Dear Reader,

Over the past week or so, I’ve developed and have been experimenting with a NEW exercise routine.

One that surprisingly enough doesn’t contain pushups and pull-ups as the mainstay!

This might come as sacrilege to those weaned on the 0 Excuses Fitness diet where I state flat out (and rightly so) that pushups are the best darn exercise ever – but hang on just a sec, my friend. Hang on.

I’ve not abandoned pushups – or any of the other stuff I teach just as yet. I stand by them just as much as I do before.

However, I’ve been working on a new program for the past week or so – one that specializes mostly on LEGS – hips, legs and calves.

I’ve stated often that this area of the body is the part to work if you want maximal gains over your entire body, and it’s true my friend. It’s very true.

And why did I want to jump on this “new” program?

Well, mainly because a lot of my clients that are plagued by weight issues are in NO shape to do more than 5 pushups – and sometimes not even 1 in proper form.

Yes, it sounds pathetic, and it is, but there are tons of folks out there for whom doing ONE pushup – or perhaps even 5 quick ones is a CHORE, my friend – let alone pull-ups – or some of the other stuff I espouse.

So, I thought I’d test these folks out on an intense LEG routine that they CAN do – one that will blast away them pesky love handles, muffin tops (ugh!) and reduce body fat in general so that they can THEN get on other stuff.

And being I test everything out first on my own body, it was time to do so this week.

Now, before I tell you what I am doing now, remember I ain’t no spring chicken myself. I’m close to 40 – rapidly approaching the age where one’s metabolism is supposed to come to a grinding halt, and yet, that’s not evident from my workouts, my friend.

Not one bit if I might say so!

Without further ado then,

I’ve been climbing hills – my favorite hill mostly -3-5 times per workout. While I do this though, I don’t just climb.

I mix in sprints – regular runs – and BACKWARD sprints – in with my regular workout.

This is straight out of Eat More – Weigh Less, by the way, and it WORKS, my friend – and I’m not even getting into some of the fat blasting workouts contained therein at this point.

I keep doing this until I’ve climbed that sucka 3-5 times, and then I stretch out in all directions.

After this, I do roadwork – on FLAT terrain.

And that’s it. Not a single pushup or pull-up – either before – or after my routine.

I did this 4 times this week, and I’ll probably go again tomorrow. So that’s 5 times.

On my off days, I might do a few pushups, or take a long walk. Nothing spectacular though in terms of the pushups, and the walk is done at a leisurely pace on flat ground.

And the results? How do I feel?

Fit, strong, hungry and RARING to go – – and if a 38 year old can feel this way after running up and down hills several times – so can YOU, my friend.

If a person whose body naturally gravitates to storing lard around the midsection can stay fat free – on these type of routines -then so can YOU, my friend.

Key thing to note is that the workouts stay INTENSE. It isn’t just a jaunt up that hill – it;s a lot more, my friend. A lot more, and you’ll have to crack open Eat More – Weigh Less to see exactly what I mean!

Now, as for crowning question that most of you will have.

Did I lose “strength” at all on this program thus far?

Well, lets see. At the end of my workout today I jumped on to the monkey bars and cranked out 10 consecutive swings back and forth – something that most adults would be hard pressed to complete ONE set of.

Then I banged out 10 pull-ups in letter perfect form as if they were nothing – and they literally felt like nothing!

No handstand pushups today, but that test was done a few days back – and again – no issues there!

It just proves this my friend – age is not a barrier – and your current weight isn’t either!

If you’re way too overweight to do pushups at a good cadence and high reps, then lose that weight first by doing LEG work.

As you do this, you’ll find yourself losing fat all over your body, and building solid MUSCLE all over as well – IF you do it right!

And the sky, of course, is the limit after that.

Get on it now, my friend. Its your health – and it is THAT darn important!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – And while I have hills here where I live, I could just have easily used stairs – or subway stairs (even better). There literally are NO excuses my friend -none at all – so get on the train NOW – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

An interesting question – or comment – that I receive on occasion from my female readership is this – Can we ladies do 0 Excuses Fitness?

And while not always, it’s ALMOST always followed by the “I don’t think so. It’s too difficult!” comment.

I mentioned the case of Crystal, her with the recurring back pain in this regad a few emails ago, and she certainly isn’t the only one.

Now, interestingly enough, these same women do ALL of the following –

Pounding the pavement .

