I call my work in the field of exercise a re-introduction to kinesiology, physiology... If anything, it is Exercise 101 but simplified. Some of you probably are wondering how it's possible to achieve optimal results on just 5 workouts, 3 exercises a session, or doing only 20 minutes of training every two weeks. Well, it's simple. It's known as the Economy of Exercise.
My theory involves working out with correct form, doing 'just' enough as opposed to even 1 set too much and then getting sufficient rest and nourishment before going at it again. You train. You eat. You rest. You learn to do other things in life than exercise every day (this includes athletes). You recover. You go again. And then you will progress. That's as easy as it gets.
While some of you (like the ladies or elderly) may not be interested in making great strength increases and others (like business persons or laborers) do not want to work very hard to see results (they work hard enough all day long), that's all understandable. But to become tight and toned, you must build muscle. To build muscle, you have to at least get up and do something.
Doing something means you must work out. A little goes a long way. Let's compare goals. I may bench 315 pounds quite easily without a warm up. My lady friend may bench 135 pounds and my teenage nephew probably uses 95 pounds but someone else's grandma can probably only handle 45 pounds at best. The objective for any of us isn't setting World Strength Records or Powerlifting; it's in becoming better than we are right now.
The only way to get our bodies 'better' is by speeding the metabolism, which means building some muscle, and that rids us of high body fat percentages. For some, sometimes being able to reach the top shelf of our cupboards defines success. For others, carrying groceries all the way inside your home without help is important. Maybe you desire to put just 5 more pounds on our bench press. We all have to start from where we are right now, and work forward.
Exercise is the secret ingredient you lack because it measures and assures our progress. No matter what the weight is that we 'can' currently handle, and at least start there and work on trying to do a little better next session than the last one you did. In time, you WILL achieve at least measurable progress if you put in the effort and take notes. Just one more pound, one more rep... Other wise, your results are going to be minimal.
These days I simply work out to maintain myself. But if I decide I want to reach a new goal, I know I must work for it. For example, let's take look at a former client. He progressed marvelously for 2 months straight training just 2.5 sessions a week... He previously trained 6 days a week and never missed a session. After cutting back and training correctly, his achievements became remarkable. His goals may not be your goals, but over 23 sessions and 9 short weeks, his strength increased as follows:
- Barbell Squats went from 185 lb. for 12 reps up to 315 lb. for 13 reps
- Bench Presses went from 185 lb. for 8 reps up to 275 lb. for 8 reps
- Lat Pulldowns went from 140 lb. for 6 reps up to 250 lb. for 8 reps
- Bent Over Rows went from 165 lb. for 6 reps up to 225 lb. for 9 reps
- Leg Extensions went from 90 lb. for 12 reps up to 250 lb. for 10 reps
- Leg Curls went from 70 lb. for 14 reps up to 190 lb. for 10 reps
- Military Presses went from 95 lb. for 10 reps up to 175 lb. for 7 reps
- Tricep Pushdowns went from 70 lb. for 13 reps up to 150 lb. for 8 reps
- Barbell Bicep Curls went from 75 lb. for 8 reps up to 135 lb. for 6 reps
I know there are supposedly concerns with injury when you get this strong so fast. The truth is injury only occurs if you are slamming, rushing, jerking, twisting, tossing or catching heavy weights with total disregard to using common sense. We do not achieve our results being irresponsible. Slow and well directed movement never hurt anyone. A pre-existing injury may be aggravated if you jump in to using heavier weights before healing properly, but if you are 'healthy' or work within your means, you cannot get hurt.
Just add a pound or two to your exercise and then work slow and deliberately. In fact, using this method, slower movement, reduces warming up to a minimum. That's how safe proper form actually is. There's a little more to it than that, of course. But it is safe to assume you could follow any of the schedules I have laid out in the KNOW HOW books while making nonstop noticeable progress for years at a time... Now, back to my client...
This particular individual was not only a martial arts instructor but a night club bouncer. While one job was physically demanding enough, afterwards he stood around an extra 8 hours a day into the wee hours of the night on top of his workouts. He desperately wanted to gain some weight, the right weight, and was sure he never would. He had tried every supplement you can imagine, he was in the gym as often as possible, and yet no results with the exception of being fed up. So how did he get so strong then?
Well, for one, he wasn't eating right but we fixed that immediately. He went from eating 2000 calories a day and gradually built up to eating 4000 calories a day over those next 9 weeks. In the process he gained absolutely no visible body fat and his waist measure remained the same. His muscles however developed wonderfully and he looked like a new man. The second reason he made such great progress was that in the past, he was seriously over training.
