THE HEART OF A CHAMPION BONUS PROGRAM

The Bonus Program offers you the opportunity to go above and beyond the Heart of a Champion Program. It allows you to set the bar higher and achieve a more miraculous transformation.

The Bonus Program is not extra credit; TSCers have the responsibility to themselves to complete all of the Heart of a Champion workouts. The Bonus is for TSCers that want to take their transformations to the next level and smash through their goals.

Best of all, the Bonus is fun! As you advance on the POWER-10 Challenge, your body will become more healthy, fit and athletic. The Bonus is simply putting your body to good use and enjoying physical activity.

There are three levels to the Bonus Program.
a. Foundational Health and Fitness
b. Above and Beyond
c. The Champions Circle

RECOMMENDED BONUS ACTIVITIES
Baseball/Softball, Horseback Riding, Snow Shoveling
Basketball, Ice Hockey, Stair Master/Elliptical
Bowling, Ice Skating, Surfing
Build a Snowman and go Sledding, Marital Arts, Swimming
Construction, Mountain Biking, Tag/Capture the flag
Cross-fit, Paintball, Tennis
Cycling/Spinning, Rafting, Volleyball
Dancing, Roller Skating/In-line Skating, Wakeboarding
Flag/Touch Football, Skateboarding, Walking
Gymnastics, Skiing, Wii Fit
Hiking, Snowboarding, Yoga

THE HEART OF A CHAMPION BONUS PROGRAM LEVELS

Level 1: Foundational Health and Fitness: TSCers perform all the prescribed workouts in the Traning-10 program and strive to consistently improve their performance. They adhere to the principles and rules of the Nurtrition-10 program and make stunning transformations.
Level 2: Above and Beyond: TSCers meet all of the Level 1 requirements and perform Bonus activities on 3-4 different days during the week in order to make astounding Transformations.
Level 3: The Champions Circle: TSCers join The Champions Circle when they commit to meeting all of the Level 1 requirements and perform bonus activities 5 or more days during the week. Champions Circle TSCers perform bonus activities joyously and feel blessed to have the opportunity and ability to use their bodies in so many fun and dynamic ways.

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You should enjoy each bonus activity for 30 minutes or more. Please note that you must accomplish bonus activities on different days of the week to count towards Levels 2 and 3. For instance, if you wake up at dawn on a Saturday go surfing at Huntington Beach for a few hours and then meet some friends and play beach volleyball for two more hours and then decide to go in-line skating to Newport Beach and back, you will have enjoyed a wonderful day at the beach, but this will only count as 1 day toward Levels 2-3.
Alternatively, you could take 45-minute walks every evening Monday thru Friday and join the Champion’s Circle.
The Bonus Program is really about enjoying your body and physical activity. You should play at the beach or play in the snow or train for a black belt or go for peaceful walks in the evening. Find activities that you enjoy and do them! Join The Champions Circle.

Best,
CK.
Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Rise of the Machines

Many gyms today market themselves as state of the art. They possess row after row of sleek and sophisticated machines, that are neatly ordered and sometimes even color coded.

The reason for this... MARKETING! It's much easier for the salesperson to sell you a gym membership by touring you through row after row of sleek and futuristic looking machines. They'll probably even demonstrate one of these amazing novelties and ask you to give it a try for yourself.

You'll sit in their machine, and they will select a very easy weight and have you perform a few reps. Then they'll tell you how you just have to follow a simple color coding or numbering system to get in great shape and... presto, you're be back at the sales desk signing a membership contract.
The Rise of the Machines was predicated by the need for gyms to sell memberships. They changed the basic paradigm for what a gym really is. They made it into a showroom to tour clients.

A gym should really be a workshop for craftsmen (and craftswomen) to build healthy, functional and beautiful bodies. This kind of a workshop only requires a few pieces of equipment, a pull-up bar, an adjustable bench, a set of dumbbells and some other assorted free weights (barbells/squat rack). That's it. Basically, what you need is the BASICS (big surprise).

But this would be a tough sell for the Fitness Consultant (i.e. Salesperson) at your local chain gym. A sales tour that took you past a rack of dumbbells and a row of benches and squat racks would not be nearly as persuasive as a stroll through the gleaming machine showroom.

People were getting into great shape way before The Rise of the Machines, how do you think they did this? Answer: FREE WEIGHTS.

Your body and all human bodies are designed to lift and move objects against the force of gravity, they are designed to move "free weights."

