There’s a tradition in fitness where everyone decides en masse to get in shape due to the fact that the calendar has switched over to another year. This is admirable, but the downside is that the vast majority of New Year’s weight loss/get fit resolutions fail. Is it because the people out there are lazy, unable to get motivated to go to the gym and sweat it out, or could it be the lure of primetime television is too great with all their favorite shows now airing new episodes? Maybe they saw something like this and don’t want to look like a complete jack-bag in front of all their friends and the occasional fitness model by doing something wrong.

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Don’t laugh, that guy has the most jacked up kneecaps you’ve ever seen!! Truth be told, he’s actually a porn star, but had to retire because he kept breaking his co-stars.

Most likely, people will fail in their attempt to hit their resolution because they have only the loosest idea of what the hell to do.

Well, if I hit the gym four days a week and really cut back on my carbs, I should be okay, right? Screw the fact that I’m hoping to run a half marathon in my second workout in ever, I just tell myself just do it!! I’m just like Nike!!

A lot of people fall off the wagon prior to Valentine’s Day, which is sad because if people can make a habit consistent for more than 4 weeks, they have a much greater chance of continuing it than if they only put it into thought for a week or two. Even sadder, when it comes to “celebrating” Valentine’s day, it’s always better to be a hot piece of awesomeness than just a hot mess.

Without having a plan that takes into account the adaptation phase of newbies getting into the gym, as well as enough variation to make you not want to blow your face off from the tediousness, the best you’ll be able to get is luke-warm results, at best. This is why a personal trainer is a great investment, as you only have to show up and go through the direction of the person in whom you’re trusting your hotness to. Sure, you may grow to hate the very air that asshole breathes have some less than pleasant muscle burns along the way, but the results will speak louder than words ever could.

Second to a trainer, there are a lot of different exercise products available for anyone who has an internet connection and a valid credit card. The great thing about following a ready-made program like these is they take all the guess-work out of the equation for you, allowing you to just plug yourself into the workout and follow the directions. They have great variations in exercise, some you may have never seen before (some I’ve never even seen before), and they’re all written by pretty smart dudes who have worked with a lot of successful clients to get them great results.

With that in mind, there’s a tonne of digital weight loss guides out there from everyone imaginable. To be honest, most of these guides aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on (see what I did there? See, because they’re not printed, they’re digital, so…..yeah). However, there are some definite nuggets of awesomeness out there. Today I’m going to do a brief review of some of the best that I’ve seen, and give you my honest opinion as to what I like and what I don’t like. I’m also going to give each one a cost rating based on the highly scientific analysis of the number of equivalent personal training sessions you would have to get with an average trainer to be able to meet the same cost of the product (the more dumbells means the greater the cost).

Show and Go Training: Eric Cressey

Eric put together a great resource that doesn’t follow the typical mantra of “3 sets of 10” for every single person on every single exercise. He trains a lot of athletes to become beasts, and as a result, they wind up looking like athletes, gaining muscle and losing body fat while also improving their overall mobility, strength, and capacity to do work.

This product gives you 4 months worth of workouts, and has variations for those who can only work out 2 times per week, three times, or four times per week, which makes it very adaptable to any lifestyle. Also, knowing that most gyms have completely different types of equipment, he’s given substitutions for some of the more complex exercises, which will allow you to do the workouts at home, as well as in the most spartan of gym facilities.

He’s also included video demonstrations of the exercises, which always helps out, and you even have the ability to upload the exercises to a portable device to take to the gym with you.

What I would like to have seen in this product is more of a coaching aspect on the videos. A ten second clip of the exercise is great to get the idea of what you’re supposed to do, but  one thing I’ve found is that even showing people is often not enough, you have to show them, cue them to specific aspects of the movement (see how the hips are low here and the chest is up? Make sure you don’t let your knees go ahead of the bar here), would be an invaluable addition to this product, but barring that, it’s a fantastic resource and well worth the investment

He’s also included some amazing free bonuses from guys like Tony Gentilcore, Bret Contreras, as well as a nutrition guide by Cressey Performance resident food guy, Brian St. Pierre. All told, this is a jam-packed resource with lots of value and it will help you get some great results to not just look amazing, but to throw around more plates than a dishwasher at Dennys.

