The Endurance E7 HRC Elliptical from Body Solid is a fantastic piece of cardio equipment that I have in my Personal Training Studio.  I often get asked about equipment recommendations for my clients and customer’s home gyms, so here is a video review where I cover the essentials of what to look for in a great elliptical machine.

Always a topic of debate, natural and artificial sweeteners.  In this video, I’ll give you the reasons why you need to avoid artificial sweeteners at all costs, and I’ll also give you my top 3 natural sweeteners.

Coach Rylan

I’ve spent literally thousands of dollars on useless supplements in my lifetime.

Along the way, I was able to find a select few items that did actually work like they said they would, and wouldn’t ruin my health in the process.

Check out my top three protein powders and where you can get them for the best price at the link below.

Coach Rylan’s Recommended Supplements

Coach Rylan

Over at my other blog (www.gosleevelessblog.com) I have just launched my very first ‘Fat Loss Project’.  20 people have signed up to take part as one of my guinea pigs, to transform their bodies and lose 20-30 pounds in 6 weeks.  I am sending them daily nutrition plans and workout programs EVERY SINGLE DAY!  The purpose of this project was to create a step-by-step system that would allow anyone to drop massive weight, in a healthy way, in a short time.

But the best part is, there is NO THINKING required.  All they have to do is follow my daily instructions, and they don’t even have to plan out what they are going to eat.  Everything is provided.

Check out the daily posts and follow along on each of their own blogs to see their results.

Go Sleeveless Fat Loss Project

Here is the first workout video I sent them (they were emailed exact sets, reps, rest times etc).

Coach Rylan

Good For Fat Loss?

I’ve spoken on this topic before, but I think it deserves to be underscored yet again.

If you want to find out if artificial sweeteners really help you to lose weight, then you need to check out this post I just made over at The Go Sleeveless Blog.

I’ll also share with you some tips to automatically correct more than 50% of your dietary flaws without even thinking.

Coach Rylan

To the average person I might seem to drink an inhuman amount of tea.

I usually drink 3-4 cups during the day, and then probably another 3-4 after dinner (no cream and no sweetener however!)

Of course, this isn’t your regular black tea, it’s all organic green tea or herbal tea, but I get asked all the time if drinking that much tea is dehydrating and actually detrimental to health.

A new study proves what I’ve known all along, that tea is not dehydrating, and is just as good as water.

I still recommend drinking plenty of water in addition to tea, but don’t be afraid to keep that kettle hot.

After my wife bought me a nice herbal tea sampler, Stash’s Ginger Peach Green Tea has become my new favorite.

Coach Rylan

I don’t need to tell you that the Gosselin’s have received more than their share of press in the past few months (and most of it isn’t too flattering either).

But a question keeps coming up with my clients – one that the tabloids haven’t reported on – and that is, “What does Kate Gosselin do for her workout routine?”

To see my response that question, just head over to my most recent blog post at the Go Sleeveless Blog for the ‘Kate Gosselin Workout‘.

Coach Rylan

Here are three quick tips for getting rapid and effective fat loss results:

• Stop drinking anything with calories in it, and eliminate diet sodas altogether.  All of your calories should come from whole food.  It stimulates your metabolism and keeps you full and satisfied.
• Keep your workouts short but more intense.  Don’t rest longer than 30-60 seconds between sets.  This will increase the amount of calories you burn during your workout, and cause an afterburn effect to keep your burning calories all day long.
• Use exercises that work multiple muscles and joints at the same time.  For example, do a squat and forget leg extensions and hamstring curls;  Choose a deadlift over a back hyper-extension, etc.  This will stimulate a larger release of growth hormone, boost your metabolism and melt more fat.

When fat loss is the goal, following these three tips will get you there exponentially faster.

Coach Rylan

Coach Rylan's Perfect Yogurt

Yogurt can be one of the best foods to eat for losing body fat.  Notice how I put can in italics?

The problem is trying to find the right brand, in a flavor you like, and then wading through all the propaganda; is it probiotic, is is pre-biotic, is it naturally sweetened, is it sugar free, does it have Splenda, or Aspertame, or Ace-K, or Honey, how much sugar is too much, should it be fat free, should it be 1%, 2%, full fat?

Confused?

You aren’t the only one.

Here are some simplified guidelines for choosing a great, healthy yogurt.

First, NO artificial sweeteners.

Second, 1% fat will give you the best ratio of carbs-fat-protein content.

Third, no added sugar.

Fourth, probiotics are a good idea, pre-biotics are good as well.

So is there a specific brand that covers all this ground?  Not that I have found, so here is what I do.

Buy a container of PLAIN 1% yogurt (I use Dairyland).  For each one cup serving, I add fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries) for flavor and extra fiber (which is really all pre-biotic means – fiber that feeds healthy bacteria).  Next, I add a little stevia (natural no calorie sweetener) to taste, and then I open a probiotic capsule and dump it in as well.  Lastly, I add a couple tablespoons of my favorite vanilla protein powder and blend it all together.

It tastes amazing, its loaded with tons of nutrition, and it takes away all the confusion.  I call it my  ‘perfect yogurt’.

Coach Rylan