Congrats to all the contestants!
Quick question though
Why were some of the competitors ineligible?

hiii,vince am experiencing soreness in the next workout when am working on other part so will u suggest me wat to do because it takes nearly 3 days to get rid of that pains. so i cant do the workout in 2 times a weeek

Hi,

I have a question for Sondra. I too am a 41 yr old mom of 4 children and find it hard to plan meals and workout around their crazy schedule. So am wondering how much time does this plan take out of your schedule and how long did it take from your before and after picture? 12 weeks or longer?

Thanks, Noelle

I’m waiting for the next 12 week challenge, but until then, I’ve been doing workouts from the 4 day per week six pack quest pack. I have not done a lot of cardio in addition to the workouts, but I’m taking 45 minute cycling classes 2-3 times per week. How many additional cardio sessions would you recommend assuming I’m lifting 4 times per week and doing cycling 2-3x per week? I am fit, but I’ve got about 10 more pounds of fat to lose to get my body fat where I want it.

Hi Noelle, my transformation took 11 weeks as I was late starting. Having the meal plan mapped out for me allowed me to organize my meals the day before. Yes, I agree it is not easy, and at times I felt overwhelmed and wanted to give up. I dug my heels in and sucked it up knowing that the end results would be totally worth it. I had to work around my kids’ and husband’s schedule, which meant cardio, very early in the morning and sometimes late at night, incorporating the weight workout mid-morning, sometimes with the kids joining in. Don’t give up, motivate yourself and try to have a good support system, i.e, family, Vince, before and after pictures of other success stories. Good Luck, and remember, your health(mental and physical) is in your hands.

Sondra St-Amand

Nick,

I am sure Vince will answer you soon, but for now, I would re-think the cycling classes. Read this blog post from Vince: http://vincedelmontefitness.com/blog/2008/08/most-effective-form-of-cardio/ because your cycling class might be a waste of time. It is the intense short 20-to-30 minute interval cardio that you need to be doing instead of the steady 45 minute sessions.

You could also be getting close to over-training here, so be sure you are getting adequate rest and that you are not too sore in the body parts you are working on during your weight training days. For instance, say your triceps are sore and you are trying to work on your chest the next day, it will end up being a counterproductive workout. It takes about 48 hrs (2 days) to fully repair damage done to a muscle when it has been weight trained intensely. (Follow Vince’s training schedule based on your goals). You should also make sure that protein is in every meal to keep you in an anabolic state so that you are repairing any muscle damage and that you will be ready for another workout. If you don’t, you will be in a catabolic state and the workouts will just “eat” your muscle instead of building it. Eat your carbs in the morning to replenish your glycogen stores and if you really want to burn fat fast, use the 30-second rule that Vince suggests when weight lifting. It really works to help speed up the fat burning process! I don’t even do cardio and I am losing fat!

Vince covers all of this in his YouTube videos and reading materials so you should buy his stuff today!

Remember, train hard not long.

Sean

Sean, thanks for the advice. I agree with the motto training hard not long. I’m a cycling instructor, which works pretty well because I build hard intervals with recovery. It is about 30 minutes of actual work not counting the warm up and cool down.

I bought the 6 pack quest package. Have you done any of the meal plans or workouts? What works for you? When you mentioned the 30 second rule, does that relate to the rest periods between sets? Going hard is crucial, and I try to push myself through the workouts so I’m gasping for breath and sweating most of the time with short rest periods or essentially no rest as I walk from one lift to another.

Hello Nick,

Yes, the 30-second rule is the time between sets as Vince suggests. Since you interval train on the cycling as the instructor, then I think that will do for your cardio.

I have picked out things from Vince’s meal plan but I do my own workouts as I have for years. I have a home gym so I can workout whenever I want. I would stick with Vince’s meal plans and workouts depending on your goals because mine works for me, but it may not work for you.

If you are a hard gainer, then Vince’s 6PQ package is written just for you, but he has also added meals and workouts for people that are trying to lose weight so be sure to assess yourself and follow the correct program he has laid out for you.

One thing you need to do is progressively add a little weight each week to each exercise and be sure to do the 7 main compound exercises all with the barbell: Military Press or Clean and Press, Bench Press (flat, incline or decline), Dead-Lifts, Bent-Over Rows, Squats, Dips, and Chin-ups. These will put you in oxygen debt and increase your hormone levels done intensely.

Nick, I think your on the right track so share with Vince and the rest of us how your coming along.

Sean C.

Hi Vince,
Just wondering what approach you use to measure body fat. You stress the importance of losing 1% a week but I am wondering how we are to measure this. The bodyfat hydration scales are not that reliable but if we use the same scales all the time would that be an acceptable measure or should we be using calipers?