The body is also hardwired for survival. We have a programed fight or flight response. Under stress our bodies trigger the sympathetic nervous system and begin pumping adrenaline into the bloodstream. From my personal experience, I find that using free weights does a much better job of activating the body's survival response and releasing endorphins that create a natural high. I simply do not see people getting that jazzed or high on life while using machines, usually the people on machines look really bored and boredom leads to the 3 most common exercises in any gym. Check out this article to find out what they are: http://transformationsuperchallenge.blogspot.com/2008/10/post-up-and-park-bench.html

I'd like to coin a new term for machine exercises, I think they should be called "Forced Weights" because machines force you to use a specific and often unnatural range of motion. They force you to fit the exercise instead of vice versa.

Free Weights allow for a natural range of motion. Using dumbbells allows you to perform exercise like the chest press and shoulder press in natural arcs, unlike machines which force you to press the weight in a straight line. Using Free Weights develops balance and coordination as you are responsible for guiding the weight through the complete range of motion. Furthermore, Free Weight exercises fit you! Since the weights move freely through your range of motion your body is able to align itself naturally with proper form and posture.

TSCers, Let FREEDOM RING! Training with Free Weights fosters balance, coordination, core strength, and creates fit, healthy and beautiful bodies. Get in the gym and make it happen.

Best,
Chris Krueger

ONE SMALL CAVEAT: Occasionally, machines makes sense, like if you are working with a physical therapist to rehabilitate an injury. However, if you are an able-bodied person use FREE WEIGHTS!

Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Focus Factor: Put Your Mind in the Muscle

To transform our bodies we must train with total focus.
BUT WHERE DO WE FOCUS?

On the weight? The mirror? Our Form? The music? The surroundings?

ANSWER: in the Muscle.

Training with weights is a wonderful and life-affirming activity. You push yourself to your limits. You test yourself and what you're capable of; both mentally and physically. You experience sensations in your body that make you feel alive, you feel the pump as oxygen rich blood rushes into your muscles as they squeeze and extend and the burn from lactic acid building up as your muscles fatigue. This is where you need to focus. Put your mind in the muscle.

The weights we use are simply tools for self improvement. Hammers don't build homes, carpenters do. Weights don't build a healthy body, you do. This is why it's important to select weights that challenge you, that push you to your mental and physical limits. They take you to a place where you feel the pump and the burn. But don't focus on the weight...

Focus on the Muscle. Focus on feeling all the sensations as you SQUEEZE and EXTEND your muscles. Of course this causes the weight to move up and down, but your focus needs to be on squeezing your muscles tightly and then carefully extending them.

In the gym we reach a point of perceived failure. The point at which we feel that another rep is impossible and out of the question. This is only a test, I guarantee that this initial perception is a false barrier and merely a mental construct. You must decide to push further and achieve greater. I promise, if you believe it, you can achieve it.

Imagine that you are the point of perceived failure, but suddenly everyone in the gym stopped what they were doing and started shouting and encouraging you to get one more rep. At this point you would summon the strength and fortitude to complete at least one and probably many more reps. You're perceived barrier was totally fictitious, it was a mental block. You can always override mental blocks and take your body to your true physical limitations. To do this you must pour your heart out and give your true 100%.

I will be the first to admit that often times I let the mental block shut me down. I hold back. I surrender. I reach a point of perceived failure and decide to quit instead of summoning the courage to persevere. I'll attempt to justify it to myself, "I'm already in good shape." "My ____ is fine." "It's just not my day." "I don't feel very strong right now." "I'll hit _____ hard next week." No matter how many excuses I can think of, I can't get that set or that workout back. It's gone for good, and I am the one that missed out, I'm the one that quit.

This situation reminds me that I need to do my best right now! We can only live in the present moment and it is up to us to be our best here and now! You can learn from the past and plan for the future but you can only live NOW. When you give anything less than your best, you are letting yourself down. Always strive to be your best right now.

Of course their are hiccups and disappointments along the way, but they should not be dwelled upon. Learn from past and move on. Flush your mistakes and get back to the present.

I started this article planning on discussing "mind in the muscle and focus" for weight training and ended discussing life in much broader terms. I believe the reason for this is because training and physical transformation is one of the best metaphors for life. In life we hopefully all aim to improve and progress, to be our best today and even better tomorrow. This directly parallels physical transformations. We all want change, but not just a generic change in any direction. We desire change for the better, we want Progress. Think if the Butterfly changed into a Caterpillar, that would be a monumental disappointment.Progress, Progress, Progress is our call of duty. For all the TSCers that have swayed from the path of health and fitness you can reclaim and recommit yourselves to your goals right now. Flush the mistakes, and get on track.

FOCUS.
CK.
Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Form and Function: Why TSCers Train Arms.

It has become chic to eschew the isolation training of arms. Some fitness hipsters believe, isolated movements like biceps curls, triceps extensions and raises that focus on the posterior deltoids (the "rear delt") have fallen out of fashion. Many arguments against these exercises are entirely pretentious.

