Get Lean St Starter Kit Tips & Resources to Help You Get in Shape and Jump Start Fat-loss
11 Ways To Get The Body You Want
11 Ways To Get The Body You Want
1. Ge Gett Mor More e Qua Quali lity ty Sl Slee eep. p. Bad sleep is probably the most difficult habit to shake and can easily have the biggest effect on weight loss. The more you sleep, the more likely you are to produce the hormones you need to help lose fat. Not sleeping enough will alter glucose sensitivity,, elevate your cortisol, screw up sensitivity your metabolism, and throw your hormones all out of whack. Regardless of how well you’re eating and hard you’re exercising, you could be working against yourself. By quality sleep, sleep, we mean 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a dark, cool room with ZERO distractions. Ditch the phone, block the windows, and kick out the dog. Go to your cave and watch your performance take off.
2. Set attai attainable nable goals goals that that you you have control over. Want to have that banging Instagram body? You can do that, but first you have to find out what’s in your way way.. We suggest you pick behavioral goals over outcome goals. For example, “I’m going to prepare 4 meals to eat for the next day each night.” This is a behavioral goal. goal. It’s something that you have control over. By having the foods prepared ahead of time you are more likely to succeed in sticking to your clean eating. An example of a bad goal might be, “I’m going to eat clean for the rest of the week.” This seems logical and ambitious, but if something comes up and you don’t have access to any clean food, then you will immediately fail. See the difference?
3. Follow a structured, specific training program and stick to it! I’ll be honest, any training program could help you lose weight. If you go from being an inactive sedentary person to exercising twice a week, you’ll probably see some results. But is that optimal? ...No. Our Barbell Shredded program is a comprehensive training program that includes specialized programming for maximizing muscle gain and fat loss. The ultimate goal is to help you earn and KEEP the progress you make.
4. Eat more protein. Yep, we want you to eat more often. You need way more protein than you’re likely eating. Most people think that they should be eating less to “starve” the fat off. That’s not always true. Protein is harder to process than carbs or fat, therefore your body has to burn more calories to metabolize it. Also, eating more protein will help you gain and keep more muscle mass, which will result in your body burning more calories at rest. That’s exactly what you want.
5. Eat more high-quality fat. It’s super common for folks who want to lose weight to cut out too much fat. That makes sense at first, but the truth is that you should only exclude bad fats. You need good fat because it’s going to increase your insulin sensitivity, burn carbs more efficiently, and decrease the chance of it being stored in your body as fat. Avocado, coconut, nuts, seeds, cocoa, fatty fish, grass-fed dairy and beef, there are many options. To avoid bad fats, skip foods that are high in trans fat. That means you should pretty much limit all crunchy, breaded and fried foods.
6. Eat more veggies & less processed carbs. When you eat leafy greens and low carb vegetables your body will no longer rely on glucose for its fuel source and will start to burn fat instead. You have to get nutrients from somewhere. Always try to get your vitamins and minerals from clean food sources, then use supplements where necessary. Some examples of low carb veggies include all leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards), tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, onions, garlic, cucumber, avocado, etc. Remember to ease in. Don’t immediately eliminate everything at once. Slowly taper down your processed carb intake so you’re less likely to burn out. Try to limit high carb veggies and fruits for after exercise only.
7. Create good habits. Take advantage of the technology around you. Set reminders on your iPhone or your computer. If you keep forgetting to take your Vitamin D, set an alert for every morning. After a few weeks you might notice you don’t need the reminder anymore. If you miss a day, never waste time dwelling on the fact that you failed. Instead, focus on why you failed. Let’s say you’re heading home from work and you’re hungry. You get to the house and your first stop is the fridge. You open it up and can’t help but go for the leftover pizza. Instead of focusing on the fact that you messed up and ate the bad food, ask yourself what led you there in the first place. The problem might be that you simply forgot to pack a meal to have handy late in the afternoon at work. That made you hungry and led to the bad decision.
