Coughlin Inner Circle

Muscle vs. Fat

Pretty simple concept, Right?

Well, actually no, it’s not.  If it were…

I would not have a job…
America would not be overweight…
The giant diet companies would not be in business…and
People would finally understand that being in kick-arse shape does not depend on what your scale reads!

Why?

Because people don’t understand that in order to be successful with exercise and proper nutrition they MUST know exactly how muscle and fat relate to one another.

Right now at this very moment, your physical weight is composed of a certain percentage of fat and a certain percentage of muscle…a.k.a your lean body mass.

First and foremost, you must always be putting your body in a position to BUILD muscle and LOSE fat no matter what lies or myths you’ve been told.

You must flush the silly notion that your scale determines your success. 

How you look and feel determines your success.

Instead of religiously worshiping your scale, you need to start paying attention to the mirror and how your clothes fit.

I'm sure you've heard that muscle weighs more than fat, but what does that actually mean to YOU?

It means that when you want to get into the best shape of your life, how much you weigh is completely irrelevant.  Yes, for most of you, I’m fully aware that your primary goal is to lose weight…BUT, you must always know WHAT KIND of weight you are losing.

When you start a strength training program, eat healthy portioned meals throughout the day and perform cardio exercise, you are in essence promoting muscle…you are CHANGING your body composition. 

You are increasing your muscle composition and decreasing your fat composition.  Your scale may make you think in fact that you're gaining weight or that you haven't lost much weight since starting your fitness program, but this information is meaningless and here's why: 

Let’s say for example a woman, we’ll call her Jane, starts a strength training program 2-3x a week, performs cardio exercise 4-7x a week and starts to eat healthy.

Jane is 40 years old.  She weighs 175 pounds and her body fat percentage is 35%....basically, most of the clients I help everyday.

Fast forward 2 months…

Jane has followed the program to the tee.  She hasn’t missed a workout, she’s only cheated once a week for 2 months and during this process, Jane now weighs 167 pounds and her body fat is now 30%.

So in 2 months, Jane lost 8 pounds and dropped 5% body fat.

You would think Jane should be happy about her progress, but unfortunately she isn’t.

Although I told you what Jane’s body fat % was before she started her program…Jane DID NOT know what it was…instead she went by what her scale read…hence her frustration. 

BIG MISTAKE!

Jane doesn’t see the big picture…Jane should actually be ecstatic right now and here’s why: (don’t lose me here, this is simple arithmetic)

Jane went from a weight of 175 to 168.
She went from a body fat % of 35 to 30.

So, she lost 11.15 pounds of fat and gained 3.15 pounds of muscle! 

Here’s how I figured it out…

175 lbs x .35 = 61.25 (fat weight before)
                  113.75 (muscle weight before)

After 2 months…

167 lbs x .30 = 50.10 (fat weight after)
                       116.90 (muscle weight after)

Fat Weight

61.25 – 50.10 = Lost -11.15 pounds of muscle!

Muscle Weight

113.75 - 116.90 = Gained + 3.15 pounds of muscle!

Had Jane not relied on her scale and simply got a body fat assessment she would not be frustrated right now. 

She would understand that if she continues at this pace, she will eventually be on her way to a lean and mean 24% body fat (ideal body fat for women is 20-24%) and she could care less about what her scale reads.

She would understand that she is building muscle for LIFE and permanently losing fat.

Since her body fat % is now 30 instead of 35, Jane burns more calories at rest.  This is not because of the 8 scale pounds she lost but rather, the 3.15 pounds of firm muscle she gained!

Understand that to be successful with long-term weight loss, you MUST grasp the concept of Muscle vs. Fat. 

If you don’t…

DO NOT waste a second longer struggling with your fitness program on your own, hire a fitness professional today!

Yours in Total Fitness & Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin

P.S.If you know anyone who this would benefit, please send it their way...thanks

The ONLY Beverage You Should Ever Drink

I hope you are having a good week. I got this email from a client the other day and I thought you could benefit from it if you were in the same situation:

Hey Jim!

I have a problem with monthly female bloating. I don't drink water like i'm supposed to either, and I'm noticing that around my ovulation time, My waistline is gone.

I know you're a guy, but I think your knowledgeable about this as well. I'm confused about this and frustrated because I never had a problem like this before.

At first I thought damn am I gaining weight?

But I noticed that after my cycle begins the accumulated water leaves and I'm able to see a more toned waistline again.

What can I do to change this around ?

I'm 31 years old, am I fighting nature at this point? or do I combat this by a strict 6-8 ounces a day?

Jim I'm really confused about this body and how to stay at one weight. Please help!

J.C. Hey Tanisha, Basically, in addition to your ovulation, the reason why you're getting a bloated look is
because (as you mentioned) you're not drinking enough water. When you aren't properly hydrated, your body builds up toxins.

To fight these toxins, your body RETAINS as much water as possible to help metabolic functionality...hence you looking bloated.

Furthermore, because you aren't drinking enough water your fat loss capabilities are reduced as well. When you're dehydrated, your liver, which is responsible for metabolizing your proteins, carbs and FAT, is put on hold, so instead of it burning your fatty acids like it should, your liver fights off toxins to protect itself.

Water plays a HUGE role to your success! 75% of all metabolic activities, take place in water. It's the ONLY beverage you should EVER drink if you want to get the best results.

It is very important to drink water throughout the day to lubricate the joints, regulate body temperature, help muscle growth, help digestion, maintain mineral balance, and most importantly hydrate the body. It also important to note that good old H20 takes away hunger pains as well.

Your body loses about 8 glasses of water a day due to dehydration. Try to drink a minimum of least a half a gallon a day (64 ounces) instead of soda, fruit drinks, sweetened teas or other caffeinated drinks which will NOT help you!

All they will do is contribute to spiking your insulin levels and are responsible for storing extra fat to your body. They also contribute to you having cravings and causes you to overeat or splurge.

The thing is, you don't just drink water when you're thirsty...you drink water when you aren't. This way, you are putting your body in the best position to not only burn fat properly, but be generally healthy as well.

Yes, you will have go to the bathroom more, but trust me, it's well worth it. Hope this helps.

Have a great weekend!

Yours in Total Fitness and Maximum Success!

Jim Coughlin

P.S. Although dehydration may be the reason for experiencing bloating, there may be other reasons as well. If this situation still persists, please don't hesitate to seek the advice of your doctor or physician.

P.P.S. To any of you interested in fitness consulting, BUT cannot afford my personal training services, I strongly recommend you hiring me as your phone coach, also called "Dial-A-Trainer." (catchy name, eh?) http://www.fitnessandresults.com/dial_a_trainer.php

P.P.P.S. Because I am basically booked like a library right now, I'm ONLY accepting the first 5 lucky clients to sign up and take advantage of this VERY limited time offer...after the 5th...this special opportunity will be over...So act NOW! To sign up, click this link - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/dial_a_trainer.php

Losing Weight vs. Gaining Weight

I get mucho emails a day and it is virtually impossible for me to answer every single one.  If I did, I would not have a life. 

But on those rare days when I'm up until 2 o'clock in the morning... like I am right now... I'll go ahead and answer some of them.  So here are a couple for you...

Hey Jim,

I have a question, is there a way that I go on a diet that is easy to stay on and that i can loose a lot of pounds, I kind-of needs to loose aobut 30 pounds....can you let me know as soon as possible. I also need to know how much i should work out each day!

I tried counting calories, but that takes to much time and then i was on the weight watchers diet but then i found out that i had to spend more timne calulating how many points is in the food.....dont get me wrong, i love math but if it takes to long i rather not spend time on it

Thanks
Stephanie

PS: Thanks for emailing me and helping me alot!

J.C. Hello Stephanie, Thanks for your inquiry.  By reading your email, it definitely appears you’re in a major hurry to lose this weight! 

Well, I hate to rain on your parade, but being in a hurry to lose weight is never a good idea.

To answer the first part of your question…I don’t recommend diets.  I recommend lifestyle changes. 

If you want to lose 30 pounds - The RIGHT way.  You need to understand that going on a diet…ANY DIET… is not going to help you.

Many diet companies will tell you that you can lose 30 pounds in thirty days or other absurd and ridiculous claims.  And yes, if you significantly decrease your caloric intake like they instruct you to do, you will lose weight…   

But guess what? 

The thirty pounds you will lose is primarily made up of 99% muscle tissue and water.

With this drop in muscle, so drops your metabolism…and your ability to burn calories at rest. 

Consequently, because it is literally IMPOSSIBLE to maintain the caloric requirements of a diet over a long-term period, you end up eating the way you did before the diet.

You end up gaining all your weight back AND even worse…increasing your body fat!  I could go on and on, but I think this article should sum it up - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/articles/diets_dont_work.php   

If you want to lose 30 pounds, you need to eat for life.  Yes, that’s LIFE.