Relative Cost: 

Get your copy of Show and Go Training HERE

 

SuperHero Workout: John Romaniello

This was genius marketing at its’ best. Putting out a product that capitalized on the release of pretty much every superhero movie possible in 2011, John Romaniello release the SuperHero Workout to show how the action stars were able to pack on the beef and look amazing on camera. John has a unique advantage in the fitness industry, having worked as a fitness model and with a lot of models and actors, he knows more about what it takes to be “camera ready” than almost anyone else out there. On top of that, he’s funny as hell and can actually write in three or four syllable words without sounding confused. He’s also more than happy to whip his shirt off at a moments notice, and ladies seem to think he’s pretty.

John teamed up with some pretty big names to help put this together, including Matt McGorry, trainer at Peak Performance and a ranked top 50 powerlifter & martial arts instructor, and Flavia DelMonte, a very accomplished figure competitor and personal trainer who helped develop the women’s plan.

The program is broken into 4 phases: Strength & Power, Speed & Agility, Mass & Increased Strength, and Density & Overall Aesthetics in a 12-week comprehensive program. For those who think going through a single phase of “mass” will make you a massive hulking beast, calm down, breathe, and come to the realization that a lot of bodybuilders will spend the better part of years trying to squeak out a pound of muscle or 5. Also, by adding a single pound of good muscle to specific areas of the body, you can improve the look and get the shape of a body that you’re looking for. Case in point:

This program includes the workout program, training logs, supplement guide to get the most out of your nutrition, video database of the featured exercises, and most importantly the motivation found inside the manual that will get you jacked up and excited to work out and get your swole on.

One aspect I felt was missing from this program was a comprehensive nutrition program. The supplement guide is fantastic, and it’s good to see that it’s only composed of 5 really good supplements, however I am sure John would be the first guy to tell you that nutrition is probably 80% of the driver to get results for any body transformation. That being said, this is STILL a fantastic product, and well worth the investment. He also has it on a very sneaky sale, which I stumbled upon while perusing his site today.

Relative Cost:

Get Your Copy of Super Hero Workout HERE

 

Final Phase Falt Loss: John Romaniello

Another one from Roman, this one is all about losing those last 10-15 pounds to get you into ripped, shredded, and eyeball popping shape quickly. Similarly to the SuperHero Workout, the program is broken into distinct phases of training, each with specific goals to accomplish and very detailed workouts that are easy to follow and user-friendly. It comes with a picture library of the exercises used, which would have been better suited to videos for the digital age, but whatever. They still get the job done nicely.

This is one of the most comprehensive and concise overviews of fat metabolism and the biochemistry of weight loss I have ever seen, and is written with enough science that people understand but aren’t overwhelmed. It gives a great understanding of how what we as a society are doing is actually causing us to get fatter, and provides a clear rationale as to what should be done to prevent and reverse the trend, as well as some of the high-performance biophysiology necessary to see fantastic above-average results.

This program is slightly more advanced than the SuperHero Workout, and is best suited for those who have seen some great results with a workout program and are looking to take their game to the next level. While a concise nutrition program would be awesome in the base package, there’s a really cool couple of options available as upsells,

Relative cost:

Get Final Phase Fat Loss by clicking HERE

 

Peak Diet & Training Summit – Joe Dowdell & Mike Rousell

Okay, okay, this isn’t actually a weight loss program per se, however it’s one of the most comprehensive learning tools to give you more information on what it takes to lose weight, get stronger and leaner, while also adding some muscle to your frame, male or female.  Written for the fitness professional, the language is more technical and scientific, but the content is pure gold.

The entire package consists of 15 DVDs, 3 thick manuals, continuing education credits, and more knowledge bombs than you could ever hope for from two of the smartest minds in training and nutrition. While it doesn’t provide you with a specific plan to get your butt in gear, it gives you the knowledge necessary to build your own programs with some advanced concepts, what works and what doesn’t, and cuts through a lot of the BS out there to give you the straight dope on what will get you the results you want, whether that means losing weight, getting stronger, increasing speed and vertical jump, or simply becoming one step closer to rock star status you know you’ve always wanted.

Relative cost:

Pick up your copy of Peak Fitness & Diet Summit HERE

These were some of the biggest products that have come across my desk this year, but what are some of the others out there? Have you used any products and had really great results, or what about those that didn’t live up to the hype? Leave a comment below and let me know about it!!