8. Have a healthy relationship with food. Stop using words like “diet” and “cheat meal.” Diets do not lead to sustainable progress. You start, lose the weight, the diet ends, then weight comes back. That cycle will repeat over and over. Diets also socially isolate you. Who wants to go to a birthday party and not eat the cake? Not me. You shouldn’t have to make that kind of sacrifice to reach your goals. When you use terms like “cheat meal” you are setting yourself up for failure. There is shame involved. The name suggests that you’re breaking those diet rules again. Instead, give yourself permission to have a “treat meal.” This should be a guilt free reward. When you train hard you earn it, and you should enjoy it.
9. Learn to manage your stress. If you run around strung out with your cortisol levels through the roof you might also be carrying around excess body fat, especially around your waistline. How does high stress keep you fat? High levels of cortisol decrease your body’s insulin sensitivity . You have to find ways to calm yourself. Smart training, meditation, self-reflection, going for a walk, those are just a few ideas. When was the last time you went for a walk, completely unplugged from the world? No cell phone, no distractions, just you and your thoughts. The answer is likely not often enough.
10. Prepare your food ahead of time. Spending 2-3 hours once a week planning out and cooking your meals will help set you up for success for the rest of the week. Sitting down and actually eating the food is the easy part. The hard part is having it prepared and ready to go. If you don’t have the food prepared ahead of time you are highly increasing your chances of failure. You won’t learn it all in one week. Each week you’ll get better at cooking the food and you’ll find more efficient ways to prep. Start simple. Use crock pots. Make healthy stews and chili. Build on these ideas as you go.
11. Have patience. Remember, time is the only thing standing between you and your goals. Remain patient, work hard, and keep your focus on the daily effort. If you manage your time well and build solid habits you will have exactly the body you want.
2 weeks of workouts
Try out Barbell Shredded On the following pages are two actual training weeks from our Barbell Shredded program. These two weeks of training were taken from two different mesocycles (training months) each with a distinct goal. Let’s take a look at each:
“In Shape to Train” - Week 2 of Barbell Shredded This phase of training is focused on physically preparing you for the higherintensity strength and conditioning workouts presented later in the program. The overall volume of strength and conditioning movements is high in order to build a solid foundation of strength and work capacity so that you can perform maximally during the later training cycles. A great deal of emphasis is also placed on static holds, particularly with the handstands, to build shoulder stability and hollow body holds, L-sits, and plank holds to improve core stability. By emphasizing strength, stability, mobility, and good movement early on, you’ll have increased performance, less risk for injury and more success losing fat and getting lean.
“Aerobic Overdrive” - Week 1 4 of Barbell Shredded This phase of training will utilize longer durations of high-intensity conditioning to improve work capacity and melt body fat. Both raw strength and conditioning volume will peak during this phase. It will be extremely important to get enough food and rest in order to perform optimally and keep up with the physical demands of the program. Although the overall complexity of the movements will increase, the fundamentals of proper movement will still be stressed. Core stability and static holds will still be part of the program but you’ll see them more on the gymnastic only optional days as opposed to the main training days with the barbell. In summary, we’ll use high volume squats, deadlifts and presses along with high intensity metabolic conditioning. Combine this approach with solid nutrition to maximize fat loss while maintaining or even improving your overall strength.
In Shape To Train Week 2 Monday Warmup General Dynamic Warmup
Muscle A1: Bench Press 7RM EMOM Ping Pong, 3 sets: B1: 10 Barbell Row, tempo 11X1, heavy B2: 20 sec Ring Dip Support Hold
Conditioning 4 Rounds: In 90 sec: max L-Hang on Bar max no pushup burpees in remaining min rest 2 min between rounds Cash Out: Accumulate 2 min each side Pallof Press
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
In Shape To Train Week 2 Tuesday (Optional) Warmup General Dynamic Warmup
Muscle EMOM Ping Pong, 4 sets: A1: 25 Tuck Ups A2: 2 Cast Wall Walks
Conditioning 50-40-30-20-10 Squats Double Unders
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
In Shape To Train Week 2 Thursday Warmup General Dynamic Warmup
Muscle A1: Pause Front Squat 7RM, 2 sec pause EMOM Ping Pong, 3 sets: B1: 10 Split Squats (Right) B2: 10 Split Squats (Left)
Conditioning AMRAP 12 min: 3 Pullups, tempo 11X4 6 Overhead Squats 9 Kettlebell Swings (53#)
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
In Shape To Train Week 2 Friday (Optional) Warmup General Dynamic Warmup
Muscle EMOM Ping Pong, 4 sets: A1: 20 sec Handstand Hold A2: 30 sec Hollow Hold
Conditioning EMOM 10 min: 20 sec Run (85% effort) 40 sec Walk
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
In Shape To Train Week 2 Saturday Warmup General Dynamic Warmup
Muscle A1: Press 7RM Circuit EMOM, 4 sets: B1: 1 Rope Climb B2: 20 sec Bottom Ring Dip Hold B3: 10 Thrusters @ 40% of Front Squat 7RM rest 10 min Circuit EMOM, 3 sets: C1: 30 sec Plank Hold C2: 8 Ring Row, tempo 11X2 C3: 8 Box Jumps, 24"
Conditioning None
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
Aerobic Overdrive Week 14 Monday Warmup General Dynamic Warmup Muscle A1: Back Squat 8RM EMOM Ping Pong, 5 sets: B1: 6 Single Leg, Single Arm KB Deadlift (opposite hand to leg), heavy (right) B2: 6 Single Leg, Single Arm KB Deadlift (opposite hand to leg), heavy (left) *go barefoot here
Conditioning 30-20-10 Thrusters @ 40% of Front Squat 2RM Burpees Row for calories
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
Aerobic Overdrive Week 14 Tuesday (Optional) Warmup General Dynamic Warmup Muscle Ping Pong EMOM, 7 sets: A1: 30 sec Handstand Hold A2: 30 sec Hollow Hold
Conditioning 3 Rounds for time: 4 Cast Wall Walks 50 Double Unders 30 Arch Body Rocks 30 Tuck-Ups
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
Aerobic Overdrive Week 14 Thursday Warmup General Dynamic Warmup Muscle A1: Bench Press 8RM EMOM Ping Pong, 5 sets: B1: 12 Pushups with shoulder touches (touch each shoulder each rep) B2: 8 Barbell Rows @ Bench Press 8RM
Conditioning AMRAP 14 min: 4 Push Press @ 60% of Push Press 2RM, from the floor 6 Box Jumps (24”) 8 Ring Pullups, 1 sec pause at top, rings touching chest 10 KB Swings, Russian (70#)
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
Aerobic Overdrive Week 14 Friday (Optional) Warmup General Dynamic Warmup Muscle Ping Pong EMOM, 7 sets: A1: 10 V-Ups A2: 30 sec Arch Body Hold
Conditioning EMOM 14 min: 30 sec Run (90% effort) 30 sec Walk
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
Aerobic Overdrive Week 14 Saturday Warmup General Dynamic Warmup Muscle A1: Pause Front Squat 8RM, 2 sec B1: Hang Power Clean 6RM EMOM, 6 sets: C1: 2 Hang Power Clean @ 6RM
Conditioning 6 Rounds: 3 Squat Clean Thrusters @ Hang Power Clean 6RM 10 Overhead Walking Lunge with 45# plate 3 Ring Dips 50 Double Unders
Cooldown Mobility Exercises
Recipes & grocery List
Barbell Shredded Recipes On the following pages are two weeks worth of quick and easy bulk recipes from Paleo food blogger and Barbell Shrugged athlete, Christina Gallant of paleomadeperfect.com and Stephanie Gaudreau of stupideasypaleo.com. Preparing meals in bulk is the best way to save time and ensure you’ll always be prepared to have something tasty and healthy on hand instead of grabbing the most convenient and maybe less than healthy option. Each of the recipes will prepare around 4-5 servings of the meal depending on how much you eat. You’ll also find a shopping list with all the ingredients you may need to purchase when going to the grocery store. We suggest going to the grocer once a week with your list of everything you need to buy to make these meals or others, come straight home and immediately start preparing your meals for the week. By preparing all your meals at once, you won’t have to spend valuable time continuously going grocery shopping, cooking and then cleaning. You’ll have more time to focus on more important things like your loved ones, your work and your training. Enjoy!
week 1: Bulk Recipes
Breakfast Chicken and Spinach Egg Cups Ingredients • • • • • • •
! cup
coconut milk 2 cups diced spinach 1 cup shredded chicken 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp garlic powder dash of hot sauce (optional) 9 eggs
Directions 1. 2. 3. 4.
Whisk eggs and coconut milk, add chicken, spinach, and seasonings. Using olive oil or coconut oil spray, coat a muffin tin well. Portion egg mixture evenly in cups. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Notes Serves: 4-5
Lunch Avocado Chicken Salad Ingredients • • • • • •
2 cups shredded roasted chicken (roast mine seasoned with garlic, sea salt, and pepper) 1 cup mashed avocado (about 1 1/2 large avocado) 1 tsp lime juice 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp sea salt 5 pieces of crisp bacon, crumbled
Directions 1. Place all of your ingredients in your stand mixer with it’s paddle attachment and let it mix until it’s completely combined. 2. Serve on a bed of mixed greens.
Notes Serves: 4-5 Source: https://paleomadeperfect.wordpress.com/2014/07/17/avocado-chicken-salad/
dinner Paleo Thai Noodles Ingredients • • • • • •
1lb steamed shrimp 1lb cooked spaghetti squash 4oz carrot (one large carrot) 1 English cucumber 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the sauce: • 2 tbs almond butter • 1 tbs lime juice • 1/2 tbs ginger paste • 1/2 tsp minced garlic • 2 tbs coconut aminos • 1 tsp flax oil • 1 tsp chili paste
Instructions 1. Prepare your spaghetti squash using your favorite method. Personally, I poke holes all over it, wrap it in aluminum foil, and bake it at 400 for 45 min to an hour. I cut it in half after it’s baked and remove the seeds. If I see it needs to cook longer and that time then I will accordingly. 2. Scrape your spaghetti squash into a large bowl. 3. Using a vegetable peeler, remove skin from carrot and discard. Then continue using the peeler to peel the carrot right in to your bowl with the spaghetti squash. 4. Next is your cucumber. This time you can peel the skin right in to your dish, as you begin peeling through the flesh of the cucumber stop once you get close to the seeds.
5. You can discard the core of the cucumber or eat is as a snack, it’s just too wet to be in the dish. 6. Add your sea salt and pepper and toss the veggies together until they’re mixed well. 7. In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the sauce and whisk together. 8. Add the steamed shrimp and sauce to your veggies and serve!
Notes Serves: 4-5 Source: https://paleomadeperfect.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/paleo-thai-noodles/
week 1 Shopping list BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
Chicken and Spinach Egg Cups
Avocado Chicken Salad
Paleo Thai Noodles
Meat and Eggs
Dried Goods
Canned Goods
Boneless skinless chicken breast- 4 lbs Steamed shrimp- 1lb Eggs- 9 Nitrate free bacon- 5 pieces
Garlic powder Sea salt Black pepper
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Dairy and Fats
Miscellaneous
Almond butter Coconut milk Flax oil
Chili paste Hot sauce
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Fresh Produce Avocado- 2 Spaghetti squash- 1 large English cucumber - 1 Carrot- 1 (4oz) Limes- 2 Garlic- 3 cloves Spinach- 2 cups Mixed Greens - 1 bag Ginger paste ___________________________ ___________________________ ___________________________
Coconut Aminos
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“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.” - Julia Child
week 2: Bulk recipes
Breakfast Banana Chia Pudding Ingredients • • • •
2 ripe bananas 1.5 cup coconut milk 4 tablespoons chia seeds 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions 1. 2. 3. 4.
In a food processor or blender, combine the banana and coconut milk. Process until smooth. Throw in the chia seeds and pulse a few times to mix evenly. Pour into a container and chill for an hour to let the chia seeds plump up a bit.
Notes Serves: 4-5 Source: Stephanie Gadreau http://stupideasypaleo.com/2014/02/05/3-ingredient-banana-pudding/
Lunch Greek Chicken Salad Ingredients • • • • • •
3 lbs chicken, cut into parts (boneless, skinless breast or thigh works particularly well) Zest of 1 lemon 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 Tbsp dried oregano (or substitute 3 Tbsp fresh oregano) 1/4 tsp salt to taste 2 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
Directions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the bottom of a large casserole dish or deep roasting pan. Pat chicken dry with paper towel and place in the prepared casserole dish. Combine lemon zest, garlic, oregano, and salt. Melt coconut oil and mix with spices. Pour over chicken and mix to coat (this is easiest using your hands). Arrange chicken in a single layer and bake for 30 minutes, or until fully cooked. Optional: drizzle fresh lemon juice over the chicken before eating. Enjoy! Serve with your favorite lettuce, olives, and roasted peppers!
Notes Serves: 4-5
dinner Spiced Turkey Sliders w/Roasted Veggies Ingredients Sliders: • 4 medium sweet potatoes (6-7oz each) • Olive oil • Sea salt • Black pepper • 3 tbs garlic cloves • 1.5 cup walnuts • 2 tsp cumin • 2 tsp nutmeg • 2 tsp paprika • 1/2 tsp cayenne • 2 lb ground turkey • 1 tsp sea salt
Veggies
• • • • • • • • • •
2-3 zucchini, cut lengthwise into fourths, and then slice into bite size pieces 2-3 yellow squash, sliced same as zucchini 1 red pepper, cut into 1" pieces 1 red onion, cut into wedges 1 package whole mushrooms 1 garlic clove, minced 1-2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 Tbsp. rosemary leaves 1 tsp. kosher salt
Instructions 1. Preheat your oven to 375. 2. Slice your sweet potatoes in to 1/2 inch thick rounds. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. 3. Bake 15 minutes, flip once, and continue baking an additional 15 minutes. 4. While your sweet potatoes are baking begin working on your turkey burgers. In a food processor combine walnuts, garlic, cayenne, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, and sea salt. Pulse until you have a smooth paste. 5. In a large bowl combine ground turkey and seasoning paste and mix well. 6. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and grease with coconut oil. 7. Using a large melon baller (still smaller than an ice cream scoop) measure out sliders, flatten, and place in pan. Be careful not to overcrowd your pan. 8. Cook 3-5 min per side, checking to make sure your sliders are cooked through completely. Veggies: 1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray (or you can foil line the baking sheet and spray the foil). 3. Mix all of the cut up vegetables and garlic in a large bowl. 4. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss until all the vegetables are covered. 5. Add rosemary leaves and salt, and toss again. 6. Roast the vegetables for about 30 minute, stirring once. You will know the vegetables are done when they are brown on the outside edges and tender on the inside.