Yoga. (or a version of it, at any rate).

Dieting (sometimes extreme)

Calorie watching (to an extreme, almost always)

Continual “mirror gazing” (am I getting too fat?)

And so forth. Yet, when it comes to 0 Excuses Fitness, some of these fine ladies have the thought that it is “too difficult” to do – or even get started.

Well, I’m here to debunk this highly idiotic notion once and for all, my friend.

YES, my fitness System is AS applicable to your ladies out there as it is MEN – and even kids for that matter.

Many moons ago, I had a student named Carol who was trying to lose the excess flabbage around her midsection. She did most of the above mentioned things, but the problem wasn’t going away.

If anything, it was getting WORSE.

Being she had paid me upfront for private coaching, I put together a tailored plan for her – part of which involved hiking up hills regularly.

At the end of it, there were several stretches for the body that I often talk about in my emails – and get this.

At the VERY end of it, Carol would attempt to throw herself up into a handstand. At that point she couldn’t quite get it so I’d hold her feet as she’d kick up – but still – she would hold it for a fair bit of time – despite not being at her ideal weight.

We’d occasionally work out on the monkey bars, and I’d show her a few things about pull-ups.

And NONE of this affected her adversely. If anything it HELPED her – and why do I bring this up?

Well, because these are mostly all things that are thought of to be in the “male preserve”.

Especially handstands – and pull-ups – and I’m here to tell you nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I’ve seen women do pull-ups BETTER than men do ’em (I’m talking about you “bros” out there) – and thats just a fact, my friend.

More to the point, here are the “problem areas” for the average gal out there –

Saggy chin (or butt). Bingo wings that “wave” when you do. Tummy fat. Thigh fat (huge problem for some women out there). And of course, “el glutenous maximus” – I’ll let you figure that one out yourself, hehe.

#1 – Bridging – along with a healthy dose of walking, jumping rope, and perhaps climbing hills – or swimming.

#2 – ANY of the pushups mentioned in the 0 Excuses Fitness System, except perhaps the Hindus (although holding the positions DO help and CAN be done safey). Especially the pushups you do on your BACK.

#3 – #1 and #2.

#4 – Hindu squats. Nothing tones up them thunder thighs better, faster and quicker than Hindu squats do – and they’re perfectly SAFE to do, ladies.

#5 – well, all of the above – and perhaps what I have NOT mentioned as yet.

Lots of women get caught up (as a lot of men do) in the “numbers” game here.

For instance, doing 500 squats in a session.

And while that’s all fine and dandy, it’s not REQUIRED, my friend. In fact both you men and women out there that need to lose weight can and should start INCREMENTALLY – and focus on PROGRESS you’re making DAILY as opposed to the big numbers.

Do that regularly, and you’ll soon find yourself at the bigger numbers before you know it!

Last, but not least, I’ll be posting some pictures of WOMEN doing 0 Excuses Fitness on my social media accounts. The proof is indeed in the pudding – be on the outlook for it!

Best

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Here is another course that you ladies out there will LOVE. It even has pictures of my wife doing the exercises!

Corrugated Core

Dear Reader,

A couple of days ago I wrote about folks wanting something for nothing – and how about ignoring this fundamental law of the Universe is NOT a good idea.

It seemed to be fairly popular as well with my Twitter following – was retweeted quite a number of times, and received a few comments as well – and for good reason.

And yesterday, this “client” contacted me again – with an even more ludicrous “something for nothing” demand – or request, in his terminology.

In short, it was this -apparently I was to use my credit card to book him a flight “home” (somewhere deep in Africa) – because “his card didn’t work”.

Now, I may be many things, to be certain.

Fitness guy. Writer. Coach. Writer on many other topics as well that I have NOT divulged here on this list. And more – – but travel agent I am NOT – and I stated this politely.

No dice. The guy kept on and on, so I told him I’d do it – but he’d have to pay my credit card fees, cross currency conversion charges, cross border fees et al.

You know how credit cards are – I hate using them – all the fees and what not – but being this guy was a “client”, I figured I’d make an exception if just to get him off my back.

“Ok, I’ll tell you what the total amount is”.

I calculated it, and told him.

“Around 10,400 RMB, my friend”.

His response was nothing short of “amazed”.

