Will you look better on your next birthday? Will you be leaner? Will you have more muscle? Will your physique be more symmetrical? Will you improve upon your weaker points? I’d love to hear your thoughts and how you see yourself improving between today and your next birthday.

The inspiration for this post came from one of my greatest role models, Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, The Holy Grail Body Transformation Program, and creator of the Burn The Fat Inner Circle. It was his birthday and Tom had posted a great message on the Burn The Fat Facebook Fan Page…

“What if you set a goal to hit a personal record (PR) on your birthday workout, for every b-day, for as long as you live?

None of us is likely to increase our 1 rep max PR forever (well, at least not past our 100th b-day, up to 99 or so, should be no problem), but we could always do SOME kind of PR right? more reps… more sets… new workout, or anything we haven’t done before; just some PR.

I like that idea. Hmmm, maybe this will become a tradition in the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle world?”

This reminded me of a similar message that I first heard from Cover Model extraordinaire, Clark Bartram, a few years ago when I interviewed him. I recommend that you give this audio a listen… it’s awesome!

*** Unstoppable Fat Loss audio with Clark Bartram ***

The message of improving from birthday to birthday really resonated with me and I’ve been living up to it for the past few years. Today, as I approach 36 years of age I am in the best shape of my life. I plan on looking even better in my 40’s. I look at my wife who recently turned 38 and she is sexier, than ever with a knock out physique.

Nearly all of my role models are in their 40’s and a couple are in their 50’s. I see how they continue to improve their physiques and it inspires the heck out of me. Tom Venuto, Shawn Phillips, and Clark Bartram are just a few of the guys who I look up to…

This message ties in nicely with our philosophies of “Continuous Growth”. Life really is about growth, living to our potential, and enjoying life to the fullest. That’s what we all deserve!

Will you look better on your next birthday? I sure as heck know that I will!

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

PS Who are your role models that inspire you to improve your physique with each passing birthday?

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, Metabolic Masterpiece, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

It would mean a great deal to me if you could take a brief moment to share whether you prefer to workout with a training partner or workout by yourself. I’d also love to know why you prefer one over the other.

I personally haven’t worked out with a training partner for quite a while now. I have found that it helped me get in the zone and block out all distractions. I could just pop in the headphones, crank the music and hone in on my mind-muscle connection.

Well, I had a HUGE eye opener yesterday. For the first time in ages I worked out with a great friend of mine and it took my workout to an entirely new level. I pushed well beyond what I thought were my limits and now realize that I am capable of much more than I previously thought.

At my moments of weakness when I felt like “tapping out” and calling it quits, my training partner found an emotional trigger in me, which fired me up to push out another amazing set. At that point the workout was only halfway complete. It was pretty amazing to see how my energy level, which appeared to be exhausted at the time, shot up again and stayed high throughout the remainder of the workout.

That was a really big eye opener for me, to realize that there may be times during a workout where you feel like there is no more gas left in the tank, but there is indeed plenty more that will allow you to arrive at your destination.

What I also realized is that when you get two people who are serious about achieving a common goal together in a weight room, the energy, the passion, and the experience is magnified. When you have the right training partner, you really can bring out the best in each other.

There was a moment during the workout where my partner gave me a cue and told me exactly where I should be feeling the exercise. This was perfect timing because my focus was not in the exact place where it should have been. That one simple cue set my quads on fire. Not only was my training partner able to get me to enhance my mind-muscle connection, his verbal cues had me visualizing my muscles growing and looking absolutely shredded. This took my intensity to a level that I have never experienced. It had me pushing much harder than I would have if I was not playing those images in my mind.

Unfortunately, my training partner for the day, is a friend from out of town, so now I will be on the lookout for a local partner who is on my training schedule. As I begin my search, I thought I would pose a question to you and our Fat Loss Quickie community who workout with a training partner…

…Do you have any tips for choosing a great training partner?

As I reflected on the killer workout that I just completed and the many benefits of having a great training partner who is like-minded, driven, and wants to see you succeed, I was reminded of the impact that the people whom we choose to surround ourselves with, can have on the outcome of our goals.

Here’s my words of wisdom for the day… “Surround yourself with the people who bring out the best in you… and return the favor by bringing out the best in them.”

Surrounding yourself with the right people can make this transformation journey even more enjoyable and rewarding. It’s an amazing thing to be able to share this incredible journey with like-minded friends… helping each other live to our potential, sculpting the body and life that we deserve.

Now it’s your turn to share your experiences and thoughts on the topic. Do you prefer to train with a partner or workout alone? Why do you prefer one over the other?

Bonus question: What are your tips for choosing a great training partner?

Thanks for your participation.

