Hi everyone,

I’m so excited about the two new Ripped! videos coming out! After months of testing, planning and filming I know we’ve come up with some phenomenal workouts! These videos are going to get you the results you are looking for.

NEW! Get Ripped Slim & Lean

Now available through my website: www.rippedworkout.ca (look for the green cover!)

Get Ripped Slim & Lean, takes what you’ve built in the first video and kicks it up 10 notches! It’s a 60-minute full-body workout that includes 15 exercises plus abdominal and stretching segments. Like Ripped! #1, the focus is on high reps and light weights to create definition, build lean muscle mass, and burn calories.

What makes it different from the first Ripped! video is that we’ve added some new exercises and pumped up the intensity! These scientifically-proven exercises plus the added pulsing movements are phenomenal ways to overcome plateaus.

In Get Ripped Slim & Lean you will shape your entire body, tone those problem areas like gluteals and hamstrings, and create gorgeous definition in your arms and shoulders.

New to Ripped? Never fear, as in all the Ripped! workouts, we demonstrate modifications for people who are new to Ripped! and those who have movement limitations. Anyone can do it!

Bonus Feature: Healthy Eating – a registered dietician shares how to eat right to maximize those Ripped! results.

NEW! Get Ripped to the Core

Coming soon to my website – watch for the availability dates

In Get Ripped to the Core, you’ll get triple the workout in the same amount of time! Scientifically proven, this workout guarantees fast results by working multiple muscle groups simultaneously! We’ve tested every exercise at a sport science lab to ensure you are maximizing calorie burn with each movement. That’s what makes this one great for overcoming weight-loss plateaus.

Using dumbbells or your own body weight, it’s a complete workout integrating compound exercises plus an abdominal section and a stretch segment. Benefits of compound exercises:

Burn 2-3 times the calories as isolation exercises
Shape the entire body
Shed fat fast
Develop sleek abs
Improve balance
Functional in daily activities

Modifications ensure the exercises are effective for beginner to advanced. No matter what your fitness level you’ll feel fabulous and have fun!

Bonus Features: Interview with an exercise physiologist who explains why Ripped! works. Demo of exercise testing on the metabolic cart. Outtakes from filming.

Hitting a Plateau: What to do

What is an exercise plateau?

When you reach an exercise plateau, your body becomes accustomed to a workout routine, regardless of intensity. The body has adapted or become accustomed to a specific exercise stimulus. A plateau can also be caused by over-training. Be sure to allow the body adequate rest between workouts to allow the muscles time to repair themselves.

What is a weight-loss plateau?

A weight-loss plateau results when your body adapts to a lower caloric consumption and goes into “famine” mode. The result is a decrease in metabolism in an attempt to preserve fat reserves. The trick to overcoming a weight-loss plateau is to increase your activity level to give your metabolism a boost.

How do you know you’ve reached an exercise plateau?

You no longer feel energized after a workout; instead you feel fatigued and lacking motivation. You may not even feel the drive to complete a workout that you’ve started.

Tips: What to do when you’ve reached an exercise plateau

Change up your routine. You can vary your workout routine by trying different cardio exercises, by trying free-weights instead of weightlifting machines, or by trying different exercises that target the same muscle groups. This forces the body to adapt which leads to physical and physiological changes. Change your routine once a month to avoid reaching a plateau and to avoid boredom.
Give the body time to rest. Take a week off from your usual structured workout routine and try some less structured, leisurely activities for a week, such as walking, hiking, swimming, or yoga. When you do start back up again, be sure to make a change to your routine.
Evaluate your caloric consumption. As your fitness level and muscle mass increase, your metabolism increases, therefore you burn more calories. You may no longer be consuming enough calories to sustain your caloric expenditure. Be sure to listen to your body. If you are hungrier than usual, you may need to increase your caloric intake.
Cross-train. You can change up your workouts by varying the intensity of your workouts. Try alternating between low-intensity days, moderate-intensity days, and high-intensity days. You can also change up the intensity within a workout session by varying the level of difficulty. Try increasing the weights or increasing the repetitions. If you are using a heart rate monitor, keep track or your average heart rate each workout to ensure that you haven’t lightened the workout to a level below your ability.
Get enough sleep to allow for recovery and energy for the next day’s workout.

