Body For Life Program - A 12 Week Journey

The Body for Life Free Day

You have been following the Body for Life Plan for six days straight. Do you deserve a break?

Luckily for you after doing an upper body workout, cardio, lower body workout, more cardio, another upper body workout, then even more cardio, you make it to the seventh day of the week. And on this seventh day you shall rest. Ignore all that you have been following for the last six days, don’t worry about working out or doing any cardio. Even forgot about making sure you follow The Body for Life Diet Plan. Forget about all those meal replacement shakes and bars that you have been having. This is your day so enjoy it.

Bill Phillips advocates this seventh day, or free day as a way to throw your metabolism off whack. I think it is just a day where you can forget about everything, relax and enjoy your rewards. Have that donut for breakfast if you want. Don’t remember what pizza tastes like? Don’t worry, on this seventh day or free day you can eat what ever you want.

Just remember the way back will come but once. Before your free day is over, get rid of all those temptations, because when you wake up on Monday, you will have to have the will power to go back to the Body for Life Diet Plan. Having that leftover donut sitting on the counter will make it that much harder to get back to the grind.

Did you enjoy your free day? Don’t worry there is another one around the corner, all you have to do to get there is two lower body workouts, three cardio workouts, and one upper body workout. No problem.

posted by Oshburg @ 7:55 PM 1 comments

The Body for Life Diet Plan

Besides utilizing the cardio, upper body and lower body workouts, understanding the Body for Life diet plan might be the most essential part of completing the program with success. Like I stated before in my summary of The Body for Life Challenge, I have been working put regularly for years with moderate success. I believe following The Body for Life diet plan will bring me the success I have been looking for. I have read and re-read both the original Body for Life Book and the newer Eating for Life book which elaborated further on The Body for Life diet plan. I can save you some reading and summarize what The Body for Life diet plan consists of.

First off let me stress that The Body for Life diet plan is not actually a diet at all. Bill Phillips, the author of the two above mentioned books stresses over and over that it is not a diet but more of a lifestyle change. The only real restriction you have is in portion control. There is no calorie counting involved in this plan! As long as you eat from the three groups of foods that he recommends you eat at every meal and stick to portion controls you should not have to worry about counting calories. The food categories consist of proteins, carbohydrates, and vegetables, which are all part of Bill's authorized food list. Not having to count calories is nice but the hardest part of The Body for Life diet plan will be eating all six meals a day and spacing them out 2-3 hours apart.

Eating Six Daily Meals:
These six daily meals consist of one portion each of proteins and carbohydrates. Vegetables should be consumed with two of your daily meals. The portion size of carbohydrates and proteins is the size of your hand clenched in a fist. Also with every meal you should drink a large glass of water as Bill Phillips recommends drinking 10 glasses of water a day. As I stated above eating these six meals a day is going to be one of the hardest parts, first because the restrictions on what you can eat and second the amount of times you have to eat. I recommend going to the Eating for Life website or purchasing the book so you know more about what foods you can and can not eat on this plan. Getting in the six meals a day can be hard because of time constraints and because of budget issues. To make it easier to get in six meals a day you have to plan out your meals in advance. Precooking your weekly meals is also a good idea, it will save you time each day and it will make it easier to follow the plan. Planning in advance allows you to avoid the pitfalls of not having anything ready to eat, then instead of cooking something you just eat whatever is quick. When I start my program I will give you a list of what I ate for all six meals of the day. Another way to get in your six daily meals is to substitute in Meal Replacement Shakes and Bars. So instead of cooking six meals a day you can substitute in a meal replacement shake or bar. This will not only save you time, it will also save you money if you purchase the right shakes.

Why would six meals a day work?

Are you thinking: Why should you I eat even more meals than I am eating right now? Why would six meals a day work? A lot of people believe that eating less will bring the results that they are looking for. In fact, you might actually be losing muscle and gaining weight if you are either starving yourself or are only eating two to three large meals every day. By following the Body for Life diet plan and eating six small meals a day and exercising properly you should see better results than starving your self or over eating.

Every ones metabolism is different, but if you are eating only two to three large meals every day then you are not making your metabolism work as hard as it should be working. Or, you might feel tired and you might just spend the time in between the two or three large meals snacking on junk food. If you are always hungry and tend to shy away from eating when you should, you are probably not helping out your body. Instead of burning fat, by not eating enough during the day your body is actually storing fat and eating away at your stored protein instead. Along with this your body will not have the energy it needs. So when you make it to the gym you don’t really feel like exercising, or you end up only workout for a short period of time.

