Hope everyone out there is having a great Labor Day.  I love this weekend.  It means cooling temperatures and the start of college football season, which is the most anticipated time of the year down south in Alabama where I live, especially with the Tide coming off their championship season and Saban nation at the top of the polls again.

As for me, my allegiance doesn’t lie with my home state.  I’m a Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan and was relieved to see them get out of the gates strong against Purdue after a string of mediocre years.

Another part of my weekend included my wife and I driving over to Atlanta to spend the day at the White Water park.  Slides, slides, and more slides...nothing like playing teenager again for a day!!

But, while I was enjoying my time at the park, I was also very discouraged.  Why?  Because I was witnessing our country’s obesity rates before my very eyes.

According to the most recent statistics, 34 percent of American adults and 17 percent of children are obese.  The adult percentage has doubled in the past 30 years, while the percentage of obese children has tripled during the same time period.

As a country, our 34 percent obesity rate ranks as the HIGHEST in the world, comfortably ahead of Mexico, the UK, Slovakia, and Greece.  Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea are near the bottom with figures under 5 percent.

As alarming as those numbers are, my own eyeball test at the park suggests that number is actually low relative to the reality of the situation.

One is considered obese when their body mass index (ratio of height to weight) is 30 or greater.  Now, I am aware of the flaws in figuring body mass index, since it doesn’t consider muscle mass, but the numbers still reveal an alarming epidemic across this country.

And, it’s not like our government isn’t aware of the problem and hasn’t tried to address it.  A decade ago federal health officials set a goal to have no more than 15 percent of people in our country obese by 2010...we have failed miserably.

It’s important to realize that the tone of my post is NOT, “fat people suck” or “what a bunch of losers.”  Not at all.

Listen, I was blessed with good genetics, played sports when I was young, and grew up in a household where sensible eating was part of our daily lives.  So, the foundation was laid early for me to live the lean body lifestyle that I enjoy today.

But, there are millions out there who haven’t had these advantages, and sadly enough, they’re suffering the consequences of it on a daily basis.

I realize I’m speaking to the choir, because if you’re on this site you’re more than likely in great shape or on your way.  But, my point is that we all know our share of people who fall under the obesity category and go through their daily routines feeling self-conscious about the way they look and can’t enjoy the same quality of life that we do.

I really felt for those I came across at the park who clearly were uncomfortable walking around with all their flaws on display.  The really sad thing is that most of them have given up, because they’ve reached a point of no return in their minds.

They associate more pain with taking the action to get in shape than the pleasure of actually looking great and living healthy, and it shouldn’t be like this.

I don’t want to be over dramatic here and suggest that Brad and I are starting a revolution, but we’re certainly trying to make a difference.

Yes, this is an “advanced” fat loss site, so much of the workout content isn’t applicable to an obese person at first, but there is definitely an entry point and motivating evidence available for those looking to finally take action and sustain it.

I know that steering an obese person toward anything related to getting in shape can be uncomfortable, because you don’t want to offend them.  So, share these posts on social media sites, and keep exposing the people in need to the content indirectly.

We can only hope that sooner or later curiosity will get the best of them, and they’ll make the most important click-through of their lives.

Your Coach,

Brian Utley

Ultimate bodyweight workouts: SEALs Workout

I'm alive.  Barely.  I survived a much needed vacation to Sin City (aka Las Vegas, Nevada) and am just now remembering how to use a computer...

I'm sure you know the saying:  "What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas." Therefore, my lips are zipped when it comes to the details of our Vegas vacation, but don't worry...it was nowhere as epic as The Hangover, haha.  Here's a pic of me and the lady friend that we can't stop laughing at--notice my Houdini-like vanishing arm trick...

The thing I freakin' love about Vegas is that you can just walk up and down the strip and be entertained, just by looking at all the lights and crazy people.  It's cool when you can go somewhere and completely lose track of all stresses and responsibilities and just sorta zone out and live in the moment.

