Simple Weight Loss Formula and How to Track It Easily

It is as simple as that.  Monitor your calories for food intake and monitor your calories burned during daily exercise activity.  Just make sure that the calories burned are greater than the calories eaten!

Tracking Calories

How can I do this you say?  Well, there are a number of FREE websites/apps out there that allow you to accomplish this rather easily.  

There are many calorie counting web sites/apps out there such as caloriecount.com.  Some track only calories and not exercise.  Some do track them, but not very well.  I have yet to find one that tracks both perfectly.  However, there are some that make a valiant attempt.

I personally don't like the name of the site, but fatsecret.com offers a way to log your daily food intake via web or a free app Calorie Counter, that actually will allow you to scan a bar code with your phone and instantly give you the nutritional breakdown of the item.  Simply modify your potions and enter it into your daily log.  The app also allows you to track daily exercise by adding an activity and choosing the amount of time spent.

Fat Secret's Calorie Counter app

MapMyFitness.com offers daily food consumption tracking, but lacks a barcode scanner to make it more precise.  It also maintains a daily target calorie budget which seems a little high to me if you want to be losing weight. What it does have though, is the ability to track outdoor exercise relatively precisely via GPS through the phone app.  That is, if you go for a 4 mile walk and track it with the app, it will closely calculate the calories you consumed and log it for you.  It also has a very extensive list of exercises to choose from.  Including sex! Afterall, you can burn almost 80 calories per hour depending on your sexual prowess.

MapMyFitness exercise and food consumption tracking app

MyFitnessPal.com is another good food consumption tracker in that it allows you use a scanner to quickly calculate calories consumed and the nutritional breakdown.  It also accurately calculates your daily target calories which is important for losing weight. Where is lacks is tracking exercise. However, when you sign up you are given the option to link your account with various other exercise tracking accounts/apps such as Endomondo.com which also features GPS tracking ability of many exercises.  Although the list of exercises offered are not detailed, which, if you like to keep it simple, is a good thing.  I personally use Endomondo and I find that it more accurately calculates calories compared to others.

MyFitnessPal calorie tracking app

Endomondo exercise tracking app which can be linked with MyFitnessPal which tracks calories consumed

There are many others out there, you just have to find the one that suits your needs the best which may differ from someone else's!

Maximize your P90X Kenpo X Work Out with Extra Knee Kick Modifications!

If you are finished with the P90X cycle and are in good shape by now, you can maximize your Kenpo X workout by adding some extra knee kicks. If you have never heard of P90X visit this link to read more about it.  If you don't have the time to try my previous P90X Kenpo X modification, Maximize your P90X Kenpo X work out with Double Kenpo X!, then this one may be for you.  An extra calorie burn can be accomplished in the same amount of time.  However, again, this is ADVANCED.  I would not attempt this unless you are a P90X graduate or are already in excellent shape.  After doing the P90X program, you may not feel like you are getting much out of the Kenpo X workout.  I know when I am in top shape, my heart rate is not even up in my fat burning zone hardly at all.  These tips are intended to get your heart pumping back into the fat burning zone and burn a few extra calories.


The main and simple modification that you can make is to add a knee kick after every "Drag-Bunch" or "Drag-Block" exercises.  Namely, these are:


Drag-Punch-punch


When you are performing this move, step forward, throw the first two punches and as you are dragging your foot forward, follow through and bring your knee up for a knee kick targeting the same place you punched the first time.  Imagine stepping forward, punching an opponent in the face, in the stomach, and then kneeing them in the face as they double over.

Hang in there though, you have to get the knee in fairly quickly before you have to reset for the next punch.  It gets really interesting when you pick up the pace and give the spirit yell.  Make it a goal to be doing the knee kick as you are giving your spirit yell.  You have to move REALLY fast!





Drag-Claw-Punch


Same principle as in Drag-Punch-Punch-Knee however, you are clawing or grabbing first instead of punching.  When you are performing this move, step forward, reach and grab, pull, then punch and as you are dragging your foot forward, follow through and bring your knee up for a knee kick targeting the same place you punched.  Imagine stepping forward, blocking a blow, then punching an opponent in the face, and then kneeing them in the face as they are bent over.


Drag-Block-Punch


Same principle as in Drag-Punch-Punch-Knee and Drag-Claw-Punch-Knee however, you are blocking first instead of punching.  When you are performing this move, step forward, throw the the block, then the punch and as you are dragging your foot forward, follow through and bring your knee up for a knee kick targeting the same place you punched.  Imagine stepping forward, blocking a blow, then punching an opponent in the face, and then kneeing them in the stomach.

Breaks


On your breaks when jogging in place, bring your knees WAY up.  Use your hands for targets, holding your forearms parallel to the floor with your hands out.  Then make contact with your hands using your knees each time you bring them up.

Elbow Series

The elbow series can be made more interesting with knee kicks as well.  As you start on the right arm bringing it up-down-left-right, bring your right leg up into a knee kick before you start the up-down-left-right motion on the other arm.  Or if you are feeling more like side kicks, instead of throwing a knee kick try a side kick instead.  You may need to mix it up a bit because at this point, your legs are probably going to feeling pretty beat.


Vertical Punches


Last but not least, you can add a little more resistance to the vertical punches by holding light weights in your hand.  A couple of small solid 2, 3, or 5 lb dumbbells will do.  It will be easy at first, but as the speed picks up, you will find that it is very difficult to keep up, but you will feel it in your arms!


So give these tips a try if you want to burn a few more calories during Kenpo X.  I guarantee that you will be feeling it in the end!

Maximize your P90X Kenpo X work out with Double Kenpo X!

And I mean MAXimize.  Get a good calorie burn with out going out for a run.  P90X Kempo X is my personal favorite among all P90X workouts.  It is by far the most fun and the hour seems to fly by.  If you have never heard of Kenpo, it is a form of Karate using moves in a rapid fire succession to overwhelm an opponent.  It is a blend of the Japanese martial art and Chinese Kung Fu and has origins in Hawaii.  American Kenpo was invented by William Kwai Sun Chow, master of the late Ed Parker who was a re-noun martial arts expert.  Parker brought the sport to the United States.

A typical Kempo Karate Logo

If you are finished with the P90X cycle and are in good shape by now, you can maximize your Kenpo X workout by what I call Double Kenpo X.  When you are at the end of the work out, you are feeling good, and you have time to spare, try this:

At the end of the main work out after the vertical punch series, hit the back button on your DVD and cycle back to the first work out afer the stretch and start over!  This will add a good 40 minutes to your work out but when you are finished through the stretch routine, you'll feel like you just ran 5 miles.  Talk about burning calories!  Whoa!