Body for Life Sample Meal Plan:

Breakfast:
Four egg whites, one yolk, two pieces of whole wheat toast, tall glass of water

Snack 1:
Meal replacement supplement (protein shake), mixed with water

Lunch:
Baked chicken breast, steamed brown rice, side of broccoli, tall glass of water

Snack 2:
Meal replacement supplement (protein shake), mixed with water

Dinner:
Salmon filet, one medium baked potato, 1 cup steamed vegetables, tall glass of water

Snack 3:
One cup of fat free cottage cheese, one cup pineapple tidbits, handful of almonds (no salt added) and one tall glass of water,

Eating Plan Summary:
1) Remember portion control
2) Each meal should consist of one portion carbohydrates, one portion protein
a. two meals should include portion of vegetables
3) Drink lots of water. Try to get in 10 glasses of water a day. This will help you to hold off the hunger if it is not time to eat the next meal yet.
4) Space the meals out 2-3 hours
5) Plan ahead. It makes sticking to the Eating for Life plan much easier

posted by Oshburg @ 11:44 AM 0 comments

Body for Life – The Lower Body Workout

Well in the last two days I have went over and summarized the Cardio Workout Summary and the Body for Life upper body workout. As mentioned in previous posts, it is key to understand all the concepts of the Body for Life program so today I will give you the rundown on the Body for Life lower body workout. The Body for Life lower body workout should be done once the first week, then twice the second week, then once the third week and twice the fourth week and so on until you have completed your Body for Life Program. This is shown in the example below.

Body for Life Workout Week 1 Body for Life Workout Week 2
Monday: Upper Body Monday: Lower Body
Tuesday: Cardio Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Lower Body Wednesday: Upper Body
Thursday: Cardio Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Upper Body Friday: Lower Body
Saturday: Cardio Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Free Day Sunday: Free Day

Body for Life - Lower Body Workout
The Body for Life lower body workout utilizes the following muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and abdominals. Every time you do a lower body workout you will work each one of the above mentioned muscles. My advice would be to do the muscles in the order listed above working the largest muscle first and then moving down to the smallest. This way you will have more energy when working the larger muscles. Remember it is always a good idea to stretch and warm up before you workout, even if you are just doing cardio that day!

As with the Body for Life – Upper Body Workout you will work each muscle group with 6 sets. The number of reps per set varies but you start off with a warm up set of 12 reps, then add weight, do 10 reps, add weight, do 8 reps, add weight, do 6 reps. Then you do one set of 12 reps with the same weight you just did with 8 reps. Immediately after the set of 12 reps you do a different exercise (working the same muscle) for another set of 12 reps. This can sound a little complicated but I will give you an example workout below.

Body for Life – Example Lower Body Quadriceps Workout

Set Exercise Reps Weight Rest Between Sets
1 Squats 12 135 lbs 1 Minute
2 Squats 10 185 lbs 1 Minute
3 Squats 8 225 lbs 1 Minute
4 Squats 6 275 lbs 1 Minute
5 Squats 12 225 lbs 0 Minutes
6 Leg Extensions 12 145 lbs 2 Minutes

During the Body for Life Lower Body quadriceps workout the key is to hit your high points by only resting 1 minute between sets. Your high point should come on set 5 and carry over to set 6. Remember after set 5 there should be no rest period. After you have finished the 5th set immediately move onto set 6, changing up the exercise. Have this workout set up beforehand, this way you can jump right over to it without wasting any time. After you have finished all 6 sets you get a two minute rest period. Get some water and move on, two minutes is not as long as it seems. As in the Body for Life upper body workout, the key is to keep a rigorous pace. This fast pace will be the key to maximizing your weight loss and building your body for life.

posted by Oshburg @ 1:39 PM 0 comments

Title: Body for Life – The Upper Body Workout

In my previous post I covered the Body for Life – Cardio Workout Summary. Before you begin your Body for Life program it is key to understand the Body for Life process, so today I will break down the Body for Life upper body workout. The upper body workout is mixed in with cardio and the lower body workout. The Body for Life upper body workout should be done twice the first week, then once the second week, then twice the third week and once the fourth week until you have completed your Body for Life Program. This is shown in the example below.

Body for Life Workout Week 1 Body for Life Workout Week 2
Monday: Upper Body Monday: Lower Body
Tuesday: Cardio Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Lower Body Wednesday: Upper Body
Thursday: Cardio Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Upper Body Friday: Lower Body
Saturday: Cardio Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: Free Day Sunday: Free Day

Body for Life - Upper Body Workout
The Body for Life upper body workout utilizes the following muscles; Chest, back, shoulders, triceps and biceps. Every time you do an upper body workout you will work each one of the above mentioned muscles. My advice would be to do the muscles in the order listed above working the largest muscle first and then moving down to the smallest. This way you will have more energy when working the larger muscles. Remember it is always a good idea to stretch and warm up before you workout, even if you are just doing cardio that day!

You will work each muscle group with 6 sets. The number of reps per set varies but you start off with a warm up set of 12 reps, then add weight, do 10 reps, add weight, do 8 reps, add weight, do 6 reps. Then you do one set of 12 reps with the same weight you just did with 8 reps. Immediately after the set of 12 reps you do a different exercise (working the same muscle) for another set of 12 reps. This can sound a little complicated but I will give you an example workout below.

Body for Life – Example Upper Body Chest Workout

Set Exercise Reps Weight Rest Between Sets
1 Bench Press 12 135 lbs 1 Minute
2 Bench Press 10 185 lbs 1 Minute
3 Bench Press 8 205 lbs 1 Minute
4 Bench Press 6 225 lbs 1 Minute
5 Bench Press 12 205 lbs 0 Minutes
6 Incline Barbell Press 12 65 lbs 2 Minutes

During the upper body Body for Life chest workout the key is to hit your high points by only resting 1 minute between sets. Your high point should come on set 5 and carry over to set 6. Remember after set 5 there is no rest period. Immediately move onto set 6, changing the exercise. It is actually easier to have this workout set up beforehand, this way you can jump right over to it. After you have finished the two 6 sets you get a two minute rest period. Get some water and move on, two minutes is not as long as it seems. If you are new to working out or are accustomed to taking your time at the gym you are going to struggle at first. The pace is vigorous but it is the key to weight loss and building your body for life.

If you are new to weightlifting then you will find out that after this workout you will be sore. I found that Meal Replacement Shakes and Bars tend to help out with the recovery process. Combine this with a multi Vitamin and some aspirin and your muscles should forgive you, at least until the next days workout.

Feel free to post comments or questions. Tomorrow I will cover the lower body workout.

posted by Oshburg @ 2:48 PM 1 comments

Body for Life – Cardio Workout Summary

I have been working out for some time now so it was easy for me to understand the workout program that Body for Life presented. For the beginner the task at hand can be a little daunting. I do recommend reading the book, but if you don’t have time or you have already read the book and do not quite get what is going on I will simplify the process for you.

Body for Life Workout – Cardio Three Days a Week
The Body for Life workout consists of doing cardio vascular exercises three days a week at intervals of 20 minutes. These three twenty minute exercises are very important, especially if you want to realize the Cardio Health Benefits. The cardio exercise focus on high intensity interval training. Basically what this means is that you want to keep pushing yourself more and more through out the 20 minute period when doing your Body for Life cardio workout.

Here is an example of a treadmill workout using the high intensity interval training method from Body for Life. First off remember to stretch before beginning your workout as it will save you some aches and pains. Then warm up on the treadmill for the first two minutes. After the two minutes are up increase the speed so you are running at about 60% of your max. Do this for one minute and then increase your speed to 70% of your max. Do this for one minute and then increase your speed to 80% of your max. Do this for one minute and then increase your speed to 90% of your max. After that minute is up slow your speed down to 60% of your max and start the process all over. You repeat this entire process of going from 60% to 90% three times. Finally on the fourth time you are going through the process you go from 60% to 100% of your max. The Body for Life program really stressed the last two minutes as they are very important to your weight loss goals.

Start
2 Minute warm-up

Cycle 1
1 Minute @ 60%
1 Minute @ 70%
1 Minute @ 80%
1 Minute @ 90%

Cycle 2
1 Minute @ 60%
1 Minute @ 70%
1 Minute @ 80%
1 Minute @ 90%

Cycle 3
1 Minute @ 60%
1 Minute @ 70%
1 Minute @ 80%
1 Minute @ 90%

Cycle 4
1 Minute @ 60%
1 Minute @ 70%
1 Minute @ 80%
1 Minute @ 90%
2 Minutes @ 100%

This is the basic underlying concept to the three days of cardio. This high intensity interval training can apply to elliptical machines, treadmills and other forms of cardio. If you have any comments or questions let me know. Tomorrows post will cover the three days of weight lifting in the program.

posted by Oshburg @ 3:22 PM 2 comments

My Body for Life Challenge

I will be starting my body for life challenge soon. I just got back from vacation and I do not want any hassles at work or at home to tie me up. I have been weight lifting and exercising for the past couple of years. Although I am relatively happy with the results that I have been seeing, I want to push my self further. My body for life challenge will not only help to shape my body the way that I want it to look it will also help me to better shape my lifestyle. I believe that is the key to achieving the health and fitness goals that I desire. A combination of eating healthy and exercising will help me complete my body for life challenge and help me to achieve my fitness goals.

I invite you to participate by reading my daily posts on the successes and failures of my body for life challenge. Feel free to ask questions or post comments on. I hope to get some pictures up soon that will show my progress from start to finish. My next body for life challenge post will be a summary of what the body for life challenge is all about. I will mention the basics of the exercise program and include a summary of the eating for life program.

posted by Oshburg @ 2:22 PM 0 comments