Most of the time I try to not miss a beat when it comes to traveling and keeping on top of my diet and workout routine.  But on this trip I decided I deserved a total fitness fast sine I'd been taking it to the "tip top" the past 8 weeks.  I recommend you do the same after a long period of hitting it hard with no slip-ups.

Allowing myself the freedom to eat whatever I wanted made the trip even better, but to be honest I didn't overindulge too much - at least not when it came to food.

Gambling and boozing were a slightly different story.  What can I say?  It's Vegas for crying out loud.

As you can see in this photo, I'm a little excited to get the night started.  Looks like I met all the criteria on my pretty boy checklist too:

Purple shirt...check

Collar popped...check

Half a bottle of extra firm hold hair gel...check

"Balla" watch...check

"Stunna" shades to wear when gambling, despite it being dark as hell (not shown)...check

What's not to be pumped about?

Warning:  living the lean body lifestyle can give you uber confidence and may lead to you just not giving a damn.  Just wanted to throw that disclaimer out there.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Seriously though, you wouldn't believe the "attire" people were sporting around Vegas.  It was insane.  My girlfriend referred to some of these girls as a hot mess, but I argued that they worked hard on their body and simply wanted to flaunt their efforts...you can guess who won that argument, lol.

Anyways, we finished off our Vegas vacation by lighting up this black jack table, making some "money fans" and then watching a very entertaining show called Zumanity.

An awesome last night in one of my all-time favorite vacation spots, indeed.

If you've never seen Zumanity before, I highly recommend checking it out.  Besides the fact that it's got very attractive and very naked performers doing amazing acts...I found the show to be really inspiring...

Both the guys and girls are completely lean and ripped and it's crazy to see the types of acrobatic tricks their athletic bodies allowed them to do.  After seeing that I couldn't wait to get home and start training again.

Hope you guys are enjoying life and finding the balance between fitness and lifestyle.  Don't settle for one or the other--do both and do them like an absolute rock star.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

PS - VIP email subscribers can download your free gifts right here:  Advanced Fat Loss Meal Plans and Workout Videos

I just got back home from a long business trip to Stamford, CT, where I attended an amazing event put on by my business coach.  I had the chance to network with a lot of really cool people in the fitness industry (and many other industries) who're doing some BIG things.  We're talking multi-millionaires...

Here's Me Networking With Some Entrepreneurial Rock Stars:

The atmosphere was outstanding and I definitely made some new friends and gained a whole lot of inspiration and enthusiasm from this huge group of entrepreneurs.  For you, this means more advanced fat loss coaching coming your way and more opportunities to work with me on a more personal level (more on this in the coming weeks).

One thing I regret is that I didn't bring my clunky laptop along on the trip.  Sure, the iPhone is great for checking emails, blog comments, etc, but it's kinda a royal pain in the butt to reply to all my Inner Circle and Platinum Personal Training clients, especially when I needed to write in-depth responses.

But I'm back now and I'll be catching up on all the requests and questions this week.  And just to let you know I was thinking about my 'crew,' here are some quick videos I shot on my iPhone during seminar breaks.  I thought I'd upload them to YouTube and be able to post them onto TopFatLossTrainer right away, but I was having major issues copying and pasting the code (guess it's not the perfect phone after all), so here they are...a little late...

TopFatLossTrainer Update:  Did You Miss Me?

Lean Body:  How Bad Do YOU Want It?

From those two short videos you should be able to see that a) I'm always thinking bout my fat haters and b) I desperately need to get some sleep (by the way, that second video was shot at like 5 am and it's now about midnight...so this cat needs a nap).

If I were you, I'd step it up and take what's yours this week.  You have to want it more than anything.  That's how you win in the lean body game, that's how you win in business and that's how you win at life.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

Resources: Diets | Supplements | Workouts

Okay, get your head out of the gutter...I was referring to the 7-minute garage workout I just busted out like it was hot.  I wanted to go for a nice tempo run outside, but time was definitely not on my side, so I had to opt for a quickie instead.

