@ju –
Thanks Ju! – feel free to keep complimenting me – I don’t mind at all ;-)
Click Below to Watch a 30 second introduction from Dr. K
Simply put, everything you do, including every effort you put forth during exercise, originates in your body’s central command center, the Central Nervous System (CNS).
And for 99.9% of exercisers, the unfortunate reality is this: your central nervous system is operating at a very elementary level, and it’s absolutely holding you back from experiencing the most rapid fat loss results.
How and why?
Bottom line: most people simply do not understand how to properly communicate with their nervous systems, and as such are missing out on at least 60-80% of the metabolic potential of every single exercise they do. In fact, even advanced trainees tend to be “under-achieving” by at least 30-50%.
Can you just imagine how much faster you’d progress if you were able to double or triple the metabolic effectiveness of each and every exercise you do? The answer: A LOT FASTER.
Going back to the problem, inefficient nervous system communication results in:
On the other hand, an extremely efficient nervous system results in:
Legitimately, the difference in the rate of fat loss between the above two examples is the difference between getting in incredible shape for summer and being self-conscious all the way through August.
This is also the difference between hitting and maintaining your ideal body weight easily versus struggling for the rest of your life—period.
Do you realize this means you’re probably struggling to lose weight right now because your nervous system is operating far below its capacity?
Essentially, you’re working twice as hard for 1/4 the result—and I hate to see that happen!
The fact is this: Most fat loss programs do not even consider the role of your nervous system in program design, and as such, at best improve nervous system communication from ‘Poor’ to ‘Fair’. Even if you consider yourself “advanced”, you probably still have room to at least double your nervous system signaling efficiency, and therefore your results.
Bottom line: If you really want to dramatically hasten fat loss results, then you absolutely MUST learn to improve your nervous system signaling from ‘Fair’ to ‘Good’ to ‘Great’-all the way to ‘Excellent’.
And here’s the best part – it can be done in a very short period of time with the appropriate plan of attack, and you’ll do it while you lose fat at an accelerated rate.
But before I teach you how it’s done, you first need to understand exactly WHAT is holding you back from experiencing your true metabolic potential-and there are 5 major contributors (each taking a major toll on nervous system efficiency):
1. Muscle Imbalances
2. Incoordination
3. Sub-sensory pain signals in your joints
4. Inflammation & resultant decreased circulation
5. Improper use of rest periods in exercise program
Let’s go over these, one by one, so you have a better understanding…
Muscle Imbalances:
Whenever your body senses imbalance, it tries to correct for it. This means top to bottom (arms to legs), side to side (left to right), and back to front.
If you’re not balanced in all 3 ways, your body will naturally stop growing and strengthening in an attempt to regain balance and prevent injury.
As a practical example, many exercisers suffer from major imbalances from front to back. Their quads generally dominate their hamstrings, and their “pushing” muscles (chest, anterior shoulders) quite often overshadow those of their back (lats, rhomboids, etc). Essentially, these types of imbalances are actually like pulling the fire alarm for your body.
In effect, you’re screaming at your body and telling it to stop growing, stop strengthening so the weaker muscles can catch up. Unfortunately, unless you KNOW that’s going on and actively take steps to strengthen those imbalances, those muscle groups never catch up and progress declines or altogether stops – and this goes on indefinitely.
In the end, calories that should be going to fuel strength and lean mass gains get shuttled toward fat storage. Simply put, no matter how hard you work, you simply cannot outsmart your nervous system.
Incoordination:
There Are 2 Kinds Of Nerve Signals: Efferent & Afferent
Until your joints are properly positioned and muscles receive constant, uninterrupted communication from your nerves, both your efferent & afferent signals are like a loose wire. They are firing off, haphazardly, and your body is having to work twice as hard to control movement.
Poor movement control = Poor coordination
Poor coordination = Poor strength
For example, incoordination may cause your forearms to work harder as you bench press, instead of the target muscle. The result: your forearms tire first and your chest is never fully stimulated. The same is true on a lunge; your back leg will get tired before your front, and that’s not even where you’re supposed to “feel” the movement.
Building a bridge between efferent & afferent signals will allow your coordination to improve, making advanced exercises easy, and improving the overall fluidity of every movement you make. In other words, you’re nervous system will be effectively communicating with your musculature and as a result your body melts fat and builds muscle.
