Since this country was founded, Americans have had their own unique way of doing things,
particularly when it comes to losing weight.
They've used their trailblazing ingenuity to put themselves through all sorts of ingenious tortures
in their eternal struggle for the perfect American body.
But while Americans were enduring these senseless tortures, the country has gotten bigger.
Until now.
Introducing the Great North American Slim Down,
a revolutionary weight loss system that lets you stop dieting, start eating,
and lose weight faster than you ever thought possible.
For more than 15 years, bestselling author and renowned weight loss expert Larry North
has helped thousands upon thousands of people with their struggle to lose weight fast and keep it off.
In sold out seminars, his chain of fitness centers, and his nationally syndicated radio and television programs,
Larry North has shown people how to lose weight quickly and easily.
And now, Larry reveals the secrets of his time-tested program
in a simple step-by-step plan for eating more often and using the right combinations of food
to turn your body into an efficient fat-burning machine.
In fact, the Slim Down is guaranteed to make you lose pounds, shed inches,
and turn your body into a fat-burning machine in just 21 days.
Today, join Larry as he takes you through dozens of simple one-minute exercises you can do virtually anywhere, anytime.
Plus, muscle building tips for maximizing your workouts as you progress
so you'll never outgrow the Great North American Slim Down.
And now, here's Larry North.
This is the product, and I'm going to show you how to use each and every one of them
so that you get the best possible results.
And they actually work in unison. They work as a team.
I spent my lifetime putting all of this together.
And here's how it works.
You know that you've got the audio tapes.
And every day, step-by-step, I'm there. I really am.
I made sure that the days that I work with you, day-by-day, coincide with the Lean Life Organizer.
Now, here's how the tapes work.
You plug in the tape on day one, and that's all you do is listen to day one.
It'll take seven minutes.
Now, on day two, you listen to days one and two again.
On day five, you listen to one, two, three, four, and five throughout the day
because on this program, you're going to get better and better and better at it.
They work together.
Now, it moves on to the Lean Life Organizer.
This is so great because this stays with you wherever you go.
Now, you're going to notice that when you go to day one,
boy, it sure sounds like the tape.
Well, you're going to be able to put things in here.
You're going to find something interesting.
You don't have to write one thing in there in the first 21 days.
I've done it for you. I have written everything that you need to do.
It's a no-brainer. You don't have to think.
Then, by the 21st day, I've provided all the literature and pages that you need
and step-by-step on how you can stay on this program basically indefinitely.
And not only that, I also have the restaurant guide in here,
which I'm really proud of.
Not only did I give you all the different tips for Italian, Chinese, upscale,
you could almost read word for word what to say to the server,
and it'll come out right almost every single time.
Then there's the snack guide, because let's face the facts.
You're not going to be in the restaurant all the time.
You're going to go into a 7-Eleven, for example,
and I'll show you exactly what you get in a 7-Eleven or at a banquet or at a party
because we're surrounded by food all the time.
And remember, those tapes are there because you go back to the tapes.
You get a little confused. Maybe you have a little bit of a setback.
Go back to the tapes because it's me right in your ear.
Now, moving along, I'm going to go to the video,
which you're obviously watching right now.
Well, this video is interesting because I'm shooting straight with you.
There's no gimmicks. There's no gizmos.
This stuff really works.
And finally, someone like me has the courage to shoot straight.
Well, you keep watching the video. You get better at it.
And no, you might have a relapse.
You might go on a vacation, and you may need some more motivation.
Do me a favor. Plug me back in.
The whole point of the video is not to show you
and give you good instruction on exercise.
It's for me to be able to look at you just like I am right now.
And you'll notice there's a special bonus, your special 7-day size down.
This is a very special program, and I've designed it
especially for people like you that are desperate.
I've got to have something immediately because I have a reunion,
or I've got to go on a special hot date, or I've got a vacation, or something.
But it's very important that you realize that the size down
is not the great North American slim down.
It is special by request.
Please listen to audio tape number one in the slim down
before you even start the size down,
because I don't want you thinking that the emergency size down is the program.
Now, I've provided a great tape, and I've laid it out day by day in each of those days.
Now, it's an emergency program, and it does work,
but remember, it's a little on the strict side.
And that's not what my program's about.
My whole program's about making progress.
It's not about being perfect.
And on the size down, if you want to maximize your results,
you're being close to perfect, but I did it for you, and so you have it,
and I hope it works for you.
Now, this is very special to me, and that's the cookbook,
and I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't.
It's my wife's. She did it all.
She not only wanted you to have recipes that you could follow
that were easy and quick to do,
but she also wanted you to have some really good cooking tips,
because some of you maybe have never cooked in your life.
Well, now you will be able to, and you're also going to be able to modify
just about any recipe through this cookbook and its tips.
My wife's been in this business for a long time.
She's an expert in low-fat cooking.
In fact, as you know, we have our restaurant, and she, it was my wife,
that purposely put some of the recipes right straight from the restaurant.
That's it. This is the entire program, and I want you to use it.
Just be patient, because you'll start seeing progress.
You know when? In about the first day or two, you're going to feel good.
