Questions & Answers

I'm a 44 year old Diabetic, in the last 1 1/2 years I have lost about 80 pounds (walking, riding a bicycle and doing crunches mainly) but I seem to have hit the point where I am not losing anymore weight or "toning up" (I still have "love handles", although they are much smaller than they used to be). I have "balance issues" due to a major leg injury (I do have full mobility)from a car wreck 15 years ago so my Agility has suffered but I feel like I need to do some form of exercise daily (my blood sugar goes well into the "healthy zone" if I exercise daily).

Onto my other "problem", I am an oil field service-hand and I am on the road (living in Motels) about 270 days a year so any exercise program that I use MUST be lightweight and easily portable.

I was just about to purchase the P90X system when I found your site and I am intrigued, the P90X system is hard for me to believe because they hype it so hard (I am a firm believer that the bigger the hype, the smaller the reality) and they promise these completely unrealistic (I think) results.

Do you think the 12BX™ system will be a good fit for me? -Vince

I think the 12BX™ would be a perfect fit for you. Given the amount you travel you would purchase a travel bar so that you can take it and work out in your hotel room. One of the advantages that 12BX™ has over the P90X is that 12BX™ starts at a much lower level and each level is progressively more difficult until you reach the elite level 12. I would not wait for my program but I would recommend something in the meantime. Check out our travel bar, read some of our articles, or buy a used P90X program. Anything is better than sitting on your hands for a couple of months. Thank your for sharing your story and for your interest in 12BX™. -EJ
What a great site. You have done an amazing job with your life, yet you remain humble. In any case I find myself at 48 in similar condition as you were. I box, lift kettle bells, etc. I seem to be in healthy condition and compared to my peers am doing very well.

I am very strong in some aspects, have low BP etc., but I have probably 30 pounds of excess gooey weight that hides well. To be honest, I can not do many pull ups, maybe three decent ones, so I don't try doing them. I would like to increase pull up numbers.

Home pull ups and dips make a lot of sense. I had been thinking of doing BFL like you did, and doing pull ups, but your site made me reconsider. I should just get a pull up bar like yours for my home.

What would be your best routine for increasing pull up numbers only. For fun and cardio, I box hard 3-4 nights a week and would like to keep at it, unless this would interfere with a pull up program. -Ross

Thanks for the compliment. The 12BX™ plan has a system that allows even the novice to complete 96 pull ups in one session with the help of the NH resistance bands. In a nutshell you need to do a minimum of 70 pull ups per session every 3 and ½ to four days. The DVD’s go into detail about reps, sets, speed, form , stretching, flexing and a host of related aspects to the workout as well as nutrition. -EJ
How much bread can you eat honestly to lose weight, do you have to eliminate all of it for awhile,or until you get you to your weight that you are trying to achieve,or is it okay to have some carbs i work out a lot but I really crave the bread, fix can you answer that one Question for me kind sir. -Todd

I do not include any bread in my diet except for rare occasions. This includes the occasional craving for toast and peanut bread or rye bread toast with breakfast in a restaurant. I am carb sensitive and eliminating bread is not nearly enough to keep me in top lean condition. I eliminate bread because it is a low nutrient value food for the most part and there are healthier choices for grain foods and carbohydrates. My diet is high in lean protein and carbs derive from whole grain, vegetables and fruit. The single biggest thing that is universal to most people’s fat loss is limiting the portion size of their meals. My portions are incredibly small and my meals vary from two to five meals a day depending on my activity level. I hope this helps with your particular goals. Good luck. -EJ
I train with weights four days a week can I used your workouts for the other 3 days? I read that your program is a four day week? -Pierre

If you are following the 12BX™ program for four days a week you cannot do any significant workouts with weights. The exception would be for lower body legs or for extremely light dumbbell work for the shoulders. If you do both programs, weight lifting and 12BX™, one or the other will suffer if not both. The program is such that you can use 12BX™ for a month or two and switch back to your weight lifting program. -EJ
E.J, what's your diet. I am 46 and I would love to be ripped like you. What is your workout regiment and your diet please. -Mike

Mental attitude, proper progression and the like. I am carb sensitive so I eat veggies cooked and raw, as well as whole grain cereals for my carbs. Fruit is included but is for deserts and snacks. I work out in the morning on an empty stomach just a cup of coffee. This is done about two hours after I get up. I eat my first meal late morning about an hour after my work out.

Usually I have my egg white pancake for breakfast along with my vitamins. The only supplements I take other than vitamins is whey protein( low cal) right after my work out. Throughout the day I have a snack or two like a few almonds, apples and lots of water. For supper I just love salmon with some rice and cooked veggies. I try and avoid late night eating which is not always possible if your out with friends and might have a drink of wine (you need to eat and hydrate to counteract the effects of the alcohol)

In very general terms my body weight exercises revolve around 100 reps per workout which I repeat twice in the week. This means four workout days a week ,two pull-up and two push-ups/dips per week. Form is very strict with careful documentation and review of previous workouts. I find it difficult to add aerobics to my busy schedule except for vacations and long weekend getaways (yes I workout on vacation, this is my time and I do what I like).Many people proceed too quickly pushing themselves every time as well as trying to make up for missed workouts .For decades(before 12BX™) I had the three week syndrome which is common with people starting a program or joining a club. After three weeks they drop out, get injured or generally go backwards at that point. There are so many pit falls to being fit and injury free. That is why the DVD will help in so many ways both visually as well as the dialogue between myself and Marlene that imparts instruction over and about what you see. There are some YouTube clips on our site which we will add too. -EJ
Thanks for getting back to me. I have your doorway pull up bar and have started using it more actively. I am working my way up from 1/2 to 3/4 range pull ups after reading a few articles that Ed had posted on your website. Pull-ups have never been my strong suit through my whole life but I am making some progress by starting with the less-than-full-range pull ups. What do you think would be the best course of exercise for me between now and June ? Thanks for any suggestions you can give me. -John

What I would suggest is that you break up your week for work outs into two. The first half of the week would be aerobics and a low cal low carb diet .Three very strict fat burning days. The next four days you would eat a well balanced diet no dieting but not a free for all. The first two days of this four day stretch you would focus on strength development not necessarily muscle ,there is a difference. To do this day one of the four days would be pull-ups and day two of the four day would be push-ups and or dips.

You will need to do three to five very strict reps of the pull-ups or push-ups with as many sets as you can do for the day. The rest period between each set at this point is not that important you can take one to five minutes rest between sets. Try to build up to a daily total of 50 to 100 reps for the day. This combo will focus on making you lean and strong but not build to much muscle. The rational for this that muscle building requires a lot from your system and dos not work at its optimum when you need to develop strength and burn fat. I know you hear many if not all experts in the field say they have a workout that builds strength, muscle, endurance as well as burn fat. This is not the case for the majority of people. That is why so many of the popular programs have a high drop out rate and or injury occurrence.

12BX™ takes a very balanced, incremental approach that has served me well and I am extremely glad to be able to give people 24 work outs with 12 levels that works. Meantime this will help you to prepare for the program. -EJ