Sub-sensory Pain Signals In Your Joints:
Your body is constantly in pain, or, in other words, pain is very much relative. You see, the types of nerve cells that respond to pain are never dormant; they are always awake, and they monitor the amount of activity at various areas of your body before reaching ‘threshold’ and setting off a chain of events resulting in palpable pain (pain that you actually “feel”).
When joints are maligned and exercises are done in the wrong sequence, there is a slight increase of pain receptor activity that takes place. Unfortunately, these nerve receptors send a message to your brain to turn muscles OFF and focus on eliminating the pain. That’s why we go limp when we have back pain, for example.
Now think about how much harder it must be for someone with overdeveloped pecs and a weak back to do shoulder raises. As the imbalance grows, there will inevitably come a point where “rounded shoulders” caused by the aforementioned imbalance will actually force the deltoids (shoulders) to turn off, and the upper back (trapezius) will then take over the movement.
From there, your upper trap attaches to your cervical spine, which creates and even bigger problem and more nerve signaling that’s turning off muscles as your trap pulls your spine out of place…yikes!
The end result is a vicious cycle until you eliminate the issue altogether.
Inflammation & Resultant Decreased Circulation:
Following any workout your body is inflamed, or at least it should be. Tiny little tears take place in your muscles, and this is what allows you to burn calories as the damage is repaired. Meanwhile, your muscles grow.
When there is more inflammation in your biceps, for example, than your triceps as a result of muscular imbalance between them, and one muscle is being over-shortened while the other muscle is over-lengthened, your lymphatic (healing) system will have a harder time getting rid of the swelling. Once it does get rid of swelling, your lymphatic vessels are supposed to dump the fluid into your veins.
Your muscle pump system (opposite muscle groups actually work like a pump to assist the venous system with the return of blood to the heart) becomes ineffective. Your venous system, as a result, has to work harder, and your veins end up blocking your lymphatic vessels from ‘dumping’ their fluid and sucking up more.
Swelling persists. Over time, this will lead to more compression on nerves, and decreased blood supply to them as well. Just like everything else in our bodies, our nerves need blood and oxygen to function at their best.
And if they’re not getting it, guess what happens? That’s right, nervous system inefficiency and decreased communication between nerves and muscles, leading to decreased fat loss and overall results.
Improper Use Of Rest Periods In Exercise Program:
Rest periods, when used properly, often do not rest your body at all. In fact, there’s a such thing as ‘active rest’ and ‘passive rest,’ but most people don’t know how to choose which one they need during various points in their workouts:
Active Rest - continue exercising, rest that particular muscle group
Passive Rest - sit still and do nothing
Here’s The Bottom Line…
You – yes, you – likely have quite a few “issues” that are holding you back from experiencing two to three times the fat loss results you’re currently experiencing. With my new program, Full Throttle Fat Loss, I teach you how to address the ROOT problem, so that you can correct these issues and lose fat faster at the same time.

Full Throttle Fat Loss becomes available on Tuesday, September 6th, but don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you hanging with just today’s information.
In fact, tomorrow I’m going to be back with another article to teach you THREE ways you can start immediately improving central nervous system efficiency while overcoming each of the 5 “problems” we addressed today.
The question you have to ask yourself is this: “Is setting myself up to double or triple my current rate of fat loss—whatever that may be—through a completely untapped medium, something I’m interested in?”
If so, stay tuned for some serious “solutions” coming at you tomorrow.
——————————————————————————————————–
I truly believe this is some of the most game-changing, revolutionary information to hit the fitness industry in years, and that’s exactly why I’m sharing it with you. I will be posting the second part of this article tomorrow, but for now, please post your comments and questions for Kareem and I to answer below.
Bring on the questions and comments!
@Debra M –
Congrats on your Triathalon Debra! Very excited about your recent weight loss, as well.
As for metabolic syndrome, we’ll give it our best shot – many times, this is reversible, but it is always modifiable…. just depends how advanced it is and how well you control your diet as well. Definitely speak to Joel about his coaching program if you’re looking for specific nutrition programming to combat this at the same time – the combo is your best bet and there isn’t a coaching program in the world I’d recommend hire than his (even though this is his blog & I’m a guest, that’s sincere)
good stuff, Rahim!
keep at it – you’re on the right track!
