What does your body say about you!!!!!
What does your body say about you?? Well it says an awful lot about you and how you go about your life. Your body is something that is taken with you everywhere, and is something that everybody see’s. If you are a fat slob, everyone will see that and it will say a lot about you. Now I am not saying that everyone has to have a good physique, but I am saying that you should take pride in your appearance and really try to be your best.
Building a quality body will show what type of work ethic you have and how you can handle struggle. Because lets face it, building a quality physique is hard!!!! It is something that takes effort, discipline and consistency. It is something that not a lot of people can do, because again it is HARD!!!!! \
So never forget that your body is something that you take around with you 24/7. It is a direct reflection of you and says a lot about your character. How do you want others to think of you? Building a quality body will determine a lot of those thoughts.
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!
What to do when you hit rock bottom!!!
This post right here is without a doubt the most real post I have ever written in terms of life. This post may not resonate with everyone, and that is OK!!! And if I am being completely honest I hope most people do not experience the point I have been myself because let me tell you it sucks!!!!! If you were to ask me 10 years ago if I would’ve thought I would be writing an article on how to get out of rock bottom I would’ve laughed. Not me, I was invincible. I was 22, just moved to LA and life was good. Well my friend this is just the beginning of a real life downfall that would culminate with me moving back with family members at 32 years old and questioning life’s purpose. A few bad decisions, coupled with life really trying to test you put me in this spot.
Now the question is when you are deep with the sharks how the fuck do you even begin to get yourself out. The first and honestly hardest step is this ACCEPTANCE. Accepting that you are where you are. Accepting that you are down. Accepting that you are starting over or that things didn’t work out. Now don’t get this confused. Accepting does not mean doing nothing. It means accepting the reality and coming up with a plan to start moving forward one step at a time.
The second step here is to really think about the things that you do enjoy in life, and start doing those things in small amounts everyday. Remember part of the process is feeling happy in spurts and feeling a sense of empowerment. And every time you do activities that you enjoy, remember that it’s a building block to the bigger picture. For me, getting outside and doing my cardio outdoors has been big. This is my time to think and feel more empowered and feel a sense of happiness with being outside.
Third, think about anything that is holding you back from being happy or moving ahead and look to eliminate it. Maybe this is a living situation, job you are in, people you are around or things that have become vices temporarily. I know this is hard, and maybe you only eliminate 1 each month and tackle this slowly. What you will find as things get eliminated is that you start to feel a little better over time. There are less and less roadblocks that are preventing you from happiness and overall having a better quality of life in the future. One of the most important and hardest things to remember is that this is YOUR LIFE, and nobody can live it for you. Everyone seems to want to give advice on what is best for you, but in reality only YOU know what’s best. You know what makes you feel good, what brings you internal joy and what steps you really would need to take to move forward and start anew.
Lastly, give yourself a break and understand that truly strong people will go through this. Now I am not here to preach or push my beliefs on anyone. But I do believe that the universe gives more challenges to certain people who are mentally tougher and who really need to go through the process that really see a much better life on the other side. Remember that this will not last forever and the more aggressive you can tackle the steps the faster you will get out and start on the up and up in life. Stay strong and remember that YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!
Why you should focus on your digestion!!!
Out of all areas of health and physical fitness I can without a doubt say this is an area that is greatly underrated, and I am going to explain why. I do not care what your fitness goal is; gain muscle, lose fat, feel better, perform better, etc, you all have 1 big thing in common and that is YOU ALL EAT FOOD. And if you eat food, your body needs to digest it and extract the available nutrients for energy and recovery.
