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Losing fat and changing your body can truly be life changing for my clients. It obviously has a physiological affect on them. This includes more mobility, balance and lower blood pressure to name a few. Additionally, your knees will thank you. There are simply too many to list here, but you get the point. The strength gains from working out are also life changing. This is true to the point that it can even allow people to simply enjoy things they couldn’t when heavier. One of my clients was over 400 lbs, and as he dropped, he could finally get down on the floor and play with his kids. Something that is amazing, as before he came to me, he wouldn’t do it as he needed help getting back if he sat down on the floor with them. Another client that has lost over 60 lbs. in less than a year has had a better golf game because of more mobility with his swing and more power to drive the ball as he was adding muscle as he was losing weight. This is the key to success. While you are seeing the physical affects here, don’t forget the psychological ones. Being “fat” takes an emotional toll on you, and it can lead to binge eating which simply makes things worse. PLEASE do NOT fall into that trap. It is a spiral you may never come out of. To be successful with weight loss, you must only make simple changes. Nothing too radical. These can be as simple as cutting pop (soda) out of your diet, cutting out fast food and meal prepping and starting a workout program. Just fitting into an old pair of shorts or top boosts your attitude with success. Small gains start to show, which builds your desire to continue the journey as you are finally seeing that hard work and dedication DOES pay off. Still, I allow my clients to “cheat.” I ask for 90% compliance. If your habit is that every Friday you and the friends go out for pizza and a few beers, do it! This keeps you sane. Still for success, this means the rest of the week you must stay on track. When you are struggling through the week, you can say, “but Friday I get to eat that pizza and have a beer.” If you do this, you WILL have success. Once again, I am targeting the average fitness person, not elite athletes competing. Don’t over think weight or fat loss. It’s simple really. To gain weight (muscle or fat) you must have an excess of calories. To lose, you must have a deficit. There are 3500 calories in a pound. So a deficit of 500 calories a day will cause a pound of loss in a week. That translates to 250 calories burned through exercise a day, and 250 less calories a day cut from diet. That makes 500 calories. Do that every day, and at the end of the week, a 500 calorie deficit times 7 days means a pound of loss. A pound loss a week means 52 lbs. a week. I think a big problem is people want everything INSTANTLY. It’s our society! NO people, a pound a week loss is doable and sustainable. 10 pound a week is NOT! Stay on track, cut back your food in slightly smaller portions, add in some resistance training as well as cardio and stay the course! If you follow these few simple tips, you WILL change your life. If you want to know more, go to garanfitnessconsulting.com, or Facebook at Garan Fitness Consulting or Garan Fitness Tactical Training. Scott

One thing I have learned over the 26 years I have been training clients is there is more to weight loss than only dieting and cardio. I once had a client come to me at 286 wanting to lose weight. I told him, strength and resistance training is key. If you go to a gym and look at those who are the most fit looking people, it’s never the people that spend hours on the treadmill, it’s the one’s that stand in the power rack and lift heavy. If you doubt this, look around at your gym. Those that ONLY do cardio can be small, but they are known as what is called “skinny fat.” Small, but saggy. No, to lose weight you MUST strength train. When he went to his doctor, he told him he had hired a trainer. When the doctor asked what I had him doing, he said weight training. The doctor told him you only need diet and cardio. The next time he went to the docs, he was down 20 pounds. The doc said all you need is diet and cardio. He then went the third time and was down another 20 lbs. This time the doc said “well keep doing what your are doing as you are losing weight”. In the end I had him down to 212 and he climbed Mt. St Helens. Now, diet and cardio are a huge part of a weight loss plan, and I am not saying it isn’t. All my clients focus on it, but part of the key is strength training. Muscle burns calories constantly, even at rest. So the more you muscle you have, the more calories you burn If you truly want to lose weight, add strength and conditioning training into your program. And don’t be afraid to go heavy. One problem I often run into with woman is they “don’t want to get big and bulky.” Ladies, unless you are taking male hormones, you won’t! If it were so easy t get big and bulky, we would all look like “da Arnold.” If you want to successfully lose weight, add weights into your program. With a diet, cardio and strength training plan. I currently have a client down from 389 to 329 in just 11 months. That’s over a pound a week. THAT is progress. If you need a quick guide, I made a basic workout guide that I can provide for free. Just hit me up. Want to know more, your can contact me here, or you can find me on Facebook at Garan Fitness Consulting or Garan Fitness Tactical Training. I am also doing online training, so if you want to find out more, please reach out to me. Scott