@Per –
Hey Per,
A great starting point for the ‘Marty Workout’ would be 10 reps of everything. Also, please keep in mind that Marty is pretty advanced – he’s already lost over 45 pounds and melted most of the fat off of his body. Granted, he did this with a blown out knee & some back pain… so he had some obstacles, but one motion at a time is a good idea to start.
You’re right about lifting and twisting… unless of course you strategize this into your routine – think about it, how else would you get stronger and more protected while lifting and twisting??
If you want to get faster, run.
If you want to prevent herniated discs, do so by practicing correctly with resistance & good form.
there’s the rub ;-)
sure, for form – bend knees, butt back (like sitting on a bar stool), weight in your heels, stand through your glutes and maintain and abdominal contraction throughout. Emphasize your obliques and separate your torso movement from your pelvic – make a bit of sense? (try to go through it as you read, ok?)
Hey Mark!
Good to hear from you – you’re very welcome!
how’s it going??
you in the Final Phase yet??
@Craig –
Hey Craig,
sounds like you had quite a bit of inflammation going on when you stopped exercising – makes sense, if you think about it… after training that hard.
Instead, try working on mobility only during your off week (flexibility, but active movement instead – yoga-esque)
that should work to help you drain the excess fluid and be ready for the next step… I can take you through this if you want…
Dr. K
Thanks a lot for the info!
My gym has yoga and pilates classes on a regular basis, would this be sufficient?
In the last 2 days I have picked up on my cardio ago switching between steady state and HIIT. Inflammation has gone down, but not completely yet. I figured the cardio will increase my body’s circulation and that I may also be able to “sweat” out excess fluid.
I also sat in a sauna as hot as the sun for 10-15mins afterwards.
Sorry if this is a waste of space Joel but I just had to write that I can’t believe Dr. K commented on evryones post…WOW! You cloned yourself that’s it isn’t it, that’s gonna be the second book I know it “How to clone yourself” by Dr. K
P.S. Love your exercises, very dynamice and inovative ;) can’t wait for the main event!
Dr.K
its great to see that people get replies here!!
anyhow, i have been weight training for about three months now since i came cross joel’s website.i am 18 year old girl and lift allot of weights compared to other girls when i use the machines [thighs/butt= 85-170 pounds. arms= 25-55pounds] when i do freeweightsi lift lower. i can feel my muscles but i can never see them. it looks like i am not loosing fat, but only gaining muscles. i just want a greater definition. and WHEN will i start seeing those changes? 3months is tooo long for not seeing actual improvements in your body when you know you work really hard, go fivetimes aweek and eat properly :(
i used to have avery bad eating disorder. i have been eating properly on and off for about a year. but have been eating properly since i started training.
thank you so much.i really hope ull be able to help.
Hi Dr.K
Im very much shocked to read this article. I have been working out for the past 6 months and i have read almost every data available on the internet. I tried everything with my knowledge. But i didn’t get much results out of it. I must stand along every person and thank you in all means for such informative blog.
Waiting for more
Vassa
This is very interesting stuff. I have a number of chronic health problems including but not limited to allergies, arthritis, asthma, balance (only one of three necessary systems is working), edema, and of course progressive overweight – add chronic pain and fatigue and it’s quite a mix. I use a can because my balance is so bad. When I try to explain to the uninitiate what I’m talking about with that, I say you need three systems working properly in order to balance – visual cues, proprioception, and the semicircular canals in your ears. Infection damaged the semicircular canals when I was very young, and my proprioception is minimal – I have a very hard time feeling “where I am in space”. So I depend largely on visual cues to stay balanced enough to do “normal” movements like walking. Don’t put me up on a high place with a glass panel between me and a drop – I won’t be able to force myself to walk very well. It’s not “fear of heights” either, it’s intense/extreme vertigo – I can’t seem to get people to understand the difference.
Very much looking forward to more info on this, as optimizing what I can may lead to improvement in systems fighting each other currently. And I telecommute so am probably becoming “chair-shaped” – yikes – definitely no balance in that.
very enlightening, man?!…..truly, this is going to change the industry of fitness and bodybuilding….in a good way , of course…looking forward to read the main thing….
keep up the good work
best regards…
This is not news to me! I work for a natural health chiropractic-based practice who combine many different techniques (some quite unique to chiropractors) and who have always promoted the fact that the body works better when the nervous system is working properly and there is reduced inflammation in the tissue. It makes sense in so many ways for so many reasons. So whichever way you achieve this (and of course I recommend a chiropractor that uses gentle techniques, not manipulation) it is worthwhile to every system in your body to increase your nervous system function to it’s highest potential.
