holliswashere.com Video 29 - The Story of Mr. B

Since I did a speech on my other pets, it is now time to tell the world the story of Mr. B.

Enjoy and please adopt/rescue a pet today.

holliswashere.com Video 28 - State of the Union

packaging super books, helping animals in need and bodybuilding from yesteryear

Ric's Corner - Second interview with Ric Drasin

Hollis Liebman, trainer, bodybuilder, author, from 'Slight to Might'

holliswashere.com Video 27 - Yussell (my first hero)

An emotional tribute to my first hero, my beloved Grandpa Joe 

(November 12, 1917 - July 23, 1993)

holliswashere.com Video 26 - Personal Training - My Other Life

How I see the fascinating world of personal training and helping others.

The moment of "rebirth"

Look carefully. There's more to this video than it seems. Rarely can we point to the exact moment where it all changed. For me, this video is that moment. As embarrassing as this video from 2 years ago is, I'm really proud of it. The year prior I was called up and terrified because I was no longer the performer I used to be. And I was ridiculed and made to feel horrible. I swore that the next year I would get up and face my fears and that, my friends, was the beginning of my rebirth and I would go on to prepare myself for Peak Physique. I have no tolerance for bullying and inequality. If you are living with a fear, you owe it to yourself to face it because you can do it - now go and kick butt!

The Story of Edward and Oliver

Hear for the first time ever, the story of brothers Edward and Oliver.

Adopt, rescue, love :)

Myth Buster

Based on the myriad of questions, comments and feedback I have received, I'll be keeping to a Q & A type format, in the hopes of bringing the most information to my loyal readers. So let's dive right in.

1. Do fat burners work?

As humans, we all want to lessen the journey from start to finish. To truly get from one point to another quickly, concisely and when able, painlessly. Originally, fat burners were a combination of ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin, taken multiple times per day. They were thought to help metabolize food more efficiently, raise one's body temperature and curb appetite. I never found them to be the miracle the models on the labels would have you believe. One will get extraordinary results by simply performing resistance training, cardiovascular training and clean nutrition over the long-term.

2. Protein shakes or real food?

In most situations, whole food is a better choice than a pre-digested and processed meal replacement powder or protein shakes, simply because it breaks down slower for a more sustained energy release. But, when in a bind and pressed for time, a protein shake is a sensible alternative to food. The best time for a protein shake would be post-workout when your body, screaming for nutrition following the depletion of its energy reserves, can utilize a pre-digested meal immediately.

3. When in the real world and I didn't plan ahead, what do I do for food?

Most of us live very fast-paced, highly stressful lives that are first in survival, second in performance and often last in nutrition. I myself always have extra protein shakes and raw nuts on me when in the car to avoid missing meals, risking a low blood-sugar state, and then self-inducing a ravenous state, which will most assuredly result in over-eating. So what can one do when in the middle of nowhere without having planned ahead? There's usually a 7-11 on every other corner. One could go there and grab a protein shake and a piece of fruit. On every other corner (just about) adjacent to that, is a Subway. A 6 inch whole wheat bread with vegetables and a lean meat (or veggie patty) is a decent choice when in a bind. Come to think of it, most restaurants, be they sit down or fast food, have a healthier alternative. Seek out food that is processed to a minimum and chances are you're making a healthier choice.

4. Best exercises to sculpt and shrink lower abs?

It's called clean nutrition (low-glycemic carbs is a big part of it), strength training and cardiovascular work. One could perform abdominal exercises all day and nothing would happen in terms of showcasing a lean, muscular midsection until the fat carried there is burned off. Having said that, I like a movement such as a reverse crunch to work that area. Incidentally, there is no such thing as "lower abs." There is the rectus abdominis, which is one long muscle that is responsible for flexion between the chest and belly button.

5. Exercises to build strength for body weight exercises?

The best way to improve one's performance on a body weight exercise is with...body weight exercises. Pushups, dips, pull-ups and squats are examples of body-weight exercises and through practice, a full range of motion and repetition, will yield improved results. If one has trouble with certain movements, try modifying them. There is nothing "girlie" about push-ups with bent legs and knees touching the ground if you're feeling the muscles firing and hitting positive muscular failure after a set. Form, tension on the muscle, and slow controlled reps are your ticket to improvement.

6. How to curb late night cravings?

I hear it all the time. "I'm starving at night, I don't want to eat but I can't sleep!" Think ahead and eat more (but clean) during the day. Think of your nutrition like a bridge. Multiple anchor points (meals) will secure the bridge (hunger). Fewer anchor points will not secure the bridge. Capiche? Eat more protein and fibrous carbs at night and less complex carbs, certainly less sugar to help feel satisfied, while staying lean.

7. Best pre and post meals?

I assume we are talking pre and post WORKOUT meals? Eat a meal - chicken, brown rice and a vegetable prior to a workout for sustained energy, and a protein shake with fruit following your workout to speed digestion and aid recovery. It's that simple.

8. How do muscles grow?

Slowly. Resistance training creates micro tears in the muscles, which, when we eat and rest, causes the muscle cells to increase in size, not number. The result is increased lean muscle mass. Assuming of course that one's nutrition is clean and the stimulus for growth has occurred during training.

9. Soreness? Should I be?

I wasn't after my last workout - is that bad? Am I impeding my progress? One could take a long break from training, have a haphazard workout, and be very sore the next day. Yet this does not necessary mean this person had an effective workout that will improve their physique. What truly matters is temporary positive muscular failure in the gym, during your session when it counts. What also matters, is that one is firing from the correct muscles. That during a curling movement, the biceps are fatiguing, not the lower back from swinging too much weight. If you're sore good, and if you're not, good, too.

10. Why is dairy a no-no?

Although most of us were raised on dairy due to its bone strengthening vitamin D, most dairy is simply too high in sugar to be an permanent fixture in the health conscious diet. And sugar is a no-no when trying to maintain a lean physique. Your best bet is low fat, low sugar Greek yogurt which is also high in protein. And so we are one month in to 2013 and hopefully your resolutions are going strong.

Remember that I am here to help, either through my books email: liebman.hollis@gmail.com Or in person: 310 775 3771

In this together, Hollis :)

Feminine Warfare

Intimidation, that near paralyzing feeling that literally stops all of us at one time or another in our tracks. We feel as if we haul more baggage than Ebenezer Scrooge’s partner, Jacob Marley, dragging chains through the afterlife. And then, upon hitting the end of our rope, comes that ill-fated moment when we stand up and decry the line made famous in, "Network", the motion picture, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

All too often, the gym-floor bleeds intimidation, as I spy, (generally speaking), males doing battle, (myself included), with the free-weights, whilst the females relegate themselves, (generally speaking), to what I deem, “cardioland".

Here’s the problem: Those performing weight-resistance exercise with regularity, will, in fact, enhance their physiques in a noticeable way; i.e. leaner, tighter and more defined muscles, while those limbering around in cardio-land might lose weight, (fat, muscle and water), BUT the composition of their bodies remains fleshy! Here’s the solution: Cardiovascular exercise is defined as anything performed for 20 minutes or longer without cessation and involving the heart and should be interpreted not in burning calories, (the majority of which will be replaced, once the ravenous individual ingests them with his/her next meal), but rather in speeding up the metabolism for the duration. Furthermore, cardio, (for fatburning purposes), is best performed either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach or following the completion of one’s resistance training, but never before, (for too depleted will the purveyor be).

If anything, I see far more women training just as hard or harder than their male counterparts every day, yet claiming little in the way of results. When pressed, I am often told how their diet is perfect, how they are hardly eating, and still the fat just sits there! Following their thoroughly frustrating and cathartic tirade, I explain the common two blocks in their path: overtraining and under eating. And right there, I lose their vote. Yes we can turns into uh, no and goodbye, within seconds.

My heart goes out to you ladies for I love you, believe me. It is you who allows entry for future generations on our planet, it is you who taught me both communication and sensitivity and yes, it is you who struggles with naturally having to carry a higher body part percentage than we, it is you who has to a pay a monthly bill that take decades to fully mature and yes, it is you who struggles on a day to day basis with managing more excessive water than perhaps even the once unsinkable Titanic! Alas, is it US that must approach YOU in hopes for a date…but that’s a whole other article.

We all have a dream, and aside from seeing my clients achieve their physique goals, I want to see more women on the actual gym floor routinely performing weight-resistance training and less of you on the cardio machines on your phones and sprinting to warp speed that even Scotty can't beam you up, for you are traveling too fast!

I want you on the floor and enthused, (once again), about your workouts! Of course weights can be intimidating, for all of us! Even I once started with the naked 45-pound Olympic bar whilst performing bench presses until one day, (some years later), working up to sets with 405 pounds!

Please, if you have a question, come up to either myself, or someone else in the know, (just as long as they are not grunting and groaning or have not forgotten to apply deodorant that day) and ask us. We men love to help solve problems! Yes, I know, you are not looking for problem solvers, just a willing ear to listen. But again, that’s another article…

What follows are, what I see as 10 common mistakes, or myths many women may associate with the gym and its varying modalities. Let’s turn those untruths into knowing smiles and arm you in how to go about doing and holding your own on the gym floor. No longer relegate yourselves to the sidelines, only enlisted in battle can you win the war! Remember, you can be with fit, or you can be with fat! Now hit the trenches!

1. MARATHON CARDIO – With so much cardio performed on a daily basis, it’s a shame we cannot harness its collective energy to power Los Angeles. Perhaps solar panels on your leggings? I chafe just looking at the over-energyexpended daily. 30-45 minutes, tops, for keeping a sluggish metabolism going, per day, 30-45 minutes, tops, and performed at a moderate pace.

2. WEIGHTS MAKE ME BIG – No, all the fat, sugar and wine you are consuming are making you fat. Aside from improving your posture and bone density, resistance training is making your muscles firmer. Wanna get big with all that estrogen running through your body? You would need to lift heavy weights for low reps, eat a lot of food regularly, and be genetically suited for dense muscle accumulation over a period of years. Like a sequel to Ishtar, it ain’t gonna happen. Want to give up enhancing your natural genetic shape by minimizing the flawed and maximizing your strengths? Then avoid weights, for only through them will you achieve a silhouette that would make even a Disney animator drop their stencils mid stroke. Remember, the only thing separating a "lean and toned" physique from a "bulky" model is the body fat surrounding the muscles. You must burn fat to show muscle.

3. GOTTA LOSE WEIGHT – Put down those magazines proclaiming skinny and emaciated is in. Forget the numbers. Change your thinking. It’s not the size, it’s the quality. Get your mind out of the gutter! Use the mirror, your clothes and photos to tell you where you are, not your Aunt Pearl who says you’re too skinny and not eating enough.

4. I'M BARELY EATING – You’re right on that one. Sugar-laden coffee concoction for breakfast, leafy salad thing for lunch and finally, the whole fridge for dinner. Calorically, it probably doesn’t add up to a whole lot and in actuality is not enough of the right things to keep you running and shedding fat! Small and frequent meals throughout the day will always be the ticket.

5. GET IN THE CORNER – So the thought of lifting weights seems impossible? Perhaps hire a trainer, go with a friend or simply occupy your own area where you are comfortable and seemingly off other peoples' minds, if that’s constantly your concern. I can tell you that here in Los Angeles, no one is looking at you, they are looking at themselves. Go to your corner and get it on!

6. DRESSED FOR THE OSCARS – Remember people, we are in the gym to look good out of it. Feeling confident is one thing, but getting overly done up just to look fabulous in cardio-land seems futile to me. Suit up with your own gears of war, (hat, iPod, sports bottle), and get to work!

7. PATIENCE – Axl Rose sang at least two brilliant things, “worrying’s a waste of life” and “Patience.” It takes weeks to see even subtle changes in your body. Trust me. Whilst preparing for competition, back in the day, I wouldn’t even pose for my nutrionalist for weeks into the diet for we both knew it was too early to see the effects. Only until weeks 5 and 6 did I come in and pose.

8. SUIT UP - In screenwriting, (my other passion), there is something in action movies called, “the suit-up scene.” In this quick montage accompanied by cheesy synthesizer music, (at least in the 80’s – see, Rambo: First Blood Part 2"), the hero gears up, or prepares for war, whereby he or she, dons the usually military arsenal that couldn’t possibly fit on one person in the hopes of taking out the enemy whilst staying alive and thusly ensuring the sequel… Grab your weapons and gear up. For me it’s my pre-workout caffeine, iPod complete with Pantera, Megadeth and 2Pac and my blood red headphones, a Superman shirt and equally loud Superman sneakers and it's up, up and away!

9. STEPS – "I’ll get to weight training just as soon as I melt this fat off", is commonly and falsely believed. Oh brother! Finally attack the weights when you’ve sacrificed precious muscle tissue, energy reserves, and strength? That’s about as good an idea as another, "Harry Potter" movie – don’t get me started! Sometimes when we go shopping, we have to get what we need and not what we want. Now you may WANT to perform endless hours of cardio, read your magazine, and text your friends but you NEED resistance training now, sister for it will bring about change we can all believe in!

10 FLUX CAPACITOR – Doc Brown had the one idea in, "Back to the Future", that through the Flux Capacitor time travel was possible. His fixation on this one item, (along with stolen Plutonium and dog Einstein), allowed him to conquer the impossible. Find something to focus on in the gym that will get you away from cardio-land and into the pit. For me it’s the smith-machine on leg day. Or the power rack on back day. Or the incline press on chest day. Find something on the gym floor that you want to attack, (non-human), and go to it!

I'll be looking for you at the gym; on the floor with your brothers. Keep proudly rocking your summer body!

PT Magazine Cover Model & Contributing Writer

I am super proud and honored to be a featured story, cover model (Feb. 2015) and...a future contributing writer to PT Magazine! Make sure to pick up your copy today. http://www.ptmagazine.co.uk

The Story of Lucy

Normally this channel is reserved for exercise/nutrition/motivation videos, but today I am posting something different and special. This is a speech I gave on 1-24-15 on Lucy, my Hairless dog. Enjoy and please rescue a pet. Humans have a choice. Animals do not.

Peak Physique Author Signing (Part 2 of 2)

The Official Peak Physique book launch/author signing at the Santa Monica, CA Barnes & Noble on 1-10-15. Awesome reveal right here!

Peak Physique Author Signing (Part 1 of 2)

The Official Peak Physique book launch/author signing at the Santa Monica, CA Barnes & Noble on 1-10-15. Be sure to view Part 2 for a very special surprise!

Remotivation: 2015 have you flustered?

Happy 2015!

It’s a brand new year. The slate is clean, the cache emptied and the reset button has been pushed. Now that you have your blueprint for success firmly in your hands, inPeak Physique, 2015 is finally going to be your breakthrough year.

It would seem every January is a somewhat reoccurring groundhog existence in your renewal and vows for a healthy lifestyle and physical excellence. In the days prior to January 1st, and of course with the holidays occurring, we often load up on processed foods in excess just before beginning our New Year’s Resolutions and thus our decision to reinvent ourselves for the coming new year.

And like many, what often occurs is failure and early failure at that. We simply set the bar too high and are too extreme in our methodologies and executions of arriving in peak shape. The result is often many attempting to cross the bridge, but few actually making it to the other side. Well, this year is going to be different. 2015 is the year of you!

These 10 tips will kick-start and help to ensure that 2015 will indeed be different. 2015 will be your break-through year in which a change of former habits will now result in desired and long sought after results.

1. EVENT PLANNING – The first step to the new-and-improved 2015 you is to clearly define your destination. Perhaps your goal is to be bikini or board short ready come the summer. Beginning in January will give you plenty of time to bring about a major change in your physique. Starting a journey without defining one’s destination is akin to driving the car to nowhere – you may never get there, when ‘there’ is not defined.

2. AVOID SELF SABOTAGE - The voice that says you can’t is not telling the truth. Living in the era of instant gratification, it’s all too easy to self-medicate with sugar and fat-laden processed foods when feeling down or to skip a workout to feel at best temporarily better. The self-defeating voice can be silenced and you and you alone have the power to do so. You have the power to keep clean and nutritious foods stocked in your kitchen and you and you alone have the power to walk into any gym and give your all and improve your physique.

3. CLEAR THE WEAK LINKS – Be it a non-supportive friend or non-supportive garment, it is imperative to keep a team in your life that shares your goals, beliefs and methodologies. This goes a long way to actually getting your goals accomplished. Hanging with positive people that are also working on bettering themselves creates a safe and friendly, “got your back” atmosphere that is completely supportive. Trim the fat, not just from food, but also from your life.

4. THE MIRROR IS YOUR ONLY COMPETITION – Besting the image in the mirror is your foremost goal. Not starving or attempting to achieve by any means necessary the images that the media deems desirable. Since you only have control over yourself, it’s best to keep your focus there. 2015 is about adopting new positive lifestyle changes and making them work for you – over the long-term.

5. DON’T SHOOT FOR THE STARS – Many 2014 resolutions fell short of reaching the mark because they were too severe, too extreme and too unrealistic in terms of maintaining them with regularity for any length of time. While you should be looking to become your best, realize that it takes steps and time and a consistent, measured approach to achieve. Saying you will work out every day for hours and eat perfectly and not drink is simply too unrealistic. Better to say, I will have a few wonderful workouts per week, do my cardio and eat mostly clean with a splurge here and there. You’ll be pleasantly surprised over the long-term how much more you will accomplish this way.

6. PACK AHEAD – You know the saying “failing to plan ahead is planning to fail.” Though most of us tend to live fast lifestyles today, leaving the house to go to work without packing foods to support your healthy lifestyle is almost sure to derail you. Taking the time each evening before work the next day to grill some chicken, steam some veggies and prepare some yams/sweet potato really doesn’t take too much time and will empower you in this ‘all or nothing’ society we tend to exist in. By bringing meals with you, you are also less likely to eat poorly and skip gym sessions since you will be properly fueled for performance.

7. WORKOUT PARTNER - For many, a workout partner ups the ante and makes it a commitment. Someone else is depending on you to get a common goal accomplished, as a team. If you find someone who shares your common need of improvement, latch on to that person, and make it a double. A workout partner can even create a friendly sense of competition.

8. PHOTOS/CHECK-IN – For me it has always been about showing a clear-cut progression, and nothing says progress more than visual proof. Taking photos of yourself at the start of your transformation, although perhaps highly personal and sensitive, is an amazing tool to show improvement and sustain motivation well into the New Year. Today, take photos of yourself from the front, side and rear and then put them away. I guarantee you that 12 weeks later following the Peak Physique Challenge you will see non-refutable change that will make you beyond proud. Additionally, perhaps try on a garment that is tight or too constrictive at the start of your 12-week program. I also guarantee that it will fit better, sometimes far better after the completion of your 12-week program.

9. CHANGE – The same thing day in and day out can thwart goals and challenges. That is why, armed with change, you’re suiting up not for a sprint, but for a marathon – for the long-term. Be it a different outfit to the gym, a different routine, a different spice on your meal, make it desired and interesting. For some, seeing the almost weekly changes in the mirror or improvement in exercise performance is more than enough change to keep you motivated and progressing.

10. A PROMISE – To yourself that this year, 2015 will indeed be different. You will achieve more than you have before. You will best the image in the mirror. You will adopt a lifestyle, not a fad. It has helped some to make them accountable by posting on social media one’s goals. Saying you need and will make a change in writing is a lot more powerful than wanting and trying to make said change. Your word, in the end, it’s all we have. Make your words turn into actions that count and make a difference.

2015 is about becoming the change you have always wanted to be. Now that you have Peak Physiquefirmly in your corner, you are not alone. You have a plan and most importantly, you have yourself. The creation of Peak Physique was my own challenge and call-to-action to get myself into top shape (it had been a while), and then to help lead others on this amazing journey to self-transformation.

We want to see your transformations. Post on social media #peakphysiquechallenge to show your progress and inspire others. Remember, transformations do come true, it just depends on how much you want them. Make it so.

Fatal (Mastication) Attraction

Having been in the (iron) game for so many years and therefore an O.G. (original guru), I can see the expression on their faces well before they’ve even entered the gym. That embarrassed, soiled grin. The knowing, telltale facial contortion that identifies guilt. Worse than being caught picking a nose or wedgie, this is the face that quite often refutes an entire passage of gym progress. This is the face far too often more guilt-ridden than being caught at the Bunny Ranch with a zero balanced Debit card and explanatory measures back home to the wife and bank examiners. And as the sodium-induced, heavy-eyed round face looks up and it can bear its silence no longer, its lips verbalize, “I cheated on my diet again and it’s because of stupid!”

We’ve all been there. Often, a relationship brings comfort, security, routine, and, far too often, laziness. Aside from perhaps less actual scheduling allotted for personal upkeep due to tighter time parameters, the need for dressing up and always presenting your best lessens. As the months and years roll by, your jeans feel tighter, extra loose flesh hangs where once was a flat plain, and perhaps an avoidance in sitting down in public, for fear of splitting now delicately stretched garment fibers.

Until one day, as you catch your gaze in the mirror while passing, you ask yourself, who is this person, now resembling John Goodman following a Katz deli (the best!) splurge? Why, would it seem, sometimes on our own we are strong, yet together we are weak, when it comes to good nutrition? Indeed many a night I have turned to the immediacy of a quad-stacked In-n-Out burger (4x4) instead of the comforting embrace of a significant other, thusly replacing sweaty passion with a sweaty complexion from indigestion.

No longer can we blame others for our own (I include myself from past relationships) lack of self-discipline for if we can’t love ourselves (through glutinous behaviors) then how can others profess to love us? While it is important to celebrate some of our greatest moments through the company of others and sometimes rich, heavy foods, we must hold up the proverbial shield and turn our defensive (comfort eating) into offensive (healthy patterns) in order to sustain not only ourselves, but our relationships for the duration.

What follows is my Top 10 list of behaviors, actions and modalities that you and your significant other can partake in TOGETHER to stop the insanity, declare war on fat and lessen your total combined weight!

1. You’re on Your Own – The King of all options. Simply stated: You eat your way, (fattening) and I’ll eat mine, (healthy). But that doesn’t ever seem to last long, does it? Eventually, you may find yourselves eating at different times completely. I personally spent many lonely early mornings with egg whites and oatmeal while my ex would indulge in a bean and cheese burrito later that day. Extreme yet effective, this may be the last alternative; the red button if you will that is only to pushed when all else fails and the nuclear launch codes are obtained. Read below for other effective alternatives.

2. One for You, One for Me – Take turns being the key master. After all, it works in group therapy and mental health, why not in regards to your physical health too? One night one party prepares (healthy) dinner and the other, the next. That way you are both looking out for nutritionally sound, yet palatably satisfying fuel that each party appreciates!

3. Pre-Prepare – Trader Joes has made some aspects of my life easier. Brown rice that’s already cooked. Chicken breast strips all ready to go and asparagus that’s just a microwave away from working its natural diuretic magic. Costco, on some levels, is even better. Bought in bulk and just as prepared, makes it a snap to organize meals for two and they even carry those cute Tupperware sets for packing!

4. Garments, Pictures and Visualization – oh my! I have always believed in knowing the target intended instead of shooting blindly. How do you envision YOUR physique to look? A pair of jeans you’d love to squeeze into, a picture of your favorite celeb complete with chiseled midsection or the clear metaphorical visualization emblazoned in your brain of how you will ultimately look in a bathing suit, will pay dividends in actually bringing you there.

5. Other Rewards – I used to tell my ex when the urge for me to eat everything in sight would hit, punish me with sex. Her reply was, “What do I get out of this?” Oh well, it was a good try, so I thought. Part of my process was turning to food (a readily and willing commodity) whenever I needed it in the abandonment of physical comforts. The unfortunate reality was with my (at the time) ever-expanding gut, I myself, could almost pass for a couple. Instead, I turned toward other positive deterrents: a hike, music, a movie, a book, shopping. Since then I have jettisoned both the excess weight and the relationship and have bettered myself in a myriad of dividends.

6. Realism – While giving up a behavior taken to the max, (drinking anyone?) may in actuality be a bit unrealistic, agreeing to cut back to say once or twice per week to ingest said empty calories will do much to keep both of your waistlines in check and make truly special those times to completely let go.

7. United We Stand – I always loved those episodes in my youth of G.I. JOE or HE- MAN in which both protagonist and antagonist would team up to rid that universe of a common foe. When in doubt, be there for one another! The foe in this case, body fat, will be overcome on a continual and long-term basis if both parties work together in proclaiming a lean and healthy body worth fighting for; therefore, make it a dual effort in achieving such!

8. Johari’s Window – is a cognitive psychological tool that essentially shows us as we see ourselves, as others see us and how we really are. Sometimes, the “how we really are” conflicts with the other two selves and as such, per our endeavors here, to quote Carlito Brigante, “"If you can't see the angles no more, you're in trouble.” Know thy true self and where you’re at.

9. Limit Thyself No More – Know that good nutrition is not a confined term that must equate to tuna straight out of a can and brown rice only. There is so much great information out there, the popular “Eat This, Not That” book series for example. Therein exists many diverse, tasty and quality meals that you and your partner can explore together.

10. Mass Carbicide – There’s a time to be strict and a time to dine. Might as well go to hell together. Make it count, enjoy and perhaps get a head start on that cardio session later that night (after the bloating subsides.) Proper nutrition is like a party, an all-nighter once in a while is a great escape but a party every day will yield a tired and jaundiced you!

Please be sure to Like the official holliswashere.com Facebook site for even more enlightenment:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/holliswasherecom/152631871453530

And, a complete listing of all previous newsletters (spread the word!) from the 3 time fitness editor and teen national heavyweight champ, can be found now and forever at: http://www.hollisliebman.com/Archives.html

Q & A with Hollis

Here we go! Presented are 10 questions submitted to me by you, my loyal readers and their respective answers, from me, your coach and scribe, to you.

1. I hear about all the benefits to weight training, but I don't want to get bulky. Why can't I just stick to cardio?

While cardio is absolutely a necessity in helping to keep your heart healthy and for speeding up one's metabolism and thusly burning body-fat, weight training simply has too many benefits to ignore. In addition to working your heart and aiding one's metabolism, it improves posture, bone density and is the main stimulus for actually enhancing the shape of your body by making your muscles firmer. It takes years of heavy weights, a lot of food and genetics to build any appreciable amount of muscle mass and it's even more difficult in women due to their naturally low testosterone levels. Bulk is mostly about a poor diet and excuses.

2. All I want is abs so I'll stick to crunches. That'll get me a 6 pack, right?

The only way you'll acquire a 6 pack is to buy one at your locale liquor shop. Spot reduction is a myth. You can target your midsection all day long, but core work, while it does indeed strengthen a midsection internally, simply does not burn enough calories as compared to working other muscle groups in ridding the stored body fat in your belly. There are 3 keys to a prominently displayed muscular midsection: A clean nutritional intake, resistance work and cardiovascular work all performed over time.

3. I want results but can't keep up this multi-hour pace for much longer. What can I do to speed results?

For one, train smarter not longer. Think of your training as if you were a skilled carpenter. One or two well placed whacks with the hammer, and the job is done. If you give your all to each set (excluding warm-ups), then you will more efficiently work your body in less time. Perform weight training intensely and cardio moderately and (coupled with good nutrition), you will burn more fat and preserve your lean muscle tissue.

4. My understanding is if something is fat free, it may contain more sugar, and if so, doesn't sugar turn to fat in the body?

When a carb is ingested, your blood sugar levels increase as the carbohydrates are broken down into sugar. As blood sugar levels increase, insulin is released. This fat storing hormone will convert sugar to fat. By decreasing the amount of sugar (high-glycemic carbs) we take in, we can lessen the body's release of insulin. Any extra calories beyond one's bodily maintenance can be converted to fat, but carbs, specifically sugar, are more apt to turn to fat than say protein due to the body taking more time to break down protein nutrients. Unsaturated fats like nuts and fish oils are less likely to turn to fat than sugar because these are "clean" fats that your body can process and utilize for various functions. In essence, avoiding or lessening both fat free and high sugar products, can help to keep you lean. Keep your foods less processed and you are not only going to run better, but be leaner too.

5. How do I go to a holiday party and not overheat or drink?

This is probably the number one question I receive around this time of year. Since we all indulge from time to time, (yes trainers too), either join the party for one meal on this special occasion or think and plan ahead. Sometimes I will have a protein shake and a small handful of raw nuts just as I get to a party to keep myself somewhat satiated and my blood-sugar levels stable. Although eating clean at a party can be difficult, it's not impossible. Look for leaner food choices. Perhaps cold cuts like turkey breast, whole wheat bread, raw nuts and some vegetables at the veggie spread - just watch out for the dip. A diet soda or even a glass of wine or light beer won't hamper your diet.

6. How do you know what you'll make me do next in our workouts?

My standard answer is I view our training sessions similarly to how a professional wrestler views his/her matches. I know my beginning and ending while taking an educated, experienced and yet malleable approach to getting there while always making it about the individual and their goals and possible limitations. I never make it cookie cutter!

7. Now that I'm training with regularity, I'm afraid that if I stop, it'll turn to fat, right?

A muscle cell and a fat cell are two different things. If one ceases training, then the stimulus now removed will cause the muscle cells to shrink. If one still eats healthy, the results will be a smaller yet still lean person. It is when exercise is both ceased and too many junk calories are consumed that fat cells will increase in size. And although one's number on the scale might stay the same or even decrease, the actual quality of those pounds will decrease if healthy habits are not maintained.

8. Stretching - should I and if so when?

Like resistance training, stretching simply has too many benefits for it to be excluded from your current fitness regimen. Amongst those benefits, are improved nutrient absorption which can lead to a more efficient metabolism and an increased range of motion which can also lead to more lean muscle mass. Stretching prior to any warm-up is ill advised as the muscle must first become warm and pliable before it can be manipulated. I like to stretch both during and after my workouts, just a few basic holds per muscle group, and I never force the range but rather hold steadily.

9. Cardio before or after my workout?

Cardio work should be an integral part of your exercise plan for your heart, your stamina and for keeping body fat levels low and in check. Its source of energy is in the form of adipose or fat, while weight training runs off of glycogen or stored carbohydrates. If one performs cardio (excluding a warm-up) prior to weight training, the result will leave one near too tired to properly complete the resistance portion of one's workout. Weights and then cardio for a muscular, yet hard and lean body.

10. Who has the time?

We all share the same 24 hour pie when it comes to time. And while we all have differing levels of responsibilities, where we differ is in our management of those hours and responsibilities. It comes down to how bad you want it. Want to see some change in your physique, not wake up in pain and actually be able to see your equipment when you pee? Make some time for your health. 3 days at the gym per week is good, 2 is okay and even 1 can make a difference. Go before work or after or at lunch. Perhaps hire a trainer to maximize workout and nutritional effectiveness in minimal time and commitment. It comes down to one thing: How motivated are you?

Please send your questions, comments and opinions to: Liebman.hollis@gmail.com

Looking for some Christmas presents?

My new book, Anatomy of Fitness Core makes a great stocking stuffer and belly leaner :) pick them up at: http://t.co/e

In addition, I also offer personal trainer gift certificates and half hour stretch sessions. Be the spark that can change someone's life through health, fitness and wellness. Send an email to: Liebman.hollis@gmail.com

I truly wish each and every one of you very happy holidays and an even better and brighter 2013!

Hollis

Bully Begone

Issue #49 was to follow the new format of 10 questions and their respective answers. I do have those 10 questions, submitted by your emails and texts, and then I saw a documentary entitled, "Bully". The subject matter is of course, what one might expect to see, following youths as they encounter various degrees of bullying throughout their elementary days.

The movie hit a nerve and I had an urging to do more. So, I went to Iopposebullying.org, bought a shirt and wristband, and signed up as a volunteer speaker. The thought of going to a school and speaking to kids about bullying is a powerful, positive thing to do. I wish someone had taken that opportunity when I was bullied all those years ago.

What follows is my bully story, perhaps not worse than others, but harsh to me and I am better for having lived through it and had the perhaps rare privilege of having closure with my bully. I believe beyond the obvious physical abuse, the cornerstone of bullying is the mental torment one goes through, day after day, like a Groundhog Day that occurs seemingly forever.

By the way, how does this pertain to fitness? What better way to reinvent oneself, improve the way one stands and feels, from the inside out, than through exercise and good nutrition? What better way to let out negative energy and become emotionally un-paralyzed, than leaving it all at the gym? What better way to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride, than by ducking under a loaded squat rack and being drilled into the ground only to rise up?

What Happened:

Having moved from New York to New Jersey back in 1984, by coincidence, I befriended the most popular kid in our school. He lived but a few houses from me. We hung out just about every day and he introduced me to a world of new possibilities. New friends, new hiking trails, sports and girls! I liked them all but could not grasp the concept, nor get excited over team sports. Number 1, I was not athletic, and could not keep up with the guys, Number 2, although I had trouble catching a football and could not throw it, I had difficulty accepting that if I was truly trying and giving 100 percent while others slacked, that didn't seem to me to be a team effort. My friend loved sports. I loved Transformers and GI Joe. There was a non-agreeing look in his eye.

And then one year at my birthday he brought me a He-Man figure. I thanked him but (as kids are typically honest until taught not to be), I told him I already had that particular figure. I hurt his feelings and apologized, but by then something had transformed in his personality.

The next day as the bus doors opened, my life would never be the same. Perhaps if I knew that, I'd have walked that day. A loud chorus of song centered about my family and me that lasted that whole trip - all 2.5 miles, which felt like 2500, to school that day. Kids that were my friends now would either ignore me, put deodorant in my hair, signs on my back, flip books out of my hand, fart in class in front of girls I liked and get me blamed and on and on, for years. And the mental abuse was far, far worse.

One day a new kid moved 2 doors down. We hung out everyday. And then he asked why we didn't wait at the bus stop at the top of the hill. I couldn't tell him that's where the bully and his henchmen waited. And so the next day he went. And we were never friends again. He was elevated to Henchman # 2 status.

Through it all, there was one kid, who was friends with both the bully and me. I was distrustful and even called him a spy. Instead of flattening me, he seemed to have a sense of understanding, and would never succumb to peer pressure and would stay my friend. To this day, he knows who he is and that I love him and that he is my non-biological brother 4 Life and I know he will arrive impeccably conditioned at his first bodybuilding competition later this year.

I can imagine what this does to the parents, who themselves must feel angry and powerless. Another day, my father had had enough. He yelled for the bully to come over and settle this right now. I cried and tried to enter the house. My father shut the door and stood by as the bully and I did battle. My mother tried to hold back the tears. Outside, you'd never seen so many people gather on a front lawn in all your life.

The bully retained a fighter's stance, that was taught to him, I am sure, by his older varsity brother. The only skills I had we're transforming into a vehicle and rolling out or shooting off my pretend laser rifle. So I river danced around the bully and he decked me in the nose. I bled, I cried, I ran into the house. And though I "stood up" to the bully, it didn't mean a damn thing.

And then one day, the bullying simply phased out. Like a discontinued line at the local Macy's there was no more name calling, songs or the like. During this time I discovered weight training. Oh my goodness - you can actually change your body and get strong and big muscles? I was hooked.

But it wasn't to get revenge or beat down the bully or any other such nonsense. Quite simply, I had fallen in love. To have found a solo activity that brought brilliance and illumination to my life, was always there and nonconditional was better than any Nintendo game or visit to Benihana or cancellation of Hebrew School or snowed in delayed opening of public school. The iron was truth, justice and now my way.

What I did:

In 2011, my friend alerted me that the bully was on Facebook. Thinking not too much about it, he thought maybe I should contact him since it is still on my mind from time to time and I even wrote a script about it for Will Ferrell entitled, “The Eagle Scout.” That night I found myself contacting him and the next thing I knew we were on the phone. The bully nervously asked, "Do you want to kick my ass or something?" Of course not. Although I had envisioned permanent vengeance many times, it was behind me now. Especially with his Facebook profile pic of his then newborn son. I only wished him well and that he would raise his son to be a person of good value, and not a bully.

But I had to know why. Why all the torture? He said he too thinks about it from time to time and was pushed to do so by an unyielding mother who I must have pissed off somehow. When he wanted to stop or his conscience kicked in, he explained that his mom would renew the rage. I asked him if there was anything he wanted to say. And for a moment he became the bully again. And said, "You mean like an apology?" I simply repeated the question. And he said. "For any pain or suffering that I caused you, I am sorry." I thanked him, teared up and hung up knowing that we would never speak again.

Lessons learned:

The most important thing I learned is to find a passion and invest in it. Devote yourself to your craft and make the most of your life. Sometimes kids are unable to ace up to the bully and I don't think they should have to. I think that is up to principals and other adults. But listen to the bullied and do not confuse them with the bully. Do not think that a forced shaking of the hands will make it all better. Because it won't. And the bully will double his/her efforts.

My message is simple:

I got closure and had the bully beat because today I am thankful for everything I have: honesty, drive, truth and determination. I have the most beautiful, talented and intelligent fiancée. My book is currently in Costco, Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Shortly, I am to begin my fifth book, a giant training encyclopedia. I have the most amazing clients, get to wear pajamas (basically) to work and do what I love. And it was through the bullying that I discovered a sense of independence, urgency, self-reliance and to never give up.

Special thanks to The Blood Sugar Wizard, Chris Golightly, for having me as her guest on her fabulous blogtalkradio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bloodsugarwizard/2013/02/19/hollis-liebman-trainer-to-the-stars-starting-out

Yours in Fitness,

Hollis