So what is my biggest pet peeve about the fitness industry? The biggest problem with many gyms is they simply do not help their clients. They are only about making money. Don’t get me wrong, I do this to make money too, but I don’t work for the masses. When you hire me, I show you proper form and also design a program around YOUR goals! That is the difference. That is why having a personal trainer like me is so important. I have had so many clients come from gyms and say they simply do not know how to set up their programs to attain their goals, and therefore don’t get success. When you join a gym they basically show you HOW to use the equipment but not how to set up a program. This is for liability reasons, but if you do not know how to set up set up rep schemes and sets, it’s useless. If you do not know HOW to properly train you will NOT get gains. Either fat loss or muscle gains. Listen folks, if all you do is the same routine day after day and don’t get gains…STOP! I had a client come to me stating he was training for 10 years without gains. I was like “you trained 10 years without gains, ”and continued. He admitted that he never changed his workouts. Now what I am going to talk about in this post is the general fitness athlete that is looking to get into shape. This post is NOT about someone that has a sports specific goal like power lifting, strongman or other event. This is about someone that simply wants to get “into shape.” I am also a body building coach and strength and conditioning coach, but I am not talking about that here. This is for the mom and dad that wishes to go to the gym and get healthier, or the college student that just needs to figure out how to set up a program. Change to me is the key! No two workouts for my clients are the same. I will change the exercise or rep scheme constantly. So heavy one day and lighter for more reps the next. I use techniques such as time under tension to change it up. Of course there are many other ways to change and get the body to adapt, but you get my point here. Change, change, change! When starting out, find a basic workout and start with it. Just get the body used to working out, then after a few weeks start adding in new exercises. Then start changing the rep schemes. Heavy for 6-8 reps one day with a lateral raise for the shoulders on Monday and a military press on Wednesday with a medium weight for 15 reps. If you do this, you WILL make progress. If you need a quick guide I made a basic workout guide that I can provide for free. Just hit me up. Want to know more, visit me at www.garanfitnessconsulting.com or you can find me on Facebook at Garan Fitness Consulting or Garan Fitness Tactical Training. I am also doing online training, so if you want to find out more, please reach out to me. Scott

So a question I often get is do you need to food prep to lose weight? I say YES! There is a saying. You cannot out exercise a bad diet! This is the truth. If you are working out, and living off of Twinkies, you are wasting your time. I believe in the KISS principle. Keep It Simple, Stupid! Don’t over think things. When I get new clients, I try not to overwhelm them. I don’t expect them to be super athletes on day one. We start training and I slowly tweak things as we progress. When it comes to diet, the first thing I tell them to do is cut out the crap. No fast food, pop, and junk food. I tell them to start eating cleaner. Just start cooking real meals. No processed foods. A box of Mac-N-Cheese may taste good, but is not the healthiest choice. Once they do that, we get into meal prepping. Now we are getting more serious. Meal prepping is a key to success. Meal prepping is about making healthier decisions. By now, they have started to make meals that are not coming from a box. To get into specifics would be too hard for this post, but when I have people meal prep, I will generally start them off with baking a bunch of chicken on say a Sunday when they are off of work, then making a big pot of rice and some vegetables. Once done, these can be put in containers for healthy prepackaged meals. Using various fitness trackers, you can calculate the proportions you need to get the nutritional requirements needed to lose weight (fat). Once you figure this out, stick with it for a while. This WILL get you results! Once you start seeing results, you can branch out a little! You can start adding in low carb breads and different things to spice up the diet, so you don’t get too bored. Initially however, I say stick to the basics! Remember KISS! A variety of spices are also a key to success. While you may have basic foods starting off, using different spices to change the taste can be a game changer. Start out simple and then slowly add more weight loss friendly foods to your meal plan. Over time, you will build a nice and healthy sustainable meal plan. In addition, I suggest always having a protein bar or shake available. In these busy days, we sometimes don’t have TIME to get that pre-made meal in. A bar or shake is a good way to at least stay on track. Once again, you cannot out exercise a bad diet! To train for success you obviously have to add a resistance plan and cardio program into your set but you also need a proper diet! You will not succeed without out it! Want to know more, visit me at www.garanfitnessconsulting.com or you can find me on Facebook at Garan Fitness Consulting or Garan Fitness Tactical Training. Scott

