My Fat Loss Program
July 18, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
For the past four weeks I’ve been performing a program that I wrote up with fat loss in mind. Another way to look at it for an individual that is already lean, this is a program design to help take someone from lean to ripped. Either way, it’ll help a person shed away some unwanted fat.
In this blogpost, I’m not going to get into the specifics about my program. I’ll save that for the next post that I make. Today, I want to talk a bit about program design as it pertains to a “fat loss program.”
Nutrition is King
The training god of the world could write up the “perfect” fat loss program for any of us, but it wouldn’t do us much good if we didn’t pay special attention to our nutrition plan. I mean, I could actually gain fat on a fat loss program if I consume too many calories. Likewise, if I were on a plan designed to add muscle mass, I could actually become skinnier/smaller if I consumed too few calories. So really, the program is only as good as the nutrition plan that goes along with it.
Not too long ago I had a few “fitness pictures” taken so that they could be used when I write for various fitness websites.
To prepare for this “photo shoot,” I did ZERO cardio. All I did was lift hard, and most importantly, tighten up my nutrition in the days leading up to the shoot.
Does the Training Program Even Matter When Trying to Drop Fat???
After reading what I just wrote above, you probably think, “well, if nutrition is THAT important, the only thing that matters is that you eat ‘right.’ Therefore we can perform any training program we want because nutrition is going to be the deciding factor in the results we get anyway.”
I almost agree with that thinking, but not completely. I definitely think adding in some cardio and designing a lifting program that is conducive to fat loss is the ideal route to take. But again, if your nutrition doesn’t compliment your cardio/weight lifting program, you are NOT going to get the results that you want.
Then How Did you Get So Lean for Those Photos?
I can get very lean without performing cardio and/or a lifting program designed for fat loss. This makes me one of the “lucky” ones I guess. But don’t get it twisted, I work my ASS OFF in the weight room, and this goes a long way in one reaching their physique goals. BUT, just so you know, I am also “cursed” when it comes time to adding muscle mass. Another words, I can easily get lean, but have a hard time adding size to my biceps and calves and shoulders, etc, etc. We all have weaknesses when it comes to physique development. It sucks, but it is what it is. All we can do is do our best and not stress too much about it… as excess stress will just lead to more problems.
My Fat Loss Program
For my fitness clients (the non-competitive athletes), I spend the majority of my time designing programs designed to help them lose fat/weight. But for the reasons mentioned above, for my personal programs, I don’t usually write up and perform “fat loss” programs for myself. However, I decided to do something a little different a spend some time training with fat loss in mind. This involved a weight training program with higher overall reps than I am used to; less rest intervals between sets than I am used to; and more overall suckiness than I am used to. 
Most people make the mistake of making their weight training session turn into a cardio session. While my heart was pounding through my chest for much of these workouts, I MADE SURE to also include some heavy, low rep sets to make sure I don’t turn into a weak and skinny looking human being.
GREAT actor! Poorly muscled.
Final Thought
Now, in order to lose fat/weight, you do NOT need to turn into a miserable person that can only eat broccoli and plain chicken breast day-in-day-out. I definitely make sure to enjoy the finer things in life like beer, pizza, and cookie crisp cereal. I just try to make sure that those types of foods are NOT the staple in my nutrition plan. AND, if you are serious about making a “significant” fat loss run, you will probably have to give up those foods for a month or so. I think that is a great thing to do… live a “mostly clean life” (but not to strict) as your way of life, and then from time-to-time go on a ~ 30 day “strict” run.
Anyway, in my next post I’ll include my current “fat loss” training program, so you can see how I set it all up.
I’ll see you then…
The Week That Was: July 1st-7th…
July 9, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
I thought I’d take this time to go over some of the highlights of the past week in my life. So, let’s get right to it…
I) For the 4th of July we had some friends invite us over to their lake for some fun. I needed to be near water as this heat wave has been brutal! Here are some pictures…
Capri Foam Rolling her adductors on the beach.
Daxton and I in the water.
Capri "swimming."