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, Metabolic Masterpiece, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

I was recently asked the question “What is the one thing that you could say to someone who loses and gains the same 20 lbs over and over again?”, by friend Vera Raposo over at Plus Size Bloggers. Here’s my response…

If I could only say “ONE” thing to you, it would be to stop putting all of your focus on the end goal of losing 20 lbs and instead focus your attention on the greatest reward… the journey itself. I encourage you to discover the joy in the process of transforming your body and life. I encourage you to become “Present” in every moment where the intention is to improve your body and health. I encourage you to nurture the mind-body connection while you workout. I encourage you to embrace the baby steps and celebrate even the smallest of victories that you achieve each and every day. I encourage you to take pride in your body and your ability to become better from one day to the next. I encourage you to make the most out of every moment. I encourage you to view the loss of this 20 lbs not as “THE” destination, but as “A” destination. Transformation is not just a 12 week period of time in your life. Transformation is your life. If you are not growing as a person, you are dying. You have the power each and every day to choose “Growth”.

During this new journey of yours, I encourage you to not “Lose” this same 20 lbs. Instead, I would like you to release it. Set it free. Avoid the temptation to peek inside the lost and found box, because your 20 lbs that you released is nowhere to be found. It’s evaporated into thin air.

There may be a million things that you would rather do than work up a sweat and feel temporary discomfort in your muscles. What will make you successful in this journey is to recognize those things, yet go ahead and workout anyway. For a while you may feel like this is something that you “Have” to do. In time, as you embrace this journey, it will become something that you “Want” to do.

My response to this question was just one among several others from various people who are either experts in the field of fat loss or are people who have successfully released a significant amount of weight. You can read the other responses by visiting the post at Plus Size Bloggers here: What is one thing that you could say to someone who loses and gains the same 20 lbs over and over again?

Make this the last time that you ever release this same 20 pounds of fat, then move forward by continuously growing as an individual and embracing the active and healthy lifestyle.

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

If you have hit a plateau in your journey to lose fat and gain muscle, it’s easy to blame your lack of progress on genetics. Now before I move onto the valuable lessons that I’ve learned about genetics, it is important to note that we do have some genetic limitations when it comes to transforming our body. I definitely acknowledge that. BUT, most of us are nowhere close to achieving our genetic potential or reaching those limits.

It’s my hope that today’s video lesson and my personal example, will ignite a fire under your butt to step up your game and make the absolute most out of the gifts that you have been given.

As I got older and entered my 20’s I began to train even harder, but I had a very difficult time gaining muscle. Here is a couple dorky pictures of me showing off, what I thought was a pretty good physique, even though I weighed only 123 pounds soaking wet Note: I’m 5′7″

Although I looked pretty good, I was a bit embarrassed about how small I was. A slight breeze could blow me over. I’ll never forget a moment when my girlfriend at the time introduced me to one of her guy friends. I over heard him tell her, “I thought you said he was big and muscular.” Wow! What a shot to the ego that was.

I couldn’t blame him though. I mean… look at those stick legs Yes, that was a nick name that I got at work too. Another blow to the ego. I had so many people tell me that I was genetically predetermined to have skinny legs and calves. So I believed them. It was easy to believe them. I hated training legs and never did. If I had crappy genetics, why bother training legs?

I was a bit discouraged and a self proclaimed “Hard-Gainer”. I thought it was damn near impossible for me to gain muscle. I was spending hundreds of dollars each month on supplements that were supposed to help me build muscle, yet it just wasn’t working.

So I went on training really hard and not getting anywhere. Then I opened my own health club, worked 16 hour days, ate like crap, and didn’t have time to workout. Kind of ironic eh?

For anyone who ever thought that I had amazing genetics that kept me lean, I sure proved them wrong when I gained 45 pounds at the speed of light. This was the most depressing time of my life and I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in my body.

This was definitely a time when I realized that I can gain fat just as rapidly as anyone else if I’m living a crappy lifestyle. It was also a time when I realized that, “Hey, I can’t possibly be a “Hard-Gainer” if I can get this fat this quickly.”

That was an eye opening experience and it was a time for me to re-examine the kind of workout and nutrition program that I had been following.

I’d love to say that the results happened over night, but the reality is that it’s taken years of educating myself, going through trial and error, and learning to listen to my body and what it needs to lose fat and gain muscle.

I have a photo shoot scheduled for 40 days from the time I made this video. It’s provided a huge motivational boost to blast through my plateaus and drive toward my genetic potential. The photo shoot also provides me with the incredible opportunity to capture my moment of success… To celebrate my victory… To see just how far I have come.

Before I show you where I am at right now, just 40 days away from the photo shoot, I would like to show you my previous photo shoot from a couple years ago…

I was really proud of my achievements back then, but I was still struggling with a limited mindset. I believed that it was incredibly difficult to build my chest. I thought that due to my genetics I could never have a big and massive chest.

Well, I may not have a big and massive chest today, but in the past few months it has grown pretty dramatically…

For my chest, it was a matter of narrowing my grip a bit, bringing the bar lower on my chest, and keeping my elbows closer to my body.

…that, and incorporating strength training into my workouts in addition to hypertrophy training. I had been neglecting strength training for years because of my lack of time and brief short bout workouts. These workouts made me lean, but I really sacrificed a lot with them.

The same was the case with my legs. Well, that and the fact that I never trained legs for many years, much like most young guys in the gym.

