Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ’s
Workout Questions
Q: How much weight do I use for my exercises?
A: You should use a weight heavy enough for you to be able to finish the # of reps on your first 2
sets.
For ex: if the workout says do 4 sets of 10 but you can only get 8 reps by the 3rd set. Your doing
fine. Do not lower the weight.
For ex: if the workout says do 4 sets of 10 but you can only get 8 on the first set, Lower the weight.
For ex: if the workout says do 4 sets of 10 but you can do 14 reps on your first set, increase the
weight.
Make sure you finish your sets with a little bit of difficulty as you don’t want to cheat yourself by
making the weight too light. Remember, light weight doesn’t build more muscle, it only builds
endurance so if you lift, you have to lift heavy enough so you can make your muscles stronger. Just
keep in mind that form has to come first before heavy weight. If you can’t lift with good form, drop
your weight down bc you must avoid injuries at all cost.
Q: How much rest time do I take, also can I modify it making it longer or shorter?
A: I recommend not going longer than 90 seconds for rest, but you can shorten it if you would like to.
Q: What should I do If I can’t do the amount of reps or sets instructed in workout?
A: Here are a few things that will help:
- Lower the weight and keep the repetition the same so you wont get fatigue as fast bc your not
pushing your to the limits with every set.
- Increase your rest time by 30 sec up to 1 min b/t sets so you can catch your breath and give your
muscles a longer break.
- Complete only part of the workout today and finish the rest tomorrow to slowly let your body get
use to the intensity.
Q: I am feeling body pain, what should I do?
A: If you are feeling very sore and drained you should not work out that body part until the pain
subtle. However, mild soreness is normal and you should still work out with that. If you are feeling
sore in one body part, you can still work another (ex — if your legs are sore, work your chest)
Q: I have a medical/ physical problem, how do I modify the program?
A: I have a few clients in a very similar situation who have gotten in killer shape without re-injuring
themselves. You can modify the program by using the exercising substitution print out located on the
bottom of the home page.
Here are some general rules and tips you can follow. You can always email me at
mike@sixpackshortcuts.com
- Don’t do any force reps or sets till failure. Finish your last rep with good form and control.
- If you find pain or difficulty performing an exercise due to your condition, try to substitute it in the
Substitution Print Out or make it up by doing more sets of the exercise (on that same body part) that
you can perform comfortably.
- Slow down the repetitions and use strict form. Fast reps, or loose form are the most common
causes for injuries.
- Increase the rest times b/t your sets to lower the intensity and make the workout day easier.
- Lessen the amount of sets you perform to lower the intensity of the workout.
If you are unsure on what is recommend for your condition, you should consult your physician first
before starting the program.
Q: I can’t do some of the exercises in the program, how do I work around that?
A: It is ok if you can’t finish the whole workout day or your really fatigue after your done. Your body
just isn’t use to it yet and that is a good thing. Bc that is the key to getting you results. If you could
do the whole workout program without much difficulty ,then your body is not being challenged and
will not be forced to build more muscle and burn the fat. The longer your in the program, you will
find the workouts easier to finish and your body will have a increase in muscle and decrease in fat as
a result from your body adapting to the new workout program. If you have pains or feel you might get
injured, try substituting some of the exercises in the Exercise Substitution Print Out.

Q: I took some time off and now I’m restarting the workouts, should I start back at phase 1 or
where I left off last?
A: You can start on phase 1 and work your way up but only do each workout day once, then move
on to the next phase.
For Ex: If you left off in phase 3 day 3, and you took 2 weeks off, then start back on phase 1 and
only each workout days once before moving on to phase 2. Do the same in phase 2, then go to
phase 3. This way it gives your body about a week or so to get use to training again and prevents
any unnecessary injuries.
Q: How many days should I workout in a week, would I see more results if I workout 7 days in
a row?
A: You should workout 4-5 days a week. The most you should train is 6 days in a week. You won’t
see more results working 7 days a week bc your results come from your body’s recovery and 7 days
a week is not giving your body enough recovery time.