Great time had by all! The water was perfect, and the brats, brownies, and EVERYTHING tasted great. I DID make sure to get in plenty of fruit and some veggies, however. ”Damage control,” I guess you could call it. Which leads to my next point…
II) I continued performing my training program which is geared towards “fat loss,” “get lean,” “get ripped,” or whatever you want to call it. I’ve been working my ass off and it hasn’t been easy (the training program hasn’t been easy, that is). That’s where the damage control comment came from up above as it wouldn’t make sense to go kill it in the weight room only to go out and eat like crap. I’m still going to detail what my “fat loss” program has looked like over the last couple of weeks, so stay tuned (should have it up next week sometime).
III) I went to watch a bunch of my basketball clients play in a tournament yesterday. It’s always fun to see them play 5-on-5 against live competition. I usually only see them working on their skills with no one else around (as in a 1-on-1 session), or with a couple of partners (as in 2-on-1 or a 3-on-1 session). Therefore, it’s hard to evaluate if some of the moves that we work on are “game-ready” yet.
Overall I was happy with the progress that they have been making. Still a lot of work to do, but they’re heading in the right direction!
One of the players (Jake Ryan – 7th-grader) that I’ve been working with played especially well. He had 23 points and they came in a variety of ways… pull-up jumpers; getting all the way to basketball; 9-10 at the FT line; and he had a couple 3’s. More important to me, is the fact that he is taking what he learns in our lessons and “transferring” it over to the game. For example, his head was always up and he did a great job of finding the open man; he changed speed (i.e. hesitation dribble); he “smoothly” changed directions (i.e. crossover dribble/between the legs dribble); AND, I was very happy to see that he combined both the change of direction and change of speed together at the same time (i.e. in the open court he hesitated, and went right in to the crossover). Great job Jake, your hard work is showing!
For a little more advanced version of what I’m talking about, check out how many of these change of direction moves are combined with a change of speed…
Nasty! BTW, the Deron Williams play is my favorite in the video (#2). He’s underrated for his ability to make defenders look like fools!
That’ll wrap things up for now. I hope you all had a great 4th of July week, and that you continue to work hard through the rest of the summer!
My New Article and Another Friend Visits Me Here In Illinois
June 25, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
Here is a little look at my week that was…
My New Article
I had a new article published over at FitWatch. The question was, “What Is a Normal Body Fat Percentage?” And it went something like this…
You look down at your stomach and give it a pinch. You think to yourself, I wonder what my body fat percentage is, and I wonder if it’s normal. KEEP READING…
Another Friend Comes to Town For a Visit
Last week, my buddy came in from Omaha to hit up Wrigley for a Cubs/Red Sox game. Great time! This week I had another visitor in town – Kevin Campbell. Kevin was one of my very first clients when I moved to California back in 2004. He was in 8th grade then. I trained this “kid” from that year all way until I moved back to Illinois last year! And I can now refer to him as a man. He’s currently 22 years old (turns 23 next week) and about to graduate from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. We were laughing about it when I asked him, “man, that day back in 8th grade when you walked into the gym to first meet your new trainer, did you think you’d be visiting me half way across the country 8 years later!?!” I’m very glad that we met that day as he has become a life-long friend. A funny little side story: As we talked at dinner before I dropped him off at the airport, part of our conversation went like this:
Kevin: When I met you at our first training session, I thought you smoked.
Me: What???!!!???
Kevin: Yeah, you kind of smelled like cigarette smoke, so I thought you were a smoker.
Me: What???!!!???
Yeah, that must have been a good first impression! You meet your trainer for the first time and you think that he/she smokes! Kevin now knows that even to this day, I have NEVER even taken a puff of a cigarette! Funny stuff!
It was great having Kevin in town as I got to show him where I grew, and take him around to some of the “hot spots” here in the Rockton/Roscoe area. He even came up and shot around in my old high school gym as I gave a basketball lesson to one of my current b-ball clients. I warned Kevin that he may need to cover his head when we take our first step into Hononegah’s (my alma mater) gym as my fans may run out of the bleachers and maul me… but it didn’t happen. How embarrassing for me.
Kevin and I also got a workout in down in my basement where I am currently training clients (I may not be at this location much longer… but I’ll save that teaser for another blogpost in the not too distant future). When McKenna visited me last week, he and I also got a session in. Man, I wish these guys were around ALL THE TIME to train with… it’s so much better to train when surrounded by someone there to push you!!!
