Getting ready to KICK-ASS with BellyProof
There are a number of things you can do as you get ready to join the program. From making sure you’ve got the necessary equipment to making sure you’re strong enough for what we’re about to ask.
BellyProof is very different from traditional training and it is going to be challenging both to beginners and experienced people alike. With that, we find people who have a basic level of strength, do get better results.
Ideally, you want to be able to do the following (the videos will teach you how to build those skills):
- Able to either jog / cycle / swim etc.. for 5-10 minutes without stopping (Basic aerobic capacity).
- Can do 1 full Pull-up or 3 negative Pull-ups
- Can do 2 full Push-ups or 3 negative Push-ups
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You can do BellyProof in a gym, in your home or outdoors in the park.
You will need to make sure you’ve got the following equipment:
- Hanging: Bar to hang from / Pair of Olympic rings (with somewhere to hang them, for example a tree branch)
- A couple of weights (ideally kettlebells) / alternative: rucksack and a few bottles of water.If you choose to go with kettlebells, I recommend you get 1 x 8kg, 1 x 12kg, 1 x 16 kg (for average strength and below), or 1 x 12kg, 1x 16kg, 1 x 20kg (if you are fairly strong).
- A bit of space and ideally surfaces that reach different levels (i.e. medium level: chair / bench, high level: table, low-level: floor).
It's all about timing
You will do so much better if you can commit to:
- Sleeping at least 7 hours a night (more is better)
- Train in the morning (this is especially useful from the hormonal point of view, other options are available of course but this is the absolute best and it makes a big difference!)
- Not stopping in the middle for a long period of time. Try and plan to start when you don’t have serious travel plans during those 5 or 6 weeks. It’s only a few weeks and it’s not always straight forward to resume after a long pause as you are dealing with many variables.
- Women: start the program just after the menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle involves water retention and we want to use this to our advantage.
Note: you can still do the program even if your situation is not perfect (i.e. you can only train in the evening, you have to travel in the middle etc..). It’s just less ideal.
If you want to be on the safe side and get the best advice how to still maximize your results while still accommodating these limitations… get in touch and we will advice you what’s realistic and how to adapt it.
Mobility (this is not stretching…)
Your Mobility is more important than most things. We recommend the mobility “warm-up” routine to everyone, regardless of goals, every single day (of your life…). It’s only 5 minutes of your day and the benefits are insane.
Everyone are doing it, me – my clients – some of the best athletes all over the world – even my mom. It’s not my invention either, it is a well establish routine all over the world with people who knows a thing or two about joints, the nervous system and how the body adapts.
If you got the program, check out the mobility routine and start it today. It takes a bit of learning, but considering you have 5 minutes every day to get better at it for the rest of your life, you will be very good with it, very quickly.
Doing "muscle" stuff / weight-lifting etc...
One of the most common questions I get is whether it is possible to do this program alongside a traditional weight lifting routine. My answer is yes… but:
- BellyProof is an intense workout and it’s different from anything you’ve ever done. While it’s doable by all levels (beginners and advance), it is by no means easy. It’s loads of fun, it’s very effective and yes – it is intense.
- I recommend doing a couple of workout to see how much energy you have left. If you have a lot of energy to do another type of training (i.e. weight lifting), go ahead – as long as you’re not exhausting yourself and as a result your performance in BellyProof suffers, I don’t mind – I even encourage it.
- Bare in mind that BellyProof premium will also have the integrated program (that means apart from insane weight loss, you will also build your abs and v-cut).
- You will not lose muscle doing BellyProof. It’s incredibility hard to really lose muscle tissue (starvation mode doesn’t apply for the most of us per say… see the calories video for more). While we may shift a bit of water volume in and out of the muscle temporarily (which at times makes you feel pumped and at other times makes you feel like your muscle shrunk), no actual loss of protein from your muscles will occur. Whatever muscle you have on you to start with, is yours to keep (and possibly increase), we are only dealing with fat (both all over the body and especially stubborn fat such as the one on your belly).
- You should be aware that we have a “muscle building” program on the website. It’s based on movement principles and cellular biology – not just weights and reps and it’s pretty cool so worth checking out – here.
- Just to repeat my answer. You may practice weights – ideally separated from the program (BP in the morning, weights in the evening). The only thing I ask is that you evaluate whether your energy is limited because BellyProof is intense and I want you to focus your energy in the right place while you are doing the program for the next 5-6 weeks.
Suitable for Men, Women and Age groups 18-65
What this program does is make everything more optimized, for humans (regardless of sex and age).