This has been a challenge I faced with clients for over 26 years now. This is especially true for older clients that grew up in the 70’s and 80’s. I think the biggest problem with many people’s mindsets is to rely ONLY upon the scale. I say this…”the scale is a liar!” This is especially true for those I would say are older than 45. I am there myself at 55, but was not “brain washed” by the media pushing the scale is right narrative. Back in the 70’s, 80’s and even early 90’s, the media said all we had to do was cardio to lose weight.(fat) Finally in the 90’s, researchers discovered that a combination of cardio, diet and resistance training was what was truly required to lose body fat. THIS was the key to longevity! I truly believe this. This was something that early bodybuilders already knew. I will say it this way. The more muscle we have on our bodies, the more calories we burn at rest. Therefore, if you desire is to lose weight (fat) , you MUST add resistance training into your workout! Now Cardio must also be included as that activates the muscle we have to burn more calories and fat. Finally, we MUST start adjusting our diets. If we run, lift weights, and eat only Twinkees, we will NOT reach our fitness goals. EVERYTHING must come into play. So a proper diet is equally important. So this is fitness in it’s basic form! Cardio, diet and strength training. These three things combined WILL get you results! I have been doing this for over 26 years now with great success, so I am telling the truth. I was once training an “older woman” that was born in those years where the scale ruled. I took measurements when she came in, and then along the way as she was progressing she started complaining. She said, “the scale is not moving.” Soooo, I re-measured her. She was the same weight, but she had lost and inch from her hips and an inch and a half from her waist. I shared it with her, but she was NOT satisfied. I told her while her weight was the same she was losing inches. She simply could not grasp the idea. This occurred over and over and she eventually left me. I answer the question this way and I give these hand gestures. I close my hand into a ball and say this is a pound of muscle. I OPEN the other hand and say this is a pound of fat. I then say they weigh the same, but the wide fat hands holds up more space on the body. So if we can trade a pound of muscle for a pound of fat your weight may not change, but the amount of tissue it takes up on your body is smaller. THIS IS HOW I TRAIN! This is what get’s results! Body weight is a liar. Don’t over think things. The best gauge to me is how your clothes fit. If you are gaining weight or staying the same, but wearing looser clothes, you are winning the battle! It’s in the mindset! If you want to know more, contact me at www.garanfitnessconsulting.com. I have many free giveaways that can start you to get you to the body you want. Thanks again. Garan Fitness Consulting

#1. Simply clean up your diet! This does not mean you need to be perfect, but cut out the extra soda/pop or fast food. Eating out at fast food everyday is simply eating junk meals. Cut out, High fat and high Carbs. Instead choose chose healthier meals like a sub sandwich with better meats and veggies. I suggest instead of a 12” long go for the 6” long and double the meat. This provides less carbs and more protein, but you will still be filled up. While said, I suggest one meal a week as a “cheat day.” Eat whatever you want. This keeps you sane. So if you and your friends go out and eat wings every Friday…DO IT. But tell yourself the rest of the week you must eat “clean.” #2. Drink a lot of water, especially before a meal! If your belly already feels full, you will not have the desire to eat as much food. #3. Stop eating 4 hours before you decide to go to bed. This makes you fast over your time sleeping. When you wake up, you will need to burn fat as a fuel source for activity to go about your day and train which will tap into your fat reserves. # 4. Do cardio when you wake up instead of after you ate. Again, since you fasted you will tap into your fat reserves for fuel instead of your carbs that you ate which the body prefers to use as a fuel source! These 4 simple steps can get you on your way to changing your body!

So let me share something personal. I have always been a big guy. Big bad cop, but when I found out I had a bad heart valve, I decided to lose weight. That included a lot of muscle that I worked hard to obtain over the years. Still I am a Master Trainer that has been training others for over 26 years now. Ultimately it will allow me to live longer. As hard as that is, I now simply share my knowledge with others. I simply don’t have to be as big and bad as I once was. Think Mickey Goldmill playing “Mickey” in the movie Rocky. I still train hard, but not nearly as hard as before. It’s not necessary. Thankfully, God has allowed me to share this knowledge I have gained over the years with others. It is a blessing! In the end, I have lost over 50 pounds which has made my life easier. Do not be afraid to make those tough choices. In the end they can pay off big time. What is the reason YOU want to either gain muscle or loose fat?