What?? It’s too high! The currency conversion was only 8800! And so on and so forth he went …

I ignored him, and later on during the day he sent me this.

“Man you like a vampire! Someone did it for less than 9000!”

Now, I write this NOT to bring up the fact that charging what you feel you’re worth – or a fair bit for your “personal services” is NOT something that classifies you as a “vampire” or anything like it.

Neither do I write it to tell you that this client was way, way “off base” in his interactions with me. If anything, I should have just blocked him right there and then – but I didn’t.

And since I’ve already written about getting something for nothing, I’m not going to go into that again here.

For a brief minute I was tempted to reply to him, but then I remembered the eternal, evergreen saying.

“Never get into a piss fight with a skunk”. 

And so I refrained. Probably the best thing to do and now, why am I bringing this up again?

Well, to address the topic of energy leaks, my friend

When you set out to accomplish a goal – any goal – be it life related – or fitness related – you have to be VERY careful that you’re not allowing your inner “vital” energy to “leak out”.

By energy I mean your DESIRE. Your DRIVE. Your sexual energy too if I might say so (Napoleon Hill had a whole chapter on this in Think and Grow Rich, and it’s a topic that I’ll address in a future email).

Ever notice how sometimes you talk about people to your goals -at length – in detail – and then after the conversation, you feel the urge to just sit back – and do – precisely – NOTHING?

That feeling of “having gotten it off your chest” and suddenly actually doing the thing becomes less important than it was BEFORE you spoke to said people …

Or, when you’re dealing with clients – or people in general (an example would be the person I’m referring to above) – a sense of your “energy” leaking as the other person leeches off you as much as he/she can, and tries to get something for nothing in every transaction?

Both of these cases are example of energy LEAKS ,my friend, and they are far more common than you’d think.

When I have a goal in mind – fitness related – or business related – I generally never ever tell anyone – not even my closest friends or my wife.

Funnily enough the only person I’ll share some of my inner goals with is my 5 (soon to be 6) year old daughter – and why?

Because every time I do so, I feel a sense of unmistakable enthusiasm and desire to ACHIEVE gushing through my veins – as opposed to a “ho hum” lethargic feeling of “ok, there’s no real need to do this anymore”.

In short, and in a nutshell, a lot of times talking to people and “telling them what you’re going to do” subconsciously takes the place of actually doing it – resulting in a big fat ZERO for you in terms of actual RESULTS, my friend.

Sure, there might be some cases where you’d want to talk about the things you want to achieve, but make darn sure that you feel the desire to do MORE after talking to said person – not LESS.

Make damn sure too, that the other person is on board in terms of being positive – and an open mind – and everything else in between – because if NOT, the negative energy will find a way to affect YOU too, my friend – and that ain’t good!

So, takeaway from today’s email?

Well, first off, the famous Napoleon Hill saying –

Tell the wold what you’re going to do, but SHOW ’em first! 

And second being this – plug your energy leaks, my friend.

If it’s people constantly badgering you wanting something for nothing, DROP them from your life.

If it’s folks constantly “wanting to know” what your fitness (or other) goals are – politely refuse to answer.

And so forth.

The key thing is this – take note of how you FEEL after talking to people – and keep ONLY those people in your life that uplift you and make you feel BETTER – and more energized – as opposed to the opposite!

Remove what you don’t want, and make place for what you DO want, my friend.

It’s just that simple!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – If you’re looking to remove those layers of flab covering that six pack up – and get ready for BEACH weather, well, then you need to get on the 0 Excuses Fitness System PRONTO, my friend – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

My abs were SCREAMING yesterday – both during my workout and after.

Now, the first part of that isn’t necessarily strange and should NOT come as a surprise for those of you that have been following this list for a while.

Given my penchant for extreme conditioning and what not, my abs are always being pounded like raw meat throughout my workouts – – but yesterday, oh boy. I FELT it – big time – and LONG after my workout!

And what do I mean by this?

Well – get this – I woke up at around 2 A.M. last night – and I literally screamed out loud in pain.

My abs were on FIRE – especially my left side – and it felt like a giant claw had taken hold of the “six pack” area, and was squeezing it dry for EVERY drop of blood it could.

That was a bit of a gothic description, I know, but you get the point!

Man oh man. I’ve had these cramps before – such as thigh cramps in the middle of the night, for instance, but THIS was something else altogether.