You've made an investment in yourself, and this program works.
I just hope that you'll just do it day by day, and within 21 days,
I know you're going to get the body that you've always wanted.
I just want to say one more thing.
God bless you, and thank you, and good luck.
Please pause this tape and refer to Audio Cassette Number 1 now.
Then, be sure to continue your great North American Slimdown 60-second workouts.
Most people hate exercise. That's a fact. But do you know why?
It's because of what they think it is.
I own a gym. I own lots of gyms. But you know what?
Most of you, at one time in your life, has had a bad experience through exercise.
It could have been back in school, where you just really weren't that coordinated,
and you didn't get picked. Or how about this?
Have you ever joined a gym and never, ever gone?
Or how about this? Even better.
You join that gym, and you actually show up for the first day.
You're a little shy, and all of a sudden,
Bruno, you have a first-time member at the front desk.
And this guy, huge guy, big muscles everywhere, takes you through the workout,
and you can't even walk for two or three weeks.
Well, certainly that's not going to get you in the gym.
Or how many of you have bought exercise equipment
with money that you could barely spare, and you never even used it? Ever.
See, those are bad experiences. That's why a lot of people hate it.
Another reason people hate exercise is because they think they have to be in severe pain
in order to make progress. Another myth. Simply not true.
So through the course of this video, I'm going to show you lots of simple techniques,
along with a good friend of mine.
In fact, Paige Langston was nice enough to join us, and Paige is a fitness trainer,
but she's also seen on national television, doing exercise videos and on TV shows,
and does a whole lot in this industry.
And I'll tell you what, Paige, we've got a lot in store today,
and we're going to start off with the weightless workouts.
And they're exercises that you and I not only do with ourselves,
but we do it with our clients as well.
Right. I'm excited to be here.
MUSIC
Here's how it works. You can participate with us, but you don't have to.
This whole video is more instructional, because you're going to play it over and over and over again.
Think about it. You're going to learn today 25 different exercises. That's a lot.
Well, but it's not that hard. You can take notes. You can always go back, stop the tape, rewind.
But here's how the weightless workout works. You don't need any equipment at all. Ever.
Now, we're going to show you a little bit later on some advanced exercises
that you can use with some simple dumbbells, but it's not necessary. Certainly not in the beginning.
Now, we're also going to show you some exercises in a sequential order.
What you're going to notice here is we're working our largest muscle groups down to our smallest.
You ready to begin?
I'm ready.
We're going to do the macho squats. Now, you can grab onto a chair.
You can sometimes take a towel and wrap it around a doorknob.
You want to have some sort of support, because you're going to sort of lean back and keep your back perfectly straight.
Now, before we begin, can I give everyone a quick tip on how to improve your appearance just like that?
Posture. Body posture. You just straighten out that body right away, and it changes your appearance,
versus slouching, standing up straight. In fact, a lot of people complain that they have a little pooch here.
If they just stand up straight with their diaphragm, it already improves their image.
And with exercising on all these exercises forever to ensure proper technique and form,
we're going to use good posture. So keep your back straight. Go ahead and grab on.
Now, on the macho squats, I just want you to go on your balls of your feet, Paige, and you're just going to squat down.
And you're going to isolate your thighs as best you can, and then come back up.
Now, stay in a nice rhythm. Now, count your reps, because today I'm also going to show you sets, reps, how often to do this stuff.
Good.
You never want to lock out your knees. You want to keep them slightly bent at the top.
No, you really don't. That's a good point. You want to breathe. Good.
You feeling it a little bit in the thighs there, Paige?
Yeah, it really works.
Good. Okay, just relax.
Okay, now, if Paige did ten of those, that'd be ten reps. Then if you stopped, that'd be one set of ten.
That's how simple it is. So don't get confused by some of the lingo. It's just stuff that you really need to know.
Now, if you had repeated it and done another ten, that would have been two sets of ten.
And the repetition range that I'd like you to try and stick from is about anywhere from eight to twelve to maybe fifteen.
When you can do any of these exercises fifteen times, and it gets pretty easy, then it's time to add some resistance, which we'll show you later on in the video.
Paige, the next exercise is step-ups.
Okay.
You need to come around the bench. Now, you can use a bench like this or even a little stool that you keep around the kitchen or even just a step out in your backyard or somewhere in the house.
What we're going to do is this also, by the way, the macho squats primarily works the thigh and the back area, but step-ups also works the entire legs but primarily focuses on the thighs. Go ahead.
I want to make sure your foot is firmly planted on the step before you do this.
Yes, you do. And again, you want to keep your back straight. And if you don't have a bench, you can do this anywhere in a stairwell on your banister.
Sometimes it's good in the beginning to hold on to something for some balance, just as Paige is holding on to me so she doesn't fall down.
You know what's great? We're not concerned about heart rate. We don't need to check it. We're not doing this to build up our heart rate. We're doing this to build shape and tone our muscles.
I don't know any woman that works out in a gym or even at home that works out on a regular basis that doesn't incorporate lunges in. We're going to show you the right way to do it.
