My goal

Look we get it. You’re tired. You don’t have time for the gym. You work all day. Fast food is a lot easier than packing a lunch. We know it’s difficult to stay in shape.

You get out of college and hit the real world and suddenly a gym is not 4 minutes from your bed, and you have to be at a desk all day. So you let the pounds slowly pack on.

You don’t really notice it. It’s kind of like that phenomena where nothing changes day-to-day, but looking back everything is different.

If you pack on just 1 pound a month, in 2 years you will be nearly 25 pounds fatter. Your gut will sag over your belt, your health will diminish, you will need to buy new clothes, and your sex life will decline- it’s not a pretty path. So what do you do?

Stop trying to go to the gym after work, you’re exhausted, and you need to pack your clothes and it just won’t work. Working out in the morning is your best bet because it wakes you up, stimulates your metabolism, and gives you energy throughout the day.

But who has time to wake up earlier to go to the gym? So you workout at home, before you shower and eat breakfast. You can do some P90x if you’re brave, hit it hard with a few pull ups, push-ups, and sit-ups with your iron gym, or you can try this 2 minute calorie blasting home workout.

We have yet to try it, but can feel the energy rushing through us and our tired bed head eyes waking up after preforming this three times a week.

A slim waist, broad shoulders, and toned arms sure beats a gut and double chin. You can keep going down the path you’re going, or wake up and smell the iron. [Hat tip]

The right fitness foods help burn fat, build muscle, and even boost your cardiovascular health. Ready to eat your way to better results? These 8 great foods and drinks are guaranteed to make any type of exercise you do more effective—long after you’ve broken a sweat.

EAT THIS!

PINEAPPLE AND PAPAYA

Good for: Muscle recovery
Both of these tropical fruits are loaded with bromelain and papain, enzymes that not only help break down proteins for digestion but also have anti-inflammatory properties to speed up your post-workout recovery.

SALMON

Good for: Cardiovascular fitness

Australian researchers found that cyclists who took fish oil for 8 weeks had lower heart rates and consumed less oxygen during intense bicycling than a control group did. The fatty acids in fish oil need to become incorporated into muscle and heart cells to have an effect, and that takes weeks of consumption—so either take fish oil pills each day, or try to eat fish rich in fatty acids multiple times a week to see similar results.

PB&J or PASTA WITH MEAT SAUCE

Good for: Muscle building and repair
The perfect post-weight training repast has about 400 calories, with 20 to 30 grams of protein (to build new muscle) and 50 to 65 grams of carbohydrates (to repair old muscle). Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or a small bowl of pasta with meat sauce fits that formula.

PORK TENDERLOIN

Good for: Waist-trimming
Lean meats are a great low-calorie source of protein, and scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, found that eating more protein may reduce the fat around your midsection. People who ate 20 more grams of protein every day than the group average had 6 percent lower waist-to-hip ratios.

(For a list of foods to avoid—whether fitness is your goal or otherwise—check out our slideshow of the 30 worst foods in America).

DRINK THAT!

8 OUNCES OF CHOCOLATE MILK

Good for: Hydration

The best sports drink may come from a cow. British researchers found that milk does a better job than water or sports drinks at rehydrating the body after exercise. Why? To begin with, milk has more electrolytes and potassium. The addition of chocolate gives milk the perfect balance of carbs, protein, and fat for speedy muscle recovery.

COFFEE

Good for: Pain relief

University of Georgia scientists revealed that taking a caffeine supplement (equal to two cups of coffee) after exercise reduces muscle soreness more than pain relievers can. Caffeine blocks a chemical that activates pain receptors.

COLD WATER

Good for: Endurance

Drinking cold water before and during exercise can help improve your endurance. In a British study, cyclists who drank about 30 ounces of a chilled drink in the half hour before riding in a hot, humid environment—and smaller amounts as they rode—were able to bike 23 percent longer than riders who downed lukewarm liquids. Drinking cold water may be the most direct way to reduce core body temperature, so it takes you longer to heat up and slow down.
GREEN TEA

Good for: Muscle recovery

Brazilian scientists found that participants who consumed three cups of green tea every day for a week had fewer markers of the cell damage caused by resistance to exercise. So drinking a few cups every day may help your muscles recover faster after an intense workout.

-Yahoo Health

It sturdily holds onto the door frame for a wide variety of push ups, props down on the ground for pushups, and wraps around the bottom of a door jamb to hold your feet in place while you do sit ups. Don’t let the commercial fool you though, you get zero range of motion on the dips.

Yeah, sure buddy

Despite this, its still a phenomenal work out device that is great for getting a quick pump on the days you can’t make it to the gym. A quick 10 minute upper-body blast before you hit the showers and you’ll feel like you can take on the world. Combine it with the P90X system and you’ll wonder why you ever wasted your money on a gym membership.

BUY IT Iron Gym Pull Up Bars $40

Beach season has arrived and it’s time to slip out of the button-downs and blazers and show off the guns. Thankfully the new P90x workout promises to get you “absolutely ripped in just 90 days”, so you can be strutting your stuff with confidence. It pretty much consists of about twelve different workouts, a nutritional regimen, and supplement options.

P90x’s secret weapon is the concept of “muscle confusion”. Usually we try to avoid getting confused, but according to the workout, by constantly introducing new moves and routines, you can sidestep hitting a plateau. This is what let’s you shred so much excess body fat. Just so you know, this isn’t your grandma’s workout program, it’s for people with at least some sort of physical conditioning who want to take it to the next level.

Be forewarned, this is very tough. Anyone who gets winded after climbing stairs or can’t do more than 50 consecutive push ups should stick to yoga class. Get it with the iron gym pull up bar and you’ll never need to go to the gym again. Also, as much as we love Amazon, buy this from the official site, there are a lot of knockoff dvd’s being sold from 3rd party vendors.

BUY IT P90X Home Fitness System $150

Ralph Lauren Black Label 2009 Collection

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