Looking forward to hearing more! I am also a physio and am focused on working with clients with neurological impairment (eg. CVA, MS, etc.) I’m wondering about how to apply some of these principles towards my clients with significant muscle imbalances caused by CVA or degenerative neurological diseases. These clients often have one or more limbs not able to be activated effectively or used in bodyweight activities due to a variety of levels of paralysis/impaired tone. Any tips?
Very interesting. Sounds reasonable.
Looking forward to your next article explaining ways to improve CNS health and efficiency.
I’m having a hell of a time dropping some bad weight I picked up as a result of some prolonged high emotional stress. I know I’m eating “right” and training “right,” so there’s SOMETHING that isn’t happening.
Maybe this is it.
Thanks.
adam
@ Craig:
Hey Craig,
Yes, yoga helps… but it really takes strength & length. Yoga helps more with the length-end of things… congrats on reducing inflammation – cardio also helps here, but, more importantly, is aligning your joints :-)
I’m looking forward to working with you!
@ Lucky:
Hey Lucky,
You bet I did!
Each one of you is very important to me :-)
I’m looking forward to working with you!
@ bat.CE:
Hey Bat.CE,
thanks for commenting!
eating disorders definitely slow down metabolism, sorry to say…. it can take a year or two to recover, fyi… but there are things you can do in your training to have a positive effect. For example, you may not have been exercising at ‘full nervous system potential’ before – perhaps 30%
Well, even though your overall potential may be less right now with exercise, you may be able to exercise closer to 90-100% nervous system potential. This means you can actually get results much faster.
Also, have you tried building muscle?
Once you build more signal to your muscles, this will get easier and your metabolism will have the stimulus to go up :-)
I’m looking forward to working with you!
@ satscout:
hey Satscout,
first of all, thanks for your courage to share.
Proprioception can be developed with unstable surface training or repeated balance reactions…. but not to the point of vertigo. It’s all about starting in the right place and developing proprioception joint by joint. I’d recommend that you start with seated shoulder proprioceptive activities (good to see a physical therapist for this) & then progress to more aggressive stuff. Get rid of the vertigo first with balance reactions and then work up from there.
In the meantime, watch your head position with exercise – always face a mirror – this way, you can stimulate a greater visual response (also important for balance)
hope this helps!
I’m looking forward to working with you!
@ mohammed:
Thanks Mohammed!
(i have a cousin named mohammed – actually, 3, so you’re in good company :-)
keep up the great work!
I’m looking forward to working with you!
@ Deborah:
Hey Deborah,
You’re welcome.
Great question!
Yes, this works… but this is more of a pre-motor to motor area question… by focusing on developing premotor activation of the uninvolved side, you’ll end up stimulating more or of the decussation (crossing) of your motor tracts from your nerves to your muscles. In effect, you’ll stimulate the affected side more by stimulating the unaffected side more. The only thing to be aware of here is ‘learned non-use’, so you’ll have to always ‘superset’ every exercise with the involved side, even if passive to reinforce that this is what you’re working for.
hope this helps!
I’m looking forward to working with you!
Thanks Joel for this enlightening bit of info. It all makes sense and I am able to relate to these issues as I am facing them. Its like, you’ve hit the nail on its head for me. Keep that info flowing, am all ears!!
Big Thanks to Both of u …
” im so excited about this (: ”
waiting 4 the rest
&
for ” Double Edged Fat Loss 2.0 ” Program .
Q/ im having a pain in my left shoulder Joint
what do u think the problem is !?
is it ( Muscle Imbalances ) !?
great eye-opening article. As an athlete it is my priority to get into single digit body fat and to also try to be as fast and strong as possible. Obviously these methods are going to cut the fat, but Dr. K you mentioned that a more efficient nervous system will result in “greater signaling, leading to greater, faster, more intense contractions” – will this in turn make you a quicker, faster, stronger athlete?