Paige, go ahead and get in about a little bit narrower than shoulder width.
Now, I want you to visualize that there's a railroad track going perpendicular between each of Paige's feet. So they run parallel.
What Paige is going to do is going to step out and keep the right foot on the right railroad track and the left foot on the left railroad track.
Go ahead and step out, Paige. Another thing she wants to do is keep this first heel at least 12 inches further from the back knee.
Back is nice and straight. Great job. One of the big problems is people don't step out enough.
That can cause tremendous problems on the knees. Never ever let your knee hit the ground and never ever tilt too far forward.
That's incorrect form and we always want to use proper technique.
Now we're going to start working our chest a little bit. I'm going to have you go start over here. If you would, just lie down.
We're going to do some push-ups. Right now, the first push-ups I want you to do are for the chest, shoulder, and tricep area.
That's by going a little bit wider. I'm going to have the elbows tilt a little bit out. Go ahead and go down.
I want you to keep on both knees. They used to say, oh, these were girly push-ups. Not at all.
Trust me, a lot of women today that do work out can do regular push-ups. There's nothing wrong if you're not strong enough to do regular push-ups.
This is a perfect way to build your strength. Go ahead and go down, Paige. Again, Paige is keeping her back nice and straight.
Now, on your reps, they should be performed just at the same pace Paige is doing them. Nice and slow and smooth.
Not too slow, not too fast. You always want to be in control. Now, Paige, try to squeeze the chest muscles.
Now, I want you to try something a little different now. Stay on one knee and straighten out one.
Oh, he's going to challenge me. I'm going to challenge myself.
Well, it makes it a little bit harder, but it's still a little bit of help being on one knee.
Now, this is a challenge, Paige. I'm going to ask you to give it a try because I've seen you work out before.
Just go ahead and do one or two push-ups that old standard way. Keep your back nice and straight. One more.
Very impressive. Great job. Relax. Just a second. You did do it.
Now, to work the triceps, I'm going to have your hands a little bit closer. Give it a try.
Now, these will appear difficult in the beginning, so if you can only do one or two, that's okay. Just don't go down all the way.
Paige, that's it. Gear that chin down by your fingertips and let the elbows come out.
Feeling it back there? That's plenty because I see a little fatigue setting in, but you know what? That's the time to stop.
Don't go until you feel that pain barrier. Don't go until your muscles are a little bit shaky.
You know what's interesting? Here we are explaining how to do exercise in regular clothes.
You don't always have to put on gym clothes. That's just a farce. Time-consuming, too.
You don't have to work up a big sweat. Occasionally you will, and occasionally you'll want to, but in the beginning it's just not necessary.
Here's another great exercise you could do with a bench, with a chair. It doesn't really matter. They're called bench dips.
What you're going to want to do, Paige, is sit down on the edge of the bench, and I want your hands to be real close to your hips.
Palms on the bench or on the chair. When you go down, now extend your legs out just a little bit.
You're going to keep your buttocks and your back as close to the side of the bench as you can when you go down.
That ensures that your back stays straight. Go ahead and go down slowly, and at home you can try this.
Now come up. You want to come down right to the point where your shoulder is even with your elbows.
Good. Down a little bit further. Those push-ups got to you a little bit, didn't they?
You can tell.
Yeah, but she's working out with us now, and so should you.
You know, I notice a lot of people in the gym, they use their legs too much.
You're right. There should be no lower body movement. The only thing moving, Paige, is your upper arm. That's it.
Now, let's say you start to get stronger, and believe me, you start doing this exercise along with the other one.
You will. Do you know what you can do to add some extra resistance?
Put your foot up on the chair.
That's it. A little stool. A little stool, another chair, adds resistance.
What we're doing here to shape and tone our bodies is adding resistance. This is resistance training, and you don't need weights to do resistance training.
Now, in the beginning, what I recommend, definitely hold on to something for balance. Just pretend I'm a wall.
Okay.
Well, we're going to do both legs right now at the same time, because it's easier. Drop down on your heel.
Also, too, Paige, I don't want your legs locked out, sort of slightly bent, but don't squat down. The only thing that's going to bend is the ankle. Good. Good.
Squeeze at the top.
In fact, if you didn't have a bench, you could actually use a telephone book or something like that or a dictionary.
Paige, we're going to add some resistance right now, and this is a way, without weight, we can actually increase the intensity.
We're going to add some resistance right now. Without weight, what I want you to do is just do one leg. You can wrap one leg around the other.
Okay.
And then go all the way down. Now, when you go down, relax. Let that heel go all the way down and come up as high as you can on the ball of your foot, then back down.
Now, on calves, because you might be a little bit stronger, because you use your calves every day, you could use 15, 20 reps. It's fine. In fact, I recommend it. Great. Relax.
Another concerned area for a lot of people, and if you'll notice, Paige, we're working really every aspect of the body. We're going to be working our back, our triceps, our chest, our shoulders.
Well, a lot of people like to work the abdominals, and for the first time, someone's going to be really truthful with you.
Doing sit-ups, crunches, when it comes to losing fat around your waist are virtually a waste of time. It's true. A total waste of time.