All-in-all, it was great to have Kevin in town! And by the way, to this day I continue to train Kevin on-line. Talk about one dedicated dude!
Kevin getting after it at our training session.
Alright, I’m about to write-up my new training program… a fat loss program. That’s a first for me. I’ll explain what I mean in a blogpost later on in the week or by next week at the latest. See you then…
Brilliant at the Basics – Episode III – Bulgarian Split Squats AND McKenna’s First Experience at Wrigley (Wrigley vs Fenway)……
June 19, 2012 by danny · 5 Comments
Today’s post is the 3rd and final installment of “brilliant at the basics.” But before we get into that, I want to quickly recap my trip to Wrigley Field this past Friday. If you read episode II of brilliant at the basics, you’ll recall I mentioned that one of my best friend’s was in town from Omaha for his first visit to Wrigley. Now, he’s a BIG Red Sox fan, so I was curious to get his thoughts on Wrigley compared to Fenway Park (a place that I still haven’t been). McKenna had A LOT of good to say about Wrigley in the days to follow his first experience in the ball park. But I’m going to let him recap Wrigley and Fenway’s similarities and differences in the comments section below. Note to McKenna, sorry about the mustard “situation” (you’ll get it when you read McKenna’s summary).
A view from our seats.
If you’ve been to both stadiums, please add your .02 in the comments section below as well. I can’t wait to join McKenna at Fenway the next time the Cubs play there, so I too can compare the two ball parks. I just hope that my first visit there will be Cubs vs Red Sox in the World Series (I know, I know, I won’t be holding my breath!). By the way, at the end of the game, we were waving the W flag! Cubs win! Cubs win!
A lovely sight for Cubs fans!
Brilliant at the Basics
Alrighty then, with that out of the way, let’s get to the last installment of brilliant at the basics. I used the bulgarian split as the exercise of choice to get my point across. But you can apply the points that I make to any exercise in the weight room. Check out the video below…
So, if you have any thoughts about my whole brilliant at the basics series, leave a comment.. And, remember to check out McKenna’s summary of Wrigley vs. Fenway in the comments section below. Is he on the money? Do you have different thoughts? If so, let us hear them…
Brilliant at the Basics (Dribbling Skills) – Episode II
June 14, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
In case you missed “Episode I,” CLICK HERE. I’ll include the “introductory video” again today… to get you up to speed…
When it comes to dribbling skills, things are no different than with a quality strength training program. That is, you must first build a foundation (get brilliant at the basics), before you can even think about getting “all fancy.” It’s about working toward making progressions from week-to-week (again, just like you should be aiming to do when in the weight room).
There you have it, handles 101. Ok young ballers, go get it!
On a side note. I’ll be at Wrigley for Friday’s Cubs/Red Sox game! I can’t wait! I haven’t been to Wrigley for years and this will be my first time back at my favorite place on Earth since moving back to Illinois. And to make it even better, one of my best friends, McKenna, is driving in from Omaha to go to the game with me. He’s a long time Red Sox fan and this will be his first time at Wrigley. I’m interested to see how he thinks Wrigley Field compares to Fenway Park (or is it Pok?)
Anyway, good times are ahead, and to keep with the theme of brilliant at the basics, we’ll definitely keep it simple by starting off with an Old Style and a Chicago Style Hot Dog.
I'm gonna tear this up on Friday (minus the mustard)!
But not to worry y’all… I’ll get right back on my usual clean eating/living the next day. It’s about finding that balance… and an Old Style with a dog definitely fits in the plan from time to time!
Have a great rest of your week and a great weekend my friends. I know I will! 
Brilliant at the Basics – Episode I
June 7, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
Strength Coach Mike Boyle recently wrote a really good blogpost. In it, he quoted Coach Dewey Neilsen:” Be Brilliant at the Basics.”
In the video below, I elaborate…
I was a guest speaker at a basketball camp today, and this whole brilliant at the basic thing, was the “theme” of my speech. Far too often we are in such a hurry (in sports and/or training) to get to the advanced stuff, but we fail to “master” the basics. So my next few blogposts will be real world examples of getting brilliant at the basics. I’ll include both basketball and fitness examples. First up… push-ups.
The first question to come out of ANY young (male) trainee’s mouth is; “how much ya bench?” Well, I like the bench press, but 95% of these guys can’t even perform a proper push-up yet. So why are they worrying about how much they can max out on on the bench press? I guess it’s in our DNA… in order to become a MAN, you HAVE TO max out on the bench!
I also have some of my young high school guys asking me, “when do we get to bench press with those chains!?!”
While I LOVE that they are excited to try new things here in the weight room, there is no need for those advanced methods just yet. Let’s first learn to master a push-up!
Here are some common push-up errors that I see on a weekly basis…
So, “Be Brilliant at the Basics,” episode I is in the books. Check back in a couple days for some more examples along these lines.
If you have friends that could benefit from this post, please share it with ALL OF THEM!
Off-Season Training for Basketball
June 4, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
I put up a similar blogpost a few weeks back. But in case you missed it, here it the “article version.” Powerbasketball.com published THIS ARTICLE that I wrote. The majority of the information comes in the video, so make sure to check that out. Remember, at this time of the year (late spring/early summer), skill development is HUGE!
Now, this boy has some skills!
I’m about to put up a couple blogposts per week with the following theme: Be Brilliant at the Basics. I’ll elaborate soon. So be sure to check back to find out what I’m talking about.
See you then!
To My California and Nebraska Friends – Baby Birthday Pictures for You…
May 30, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
I know, I know, everyone has cute baby pictures all over the place; family photo albums, on the walls in your home, all over your facebook page, etc. etc. etc. So, why I am doing this blogpost all about my babies? Well, I lived in Omaha, Nebraska for about 6 years of my life. And I lived in California for almost 8 years. In that time, I formed great relationships with a number of people. And on a weekly basis, I get messages from these friends saying things like; “keep those baby pictures coming!” Or, “I miss the babies already, keep posting pictures of them so I can watch their development as they get older.”
So Cali and Nebraska friends, this is for you…
We celebrated their one year birthday party this past Sunday. Yeah, it was about 134 degrees out, but that didn’t stop us from having some fun! In attendance was Capri and Daxton’s great grandmother, their grandparents, aunts, uncles, a BUNCH of cousins, and friends.
Shondra’s theme for the party was “Monkey See, Monkey Deux.” Deux as in two (in French). They are twins. Deux. Get it? Oh, she’s a clever one, that Shondra! In all seriousness the cake, and decorations, ‘n all that turned out great!
Monkey See Monkey Deux Cakes
And Cupcakes
My contribution to these goodies? Zero. Shondra and her mom get the credit. Oh, and the lady that made the cake… nice work lady!
And, onto the babies…
Capri with her balloon
The babies getting ready to hear the "Happy Birthday" song for the first time. And then, it was time for cake...
Capri, getting her grub on.
Daxton starting to get messy.
Oh, it got UGLY for Dax!
Daxton had cake in his eyes and all over his head! And Capri, although much more lady-like in her eating, still got pretty messy. So Shondra and I ran them upstairs for a quick bath and change of clothes before present time. Daxton and Capri had PLENTY of help from all the cousins!
If you’re not from California or Nebraska, you’re still welcome to take look at the pictures… even if you’re from Wyoming, Maine, or New Mexico.
I’ll be back later on for some more fitness and/or basketball related blogposts. Talk to you then…
Embrace the Process: By Christian Thibaudeau
May 23, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
I wanted to share this for you all to see, because I think it is brilliant. Christian Thibaudeau wrote up this piece over at t-nation.com. Below is a copy and paste of Christian’s article…
“Embrace the Process
There are two kinds of people in the gym:
1. Those who are training to get results.
2. Those who are training because they love it.
Who builds the best body in the long run? Those who train because they love it!
I'm sure this guy fell in love with "the fitness game."
Don’t get me wrong, those who train merely to get results will sometimes get short-term results, usually the inevitable “newbie gains.” But they never achieve true, long term success.
Why? Because once you’re past your beginner gains, progressing in physique and strength is hard. If you’re only in it only for the results, they’ll never come fast enough. So when you’re passed that beginner stage and you have to work much harder for your gains, you simply won’t make it far if you don’t love the process.