While I can normally get cramps to calm down relatively quickly (for instance, I often have them in my calves after extra calf work), it took me a full 15 minutes to even start to get back to normal last night.

Whew! That was a ******* experience to be damn sure, and I can STILL feel the entire area this morning – as in, it feels like someone took a sledgehammer to my midsection and pounded it to pulp.

Needless to say, that was a great workout I had yesterday, and it shows as well.

While I’m not saying you can see tangible results after every workout (in that a flabby midsection miraculously turns into a six pack or more) – you CAN see results – minute results – if you really, really hit it hard daily. You can literally see your body change – before your very eyes!

Anyway, so what did I do to get this ab pounding effect?

Well, first off, I pounded out a ton of handstand pushups -something that I’ve oddly enough – and again – NOT been doing for the past coupla weeks.

Don’t ask me why – but as I’ve said before, we often end up ignoring what has worked well for us in the past. ‘Tis human nature and tendency to do so, and I’m not an exception to the rule either!

Handstand pushups are thought of as mostly upper body work by most – and what comes to mind when you think of this is gargantuan TRAPS – and massive arms – and of course mammoth PECS.

None of this is wrong, of course. Handstand pushups do build that area, and more – but what is often ignored is the CORE building effect of this excellent exercise.

Just getting up into a handstand and holding it for time taxes your core far, far more than traditional core exercises do – and if you don’t believe me – well – DO the thing – and you’ll see!

Just be careful not to overdo it when you first start. You need to progress slowly – but surely – and in Shoulders like Boulders, I’ve mentioned the progressions you need to work upon as you get better at this truly superlative exercise.

And the other thing I did was what I spoke about yesterday – that being the “dancer’s stretch”. My oh my, that exercise REALLY hits the abs and lower back – – and again, you’ll know what I mean when you DO them exercises!

So that’s it for today, my friend. I’m off in a while for my workout – and I look forward to seeing YOU there as well!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – By the way Corrugated Core contains not one, not two, but 50 such core FLATTENERS that will speed you up on the road to that six pack. Grab it right here – https://0excusesfitness.com/corrugated-core/

P.S #2 – Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your copy of the 0 Excuses Fitness System while you’re at it – right here – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

Those of you that have been on this list for any length of time are aware of my utter disdain for the much vaunted stomach “crunch” – as well as gadgets that mimic this action, and their so called effectiveness in either building strength in the abdominal region or lose fat.

Or, in a nutshell, to get that six pack we all want.

If there is ONE exercise I could label as the #1 useless exercise of all time it would be the crunch.

Well, on second thoughts – no – the lat pulldown would probably be #1 – but the crunch would be close behind!

And while there are far, far more effective exercises you can do for your midsection, that isn’t what I’m talking about today.

I’m going to talk about the lower back – a bane – and a source of unending frustration and pain for most people – and yesterday, I took my lower back routine to a new level altogether.

I normally bridge a bit after my hill climbs to stretch everything out, and it feels great. And truth be told, this is all I’d need for my lower back – and yet – yesterday – I went one step further.

I pulled out an “old trick” from the book, and I did an exercise I hadn’t done in a LONG time -an exercise that really blasts those pesky love handles and fat around the lower back and waist.

Ladies, if you’re reading this, listen up – this might be the ONE thing you need to tone up that area as well.

So, what did I do, exactly?

A picture is worth a thousand words, and while I’m not the sort to take smartphones along with me as I exercise, I’ll have someone take a photo for me the next time I do it. For now, words will have to suffice!

Well, without further ado … the first thing I’ll have you picture is this – the yoga posture where you stand on one leg (ramrod straight) and extend the other back as far as you can – ramrod straight again – and HOLD the position.

Some prefer to make the “namaste” sign as they this. Others simply hold their hands out in front of them.

Whichever it is, that is a PALE imitation of what I did.

What I did was a dancer’s version of this stretch. I put my back leg up on a railing and while you might think the support made it easier, you would be dead wrong, my friend.

What I did in this position was keep my upper body straight – lean back – and really SQUEEZE them lower back muscles – and voila!

Man oh man, I could feel muscles ALL over my lower back working – like they hadn’t in AGES – and remember, this is from a guy that bridges regularly!

In fact, I cramped up a coupla times before I could get it right – and once I did, I breathed deeply and HELD the posture for what seemed like forever.