The poor guy was exhausted from work and he made things worse by working out way too much and way too often. We addressed this immediately as well. The most obvious reason he got so strong was because he really wanted to. He wanted change and saw that what he was currently doing was failing. He was ready for it. Similarly, a few years ago I worked with an 80 year old retired steel worker and the old man's strength increases also remarkable. "Papa" is what we called him.
Papa progressed from not being able to stand up from a chair on his own to being able to squat unassisted using a 45 pound bar on his back for 20 reps in under 30 days! Ladies, consider this, if you are under weight, you will need to gain 'some' muscle. If you are over weight, you will naturally lose fat on this program and underneath the fat you will have new shape that will eventually be seen when the pounds melt away. Just understand, women do not possess enough testosterone to bulk up as fast as men.
In fact, you can hardly imagine being able to become muscle bound at all without years of hard and heavy lifting like a power lifter. I've seen a number of ladies in my time go from weighing somewhere near 140 pounds to their goal of 110-115 while watching their strength increase by leaps and bounds. None of them became bodybuilders but they did tone up and some of them impressively enough it sparked new romance!
The bottom line is, that particular martial artist went from weighing 150 pounds to 190 in 63 days while gaining 45 pounds of muscle and dropping 5 pounds of fat in the process. All without drugs and by performing only 12 minutes of aerobics after, not before, each workout. Cardio exercise burns carbohydrates from inside your muscles and those carbs, known as glycogen, are limited in availability to begin with.
They are so important in lifting weights efficiently that you will notice the dip in strength the next time you do aerobics before lifting weights. The proof is in the pudding. Simply determine where you are right now then set some goals for yourself. Get one of my books and plan to exercise a few times a week with a little more effort than you're used to. Eat right of course or you'll sabotage your results. The secret is Don Lemmon's KNOW HOW. Clients following my very simple rules are reporting:
- A 25% increase in their overall strength within weeks!
- Men are putting on over 30 pounds in solid muscle!
- Women are dropping several dress sizes effortlessly!
- Bodybuilders are putting almost 2 inches on their arms!
- Ladies are dropping 25 pounds of fat in under 60 days!
- Athletes are increasing their squats and dead lifts by 50%!
- Women are toning up, losing cellulite & reducing body fat!
- Power lifters are adding 50 pounds or more to their benches!
- Wives & mothers look so good, their love lives have rebounded!
Reaching your goals has more to do with paying attention to what your body signals rather than blindly lifting weights. Sure, you are 'trying' to eat good and taking "whatever" supplements whenever you feel like it. But is that working? No, and that is why you are here. Don Lemmon's KNOW HOW includes combining essential nutrition with exercise in precise amounts, set around a daily schedule and if you are serious about building a stronger, healthier body, this is what you are looking for.
The entire program is based on the needs of people like yourself that I have personally worked with since the 1980's. The foundation is always going to be your nutrition. Eating the right food, in the right amount, in the right combinations, and that is the single most important issue here. But without proper exercise, you will not look exactly how you envision yourself in the end. You'll lose weight on my plan, and drop fat, but you cannot have the tone you desire without adding new muscle under it all.
The good news is, we provide step by step instructions for planning and implementing your very own, self tailored, effective exercise routine within our books. They give you all the tools you need to know if your training efforts are correct with or without owning them all. It simply depends on what level you are starting off at. When it comes to results, you need a game plan. You need a guide book. You need information. You need a blue print. We are it.
The best thing about is all is that we teach you exactly why all the other routines you have picked up in the past have failed. I think you know I teach people much more than anyone at any gym nearby can ever instruct you. In fact, you can't get a good trainer, let alone a bad one, or spend 30 minutes, forget about hours upon hours with an industry insider, to come even close to what I am offering in just one of my books (each priced somewhere between $20 to $30.00).
There are more menus, recipes, workouts and tips than you will ever find time to use... You'll reach your goals before you require it all! And it's the same stuff my well known clients are using.... You'll learn when to adjust your program for improved results, how to take measurements, record information, understand it all, and chart your every step towards success almost automatically. At the end of the first couple of weeks, you will be totally on auto-pilot.
The 'Quick Steps' intro itself may be all you ever use to determine whether what you're doing is right or wrong, however, education through experience is the only way you'll learn a lesson that you will remember and use the rest of your life. Just you wait until you complete the first workout, you will be hooked... Waiting until you understand it all before you try it isn't good enough. You've been in this for years but aren't aware of some of the mistakes you are making. You are in fact cutting off your nose to spite your face.
For More Info On Don Lemmon's Exercise Plans:
Begin with Book One: Exercise & Nutrition - The TRUTH before moving on to the advanced routines in Book Two: The Ultimate Development.
