Want To Try Out Our High Intensity 10 Minute Workouts? Here Is Your Chance! 

As a way to help more and more people have a chance to experience the ten minute workouts that have been the cornerstone of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™
 for the past 19 years, we have set up a Meetup Group where as a group you can come in and see for yourself how effective our ten minute workouts can be at no cost!  Here is our 10 Minute Workout Meetup Information: 

Get Better Results In Less Time With Effective 10 Minute Workouts! 

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City a champion lifetime drug free bodybuilder and founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet and Exercise. He has used his system of 10 minute workouts and holistic dietary approach to help hundreds get into the best shape of their lives over the past 19 years of his career as a personal trainer and is a living testimony himself to its effectiveness! Here is why you owe it to yourself to attend the Meetup:  

 Why You Should Try Our Naturally Intense™ 10 Minute Workouts:  

• Experience An Exercise Program That Fits Into Everyone’s Schedule!
• Lose Weight With A Simple and Time Tested Program That Helps You Keep The Weight Off!
• Increase Your Endurance In A Fraction of the Time From Our High Intensity Workouts!
• Increase Your Strength & Muscle Mass!
• Long Term Weight Loss & Decreased Body Fat From Building Healthy and Natural Muscle!
• Safe For Everyone At Any Age Or Fitness Level!
• Have A Chance To Meet With Kevin & Get Hands On Help With Your Diet From One Of The Experts In The Field

You’ll have a chance to try out our Naturally Intense™ 10 Minute Workouts and see for yourself why people regularly commute from as far away as North Carolina on a weekly basis to train with Kevin and his team! The System works! 

Note that there is no fee for this Meetup- we take care of all associated gym and training fees for the day!   

Please come ready to workout, lockers and showers are available.   

Looking forward to seeing you there!   

Kevin Richardson, NYC Personal Trainer
Founder, Naturally Intense System of Diet And Exercise™
Call for more information at 1-800-798-8420

See the full event details, including location, at http://www.meetup.com/10-minute-workouts-naturally-intense/calendar/12382309/.

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The end of the year is upon us, and I thought, what better way to recap all the great health and fitness related articles covered in the blog this year than by having a bit of a quiz. I invite everyone to take the fitness test and see just how much you know about health and fitness.

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Most are frustrated by their lack of results on the treadmill- now we know why!

Aerobic Exercise Will Not Help You Lose Weight- High Intensity Workouts Will!

The party line for years has been that aerobic exercise will help you burn fat and increase your overall endurance, while brief high intensity workouts only work the muscles and have no bearing on fat loss or increasing cardiovascular capacity. Since the 1980’s this has been the gospel handed down from so many accedited organizations while real world results have done little to support it. More and more people are doing aerobic type exercise and yet few see truly significant results in the gym, while for almost two decades programs like the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise ™with its 10 minute workouts have helped literally hundreds of people from fitness models, bodybuilders, actors and performers to housewives and business people lose weight and get into cover model shape all while improving their endurance from only high intensity workouts with weights. Research has come a long way in validating what has been my life practice- namely the use of high intensity workouts to help build muscle, reduce fat and improve endurance and it has been a long and hard road over the years, but the success of all those that I have trained over the years in addition to my own success as a lifetime drug free bodybuilder and martial artist has always served as the incontovertible proof that 10 minute workouts do indeed work better than traditional programs. Now we have the science to prove it as well and it is my hope that it helps the general population begin to get real results from their fitness programs as so many fall short and are frustrated by their lack of success following traditional training protocols.- Kevin Richardson, NYC Personal Trainer and founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™.

It’s a common cause of frustration, you go to the gym, sign up for an aerobics class or maybe hit the treadmill for an hour or so, and you feel really great about starting your weight loss program. However after a month of all that hard work and sweat, the results are less than spectacular. You love the way you feel during your workouts but the needle on the scale hasn’t really moved much. Maybe you aren’t doing enough, so you logically increase your efforts. Instead of going to the gym three times a week, now you are now going five days a week, maybe even six- but still to no avail. You are not looking anything like the models in the gym commercials and you can’t figure out for the life of you why it’s not working. Burnt out, over trained and fatigued from all that exercise (and more than a little frustrated), you give up after a few months and the gym membership that you had every intention of using goes to waste. Perhaps your body type is somehow resistant to losing weight, maybe it is just your genes, or maybe there is something wrong with your metabolism? Fortunately, none of these factors are to blame; the reality is simply that aerobic exercise isn’t exactly great for weight loss.