Once I was done, it felt great – and it also felt like someone had hammered  and squeezed my lower back with a pair of tongs, hehe.

This is just ONE of the great exercises out there that you can do to reduce fat – not just around the stomach, but the  obliques and lower back too – an area which you can’t see – but an area where a lot of fat tends to “hide” if you get my drift.

More on this in Corrugated Core – 2 – – which I’m putting together as we speak, but for now, you ask?

Well, there’s plenty of things you can do for your lower back right NOW, my friend.

A combo of Hindu pushups and bridging would be one – you’ll be stretching your back and spine out in both directions, and you’ll feel GREAT once done.

Or, simply do the “best darn exercise ever“. This one exercise alone is all you need to do for the entire body if you do it right – and if you do – for those that do – you know what I BE talking about, hehe.

Reverse pushups. Table Pushups. The list goes on and on and on, my friend  – – and I’m off to do some of ’em myself now.

Back later – as always, thanks for reading – and if you workout today – make it an awesome one!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – If you haven’t gotten your paws on Corrugated Core as yet, what are you waiting for bro? Do it NOW – https://0excusesfitness.com/corrugated-core/

Dear Reader,

So, over the past few days I’ve been going back and forth on the phone with a customer – NOT fitness related.

It’s an old customer back “from the days” in which I still did I.T. work on a regular basis – building websites, so to speak, for those interested.

This customer was a lot of “trouble” from the get go, if I were to be honest. While he’s certainly a good man – he has NO clue on how to do business – and his constant response to any sort of price – or any sort of price tag is “can it be lower”?

He’s also involved in a startup, and while I certainly (more so than  a lot of others, I’d say!) understand the costs etc involved – the fact of the matter is this – and I’ve said this to him multiple times – that start ups simply incur costs FIRST and profits LATER – and that is just how it goes!

In other words, you have to give before you get. There is no escape from this Universal Law of the Universe, my friend – and while I’ve advised my customer on this many a times, he seems “not to get it”.

Even worse, he responds with this “Rahul, you’re good at making deals! Your deals have many layers embedded into them!”

Hmm.

What do I think of this?

Well, I take it a as a compliment, my friend. I’ve never once known a successful business person that wasn’t excellent at making/cracking complex deals – perhaps my customer does – but I don’t – and I doubt any of you reading this do either!

Those that know me in person and through these newsletters know me as a brutally upfront and honest person. If it has to be said, I’ll say it. There’s certainly no beating about the bush with me and that is how I do biz as well, my friend.

Perhaps that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’d rather that than “play games” as it were if you get my drift.

And of course, all this brings me to the famous Napoleon Hill saying with regard to getting something for nothing.

The one who tries to get something for nothing usually winds up getting nothing for something. 

Sage words indeed, and as true today as they were back when Hill penned them.

Now, what does this “got to do with” fitness, you may ask.

Well, plenty, my friend.

There are scores of folks that simply  want a “magic solution” – or a “one stop fix it all” for their problems – fitness included.

I recently received a note on LinkedIn inquiring about how I lost weight.

“Through exercising right”, I responded. I’d normally be a bit more verbose, but I could tell the person wasn’t really interested in buying a product – all she wanted to do was “leech”.

“But thats too difficult for me”, she whined.

“Well, it’s either that or staying a lard ass”, I quipped.

I then sent her to the 0 Excuses Fitness System page – and true to form, no purchase.

Ah well. No skin off my nose to be sure!

So always remember folks. You have to give FIRST – before you GET – and there is NO such thing as something for nothing.

Remember this little bit of philosophy and USE it in your daily lives – and be amazed at how fast you start progressing towards your goals!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – By the way, Corrugated Core is flying off the shelves as we speak. If you’re looking to get that fab bod for the summer reason – six packs, bikini look, whatever it is – then this is one course you really need to grab now – https://0excusesfitness.com/corrugated-core/

P.S #2 – And here is the link to the fitness System that folks all over the globe have been RAVING about – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

If there was one body part that you can instantly spot on a man (or woman, for that matter) – a body part that screams out RUGGEDNESS and overall STRENGTH – and health – or all of the above in one package, I’m sure you could guess which it would be.

And just in case the title of this email isn’t a dead giveaway – well – it’s them legs, my friend.