Now, with modern day America and just the overall lifestyle we live with convenient foods, excessive stress, too much screen time and just overall bad habits, one thing tends to get out of balance and that is, believe it or not, your digestive tract. And one surprising thing about the digestive tract is it regulates neurotransmitters in the brain that helps us function optimally on a day to day basis. All of this is regulated within the gut microbiome and that is also where most of the body’s digestive process takes place (large intestine)
Now how does this relate to the gym. Well, when this gets out of balance it becomes harder for your body to breakdown food and get the nutrients it needs throughout your body. Without this you cannot maximize growth and recovery and furthermore your metabolism will be short changed leading to less and less fat breakdown over time. So below is a list of supplements that are must have’s if you are serious about your digestion and results
Greens Powder
Probiotics
L-tyrosine
Magnesium
Calcium and Vitamin D3
How to play to your level in physique development
OK, so this post may hurt some feelings but this is something that needs to be said to get a full understanding as to what is attainable and realistic and the limiting factor when it truly comes to physique development. Baring everything such as training intensity, consistency and diet are in place, there will come a point where money will come into play and let me explain what I mean by this. There will come a point where you will really need to invest some money into this to reach another level of size and strength. The grocery bill will become steeper and steeper as you get bigger and bigger. You will likely need to start engaging in PEDs if you want to advance past your genetic limit and let me tell you, that shit is not cheap.
You mine as well be financing a BMW with the amount of money it really takes to have a high level physique that stands out. Now I am not saying that you cannot have a good, quality physique. I am saying that as you become more and more advanced you will really need to invest more and more into this in terms of finances if you want to continue making long term progress past where you are currently at. The food bill will really add up as your meal frequency increases over time. The supplement bill will go up as you need to add more and more in to really progress past a certain point. As you train harder and harder things like message therapy, chiropractor visits and any other recovery modalities that you engage in will need to be favored in as well. If you are serious about progress these things are non negotiable.
Now I am not saying this to discourage anyone, I am saying this to paint a realistic picture of the reality of the game. Instead of getting discouraged think of ways that you can play to a higher level. Maybe you find a side hustle, go for a promotion at work, sell off some junk around the house or any another way you want to go about this because its a lifestyle and you want to continue to play the game. Remember we are in this for the long haul and sometimes we can do everything possible to move ahead and there are limiting factors slightly beyond our control. You have more control of these things than you think.
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!
Stop using supplements as a crutch to get your ass to the gym
This post may hurt some feelings and offend some people, but I really do not care. You are not even part of my circle anyway so here we go. Now I will start off by saying that I have fallen guilty to this as well and I am by no means perfect. But I do believe that the vast majority of the population falls victim to this trap of not being able to “get started or get to the gym” and rely’s too much on supplements and steroids to get real results.
You see back when I first started training a decade ago, I knew nothing about pre-workout, BCAAs, fat burners or really even steroids. All I knew is that you had to bust your ass in the gym and eat good, quality food over and over again for a long period of time if you wanted results. Somewhere over the past ten or so years things have drastically changed. You can’t go to the gym unless you have the newest preworkout on the marker. You can’t eat a good, quality diet and instead rely on a protein shakes. You turn right to gear after only being in the gym a month and hope you will magically see results without fully understanding how these compounds work. The only problem here Jack is that results are based on 2 things and 2 things only; Hard work and the consistency of the hard work. That is it, and nothing more.
Now I am not saying that those things do not help, because I would be lying if I did. But you have to understand that the grind and consistency is what you have to have in order to see long-term success . So if you don’t have protein powder available, still eat a solid meal plan and bust your ass like your life depended on it. Don’t have the perfect pre-workout? Drink a plain cup of black coffee or tea and still bust ass and make it happen. Hard work and killing it is what leads to results, so stop being a soft little bitch and relying on everyone else but your own work ethic to get it done. Shut the fuck up and get to work.
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!!
Why carbohydrates are the most important macro-nutrient for muscle building!!!
Protein, protein and more protein. That is all we seem to hear when it comes to muscle growth and overall physique development. Now, don’t get me wrong, protein is important when it comes to muscle growth. But I will say carbohydrates are truly superior when it comes to it all, and I am going to explain why. You see the 1 thing that carbs do that is so powerful is they signal your pancreas to make insulin, which is without a doubt the most anabolic hormone in the human body. Insulin is what shuttles proteins and fats to muscle cells after all, and without it muscle growth will be hard to come by and fat loss (if that is your goal) will stall dead in its tracks.
Think of carbs are a grenade launcher and protein more like a handgun. Both can do lots of damage, and in the sense of the physique minded bodybuilder, both can help with overall development. But, carbs will play a much bigger role in the process and will allow the protein to do its job much more effectively. And its not the carbs as a whole that is really doing the trick, it’s what your body does in response to the carb consumption that makes the difference. The insulin spike, which will take the fats and proteins present in the blood stream to the correct place, whether that be muscle cells or fat cells.