If you can’t break through a plateau, ride it out. It may be that your body just needs a chance to catch up to a new body weight or fitness level.

References
Hood-Gabrielson, Gillian. www.mamashealth.com/exercise/plateau.asp
www.healthyontario.com/english/
www.thecolumn.org/weight-loss-plateau.asp

Tips from the Dietician

Angela Sirounis, RD

Get Ripped! Slim & Lean includes a Bonus Interview with Angela Sirounis, a Registered Dietician. Here are some of the tips she gave to help maximize those Ripped! results.

You can find more information on the Slim & Lean DVD.

And don't forget to check out "Angie's Mom's Lentil Stew"recipe below.

Jari: Angela, would you recommend that people eat carbohydrates before the Ripped! workout?

Angela: What is really important is making sure that those glycogen stores are up. Glycogen is the energy that you use for working out. For a workout like Ripped! where carbohydrates are your main source of fuel, the day before the workout is when you have to maximize those stores. Having a snack before, an hour or two before, is going to be helpful, although really, the majority of the stores are going to come from muscle glycogen and liver glycogen that you have already built up.

Jari: Before doing the Ripped workout when should people eat?

Angela: Being hydrated is probably a bigger and more important issue. It’s the most helpful. Its best not to work out on a full stomach though because in order for your body to digest food, you get blood flow diverted to your stomach for digestion, and its not going to the muscles that need it for the workout. So it is a good idea to leave at least 2 hours for digestion before working out.

Jari: Why is it important to eat after a workout?

Angela: Eating properly after you work out is important to building up those muscle glycogen stores. Your muscles and your liver are most receptive to fuel 15 minutes to 2 hours after you work out. That is when you are going to maximize your muscle glycogen uptake so that for your next workout you are going to have optimal amount of energy.

Jari: So what you are saying is have something 15-20 minutes after the workout. Can you give us an example?

Angela: Something that is a carbohydrate rich food and contains a little bit of protein. Such as a turkey sandwich or a bagel and an apple, that sort of thing.

Jari: What are the advantages of eating six small meals a day?

Angela: People who eat this way typically lose weight and keep weight off. Researchers have found that people who eat the majority of their calories in the evening tend to overeat by 500 or 600 calories more than they would if they were eating throughout the day. People who have had the most successful weight loss and have kept their weight off always eat breakfast. That is the one common factor that keeps coming up in research.

Jari: So Angela, you have been doing Ripped! for a while and I wanted to know what your opinion of it was.

Angela: As a 39-year-old woman, I am concerned about lean body mass. Its well known that as we age, our resting metabolic rate drops and as a result you start to gain weight. So because of the work out, I am utilizing major muscle groups and I am working at an intensity that I am going to be burning fat long after the workout is done. I am building lean body mass keeping my resting metabolic rate up and it allows me to feel strong in my daily life.

"Angie's Mom's Lentil Stew"

11/2 cups of lentils
1/2 cup of pearl barley
1 chopped onion
4 chopped carrots
4 chopped celery sticks
1-28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of tomato juice
1/4 cup of olive or canola oil
3 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped (not minced)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in pot. Completely cover ingredients with water then add about 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover pot, reduce heat to medium high for 1 hour, stirring intermittently. Finish by taking lid off and continuing to cook for about another 10 to 15 minutes.

Yields approx. 10 servings (2 cups per serving). Per serving: 232 calories, 9.8 g protein, 36 g carbohydrate, 6 g of fat, 12 g of fiber.

For people on the run this is a great make ahead recipe that keeps in the fridge and is just as tasty re-heated. Lentils have it all; protein-rich, low fat and high in fiber! They also have a very low glycemic index! The carrots and tomatoes are great sources of anti-oxidants and the oil is heart health approved.