I’ll be honest with you. If somebody gave me a pill that would stop my strength and body comp progress forever, I’d still train hard and train often because there’s nothing I’d rather do.
When it comes to long-term results, understand that:
1. Progression is never linear. I’ve had guys gain 5-6 pounds of muscle in 10 days then stabilize for six weeks. I’ve had others lose 4 pounds of fat per week for four weeks then only lose a pound per week for two months. I’ve had people increase their strength by 10% over a two-week period then struggle to gain 5 pounds more within the next six weeks. That’s how the body works!
But when that happens, people freak out. They expect the quick gains to last forever. But the truth is that you cannot maintain that rate of gain all the time. On top of that, you never know when that will happen! The only thing you can control is to keep training hard.
2. Because of the non-linear aspect of progression, people who are in it only for the results open themselves up to “solutions” that are actually counterproductive:
A) They change their program too often, thinking that it’s the program that doesn’t work. Changing your program too often only gives you an illusion of progression because of quick neural adaptations; it doesn’t give you more actual muscle gain. And it could very well limit the amount of growth you’re getting in the long run.
B) They get discouraged and turn to anabolic steroids. When I see dozens of teens without much muscle turning to drugs (and often using higher doses than some pro-bodybuilders), it makes me sick. Not so much because of the steroids themselves, but because of the underlying attitude than lead to their usage.
These guys never learn to train and eat properly. They don’t know how to make gains themselves, so they become slaves to anabolic steroids.
C) They stop training altogether because they feel it’s not worth the effort.
The real secret to getting long term progress is:
Fall in love with the process.
Let training become one of your passions. That way you’ll approach every session like it’s a privilege to be there; you’ll be excited and motivated to train hard and, as such, you’ll get more results. It will also bulletproof you to any stagnation period that might come your way. You’ll be able to blast through that and resume your gains afterwards.
If you’re in it only for the results, you won’t get them!”
And back to Danny…
Very well said Christian! No matter what it is in life, if you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to stick with it.
There are many ways to make training more enjoyable. Such as…
-Getting a training partner that you can trust (i.e. Someone that always shows up. Someone that is always there to pick you up).
-Hire a trainer to help hold you accountable and to design a program that fits your needs.
-Find a way to make it more exciting. I think everyone should incorporate weight training into their fitness routine. But if being “cooped-up” inside a gym all summer DOES NOT EXCITE YOU ONE BIT, get outside for part of your training.
Hell, you could get some TRX Straps and take them to the park (seriously) on a nice sunny day.
The main point is that it’s not JUST about results. Yes, I’d be pretty frustrated if my personal workouts led to a flabbier me, and I’m sure you would too. So, results DO matter. But remember, it’s not JUST about the results. EMBRACE THE PROCESS.
My Newest Toy – Chains!
May 15, 2012 by danny · Leave a Comment
When I was a kid I couldn’t sleep the night before Christmas. The thought of Santa and Rudolph up on my roof, about to deliver a bunch of presents, are you kidding me!?! Nothing could be more exciting to a 15 year old 5 year old!
Today, the UPS truck has replaced Santa. Whenever I order a new piece of equipment for my home gym, I’m like a little kid – looking out my window waiting for the UPS truck to deliver my new equipment. The newest arrival? Chains…
In the video above, I’m using them to perform a drop set. But the “main” use of these bad boys is “accommodating resistance.” As I talked about in this blogpost, bands and chains help match the strength curve. They increase the intensity of an exercise by allowing for maximum loading at every point of the range of motion.
Picture doing a bench press. Usually when you lift the bar off your chest, it can be very difficult. But when you get near lockout, the weight actually feels lighter/easier. By adding chains, the top portion of the lift can be just as difficult as the bottom portion of the lift. Here’s an example video…
Notice that when he brings the bar down to his chest, most of the chains are on the ground. Therefore they basically add no weight. But as he approaches lock out (the top of the lift), the majority of the chains are now off the ground, therefore making the top of the lift heavier than the bottom portion of the lift. Voila – the strength curve has been matched.
Chains added to the deadlift.
So, I’m excited to play around with these and incorporate them into my own training, and the training of my clients.
But, the take-home message is (or should be): Never stop being a kid. Find something that excites you in life! Even if it’s as simple as the UPS truck.