Do you know what's going to get you lean? Do you know what's going to give you that washboard stomach that everybody wants?
The whole program. You burn fat through your eating program. You eat it off. Now, does that mean that you shouldn't do any crunches? No, not at all.
In fact, doing crunches does firm up the stomach, does protect the lower back. You know that most people do them incorrectly, and we're going to show you how you can do it.
You don't need to spend money on any kind of abdominal machine. You can do it with just a mat or a carpet.
Paige, I'm going to ask you to lie down. Okay.
Now, when you lie down, Paige, we're going to have your heels as close to your buttocks as you can. It's going to give you some additional back support.
The small of your back stays on the floor the entire time. There's no reason to swing, and you want to perform your movements extremely slowly.
You want to breathe whenever you do abdominal exercises almost deliberately, almost to get all of the air out of your diaphragm.
Now, before we begin, Paige, I want to pretend that this is our abdominals.
Now, most people, when they perform these exercises, they fold from the middle. So what they're doing is they're folding right like this.
That's how they do the abdominals. So go ahead and fold. Okay, just fold. Great.
What I want you to do now, Paige, is roll into the movement. Tuck your chin, and now just roll into the movement. Yes, nice and slow.
Do you know what? To do 50 to 100 of these, another waste of time.
You should be doing your reps so precisely and so deliberately that 15 to 20 is all you can do. It takes about 60 seconds or less.
Great job. That's plenty. Great, Paige, let me help you out.
Thanks. You know, Larry, doing an exercise properly really does make a difference. Of course it does.
There's only one exercise left on our weightless weight workout. Let me show you what it is, Paige.
I'm just going to get a chair, an ordinary chair that you have in your office, and I'm going to have you sit in it, and I'm going to have you grab the sides, Paige.
Okay. These are just, it's like a knee bend. I call them, you know, chair crunches basically.
And for beginners, I want your feet almost to the ground. So you're going to point down, and all you're going to do is bend the knees up to the torso.
Great. Now go back out. Wonderful. Good. Again, slow movements. All you have to do here is like eight or ten.
It'll take less than 60 seconds, but we still call it a 60-second workout. Great.
Now, for added resistance, Paige, as you get better and better, all I'm going to have you do is raise the direction of your heels.
Now come in. You feel the difference? Great. It's a little tougher.
You can practice this right now. That's great, Paige. That's plenty. Thanks.
That was good. We're really getting started. And again, the whole point of this exercise video is to play it over and over and over again until you know every single exercise, and you're going to get really good at it.
Well, coming up, we have some great stretching, and a little bit later, we're going to show you how you can use some 5- and 10-pound dumbbells and even maybe put some things in a grocery sack for some added resistance and weight. Coming up soon.
Hey, everyone. You know, we're about to embark on an area of fitness that is highly neglected and often misunderstood, and that's stretching and flexibility training.
Most people just don't do it. Most people hate it. The reason they hate it is what they think it's supposed to be versus what it should be.
Remember back in P.E. class where we'd go down and up and down and up, and you'd stretch out? That was what was called ballistic stretching. We certainly don't recommend that anymore.
Or people think it takes a lot of time, and they see Olympic athletes out there stretching and straining and grimacing. Well, no, not at all.
In fact, on the North American Slim Down, when you stretch, you can stretch with a smile on each and every exercise.
Let me tell you this. There are hundreds of different stretches that you can do. You know what I tried to do in the North American Slim Down is narrow it down to six very effective exercises that are so easy to do that anyone can do them, and you can actually do them anywhere, literally.
In your car while you're stuck in traffic, you could do some of these. You could do them right in your living room when you're watching television.
Let me tell you something about stretching. One of the things that I would recommend when you're going to stretch is when to stretch.
It's actually the best time is after exercise, not before. And if let's say you're just going to do it while you're at your office, ease into the stretch.
Let me give you an example. I want you to think of your muscles as a piece of meat. Let's say we were to pull this piece of meat out of the freezer and try to stretch it.
Well, if anything, you'd crack it if you tried to stretch it too hard. Well, let's say we pulled it out of the refrigerator. It's thawed out. We're able to pull it a little bit more, but it's still a tight, cold muscle.
Now we leave it out at room temperature for a day. Well, we're able to really pull on it. What if we put it in the oven and really warmed up the muscle?
Well, now we can really stretch it out. So the best time to stretch is really after your body's warmed up or after you've exercised or after you've done some of your other 60-second workouts.
Then implement your stretches or stretch in between your 60-second workouts. Now, if you're just trying to stretch, let's say while you're waiting at a stoplight or waiting for a bus or at your office or in your house or while you're watching TV and you're cold, just ease slowly into the stretches.
We're going to start off with the deltoid stretch. It's very simple. In fact, Paige, once you just grab your right hand and push your left elbow and you're going to just push your fillet stretch right in here.
You actually can feel the deltoid muscle. In fact, you can actually make an adjustment in your hand and push back. That changes the angle. One great reason to do this simple, easy stretch is you really feel it too.