Thanks
Ryan
The video with Dr. K was very interesting. I totally believe in a combination of nutrition and building muscle.
I don’t live near a Gym. What basic equipment would I require for the exercises, in this program. Can body weight exercises be substituted for any or all of the exercises.
Dr K,
I’m glad you are answering questions and sharing information – and thanks to Joel for the intro!
By background I’m an endurance athlete and I can’t imagine that I won’t keep training for centuries and marathons and tris – just for me, though. Building and keeping strength is huge – keeps the power/weight ratio in the right place, so I can’t imagine not lifting.
One thing you touch on is your mind and how it impacts all this – what I focus on makes a big difference in my results. I find if I focus on the beginning of the contraction it seems to be deeper (don’t know if this is really so) but I have to say I have no clue what to focus on during passive rest and I get pretty antsy. Definitely open for suggestions there!
I would also appreciate your comments – like you gave to Oscar – about how this work can be done outside the gym. Wish I’d grown up in a world where every place is a playground or gym but I’m only just seeing that the kiosk at my busstop is a great place for pullups (some day!) and pushups and dips. Again, open for suggestions – and appreciate what you are offering.
Thanks,
Meg
thanks dr for this valuable information.i m from india and very happy to read this.i have been doing workout since last 8 years but in past few years it has not been regular because of my work schedule so i have put on some weight ,now it is becoming difficult for me to do fat loss even after doing intense workut sessions .because my mind pulls me back i dont get much motivation and on top of that i feel pain in neck and lower back whenever i do heavy chest and squat or shoulder exercise.i m 33 yers old but planning for competetive body building can i do this if i start properly at this age.will my body support it .
please execuse me for my english.
regards
sachin kumar
@ Emran:
You’re very welcome Meg :-)
It can be a bit challenging to create exercise variety in city set-ups… but it’s very doable. What if you made it your mission for a whole day, just once, to go outside and think about making your exercise environment dynamic?
i.e. walls, curbs, stairs, hills, knee-deep water, etc.
Exercise is very natural – it’s possible :-)
speak soon,
Kareem
@ Gary:
Hey Gary,
Great question!
I haven’t gotten into this yet, but I actually have built a Video FAQ Database, where I answer everyone’s questions by video response and provide exercise substitutes. Yes, it can be done bodyweight only… but there certainly is benefit to having some/all of this:
Dumbbells (medium weight)
Med ball
Bench/couch
Plates (like for a barbell) – 1 set of 2 is fine
Dyna Discs (1 pair)
That’s all the equipment I use, and it’s a super cheap home gym. But, it can be done with any combination of the above without a problem, or, as I said, bodyweight alone :-)
@ Emran:
Hey Emran,
Glad to hear your excitement, and I’m excited to work with you too :-)
The most common shoulder injury would be rotator cuff tendonitis or biceps tendonitis… but it’s hard to say without seeing you. Maybe it’s worth going to see a doc and finding out?
@ Ryan:
Hey Ryan,
Absolutely!
I personally use the program to increase athleticism – that’s its purpose for me :-)
yeah by the sound of the program it makes a lot of since that it would increase one’s athleticism, I’m excited to continue learning more, especially about addressing muscle imbalances as I feel that is a major issue holding me back athletically.
thank you and Joel for this fantastic information!
Dr. K, thanks for the information and knowledge.
Joel,
I’m on the cheat your way thin diet. I was going to go into maintenance mode when I hit 235# (BMI 27.9) until the NYC marathon November 7th, then use your Xtreme Fat Loss diet to drive to 200# (23.7), then just try to live my life between BMI 23 and BMI 25. But, should I do Full Throttle instead of XTreme?
Ion
Excellent article, looking forward to the follow up.
Make sure you see a chiropractor who can insure your nervous system is functioning properly.
Dr. K
Thanks for your commitment. I can’t wait to see Full Throttle Fat Loss! Can you offer alternatives that will not irritate my tennis elbow? Lifting/curling even 5 lbs causes me pain
Hi Dr. K.
I am DEFL 2.0 member (the one who sends in trouble tickets about videos!! ;-)). Anyway, can you provide a little info about how this program differs from DEFL 2.0, the Abs Strength Guide, and the FPFL for Abs you did for John Roman?