Studies Contradict The Fat Burning Effect Of Aerobics

A study published recently in The British Journal of Sports Medicine was the latest of a series of reputable research to come back with less than stellar results for the effectiveness of aerobic exercise as a weight loss tool. In this study 58 obese individuals went through 12 weeks of supervised steady state aerobic exercise without any change in their diets.  In spite of the exercise regime, the group average weight loss was only around seven pounds or so, with many losing three pounds or less. The author’s conclusion was “From a public health perspective, exercise should be encouraged and the emphasis on weight loss reduced.”1 Not a glowing endorsement for weight loss at all. True there is a calorie burning effect to any form of exercise, aerobics included, but an overwhelming body of research shows, achieve significant weight loss with exercise alone, without a major change in their eating habits- which right there casts doubts on whether aerobics are really needed in the first place. The going theory for many years has been that by doing aerobic exercise, there is an so called after burner effect- namely that your metabolism speeds up as a result for hours afterwards thus helping the body burn more calories. Sounds fantastic, and it helped sell a lot of equipment over the years, but it doesn’t hold water when held up to scientific scrutiny. In a study done at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, several groups were brought together to measure the fat burning effects of aerobic exercise, ranging from lean endurance athletes to sedentary and obese individuals. For the duration of the study, the subjects would spend 24 hours in a special laboratory configured as a calorimeter, designed to measure exactly how many calories they would burn during the period. Researchers could also tell from using several mathematical formulas whether calories burned were in the form of fat or carbohydrates. Each subject spent 24 hours in the calorimeter without doing anything whatsoever as a base reading and then another 24 hours period that included one hour of riding a stationary bicycle at an easy pace that supposedly makes the body burn fat rather than carbohydrates stored in the muscles. To the astonishment of the researchers, they found that none of the members of the groups, well trainer athletes included, experienced an increase in fat burning on the day that they performed the aerobic exercise. In fact, they found that most had actually burned slightly less fat during the period that they exercised as compared to the 24 hour period that they did nothing. Some other studies point the idea that the after burner effect of increased fat burning after exercise comes from short, high intensity resistance training and not from aerobic exercise.

High Intensity Workouts Compared To Aerobics For Fat Loss

A study of two groups of women conducted at the University of New South Wales in Australia is one of many to come to this conclusion. For this study women were split into two groups, one to perform brief high intensity exercise and one aerobic exercise to determine which type of exercise stimulated the most fat burning effect. After 15 weeks of performing high intensity resistance based workouts three times a week the women in the high intensity group lost an average of 5 ½ pounds of body fat-, which represented an impressive 11.2 percent decrease in their overall body fat percentage, whereas the women in the group that did three aerobic workouts per week for the same 15 week period, actually saw an increase in their overall body fat levels! All that time spent by most gym goers on the treadmill instead of hitting the weights hard and fast is a major factor in why few see significant weight loss today. (While the cry might be that you need aerobics for endurance purposes- the research contradicts this as well- see ‘The Science Behind 10 Minute Workouts)

The Inefficient  Practice Of Aerobics For Weight Loss Might Be The Reason Such Low Calorie Diets Are Used

 This just can’t be, you say to yourself, as there are individuals that slave away doing aerobics and get into great shape all the time- but they all reduce their calories to really low and unhealthy levels to do so. More importantly, they all exhibit a significant lack of energy during the period and are only able to maintain a lower body fat level for a very short period of time before they break down and regain the weight that they originally lost. While this may be common practice, it isn’t healthy, and we know from studies that the yo-yo effect of weight loss and weight gain increases your long term risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Besides, the research points out that the use of aerobics may be the reason why it is so hard for them to lose weight in the first place and why their calorie levels have to go down so low just to lose a few pounds. Aerobics simply are not the best route for weight loss, and while aerobics instructors and StairMaster manufacturers don’t want you to know this, it has been common knowledge for a number of us in the field of drug free bodybuilding.

The Key To Sustainable Low Body Fat Levels Comes From Low Volume High Intensity Workouts From Resistance Training & Proper Diet- Not Aerobics

The author- aerobics free since 1974!

