Look Great Naked!

Years ago I coined the phrase, “Look Great Naked!” The phrase was an instant hit with the media, and soon became the impetus for my website, a national magazine column and a series of bestselling books.

It came about after consulting with scores of women who all shared the same lament: They’d tell me that they looked okay in clothes, but when standing in front of the mirror after a morning shower… well, let’s just say they weren’t exactly thrilled with their appearance.

Their goals were clear: they wanted to look great naked. Only thing is, while the goal might seem simple, achieving it isn’t so easy.

That’s where I come in. I’ve spent the past 20 years helping people get into the best shapes of their lives. As I tell every one of my clients, everyone has the ability to look great naked provided they follow the right exercise and nutritional regimen and devote the necessary sweat and effort.

To start things off, here are four directives that are essential in the quest to look great naked. Use these as the basis of your training philosophy and you’ll be off to a good start.

1) Pump it up: While almost any form of exercise is beneficial, lifting weights is the most important activity you can perform. Not only does it produce a shapely, firm physique, but it also helps to reduce body fat. The reason has to do with the metabolic properties of muscle tissue. For each pound of muscle that you gain, your body burns up to 50 additional calories a day at rest. Thus, by putting on a mere five pounds of muscle (something that can be accomplished in just a few months time), you’ll burn an additional 250 calories a day, even while lying on your couch watching TV! Better yet, most of the resting energy is derived from fat, so you ultimately will tap into those hard-to-reduce areas.

2) Leave your comfort zone: If you want to maximize fat loss, you need to push yourself during exercise. Not only does an intense workout burn more calories during your workout, but it heightens a phenomenon called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) — the amount of calories you burn after your workout is finished — which can amount to several hundred extra calories burned a day. Thus, when you lift weights, make sure the last few reps are a challenge to complete. With cardiovascular exercise, perform interval training where you combine short bouts of high-intensity intervals (i.e. running) with bouts of lower-intensity intervals (i.e. walking). Bottom line: train harder and you’ll exponentially increase the number of calories you’ll burn.

3) Mix it up: They say variety is the spice of life — well it’s also the spice of exercise. The human body is a very adaptive organism and will stop responding if the same workout is performed over and over. What’s more, the repetitive stress to the same muscles and joints can lead to an increased incidence of injury. To avoid this trap, strive to do different things each time you work out. When you lift weights, perform different exercises and vary your repetition range. For cardio, cross train amongst several different modalities. Not only will you keep your workout fresh, but you’ll see better results and reduce the prospect of injury.

4) Less is more: Not only isn’t it necessary to spend hours in the gym, it’s counterproductive. Here’s why: When you train, your body breaks down muscle tissue. If you don’t allow sufficient time for rest and recuperation, you ultimately become over trained and results cease to exist. Provided you exercise properly, three hour-long weight training sessions a week is all that’s needed to optimally develop your physique. Remember, it’s the quality — not the quantity — of exercise that produces results.

Until next time… Stay fit!