Above all, it’s my level of focused intensity. It’s that mind-body connection. It’s my ability to hear that inner voice say, “Stop at this rep, that’s enough” and block it out, then replace it with my conscious voice that says, “I know that I’ve got 2 more good reps in me. Push through it and show me what you’re really made of!”

It’s my ability to block out all distractions and really be in that moment. To feel that connection with the dumbbells and barbells as if they are an extension of my own body.

It’s also been my ability to create workout programs that challenge my body and forces it to lose fat and gain muscle. I give my body no option but to improve.

It’s only been a few months where I have this renewed passion for building my best body possible. This marks the beginning of something truly wonderful that I can’t wait to experience.

I have discovered a joy with fitness that I have never experienced before.

I have discovered a fascination with my body that I’ve never experienced before.

I have discovered that I do not want to settle for mediocrity… I deserve the BEST!

It’s easy to settle and give into the genetics excuse. But reality is that genetics only account for approximately 18% of your results. It’s what you do with the other 82% that makes all the difference in the world.

Are you willing to make the most out of that 82%, because that’s where your BEST Body awaits you!

Before you go blaming your lack of results on genetics ask yourself, “Am I REALLY doing everything that I can in order to make progress?”

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

When it’s time to take your fat loss to the next level you need to skyrocket your motivation in order to help you overcome any obstacles, challenges or setbacks that you may face along the way. If you have been following my current body transformation and mission to lose fat and gain muscle, you already know that this has been a very amazing experience for me where it has felt effortless for me to put forth great effort. I still feel this way after 35 days, but I know that I can dig even deeper and find even greater motivation that will drive me toward achieving my very best.

I have been incredibly happy with my fat loss progress and muscle gains during the first 35 days, especially considering all the junk food that I have indulged in, including the 8 slices of pizza, chips, cookies, kielbasa, and boxed cereal that I ate this weekend.

Despite being far from perfect, here is what I look like after 35 days of my body transformation journey…

It’s been 3 years since my last photo shoot and it’s definitely time to have some new pictures to share on my website. The pictures in my bathroom may be great for keeping me on track, but, I feel that if I’m willing to put the effort and time into sculpting my body, I deserve to see what it looks like in a professional setting.

The photo shoot is scheduled for May 29th. This gives me a solid and concrete goal date. I have the accountability of paying for this photo shoot and having it scheduled, as well as the accountability of telling you about the photo shoot. I’m sure that you will be expecting to see my pictures after the photo shoot, and I’ll be having a lot of people calling upon me and asking how it turned out.

The photo shoot is also a part of my reward. It’s a way to celebrate my accomplishments. It’s a way of capturing the moment of success.

I want to look my absolute best in these photos. I want to look hot and sexy. I want to compare them to my last photo shoot and see how much better I look. I want to feel incredibly proud of my accomplishments and I want to use these pictures as encouragement to continue improving my physique.

I have one more bit of motivation to achieve my very best during the next 49 days. I have witnessed the incredible results that the members of Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle have achieved while following his Burn The Fat program during his 49 Day Holiday Burn Transformation Contest. It’s mind-blowing to see what they accomplished in just 49 days, which inspires me to see just what’s possible.

I’ve been spending much more time in Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle interacting with like-minded people who have experienced incredible transformations and others who are on a similar journey as myself. This has given a tremendous boost to my motivation and as a result, I have developed a “Swagger“. Special thanks to a very inspiring Burn The Fat Inner Circle member who helped me label the confidence that I have been experiencing.

I know that I can’t coast along for the next few weeks and hope to achieve ridiculous results in the last week. In order to experience amazing results I need to kick my fat loss into high gear right now. The way that I’m looking at it is, if I happen to achieve my fat loss goal before the photo shoot, I could always spend a week or two adding a little bit of muscle to my body.

This photo shoot will not be the end of my journey. It will mark a new starting point from where I begin my next journey to achieve my new body transformation goals. I plan on continuing to improve my physique for as long as I can. I enjoy the process much more than achieving a single goal.

I highly recommend that you schedule a photo shoot for yourself. It makes your goal date even more concrete. It creates an event around your goal date, and it’s a reward for achieving your goal.

I’m not one to prance around on stage in a speedo and compete for any kind of bodybuilding contest, but I do love the idea of stripping down to my boxer-briefs and capturing my physique in still image.

Best of all, I have always thought of this process of burning fat and building muscle as an art form. I consider myself a physique artist with a specialty in sculpting. My body is a sculpture. It’s a masterpiece. Capturing it in a professional photo is like giving the proper respect to my craft that it deserves.

You too, are an artist. Continue to work on your masterpiece and be sure to capture it in a photo to share with the world.

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

PS You can download the most updated version of my Transformation Fascination report here: Scott’s Lose Fat and Gain Muscle Log Book

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

If you have struggled with procrastination as I have, then you will really appreciate the interview that I recently did with Tom Terwilliger, Former Mr. America and author of The 7 Rules of Achievement, which you can find at your local bookstore or online.