A great book that I recommend to clients is called, Hey what da ya know, “Eating For Life” – www.eatingforlife.com

As far as the second part of your question, “How much should i work out each day?”

This question could have a million different answers, but let me give you one simple one: 

Work out one hour a day, performing consistent, progressive strength training 3x a week and cardio exercise a minimum of 4x a week. 

You can do cardio everyday to get the best results, but make sure you space out your strength training and cardio workouts.  Example – Strength training in the morning and cardio in the evening or vice versa.

Here is a great book that will help you with your strength training – http://www.fitnessandresults.com/home_fitness_order.php

Best of Luck!

Hello Jim, How are you doing? My name is Keetra and I am a 21 year old that happened to come across your website.  Personally I did not read eveything on your page but I hope that you can respond to my email : ) I weigh 113 and would really like to gain about twenty more pounds. I am a little tried of being skinny and maybe its from high metabolism because I do eat but I think by the help of a personal trainer, he/she would know exactly what I need to. I would greatly appreciate your opinion. I want to gain weight and body mass or muscle definiton.

J.C. Hey Keetra, Thanks for your email.  You’re right…it’s tough putting on size when you’re skinny.  You have what you call an ectomorph body type.  If it makes you feel better, 99.9% of my clients would love to have your problem.

No, but seriously, although I don’t have great experience training people such as yourself, I can give you a general idea of what to start doing. 

To gain weight, body mass and definition, you need to start…

Slowing down and relaxing more, getting extra sleep and take more naps.
Reduce stress and worry, avoid overtraining, perform intense strength training (3x a week for 1 hour at a time), keep cardiovascular exercise to a minimum (3x a week - 15 minutes at a time), keep calories high and never ever miss a meal.

Futhermore, you must understand that gaining muscle with your body type should be a life-long commitment on your part.  Don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t happen overnight.  Be patient.  Be consistent and you will get to where you want to be.  Take Care.

Well, there you have it.  Until next time - Train Hard and Train Smart!

Yours in Total Fitness & Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin

"I'm Feelin a Little Dizzy..."

The other day I met with a guy by the name of Reid for the first of a couple sessions a friend of his purchased as a gift certificate.

Reid was tall, a little over 6 feet, and though he appeared to be in good shape, the body-fat calipers stated otherwise. He definitely wanted to lose his little gut and other excess fatty areas.

We actually had met for a consultation prior to our first meeting and I told him what he could expect.

Since we would only be meeting once a week (something I normally never do), I strongly emphasized the importance of implementing a nutritional program that would compliment his exercise regimen. Without it, he wasn't going to see results.

Anyway, since he really didn't have much strength training experience and I didn't want to overwhelm him, I started him off with 6 body-weight exercises. These all can be found in - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/home_fitness_order.php

He performed each exercise exceptionally well, doing 2 sets of 12-25 reps. He had terrific form also, not using momentum like most people do.

The first thirty minutes were great, then...

Well, after about forty minutes, Mr. Reid met Mr. Dizzy and soon wanted to make a trip to Mr. Trash-Can (hint...hint...)...Before I knew it...dude passed out on me!!!

I immediately picked him up and he came to.

"Are you O.K?" I asked.

"Yeah...I don't think I'm used to that." he said slowly.

"What have you eaten today?" I inquired.

"Well, I had a banana at 9, a sandwich at 12 and another banana at 3."

"Oh." I said

Since he wasn't feeling too well at the present moment and I didn't want to make him feel worse then he already did, I told him, "Don't worry about today, you did great...I will give you a call this week and we will discuss how you can easily avoid this from happening again."

"O.K Jim...Sorry about today." he said

"No, No, you did fine...we'll get this down!"

So, why did Reid pass out on me?

Was my workout for him too hard?
Did he do too much cardio prior to our meeting?
Was he weak and out of shape?

No, No and No.

The reason Reid kissed the floor, was because he didn't stabilize his blood sugar levels prior to our meeting.

Each time he ate a banana, he should of also coupled it with some type of protein, such an egg, piece of chicken, turkey, cottage cheese, etc.

When you do this, you stabilize your blood sugar levels or in other words, you properly sustain your energy levels.

Although he did have a sandwich at 12, his caloric consumption and blood sugar levels were much too low.

While what happened to Reid is common among green-horn exercisers, YOU can easily avoid this.

If you or someone you know is new to exercise, make sure you don't underestimate the importance of nutrition while participating in an exercise program. Properly stabilize your blood sugar levels prior to working out. If you need help, check out this article -http://www.fitnessandresults.com/articles/done_right.php

Best,

Jim Coughlin

P.S. We should be getting a shipment of 100 books tomorrow or Tuesday, and we only have 15 remaining. Order your copy TO-DAY and discover how you too can master the secrets to powerful in-home fitness training! Here is the link to order -http://www.fitnessandresults.com/home_fitness_order.php

Expand Your Fitness Horizons

Ok, I'm back.

I tell ya... from staying at my sister-in-law's in Illinois for a week and a half, eating poorly, not exercising, not getting much sleep, and to top it off, getting a really bad cold/flu after I got back ...Christmas and New Years really chewed me up and spit me out!

I guess the one great thing that came out of the long holiday was that Brighid and I were able to accept a contract on a new house...so, as you can imagine we're both really excited!

Anyway, it's good to be healthy again and back into the normal swing of things.

Today I want to talk to you about expanding the way you see fitness.

When I first started out as a trainer, I was brainwashed like most into believing you can only get your clients into great shape by working out at a gym.

The all-mighty gym has big, fancy machines with all kinds of gizmos and gadgets to adjust and tinker with. The more high-tech, the better.

Pretty soon, all you'll have to do is push a button...and presto...your work-out is done. Cracks me up.

There are hundreds of different machines to work every muscle of the body. Each will isolate the muscles and heck, you'll even break a sweat.

But the problem is just that, each machine works the body 2 dimensionally. They ISOLATE the muscles.

NONE work the body as a whole.
NONE exert the body more functionally the way it was meant.
NONE help the body in a 3 dimensional environment.

Working with machines at the gym limits your potential. They aren't natural. Your range of motion for any given exercise is restricted.

It wasn't until I discovered free weights, body-weight calisthenics, band/tubing, isometrics and super-set training that I was able to create kick arse workouts for my clients that got them kick arse results!

Every single client I train today uses these methods of training. And even though 99% of them are in-home, I still implement these types of exercises when we're at a gym or if they have an expensive home-gym.

The other day, I was training a lady by the name of Debra and she couldn't believe that seemingly simple body-weight exercises (or so she thought) could be so difficult but at the same time, very effective.

"That burns like h*ll!" she said.

"I can't believe my husband and I spent $3,000.00 bucks on a home gym, when this whole time all I needed to use was my own body!"

"We're just getting warmed up." I said

And I wasn't lying either. That was only the third session. I've got MANY more goodies for Debra in future sessions.

What I teach Debra and all my clients doesn't involve the same-old, boring, cookie cutter workouts you're normally accustomed to or relying on the gym as a crutch and arse-backwards machines.

What I teach personifies "expanding your fitness horizons."

And if you'd like to know more about these goodies or how I train my clients, you can learn more about it in my new book "Home Fitness Secrets to Success"- http://www.fitnessandresults.com/homefitness_book.php

There are 90 kick-butt exercises to choose from. ALL of which require no gym, or expensive equipment. These are exercises anyone can do and is something you can easily stick to as a permanent lifestyle.

There are also 4 different levels of fitness with customized workouts.

Order your copy TODAY!

Yours in Total Fitness & Maximum Success,

Jim Coughlin

P.S. We've got a shipment of 100 books coming within a few days...77 of which are already accounted for. Be one of the lucky 23 to order your copy today before you miss out and have to wait. Here is the link again - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/homefitness_book.php

Sick as a Dog

I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  The reason you haven't heard from me in a while is because I've been sick.

Yes, even ME, the fitness guru gets sick.

Apparently I got it from my sister-in-law's son while visiting last week.  Owell

Anyway, hopefully I'll be 100 percent by Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Jim Coughlin

P.S. To anyone interested in our personal training services, NOW's the time to book one of our trainers.  We have received dozens of requests in the past couple weeks and pretty soon all of our trainers will be booked...So Don't Miss Out!  Click this link - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/free_consultation.php to reserve one of our top personal trainers TODAY before its too late!

P.P.S. To those of you who have ordered "Home Fitness Secrets to Success" - http://www.fitnessandresults.com/homefitness_book.php, I SINCERELY apologize for the delay.  The editing process took alot longer than I would of liked.  Anyway, you should get your copy within a week or two.  Again, sorry for the inconvenience!