Now in terms of timing, this is a key point to consider that will take your nutrition to an even greater level. Pre and post workout I would stick to higher glycemic index foods, aka foods higher in sugar. The reason for this is because you will see an even greater blood sugar spike due to higher index foods spiking sugar levels to a much greater degree. You want to have higher insulin levels around training times because your body needs the nutrients more readily for growth and recovery, as well as overall gym performance. This is why with my clients I go for cream of rice pre workout and some form of faster acting carbs post workout, such as sugary cereal or a bagel. Now the only reason for this is to spike blood sugar prior to having a full meal post-workout of chicken and rice or the like. Again, creating an anabolic environment is key here and this is a very strategic way of doing it.
So the moral of the story here is DO NOT skip your carbs guys!!! Trust me they will not make you fat if you truly understand how to utilize them! If you don’t, I am here to help.
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING
Protein Powders 101
Out of any supplement on the shelves today, there is none that is as misunderstood as protein powder. Now you are likely wondering how something as simple as a protein powder can be so complicated. The good news is that it does not have to be if you understand the different forms and when it is ideal to use each for optimal results. Before I go into what the different types are and how to pick the right one for you, let me first talk about what protein powder is not. It IS NOT a substitute for a lack of effort on your nutrition. Let me repeat that again. It IS NOT a substitute for a lack of effort on your nutrition. Now that this is out of the way lets get into the different forms and when/how to use each.
WHEY ISOLATE: When many think of protein they are likely thinking of whey in isolate from. This essentially is the protein of choice post workout, because it will spike blood sugar levels and will be digested pretty quickly. Now the key here is to ensure that you are eating a meal after this shake, ideally within an hour, otherwise you risk going hypoglycemic and in the end will not maximize the post workout window for absorption of nutrients. Now another time this can be of use is as a added snack during the day, ideally with another meal to follow. Think a pre-meal insulin boost that will just put your body in a better environment to use the meal. I would really only use that method for natural ectomorphs though, as the sugar spike could lead to a little fat gain if you aren’t careful or if you are more susceptible to fat storage.
CASEIN: This right here is more of your slow digesting protein and will not cause as much of a amino/blood sugar spike post ingestion. This right here is better suited for one of two reasons. Number one before you go to bed to keep your metabolism kicking as you sleep (which will aid in both fat loss and muscle growth) and number 2 as a gap filler or a low calorie meal. Now unless you are dieting I do not see any reason to be utilizing this as a meal. For muscle growth you want fast digestion, higher blood sugar spikes and faster absorption so you can eat more throughout the day. I would ideally reserve this protein for one of those two categories only.
WHEY/CASEIN BLENDS: Now here is more of the middle ground of the protein powder world, and that is blends. This is just as it sounds, a blend of fast acting and slow acting protein together. In terms of the in between meals I would highly go for this with most people. You are getting a little spike, not as high as with whey, but still a spike non the less. But you are also getting a slower releasing protein behind it to aid in a slower metabolism boost. So you will have a slight super spike, but you will not really have the overall crash that you would with straight whey because you have the slower digesting casein behind it to slow down the digestion. This is truly the way to go for the in between meal but also for those that skip breakfast or eat a relatively crappy breakfast. Now I would love to say that everyone should eat whole foods for breakfast, but this is a much better option than skipping or a pastry. Think small steps here lol and slowly build from there.
So there you have it, all about the different types of protein and when each one should be utilized. As always kill it and lets go BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!
Nothing is ever just perfect!!!!
Man today has been a day!! Last night, my car got stuck in the snow trying to get home from work and I needed to have my brother pick me up in the truck. This was a very unexpected event and one that definitely through a curve ball at me. I had to adjust my work schedule for the next day to deal with this bullshit. This morning we had to go and pick it up and dig the snow out from under the car in order to clear it, now that road had been plowed and was in much better condition than last night. After we freed it, I went and killed it at the gym!!