In this conversation between Tom and I, you will discover some great tips to dig yourself out of the procrastination rut and put yourself on track to finally achieving the goals that you desire. I’m sure that you will love this information packed discussion…

How To Kick Procrastinations Butt To The Curb

If you prefer to listen to this interview on audio, you may download the mp3 here: End Procrastination

This audio is only 30 minutes long, so it’s perfect to load up onto your mp3 player and listen to it while you go for a nice brisk walk.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this interview. What were some of the take home points that resonated with you and what are you going to take immediate action on today?

If you have a goal that you wish to achieve some day, do yourself a BIG favor and take that first step toward achieving that goal today.

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Girl Empowered, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

We have all said it before, “I’m finally ready to make a change and whip my body into much better shape”. It all sounds good, but just a day or two later you end up right back to your old bad habits. This has certainly happened to me. I went into some detail about this in the Transformation Fascination report about how I went through this same drill for six to seven months, reliving the same scenario, just like the movie ground hog day. My workouts were great and I was gaining some muscle, but my nutrition was far from up to par, which resulted in some fat gain.

But 4 weeks ago this all changed. Frankly, it changed in an instant. This has completely intrigued me and has sent me into deep thought and reflection as to how this instantaneous mental shift took place.

As I’ve been reflecting on this shift in mindset I was reminded about something that one of my mentors, Tom Beal mentioned in the Change Series motivational movie. You can listen to it as you watch this clip. He says it at the 4:30 mark…

Tom Beal Speaks About Embracing Change

Tom said, “Once they are ready for a change it happens in an instant.”

Wow! I recorded that video over three years ago, and now, as I sit back and watch it I get chills running down my spine.

These words are so very true, yet at the same time, it can be difficult to explain. There certainly are moments where we can get all fired up and we say, and to a degree, feel that we are ready to change, but for some reason the circumstances are just not right. It may not be the moment when you are meant to go through this change. Maybe it’s because you don’t yet have all the necessary tools to help you make the change, maybe your life is a little too unpredictable to go through this change, or maybe you just don’t want to experience this change bad enough in order to put in the necessary work that it will take to achieve your goal.

Although the CHANGE that I am currently experiencing with my body transformation did indeed happen in an instant, I do believe that there were specific events that helped lead me up to this moment.

It really did begin way back seven months ago when I said that I was finally ready to change. Although I wasn’t quite ready to make a complete change I did increase the intensity of my weight training sessions. I also began to add more strength training into my workouts, which I hadn’t done for years. The feelings that I experienced from increasing the weight and reducing the reps during some of my workouts was absolutely incredible. It brought back emotions that I experienced back in the day when I was really serious about weight training (not that I haven’t been serious about weight training. It’s just that I’ve taken that level of seriousness above and beyond where I’ve ever been.) I felt like a MAN! I was feeling stronger. I was feeling confident. This increase in strength motivated me to push myself a little harder… Step outside of my comfort zone… Test my limits.

As I progressed through my workouts I began to add muscle. Just seeing a little more muscle on my chest, shoulders, and legs motivated me to push even harder. My workouts were going incredibly well and I had ignited a flame within me that was firing brighter and hotter than ever before.

But I still couldn’t get myself to improve upon my nutrition, so I was still adding on a bit of fat.

All this while I was listening to audios from people who had gone through amazing body transformation. I was also becoming more aware of before and after photos or magazine covers with ‘ripped’ fitness models. In the moment I was very inspired to up my game, but still had a difficult time acting upon it.

Then I read Brad Pilon’s book Eat Stop Eat and my motivation received another boost. I began following Brad’s work more and more and really enjoyed his philosophies, which included getting more quality sleep and reducing your stress.

Then Brad began a website called Inflammation Theory, which offers free videos about the research that he is currently focused on. I became even more intrigued with my physique and began simplifying the process of shaping my body.

Then I watched the movie “Snatch”, starring Brad Pitt. Throughout the movie I was thinking, I want to get as ripped as Brad Pitt in this movie. Then I began thinking that he looked even better in the movie “Troy”. He had more muscle in that movie. So immediately I began looking for photos of Brad’s physique in the movie “Troy”.

Then the moment happened in an instant. I made the conscious choice to commit myself to documenting my transformation and sharing it all here on my blog and with my Fat Loss Quickie subscribers. I made my goals public and I committed myself to taking a daily picture of my physique so I could monitor the changes that were taking place.

At that moment there was no turning back. I said, “I’m READY!” This time, speaking those words felt different and it’s very difficult for me to explain. I just REALLY felt READY! I knew with 100% certainty that I was about to begin an amazing journey that would see me follow through and achieve my goals. I wanted it and I wanted it bad. I couldn’t get the vision out of my head. I couldn’t help but look at myself in the mirror and picture myself totally ripped with even more muscle. I couldn’t stop thinking about how great it was going to feel when I achieved this goal. And you know what? In these moments, it really felt like I had achieved my goal. I was that excited!

Unfortunately, I don’t think that you can bottle that kind of energy, motivation, or readiness. I don’t think that there is a blueprint or secret to feeling honestly READY in that moment. It’s all up to you and it’s all within you. When it does happen… and I know it will… It will be like a switch flipping on in your mind. All of a sudden it’s GAME ON!