Legs and hips (and butt) – and while there are those that could make a very good case for the neck and forearms (and rightfully so) – nothing quite trumps a pair of massive, well muscled (or sleekly muscled) legs and butt in the overall “development” department.

The legs (along with the neck and forearms) are obviously a part which you can’t conceal in clothing.

Boobybuilders that look massive from the North end all try and wear them baggy jeans to conceal the “stork legs” – but it doesnt work to be honest.

And it works in reverse too. If you’ve got a solid and well developed,  athletic lower body – it’ll show.

In fact, it’ll show so much that even if you’ve got a little extra padding around your waist, that well developed lower body will give off the impression of being “not fat”.

That’s not to excuse excess pudge anywhere on the body of course, but I’m just stating the importance of well developed legs in terms of overall health and fitness, my friend.

As I climbed up the mountain today (and indeed, as I do these days) – people looked at me – and their gaze instantly swept “downwards” (NO, not there!) as I kept powering up the hill, leaving others in my wake.

One step after the other. Steady, solid steps uphill, with nary a false breath being taken – and if you can do that in extreme heat and humidity, and keep going for ages, well – then you’ve got a well developed lower body!

This, of course is part of the new “specialization” program I’m on these days. While I’m still cranking my upper body work, my new goal is to build an even more rugged pair of legs than before (legs and hips) – and so far, the work seems to be showing for sure – as evidenced above!

And more than looks – it’s about health.

Find a man with a well developed chest and upper body, and I’ll find you one with an even better developed upper body – and stork like legs that give out on a hike – or friendly walk up the stairs, for that matter.

Other hand, find me a man with a solidly developed pair of legs, and I’ll find you a man that is STRONG – overall!

Sure, there are fat folks with well developed legs – but these tend to be the boobybuilders at the gym cranking out squats with heavy weights which does very little in terms of reducing fat around the core and midsection – and on average, you’ll see that most folks with a well developed core and legs aren’t fat.

The hips and legs constitute over 50% of the muscle mass of the entire body. Work them hard, and you’ll automatically gain – ALL over your body.

And it’s amazing, but true – we hear all the hoo haa about “chest day”, for instance, but I’ve never once heard either the bros or the “average Joe” scream with delight at “leg day” – even though the latter brings huge gains in terms of the former!

Sure, building legs like I’m talking about is hard, hard work – but it’s worth it – in spades, my friend.

And apart from the overall health benefits, NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING beats the CONFIDENCE you get from walking around on legs like these – legs that scream STRENGTH, MUSCLE and brute POWER to all and sundry.

Legs that can seemingly go forever. Legs that can hike non stop. Legs that can jump rope non-stop. Legs that can … ah, but you get the picture, don’t you?

So if there is one takeaway from today’s email, my friend – it is THIS – train the hips and legs like you mean it.

Your body will thank you for it – in more ways than you ever thought possible!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Walking uphill is a great way to build the legs. So is jumping rope and running sprints. And of course, that eternal favorite – Hindu squats – which can be pounded out by the dozen and more right in your living room. Find out how to do ’em here – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

It’s strange but true – that those who dispense advice (correct advice) – well intentioned and well meaning advice – stuff that works –  are often (unintentionally) guilty of not following that very same advice on occasion.

For instance, I talk about the importance of visualization a lot – but there have been times in my life, when oddly enough ,I stopped doing the very same thing I used to tell others to do all the time.

Oddly enough, we as human beings often forget what brought us success in the first place, and omit to repeat those same actions over and over again for CONTINUAL success … and sometimes, we plain out omit to “practice what we preach”.

Case in point, you may ask?

Well, a few days ago I posted about training to failure per workout, and why this is  NOT a good idea.

And today, as I sit here recovering from a nasty stomach bug and some form of a mild viral infection, I’m forced to ponder what I said before – and admit that I (either inadvertently or not) NEGLECTED to follow that same advice that I gave YOU, my friend.

That being, not to push to failure every workout.

A couple of days ago, something was “off” in my workout.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but every cell in my body seemed nigh sluggish.

The pull-ups seemed to take an eternity – and dips, one of my favorite exercise, and one that elicits a very enthusiastic “lets do more!” response from me every time I do ’em were something I just “had to” get over with.

Then of course came the hill climb, and that wasn’t “right” either. I kept feeling sluggish all throughout and WEAK, and yet I finished up – and when I came home, I ate a meal – and it all started.