Before I take you through today's workout, let me give you the "haps on them craps" (sorry, was playing a little old school Ice Cube in the background..."shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em").  Speaking of great music, THANKS again to everyone who listed their favorite workout songs the other day.

*If you haven't already, check out that post for some killer ideas and be sure to leave any other songs that are motivating to workout to.  You guys rocked it and I've been jammin' out and destroying workouts ever since then, so gracias.

Wow, either too much caffeine today or the ADHD is really kicking in, because I can't seem to finish one thought.  Alright, back to my update:  TopFatLossTrainer's Inner Circle is literally 100% complete and ready to change lives forever.  Believe me, as anxious as you've been to get started, I've been even more excited to get things finalized.  I'm a big time perfectionist, so it took a lot longer than anticipated... but you'll find it well worth the wait.

As soon as I get the green light from my payment processor, I'll let everyone know and you can get signed up.  Although I was initially thinking of charging $99/month, I decided to lower it and make it more affordable to everyone.  We're rolling with $14.95/month (plus a limited time $1 trial offer for the first month of service) and when you consider how comprehensive, user-friendly, accessible and let's not forget, EFFECTIVE the Inner Circle is... that's a steal (of course, I'm biased).

Anyways, I'm so PROUD of this - I've been working on the Inner Circle daily for about 7 months now and I think you'll be surprised by the quality and level of detail this "lean body solution" contains.

I hope to see as many of you as possible inside the Inner Circle and I can't wait to coach you to a knockout body and a new lifestyle...the lean body lifestyle.

Okay, that's about as much pitching as you'll ever get from me, but what can I say...I'm excited about 'my baby.'

Back to my fat loss workout for the time crunched...

It's amazing how much 'damage' you can do in under 10-minutes if you're both creative and focused.  I just got out of the shower and I'm still feeling a little dizzy - all from a ridiculously short 7-minute fat loss workout.  Pretty crazy.  Peep this...

7-Minute Quickie Fat Loss Workout:

---> Warm-up with 1 minute of jumping jacks, exaggerated fashion

1A. 12 explosive burpees with 'clap' push-up and tuck jump at top of movement

1B. Using heavy dumbbells (I used 50 lbs, for reference), complete 9 full range squats (butt almost to floor)

1C. Using same dumbbells, immediately complete 9 push-presses (dip the hips and drive off heals to complete shoulder press, then lower slowly with all shoulders)

1D. Lateral jumps holding medicine ball overhead x 30 jumps (jump side-to-side holding medicine ball straight overhead...if possible, use a towel or safe object to jump over each time)

--Rest 30 seconds--

--Repeat entire fat loss circuit one more time--

This entire hybrid workout took me almost exactly 7-minutes, but man did I feel the burn.  My quads and shoulders were flippin' en fuego and the lungs were burning pretty bad, as I was sucking for air like a guy who's never worked out before.  Humbling, to say the least.

Give that bad boy a try sometime and let me know what you think.  Make sure you're going heavy with your dumbbells, using full ranges of motion and exploding with burpees and lateral jumps.  If the explosive push-up and tuck jump (with burpees) and vertical medicine ball hold (with lateral jumps) is too difficult, just go without and try to progress each week until you're able to crush it.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

Is there anything as joyful as having a lean body? As I sit here writing this blog post, I can't help but poke at my once not-so-sculpted obliques and... even through my Puma hoodie... can totally feel how tight and chiseled my abs have gotten.

I can't think of many other things that would put me in this good of a mood on a random Tuesday afternoon, as I sit here with a mountain of work staring back at me.

I'll probably be working another 13 hour day today (what's new?), but I gotta tell ya... I feel like a million bucks.  To me, being lean, sculpted and in ridiculous shape is one of my biggest highs.  It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it for yourself, but I can say it's definitely worth all the hard work and sacrifice.

Honestly, I'm glad it's so hard to lose fat, build muscle and create a well-proportioned body.  Why?  Because it makes you so much more appreciative when you have to sacrifice so much to end up with the desired end result.  Also, it means it's easy (maybe 'possible' would be a better word) to set yourself apart from everyone else in this world.