I wish that I could flip that switch for you. I do my best to hold your hand and guide you to that moment of flipping the switch, but ultimately it’s only within your power. I hope that my words and actions provide you with a dose of inspiration to reach out, flip that switch, and make that choice in that very moment to achieve your very worthy and deserving goal no matter what obstacles and challenges you may face.

Transforming my body during the past 25 days has been hard work, yet at the same time it has felt effortless. I know what I need to do and I do it. I’m not struggling like I used to. I have a certain confidence about me that I’ve never felt before. Eating less has become easier and easier.

As I complete a successful week of transformation I feel the momentum nudging me forward and a little voice in my head saying, “I know that you can push just a little harder this week Scott.” Nothing drastic, just small simple changes.

I also believe that having beach season just around the corner has provided me with a little extra incentive. I began this journey right around the same time that I would typically begin transforming my body when I was in my early 20’s preparing to look my best on the beach during the Victory Day holiday weekend here in Canada.

More than anything, I am simply inspired by the improvements that I have been making to my physique. At the age of 35 I’m looking better than ever. That excites the heck out of me. Little comments that I hear from Angie such as, “Wow, your shoulders are looking wider”, encourage me to continue pushing forward.

Emails and blog comments that I have received from your fellow Fat Loss Quickie blog readers, have REALLY encouraged me to push forward and continue documenting my journey. It makes my day to know that my actions and words are inspiring my friends from all around the world, to make a positive change to their health and physique. That’s when I know that I’m on the right path… when my positive change sparks positive change in others.

In the wise words of Charlie Sheen, we’re “Winning” and we’re winning BIG together. I have never felt more fulfilled in my life and I owe a great deal of it to my loyal and valued readers who openly share their thoughts and feelings with me. Thank you!

I look forward to hearing about the moment when you flip (or flipped) the switch and decide that today is the day, “I’m Honestly READY!”

Life ROCKS and so do you!

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

PS A very happy moment came over me a few months ago when I received a message from my mentor Tom Beal, who’s in the video above, and he told me about his recent body transformation and how it has impacted his life. It’s always incredibly cool to see your mentors continue to grow and improve themselves in a variety of ways. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to read Tom’s free report about his transformation. You can find it on his website at My Transformation Secrets.

PPS If you enjoyed today’s article it would make my day if you shared it with your friends and family who you feel could use a little dose of inspiration. Thank you.

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

If you’ve been struggling to lose weight I can assure you that it’s not because you haven’t discovered the greatest fat burning exercise of all time or because you are eating the top five forbidden foods that cause weight gain. The real reason why you are struggling to lose weight is because you’re overeating. Simple as that. Complicating matters any further than this will only place unnecessary stress on yourself and your body and that’s the last thing that I want for you. What I do wish for you is that you discover the joy in this process of transforming your body and embrace your new fun and healthy lifestyle.

The best advice that I’ve heard when it comes to fat loss, came from my friend Brad Pilion, author of Eat Stop Eat. Brad’s advice… “Eat less, stress less; move more, lift more and get a good night’s sleep. For physical health, that’s pretty much as good as it gets.”

Putting an end to overeating and discovering the pleasure in eating less, begins by examining your “relationship” with food…

Why do you eat when you eat? Is it because you are actually hungry and need to fuel your body? Or is it because you are bored, stressed, or always have food in front of you at all times?

Why do you eat the foods that you choose to consume? Is it out of convenience? Is it for pleasure? Is it for comfort? Or is it because it contains nutrients to fuel your body and help you function and perform at your absolute best?

It’s absolutely awesome to eat for pleasure. I believe that you should enjoy every meal that you eat. I also believe that it’s great to eat for comfort, because this too, enhances the pleasure of the eating experience. The key is to know when to stop, because that pleasurable experience can quickly turn into feelings of guilt, resentment, and disappointment when you consume these foods in excess. Once you begin to experience these feelings it can lead to an all out free-for-all, where you devour everything in sight. While this is going on you may hear a little voice in your head saying, “It’s ok, we’ll start our diet tomorrow”, which gets you right back into the vicious cycle that has held you back from reaching your body transformation goals.

Your goal should be to make the pleasurable experience last long after your meal is finished. When you eat less, you get to experience that temporary satisfaction from the taste and texture of the foods. When you eat less, your tummy feels satisfied, yet still light. When you eat less you avoid those uncomfortable feelings of bloat. When you eat less, you experience a motivation boost and mental victory immediately after the meal. When you eat less and feel lighter after a meal, you have much more energy than if you overate and felt sluggish after pigging out. The more often that you eat less, the more “In-Tune” you become with how your body feels after you consume a meal. All the above lead to a longer lasting pleasurable experience with the consumption of food.

Eating less is the most important step in your fat loss journey. It’s the one thing that I would like you to master over the next 4-12 weeks. As you progress throughout this journey I would like you to gradually begin adding higher quality foods to your daily meals. Although you could lose weight eating nothing but Twinkies everyday, while maintaining a caloric deficit, our goal is not just fat loss, it’s improving your overall health and quality of life.

