This is the 2nd part of our interview with Dr. Kareem Samhouri, creator of the Double Edged Fat Loss System. In case you’ve missed part 1, go to Kareem Samhouri interview part 1
Q: You talk about better communicating with your nervous system to get better results. How is this accomplished and what are the results you can expect to get?
A: This is complex, but the Double Edged Fat Loss program does it automatically. Let me try to break this down for you (remember, you don’t have to fully understand this part, although it’s great if you want to!):
To enhance communication with your nervous system, here’s what you’ll need:
- Repeated stimulus
- Muscle balancing
- Balance reactions
- Trunk strengthening first, extremities second
- 3 speeds of movement (slow, medium, fast)
- 3 energy systems
- Proper muscle length & proper muscle strength (they are relative)
- 3 directions of movement
- Motor learning needs to take place – basically, this means that you’ll need to be able to advance things quickly to ‘check and see’ if you’re actually improving signaling strength
- Premotor activation – this is sort of like Sports Psychology, and it can lead to up to 30% faster results
Kareem Samhouri working out
Q: Where does nutrition fit into your program, what are some basic guidelines you can share?
A: Great question! I have come to be known as a movement expert, but my expertise only goes so far with nutrition. I believe in sound nutritional habits, an anti-inflammatory diet, proper nutrient ratios, the importance of meal timing, and always avoiding starvation/caloric restriction diets. They make it nearly impossible to build muscle.
I really get into my whole philosophy & how people can avoid dieting for the rest of their lives (dieting never worked for me!!!) by looking at things a bit differently. It’s all in the ‘Psychology of Dieting’ audio system I’ve prepared for the DEFL community. Beyond that, for people with very specific nutritional needs, I have sought out and built strong relationships with the nutritional experts around the world, and I’m very happy to refer when I cannot help. Also, I try to serve as a communication bridge and get questions answered first on my own.
By the way, I do post all answers to all questions in a Video FAQ Database. This is something very different about DEFL – I want to interact with you if you join. When you ask a question, I answer by video. I think that’s important in a client-coach relationship. Don’t you?
Q: What kind of people are right for DEFL and what kind of people are not?
Here’s who’s NOT right for DEFL:
- Someone who wants to stick with very basic gym exercises & is not interested in learning new ones (i.e. bench press, military press, preacher curls, etc.)
- Someone who has very specific medical needs and requires the attention of a physical therapist, chiropractor, or MD in person in order to be able exercise
- Anyone who is wheelchair bound or has trouble moving their upper or lower extremities
- Someone who is not interested in learning how to build her/his own exercise program & take control of her/his body
- Someone who is looking to get huge in the next 30 days. DEFL teaches you how to modify any program you want in Week 3 to add size or take it away, but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until week 3 to start on that goal.
Here’s who IS right for DEFL:
- A beginner who is really trying to learn how to exercise properly & wants a foundation for moving correctly
- A person with a history of joint pain, but no acute injury
- Anyone who wants to jump-start their fat loss journey and see immediate results
- Someone who’s been working out for awhile and would like to add some variety to her/his program
- People with families. Because DEFL comes with a lifetime membership, I want you to share it with your families and influence them. It’s time to end childhood obesity and I’m counting on you.
- Someone who’s trying to put on size and has hit a plateau
- Anyone who believes s/he is not realizing her/his full exercise potential and wants to do something about it
- People who want to get results faster the longer time they workout, and they’re worried that they’ll eventually plateau (or maybe already have)
Does this answer your question?
Q: In your program there seems to be a focus on multi-jointed exercises and complex movements. How do these provide better results than standard gym exercises?
A: Earlier we spoke about my expertise being in human movement and metabolic fat loss & fitness, right?
Well, metabolism isn’t one thing… it’s the cumulative effect of your entire body’s processes. Think about it this way… each joint in your body has a local metabolism. If you add them all together, you get a whole-body, or ‘global’ metabolism. By exercising more joints at once, you are raising metabolic demand across more of your body. Naturally, this leads to a greater overall metabolic demand. Increased metabolic demand means more calories burned long after you leave the gym.
More calories burned for hours/days after you leave the gym = Faster fat loss.
It’s simple, really.
Q: Do you favor free weights or do machine exercises work just as well in your opinion?
I try to discourage machine exercises as much as possible.
I see their application, and I fully understand why a newbie might prefer to be on the machines. As for the argument of women not wanting to put on size so they use machines, that’ actually not valid.
Here’s the specific set of problems with machines:
- They don’t simulate real human movement (every day movement)
- They are built for specific sizes & statures. For example, a male who is 5’5″, 140 pounds, 5’6″, 155 pounds. Basically, machines are built to suit people with 1 inch & 15 pound increments. …what’s worse, is that they’re rarely built for a woman’s body. The most confusing part about all this is that they’re not even labeled by gender, and they should be.
- They often don’t allow full muscle lengthening and shortening. In other words, you have to do more reps, more often to get the same result. They decide how much movement happens, not you.
- And, finally, most importantly, they don’t challenge your core & strengthen your trunk first. Remember, this is part of the secret sauce in enhanced neural communication, so if we are missing this, we are sure to plateau and/or get hurt in time
Hope this info really helps clarify the argument for/against machines!
Q: What kind of support do you provide people who use DEFL?
A: Unlimited. I answer all questions by video response. I post the answers to the site. I interact with my clients, because, well, that’s who you are – my client.
That’s what any good coach does.
In fact, I even have programs available for people with more specific needs or for people that want me to continue to build their exercise programs for them, but at a much lower cost than my in-person services ($140-$280 per hour, depending on the service). I do this so that geographical and socioeconomic boundaries don’t have to exist anymore when it comes to your health. And I do this because people deserve a health and fitness resource they can trust.
Q: How does it feel to be able to help thousands change their body and life?
A: Amazing!
I feel blessed every day when I wake up. What a gift! To be able to help so many people feel better about themselves and become ‘health leaders’ in their families is the most rewarding thing on Earth. You know, I grew up the son of a surgeon and nurse, and I figured healthcare had to be the most rewarding field on Earth.
I’ve come to change my thinking – I believe eliminating the need for healthcare is way better!
Thanks for being a part of all this…
Q: What words of advice can you offer to a person who wishes to lose fat but is either discouraged or doesn’t know where to begin?
A: Give it a shot.
Develop a strategy.
Find someone who you can trust, and who is congruent with your fitness belief system.
Perseverance. That’s #1. After all, getting in shape isn’t Rocket Science. Get your body moving and you’ll get results. It worked when we were cavemen and cavewomen. It will work now.
Granted, there’s always a faster way to see more immediate results, but perseverance is key.
For more about Dr. Kareem and his work visit Double Edged Fat Loss