The worst thing to be is average...

In short, most people don't have the desire, the drive or the persistence to build an exceptional body.  That's why YOU are going to feel like King flippin' Kong when your body transformation is complete.

A lean and chiseled body gives you an automatic pass into the "IN" club, where you can start living the lean body lifestyle and kicking butt all up and down the block... in every aspect of life.

Anyways, enough about my feel good, lean body tangent (I really need Ritalin).  The purpose of today's post was to give you a down and dirty challenge workout to spark new muscle growth and turn your fat loss up a notch or six.  This workout is a lot like the principles I discussed in my Tacfit Commando review.

Try this challenge-like workout routine sometime this week and let me know how it goes.  I think you'll experience a whole new level of "suckiness" because of the burn we all associate with lactic acid buildup (I phrased it like that because new research actually shows that lactic acid, which undergoes changes and eventually becomes lactate, may not be responsible for the acute burn felt after short bouts of intense exercise).

Whatever the cause, the discomfort resulting from acidosis in the blood stream will certainly be felt.  But you know by now that more "suckiness" produces better results, faster.  Here's the workout...can you dig it?

Lean Body Workout:

---> Start with body weight pull-ups (if you can't perform at least 10 body weight pull-ups, use the lat pull-down machine at a weight that allows no more than 10 reps...or if working out from home, you can use a resistance band - loop around something solid and simulate a pull-up by pulling down each end of the tube with strict form and high resistance) and perform as many reps as you can, with perfect form, until you reach failure

---> Transition immediately to body weight push-ups (if you can't perform 10 body weight push-ups, just go off your knees) and complete as many perfect reps as possible, until reaching failure

---> Jump up and immediately go back to pull-ups (or lat pull-downs or resistance band pulls) and knock out as many reps as possible, again making sure to use full range of motion

---> You guessed it...back to push-ups until failure is reached, then back to pull-ups

---> Continue to switch back and forth, without ANY rest, until you're to the point where you can only perform ONE rep of each exercise.  You're going to have to DIG deep and get creepy (or something) with it

---> To incorporate the challenge aspect, either record how many minutes you lasted before being reduced down to ONE repetition of each exercise, or the total number of reps you were able to get for each exercise (might be a little hard to think and go through that much pain at the same time)

---> Your upper body will feel absolutely ripped and now it's time to work the lower body and continue with our fat-assassination lean body workout...

---> Hop on the treadmill, elliptical, stair machine, exercise bike or run outside.  Sprint (or all-out effort, depending on what you're using) for 20 seconds, recover at low intensity for 30 seconds, then sprint for 30 seconds and recover for 30 seconds and continue in this pattern (keeping recovery at 30 seconds and increasing sprint by 10 secs each time)...until you complete the last sprint of 60 seconds.

---> Now you're done with this lean body workout.  You'll feel horrible and amazing all at the same time.  The tsunami you just exposed your body to will "do work" on your metabolism.

Leave your questions in the comments section below.  Good luck.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

More funky workouts for you to try: Navy SEALs Workouts... and for muscle building, try these: Workout Routines To Build Muscle

Did you miss me?  Your TopFatLossTrainer has been uber busy the past couple of weeks.  I just got home from Iowa, where I visited family and friends, was in my friend's wedding, baptized my new nephew Brock (I'm going to be the best godparent ever), took care of some business and basically ran all over that frigid state like a chicken with it's head cut off.

I've also been working my lean body butt off (haha) trying to put the finishing touches on the TopFatLossTrainer Inner Circle, which is going to blow the roof off the fitness industry and raise the bar to a whole new level (that's how we roll, baby).  Anyways, I thought I'd show you some highlights of my trip...

Here's me with my nephew Brock (my sister has a beautiful baby):

Brock only puked on his uncle 4 times in the first hour of meeting me, haha.  This was really my first experience with a newborn, but I think I caught on pretty quick...even changed a diaper and fed the lil guy.  He was so cute and it really never got old watching  him slip into and out of his power naps.