I am in the middle of Week 5 of the Shapeshifter Redesign program and have lost 7 lbs since I started (150 to 143). And when I started DEFL 2.0 I couldn’t do regular push ups (due to the rotator cuff issue) and know I can do 3 sets of 10 reps. So I owe a lot to you, Roman, and Adam for the encouragement and program designs that are working for me. I will be doing Nick Nilsson’s Mad Scientist Muscle after I get back from our Caribbean cruise next month (we’ll be celebrating our 10th anniv on the 22nd while in Jaimaca!).
Thanks for you insights and caring.
Hi.
I am a chiropractor and have a degree in Athletic Training, so I understand the importance of the nervous system in relation to optimal performance. I have lost 30# since June, but I’m not seeing the muscle definition that I expected. Any suggestions?
dear dr.k those 2 muscle imbalances u said above are just like me because my quads dominate all the time but i tend to replace a quad movement for a hamstring/glute in my program nd with pushin nd pullin i can push alot of weight but i can manage a little in pullin how can i correct this ? is it by focusing on a program that allows pullin??
@ nelson:
Hey Nelson,
This is a great question.
Yes, you definitely want to incorporate more pulling, but you also have to specifically emphasize the muscles you want to target. For example, you’ll want to build stability in your muscles in this order:
1) Multifidi (triangularly shaped low back muscles that work to help you counter-rotate or backwards bend when working together) – they are part of your ‘true’ core, so to speak, and they will need to be strong before your body will accept strength in other areas.
2) Glutes (maximum, medius, minimus) – all 3 glutes are important here. So work on single leg stance exercises, hiking/climbing/stepping motions, and internal rotation exercises like side step squat with a knee hike
3) Proximal Hamstrings (upper) – exercises like bent-leg deadlifts, one legged Romanian deadlifts, bridges, spider lunges, etc. all help with this section of your hamstring group.
4) Distal hamstring and calves – this is where you’ll want to integrate the entire puzzle and fire up your nerves all the way down to your feet and help that muscle grow. Bridge Heel to Toe on the Ball is a great example of the entire posterior chain working together.
You see, it’s muscle sequencing that matters, also. Anyway, more to come on this soon…
hope this helps!
-k
@ Dr. H:
Building muscle often times has to do with caloric consumption, rep ranges, rest periods, and muscle sequencing, Dr. H. Very glad you asked!
First – you have to consume enough protein to build muscle. Start with 30g every morning, as per Tim Ferriss (awesome advice)
Second – alternate low and high rep exercises with antagonistic (opposite) muscle groups to allow reciprocal inhibition (neurological relaxation of the muscle you just worked) to take place.
Third – Make sure to work proximal (central in your body) to distal (arms and legs) in every workout, except once per week, when you mix it up.
Fourth – It might make sense to use a program to follow guides you through this… it’ll help make sense of the entire equation.
Full Throttle Fat Loss has an entire periodization phase on:
Strength + Agility = Metabolism.
You’ll love that part :-)
hope this helps a ton!
-kareem
@ Frank A:
Hey Frank,
It’s SO cool to hear these updates on your success! Congratulations!
(and enjoy the cruise – sounds awesome!)
Great question – here’s a basic breakddown of the differences:
1. Ab Strength Guide – quick fix, 10 minute abs program (stand alone or supplemental to other workouts)
2. Mission Unbreakable – Tissue Release, Mobility, & Flexibility – 10 minute follow-along music interval based workouts for pre/post-workout routines
3. DEFL – full fitness and fat loss education + crazy exercises most people have never seen before and neuro-fat loss introduction
4. FTFL – beginner to advanced, fat to lean, all within 16 weeks – take anywhere, just a dumbbell and optional exercise ball. Plus, my latest and greatest.
No matter what you decide, I’m so glad you’re on a great path! It’s been fun coaching you so far, Frank, and I’m looking forward to seeing you through your goals.
Onward and forward,
-k
@ Stacey:
Hey Stacey,
So psyched to hear your enthusiasm!
Sure, generally speaking, just exercise around an injury. Do whatever you can that doesn’t cause pain and learn to sub in exercises as needed. I go over a lot of program customization stuff in Full Throttle Fat Loss, so I’m sure that will make more sense soon… no pressure, or anything, but just want you to know that I’ve got you covered, and I’m here for you :-)
have a great day,
-k