In order to Transform your body you will need to set the right goals. Most major successes in life begin with goal setting and are accomplished with perseverance. Whether your goal is to earn a scholarship, buy your first home, graduate from law school, start your own business, or transform your body, success starts with goal setting and is realized with a mix of optimism, fortitude, commitment, enthusiasm, diligence, and perseverance that give you the tenacity to overcome obstacles and achieve the results you want. In short, you have to set a goal and make it happen.To transform your body, it's imperative that you set great goals. All too often I hear people setting the wrong goals. They say things like, "I want to be skinny" or "I want to lose _____ pounds" or "I hate my thighs, I want them to be smaller." Theses are terrible goals because they are focused on the wrong objectives. Goals like that will never create feelings of empowerment, but the will take you on a frustrating path to failure.
The TSC Heart of a Champion Program is really about the inner transformation. It's about becoming a more confident, enthusiastic, productive person. It's about SELF-EMPOWERMENT. You being in control of your life and becoming your best. Goals that revolve around being skinnier, smaller or losing weight, will never help you achieve the inner transformation and they will only frustrate you as you struggle to achieve meager results.
A stunning example of this is bariatric surgery. When a surgeon staples or lap-bands your stomach it robs you of opportunity to accomplish something real and meaningful with your own hard work and determination. It's the easy way out, but it's rewards are fool's gold. When you lose 100, 150 or 200 pounds after bariatric surgery you haven't really accomplished anything. Sure you'll get smaller, and maybe you'll feel more confident because you think you look better, but you haven't accomplished anything because you haven't EARNED it. Truthfully your probably not actually better at anything, except looking less fat.
Think about some of the celebrities that have had bariatric surgery; Roseanne Barr, Randy Jackson, Al Roker, Carnie Wilson and Charlie Weis. Do any of these people have the dream body that you want? Of course not! Charlie Weis had bariatric surgery in 2002 and almost died after he bled internally for 30 hours. Chances are good that like Weis, you will survive the surgery, but even then you'll be faced with a lifetime of pills and supplements to help deliver the micro-nutrients your body needs, but can no longer get naturally because you choose to circumvent nature.
Furthermore, what is the purpose of bariatric surgery? The only thing that it can do is help you eat less. That's it! Bariatric Surgery helps you eat less! WOW, you could eat less without having surgery. This is the point where you might say, "But I've tried eating less. In fact I've tried everything! I did all the different brand name diets from Atkins to the Zone, I tried exercise, I bought the fat-burning pills, I joined a gym, I bought a bowflex, I did crunches, I ordered the workout DVD's and tried do all sorts of funky exercises in my living room, I even have an ab-rocket! But nothing worked!"
To all this, I respond, "Sure you tried everything but did you finish anything? What were your goals in the first place?"
And guess what? The goals were always wrong! The goals were always to be skinny, lose weight, or get smaller and those goals NEVER WORK. You might see some progress initially, but the be skinny, lose weight, and get smaller goals always lead back to where you started, in a constantly repeating cycle of yo-yo dieting madness.
The most sickening thing about all this is how easy it is to burn fat and transform your body. With the TSC Heart of a Champion Training Programs, burning 100 pounds of fat becomes a 10-20 week process depending on your drive and perseverance. If you have the guts to go under the knife for stomach stapling or some other bariatric surgery, then you should have the guts to train properly and eat right for 10, 20, or 30 weeks as you transform your body and earn the feelings of empowerment and accomplishment that come from sowing the seeds of your own success.
But what are the right goals?
The RIGHT GOALS are the ones that lead you to constant and consistent improvement towards your full potential. The right goals lead you on the path to being your best. They are tangible, you can measure them every week as you improve.
The right goals also use the right vocabulary, instead of losing weight you need to burn fat. Instead of getting skinny you need to get stronger! Instead of being smaller you need to run faster!
Start thinking in terms of being Fast, Fit, and Strong. Now you might think I'm crazy right about now, but stick with me. During the Summer Olympics have you ever spotted an obese person lining up to run the 100m, 200m or 400m sprints? Of course not, these are the fastest people in the world and any extra body fat would literally weigh them down. Of course I don't want you to begin training like an Olympic sprinter this afternoon, but you should start wrapping your head around the fact that you want to be fast. Certainly you're not going to develop world class speed over night, but you should strive to be your fastest and set goals accordingly. Again the goal is to be your best! Comparing yourself to others is a waste of time.