Q: I know how to exercise already, should I shorten or skip phase 1 and go directly to phase 2
or 3?
A: You should definitely start with phase 1, because all of the phases build on each other. Even
though its phase 1, its not an easy beginner phase. Its actually good if you are a experience lifter as
phase 1 will totally shock your body bc most people’s regimens are certain body parts on certain
days instead of all in 1 day which will be a good metabolic shock for you.
Q: I been in the program for a while and my results are very slow, what should I do?
A: We need to review and make sure you’re doing everything correctly and don’t give yourself
excuses.
Did you workout 4-5 days last week or was last week a “special week” bc of some good reason you
have that you had to skip your workouts. (You may have been busy and couldn’t do 30 or 45
minutes of exercise, but you still had enough time to do 10 minutes. Realize that good reasons are
only good excuses that help you justify your actions, but at the end its your results that suffer.)
Did you follow the workouts as it was written or did you modify if to make it easier?
Did you follow the ZWES or did you go out to eat and had a few cheat meals?
For Ex: Take a look in your fridge, if you cooked yesterday morning, you should have a bare
minimum of 15 meals left (3 a day for 5 more days)
Are you getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night? (lack of sleep means your body don’t burn as much fat
and muscles recovery is slow.)
Q: I am a women and I don’t want to bulk up or get too muscular, do I need to modify the
program?
A: The program definitely works for women. The program way designed to help people lose body fat
and gain muscle and even though the workouts may seem to be geared toward men the philosophy
behind getting ripped is not gender specific. Make sure that you follow the ZWES very closely as
your nutrition will be a major factor for your results.
Here are a couple of things you can do if you find yourself getting bulky and you want to trim up.
- Lower your calories per day by eating less per meal and cutting out snacks, sugars, and liquid
calories. Your body will lack the calories it need to keep up your weight and as a result, will break
down your fat and some muscle to compensate resulting in you looking slimmer and “tone” instead
of muscular and bulky.
- Lower the amount of weight you use on exercises you use to work on your “bulky areas” and
increase the repetition to 15 reps per set. Keep the amount of sets the same. For Ex: if you feel
your arms are getting to bulky, make sure to lower the weight on your curls and your tricep exercises
while keeping the sets the same.
Q: I am a teenager b/t the age of 13 – 17 years old, do I need to modify the program?
A: The program will work for you, however you should make sure to focus on excellent form at all
times. It is ok if you are not lifting very heavy weights and pushing yourself to the max. Because of
your age it is very important that you stay safe and injury free, so be sure to review the videos in the
Exercise Vault and to follow the form exactly. You will still see very good gains doing this and you
will have a great foundation for even more gains later. If you don’t have the Exercise Vault, watch
the workout videos in the phases for form and technique.

Q: I am a senior and the exercises look too difficult, how can I make the program fit me?
A: It is ok if you can’t finish the whole workout day or your really fatigue after your done. Being older
just means your muscles and joints may not be what it used to be but its ok. Just keep strict form
and do the workouts instructed. Your body at any age will adapt to the workout program no matter
how hard it seems to be now. Just be consistent and take your time. Remember to get results at
any age, you still must challenge your body. The longer your in the program, you will find the
workouts easier to finish and your body will have a increase in muscle and decrease in fat as a result
from your body adapting to the new workout program. Here are a few things you can do in the mean
time to make the workouts easier:
- Skip or substitute an exercise that you can’t do or feel unsafe in performing.
- Lower the weight and keep the repetition the same so you wont get fatigue as fast bc your not
pushing your to the limits with every set
- Increase your rest time by 30 sec up to 1 min b/t sets so you can catch your breath and give your
muscles a longer break.
- Complete only part of the workout today and finish the rest tomorrow.
Q: How can I want to put on muscle mass, I don’t want to lose weight.
A: For your workouts you need to increase your weight on your exercise and lower your reps ranges
to 6 -8 reps. Keep in mind that your form MUST BE very strict in order to go this heavy. If you still
are working on perfecting your form, Do Not increase your weight or lower reps until your form is
perfect. You must at all cost avoid all injuries and stay safe. Increase your rest times b/t sets by 30
to 60 sec more so you can have longer muscle recovery time and have more strength for your
exercises.
For nutrition our portion size on your meals should be increase to 2 times the size of your fist per
meal. Put more carbs in each meal, use carb sources like potato, white rice, pasta, yams as I found
those carbs seems to help with weight gain. Generally, the main change in eating when trying to put
on more mass is to increase your calorie intake per day so your body has the extra food to support
the weight gain.
Q: The Workout Print Out is slightly different than what the Workout Days Video, which one
should I follow?
A: You should follow the videos whenever there is a difference between the two.
Q: What time of the day is best to workout?
A: . The time of day you workout is up to you but if I had your schedule, I would workout either
before going into work or right after work NOT STOPPING BY HOME first. Reason why on not
going home first is due to past experiences with my clients, you stay more consistent on your
workouts when its “part of the work day”
Q: I train in MMA, how do I integrate sixpackshortcuts into my current routine?
A: This is Dan…Mike asked me to jump in on this question and help you out. I train BJJ (Brazilian
Jujitsu) and Muay Thai in addition to doing the Six Pack Shortcuts workouts so I can tell you what’s
worked for me:
1. Do 1/2 the sets recommended in the workout guide for these muscle groups:
Chest; Biceps; Triceps; Shoulders
Some muscle here will help you in MMA, but over-building these will interfere with your punching
speed and fluidity.
2. Add the M-100 routine in this video to the end of every
workout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkD9LwDBWW0
This routine gives you INSANE cardio…this combined with your strength from the lifting will make
you VERY hard to deal with.
3. Separate your MMA training from your SPS workouts by as many hours as possible. What I would
do is to lift in the morning, and train MMA in the evening. The more hours you can rest between
workouts, the better your performance will be.
4. You MUST take at least 1 week totally off from all workouts every 3 months. When you are
regularly pulling double workout days like this it really drains your body…so you will need a week
every now and then to recover.
5. When you are training this often you also need to have your diet and sleep locked down. Be sure
you are getting 8 hours of sleep per night, and that 80% of your food is coming from Zero Willpower
meals.
-Hope this helps you out man! You can also email me directly at dan@sgmglobalmedia.com if you
have any other MMA-related questions.
.

Workout Equipment Questions

Q: I don’t have a gym membership or access to gym equipment, what should I do?
A: You do not need a gym membership to complete this program. Even though it is recommended,
you can substitute most of the exercises by using the exercise substitution print out located on the
home page.
Q: What is the basic equipment needed to the entire program?
A: Ideally there is couple of options for equipment:
Option#1 – Get a door frame chin up bar, adjustable dumbbells, and a flat bench.
Option# 2- Get a Olympic size(ideal) or regular Flat Bench Press with a barbell and have weighted
plates for resistance and a door frame chin up bar if possible.
.

Nutrition Questions
Q: I don’t have access to a kitchen, how should I prep my meals-(maybe a college student)?
A: That’s no problem, some of our members don’t have access to a kitchen for various reasons.
Just follow the Busy Man’s Eating Shortcuts in weeks 5 through 8 in the 24 week advanced
coaching program and all your meals will only need a microwave to heat up. No stove top and
refrigeration will be needed.
Q: I don’t have time to cook, what should I do?
A: Believe me I understand that its hard to get use to cooking that much food. But if you think about
it, an average person who tries to eat healthy spends at least 2 hours everyday on making or
preparing there breakfast,lunch,dinner,snack, grocery shopping,washing dishes, marinating,
etc… That’s 14 hours a week they spend just on there nutrition. And the ones that try to eat healthy
by only eating out realizes that its more time spend on getting their nutrition by driving around to
different food places, waiting for their meal, PLUS they end up getting fat and spending more
money. I tried all these options already and that’s why I do all of my cooking one day of the week
for only 2 hours to get it all out of the way. This way I’m saving time, saving money, while getting
lean, ripped, and healthy.
Q: Can I replace some the foods for something else I like better?
A: You should really focus on committing to the Zero Will Power eating system for now. also, I’m a
big believer in the 80/20 Rule. 80 % healthy eating and 20% of food I really enjoy. Generally, the
more someone alters the Zero will Power Eating System, the less results they see. The foods in the
eating system are the most popular and general choices. If you like to replace certain items, you
must make sure that it is comparable to what’s in the ZWES already.
Q: How much calories,fat,carbs, sugar, should I eat a day?
A: Focus on the QUALITY of the calories that you are eating. I recommend quantities of lean meats,
fruits, veggies and nuts with slower-digesting carb (brown rice, yams, etc) to each of your meals by
the following the ZWES. If you follow the guidelines, you don’t need to count everything you eat. I
never counted the amount of calories I eat in a day. All I make sure is that Im eating my prepped
meals and snacks and if I want to eat a little bit extra that day, no big deal. If I go out to eat and
have a “cheat meal” I make sure to keep my meal size small and eat only 2 or 3 meals for that day to
make up for going out higher calorie meal.
Q: What type of protein should I eat with my Zero Will Power Meals?
A: Follow the basic protein suggestions in the ZWES like chicken breast, tilapia or any kind of fish,
lean cuts of beef; pork; grounded beef, turkey, or egg whites. There are other cuts of protein that
are less popular and still good for you, just make sure they are low in fat and calories. I personally
stick to chicken breast, ground beef, and tilapia as my protein source and just switch up the ways I
season it and use different sauces for new unique flavors.
Q: What type of protein powder should I take?
A: There isn’t any need to take protein powders on a regular basis with this program. Protein
powders are good to have around, but only as back up when you don’t have protein or any meals
prepped. I had the same jug of protein powder for almost a year already and I just leave it in my
pantry as back up protein.(along with my other back up proteins like cans of tuna, cans of salmon,
canned chicken, canned beans)
Q: What type of supplements should I take with this program?
A: The only thing I would recommend taking is vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids. Workout
supplements, fat burners, creatine, pro hormones, etc, can only give you a small advantage (15%)
and most of time will make you mentally weak once you stop taking it due to being used to being “on
something”. If you actually took something like illegal steroids which will give you more than a 15%
boost, not only will you become Even More mentally weaker when you cycle off, but you will lose
majority of your gains if not all, not to mention the fact of other side major health side effects.
Q: How big should my meals be?
A: Your meals should be the size of one and half of your fist, total size for the entire meal, not just
protein portion or carb portion. The meal should consist of about
40% protein – 30% carbs – 30% veggies. If you want a rapid drop in weight and fat, lower the % of
carbs and increase the % of veggies.
Q: How often should I be eating a day?(Do I need to 5 meals a day to lose fat?)
A: You want to eat about every three hours or when hungry. You don’t necessarily need 5 meals, but
if you are eating the right portion size and type of foods, (plus working out) your body will
automatically be hungry every 3 hours which will result in eating 4 – 6 meals a day. Don’t worry
about try to stuff 5 meals in a day just to keep up with the requirements. Do the workouts, prep the
meals and just eat when your hungry and soon you will eat 4-6 meals a day naturally on your own.
Q: Should I eat before bedtime?
A: Just as long you are getting about 8 hours of sleep, you can have a meal about 1-2 hours before
bed and it should be ok. A trick would be to make this a smaller meal and use veggies as your carb
source. That will significantly increase your fat burning specially when you sleep and you will notice
a little change almost every morning. (just as long you did your workout the day before because your
muscles will burn those extra calories every night to recover from the workout.)
.

Technical Issues
Q: I clicked on the Exercise Vault and it said I didn’t have access to it?
A: The exercise vault is actually a separate purchase of 97$. I found that the Vault is VERY valuable
to Six Pack Shortcuts members. I go in depth into the technique for each exercise, and really takes
your form to the expert level. I also show what it looks like if your doing the wrong form as I found it
is easier sometimes for members to identify if they are doing the exercise wrong. This accelerates
your results with no more gym time, prevents injuries, and lets you get a REALLY stunning physique
like a fitness model.
Q: Why does it say “Access Denied” when I try to log in the members site?
A: Your username and password is most likely incorrect. Just email Mike@sixpackshortcuts.com
with your information and I’ll resend it to you.
Q: The video isn’t playing or stops playing half way, what should I do?
A: In order to download the videos I recommend downloading VLC media player. It’s free, and
reliably plays all types of video files. You can download VLC media player here:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Sometimes your internet connection may be a little slow or our video file size is a little large, you
can try pausing the video and letting it stream for 30 sec then play it or downloading the video on to
your computer so you don’t need a internet connection to watch it.
Q: How come it says “Access Denied” when I try to watch a coaching video from the 24 Week
Advance Fitness Coaching Program?
A:The videos in my 24 Week Advance Coaching Program are released 1 at a time on a weekly
basis. Once every week, I will coach you on new advanced tips and techniques that will build on
what you already learned through SixpackShortcuts. The program is set up like this to give you step
by step coaching throughout the entire program. If you haven’t gotten to that week yet and you click
on the link, it will say Access Denied. I am always here to help you at mike@sixpackshortcuts.com.
Q: What is the 67 dollars charge on my account?
A: For the Advanced Coaching, you have a 30 day free trial, and then you will be billed $67/months.
If you’d like to cancel, just send me an email and I will cancel it for you with no hassles. However, I
really encourage you to check the videos out during your free trial. I’ve found that they are a
TREMENDOUS help to you, which is why I added them on to the Six Pack Shortcuts program. It
really is a huge advantage to have them, because I show you advanced workouts and nutrition
techniques that build on what you learn in Six Pack Shortcuts and take your body to the next level.
You also get unlimited 1-on-1 support with the Advanced Coaching which I feel is also critical for
your success.
When you’re in my coaching program, I can help you with questions that issues that you are
currently experiencing for. The questions could range from specific aches or pains you may be
feeling in your body and want to know if its normal…to… if I workout 7 days in a row with no rest
days, would I see more results? etc….