Body.
Another really awesome interview with Taryn Bagrosky, Ms Fitness USA.
This time Taryn talks about how one of her hardest workout days is actually her bodyweight only training day.
Three things I don't want you to miss from this interview:
1.) Taryn starts with some serious strength moves: Handstand Pushups and One Arm Pushups. More proof that strong girls are hot.
2.) Taryn hits plyos (explosive moves like clapping pushups, jump lunges, burpees, jumps, and switch lunges) for an extra fat loss boost to the workout.
3.) Taryn does a huge variety of different pushups and lunges. She starts with the hardest variations (like one arm pushups and jumping lunges) and moves to the easier variations (like kneeling pushups and simple lunges).
If your're interested in learning to do the strength moves of bodyweight conditioning, like one arm pushups *the* book is The Naked Warrior.
For some of Taryn's super lean and tasty recipies, check out her blog tarynbagrosky.com
I'm really stoked to get quoted in the Los Angeles Times!
So, Jillian's kettlebell DVD is finally coming out… and it's probably going to suck.
Three Things About Trainers Teaching Kettlebells
1.) Kettlebells are an amazing fat loss tool, and extremely safe if you use good form.
2.) Kettlebells can really jack you up if you use poor form.
3.) If you are a personal trainer who is on TV, you have a responsibility, given your standing, to teach correct form to your viewers. Every personal trainer and boot camp has that same standing with their clients and has that same responsibility to learn how to teach proper form.
Jillian's Last Kettlebell Instructional
Look, I have nothing against Jillian putting together a kettlebell DVD. I think it's awesome for the kettlebell world, and it shows how mainstream kettlebell training really has become.
We're At A Crossroads in Kettlebell World
Something has shifted, and now every boot camp has kettlebells and does kettlebell swings. It's hard for a trainer to consider themselves up to date as a trainer without including kettlebell swings in their workouts.
Unfortunately, most of these trainers have had zero training on how to teach someone proper kettlebell form.
The kettlebell swings isn't as simple as teaching someone a dumbbell press. It's more like teaching someone a back handspring. You actually have to be taught how to teach it.
The same way that I don't teach my clients Yoga or Pilates (because I haven't been trained to teach them) I would recommend personal trainers and boot camp instructors not to teach swings without getting at least a basic certification.
Kettlebell Basic Certification / Kettlebell Advanced Certification
Where the RKC Kettlebell Instructor Certification is a certification on how to be a kettlebell instructor. Besides being the ultimate course in how to teach kettlebell training, just surviving the course is similar to running a marathon or skydiving – it's a fitness experience unto itself. I totally get that this is a lot more than most personal trainers need to just teach swings and get ups.
The HKC Kettlebell Instructor Certification is a certification on how to teach swings, get ups and goblet squats for personal trainers who want to add kettlebell training to their menu of training options.
This is the perfect option for trainers who want to teach kettlebell correctly, but aren't necessarily looking to become a "kettlebell trainer."
Dragon Door's HKC (HardStyle Kettlebell Certified)
Instructor Workshops- U.S. and Worlwide
The Los Angeles Times
Most importantly, I'm just stoked to have been quoted in the Los Angeles Times! Growing up in California, that's pretty much as big as it gets. This is a really, really cool day for me!
Also thanks to my friend and fitness expert Barry Lovelace for letting me know I was in the article!
Josh Hillis is a Level 2 RKC Kettlebell Instructor 
Author of The Stubborn Seven Pounds and Fighter Workouts for Fat Loss
You can have a body that’s NSFW too
You just have workout and eat like she does. I’m going to tell you how.
Jessica Alba was looking rockstar fit at least as far back as 2003 when she did Honey. I first blogged about Jessica Alba’s workout and diet back in 2006.
Seven years after Honey and after having a baby, I think she looks even more rockstar now.
I don’t want to take anything away from anyone who looks like a rockstar at 20 years old, it still takes work, and you can drive by any high school to see that in America in 2010, most people are overweight at any age.
That being said, I think it’s even more impressive that Jessica Alba looks even hotter at 30 than she did at 20.
Don’t think that’s just about her. YOU can keep working out, and keep getting stronger and leaner too.
But before we talk about the three things she did, lets take a look at the result:
Jessica Alba Covered Up Shower Scene in Machete
(sort of NSFW)
You’ve got to admit, there really isn’t any other fitness blog out there that’s going to post a Jessica Alba shower scene in the context of intelligent workout programs and diet.
People work out so that they look awesome naked. This shows what’s possible when you get consistant with the basics of workout and diet.
Besides that I thought Machete was the most fun movie ever, I had to notice the Jessica is still looking really fit. Jessica is looking way hotter as a woman than she looked as a girl.
It’s really, really important you get how smart and simple her workout and diet is:
When People magazine asked her trainer, Ramona Braganza about how Jessica got back in shape after the baby, Ramona said this:
1.) Jessica worked out six days per week.
2.) Jessica ate 1700 calories per day
3.) Jessica did workouts that burned 600 calories per day.
Isn’t it beautiful and simple? 
Kind of shows you that they cut out all the B.S., and just did the things that matter.
If you want to look like that in the shower, that’s exactly what you need to do with your workout and diet.
Long time Lose Stubborn Fat! readers already know that Jessica’s trainer is awesome, and the workouts are intervals of lunges and squats and pushups and renegade rows and explosions and great stuff like that.
Ramona puts those awesome fat loss movements together into her 3-2-1 system of intervals, and Jessica burns 600 calories per workout.
The game you are playing is eating less calories, burning more calories, and getting stronger.
Once you get that – then you can stop screwing around and just get on a program that does that and follow it.
Lets talk about burning 1000 calories in a single workout.
The ACE study proved that it's possible, but it isn't easy. It takes the proper combination of these four key elements.
Keys #1 and #2 are absolutely essential to fat loss workouts. These are the things that great fat loss trainers do, and nearly EVERYONE who is working out on his or her own completely misses. Systematic progressing like this seems like a no brainer, but most people don't do it.
Key #3, G-Funk, is one of my favorites. I mean, if Warren G and Nate Dogg don't stand for fat loss, nothing does.
Download it here:
