QUESTION: I’m just making sure the deadline to start the challenge was extended to today. I hope so. I put my email in to follow this Bill Phillips Fitness News Blog to officially enter and I’m ready to start transforming my body and life! I’m in it to win it this time… for me finishing the 12 weeks and achieving my health goal is winning. I wouldn’t mind getting the $10,000 top prize also! =)
ANSWER: How exciting! You made it in just in time! Yes, by following this blog you are officially signed up and eligible to win the $10,000 top prize! Just get started today by taking your before photo (which I want you to hang onto for 12 weeks before you send it in — Click Here to see the Rules and Regulations for all the details).
When you do complete all 12 weeks, I guarantee you will feel healthier and happier. And who knows… somebody’s going to get that $10,000 top prize… it really could be you! Don’t forget, everyone who finishes the Summer Challenge and sends in their before and after photos will receive an Official Certificate of Achievement, a Transformation-blue workout shirt, and a Challenge Finishers Honor Medal. (I always say that the best prize Challenge Finishers will get is a renewed healthy body! =)
_______________________________________________
QUESTION: Bill, I have a lot of body fat to lose, is it ok to do cardio everyday along with the resistance training every other day?
ANSWER: Thank you for your question. You can do more cardio of course but I usually don’t recommend it. Over the past couple decades, what I have found works best is to keep the workouts brief but intense and most of all, CONSISTENT. I like to see people alternating days of weight training with days of cardio. For example, weight training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and cardio on Tuesday, and Thursday with the Saturday cardio workout being optional.
Intense Interval Exercise stimulates the metabolism by positively affecting cellular mitochondria energy production. This means that your body is burning more stored fat all day long and not just during the workout. Intense Exercise is powerful medicine and too much is akin to overdose — it can actually backfire and slow the metabolism. However, even the best exercise methods won’t make up for bad nutrition. It is imperative that we exercise AND eat right.
I have a friend, George, who has become 135 pounds lighter over the last year. He works out at my Transformation Center in Colorado and follows my 5/25 program to the T — he gets in 25 minutes of intense exercise, 5 days a week. He has 3 Right Light nutrition shakes a day and 2 or 3 portion-controlled Eating for Life meals.
George is 135 pounds lighter — he works out 25 minutes a day!
George’s body and life transformation is stunning because he did the right things very consistently for an entire year. He is stronger and healthier and has burned off 135 pounds, as I mentioned above. It seems like so much weight but when you get down to it, it’s just about 11 pounds per month. You don’t have to starve yourself or exercise for hours a day to trim off 11 pounds of unhealthy weight each month. I’m a big proponent of a balanced, practical approach.
Big progress is simply little progress compounded over time. It’s more important that your workouts are consistent than long. Whatever you do, just promise me you’ll combine exercise and eating right, and you’ll stick with it long enough to reach your goals and then some. You can do it!
~Bill Phillips
P.S. You can read my blog about George’s stunning transformation by clicking here.
__________________________________________
QUESTION: Which is better… the Body-for-Life weight-lifting routine, or your new 5/25 workout? I’m 46 years old and I want to lose 30 to 40 pounds of fat while getting my muscle definition back.
ANSWER: Both routines will give you a great workout. Both will help build muscle.
My newer version of the Body-For-LIFE free-weight workout is called 5/25 and it is the first program I’ve developed which is completely based on the science of High-Intensity Interval Strength Training.
Intense Interval Training has been proven in scientific studies to be the most effective exercise method when it comes to preventing heart disease, preventing stroke, accelerating the burning of bodyfat, and most important of all (in my opinion), increasing the size, number, and energy production of cellular mitochondria which is THE key to longevity. At age 48, my big reasons for working out are to prevent disease and keep my body as young, strong, and lean as possible — 5/25 High-Intensity Interval Strength Training helps me accomplish all that in one workout.
At Age 48, 5/25 Training Works Great for Me! ~Bill
Also, 5/25 works for me because I need a training method that hits the muscles hard but is easy on my tendons and ligaments. With 5/25 I can use less weight and still blast the muscles without injury. With BFL workouts I can lift quite a bit more weight (because of the rest between sets) and that’s not necessarily a good thing for me because I’m just strong enough to damage some nagging shoulder and knee tendon injuries that I’ve recovered from.
Learn more about 5/25 Training by reading my blog about it here on Bill Phillips Fitness News — just Click Here to go there! =)
_______________________________________________
QUESTION: Hi Bill, I started the challenge Monday and am super excited. I read your nutrition blog that showed your meal plans for a day and that helped me a lot. What are your thoughts on diet soda and alcohol? Complete no-no’s or moderation? Thanks for everything!
ANSWER: With nutrition, it is what we do most of the time, not some of the time, that shapes us. So drinking a diet soda from time to time (like I do) isn’t going to make or break your fitness.
Regarding alcohol, I use to drink on the weekends when I was in my 30’s and I stayed in really good shape virtually all decade. But once I got in my 40’s, my body’s response to alcohol changed — I felt awful the next day and drinking totally threw off my appetite for healthy foods. I stopped drinking alcohol 6 years ago and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Nowadays, I just don’t crave it or want it. I’ve tried drinking beer and wine again a handful of times over the years and each time it just made me feel unhealthy. I can’t figure out how I ever enjoyed it, but back when I was younger, I could get away with it somehow.
Anyways, there are some people who can have a beer or a glass of wine somewhat regularly, and do just great with their fitness transformations. More often than not, what I see is people who have a group of unhealthy habits which are often triggered by drinking and so I suggest that people who want to lose weight and get in shape at least consider giving up beer and alcohol for a few weeks and see how they feel. You can always go back to it if it doesn’t feel right for you, or just enjoy your drinks on Free Day (that one day a week you don’t have to workout or follow any rules).
All that being said, ultimately, what we’re trying to create here is a healthy, realistic, enjoyable new lifestyle for YOU. The key to long-term success is to like your new, healthy habits better than the old ones; in fact, if you don’t like them better, odds are, you’ll go back to your old patterns and way of living. ~Bill
__________________________________________
QUESTION: Hey Bill, quick question about STRONGEVITY Rx. I’m a woman who is on the way to becoming 50 pounds lighter and healthier. I’ve been taking 1 serving a day for a week now and I’m experiencing crazy amounts of energy during my workouts. Since I saw you at Transformation Camp, I am 30 pounds lighter. Now I’ve set a new 12-week goal of losing 20 more pounds of unhealthy weight. This past week though, my scale hasn’t moved. I’m eating 4 Right Light nutrition shakes, 1 serving of STRONGEVITY Rx, and 2 Eating for Life meals each day. I’m also following your 5/25 workouts and drinking 10+ glasses of water per day. I heard someone say that STRONGEVITY Rx might interfere with my weight loss. Does that make sense? Should I be using STRONGEVITY Rx while I’m trying to get rid of this next 20 pounds?
ANSWER: First thing’s first — You are doing incredibly well — 30 pounds lighter in just three and a half months is excellent progress! You’re losing the bodyfat, strengthening the muscles, and literally re-sculpting your body — not just losing weight. Congratulations!
Regarding STRONGEVITY Rx, we know it is a scientific truth that it will absolutely not cause a gain of bodyfat; in fact, studies show that biologically active cholecalciferol (Vit-D3) which is in STRONGEVITY Rx, increases the rate at which the body will burn stored fat as fuel.
The Creatine and CoQ10 combination in STRONGEVITY Rx , after the 4 to 6 week mark, will noticeably increase your metabolism (an increase in metabolism is caused by increased energy production by the cellular mitochondria). The ingredients I mentioned here, as well as L-Glutamine, do initially create a cell hydrating/cell-volumizing effect, and that’s a good thing! It means that there is more energy within the cell and even a slight increase in cytoplasm which, when we multiply times 75 trillion cells in the body, can add up to an initial kilogram increase in lean body mass for women (and up to 3 kg for men because of our higher number of mitochondria-rich muscle cells).
The increase in cellular hydration plateaus after the STRONGEVITY Rx nutrients have reached saturation levels within each cell. That typically happens within 2 weeks. So, this may be some of what you’re feeling. Keep in mind that it is a healthy process even though you might not see the scale go down for a week or two. The increase in lean body mass and cellular energy will kick your metabolism up a notch and allow you to train with even more intensity during your interval workouts, this will even further increase your metabolic rate, which of course, is also a good thing!
One thing I do want to suggest though… let’s try cutting back to three nutrition shakes a day for the next week and see how that feels. I’d like to see your daily meal plan consist of 3 nutrition shakes, 1 serving of STRONGEVITY Rx, and 2 protein and carbohydrate balanced, portion controlled meals. I think this might be just right for you at this point in your transformation.
Lastly, make sure you’re giving yourself credit for the incredible progress you’ve made so far. I guarantee that if you keep working hard and remain consistent, you WILL reach your next 12 week goal in championship style!
~Bill Phillips
—————————————–
If you like the information in this blog and want to receive, by email, my daily updates, tips, and news about fitness, please sign up to follow my blog right here at www.BillPhillipsNews.com — it’s completely FREE!
—————————————–
Here are some of my other blogs that can help you successfully transform:
Bill Phillips Fitness News 
Thank you for all the great info. I have a question regarding the answer to the questin on StrongevityRX. I started taking it as a supplement a few days ago. I put in my water after my work out or my shake. I’m eating 2 shakes, a bar, and 3 BFL meals This gentlemen was told to go to 3 shakes, 1 StrongevityRX, and 2 meals. Should I be using Stongevity as a meal replacement?
>________________________________ >From: Bill Phillips Fitness News >To: kjmulqueen@yahoo.com >Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 9:47 PM >Subject: [New post] Bill Phillips Answers Your Health and Fitness Questions > >billphillipsnews posted: “QUESTION: I’m just making sure the deadline to start the challenge was extended to today. I hope so. I put my email in to follow this Bill Phillips Fitness News Blog to officially enter and I’m ready to start transforming my body and life! I’m in it to wi” >
Hi Kim,
Thank you very much for your question. STRONGEVITY Rx is a targeted cellular energy supplement that can be added to nutrition shakes but it is not a meal replacement on its own. In the question and answer you mentioned I was recommending to the woman, who has been here to our Transformation Camp in Colorado, that she cut back to 5 protein and carbohydrate balanced feedings for a week or two to see how her body responds. 3 of those meals would be Right Light nutrition shakes and 2 would be whole food recipes from the Eating for Life book… those might include a piece of salmon, steamed vegetables and brown rice for dinner and perhaps a lean turkey sandwich on whole-wheat bread for lunch. 5 or 6 meals a day seems to work very very well for most women and how you are eating (2 shakes, a bar and 3 BFL meals) sounds like a very good plan. Stick with what you are doing for a couple week and let me know how you feel. I think you’re going to do great!
~Bill
Hi Bill I started my 12 week transformation today and was thinking of ordering the strongevity rx but was wondering if it will react with my High Blood presure medication, will this go well with any type of medication your on or this something i would need to show my doctor an ask him? Also was wonder if the mioplex lite still being sold I can’t seem to find it anywhere not even on bfl website they only have another eas product that does have the same taste as the mioplex lite….I have not had a chance to order the right light as yet but I love the mioplex lite that what I’ve been looking for
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you for your questions. Please do check with your doctor first but we have many clients here at our Transformation Center in Colorado who initially had hypertension/high blood pressure and through 25 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week, healthy eating, and use of supplements, including STRONGEVITY Rx, have seen tremendous improvement in their condition and I think it will work that way for you too.
Regarding Myoplex Lite, I’m not sure where they have that product anymore. Right Light is an excellent replacement for it though. Most all of our customers like the taste of Right Light better and the protein quality in our nutrition shakes is second to none. If you want to try Right Light it’s easy to order at our online store: http://www.EatingRight.com
Wishing you the best of health, always!
~Bill
Bill, I’m loving Strongevity Rx as well as Right Light. have question regarding 5/25 I’m missing something on the timing.
If I take a 1 minute break after each exercise and 2 min after each set. That’s 6 min rest on 5 exercise
If I repeat 5 times I have 30 minutes of rest
So how do I do this in 25 minutes.
Your friend,
Carlos
Hi Carlos,
Thank you for your question. What we want to do with the 5-25 workout is not take any rest between cycles of 5 exercises, we go right from one to the next. Once you are done all 5 exercises you take a 2 minute rest before starting again. You do that 5 times through. Take a look at my explanation and demonstration in the blog titles: ‘This is the Exact Workout I did Today.’ I have provided a link to it below.
Click Here to go to that blog and watch the video
Thank you so much for your support and keep my posted on how you’re doing.
Sincerely,
Bill
Bill you are so correct, It’s clearly my mistake, know I can see how I’m going to get that wonderful burn starting around the 3rd set:).
Your quick response was very refreshing, thanks.
A BFL lifer.
Carlos
Bill, I am a middle aged lady. The heaviest dumbells I use for the 5-25 is 5 lb. for lower body and 3 lb. for upper body. I don’t really feel a burn after the workout, and add an easy workout video because I am afraid to add weight. I am in excellent health other than 30 extra pounds, mostly on hips thighs and belly.Any suggestions for improvement?
Hi Emily,
Thank you very much for your questions. I think it’s fantastic that you’re getting started with lifting free-weights! When my wife Maria first started lifting weights about a year and a half ago she started just like you are. She used light weights and really focused on learning the proper form. After 2 weeks, she felt like she could go up ‘a little’ in the weights — she was doing 8 lbs dumbbells on bench press and 5 pounds for curls. She stuck with those weights for a couple weeks and then went up some more. It’s perfectly OK to be apprehensive about picking up heavier weights, it’s like that for all of us at first. Do try to go up in your weights gradually but always keep good form. You are stronger than you think and you will soon see for yourself — it’s very empowering to literally feel yourself getting stronger each week.
Keep going steady and keep going strong!
~Bill
Thank you for the boost in self confidence .I will read your Transformation book this week for the confidence that I need in every part of my life.
I can see my name on that certificate already!
Hi Bill – My wife and I are have received our Strongevity and will begin using it tomorrow. Can/should she continue to take AbCuts (CLA, GLA, ALA, Omega 3)?
Hi Bruce,
Thank you for your question and for ordering STRONGEVITY Rx. It’s fine for your wife to continue taking the essential fatty acid supplement along with STRONGEVITY Rx. I think you’ll both get some great results over the next month. Wishing you both the best of health always!
Bill Phillips
Hello Bill, I am Vivek from India. I just finished reading “Body for Life”.Thank you very much for this excellent book. I have some questions regarding Body for life weight training programme.For Each body part four exercises have been given in the book.We have to do two exercises out of these four exercises.For example I choose to do Dumbbell bench press and after that dumbbell flyes for chest.If I choose to do these two exercises for chest,Do I have to do these two exercises for 12 weeks or can I change the exercise between these 12 weeks? Like for one month I do dumbbell bench press and next month I do Incline dumbbell press instead of dumbbell bench press.So Can I change the exercise or do I have to do same exercise for 12 weeks? Please guide me regarding this matter.
Bill — I had started a 12-week BFL Program 5 weeks ago. I was using EAS Myoplexes because that’s how I did it 14 years ago and it worked just great then! But because the Myoplexes have no Creatine in them I got some from a separate source (MET-Rx).
Since starting I now understand EAS is not what it used to be and I ordered your RIGHT LIGHT and STRONGEVITY Rx a few days ago. Just started them today, in fact.
My question — is it okay to use up the Creatine I already have along with the STRONGEVITY Rx… or can you overdo on Creatine? I heard it may encourage water-retension and so inhibit weight loss. (It’s strange that in these 5 weeks I have not lost a single pound. My body does FEEL completely different – leaner, far more energy, fabulous mental state – but no weight loss on the scale. Could I have been drinking TOO MUCH water? I was probably drinking ten 16 oz bottles a day including what I mixed with some Branched Amino Acid product for during training (that was BEFORE I got the STRONGEVITY Rx!). Would that counteract weight loss?
Many thanks for your tremendous gift of BFL! I’m back on it for good now – I just want to do it RIGHT.
Alan
I have a question. You say muscles need recovery time between workouts. If I do lower body one day
( meaning legs) then do cardio the next I am basically working out my legs two days in a row. I just started the 12 week program and am sore after lower body and not sure if it’s good to work legs out again the next day?
Hi Jason, the stress caused by weight training is different than activity. Your body needs a rest day between weight training workouts. Hope that helps!