Notes Serves: 4-6. Original recipe was doubled. Source: Sliders: https://paleomadeperfect.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/paleo-spicedturkey-sliders/ Veggies: http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/roasted-vegetable-medley.html
week 2 Shopping list BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
Banana Chia Pudding
Greek Chicken Salad
Spiced Turkey Sliders w/ Roasted Veggies
Meat and Eggs
Dried Goods
Canned Goods
Chicken (B/S) - 3 lbs Ground turkey- 2 lbs
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Walnuts - 1.5 cups Cumin Nutmeg Paprika Cayenne Sea salt Oregano Rosemary
Fresh Produce
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Dairy and Fats
Miscellaneous
Olive oil Coconut milk Coconut oil
Chia seeds - 4 tbsp Vanilla extract Balsamic Vinegar - 1-2 tsp ___________________________
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Mixed greens Roasted red bell peppers Olives of your choice Sweet potato- 4 Banana - 2 Garlic cloves - 8 Lemon - 1 Zucchini - 2 or 3 Yellow Squash - 2 or 3 Red Pepper - 1 Red Onion - 1 Mushrooms - 1 package ___________________________
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“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.” - Julia Child
frequently asked questions
How much water should I drink? Start with aiming for half your bodyweight in ounces per day. So if you weigh 160 pounds, drink about 80 ounces of water a day. Add a little more for every training session you have.
However, we don’t recommend mixing multiple programs at the same time. This is a strength gain/fat loss program written to deliver results, but it will only work if you follow the plan and focus your efforts.
Will you show me how to prepare food?
What supplements do I need?
Yes, we’ll offer several ideas and recommendations on how to cook food in bulk to prepare for the week.
Supplements are supplemental. They help fill in what you might be missing from your diet. So, always aim for whole foods first. Once your food sources are dialed in you can break out the supplements to help speed up and maintain progress.
Should I be counting calories?
How many carbs should I eat, and when should I eat them? This depends on your bodyweight and activity level. We typically recommend low carb vegetables as your main source. Save any high carb/high starch fruits and veggies for after workout sessions.
Can I still do the open? What about taking classes, working out with friends, or doing my own workouts every once in a while? Of course! We build in optional days for those who might want to go and have some extra fun with friends or try some other workouts.
Not every day. We do recommend occasionally checking your caloric intake through the use of a digital calculator. Just to make sure you’re eating enough food. Other than that, we don’t want you obsessing over numbers. Remember, this program is about sustainability.
What’s best, paleo, zone, or IIFYM? There is no best. A combination of all of them might be what you find yourself implementing. Again, this program isn’t about following a diet. We want to change your lifestyle.
When can I have a cheat meal? You’re not a cheater. You’re someone who works hard and deserves a treat. We definitely recommend it from time to time. Just be sure that it’s within reason and it stays within a single meal. You don’t need to have a “treat day.” Do it once or twice a week. Enjoy it guilt free.
Is it ok if I don’t eat breakfast?
How soon can I expect to lose weight?
It’s okay if you accidentally miss a breakfast. But we don’t recommend skipping meals.
That depends on where you are currently. If you do everything correctly in the beginning you can see some great results fast!
If you go an extended period of time without eating your body is tricked into thinking it’s starving. So, the next time you feed it will start to protect itself by storing energy. You will get hungry, and that’s the easiest way, the hungrier to choose bad foods.
Do I need more cardio? No, this is a common misconception. Shorter bouts of high intensity exercise are going to improve fat burning over standard long duration cardio. It’s not always about how much energy you use while training, it’s about what happens the rest of the day. Think about it like this. Training really hard for a few intervals will take more recovery time than going for an easy 20 minute run. Intense anaerobic training pulls your body further out of its steady state environment (homeostasis). Therefore, it takes more time and energy to get balanced again. You’ll get a bigger bang for your training buck.
But keep in mind that progress takes time. Let’s say you are 200 pounds and want to lose 20 pounds of fat. After the first month you might lose 5 pounds. Divide up the remaining 15 pounds and spread it out over the course of 6 more months. That would mean losing just 2.5 pounds of fat a month for just 6 more months. Get the idea? With a little patience you can achieve amazing results.
Will I stay strong? We want you to stay strong. More muscle means more fat burning. But it will depend on where you currently are. If you’re a world record bench presser and you lose 50 pounds, we can’t guarantee your bench press won’t go down. But you will be able to perform very well during most WODs.
Will I learn how to Olympic lift better? Yes! We do some Olympic lifting, it’s just not the primary focus of the program. We still recommend you do the drilling and extra work that’s need on the side to help master the movements.