I can feel it even more with my armpit. And just relax and you can even go ahead and switch arms. Great. For those of you that maybe golf or have any past injuries or rotator cuff problems, this is a wonderful stretch to do maybe before or after you do your push-ups.
Great. Feel it? Wonderful. Really works.
You know how long you should hold the stretches, Paige? How long? I'd say about five, maybe ten seconds. In fact, most people think that they should stretch to the point of pain or feeling it and hold the pain.
Just relax. All you do is you go, just breathe, breathe, and then you of course switch arms.
You know, one of the most common injuries amongst most people happens to be lower back. We've got a great, easy lower back stretch that you could virtually do anywhere. All you have to do is just lie down. Let's go ahead and lie down, Paige.
You'll get down on the floor. You'll keep your knees bent as if you were going to do crunches. And what you're going to do is you're just going to take your palms and clasp your knees.
Keep the small of your back on the ground the entire time and just relax. Then draw your knees to your chest. Breathe. Five to ten seconds. Then don't let go, but just relax.
Then you can bring them down for another five to ten seconds. Do you realize if you did it five or six times, that'd only be 60 seconds, and it really works, and it's really effective. It's pretty good stuff.
You know, stretching is addictive. The more you do it, the more you want to do it. You look forward to it.
Well, and also too, Paige, when you get better at stuff, the more you want to do it. And this is the kind of program on the North American Slim Down. You're just going to get better at it.
I want you at home, try these. Right now, you can just do these with us. Let's go ahead and stretch our chest right here.
In fact, you can just grab anything. Anything that has support, Paige. It could be a table. It could be the side of a wall. It could be a doorway.
All you're going to do is grab your hand here, and then you're going to turn and rotate your body to the point where you can actually feel the stretch right in here.
Do you feel that, Paige? And you know what's great about stretching also? You'll see throughout this whole video that we'll talk about isolating, flexing, squeezing, concentrating, working each and every muscle group.
Do you know that when you stretch your body out, you actually become more in tune with those muscles that you're actually trying to work when you do some of the other 60-second workouts?
So if you were going to stretch this side, of course you'd switch around and just stretch the other side. I can't think of a more simpler stretch than this chest exercise, and it works.
Another thing that I want to recommend is our calf stretch. In fact, Paige, I'll just have you demonstrate, again, using the same table or a wall or anything that gives you a little bit of strength.
Anything that gives you a little bit of support. What you're going to find here, and I'm just going to move this out of the way.
And Paige, you're just going to drop down on your heel and really force the heel down. Now force the knee and your torso forward.
Do you feel the stretch? Great. Hold it maybe 5, 10 seconds. It's a myth that you need to hold it much longer than that. Now relax.
Now we're going to do a hamstring stretch. You don't have to get on the floor necessarily. It's not complicated. You don't have to be a runner.
Out of all the different hamstring stretches we knew, we thought that this would be the easiest one that you could possibly do. You can do it standing.
Paige, go ahead. What we're going to do is we're just going to spread our leg out. Do this at home. Come on, and join in a little bit right here.
What Paige is doing is she's just straightening out, pushing the leg straight, and then you're just coming back. Do you feel it?
You can actually feel that stretch all the way around your butt, all the way down to where your insertion is by your knee.
Feel it? Good. Relax. Go ahead and switch legs. Let's do both legs this time. Dynamite. In fact, why don't you get this leg back just a little bit.
Good. Feel it? Yeah. Great. Simple. It's easy.
Let's do a thigh stretch. If you notice, we're working our way down to different parts of the body. This is a favorite of mine because you could literally do this standing, waiting for a bus.
Go ahead and lift up. You might want to get a little bit of support off a chair or off a wall. All Paige is going to do is she's just grabbing her foot.
You want to keep your knee in line with your other leg. The knees are in line. Right off the top, the beginning version of this might be just to grab your foot at all.
You feel the little stretch right here in the thigh. Now, as you get more advanced, all you have to do is flex your buttocks. Go ahead and flex. Flex tight.
You feel it. It's amazing. All you do is hold it for a little bit, relax, and then let your foot down. Then you can just turn around and try the other leg. I think I'll do that with you.
It's amazing. Try this at home. Are you doing this? Flex. You feel it? Whoa. But then you relax.
See, a lot of people think no pain. Right. It came from Newt Rotney. That was smash mouth football. On this program, always no pain is good.
In fact, no pain, no pain. I want you to be pain free the entire time. It will ensure that you'll actually stick on your program longer.
Hey, everyone. This is the weight training aspect of the video. It's the part that I really like a lot because weights work. Plain and simple.
There's no better way to shape and contour your body than with some resistance exercise. We saved this part for last because it is a way advanced.
But you know what? Every single exercise we're going to show you, from the first one you've learned to even now in the weight training section, stick with you, whether you work out in a gym or whether you choose to do it at home.
And the point of adding weight is because you're going to get to a point when you do those weightless weight workouts that they become real easy. And that means you're getting stronger.
We're going to start off with some exercises that are so easy that you don't need a whole lot of equipment. In fact, you can get dumbbells like this virtually anywhere.