From the very beginning of my career as a natural bodybuilder in Trinidad, all of my coaches strictly forbade me from doing aerobics of any kind. I found it rather odd at the time as all the magazines, books and even the personal trainer manuals advocated the importance of aerobic exercise as a fat burning tool. Yet here I was being told to avoid it like the plague if I really wanted to reduce my body fat levels to 5% or less. Given the number of successful athletes under their tutelage over the years, I heeded their advice, and sure enough I did end up with a body fat percentage under 5% for my first contest, and I have not doubted the soundness of that advice ever since. Over the years, I learned that with the use of brief and high intensity workouts (no more than 10 to 20 minutes of high intensity training three times a week) in addition to a natural based diet, (I call it the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™) I could maintain a healthy body fat level of 5% and help others do the same. I have never done any form of steady state aerobics as part of my routine, and in eighteen years as personal trainer, I haven’t had any of my clients do it either. Having helped literally hundreds lose tremendous amounts of weight, (read this case study on a member of our 100 lb weight loss club) there must be something to not doing aerobics. Factor in as well the dozens of fitness models and bodybuilders that I am able to get into magazine cover shape using three 10 minute workouts a week and you might give the aerobics machines in your gym a pass.

Related Articles:

Aerobics A Bad Choice For Weight Loss

High Intensity Workouts- Better Results In Less Time From 10 Minute Workouts!

High Intensity Workouts & Endurance

High Intensity Workouts For Weight Loss & Muscle Building

NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His high intensity 10 minute workouts have been helping people get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a copy of his free weight loss e-book here!

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Jay relaxed and in shape backstage at the NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding Championships.

What becomes a champion most? Is it the number of titles and accolades that adorn their mantles or is it their unwavering spirit of self improvement. To me only the latter is of any real tangibility and with that I would like to present my good friend and Naturally Intense client, Jay Larcher.

Jay started training with me about 6 months ago to get ready for the Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships- a high caliber regional level contest that he had competed in last year and wanted to improve his showing. What makes Jay’s venture notable, however is that he wanted to do it drug free. Contests promoted by this organization are not tested for the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and other performance enhancing drugs, in fact their use is strongly encouraged.

As a lifetime natural athlete myself, I was immediately impressed by Jay’s spirit. We shared a certain sense of integrity and he was not concerned about being anything but the best that he could be without the help of any artificial advantage. Preparing for a bodybuilding contest is no small undertaking, but readying to stand toe to toe with some of the top competitors on the East Coast powered only by old fashioned hard work and dedication makes it even more of a challenge.
Our challenge, though, was to make Jay the best that he had ever been, and I had full confidence that his best would allow him to hold his own against his competition, and he did just that. Having gained a full ten pounds of muscle and sporting striations that he had never seen before thanks to the brutally high intensity 10 minute workouts workouts and his customized diet. With no aerobics and following the principles of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise, Jay was not only able to be his best, but beat his best!

The Warm Up- The NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding & Fitness Show

With all of my competitors, I always have them do a ‘warm up’ contest before their showing in a major contest, to help them get used to being onstage and also to let the judges have a first look at them as well. With my method, you are always contest ready at least 2 to 4 weeks before the actual show, so the NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding and Fitness two weeks prior to the Easterns seemed a good choice. With nothing in terms of last minute carb depletion, water restrictions or fancy supplements, Jay walked onstage amazed by his new body, and moreover that he was able ot look better than he ever did without having to starve himself, or resort to any last minute manipulations. This new look was how he looked all the time, and as time goes on he would only get better and better. For the Brooklyn show, Jay placed a respectable 6th in the light heavyweight class- many had him much higher. With his lines, conditioning, overall symmetry and balance, several veterans in the audience placed him as high as third in their estimation, but as a judge said afterwards, it is all about being bigger. Our competition is an internal one, not a path based on the preferences of a judging panel, but more importantly a path where health comes first, and the compromises required to be bigger are not part of our program. 

The Moment of Truth- The Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships 

Jay Larcher holding his own at the Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships

On contest day, Jay stepped onstage with a confidence that can only be equaled by the pride that I, his girlfriend, Kimani and his family felt as we sat in the audience cheering him on. He looked very much like he belonged there and the victory that night was not in the form of a trophy, but in the realization of a personal best and a sense of accomplishment that can never be taken away. Immediately after coming off stage at the pre-judging, his first words to me were,
“Wait until they see what we are going to do next year!”

Such a spirit, such a passion and such determination cannot be stopped and I look forward to seeing him step onstage next year, no longer a light heavyweight, but a legitimate heavyweight contender. There is no off season for those of us who look to bodybuilding as a lifestyle, no pizza and junk food binges after months of deprivation. For us it is about health, balance and the understanding that such tools on your side do indeed make you unbeatable. Thank you, Jay, not only for helping inspire so many others but also for inspiring me as well.

NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His unorthodox 10 minute workouts have been helping people get get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a copy of his free weight loss e-book here!

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Chi Kung teacher, Masahiro Ouchi with Kevin Richardson, Naturally Intense founder at 19th Street Gym

High Intensity Workouts of Naturally Intense™ Integrated Into Chi Kung Practice

When it comes to the principles of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™, I can be very much the protective parent. Everything that I teach comes from decades of hard work on my part and is very much a part of my life, and with the impressive success rate that the system has in helping people realize their health and fitness goals, it is my obligation to ensure that all trainers in the system are living success stories as well. In today’s world where everything is fast and about making a quick dollar, it is important that certain traditions remain apart from such noise. To maintain a high level of quality requires a high level of quality candidates. Individuals that are focused on first making the system a part of their life and then passing on the knowledge to others. All of my trainers thus far have been rather exceptional people and Masahiro Ouchi certainly joins that list. As the second trainer in almost two decades to be officially certified as a Naturally Intense Personal Trainer, he creates a rather unique platform for the Naturally Intense 10 minute workouts- an integration into his chi kung and Tai Chi practice.

Masahiro Ouchi- Chi Kung Master &  Naturally Intense™ Certified Personal Trainer

With a thriving meditation practice here in New York and in Tokyo, Japan, Masahiro Ouchi is the founder and director of The Healing Tao Center of New York, founder of the TaoZen Association and Senior Instructor of Universal Healing Tao. He is a faculty member of the Healing Tao University, and has been chosen as their Teacher of the Year.  Masahiro has been teaching T’ai chi, Qigong and meditation for over 30 years and has taught Tao and Zen disciplines at everywhere from NYU to the Open Center to numerous prestigious venues in Asia, Europe, Central America and Africa.  His focus and purpose has always been to help teach others how to bring ancient spiritual and healing practices into their daily lives that they may live their lives as fully as possible.
Masahiro found, however that for all the benefits of the spiritual and mediation practices, there was not enough emphasis placed on practices that engaged the body.

“Everyone is so focused on the mind, that they forget that they even have a body, and that brings about imbalance.”- Masahiro Ouchi

The Spiritual Aspects Of Naturally Intense™ High Intensity Training

About two years ago, seeking to find a way to improve his physicality, he began training his training with the 10 minute high intensity workouts that are the core of the Naturally Intense System. Masahiro immediately fell in love with the idea of pushing the body literally to the limit and beyond. What was even more surprising was his realization that those 10 minute workouts were in fact based on the aspect of Shugyo, which formed a central part of my own training as a teacher of the martial tradition called ninpo/ninjutsu. Most of what I have presented over the years as the Naturally Intense System of Diet Of Exercise™ is related on some levels to this esoteric practice.  The end result of shugyo or any form of truly highly intense physical activity is a certain inner clarity and perspective. This comes when the attention of the mind and body focuses solely on the execution of a task that takes both aspects to their limits- the noise of unrelated thoughts falls away and what is left is a very direct body and mind communication. Many of my clients, from writers to musicians to yoga and meditation teachers have realized this inner side of high intensity training and use it very effectively as a means of improving their own focus. This was exactly what Masahiro was looking for, not only in terms of helping him lose a bit off his waistline and sculpt his body somewhat, but in terms of finding a vehicle that would allow him to truly experience and be aware of his physical form.

Masahiro Returns To New York To Bring Naturally Intense™ Back To Japan

After leaving for Japan for a while to tend to his large meditation practice in Tokyo, Masahiro returned to New York City, determined to learn the basic concepts of Naturally Intense™ and integrate them into his holistic practice. I can hardly say how honored I was to have him as a pupil and to have Naturally Intense integrated into a spiritual life practice, and during his tenure as an apprentice trainer, he truly distinguished himself as one able to make the Naturally Intense™ System a part of his life, and as one able to pass long that knowledge to others as well in a safe and compassionate manner. Yesterday was his last day of apprenticeship with me at the 19th Street Gym, and was awarded his level one certification. Today, Masahiro returns to Japan to bring the 10 minute workouts of the Naturally Intense™ System to a whole new continent. I wish him all the best and look forward to his return in March for his second round of certification.

Masahiro Ouchi’s TaoZen websites:

English

Japanese

NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His unorthodox 10 minute workouts and customized dietary plans have been helping people get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a free trial personal training session with Kevin here!

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