From an upset stomach (big time) to a viral infection that laid me up in bed for the better half of yesterday and the entire day before that, it was my body telling me – enough is enough, Rahul.

You’ll recall I’ve been hitting it hard and heavy over the past few weeks, but I might have (probably did) gone overboard a bit over the past week or so, and when my body told me I HAD – well – I should have listened!

Yours truly is no different from the rest of you, my friend. I too need and am AS deserving of a kick up the booty as the general populace might be on occasion – and I sure got one!

Now, the other side of the coin i.e. when NOT to listen to your body – and this is one that is perhaps even more applicable to most people than above.

When you come home from an 8 hour shift at the office, grouchy, irritable and tired, the LAST thing on your mind is probably sticking to your workout session.

Your body will want to do nothing other than slump into the couch and “do it tomorrow” (exercise).

Or, if you’ve got a very slight case of the sniffles, your body’s first reaction might be to “just rest”.

If you’re seriously overweight and on the System, then your initial few months will be a test of how well you push back AGAINST your body “rebelling” as you do the exercises – as opposed to “caving in” (and sort of “listening to it”).

In times like this, and they are admittedly FAR more common than the sort of case I mentioned at the start of the e-mail, it’s prudent to remind your body that YOU are the Master of the ship – NOT the other way around.

It is also very prudent to remember that there is a time to listen to the shipmates, as it were – and then there is a time to simply take the lead and just do it.

The latter is what most of you reading will need to bear in mind, but the former is important too – make no mistake about that!

Well, my friend, that is it for today. I’ll be back again later!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – More such “home truths” are stated in the 10 Commandments of Physical Success in the 0 Excuses Fitness System, which you can pick up right HERE – – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

So, this morning I had an interesting conversation with a lady whose been suffering from recurring lower back pain.

She’s not alone, of course – there’s plenty of women here in mainland China who (despite all of them NOT being overweight) suffer from this malady.

Just goes to show you that it ain’t always about how you LOOK on the OUTSIDE, my friend.

So here’s the gist of the conversation.

“I’ve been suffering from lower back pain since last night, Rahul”.

Now, I’ve never met this lady and haven’t seen very many pictures of her, so I wasn’t quite sure if she was overweight or not – so I made the “cardinal sin” of asking, hehe.

“Are you overweight?”, I asked casually.

“What mean overweight”, came the response. Well, better than a chop to the neck, I’d say …!

“Fat. A little fat”, I continued patiently. When in China, as they say …

“Oh no. In fact I’ve lost weight successfully, but my back pain never seems to go away”.

At this point I grilled her a bit about what exercise she does on a regular basis. Turns out she does a few situps daily at home – and pounds the pavement occasionally – but that’s it.

“It’s mostly sitting around”, she continued, at which point I chimed in.

“Heck yeah, it is! You need to move more – and do the RIGHT things”, I continued.

Now, a short while ago I had advised this lady to do sprints instead of pounding the pavement, and while she seemed to take the advice on board at the time, she hasn’t actually DONE the thing.

This time, I sent her pictures of me bridging, and gave her some instructions on how to do it.

She isn’t a 0 Excuses faithful as yet – but she might be soon – but as of now, she doesn’t have access to the videos, but she has access to me, and strangely enough, or perhaps not, the first words out of her mouth upon seeing the pictures were –

“I can’t do that! That’s too difficult!”

“There’s no can’t, Crystal … ”

“I had shoulder surgery twice. My shoulders aren’t strong enough!”

“Sure they are. There are progressions that you can work up to, and … people with neck surgeries and fused vertebrae have successfully used this exercise to rid themselves of lower back pain. So can you!”

“I’ll be too scared! ” (giggle, giggle).

At this point, I let her have it.

“Crystal, you keep saying NO to everything. This is typical – the human mind looks for a bazillion reasons and EXCUSES to NOT do the thing as opposed to simply saying YES and getting down to brass tacks and doing it”.

And then I went on a bit about how she COULD do it – and while I’ve got no idea if the lady will actually DO what I’ve told her to – the facts are these – a) back pain (especially lower back  pain) is pretty much becoming a pandemic not just in China – but all over the GLOBE – and b) YES, there IS something you can do by yourself to rid yourself of this pain!

And that one thing is bridging in all it’s variants, shapes, forms and guises.