Now, it would have been very easy to skip. I mean after all I had to eat a meal in my brothers truck before we retrieved the vehicle. Definitely not my ideal scenario, I prefer eating the pre workout meal at home and not having distractions before the gym. Going to harbor freight and digging a car out of the snow on the side of the road was less than ideal. But life happens and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches if you want long term success. You need to be adaptable and understand that things are not always perfect. We are so accustomed to having the perfect setup. To having the perfect supplement stack, to having the perfect pair of shoes, to having the perfect gym outfit. When things get derailed we fail to adjust.
I will admit this workout was one of my better sessions in a long time. I got in a great mental state and let it go. But how many of us would have been thrown off? Thrown off our gym routine, thrown off our diet? Made excuse as to why we can’t, instead of finding ways we can? My answer to that is a lot of us!!!!! A lot of us would fail to push forward when we got knocked back and that my friends is a sign of weakness. A sign that you fail to push through struggle, that you fail to adapt. And if we want any level of long term success, we must adapt and understand that nothing is ever JUST PERFECT!!!
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING
Why Personal Accountability is the most important aspect of long term life success
There is truly 1 thing that almost all humans have in common and that is a desire to be successful. Now success can mean different things to different people, but as a whole we want to level up. Now the reality is that leveling up is hard and also involves 1 key thing and that is looking in the mirror and acknowledging that you messed up or seeing your own faults.
This comes down to personal accountability. Are you following through on your diet or are you making excuses. Are you giving your marriage 100 percent or are you slacking? Are you settling for a career you don’t really want? Are you making excuses for being lazy? All these things we can agree are holding you back. Now how many of us can truly look in the mirror and acknowledge our faults? The truth is not many, and that is a problem.
If you are truly looking to level up look in the mirror and admit you fucked up. Stop blaming everyone else for your lack of discipline or you immature attitude. Stop looking for short cuts and face the truth, and that is you are being a pussy!!!!! Can you do better? Can you give more? Can you make changes to move ahead in life? Are you being soft? If the answer is yes, what the fuck are you going to do about it? What changes are you going to make it level up? So stop being a pussy, look in the mirror and get to work.
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING
NEW EBOOK is NOW UP!!!!!!
Happy first week of January Yall. The wait is over, and it has taken me a good few months to get around to getting this published!! But, my first and one of many ebooks is now up. As promised this will be one of the most informative books you will ever find on anabolic steroids and other performance enhancement, based on REAL world experience. Everything in this book are things I do or have done. Enjoy
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING
New Beyond Just Bodybuilding Underground Handbook Release January, 6!!!!
So the time has finally come for me to release my first of many ebooks. This book is 30 plus pages of everything you need to achieve a killer ass physique and build one hell of a life beyond just the gym. Outlined here are basic beginner cycles, HGH, fat loss agents, nootropics and advanced protocols that I have personally used.
Gone are the days of anecdotal evidence based on arm chair, theorized bullshit and in is the real world application. Everything in this book is based on real world experience based on things that I have personally done and used over the past decade. I will guide you on how you should utilize the compounds to the fullest while remaining as healthy as possible to make this a lifestyle.
So as we go into 2025, look no further than picking up your copy of this today!!! Lets kick some fucking ass this year and take names and look like a Greek God while we do!!
Beyond Just Bodybuilding
Why YOU should set BIG GOALS in 2025
As the new year rolls around and society finally gets motivated again, many will be doing the traditional New Years resolution crap. Not that there is anything wrong with that, because I am all about goals and bettering ones life. But many of these individuals quit when it gets hard, or when motivation drops or when they reach the tiny goal they have set for themselves.
We have all heard the saying, “Set small, realistic goals and take small steps” and to that I say bullshit. That mindset allows for you to become weak, soft and scared to take risks. That mindset allows you to live well below your capability and remain comfortable. That mindset allows you to take the foot off the gas and make excuses for yourself. If you look at anyone that has had any great deal of success in any industry the one thing that they all have in common is they set some pretty lofty goals for themselves. They forget that saying and say fuck it i’m going big. And guess what, they reach a level that many will never get to. They are not superhuman, and as far as I know that are just like you and me. Difference is they give themselves no option to be soft, to make excuses or to falter when things get tough.
They continue to raise the bar higher and higher in everything that they do. They are never satisfied and continually find ways to level up and advance in everything. This goes for the gym, business, relationships and every other aspect of your life. Stop setting realistic goals that lead to realistic, average outcomes. Stop allowing yourself permission to be like everyone else. GO BIG in 2025 and when the year is done you will be proud of what you were able to do, that is until you raise the bar again and level up the next year!!!!!
BEYOND JUST BODYBUIDLING
How to know when to change up your diet
I hate the term diet, because for whatever reason that word seems to instill a sense of fear in people. They panic and think that they will be eating kale and drinking lemon water for the rest of their life. Now in the beginning will there need to be some restriction to get your body moving in the right direction? Well yes, yes there will be because lets face it you got yourself out of shape in the first place and it will take some DISCIPLINE to get moving ahead. Following a structured meal plan will be necessary, no ifs or buts about it. No matter if you decide to do keto (which is absolutely stupid), Mediterranean (still stupid), or a balanced carb cycle approach you will likely see results pretty quick and think oh this is easy I lost 30 pounds in a month.
You think to yourself, I am not hungry and have no cravings, this is great! Well somewhere around 4-6 weeks things halt, you gain back 10 lbs despite sticking to your planned out diet that you found online lol, and think how can this be. Another week goes by and you gain another 3 lbs. By this time you’re scratching your head thinking that maybe if you do intermittent fasting surely that will break the trend. You lose 2 lbs and then gain it back within 2 weeks. You then blame genetics and think that this just doesn’t work for me and quit. Then you try again next year repeating the same trend.
Every single person will reach plateaus at some point in time and the question that is always asked is how do you know when to change things? 2 weeks or 4 weeks or 6 weeks? Well my friends the answer to that is it depends. It depends on 1 factor and 1 factor only and that is………. HUNGER!!!!! Yes hunger, that is the marker that needs to be monitored if you want to be in this long term. Hunger is essentially a signal to your brain that you need food, because your body is burning through everything at an accelerated rate. Your bodies metabolism is firing on all cylinders and that my friends means you will continue moving ahead.
It's when hunger is not there that things are going south. Your body is not burning through what you feed it, is likely storing the food as fat and your weight will begin to climb if you do not change things. And I am here to tell you eating less is not the answer. Your body will store even more fat because now it is receiving even less so it now must store even more to keep itself alive lol. Well coach what should I do? The guru online said that if I eat once a week I will lose weight. Well the guru is also some self proclaimed nutrition expert lol who has only read studies in a text book and has no real world application working with 1000s of clients over a decade plus!!!!! Everything in the fitness realm is individual. Let me repeat that again, EVERYTHING IN THE FITNESS REALM IS INDIVIDUAL!!!!! There is no one size fits all. Adjustments need to be made according to your bodies needs. Maybe its more carbs, maybe its more high glycemic carbs, maybe it higher fats and lower carbs or maybe its a cheat meal 2 days in a row to reset your body. But again its individual based on your bodies needs!
So as we roll into 2025 stop finding the easy way out. Stop trying to copy stuff you read online and thinking it will work. IT DOESN’T because if it did it would not be FREE!!!!!! So there you have it, hunger and hunger only will tell you if you are moving in the right direction and when you need it re-evaluate. Hunger should be a 8/9 minimum first thing in the morning upon waking in the morning. When it dips below that is when your body is starting to slow. You should be hungry!!! Suck it up and do the work. Over and out.
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING
Beginner Bodybuilding Fundamentals for Long-Term Progress
Man was it a great time when we first got into the gym!!!! When I first started almost a decade ago, I knew very little about building the ultimate physique other than I wanted to be big and jacked!! And that desire was so strong that it propelled me to make tremendous progress over the years. There was some trial and error along the way of course, but the main principles have and always will remain the same.
Consistency
Food
Intensity
Repeat
There we have it, these 4 aspects of the puzzle are the real pieces as a beginner that will lead to long term progress in the gym. What you do not see here is mention of steroids, supplements, a crazy workout program or any other bullshit add on that we have nowadays. After all, they are ADD ONS, and not the bulk of the equation.
When it comes to consistency, one of the biggest questions that is asked is how many days a week should I train as a beginner? The answer to that really depends on how many days you can realistically stick to long-term, with appropriate intensity and repeat that for a very long time: i.e. months and years. If you can only stick to 3 sessions a week, then that is your best bet. If you can realistically stick to 5 or 6 then that is your best bet. I would say 6 being the max and 5 being the preferred, but it really depends on what you're putting into those sessions and how consistently you can replicate that over time.
Now comes the food, and we always hear just how important this aspect is to overall progress. Well I am here to tell you that it really is that important. Without food there is no physique, period. You will not grow and I do not care how many supplements you take or how many days a week you train. You will not grow unless there is ample food in the equation. We hear about 6 meals or 5 meals a day, sometimes even 3 and it can get confusing to try and decipher just how much food to be eating for long-term progress as a beginner. The best thing to do is eat until you are full and do this starting 3 times a day, then 4 and then 5. Eating until you are sick of eating, to the point your body tells you no more. That's how you know you are reaching the limit as to what your body can currently handle. Everything in bodybuilding is about getting uncomfortable and slowly pushing the envelope further and further and food is no different.
Now the final aspect is training intensity. You have to be intense and push yourself in the gym if you want long-term progress and that is just a plain fact. You have to train in a way that is challenging, with increasing heavier weights and larger rep ranges. You have to create a need for your body to respond and need to grow. There has to be a reason, just as much as there needs to be the building blocks set in place to allow for the progress. You must break a sweat and you must challenge yourself to or almost until failure. Then go home, recover and eat and repeat for months and years. That my friends are the components necessary to create a physique that stands out as a beginner.
Metabolic Training 101
Metabolic Training is a term that you often hear associated with cross fit!!! Man I hate cross fit, but there are some aspects that we can take away from that style of training and incorporate into our own routines as bodybuilders. The biggest takeaway would for sure have to be metabolic training.
Metabolic training refers to training in a way that allows you to take advantage of maximal improvements in your metabolism by focusing on shorter rest periods between sets and higher volume overall in the workout to stimulate more fat loss. Think of this as a way to HIIT train without the traditional KB swings, cleans, tire flips and all the other exercises associated with cross fit.
Traditionally with the bodybuilder/muscle building split that most of us use, we keep the reps in the 8-12 range and the rest periods around 2 minutes. Well here we will be going outside the box a bit and doing reps in the 12-20 range (sometimes higher) and keeping rest periods under a minute tops to ensure that we keep the heart rate elevated. This will allow us to take advantage of the fat burning benefits that metabolic training can provide, while also allowing us to do the traditional exercises that we have in our split. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with throwing in more cross fit style exercises for variety, we just will not base our workouts off of that.
So here is a way that we can enhance our bodybuilding routines allow us to continue propelling forward and break up the monotony of the day to day grind. BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!!
The Mentality YOU need if you want a badass physique!!!!
So you want to get big, strong and jacked as a motherfucker? You want to break necks everywhere you go? You want to be so strong dudes stop their workout to watch your lift? Well good because I sure do! I am not one of these guys who want to be average, I want to stand out from the crowd. I want to rise about this generation of mediocrity crap!!!
Now the biggest question I get asked about getting a badass physique is what do I need to take? Well my friend it actually all begins with your mindset and I am here to tell you that your’s is weak!!!! You see a weak ass mindset is the single most important reason you can’t progress. Your weak ass mindset is the reason you are average, at best. Your weak ass mindset is the reason YOU do not stand out from a crowd. And bullshit if you say you are ok with average, no your not Sally, but you just don’t have a winners mindset so you except you never will be more that the average motherfucker walking around. Well that is not me, I do not want that and I never will.
Back in the day, when they actually had bodybuilding magazines on the checkout counter, you strive to be like the dudes on the cover. You thought to yourself “How cool that would be to look like that one day” at least I know I did. You didn’t say to yourself “man that would be cool but that will never be me”. You never thought that because that is a weak ass mindset. You didn’t say “damn I have to eat 6 meals a day for years, yea fuck that” You just did it because again you had a winners mindset.
You actually believed you could achieve that break neck look and strength, and you just did it. The problem with society is we have been groomed to become pussies. We have been taught average is ok, that mediocrity is ok. I say fuck that I want to stand out and be a winner. I want to be that dude breaking necks, I want to be that dude pulling 500 from the floor. I want that freak factor, and I will tell you guys it will not happen with a weak mindset. IT NEVER WILL!!!!! I will repeat that again IT NEVER WILL!!!!! So you eat your meals, stick to your training religiously and just do it. Why because your a winner and that is what winners do. They do not make excuses why they can not train or eat a meal. They find a way. If they have to train at midnight they do it!! If they have to eat a meal cold, they do it!!! Why because they want to stand out and they have a winning mindset that sets them apart.
So there you have it, mindset and how it relates to building a great physique!!
How To ReComp your Body The Right Way!!!
Losing fat and building Muscle, isn’t that the goal of almost any one of us that steps foot into the gym. Sure we may have other goals, but lets not bullshit we want to look better!!! We want to have more muscle, less fat and overall look more appealing to the human eye.
So many of us have this goal, yet so few achieve it. Well my friends that come down simply to your approach. See you are not approaching the goal correctly in the first place. Thinking that you first need to gain muscle, then you will start “Cutting” is a crock of shit!!! You can do both at the same time, but it all comes down to approach and the factors that you are putting into the equation.
The first step in this equation is nutrition. How are you eating to accommodate this goal. As you have probably read in previous articles of mine in the past I am a huge advocate of the carb cycle approach and how that can get your body moving in either direction. So in the case of someone looking to lean out but keep muscle moving up we would want a carb cycle with a higher protein content to accommodate the added intensity of resistance training to stimulate an environment needed for growth. I would ideally structure lower fat/higher card days around lagging body parts so we can utilize the positive insulin effect of the carbs. Again we want to keep protein stable and a little higher than normal so that as our body starts to lean out, we are able to keep and even build muscle. The type of carb cycle does not matter so much, as long as there are constant changes throughout the week to keep the body guessing. To keep it in a state of insulin sensitivity so that you are positively using all the macro nutrients that come through food.
So now that we see how nutrition plays a role in this lets next talk about training and simply INTENSITY!!! You see way too many people nowadays are half-assing their training. Sitting on their phone, having conversations, not training with intent. And they wonder why they can’t grow. Its because you are training like a PUSSY!!!! You simply are not putting in the work. You are not giving your body a reason the respond and grow.
Now there truly is not a right and wrong way to train. HIIT, Low volume, High Volume, power building, etc , they all work if the intensity is there. But you need to put forth effort with this!! You need to push the sets, keep your heart rate up, bring your body to a state of work!!! We need to create the environment in which our bodies need to get stronger. And that comes from the effort that you are putting forth in the gym and in life!!!!
BEYOND JUST BODYBUILDING!!!!!!
Insulin Sensitivity. Why it’s the most important aspect of fat loss and muscle building!
So you want to get leaner, more toned, gain muscle and look good without clothes?! Good me too!!! You’ve followed every diet out there, you’ve tried every guru’s training program, took every supplement on the market and even tried going to the gym 7 days a week in hopes maybe, just maybe that’s the secret!! Well I’m here to tell you ITS NOT!!!!! The secret lies inside your bodies internal system, Insulin, that’s the secret!!!
So every time you eat your blood sugar rises, insulin is secreted by the pancreas to subsequently bring blood sugar back down to normal levels. The sugar, fats, and proteins in your blood are moved either to muscle cells or stored as fat. Now over time, just like any substance, your body becomes desensitized to insulins effects, aka insulin no longer works as effectively to lower blood sugar and transports nutrients available to fat cells since it’s easier for your body!! See your body wants to do the least amount of work possible!!!
No matter how much you diet after this point, no matter how much you work out, body composition will not change do to the fact insulin isn’t working!! So the key here is resensitizing your body to insulins effects, much the same way you would go off caffeine for a bit because it stops working, we have to reset our body in this sense too! If you don’t you will continue to spin your wheels, which many people do, until they quit then try the same shit again and again, quitting over and over!!! It’s time to get uncomfortable to allow our body to start seeing REAL progress.
Let’s take a different approach, that’s guaranteed to work!!! I will create a different post later on to describe what this process would look like in terms of traditional eating to get your body pushing forward and one that is sustainable for the long haul!!
INTENSITY OVER EVERYTHING
Carb Cycling 101
It all begins with an idea.
So we are back with another blog topic on nutrition and how to maximize your physique and energy levels!!! Last post we went over insulin sensitivity and how it directly affects body composition!! We will now dive into the number 1 most effective way to “diet” gosh I hate that term. But yes, the most effective way to eat to maximize insulin sensitivity and your subsequent results in the gym!!!!