In fact, Paige, let's start off with the lunges. Now, you remember the lunges. We've already showed you how to do them. Now, this is another rendition just by adding some weight.
These are some simple weights. Paige, you go ahead and grab them. So now, remember, Paige keeps her back real straight. She keeps feet shoulder width apart so that she can actually spread out.
On railroad tracks, right?
Yeah, on railroad tracks. So speed her on the railroad tracks. Go ahead and step out, Paige.
Now, you'll also notice when she brings her heel out, it's about 12 inches from the opposing knee right here. The reps are done nice and slowly. She doesn't let the knee touch the ground.
Back is really straight. You know what, Paige? Do a couple reps. We're actually going to do incorrect form.
Okay.
I want you to lean forward and don't step out as far so everyone can see how not to do it. See how her back is bowed forward?
Bowed forward.
You don't want to do that. Now, come back, Paige. This time, I don't want you to step out quite as far. Keep your heel by your knee because that's one of the common mistakes that I see.
Right here?
Yeah. See? Don't do that.
Right. You lose your balance when you do that also. You want to stay stable.
Also, you're not going to feel it in the areas of your body that you want. Another thing is when you're stepping out, notice that the pace, even with the added weight, Paige still does the movements really slowly with a lot of control.
Coming back off the heel, you feel it in your body?
Yes, definitely.
Good. Feel a little bit in your thighs. In fact, lunges are like a total leg workout. You can feel a little bit in your hamstrings, thighs, and even a little bit in your calves.
I see the most improvement after doing lunges.
You're doing great. That's pretty heavy. You're starting to feel it a little bit, Paige, aren't you?
Yes, I am. I admit it.
Take a break. What you can do is you can do anywhere from five reps each leg on up to ten, even twelve, even twenty reps per leg if you wanted to.
The next area of our body that we're going to work is actually the back. This movement is an easy one to do at home. You can work your lats in the middle of the back.
The key here is this is a bent over row. Paige has her knees soft. She drops the weight, and then she pulls the weight almost right up like that.
See, this is perfect form. In fact, her shoulders come back, and look how straight her back is. Look how her back is parallel with the floor.
Come up a little bit with your back, just about a few inches, a little bit more, because most people do them in this position.
Paige goes down just like that, pulls up nice and slow. You're squeezing the muscles right in here, Paige?
Great. That's great.
Thank you.
Feeling it. Then what's great, too, you get a stretch. See, weight training actually increases flexibility. Not like a lot of people think that it tightens the muscles up. That's not true.
Also, Paige, show what it looks like when the back is round.
Okay.
This is how most people do them, and this is how you don't want to do them. This puts too much pressure on your back, so you straighten up. You feel it a little bit, Paige?
And you should pull up to your upper abdomen, is that correct?
Yeah, you can pull up to your upper abdomen or where it feels comfortable. Sometimes you can actually have the elbows go out, which will work a little bit different angles.
So go ahead and try a couple reps where you're actually having the elbows out. Good. And then somewhere the elbows actually veering real close to the body.
Okay.
You're starting to feel it, Paige, aren't you?
I can feel it. I'm saving a little bit.
It didn't even take 60 seconds. It took like 45.
It really works.
Dynamite.
You know, the next exercise I'm about to show you is probably one of the most advanced exercises out of all of them, and it's called straight leg deadlifts.
But I don't like that name because I actually have you bend the knee. So we're going to call it bent leg deadlifts.
Let me tell you something, Paige. This is one of my personal favorites for both men and women because it really can work your hamstrings, and there's another rendition that can really work your butt.
So I'm going to go ahead and show people, but please pay close attention because this is the exercise that if you have a bad back, I definitely do not want you doing this exercise.
If you feel healthy and you have a good back, we're going to go ahead and begin.
Paige, I'm going to have you start. Really keep the back straight the whole time.
And also, Paige, I want the shoulders back. So when you go down, don't round out the shoulders at the top even though your back could be straight.
Keep the shoulders back, knees slightly bent, and all you're going to do is the minute you feel the stretch in your hamstrings, that's when I want you to come back up slowly.
Okay.
Give it a try. Good. Good. Feel the stretch. Come right back up.
Now, if you're going to work the hamstrings, all I want you to do is come up three quarters of the way. Just right where Paige is now. Perfect.
Go ahead and go. Keep those knees slightly bent. Good. Go ahead and go down. Working right here in the hamstring. Great job, Paige.
You feel it?
Mm-hmm. This is what gives you that nice curve on the back of your leg that we all want, too.
Sure. Hey, let me tell you, a lot of people, they concentrate on calves and thighs. Nothing looks nicer than a nice, well-developed hamstring.
Good job, Paige.
Thanks.
Now, go ahead and stay in that same position. Now, this time go down.
Okay.
Same movement. Now, we're going to concentrate more and work the butt by just coming all the way up to the top.
Okay.
Great. Now, what I want you to try and do, we've been talking about flexing and isolating, Paige. What I want you to do is flex and isolate your backside.
Okay.
Okay? Right from the bottom. Flex. Flex.
Squeeze.
Great. Now, I want you to do me a favor just to show how not to do it, Paige.