As I mentioned, I believe that it’s absolutely awesome to eat for pleasure. What you may not realize is that eating healthy, high quality nutritious foods can be a very pleasurable experience. In fact, Angie and I find much more pleasure in the healthy foods that we eat compared to the unhealthy ‘treats’ that we eat. I will cover this topic in greater detail in the next article in this series.

Eating less isn’t about deprivation. It’s about eating the amount of food that is necessary for you to function at your absolute best and no more.

This process of learning to eat less is a very eye opening experience. It’s a journey of awareness. It’s about listening to your body and nourishing it based on the correct signals that it’s sending you. It’s about finding the joy in the foods that you eat and the joy in consuming those foods to the point of satisfaction.

This is something that I’ve learned from Angie… When you scoop out a small amount of ice cream into a small bowl, you tend to take your time and enjoy each bite much more than if you were to devour an entire tub of ice cream. Same thing with chips. When you pour some chips into a small bowl, you enjoy each chip more than if you were to uncontrollable consume an entire bag.

When you eat less, you learn to enjoy every bite of your food and you enjoy the positive feeling that you experience after you eat the meal.

Your homework for the week is to first write out how you typically feel after you pig out. I want you to write out how you feel physically as well as emotionally. Do you feel bloated and sluggish? Do you feel guilt and disappointment?

I also want you to become aware of how you feel after you eat less throughout the week. Make note of how you feel physically after you eat a meal consisting of less food than normal and how you feel emotionally. If you still feel hungry after the meal does that feeling last or does it go away after 15 minutes? How do you feel at the end of a day of eating less? How about the next morning?

I’m not talking about restricting your calories to 500/day or anything insane like that. I just want you to eat less than what you currently consume. Eat to the point of satisfaction and do not allow yourself to get to the point where you are ‘full’ or ’stuffed’.

I have one more piece of homework for you. I would like you to download this podcast from the Venus Effect blog and listen to it while you go for a brisk walk… How To Become Comfortable Eating Less

I listened to this podcast while I went for a walk last week and it really resonated with me. In this podcast John Barban interviews his sister Lisa, who recently lost 47 pounds. Her insights into the fat loss process are outstanding. I loved hearing her discus her new relationship with food and how she became comfortable with eating less.

What really struck me as “Pure Awesomeness” was listening to Lisa describe how she keeps nutrition and working out separate. Her workouts are for the shear enjoyment of being at the gym. It’s only one hour out of her day and she enjoys it. The remaining 23 hours of the day are focused on food management.

Lisa is in a great frame of mind and I am certain that you will benefit from listening to her experience. I know that I sure did.

It’s about time that you begin enjoying this process of transforming your body. It’s not as complicated or grueling as you may have been led to believe. Yes it’s hard work, but it’s hard work that can lead to a charmed life!

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

It’s been said that only 18% of our body transformation results are due to genetics, yet all too often “poor genetics” is used as a reason for a lack in positive results. I’m about to reveal an area of my body transformation that has been held back, simply because of my belief in poor genetics.

I’ve spent most of my life with ‘Stick Legs’. I used to get teased about them up until my mid 20’s. I remember working on the line at an auto factory and seeing one of my co-workers hold up a car antenna and pointing at my legs. Yes… that’s just how skinny my legs were

I was repeatedly told that I’m genetically predisposed to have skinny legs… and for a while I bought into it. But then I reached a point where I had to be truthful with myself. Yes, my genetics play a role in the size and shape of my legs, but I wasn’t doing anything about it. I was one of those young guys that you see in the gym who only trained upper body. I loved training upper body. Those were the beach muscles. I also loved training my arms because they grew faster than my other body parts.

I hated working my legs. It hurt. It was hard work. It took a lot out of me. And I thought that women could care less about men’s legs. Well little did I know

It took Angie pointing out to me that women are attracted to men with muscular butts and thighs. She said something about thrusting motion and then my mind began to drift so I can’t recall what she said after that

I also began to hear other women say that they were turned off by guys with big muscular upper body’s and stick legs. At this point, I knew that no matter what genetics I had been blessed with, I was going to make the most out of it.

Since I hadn’t ever trained legs it didn’t take much for them to begin to grow. I thought to myself, “Holy cow, maybe my genetics aren’t so bad after all.” The harder I worked, the more addicted I began to feel toward leg training. I loved the feeling of struggling to walk up the steps after a hard leg workout. I love the mild soreness and discomfort that carried on for a few days after the workout. I loved that I was putting my genetics to the test. I loved the challenge of a leg workout, and quite frankly, it made me feel manly

But to this date, there is one area that I still struggle with. My thighs are pretty muscular, but my calves are not my greatest asset. Although they have improved over the years, they are still not where I want them to be.

Once again, I continue to be fed the genetics response. Even my massage therapist chimed in with the same comment about my calves. Yes, it sickens me to see guys with monsterous calves who have rarely ever done a calve exercise in their life. I’m not going to ignore the fact that genetics plays a role, but I’m ready to put my genetics to the test.

