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Life is too short to work your butt off year-round. I am a firm believer in spurts of effort and then backing way off on those efforts and just enjoying life. Is your goal to workout as much as possible or to look and feel good? You can go periods of 3-4 months on a skeleton workout schedule and maintain an amazing physique, if you plan it out properly. After those 3-4 months you will need to put in more time, then you can go back to maintenance mode. I'll talk more about how to do this in this post.

[I like the idea of working hard towards a goal, like a two week tropical vacation. Kick butt in your career, get in amazing shape, and then stop and smell the roses...or in this case the coconut scent of your sunblock and the lime in your beer.]

What I've Learned from Watching the TV Show "Survivor".

I hate to admit it, but I am a big follower of "Survivor". I skipped a few seasons, but this past season (and a contestant by the name of Russell) got me hooked on the show again. He was the villain that we loved to watch. I didn't like him at first, but the guy grew on me. One thing I have noticed while watching the show is that the contestants keep much of their muscle tone, despite being somewhat inactive. Obviously this is due to chronic calorie restriction.

I'm Not Advocating Starving Yourself!

Don't take this the wrong way…I think the contestants looked famished by the end. The diet is obviously extreme and it would be nuts to eat like they do on the show. What I did notice however, was that about 2 weeks into the show all the contestants still had good muscle tone while doing very little in the way of exercise. People who have been following this blog for a while or who have downloaded my free report, have heard me say again and again that diet pays the biggest role when it comes to staying (and getting) lean.

…but You Want to Eat a Lot on Vacation?

I am with you there! In fact, in Vacation Body Blueprint, I recommend that people go into their vacation after a period of slightly more intense training than normal. Your body will do well with the extra calories and period of rest. Enjoy all the good food and drinks that your vacation has to offer. You will put on some weight, but a lot of that is water weight that will come off after you back off on the calories again.

[I don't want people to get the idea that I am a total TV Junkie...but this is the best show on TV in my opinion. Anthony Bordain is my hero.]

After Vacation It Is Time to Clean Up Your Diet

Usually a good strategy after vacation is to restrict the calories a bit for a week or two when you get back. This will easily allow you to drop any fat you may have gained on vacation (which will be minimal). I went off on a tangent a bit, since 2 week vacation is a short term period. Let's talk about 3-4 months of staying in maintenance mode…

You Can Maintain Off Very Few "Official" Workouts

The key to being lean and mean all summer is cutting back your calories a bit. You can do this and still enjoy nights out clubbing (if you are in that age group), going out to eat with friends and family, etc. If you want to enjoy good meals and higher calorie foods, you have to eat less meals. Another way to accomplish this is to eat 1-2 tiny meals and just one bigger meal at night when it is time to go out.

I Like to Think Of "Calories Per Week" NOT Calories Per Day

This shift in thinking will make staying lean a breeze while still having an active social life. On the days where you are just working and then going home to chill-out, eat low calorie meals. When you are alone keep the meals small and bland. Save your calories for the days in the week where you plan on being social. This approach works extremely well! If take away one thing from visiting my site, understand that your metabolism will not slow down from skipping meals from time to time -or- having a few low calorie days in a row.

So How Many Workouts Per Week to Maintain?

Remember my survivor example? It depends upon how much you eat. I have found that most people can get away with 1-3 "official" workouts per week. I will typically do 2-3 workouts each week throughout the summer. A key to making this work is to stay active when you are not in the gym and walk more, etc. Also, you can do intense HIIT followed by steady state cardio each and every workout…since you are training less.

Have Some Fun While You Are on This Planet!

The thing that makes me hesitant about writing fitness posts is that I don't want anyone to become obsessed with working out. I encourage general misbehavior, late nights, not following the rules, eating happy hour food at least once per week, enjoying a beer in a mug that is much too large, sleeping on a tropical beach, playing music that is too loud, etc. Bottom line…have some fun…and don't be a cheesy person that talks about grams of protein and how much you can lift when you are out in the "real world".

Note: Thanks to everyone who bought my newest premium report. I tried to keep it to a low key launch to people who subscribe to my newsletter…but word got out quickly

Tags: Life Outside of the Gym, beer, calories per day, HIIT, maintenance mode, metabolism, muscle tone, steady state cardio, vacation body, vacation body blueprint

People don't talk enough about height and how it relates to body composition, calories burned, muscle gains, etc. I'm a tall guy at just a hair over 6'3", but I'm envious of shorter people at times. I figured why not get the discussion going about height. Using my mad graphic skillz (not really), I came up with this masterpiece.

[Everyone knows Chewbacca, but only the true geeks like me know what's happening on the right. A young Gary Coleman posing with "Twiki" from Buck Rogers. Twiki carried a computer around his neck named "Dr. Theopolis". Buck Rogers is worth watching if you get the chance...for the cheesy disco music and bad special effects. Hilarious!]

Height and Plays a Large Role in Lean Mass

Your lean mass is basically everything on your body that isn't body fat. This is different than muscle mass. Your lean mass includes, bones, organs, water, muscles. A taller person will naturally have bigger organs, bigger bones, more water, than a shorter person. So they (will typically) have a higher lean body mass than a shorter person even without much muscular development. Tall people have a huge advantage in lean mass…which means they will typically burn more calories than their shorter friends. But what if someone is shorter but more muscular?

Your Organs Burn More Calories Than Your Muscles

I'm 6'3" and 190…I have a good friend who is 5'10 and 190. We are roughly the same body fat percentage. He has more muscle, so you would think that he would have a higher RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). That assumption would be wrong. I will burn substantially more calories than him. Roughly 60% of RMR is from organs and 40% from muscle. Since I am tall, he will have to reach a higher lean body mass than me to reach the same RMR.

The Biggest Mistake I See Muscular People Make

I was going to do this post just on this idea alone. It is probably the biggest "takeaway". Guys in particular who get big believe they need many more calories due to their increase in muscle mass. Adding muscle contributes very little to calories burned (even less than I used to believe). Think along the lines of 6 calories per pound of muscle each day. So adding 20-30 pounds of lean muscle is just an extra 120-180 calories burned per day.

30 Pounds of Muscle Fails Against One Pack of Skittles

[Adding 30 pounds sounds like a impressive feat...and it is...but can't touch the power of just one pack of Skittles. I haven't had a pack of Skittles in a long time, but is is right up there with Swedish Fish, Red Vines, and Gummy Bears in pure deliciousness.]

Adding Muscle Makes a Bigger Impact on a Shorter Person

As a somewhat tall guy, I can add 5 pounds of muscle and it won't be as noticeable as someone 6 inches shorter doing the same thing. The advantage of being shorter is that you don't have to spend as much time adding muscle to achieve a certain look compared to someone who is taller. Another advantage is the increased leverage a shorter person has when it comes to lifting. I used to work out with a guy who was 8 inches shorter than me back in high school. It was frustrating how much stronger he was in many of the lifts…especially the bench press. It took me a couple of years to just bench 225 pounds and I think he was doing it within a few weeks of training. Stupid long arms!

Eating With a Taller Person or Lifting With A Shorter Person

As a relatively tall person I have much more wiggle room when it comes to diet than most people. More often than not, I simply have a higher RMR than a person who is shorter than me. I still can't pig out and expect to be lean, but I will have a slightly easier time than a shorter person (everything else being equal). When it comes to the gym it is a different deal. Guys who are in the 5'6" – 5'10" range with the same amount of lifting experience often are stronger than me in certain lifts (mainly pressing movements like bench or military press). This isn't always the case, but just a trend I notice.

These Are Just a Few of the Differences…

I kind of just want to get this conversation started and get the comments rolling along. Height is one of those things I don't read much about when it comes to getting in shape, dieting, etc. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject and other points I missed. Let's get this party started!

Note: Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I just got back from a vacation and I tried my best to stay away from the Internet while I was away.

Tags: Main, bench press, body composition, body fat, body fat percentage, lean mass, muscle mass, muscular