Okay.
Go ahead and round out your back at the bottom and just stay down there for just a moment.
Everyone, you see this? You see the difference between a round back and round shoulders?
Now, Paige, go ahead and go use that great posture that you have. What a difference. That's the key.
Posture. Again, look in the mirror if you sort of aren't sure if you're doing it properly or not. You feel it, don't you?
I'm pulling with my hamstrings.
Good job. That's plenty. That's all you need to do. It's amazing. They really work.
Mm-hmm.
Now, I'll tell you what. Let's go ahead and work over calves. We're going to work the calves. It's the same movement that we showed you before
where we're going to go ahead and go do these on a stoop or a step. Go ahead and hold on to me for balance, Paige.
Now, what we've done here now is we've added weight. Adding weight adds resistance. Go all the way down.
Okay.
Do me a favor. Just relax the heel. You see how much further you went down?
Mm-hmm.
You can go all the way up like as if you were a ballerina on the ball of your foot. That extra range of motion makes all the difference.
In fact, if you'll focus on Paige's calf, you can really see it starting to flex.
Now, let's say you wanted to add some more resistance and you get tired with that weight. You know what I would tell you to do?
What?
Just let me have the weight now and just continue to do a few other, a few extra.
Mm-hmm.
Feel it?
Yeah. It allows you to do a few.
You can really feel these.
Wonderful.
That's plenty because I know that after three exercises, you're actually feeling it.
See, Paige, a lot of people think, well, five and ten pound dumbbells, what's that going to do?
Mm-hmm.
It does a lot. It really does because most people have to have a starting point.
There's two types of exercises that we can do. One's a compound exercise.
Simply put, a compound exercise works more than one muscle group. For example, push-ups works the chest, shoulders, and the triceps.
An isolation exercise works primarily one area of the body. For example, the exercise we're going to do now works one area.
So isolation isolates one area. Compound movements work more than one muscle group.
So we're going to do a front lateral raise, which works the front part of the shoulders, an area I would definitely recommend that you work.
And all we're going to do is come up with the knuckles just slightly above the shoulders and then back down gradually.
Stay with a nice pace. What I recommend on most of your exercises, don't really rest at the bottom or at the top.
It's not too fast, and it's not too slow. Great job, Paige.
Thanks. Yeah, you benefit from the negatives. You always want to control it on the way down.
Well, you're doing two movements in one. Don't just benefit from one half. Give your body both.
Another thing that we could do, very similar exercise, but we're actually going to work the side part of the shoulders.
So what we're going to do is come out to the side now. These are side laterals. There's different variations in hand grip.
But again, knuckles just slightly above shoulders. What you don't want to do, Paige, is go up too high.
It's just not necessary. And you don't want the dumbbells too far in front.
Try to keep the dumbbells somewhat in line with the shoulders.
Right. And I see a lot of people trying to use too much weight with this exercise, and they swing their torso.
Well, in fact, stand a little bit to the side. Why don't you show us how not to do this?
You see how she's going back and forth. If you have to do that, guess what? The weight's too heavy.
You can go right into your kitchen cabinet and grab a couple soup cans, or even do this exercise with no weight at all.
And after about 60 seconds, you'll feel it. In fact, Paige, I really like this exercise. I'm going to do a couple reps myself.
So remember, we had the front lateral, which is going to the front.
And by the way, you could have done single arm, one at a time, to just isolate and concentrate a little bit more.
Or you could go ahead and do the side laterals. And now with the laterals, Paige, it doesn't really matter what order you do them in,
just as long as you try to do them. And see, what I'll do is I'll sometimes look to my left and look to my right to see that my hands are in line with my shoulder.
Then come back down. I don't really want to be out here. I want to be out right here. And that's how easy and simple it is.
We're about to work two other areas of the body. One's my personal favorite. Happens to be biceps.
And the other happens to be triceps. In fact, I know you're very good at working triceps.
And most women, what is a concern in the upper body, Paige?
These little triceps start to get saggy as we all age. So we want to tighten that up.
Well, and obviously, the key to our success on living lean with the Great North American Slim Down is not to be too much saggy.
The Great North American Slim Down is not one area of this program. It's a combination of all areas.
It's the food program, a little bit of cardio, and a little bit of resistance.
But with the exercises we're showing you for triceps, I guarantee between the weightless workout and these workouts, it's going to work and it's going to tighten up your body.
This is kickbacks. And I know it is a personal favorite of yours, too, Paige. Go ahead and give it a try.
Notice she just bends down on one knee. You don't need a bench. You don't need additional equipment.
You can see that she has really well-defined triceps.
She's going all the way forward to get a great stretch and then coming back out. Good job, Paige.
Thanks.
On the tricep. I'm sorry.
Go ahead. I like to squeeze it at the top.
Squeezing simply is feel it. Try to feel that tricep because you all have a tricep muscle.
It comes down with the weight. And this portion of the upper arm actually is parallel with the ground or with the ceiling.
And go ahead and go out, Paige. Great.
Now on triceps, once again, this is a movement where you'd like to do a full range of motion. Good.
