When people are trying to accomplish their fitness goals, whether it is to lose fat, gain muscle or sculpt their bodies, they tend to follow certain “rules” of the game to accomplish those said goals.

Eat less calories, perform extra cardio, lift heavy weights, etc… There are universal rules that have been known for years. Most of these “rules” have been well researched and used on many people with a lot of success.

Just go to the internet, or ask your neighborhood trainer and you will hear about the “rules” of the game you are playing.

However, what if you find those “rules” don’t apply to you? What if you have followed all of these ‘said rules’ and you are still not seeing progress. You know the rules well, but they don’t know you.

Sometimes it is necessary to break the rules. Not to say these universal rules are not good rules or not to say that they don’t work, but everybody is different and everyone has special circumstances that some study done in a research lab in the 90s just didn’t cover.

Break the rules

Broken Rule # 1: If you have been eating less calories in an effort to lose weight or body fat, and you are just not losing that fat, maybe you need to actually “gulp” eat more. Many people under eat in an effort to lose weight and they don’t realize that they are, in a sense, turning off their metabolisms and doing more harm then good. Eating more time to time might just be a better strategy for those that have been under eating and not getting results.

Broken Rule #2: If you are a woman that has been following the, circuit training system for years and still don’t have the body you want, break that rule that women have to do “high reps” to sculpt their bodies. Lift heavier weights from time to time. Actually, I make most of my female clients lift heavy weights and they get much better results.

Broken Rule #3: You need to stop doing “extra long, slow cardio” to burn that excess fat. Try high intensity interval training instead. Although a lot of people have already discovered this ‘secret’ for fat burning, many people still resist the urge to do 45 extra minutes on the elliptical machine everyday in the effort to lose weight.

Broken Rule #4: Less sometimes equals more! Too many people that lift weights to get big and strong think they need to do 5-10 sets of everything each time out. This “rule” doesn’t always work, and for most people, it can be counter productive. Try doing less in the gym instead. Lift heavier weights, but perform less sets. I have made more strength gains by doing 1 to 2 sets of heavy lifting compared to 5 sets of higher rep programs. My good friend Jason Ferruggia is a master at putting strength and muscle on people and you will find detailed strength program’s that follow this idea that less is more in his Muscle Gaining Secrets program. Check it out.

Broken Rule #5: Squatting is “good” for your knees when done properly. Stop the dogma that squatting is bad for you. I hear people tell me all of the time that their doctor’s told them not to squat because it will ruin the knees. This “rule” is ridiculous and not a good one to follow. I train 5 people that have had knee replacements, as well as tons of athletes coming off of ACL repair surgery and the ALL do squats. None of them have any more knee problems. Squats are good for the knees.

Broken Rule #6: Just because you have a “bad thyroid” doesn’t mean you cannot lose weight. I have trained many women with thyroid problems and some that no longer have a thyroid. Guess what? They were all able to lose weight. Some have lost incredible amounts of weight and have kept it off. Still, sadly many doctors will actually tell these patients that it is impossible to lose weight with a bad thyroid or none at all. If you have thyroid problems, you can still achieve fat loss, you will just have to work a little harder at it and a little smarter.

Broken Rule #7: Cardio does NOT have to be long, slow or boring. I already covered the rule about not doing long-slow-cardio for fat loss, but what about doing it for heart health? There are many ways to get the same or even better benefits and not do the same old long, slow cardio…such as jogging, riding the stationary bike or spending 60 minutes on the elliptical machine. Try running sprints, pulling a weighted sled, or doing a hard weight training circuit with little rest! You will get the same and sometimes even better heart health benefits without spending countless hours each week on the treadmill, ripping your knees apart.

Sometimes you can follow all of the rules and still get no where. When this happens, break some of the “rules.” You may know all of the rules, but the rules don’t know you!

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