Fast, Fit, and Strong . Fitness is second on the list, it's vitally important. To be your best you absolutely have to develop cardiovascular endurance and muscle stamina. You have to be able to keep going like the energizer bunny. Think of Olympic rowing, have you ever seen a fat guy in one of those boats? Of course not, they are some of the fittest athletes on the planet. In fact, most races come down to who has the endurance and stamina late in the race. All of the elite rowing teams can start fast, but to become a champion you have to finish strong.
Being fast and fit are great! They will help you lead a longer healthier life, but being strong will help you lead a better life. Studies have shown that an elderly person's quadriceps strength is one of the great determinants for there quality of life. Sadly you may never become "elderly" if you die of an obesity related illness in your 40's or 50's. Oh and Guess what happens when you mix speed with strength? You get POWER! You can literally make yourself more powerful!When you set goals to become fast, fit, and strong and persevere towards making them happen you will dramatically improve your life and make the inner transformation that the TSC Heart of a Champion Program is really all about. If you really want to feel confident and empowered you need to push yourself to be your best. That means being faster, fitter, and stronger as you push passed your old limits and towards your full potential. I hope you see the difference between "I want to lose 50 lbs so I'm not so fat anymore" and "I want to achieve my full potential" because they are worlds apart.
Now of course your saying, "Well golly, that sounds good, but I'm busy, I work, I have kids, I have responsibilities, I don't have all day to train like an Olympian athlete!" Of course you don't have all day to workout. None of us do. That's why it's important to train as effectively and efficiently as possible. So that you can earn the results you want and still manage the responsibilities you have. Again, the transformation process is about getting better, it will reduce your stress, not add to it. Once you get your training and fitness on track, you'll find that the rest of your life falls into place and everything becomes easier.
The TSC Heart of a Champion program demands just 4 hours of training per week. It's just two twenty minute cardio sessions, three weight training sessions that will take you 40-50 minutes and one fitness test (The TSC 300 Challenge) that should take 20-40 minutes depending on your fitness. That's it! You can radically transform your life and earn the respect of everyone around you by transforming your body the right way. You can literally burn 100 pounds of fat in 10-20 weeks. Imagine waking up 15 weeks from now and being faster, fitter, stronger and 100 pounds lighter.
Along the way, you'll have to follow the TSC Nutrition guide and do some bonus activity too, but the results will change your life. Imagine this, let's say you're 6 feet tall, 300 pounds with a 48" waist, on Thanksgiving day. You could begin the Heart of a Champion program and be close to 200 lbs and a 34" waist by Valentine's Day and by the first day of spring you can absolutely have six pack abs. Follow the TSC training and nutrition programs and add bonus activities and you can do it.
So now you're thinking, "wait, what is that jazz about TSC Bonus Activities? What does that mean?"
The TSC Bonus Program is simply encouraging you to get more physical activity during the day. It can be as simple as taking a walk on your lunch break or when you get home for work. But now your thinking, "see, I knew there was a catch, it does take more than 4 hours a week! See I told you!"
Well, the training takes 4 hours a week, but you absolutely need to go beyond just training. Really the bonus program should be about playing! You know that fun stuff that kids used to do outside in the afternoons before the TV news convinced us that world was too dangerous and instead it would be safer for America's children to be raised indoors in front of televisions and gaming consoles, eating microwaveable corn dogs, pizza rolls and hot-pockets.
So yes, your transformation will take more than 4 hours a week, in fact I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm sure you've seen the Biggest Loser and watched horrified as "America's toughest trainer" pushed her Losers through another gut-check "last chance workout." Well guess what... The last chance workout is totally bogus. With as big as the competitors are on that show, a weekly weigh-in can be totally determined by salt intake and hydration. The last chance workout is simply a way to format the show and do storytelling, it gives the director (yes the show has a director) a chance to send Jillian over to talk to a contestant and have a semi-scripted conversation about what's going on with them and why they aren't giving it their all. The last chance workout spawns story lines and can help the director and producers create drama. Fights and tears boost ratings, but have nothing to do with transforming your body or burning fat, so here's the big secret. The competitors that post huge numbers on the show use long walks to burn fat! That's the big secret, hey you can walk too, you don't need America's toughest trainer yelling in your face to burn fat, just walk! The competitors will wake up early and walk 3-4 hours or more per day without the trainers! They'll walk between 9 and 16 miles per day, it takes time but it will melt the fat off of you. Heck it even worked for Jared the subway guy. Although, you'll notice that Jared never did the proper training to transform his body. He was really fat and now he's less fat, but you won't see him taking his shirt off in public anytime soon. In fact, Jared is gaining his weight back! That's why he appears in a heavy winter coat in Subway's newest winter Olympic themed ads.