All the way up to the weight. Almost touches my shoulder?
Yes. You know why, Paige? That's a good point.
Because when you go back forward, you know what you're actually doing?
What?
You're stretching the tricep. You want to stretch and contract.
That's the whole point of weights. No matter what movement you ever do, you always want to get the best stretch possible and the best contraction.
Contraction means just really going all the way back.
Good job, Paige. You know what? I don't want you to end up being developed lopsided. I think I'm going to have you switch sides.
Okay.
Go ahead and switch.
I've got to balance it out.
And I'll even explain some more techniques on how to develop the form.
The biggest key is just having this part of the arm, upper arm, parallel with the ground or with the ceiling if you're doing them inside.
Another key is slow, concise reps, and, Paige, try to go all the way forward where that dumbbell almost touches the shoulder.
Great. And then kick it out. That's why they're called kick backs. Good.
Now, one thing you don't want to do, and this is why I would recommend looking in the mirror, that elbow can get lazy sometimes, and so can your back.
So you just want to correct your form so you can get a good idea of your posture and your back.
Now, just keep your elbow nice and tight into the body. Come all the way back. Go all the way forward.
That's how simple and that's how easy these movements are. I told you they're not that hard.
Right. And you benefit from the negative side.
No question. And, Paige, you know, you've mentioned many times about how just a little bit of resistance training helps both men and especially women with, let's say, preventing osteoporosis and in certain situations reversing it. Great job, Paige.
Yeah, I think my left side's catching up to my right side.
Well, yeah, I think you've caught up. And you know what? If you were at home, and try this, try this on the next exercise, take out a stopwatch.
If you don't believe that each and every one of these exercises is only around 60 seconds or less, I challenge you because that's all it takes.
I'm going to show you some bicep exercise right here. The simple bicep curl to work the biceps.
Now, ladies, understand that there is very little difference between how you and I put on muscle. Did you know that?
The way we lift weights and the reps and the sets is very much the same. What's very different is the routine.
Let's face it, Paige, you and I have different goals with our bodies, right?
Right.
You know, most women have the same concerns while men have their concerns.
The bottom line is the whole philosophies for shaping and toning your body are identical for both men and women.
What changes very much so are the goal and the routine.
So what I suggest is you're doing this entire workout that we're showing you is you pick and choose the areas of the body that you want to concentrate on the most.
So, for example, Paige, the biceps, they're going to be in my 60-second workout. There's absolutely no question.
And you like working biceps.
I like working biceps and I like working legs. I actually like working...there isn't a body part that I don't like to work.
You know what's interesting about that? Everybody, no matter what their genetic disposition is, Paige, has certain body parts that respond more quickly to training. Did you know that?
In fact, we can look at your body and it looks like most everybody part you work responds.
Well, these are kind of control top shorts.
Well, listen to you. Well, I'll tell you what. Here's the bicep exercise and this is really the final exercise with our weight training.
We're just going to come all the way up and then we're going to go down slowly and then I'm going to come up.
And I'm telling you, I can actually concentrate and squeeze the muscle and I can make this 10-pound weight work.
Therefore, I know you can make that 5-pound weight work.
Absolutely. And most of the fat in the arm is stored in the triceps. So when you do work in the bicep, you can actually see the results quicker.
You're right, Paige.
And I'll tell you this. Just by coming down slow, concentrating, squeezing the bicep, you know what we mean by squeeze?
Make a muscle. Just make a muscle. That's squeezing the bicep. Then let it down nice and slowly.
I try to get a full range of motion and then I try to come back up.
Now, if these get to the point where they're too easy, just get a pair of 12-pound dumbbells.
If I'm not really wanting bigger biceps, should I not train my biceps? No, you should.
You should have balance with all your training. But instead of doing 360-second workouts, I might just do one.
Right.
Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?
I think so.
Well, Paige, let me ask you this. You've done a lot of working out in your life. You've exercised and it is your life.
I mean, you train yourself and other people and you are seen on national television.
What was the biggest change for you in training in general for your body?
Actually, I used to think that cardio would do it for me. But when I started doing weights, I too didn't want to build muscle.
But you can't. Men have three times more muscle fiber than the women do.
So it's not really physically possible for me to get big and bulky like that.
But I could really see the definition in my body from doing weight training.
I will tell you this. There is no faster, quicker way for you to shape and tone and contour your body than doing these exercises.
And I mean it. And it's not like you go into some gym and I own those gyms. Remember, lots of members, 35,000 of them.
These exercises stay with you. They are going to stay with you forever, no matter how advanced you ever get.
But it's the basic principles of doing these exercises and knowing what areas of the body they work.
I want you to review this video. It's not something you watch one time. I review videos, I read. We always are trying to get more information.
So here's what I want you to do. Use this video as a guide. It allows me to be right there with you all the time.
So sometimes when you're just not getting your workouts in or you tend to be having a little bit of a relapse, plug it back in.
Refresh yourself. Because I know this. Now that you're learning these exercises, you're only going to get better at them.
And you're going to get that body that we promised you. Good luck and keep up the good work.
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