The Majority of people on this program are men in their 30s and 40s. However we had a large variety of success with older and younger men and women. This is for everyone but there a few small but key difference that are good cover:
Women:
- Women can do brilliant on this program. The idea is not to be perfect but it is to improve your relative strength, tone and of course- lose fat. We also address many many many postural and mobility deficits through the program and you can fully expect to see an improvement not just in how your clothes fit – but also in your posture and mobility (including previous pain resulting from poor mobility in the past).
- Women see results slower than men do. Sorry ladies – it Estrogen to blame. Be that as it may, your results in fat loss (and not just yo-yo weight) will still happen with this program, it’s just that you are going to have to accept a slightly lower pace of progression.
- The Menstrual cycle involves a lot of water retention. Because of that women should plan the starting date so that the last week is not too close to the menstrual cycle. We want you to do brilliantly and be able to show for it. We don’t want you to feel like nothing happened just because you finished too close to that time of the month where your body holds a lot more water, masking your success.
- Older women (post menopause) – unfortunately, at this time I don’t have a big enough sample group or even enough public research available to conclude how older women will perform in terms of weight loss. There is a strong potential but not enough data. If you hit that age and still want to try the program, you are very welcome to of course and the mobility benefits are still there for you. It’s just hard to predict in terms of fat loss in your case.
Older / Younger Men:
Most of the people who do this program are men in their 30s and 40s. We have had people in their early 20s and people in their 70s on the program with promising results (it’s just not the main group of people who choose this). Here’s what you need to consider:
Teenagers / below the age of 18
- There’s lack of research in your age group and there is a ton of hormonal changes and physiological changes taking place. The research that has made this program what it is, is based on public information and there is just not enough to fully form a coherent piece of advice to tell how it will affect you. Because of that, and while we still have a lot of good advice in terms of mobility and well-being that you can benefit from for years to come, we can’t predict progress, problems, strength etc..
- I cannot advise people under the age of 18 to take part because it would be irresponsible of me at an age that takes more responsibility. If you fall under this age group, it might be better to wait with this program (it will still be here in a few years). In the meantime, you can still follow much of the advice on the website on how to better structure your mobility, nutrition and sleep – that’s something I’m happy to recommend to anyone at any age.
Older People
- I’ve had older people with great mobility and great metabolic health and I’ve had younger people with poor metabolic health and serious mobility deficit. Age is not what makes a person better or worse for that, it’s only your previous habits.
- Older men tends to have less testosterone and growth hormone. It’s very good in a way because this program is an opportunity to improve the hormonal balance in a very profound way. On the other hand, it can also mean a weaker starting point and slower progress – especially at the beginning.
- I like you to understand the above two points as they can and do need to come into consideration. At the same time, I would like to suggest that even if you have to go a week or two longer than average, it can still be a good opportunity. I’ve had people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s showing so much great progress (sometimes better than people in their 20s and 30s – so again, age is not the thing that can define it best, this hold potential) 🙂
Working with Injuries
Mobility is a complex subject (and a big big priority for myself). This is not a catch-all program (i.e. 5 weeks to make you perfect in every way). However I think I might have some good news for you:
The common stuff:
- If you’re struggling with the “average” problems.. a bit of back pain here or there, feeling a bit inflexible or maybe a nasty trigger point under your shoulder blade: This program will pave the way for massive improvements.
The Serious Stuff
- If you have no shoulder, you can’t even jump in place because you think your knee will break or you’ve just been in a car accident… This program is not for you. This is forward thinking program that looks at improving mobility along the way but it still is a high intensity program.
- If you are properly injured and cannot jump etc.. you won’t be able to change exercises around too much and that might be a problem for you (anything you work around and take away from the design, will be a big compromise and too many compromises is not a good thing). However, there may be stuff (in the program or outside the program) that can help you recover faster.
- The idea is simple, I would rather deal with things. You can deal with serious stuff while you also put stress on them (as in a high intensity program) but you can still deal with them using better strategies. I always prefer to deal with things, make them work better and making sure you don’t have to work around things all the time – that’s the better approach. If you have any doubts, get in touch with details of your problems and I’ll do my best to advise you on what you can do.
READY TO START THE PROGRAM?
To make the BellyProof schedule work for you, we recommend planning to start at a time where you can commit to training and nutrition that is specific to the program.
You will need:
- 5 minutes in the morning
- 50-70 minutes a day for training (ideally in the morning). The exact workout time depends on your fitness level and how much rest you need.
- 3 minutes in the evening.
- at least 2 hours a week to cook
You can start the next day or the next week (it’s up to you). What you need to know is that the program is really efficient because it uses very efficient practices. You will need to dedicate some time at the beginning to go over tutorials and learn how we do things the right way.
This is going to be fun! Welcome on board!