If there was ever an “all in one” better exercise for the ENTIRE back and neck – and spine – and everything in between (six pack included), I’m YET to see it, my friend.

Combine bridging with a sensible eating program and regular exercise – the RIGHT types of exercise – and you will not only see fat fly off your frame at record speeds – but you’ll also rid yourself of  that pesky lower back pain – forever.

Get on the train now, my friend. It truly IS worth it.

Best,

Rahul

P.S. – No more chiro visits required either. Get on the train right now – right HERE – https://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

Dear Reader,

As I swung myself across the monkey bars with “gay abandon” the other afternoon, a crowd gathered, curious to see what the foreign devil was up to.

It wasn’t any ole swing I was doing, you see.

I wasn’t simply going one rung at a time (which is something that is apparently not even easy for KIDS these days to do, let alone adults, who’d be doing well to even HANG on to the bar for any length of time) – and not simply going forward either.

I was doing them two – sometimes three rungs at a time, and I was doing them FAST – and I was going BOTH ways i.e. forward and backward.

The above might not sound like a lot, but I’ll tell you this – if you’re new to this type of training, you better proceed slowly – or you risk pulling a shoulder muscle or pec muscle – or worse.

And of course, as I’ve stated in the books on pull-ups – getting GOOD at this little exercise is one of the hidden keys to ape like grip strength (or as humanly close to it as you can get) and getting better at pull-ups in general.

Strangely enough, this one tip is the one that seems to be the most ignored. Go figure, huh?

Anyway, I’ve been hitting it hard and heavy these days – MUCH harder than usual.

I’ve been going hard on the cardio – so hard that it now seems I’m literally “waltzing” up the hill as opposed to climbing it being a cakewalk.

Four to five climbs in the afternoon heat seems to be nothing – and while I’m doing this for a certain purpose which I’ll reveal later, here is the kicker.

I’m still doing my pull-ups – and dips – and pushups – and handstand pushups – and you’d think I’d be cranking out super human numbers of reps on each of those, right?

Well, not exactly … not all the time, at any rate.

A guy who does pull-ups with me at the local park remarked, “You look so strong. How come you’re only doing 5 pull-ups per set?”

I smiled one of those inscrutable smiles.

Banged out 10 in the next set, and then dropped down to 4 – and then 5 – and went on that way, while the guy looked on, bemused.

One question which I’ve often got from the 0 Excuses faithful is this – Rahul, why don’t you just bang out the 250 pushups in a row?

Or, Rahul, why don’t you just do 50 x 5 during the workout?

Well, I could – and HAVE in the past, but thats not the point of me putting together a workout video for you, my friend.

First thing you know, most people are so out of shape that completing even 2 sets of 5 pushups in proper form is a chore – let alone more.

Second, it’s not always about doing ONE type of pushup. The workout videos show me doing a wide variety of pushups and other exercises – why – because changing things up keeps your workouts more interesting, and challenges your body to respond differently to the different types of pushups – and that is a GOOD thing, my friend.

Last, and most importantly, sure, I’ve done 500 Hindu squats in a row – but do I do that daily?

NO.

It’s NOT necessary to go for “broke” each day – or chances are you’ll actually be regressing in your workout as opposed to progressing.

I know this for a FACT.

When I got good at pull-ups, I thought I’d max out in every workout. And so I did – and for a short while it worked.

My reps increased, and I was getting through each workout even quicker – but then something stranger happened.

I couldn’t seem to hit the same number of reps – or sometimes even close to it during my workouts.

I’d feel fatigued – and “not ready to go” as it were.

And when I dropped down to a decent number of reps per set – and maxed out occasionally – BOOM – my gains shot right back up.

So there it is folks. I don’t care if you’re hoicking heavy weights (which you shouldn’t be anyway) – or doing bodyweight exercises – or swimming – or sprinting – the key is this – you do NOT max out every workout.

You leave something in the tank for the next one – and that’s really where the gains come from.

More on this later. For now, enjoy your weekend – and if you’re working out today – make it a great, great one!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – For those interested in insane levels of “kung fu like” grip strength – here is the very course you need – https://0excusesfitness.com/gorilla-grip-the-compilation/.

P.S #2 – I might not be able to offer these two courses “for the price of one”, as it were – that “throwaway price” is NOT going to be applicable for much longer. Get your paws on it NOW, my friend.