So, just over a month ago I was introduced to another kickass strength and conditioning coach by by the name of Mike Whitfield. This guy has one heck of a story coming up from his past to where he is today and it’s inspiring to know how much people like Mike have made a serious change in their life!
Mike’s going to share his expertise on the methods he uses that helped him transform into what he is today as well as how he’s been able to help a ton of his clients and athletes.
Before we get to that, I want to talk about how Mike Called Me Out…
Mike’s got this thing for workout finishers and if you’ve been following me for some time now, you know I love to train H.A.M. and workout finishers are always in good supply when I’m training 😉
He sent me an email and video the other day asking me if I would take this challenge and I gladly accepted!
You’ll find out more about the challenge below and you’ll also find out how you could WIN a FREE copy of Mike’s new training manual, Ab Finishers when it comes out next week.
For now, I’m going to let Mike take over…
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So, I had the chance to meet Travis in Vegas last month and that’s when I realized he has 2 personalities… The Travis I met was laid back, relaxed and very approachable, but then he showed me his 28 Day Athletic Muscle Formula program and his other personality, what I like call “Beast Mode”, showed up.
His passion for what he does really comes through as he loves this stuff. He loves working hard, loves making YOU work hard, and heck, he even makes me want to work hard! LOL!
It was no surprise when he wanted to share my metabolic finishers with you because when I explained to him what I had, I literally saw him starting to drool… what a beast.
So first, I’m going to explain to you what a metabolic workout finisher is, and how it can make your conditioning go through the roof in just minutes.
A finisher is done at the end of your main workout and it involves incomplete recovery periods with periods of high intensity exercises (burpees and swings for example). They incorporate a variety of bodyweight, dumbbell, and kettlebell exercises as well as stability ball moves. They incorporate all major muscle groups (although some are upper or lower body focused) and the best part – they skyrocket your conditioning and metabolism.
The best part about a finisher is that you can implement them after any workout. They elevate your main workout, getting you more conditioned and burning more calories by just investing a few minutes. I actually had one trainer test one out and he did one in only 1:41.
The Idea Behind a Finisher is to Accomplish Two Things:
1) Shred more fat in less time and expedite your fat loss goals
2) Keep the fat at bay while you pack on lean muscle tissue (they help you pack on muscle without all the fat because they are so short in duration)
But one of the questions I get all the time is “What are the best ab exercises?”. I would always explain how it’s best to work the abs in unison and use moves like cross-body mountain climbers, a variety of rollouts as well as the “hidden” moves that secretly work your abs, like high-rep dumbbell rows, kettlebell or dumbbell swings and total body moves like burpees.
But, if you have a life and don’t have that kind of time, yet you want to start chiseling your abs as well as increase your fat-burning and/or skyrocket your conditioning, then that is when you can start using metabolic finishers combined with the most effective ab exercises.
In other words, you don’t have to do your conditioning and then follow that with core training (or vice versa). That would take too long. You can actually accomplish both simultaneously by strategically placing the ab exercises in at the right times, yet keeping your heart rate up.
What to Expect When Performing Finishers
If finishers were easy, everybody would be doing them and everybody would be leaner and stronger, but I’ll be honest with you – finishers are demanding on the nervous system and will challenge you mentally and physically. That is why they are so short in duration. One of my simple ab finishers (simple, not easy) is below:
Do the following circuit 4 times, resting for 15 seconds between circuits
1A) Burpees (12)
1B) Spiderman Climb (10 per side)
1B) KB or DB Swings (20)
Boom! You just got in some quality conditioning and some effective core training all at the same time. This finisher will take you about 7 minutes and you can even get away with doing this circuit 3 times rather than 4 (especially the first time you do it).
So, Do Finishers Really Work?
Yep, that’s me up there. I was almost 300 lbs. I’ve lost 105 lbs. So, yes, they do work!
Now, since meeting Travis, I figured it would only be the right thing to send a friendly “challenge” his way inviting him to do one of my new ab finishers, so I did some digging in the manual and I finally found one that had his name written all over it. It should be fun to watch him do this thing.
Ha ha ha ha he he oh oh oh ah ah ahee ahee ahaaaaaaa… (Evil Joker Laugh)
Check it out…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVya5MqIHIU
Travis, thanks again for having me and I look forward to your time and results with the finisher!
Mike Whitfield, CFNC, CTT
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Killer work Mike and THANKS for the challenge!
So, as soon as I got the email from Mike, my mind wouldn’t rest for a single minute so, I hit up his challenge up as soon as I had the chance!
Here were my results…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTp3Hwd5oyo
For this challenge I added in a weighted vest just for fun and since I didn’t have a swiss ball, I used my Jungle Gym XT instead for the pikes
This was a KILLER and exactly what I needed after my main workout! Mike puts together some great workout finishers and their super EFFECTIVE!
Now, This is Where YOU Come In
Mike and I want YOU to do this challenge and record your time. The person with the best time gets a FREE copy of Mike’s NEW Ab Finishers program which is set to be unleashed this coming Monday, Feb 20th.
Here’s the deal though – you will need to leave a comment on this post with your time and a YouTube video showing proof of your time no later than this Sunday at 6 PM. Who ever has the fastest time, will win a FREE copy.
Good luck and Remember…
- Complete the ab finisher from above and record your time (NO – You DO NOT need to wear a weighted vest!).
- Film it and post it up on Youtube – entitle it “Travis Stoetzel – Hardcore Ab Finisher Challenge”.
- Leave a comment with your time and a link to your video on this post no later than Sunday at 6 PM CST.
- If you have the best time, you will receive a free copy of the NEW Ab Finishers program from Mike Whitfield.
Let the games begin kids!
Live Aggressive and Get Strong!
Travis
PS – Mike and I are currently working on secret project for all you hardcore mo fo’s out there so stay tuned…
PPS – Take this challenge, film it, and send in your results ASAP!
The DEADLINE Is… This Sunday night at 6PM CST!