I recall a great article that Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, once wrote about calve training. In the article he said, “The number one reason why stubborn calves won’t grow is because you’re not giving them the same priority or attention as the rest of your body.”

Those words really hit home with me. Although I had been training my calves I wasn’t mixing up the type of training that I was doing for them and most of the time I would put them off to the end of the workout. Although I worked them hard, I rarely put the same kind of effort and intensity into calve training as I do for other body parts.

What I do realize now, is that yes I don’t have the world’s greatest genetics when it comes to calves, and I have to put forth a greater effort toward training them than I have in the past. I also realize that because of my genetics I will have to work harder than most people in order to achieve the calve development that I desire.

…And you know what? I’m willing to put in that extra effort in order to achieve my goal and prove that my genetics don’t have to limit me.

As I sat and thought about why I haven’t put forth as much effort toward calve training as other body parts, it brought about all the feelings from the past when it came to leg training. I simply did not enjoy training calves as much as other body parts. I didn’t get the same rush of enjoyment and satisfaction at the end of a calve workout. I was just glad to have it over and done with. This is a mindset that I have now put aside and I am determined to grow my calve muscles. This will be a fun experiment for me and a test of my dedication.

This is one of the really cool things about resistance training. Although you can’t spot reduce when it comes to burning fat, you can add muscle and shape to specific areas of your body in order to improve your overall aesthetics.

As I write out this post and share my personal struggles with “poor genetics”, I can’t help but wonder if you have ever felt that genetics are holding you back from achieving your body transformation results. I also can’t help but wonder if you neglect training certain body parts because they are not as much fun to workout over others.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please take a moment to share your feedback in the comment box below.

Join me in putting our genetics to the test and achieving our true potential!

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!

I’ve been having some amazing conversations with a few of my colleagues in the fitness biz about the mind-body connection that we regularly achieve during our workouts. This “Ultra-Focus” that we have been able to achieve during our workouts can be described as euphoric. We become so incredibly “In-Tune” with our body, feeling every movement and experiencing every breath, that we often forget that there are other people around us in the gym.

This kind of mind, body, and spiritual connection that we experience during our weight training session can be compared to the feelings that some people experience from fitness practices such as Yoga, Tai Chi, or Pilates.

It’s this realization that lead me to believe that it’s not necessarily the type of movement that is important to achieve an incredible mind-body connection… it’s your ability to focus your attention, block out life’s distractions, clear the clutter from your mind, and give your complete attention to the task at hand while experiencing the moment to the fullest.

I believe there’s a direct correlation between focused-intensity during your workouts and the results that you achieve throughout your body transformation. Meaning… the more focused you are with your training, the better results that you can expect to achieve.

I recall hearing my friend Shawn Phillips talk about a conversation that he had with his brother Bill. I’m paraphrasing here, but it went something like…

Shawn Phillips: Why do you think that I’m able to achieve extraordinary body transformation results compared to so many others?

Bill Phillips: I believe it’s because there is nobody in the gym that is more focused than you are.

Bill didn’t say, “It’s because of ‘X’ supplement that you took, or your great genetics, or because you have more time to dedicate to training than others.” He said, “It’s your level of focus.”

Think about that for a moment. What if there was no magic workout program that burns fat 1000 times faster than any other program… and there was no secret diet trick to burn fat more rapidly than thought humanly possible? What if you had everything that you needed right in front of you, and all that you have to do is to kick your focus up several notches?

I say, “All that’s required”, but frankly, developing focused intensity takes a lot of practice and is hard work… in the beginning at least.

It took me years of working out before developing the intense focus that I experience today. I often wish that I would have harnessed this power much sooner, which is why I would love to share some of my strategies for focused intensity with you today.

How To Achieve Focused-Intensity

Focused intensity begins before you ever step foot in the gym or walk into your home gym. It begins by reviewing your plan of action for today’s workout. What exercises will you be performing? How many sets and reps will you perform for each exercise? What is the goal that you are planning on achieving from today’s workout and how will you progress from the previous time that you performed today’s workout?

This is why it’s so important to follow a professionally designed workout program. It’s your blueprint for success. Consider any of the programs that Angie and I have produced, as your action plan for success. It’s not about how many calories you burn in this workout. It’s about putting forth your very best effort, which requires your complete focus and attention. It’s about taking this plan and progressing from week to week. Our workout programs are like a treasure map for you. Continue putting one foot in front of the other in the direction that we guide you and expect incredible rewards in the end.

After reviewing today’s workout and setting your goals for this training session, it’s time to flip the switch and mentally pump yourself up. For me, that means plugging in my headphones, cranking my pre-workout play list, and begin visualizing myself ROCK’n the workout and achieving the goals that I have set for today’s training session.

As I walk through the gym doors, the only thing on my mind is dominating the workout. My workout playlist is still cranked and I continue to listen to it while I’m getting changed in the locker room. I don’t allow anything to distract me from the task at hand.

I go through a great warm up and feel the blood rushing to my muscles and warming my body. I get comfortable with the way my body is moving, I calm my mind and prepare my muscles for the load that is about to be unleashed on them.