Here's me, my girlfriend Staci and baby Brock just chillin' like some villains:

Was great to see the fam and spend some quality time with everyone - I don't see them often since I moved out to sunny Arizona.  With the business taking off like crazy, I haven't had time to visit much...but I realized that along with your health, family and friends are by far the most important thing and everything else is a very distant second.

Like I said, I was also in my buddy's wedding this past weekend.  I got to see lots of friends from pharmacy school and we had lots of laughs and even more alcohol (if there's one thing I learned from my years at college, it was how to party).

Here's Staci and I at the rehearsal dinner (I had the best chicken marsala EVER):

You see, the "lean body lifestyle" is all about getting the body of your dreams AND living like a rock star (or at least being able to kick back and enjoy life).  I'm not about turning you into a food-fearing health nut or an antisocial meathead who would only have a sip of alcohol if it meant he could stay in the gym 5 minutes longer.

Not only can you plan social events to coincide with your cheat days, but I'll also show you how to use a "sliding scale" where you simply adjust your workouts and diet plan as needed to cancel out excess calories from food and alcohol that you enjoyed during weddings, family get-togethers, parties or other events.

Here's the lucky man...don't worry, I made him shave the beard for the big day:

Speaking of the big day, here's the guys looking real "GQ":

The wedding was at an old theater in Sioux City, Iowa (aka "the sewer").  The pictures don't even do this place justice...it was elegant to say the least...a very cool spot for a wedding.  They even had a "man cave" where us guys got to hang out between taking pictures and the actual ceremony.

They really rolled out the red carpet for us and it must have cost my friend a small fortune, haha.  After the ceremony, which was flawless and super quick, it was time for me to find the dance floor and cut a rug.

Here's me getting funky...I'm pretty fly for a white guy:

How does that line go in Wedding Crashers?  Vince Vaughn was told that he moves pretty good at the reception and he says something like:  Oh, thanks a lot.  I really just got lucky.  I was more in the zone than anything else...it was booze dancing.  That cracks me up every time I watch it.

Feeling no pain (too many Grey Goose 'n Rock Stars):

All in all, a great wedding and it really couldn't have went any better.  The happy couple is now sipping Coronas in Jamaica and I'm finally back in good ole Arizona.  I had a ridiculous amount of fun on this trip home and the best part is that my abs didn't disappear on me.

To make up for the all the restaurant food, alcohol, candy and take-out we had, I just finished a 35-hour fast (nothing special about 35 hours, but with flying home, catching up on sleep, etc that's just what it turned out to be).

In the middle of this fast, I hit the garage for a very intense 20 minute workout, where I alternated between explosive burpees, boxing intervals on the heavy bag, and a plyometric jump cycle.

In just under a day and a half, I feel totally back to normal - refreshed, lean and ripped just like before I left.  Being a pharmacist, this is my "sliding scale" I was talking about (diabetics use a sliding scale to adjust their insulin dose based off blood sugar levels when they cheat on their diet), where I adjust my diet and workout routine to compensate for getting off track during my trip.

I took a slightly extended fast day, did a slightly longer and even more intense workout and will be eating extra clean and low-calorie during the remainder of this week...until it's time for another cheat day.

Another reason I'm able to go on long trips like this without paying much attention to my diet or workout plan, is because I've already put in the work to create my own lean body that functions at a high metabolic rate day in and day out.

It's much easier to maintain a lean body than it is to create one in the first place.  Don't take this as a negative if you still have a ways to go - look at this as another great benefit that you can enjoy once your transformation is complete.

Also, you can still live the lean body lifestyle and make progress towards your fat loss and muscle building goals, without having to miss out on life.  You just need to accommodate your social activities with the sliding scale I talked about, to ensure you don't take a step or two backwards during your "off times."

I'm looking forward to a new year of helping thousands more, all over the world, to start living the lean body lifestyle.  Let's get ready to boogey in 2010, fat-haters...

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell