If you want to learn my personal keys to gaining muscle and losing fat, keep reading because I will reveal them below.

Last night, I had the pleasure and opportunity to attend one of Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace" seminars here in Portland, Maine.

For those of you who do not know, Dave Ramsey is a financial consultant, best-selling author, and popular radio talk show host. I highly recommend that if you get to see him speak in person, that you go. He is phenomenal!!

He spoke of a couple of things that really got me thinking about how things really work in life if you just follow certain principles.

Now, I often go to seminars, not only for my personal benefit, but so that I may relay any information I learn that may be useful to my clients and newsletter subscribers in my business.

Last night was no exception.

Dave first mentioned that, if you want to achieve wealth and become finacially independent, you must learn from other rich, wealthy people, not from people that have their own opinions but nothing to show for it.

I thought of this point in fitness as well.

It seems everyone has an opinion as to what should be done and what works, but how many people have actually put it to action and have done what they know so much about.

I can remember growing up, hearing my family doctor tell me how important exercise was to health, yet he was extremely overweight.

So, to put Dave's advice on modeling others into gaining muscle mass, seek out those that have already achieved what it is you want and copy some of the things they have done.

It worked for him in his life, where he learned certain principles from wealthy people that worked and when he applied them in his own life, he became a millionaire many times over.

Dave also talked about certain truths with money, laws that must be followed if you want to achieve true wealth.

These are laws that, much like the law of gravity, occur whether you want them to or not. If you jump off a building, the law of gravity will occur and you will hit the ground, no matter what.

He called these laws "No Matter Whats" because they work every single time, NO MATTER WHAT you think about them.

I though about this point as it relates to fitness and I realized that there are also many "No Matter Whats" in the fitness and exercise world.

I thought about many of them and that if you just followed them, they would work, NO MATTER WHAT!

Here is my top ten list of NO MATTER WHATS for gaining muscle and losing fat. I thank Dave Ramsey for the insight to realize that weight loss also has many "laws" that govern it.

Here are ten I thought of immediately:

1. No matter what...if you stay positive and persistent, you will WIN in your efforts to gain muscle.

Those people that "keep on keeping on" are winners in all they set out to do. They may not win every single time, but it sure likens the odds they will. So be positive and have persistence. Besides, what's the alternative, being negative and quitting?

2. No matter what...if you take SOME form of action, you will be better off than not doing anything. Gaining muscle occurs by being active. You must lift weights to gain muscle. You must work out regularly.

Taking some form of action will get you further ahead than over-analyzing the situation to death and not moving at all!

3. No matter what...people do not see great results because they "know not what to do." In order to get in great shape and gain muscle, you must understand the HOW behind it. Educate yourself on the principles of gaining muscle and you'll never have to hire a trainer again(wait, then I'll be out of business).

4. No matter what...you must have fun in your fitness routine or you will not want to stay with it for long. Most of you know that optimal fitness is a life-long process. Can you imagine doing something you do not like for your entire life? (besides your job?) Have fun with your workouts!

5. No matter what...eating small, well-balanced and nutritious meals or snacks every three to four hours will get your metabolism operating more efficiently. Having a faster metabolism is vital to long-term fat loss.

6. No matter what...progressively increasing the amount of weight you lift over time will have a positive impact on how much lean muscle you build. Who does not want a little more muscle and a lot less fat. I have never had anyone tell me "Shawn, I am all set in the muscle department, can we add a little more fat now?" To gain more muscle, lift heavier over time.

7. No matter what... gaining muscle takes time. There is nothing in life worth having that happens overnight. Do be a get_____quick type of person.(You can fill in the blank.)

8. No matter what...you must create a synergy between proper nutrition, moderate aerobic exercise, and intense, brief weight-training. You must do each one well, and they will come together to produce incredible results.

9. No matter what...gaining muscle and getting in shape requires a lifestyle change. You cannot expect to continue those things that got you overweight or out of shape in the first place. To get better, you must do better. You must change your habits so they support you, not hinder you. So cut your ties to them!

10. No matter what...if you want it bad enough, you can achieve it. To take what Dave finished with last night, and put it into my own weight loss and fitness terms:

Gaining muscle and losing fat is "Whatever you will it to be." The choice is yours. You can make it happen. Or you can quit. The choice is "whatever you will it to be!"