It’s time for some serious focused-intensity! A time where every bit of focus and energy goes into each and every rep.

It’s important to note that intensity isn’t gut wrenching bursts of ‘military like’ abuse on your body where you are rapidly performing movements until you puke. You can experience great intensity from performing slower controlled movements too. It’s all about making the most out of the moment.

I mentioned my buddy Shawn Phillips earlier. He’s a master of focus. In fact, he’s Mr. Focus! In his book Strength For Life, which you can find at your local bookstore or online, is full of incredible awesomeness when it comes to ‘building your focus muscles.’ There’s one lesson in particular where he really gets you to feel each movement the way that it’s meant to be felt become completely “Aware” in that moment. If you’re enjoying this topic, you’ll love Strength For Life. It’s tops on my “MUST Read” list of books.

OK, now the workout is about to begin. I start every training session with the same song by Eminem, “Till I Collapse”. The opening lyrics fire me up every time… “Sometimes you just feel tired. You feel weak. And when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up. But you’ve gotta search within you. You’ve gotta find that inner strength and pull that shit outta you. And get that motivation to not give up and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face.” This song is especially good on leg days

With each rep I do my best to ‘get inside’ the muscle being worked and feel every muscle fiber firing. With each breath I feel my muscles tense, contract, then relax. I feel the rush of blood pumping through my veins. I feel every ridge of the bar that I’m either lifting, pushing, or pulling. For the moment, the bar and I are ONE! We are connected. I’m absolutely oblivious to everything around me. In this moment the only thing that matters is making every rep count because this rep could be the difference maker between me having a mediocre physique and an outstanding physique.

There are moments when the mind-body connection, becomes so incredibly strong that the experience is euphoric. I’m guessing that it would be similar to a runners high. A moment where I feel like I could lift anything non-stop. A feeling of peace and harmony. It’s kind of weird to see the words peace and harmony associated with weight training, but this is exactly what can happen when you embrace the moment.

When I finish the set I soak up every ounce of the moment. I feel a sense of victory. Then I prepare to dominate the next set.

The time between sets is a golden opportunity. It’s one of the most important parts of your workout. It’s a time to once again clear you mind and focus on your goal for the next set. Even if your rest period is only 30 seconds, you need to make the most out of this time. Keep your eye on the target. Keep your blinders on. You’ve made the effort to step foot into the gym, now it’s up to you to make the most out of this time. Focus on your breath, your heartbeat, the blood rushing through your veins. This next set will bring you one step closer to achieving your body transformation goal.

Once your workout is complete, it’s important to maintain focus. Write some notes on how you felt throughout the workout and where you plan on improving the next time that you perform this specific workout. Congratulate yourself on a job well done and dedicate a few minutes to thinking about your body transformation goal, how great it’s going to feel to achieve it, and how the effort that you just put forth in the gym brought you closer to achieving your ultimate goal.

It’s important to note that weight training feels natural to me. I love the feeling of cold iron in my hands. Every time that I pick up a weight it just feels ‘right’ to me.

Not everyone is going to have this same kind of experience with weight training. This is another level of focus… Focusing in on what you can enjoy and become passionate about. Some of my friends have achieved awesome results with Kettlebells and they absolutely love them. However, I have not found any joy in using them myself. It’s not natural to me and that’s ok. Some other friends have achieved great results with Yoga and they tell me how relaxing it is and what a great stress reliever it can be. For me, it’s the exact opposite. I actually become very anxious when performing yoga… but that’s just me.

No matter what form of resistance training resonates with you, I encourage you to discover the focused-intensity that you possess. Give every ounce of your being to the training session. Enjoy the process. This truly is a journey of self discovery. You get to see what you are really made of and capable of achieving.

This is truly one of the best practices for relieving stress. This is YOUR time. It’s a time to block out the craziness from the day and focus on what matters most in life… YOU! This is the one time in life where it’s great to be selfish, because this quality time that you have with yourself will help make you a better person. It will enhance your coping skills. It will boost your confidence. It will make you feel proud to be YOU.

Even though you’ll still have work deadlines, errands to run, and a to-do list that’s not complete after your workout, you will now have the STRENGTH to manage your day to the best of your abilities.

This is what focused-intensity means to me. This is why weight training is such an incredible mind, body, and spiritual connector for me. This is why I am so passionate about helping you achieve your goals… because I love what I do and I know the impact that it can have on your entire life.

Now go out there and train to the best of your abilities. Harness that power and focus within you. Make this an experience… not just a workout.

To achieving your limitless potential,

Scott Tousignant

About The Authors

Scott and Angie Tousignant have been helping busy men and women, just like you, transform their body and life for over a decade. This dynamic duo prides themselves on providing a balanced and practical approach that will motivate and inspire you to become the best YOU that you can be.

Scott and Angie have dedicated themselves to sharing their exact workouts, what they eat, and how they stay motivated to continue transforming their body’s and life.

Their line up of body transforming programs includes, ROCK That Body, Sizzlin’ Circuits, Core Plus More, Fat Loss Quickie, and More Love Less Fat.

We’re excited to share in you successful body transformation!