Carb cycling, that’s the real secret nutrition hack that will start getting progress rolling in the right direction!!! Essentially we are looking to mix up the amounts of carbs we take in on a regular basis!! Sometimes daily, sometimes every few days!! Again this is super individual to YOU!!!! Now, here are the 2 keys!! On days of higher carbs, fat needs to be low! Again that carb day is needed to reset the metabolism!! The lower carb days we need to increase the fat in order to keep the body burning FAT!!! Go figure eat fat to keep the burning burning fat!!!
Now as the body gets leaner and leaner we must continue to up carbs to keep the body’s insulin resistance low!!!! Aka your body remain sensitive to insulin and can use carbs to increase one’s metabolism (the most important aspect to losing fat). Ever notice the ones who eat the most are generally the leanest??? And those eating 1 time a day are continue to get fatter??? Yea that’s why!! Metabolism and insulin sensitivity!! Over and out!!
INTENSITY OVER EVERYTHING
Why YOU should be doing cardio!!!
It all begins with an idea.
Cardio, everyones favorite thing to debate as it realtes to all aspects of your muscle building, fat loss and overall fitness journey. The question that usually comes into play is should you be doing cardio if your bulking, or otherwise in a state of gain? I mean we want to conserve as much unneeded energy to assist in the weight gain process right? Well my friends this could not be further from the thruth. Below I am going to lay out my top 8 reasons that you should be doing cardio no matter your goal.
1. Keeps metablism in check. One of the many benefits of cardio is the subsequent metabolism boosts that come along with it. Cardio helps keep your body burning food at a higher level and allows nutrients to be transported through the body more efficiently.
2. Maintains heart health. This one is pretty self expanitory, but cardio has been well established as a healthy means to a good heart. And your heart is the most important muscle in your body so you definitly should take care of it.
3. Improves brain health. Another great benefit of cardio is its ability to improve overall brain function. This is caused by the increase transport of oxygen through the body and especially the brain. All of these things lead to am improvement in brain function.
4. Happier Mood. Along with the improvement in brain function is an improvement in overall mood. This is due to the increased realase of the feel good chemicals, dopamine and serotonin, that accpompany a bout of cardio.
5. Direct fat loss. Ok so here is another benefit that many of you are seeking, and that is a loss of bodyfat. This is due to cardios ability to directly use fat as an energy source, thus taping into unused fat stores. This is why doing cardio following a bout of weight training, when your body is already in a depleated state, is one of the best ways to help get your body leaner.
6. Strenght gains. Another great benefit of regular cardiovascular training is its ability to indirectly improve ones level of strenght. Because of the increased nutrient transport that accompanies cardio, these is an increase uptake in ones ability to use those nutrients. Now if we can greated use nutrients in our body, we now how more energy to fuel our weight training sessions. And as we know more energy leads to an increase in strength and performance.
7. Improved ability to build muscle. Again this is going to come down to a secondary function as opposed to a primary function. With the increase in nutrient transport and the subsequent energy boost comes better gym performance. And with this greater increase in gym performance is an increase in muscle building ability as well. Think about it, energy goes up, your able to push harder in the gym. If your able to push harder and get more out of your sessions wouldn’t it make sense that your muscle building potential would go up as well? If your able to get a few extra reps for an exercise, recover a bit faster or go up in weight just a tad more, that could definitly be the progressive overload needed ot get progress moving in the right direction.
8. Faster overall gym recovery. So this brings me to my final big benefit of cardio and that is an overall improvement in gym recovery, not only from session to session, but every during sets. Your body is now able to transport oxygen faster and more efficiently, which we know can lead to and improvement in your ability to recover. Think about it, if your body can transport proteins and other nutrients to damaged muscle cells, it would make sense you are now able to recover a tad faster. Alos, an improvement in carb transport during a training session most certainly will incrase your ability to handle overall more volume in a single session. And that will most certainly lead to progress.
So as you can see there are numerous benefits to cardio, not just for your overall gym performance but your overall health as well. So next time you are thinking on skipping your cardio remember these 8 reason you should be doing regular cardiovasuclar training as part of your overall routine.