As TSCers we train for health and fitness. We want to feel good, look good, and be good. Therefore the POWER-10 program uses exercises that develop symmetry, balance, and proportion. The goal is to sculpt an aesthetically pleasing physique that enhances our ability to enjoy life or stated another way, the goal is form and function. As humans we are always attracted to the fusion of form and function, example: Lambo's and Ferrari's, beautiful cars, excellent performance.Isolated movements like the biceps curl, triceps extension, and rear delt raise are essential to developing form and function.

These exercises also have added benefits beyond making you look better. The "isolation" movements in the TSC program will test your balance and core strength. Keep it mind almost all TSC exercises are done with free weights! (The exception is lat-pulldowns, which we only use until we are able to build enough strength to do pull-ups).

When TSCers perform exercises like the standing alternating pronated curls, they must balance themselves as they curl dumbbells through a free range of motion. This is entirely different from sitting in a machine and moving a lever through a forced range of motion.

Also the TSC "isolation" exercises develop grip strength which is essential to improving your ability to perform compound movements, like the dumbbell row. How can you lift a weight that you can't hold? It's impossible, therefore exercises like hammer curls actually make you better at compound lifts.

Grip strength is an example of a limiting factor, the factor that prevents you from performing another rep of a certain exercise. Another example of a limiting factor is triceps strength when doing chest presses. Often times we will get to a sticking point when performing chest presses, on what becomes our final rep we are often able to lift the weight off our chest, but our triceps lack the strength to straighten the arms. Thus your triceps strength is really your limiting factor. Ergo, additional triceps development will allow you to train your chest better. The same is true with dumbbell rows and the rear delts, in many people the posterior deltoids are actually atrophied and severely limit the ability to row anything from a dumbbell to a canoe.

Furthermore, all additional lean body mass serves to raise metabolism! So even slight additional hypertrophy in the biceps, triceps and posterior deltoids will increase your metabolism. Plus exercising these muscles will allow you to burn additional calories using what I call after burn, the calories that your body burns repairing the muscle tissue that you damaged during your workout.

In addition to the functionality of training your biceps, triceps and rear-deltoids in isolation, there is the tremendous aesthetic benefit to your physique. Well muscled arms on men and toned arms on women look much better then weak or flabby arms. Also the biggest benefit of isolation training is probably seen in the rear deltoids. Small and atrophied read delts cause the shoulders to appear slumped forward and have a shape like a "D." Ideally we we want to achieve shoulders with an "O" shape. This symmetry and proportionality will have a dramatic effect on your posture. Hypertrophied posterior deltoids along with a strong back help us to walk taller and more confidently. Also ladies, more shapely shoulders look better in every thing and well trained rear delts will really pay off in a summer sun dress.

Finally, the isolation training of the biceps, triceps and rear deltoids that is being ignored by many fitness hipsters, is really really FUN! Its a joy to do these exercises, I love training rear delts, triceps and especially biceps! Curls are a great exercise to close the week. The pure joy of that last set of curls is wonderful.


Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Best,
Chris Krueger

Getting Started with TSC: What to Expect

Expect to set goals, follow the program and achieve incredible results in 10-weeks. Then continue to pursue your goals and set new ones. You may be able to burn up to 50 lbs of fat and build 5 lbs of muscle in just 10 weeks, it's up to you. Strive for constant and consistent improvement.

The program works every time that it's applied, but you have to apply it!

Get The TSC HEART OF A CHAMPION Training & Nutrition Program and Transform Now! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Best,
Chris Krueger

Fear or Pride

What motivates you?

Fear and Pride are two extremely powerful sources of motivation.

FEAR Motivation literally scares you into action! It often comes after a check-up, when your doctor tells you about your unsafe blood pressure, adult on-set diabetes or other obesity related health issues. The Fear motivates you away from your current condition.

PRIDE Motivation compels you to act based on your self-worth. It often begins with a long look in the mirror and the thought "I'm better than this and I expect more from myself." Pride motivates you towards your goals.

Both are powerful sources of motivation, but I believe PRIDE motivation is more useful and longer lasting.

Fear motivation will only inspire you enough to avoid health risks, but it will never motivate you to be your best. Also Fear motivation dissipates as soon as you are out of the "danger zone" however, Pride motivation can compel you to new heights as you pursue excellence.

I encourage you to take pride in your health and fitness, to always do your best and to TRANSFORM NOW!

Get The TSC HEART OF A CHAMPION Training & Nutrition Program and Make it Happen!