Imagine what you could do with proper training, proper nutrition and some TSC Bonus activities like walking, riding a bike, dancing, or playing just about anything. You can totally transform your body.
I know it's true because I've done it myself. Now your thinking "wait Chris, I've seen you youtube videos, you have like an insane 8-pack."
Well thanks, but something you should know, this fall I hurt my lower back at work (two herniated discs in lumbar spine). I couldn't lift weights or exercise for nearly two and a half months, actually I could barely bend over and putting dishes into the dishwasher caused excruciating stabbing pain.
During the time my back was injured I consciously decided to neglect the TSC Nutrition guidelines and instead insisted on eating what I considered the average American diet. It was almost like I was recreating Morgan Spurlock's documentary Super Size Me except without the McDonald's food, you'd have to pay me to eat that crap. But I did have my fare share of In-n-Out, ranch soaked pizza, and Oreoes (but at least I was dipping them in skim milk).
My back injury occurred on September 9th, 2009. I ate like crap and couldn't return to exercise until Thanksgiving, 2009. On Black Friday, November 27th (the day after Thanksgiving) my back was feeling a lot better, but I felt disgusting. After 79 days of inactivity and consuming what I considered the average American diet I weighed in at 253 pounds and I only had one pair of jeans that still fit me, barely. My butt was covered in cellulite and I spent most of my time wearing sweatpants. Given my height, 6'3" I had officially become an obese American with a Body Mass Index over 30 and my waist was 41" when I was flexing!Later that day, I played in a touch football game with some high school friends (a Thanksgiving tradition). I was fat, slow, weak and far from being my best. Later I saw some photos of the game, there is actually a picture of my fat gut hanging out of my shirt.
The next day, Saturday, November 28th, I took the TSC 300 Challenge, it's the fitness test I was talking about earlier. The test is comprised of 3 sections pull-ups, push-ups and a 3 mile run. Each section is worth 100 points for a total of 300. I was able to do 9 pull-ups, 31 push-ups and run 3 miles in 32:04 for a total score of just 122 points. Certainly this score might be higher or lower than what you could score today, but the goal isn't comparison, its improvement. The Heart of a Champion Program is designed to deliver results, regardless of where you begin the journey.I set my goals on Sunday, November 29th. I wanted to burn fat, build muscle and transform my body. My goals were to burn between 40 and 50 pounds of fat and build 2-5 pounds of muscle (goal weight between 203-213). I wanted my waist to return to 32-34" and a body fat percentage between 4-10%. But my most important goals had to do with the TSC 300 Challenge. I knew I needed to be faster, fitter and stronger to achieve my other goals. For the 300 Challenge, my goals were to improve to 20 pull-ups (100 pts), 50 push-ups (100 points) and run 3 miles in 21 minutes or less (82+ points) for a total of 282 points or more.
There's one more goal that I should have set, and that is adherence. The TSC Training Program works every time its applied. It is being used by people all over the world to transform their bodies, but the program only works when you do the work. If you skip the workouts, they can't transform your body. Completing every training session with 100% intensity is paramount to your success. During the 10 week Heart of a Champion Transformation Program I had an adherence rate of over 98%. The only workout that I missed was Friday, December 25th, 2009, It was Christmas Day and I was spending it at my Aunt's house in Northern Idaho. They gym in the town was closed and my Aunt didn't have the required equipment. It's okay. You can miss a workout if your in Northern Idaho on Christmas day.
So given my 98% adherence rate and my enthusiasm for the TSC Bonus Program you'd expect that I would have had some pretty good results. Well you'd be right.
