MY SECRET REVEALED:

The Perfect Equation
By Dana Jacober

Just about the same time my abs started poking through and my shoulders started to pop, the countless questions and inquiries from friends, family and even strangers started coming at me. Everyone wanted to know what I did and what tips did I have to share. It was as if I had some huge secret that I finally cracked. Well, I’m here to finally tell the “secret” you have all been waiting for. It’s the exact secret that just about every lean, athletic, well built and conditioned person knows. The secret is, there is no secret. There are no short cuts. There are no magic pills to pop or wacky diets to follow. I know this answer might be disappointing but don’t despair, I wont leave you hanging.

I’m not here to throw around scientific facts and give exact numbers or measurements for anything. Each human is different. Yes, there are those who are blessed with amazing metabolisms who can eat whatever they want and never gain an ounce of fat but that’s not really who I’m directing this article towards. Maybe you go to the gym and weight train but you still have that layer of fat over your muscles. Or maybe you do tons of cardio on the treadmill or in Spinning classes but you don’t have those hard, shapely legs and tight abs. Or maybe you eat small amounts of food and go to the gym whenever you think of it but still look the same all the time. Or maybe you just don’t do anything but jump from one fad diet to the next and try every pill advertised claming to make you thin.

Well, I’ll tell you what. I have been all of those people and I can tell you this, I never achieved the results I wanted with any of those methods. It’s just not possible.
Whenever you see people at the gym, on the beach or in magazines with rock hard lean bodies, they all worked for it! The one thing I can tell you for sure is that they all implemented the same equation. That equation isn’t a secret:

Weight training
+ Cardiovascular work
+ A healthy diet
+ Rest and recovery
= An athletic healthy body

Actually, if there were a secret it would be that you CAN NOT leave out any part of this equation. The only way to shape and firm your body is by weight training. When I say weight training I mean really pushing and challenging your muscles with plenty of resistance. If you’re reading this and you’re female, go as heavy as you want. I promise, you wont get “big and bulky” because you don’t have the hormones to. Seriously, don’t believe that you will “bulk up” if you train with weights. Girls just do not have the testosterone needed to add huge amounts of muscle mass. Plain and simple!

And, as much as we may hate to do it, the only way to burn the fat and calories to reveal those hard-earned muscles is with plenty of cardiovascular training. This not only burns calories while you’re doing it but also helps speed up your metabolism for several hours after you’re done working out. What a bonus! Of course those two things are a wonderful start but lets not forget the massive importance of diet. Diet can make or break your physique. Studies show that up to70-80% of your success in any training program boils down to the effectiveness of your nutrition plan.

Let me give you an example: In college I trained A LOT with weights, did tons of cardio and even taught spinning classes, sometimes two in row. I was burning loads of calories but guess what, I still struggled tremendously with my weight. It all came down to my diet. It was the missing link. Even though I was working out like crazy, I was eating way too much. I ate way too much of the good stuff and way too much of the “other” stuff too. My portion sizes were massive. Then of course there were times I would try to “watch my weight” so I would eat tiny amounts and drop my calories too low. All I was doing was slowing down my metabolism. Now, here’s the tricky part, to get really lean and ripped, you can’t eat clean some of the time and then pig out the other part of the time. It just doesn’t work like that. Trust me, I wish it did but think about it, if that’s all it took wouldn’t you see a lot more people walking around looking amazing?

In order to get a great physique, it takes hard work and lots of discipline. For most people with hectic schedules it’s not an easy thing to do. Many bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors have to carry coolers around with them all the time to make sure they always have the proper food to fuel their muscles. Oh, and don’t forget water. If you don’t want to hold water and bloat, the more water the better. When I diet, I drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day. Eating clean all the time requires a lot of preparation, will power and sacrifice.

And last but not least, you must let your body rest and recovery. Many people over train and never give their bodies time to heal and grow. My weight training workouts typically take about 45-60 minutes in the gym. This is the time I’m working hard and tearing down my muscles. However, this is not when you’re actually building muscle. The building time comes when you’re done. Now your muscles can heal and use all the important nutrients from your clean diet to grow and recover for the next workout. Sometimes taking a day off can be the best thing you can do for your body. When I take a day off, I usually have even better workouts the following week because my body is rested and ready to work hard for me again.

The most important key word to sum up this equation and I really, REALLY stress its IMPORTANCE….is…. Consistency!! If you really want to see improvements in your body you absolutely must be consistent with your plan. You cannot do some things some of the time or start and stop again and again. You must be patient and give your plan a chance. Give you body time to adjust. In the past, I would do a plan for a week and if I didn’t see the scale drop I would figure it wasn’t working. Real fat loss takes time. You must make this equation into a lifestyle. So there is your answer. That’s how I got my abs….and the rest of my physique. I weight trained hard, did lots and lots of cardio, ate plenty of protein, veggies and whole grains and got lots of rest. I did it day in and day out without fail and finally found success with my plan!