Initial Review of Joel Marions “Extreme fat Loss Diet”
A couple of days ago I bought Joel Marions “Extreme Fat Loss Diet”. I get emails from a couple of bodyweight trainers and they had been promoting this so I was intrigued to see what it entailed and due to lots of celebrations, social events, and parties during April and May feel like I could burn a few pounds of body fat, also Jules is looking to get ripped again so I thought ok let’s have a look and see what it is all about.
The program is based around a 25 day period which equals 5 x 5-day training cycles these are all to be done with no rest days. Each day you are issued with an exact way to eat and this is coupled with specific ways to train. All meals and training modalities including detailed exercise routines are clearly explained with video links to demos of the techniques via YouTube. Accompanied with this are the recipes and smoothie ingredients required. You are issued with a ‘done for you calculator’ which defines all your supplement and nutritional ratios for each specific day and encouraged to keep a log of your successes and challenges on the success record sheet which has good detail and to make sure you are all ready to go you have a pre-programme checklist.
All exercise modalities are explained in great detail along with the reasons why these training protocols are used. There are two programs for each of the strength, lactic acid, and density training days and five different workouts for the H.I.I.T sessions. All in all, there is great detail in the whole program and although it was quite hard to navigate around it I got there in the end. There are many different PDFs to read through and the main program is called “Cliffs Notes” this really pickled my head as I didn’t have a clue who Cliff was I think it would be better called “Actual Program Template”. Below is a breakdown of how the days are laid out. Each cycle the workouts change so the cycle below would be the same for 1, 3, and 5.
Day 1 = Cheat day, eat liberally but don’t gorge do one of the Density Workouts in the morning. (if not sure how to cheat properly then you are encouraged to buy Joel’s cheat your way thin book:
Day 2 = Fast day, have 4 servings of BCAA’s and lots of water for the whole day (nothing until the following breakfast). Morning = the Lactic Acid workout. Lunchtime = H.I.I.T. Evening = 30min Light Cardio this can be taken out when time is an issue.
Day 3 = Shake Day protein shakes x 5. First three with fruit and the last two with oil or nut butter. Training on day 3 will be Strength Training in the morning and Light Cardio at night.
Day 4 = Moderate Carb Day. Meals x 5 first two protein and carbs the next 3 protein and fats. Training on this day will be dynamic training in the morning and H.I.I.T training at night.
Day 5 = Protein Only Depletion Day. Consume 2 x lean body mass in protein split up over 5 meals along with Lactic Acid training in the morning and light cardio for 30 mins at night.
On every day apart from the fast day, you can consume free veggies and there is a list of the vegetables that are allowed.
So there you go “Extreme” is correct, do I believe that this type of program would be effective “yes” is it healthy and a sensible way to get lean probably not, would I issue something like this or encourage a student to follow it “No”. Is it for you every day Joe who it is marketed to, in my opinion, no? A good question is what do you do during the rebound after you finish day 25 (buy another one of their programs and start it all over again). This kind of training would be perfect for a bodybuilder in the final cutting phase or figure/fitness model not far from a contest or shoot or someone who is a bit mental (that’s me taken care of). Also having 25 days off from your normal commitments and duties would be a help as this would allow you to rest in between your double sometimes treble daily workouts. You would need a good understanding of exercise and a grounded level of strength and conditioning. You must also be willing to train extremely hard (lactic acid training encourages lots of Delayed. Onset. Muscle. Soreness) and to do this in a fasted state if you are not used to fasting or are not open to this type of fat loss technique then a program like this is not for you. I think a section detailing how to fast safely while training hard should be among the program.
When I first opened “Extreme Fat Loss Diet,” I thought that I had bought another book for the folder/shelf but being the person I am I said to myself there must be positives to be taken from it so I have studied and looked through it all and I have taken lots of good training and diet ideas from it. I am excited to see what will happen when Jules and I attempt to give it a go during the month of June. As with everything we do at DMC it must be tested and measured first. I will have to adapt some of the exercises due to not having certain equipment needed but I am sure Pablo and I will come up with identical substitutes.
I will keep you posted and let you know how we get on.
On a final note, I wonder if these programs and diets are designed for specific clients that are personally trained by these “Experts” and then rolled out to the public in order to make loads of wonga?
To stronger and healthier times
Davie