Ten weeks later on Saturday, February, 6th 2010 I completed my week 10 TSC 300 Challenge. I racked up 19 pull-ups for 95 points, 53 push-ups for 100 points (50 push-ups is the max score), and I ran 3 miles in 19:55, that's over a minute faster than my original goal time and worth 89 points. In total I scored 284 out of 300 possible points and achieved a miraculous 10 week transformation.
The next day (Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7th) I took my week 10 measurements. I weighed in at 206 lbs! That's 47 pounds lighter than just 10 weeks earlier. I would estimate that I burned 49-50 pounds of fat and built 2-3 pounds of muscle (although I didn't have pre- and post-challenge DEXA scans, so I can't say for certain). My waist was 32.25" while flexing, I'd burned almost 9" of fat off my waistline in just 10 weeks. My abs were back and I felt better than before I hurt my back.
During the challenge I would always be setting weekly goals for the amount of fat I wanted to burn and the numbers I wanted to see on the 300 challenge. It's vitally important that you give yourself active short term goals, like "burn 7 pounds of fat this week" or "do 1 more pull-up than last week" You'll remember that my original goal in the 3 mile run was 21:00 or less, well I beat that in week 8, so my week nine goal was to "run faster" I had to beat my week 8 time and then in week 10 my goal was to beat my weak 9 time and go even faster, I wanted to go sub 20 minutes in the run. Guess what, I did. Guess why, GOAL SETTING.
Someday in the near future (probably 10 or 12 weeks after you read this) you'll have completed the TSC Heart of a Champion Transformation Program with a 98-100% adherence rate and you will have achieved remarkable results. You'll probably have burned 40, 50, maybe even 60 pounds of fat or more, you'll be faster, fitter and stronger, but then the questions becomes, "Where do I go from here?"
It's simple, you set new goals and you start achieving them! Then you will take THE NEXT STEP. After completing the 10 week Transformation Program it was time for me to re-evaluate myself and set new goals. I decided that in the next ten weeks I would do 25 pull-ups, 75 push-ups and run 3 miles in 17:57 (these scores will go far beyond maxing out the 300 Challenge). I also want to continue burning fat and building muscle so that I can get my body to 198-203 lbs and 4-6% body fat. You need to know that any able bodied person can do this (women, the scoring for the TSC 300 challenge is slightly different for you, but you can max the test and score all 300 points). It doesn't take talent or skill. But it does take setting the right goals, proper training, proper nutrition, some hard work and mostly perseverance.
On Monday, February 7th, I started the TSC Heart of a Champion Plus: THE NEXT STEP. It's a program I designed as the logical next step in the development and progression of your health, fitness and physical abilities. It picks up where the first program leaves off and will push you further towards achieving your full potential. The new workouts will blast you towards the results you want and inject fresh enthusiasm into your transformation training.
Sure it's hard work, but it's also JOYFUL work. It feels great to run fast and it feels even better when you push yourself to run faster. As you become faster, fitter and stronger you will become better at everything. You will be naturally energized, more creative, and more productive. You will be more in control of your life. Stress will fade away and you will achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life style.
At this point, only you can stop yourself. The TSC workouts work if you do them. The TSC Nutrition Program works if you follow it. The TSC Bonus Program works if you take the time to invest in yourself. If you're an able bodied person you can absolutely do this and start transforming immediately. Everyone has excuses, but you have the solution.
Our society is rotting from all the cheap satiation available to us. Hungry? have a Snickers, or a Big-Mac or a Whopper, it's cheap easy and fast, but the satisfaction never lasts. It's time to make a real and meaningful change in your life. Forget about losing weight, being smaller and getting skinny. Be faster, Be Fitter, Be Stronger. Learn and Grow. Start the program and more importantly, FINISH THE PROGRAM.
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.
PS: My other goals for 2010
1. Enter three 5k races and run sub 20:00 in all of them (I have my eye on the Sound to Narrows 5k in my hometown as my first race). ***NOTE: Do not decide to run a marathon, you will go on the worst yo-yo diet of your life, you will ruin your metabolism, and you will hate running. Instead enter 5k's and aim to run faster in every race.
2. Climb a Mountain: Hopefully Mt. Rainier this summer with some of my best friends.
3. Erg 2k in sub 6:00 (an erg is a type of rowing machine).
4. Walk 26.2 Miles without stopping. Humans are designed to walk long distances, not to run them. I'd like to try walking a marathon for time.
