So with Friday being my first day back on Body for Life I thought I’d put together in writing exactly what I’ll be doing for the next 12 weeks. The training will be intense and the food will start to get old, but one of my favorite sayings is… Half of getting what you want is knowing what you have to give up to get it.

First and foremost I would like to stress my #1 fitness tip for anyone looking to lose weight (body fat)… Drink tons of water, but most importantly workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You want your body to use that stored body fat as your energy source for working out, not food that’s already in your stomach. This probably wouldn’t be the best way to train if you were an elite athlete, but in most people’s cases they’re just trying to lose weight (body fat). Then try to have your first meal of the day about 1 hour following your training and every 3 hours after that.

My weight training will be Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Fridays alternating upper body and lower body workout each lasting around 1 hour in length. Each time I go to the gym I will push my self harder and harder and increase the weights used. To make this easier I will bring a small notebook to keep track of everything. Typically I will do the same workouts for the most part for around 3 weeks at a time and then change it up as your muscles generally will adapt to any given exercise after about 3 weeks. This will constantly shock the muscles and cause them to grow.

My cardio training will be on Tuesday’s, Thursday’s and Saturday’s and will consist of everything from running, biking or the elliptical machine. My cardio training will be short, but extremely intense. The specific type of training I’ll be doing is called High Intensity Interval Training. It consists of only a 20-30 minute workout and will be split up into 5 minute segments. Each minute you will slowly raise your intensity level. So for instance if my first minute on the treadmill is a walk, then my next minute is a slow jog, then the next minute is a fast jog until I’m all out sprinting. Then after the 5th minute is complete I will take it right back down to a walk… then it all starts back over for another 5 minutes, but this time you try to make is slightly more intense. You continue to do this in 5 minute intervals until the 20 or 30 minutes is complete.

I will generally also do my abs on cardio days since cardio only takes 30 minutes to complete this leaves me plenty of time to do about 9 sets of crunches, physio ball crunches, hanging leg raises etc…

My nutrition plan will include eating 5-6 clean, low fat meals per day. I like to combine 3 meal replacement shakes like EAS Myoplex for men or women can use EAS Myoplex Lite which can be found at Sams Club with 2 or 3 regular meals like a grilled chicken breast, brown rice and mixed vegetables. I will eat like this 6 days/week and then on Sunday I will allow myself a cheat day to eat some of my favorite tasting meals. Doing this is not only mentally good for you, but it has physical benefits as well since your body will think it’s being deprived of calories at first. Most importantly though doing this really helps you mentally since it still allows you to relax on your diet even if it is for only a day. Now don’t go overboard here. Here’s a list of the top 10 nutritional guidelines for the Body for Life program.

For my 12 week Body for Life program I will be taking 3 different supplements to help aid my recovery and nourish my muscles. The first is EAS Myoplex for men, then second is EAS Phosphagen Elite (creatine) and the third is Centrum Performance multi-vitamins.

Here is my nutritional grocery list along with my weight training program and cardio training program.

To learn more general information about Bill Phillips 12 Week Body for Life Program visit BodyforLife.com directly.

If you’re unfamiliar with it definitely check out the 12 week program here. It was created by Bill Phillips the former CEO of the world’s largest sports supplement company called EAS.

The 84 day program is quite intense and combines intense weight training 3 days a week 60 minutes in length with extremely intense cardio training 20 minutes in length using what’s called high intensity interval training. Strength training and cardio training are alternated each day. So for instance Monday, Wednesday and Friday I would do weights and Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday I would do cardio. Then one day a week (Sunday) you get to completely rest.

Besides the intense exercise the program also includes a very healthy nutrition program based around the principles of a training athlete. 6 meals a day will be consumed approximately every 3 hours and will combine a portion of lean protein (about the size of your palm), a carbohydrate (about the size of a clenched fist) and a vegetable (also about the size of a clenched fist). See the authorized food list here. Then on Sunday’s you can eat anything you want. So if you want to go grab pizza or a burger… feel free to. It won’t hurt you at all as long as you don’t overdue it and as long as you get right back on track Monday morning. This “cheat day” as it’s referred to also allows you to maintain sanity and know that once a week you get to eat your favorite foods. This is extremely important for long term success.

Although this program is quite simply laid out I will be the first to tell you that it is not easy at all and unless you’re willing to give up some things in your life you’ll never make it. The reason this program works so well is that it’s the combination of intense training and nutrition for all 84 days. I will also tell you that if you follow it to the “T” you will probably be in the best shape of your life. Not just thin, but in “head turning shape.”

I plan to update this section of my blog each week as I go through this journey and do plan to post pictures and videos to help tell the story.