Best,
Chris Krueger

Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Count Your Blessings

This morning I was blessed to wake up in America! Sure the economy is slow, the stock market is tumbling and we are firmly planted in the midst of a recession. But is it really that bad? Or are we actually blessed beyond measure?In Sudan, women and children sleep in fear. There is GENOCIDE in Darfur happening right now! Men are conscripted into the military and forced to rape children and murder innocent women. Villages are burned to the ground and families are scattered into the desert without food or water.

You are blessed.
You are blessed.
You are blessed.

Please count your blessing and make the most of them. Love more! Care more! Be patient. Be humble and be your best!

I'm blessed in so many ways and I hope that you are too. I have the ability to read and write. I have a family that loves me and great friends that truly care. I'm blessed to live in a nation where Freedom rings!

Think of how blessed you are! You're reading this on the Internet! Worldwide, roughly 1 in 5 people are illiterate! And less than 23% have regular access to the Internet! If you are reading this, you are blessed.

In America, we often get so bogged down being negative. We look at everything we don't have and become unhappy. Start looking and what you do have and REJOICE. Everyday you wake up in AMERICA is a blessing. Make it count. Make it your masterpiece! Do something that really matters.

Find a way to help others. It's easy, you can go for a walk and smile at every person you see. Smiles are contagious and they bring instant happiness. You can brighten the lives of others just by smiling!

If you need a reason to smile, think about how blessed you truly are!

You are blessed.

Best,
Chris Krueger

Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

The TSC Youtube Channel

Please watch our TSC Youtbe vids and subcribe to our channel by clicking the subscribe button.

Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program and Make it Happen! http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Goal Setting: I need to LOSE weight. WRONG!

Everyday I receive dozens of emails from all over the world. Most of them include the line, "I need to lose weight."

Two things are wrong with this statement:

a) it uses the word lose. From now on wanting to lose should be a thing of the past. TSC Transformations are about being in control and winning! The words lose and losing should be eliminated from your vocabulary. Instead use the word BURN!

b) it uses the word weight. The word weight doesn't convey whether you want to lose muscle, fat, bone, or possibly a kidney. Given that bones, kidneys and muscle are extremely important to your transformation, it's probably best to specify that you want to BURN FAT!

However the statement "I want to burn fat" is simply an unrequited desire.

You need to turn this into a real goal, by giving it a timeline and quantifying it.

First of all, you should know that it's entirely possible and actually quite easy to burn off 1.5-2.5 lbs of fat per week. In fact if you're obese and you want to really challenge yourself it's entirely possible to burn 30 pounds of fat in the first 30 days of the TSC program.

To set your FAT BURN GOAL, you should select a healthy weight for your height (use the BMI chart) and subtract this number from your current weight to get your FAT BURN GOAL.

EXAMPLE: My friend David started the challenge at 6'3" and 317 pounds. He used the BMI chart to pick 192 lbs (a healthy weight for his height) as his goal weight. To get his Fat Burn goal he does the following equation.

317 - 192 = 125 = David's personal FAT BURN GOAL.

Then to get his timeline, David chooses an amount of fat that he will attempt to burn per week. He could easily burn 1.5-2.5 lbs of fat per week, but Dave is particularly hardworking and ambitious. He decides that he will burn 5+ pounds of fat per week. He then calculates the number of weeks it will take him to achieve his goal.

125 pounds / 5 pounds per week = 25 weeks to achieve his goal.

David looks at his calender and circles Today's date and flips forward and circles the date 25 weeks in the future and writes "192 pounds!" He circles it several times, underlines it, and draws huge arrows pointing to his goal. Now he has a literal date with destiny.

Along the way David will track his progress by weighing himself every Sunday and writing his new weight on the calender.

As mentioned previously, David is particularly ambitious and has set even more goals for himself:

David's Goal List:
Weigh 192 pounds.
Perform 10+ consecutive wide-grip pull-ups.
Perform 30+consecutive push-ups.
Run the mile in 7:30 or less.

David also puts these goals on a timeline and tracks his progress on the calender. He even makes copies of his goal list and posts them around his house; on the fridge, the mirror in his bathroom, on the microwave, next to the front door and he even makes a wallet-sized list that he takes with him everywhere.

His goals are 25 week in his future, but he starts feeling better, happier, more optimistic and in control immediately. You can too! Get The TSC HEART OF A CHAMPION Training & Nutrition Program and Make it Happen!

TSCers: Make it Happen! Transform your body now and change your life forever. Get the TSC Heart of a Champion Program http://www.tscheartofachampionprogram.com/

Best,
CK.

PS: If you read this article and said, "heck yeah, that sounds great, I'll sign up for a marathon and start training as a distance runner," PLEASE DON'T! If you need a laundry list of reasons why this is a bad idea, please email me.