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Buildleanmuscle.com BlogThis blog will talk about all aspects of my weight training, nutrition and supplementation program. However, it will also include anything regarding fitness that happens to be on my mind - whether it's the ephedra frenzy, worthless weight lifting equipment and infomercial products or the state of the fitness industry in general. I'll also use it to announce new pages and articles on the site. To post comments or questions go to the contact page I've added a new page on the Precor 546 Elliptical Machine October 22nd, 2005 My blog has moved to another page. I purchased new software that makes it easier for me to produce the blog more often and also allows all of you to make comments right on the page. Check out the new muscle building fat loss blog Of course, there is still a ton of information on this page. August 9th, 2005 Here's a new article for you with tips on getting the most out of an abdominal exercise machine and what you should and should not expect out of your ab exercise routine. August 3rd, 2005 Home fitness exercise equipment – the variety of choices is almost overwhelming – from home gym style pieces like the Bowflex, Weider Platinum Crossbow and Total Gym, to various pieces of ab exercise equipment, to the different video and dvd exercise programs. Read more... Building muscles is much easier to do when you are armed with the correct information. Here's an article with a couple of effective tips for building muscle mass faster July 26th, 2005 There are many different techniques and ideas whentalking about how to build lean muscle. Some are effectiveand some aren't. The key is to understand some of the basicfundamentals so that you can put together, and use, programsthat will help you build muscle mass as quickly and easilyas possible. Read more about these muscle building tips July 12th, 2005 Here's a brand new article for you, on sticking to your diet plan whether it's Atkins, South Beach, the Zone Diet, etc. Check out 25 Tips to Help You Eat Out and Lose Weight June 30th, 2005 What's the best muscle building supplement available today? You might not like the answer. Check out the best muscle building supplement available today. June 30th, 2005 Building muscle mass with a power cycle. Desperatefor pounds of new muscle? Forget the isolation exercises, forget the weight training routines that have you going for the pump,the burn, flushing the muscle with blood, or any of that othernonsense. Here are new weightlifting articles on building muscle mass June 22nd, 2005 Here's a new article with a different routine designed to add muscle mass in a short period of time. If you've been having trouble adding muscle recently, you may want to check out this article on quick muscle building June 19th, 2005 It's time to change up my routine and make adjustments based on my training goals. If you've been with my for any length of time, you know that I have a charity cycling event each September. It's a weekend bike ride that covers about 160 miles and raises money in the fight against multiple sclerosis. This will be my 12th year riding in the event. I usually begin riding a bit in March and around May or June, I make adjustments to my weight training routine because of all the riding I'l be doing from now until the end of September. It can be difficult to juggle the amount of cycling (over 100 miles per week) with a weight training program without overtraining. My weight training routines become shorter and my leg workouts become fewer, as well as turning into more of holding pattern, as opposed to making new gains. I've decided to break up my weightlifting sessions into three separate workouts. Workout one will cover back, chest, and abs. Workout two will cover legs, and workoutthree will cover arms and shoulders. I'll spread these workouts over a ten day training cycle as follows: Day Workout 1 1 As you can see, I hit the weights on five of the ten days and I attack my legs only once, due to all the bike riding that I will be doing over the next few months. My cyclingprogram wiill complement the above schedule. I'll ride on eight of these days, most likely taking days 2 and 3 off. If you haven't done so, you might want to check out myfree newsletter at Buildleanmuscle.com June 11th, 2005 What ab equipment you need depends on how you go about training your abs. If you train your abs with the most people get ab exercise - lots of sets and reps - then you don't need much in the way of ab equipment. Performing sets of the basic floor crunch and reverse floor crunch are all you realy need. If these ab exercises are uncomfortable for you, then you may need some basic equipment just for comfort reasons. Read more about proper ab equipment and exercise June 2nd, 2005 I'm not sure what it's like where you are but where I am it's heading into beach season. So here's a unique routine you haven't seen in your gym that will not only help you build muscle fast but it will burn lots of body fat and get you ripped quickly. Check out Build Muscle Fast and Burn Bodyfat with the 8 x 8 System May 27th, 2005 Here's a new article on adding a twist to your weight training. Looking for something a bit different to help stimulate new muscle building gains and quicker fat loss? Check out how to build muscle and lose fat with unilateral training May 25th, 2005 I've added another article on how to use intensity cycling and modified powerlifting routines to avoid overtraining, bust past sticking points, and build muscle and strength. Check out these muscle building tips On a side note: I've been sore all week! I know, I know, poor little me. I've been breaking back into things with a short full body routine, working out every other day. I'll do this for a couple of weeks, gradually ramping up the intensity and then I'll reevaluate where I am and devise a new routine going forward. May 19th, 2005 Having trouble adding pounds of muscle? Your problem may not be your training routine. Instead, it could be your nutrition. Muscle building diets are very specific and very important to your bodybuilding success. So I've added an article on getting the most effectiveness out of your muscle building diets May 18th, 2005 I've added some tips on muscle building nutrition I'll begin my new weight training program today. I've been off for about two weeks due to wrist and ankle injuries from a bike accident. I'll be breaking back in with upper body work only for about two weeks and then I'll add some light squats for my legs and see how my ankle holds up. May 15th, 2005 Here is another free weight training program for you. Don't forget to check out the various weight training articles so you can understand how to use and change these routines so they are most effective for your personal goals. Check out the free weight training program If you haven't done so already, check out the interview I did with Caitlin Johnson For awhile now, I've been using this blog to make you aware of new articles and training routines I've added to the site. I plan to also go back to using this blog to provide insights and ideas, based on my routines and experience that can help you with your own weight training and fitness progress. May 6th, 2005 Achieving Success With Your Weight Lifting Program Discipline is an important key to succeeding with yourweight lifting program. If you don't learn to become disciplinedyou will miss workouts, you won't stick to your nutrition plan,and the workouts you do make will be haphazard and notvery productive. Check out more about achieving success with your weight lifting program May 6th, 2005 Weight Training Routines That Work for Building Muscle There are an infinite variety of weight training routines available to help you build muscle and lose fat. But ask yourself this - how many people do you know aredramatically changing their bodies with weight training routines? Learn more and check out a few weight training routines May 6th, 2005 Weight lifting - Power Mass Training for Building Muscle Mass Many people believe you need to train with a variety of weights and reps in order to maximize your muscle building progress. I believe that you can find the appropriate repnumber for your muscles and it is best to stick with that range most of the time. Read more on power mass bodybuilding and weight lifting routines May 5th, 2005 Weightlifting Workout Poundages We all know that in order to make progress with your weight training, whether it's building muscle mass, or slimming down and building a long, lean, athletic body, you need to constantly challenge your body and the easiest measurable way to do this is to lift 'heavy' and constantly increase your weightlifting workout poundages. Everyone wants to know what workout poundages they should be shooting for and it helps to have a challenge or goal. Learn more about weightlifting workout poundages you should be using May 2nd, 2005 Muscle Building Weightlifting Workouts In order to build pounds of muscle, your weightlifting workoutsneed to be consistent and intense. It's also important totake regular five-to-ten-day layoffs every six to eight weeks. Read more about these weightlifting workouts May 1st, 2005 Build Muscle Mass Without Steroids You can go two ways with bodybuilding.You can either enjoy the journey, and allthe benefits that go along with it, or youcan succumb to drug use and get in over ouregotistical, self-centered heads. Check out more on building muscle mass April 30th, 2005 Here is a weight training program to help you build muscle and do it quickly. Usethis program and these tips with all the other weight training information on thissite and you'll soon be adding poundsof muscle and lots of strength. You'll learn how to build muscle quicklyand effectively. Check out the weight training program April 17th, 2005 I have finally started building the fitness models section of the site. You can check out some initial pictures of Joya Monteiro at Joya Monteiro April 2nd, 2005 There are so many different ideas on weight training and bodybuilding that it is very difficult to know what to do. This includes various split routines such as 5 day split routine weight training programs. Usually one of two things happen. Some people develop the 'paralysis by analysis' syndrome and end up either never getting started with a program or they quit soon after starting. On the flip side, many people go from one weight lifting routine to another without any rhyme or reason as to why they have chosen a specific weight training program. And they bounce around so quickly, changing their lifting program so often, that they never stick with a routine long enough to know if it's effective or not. To learn more about effective 5 day split routine weight training programs and get an example I've one I've found to work very well, check out 5 day split routine weight training programs April 1st, 2005 I've added some more quality free weightlifting workouts at buildleanmuscle.com for developing power and building muscle. You can check out this new routine, with information and tips on building muscle and weight training at free weightlifting workouts March 31st, 2005 Weightlifting programs can be designed for building muscle and getting big or for losing fat and getting lean. While everyone can benefit from weightlifting programs, the proper weight training routine will vary slightly, depending on your goals. There are some important principles that you need to take into consideration when putting together your weightlifting routine. To learn more about effective weightlifting programs and get an example I've one I've found to work very well, check out weightlifting programs March 30th, 2005 Using the weight lifting pyramid effectively so you can quickly build muscle mass. Weight lifting programs and bodybuilding are based around the idea of progressive resistance or overload. The weight lifting pyramid is a way to use increasing poundages that your muscles may not be used to, even though you do fewer reps. It prepares your body for these heavier weights the next time. The idea being that in order to build muscle and increase your strength you must constantly increase the stress on your muscles. Then you must give your muscles adequate time to recover and rebuild so that you can again increase the overload and continue to build muscle. Check out the rest of the article on using the weight lifting pyramid March 29th, 2005 "How Do I Increase My Bench Press?" Let's face it, this is a question almost every bodybuilder asks at one time or another. So here are some great tips on how I increase my bench press that you can use to re-ignite your chest training progress and add pounds to your bench press and build a bigger chest. Check out my article, How do I increase my bench press? March 28th, 2005 Back routines for weightlifting A wide back, along with well developedshoulders is one of those impressive bodyparts that you can't hide no matter whatyou are wearing. Your shoulders and latscreate that impressive v-taper and makeyour physique look powerful and strong.Your back is also the biggest muscle groupin the body. Thus, back routines for weighlifting are an extremely important part of your weight training routine. Read the new article on back routines for weightlifting. It includes a couple of weight training programs for developing your back. March 27th, 2005 Practical Weight Training Tips For Building Muscle and Burning Fat Here are some practical weight training tips and a quality weight lifting routine you can use to make sure you make progress as quickly as possible. It's incredible to me the number of people in gyms that continue to slave away on weight training routines without any real idea as to what they are doing or why. They don't make the progress they want, yet they keep going and never change their weight lifting programs. I don't know about you, but when I put time and effort into something, I want to see results. Use these practical weight training tips to design a quality weight lifting program you can stick with and that also gives you results. Read more about this practical weight training program March 26th, 2005 Building Muscle 101 to help you achieve massive muscle building progress right now. There are as many varied opinions on what “plan” one should follow to build muscle as there are people who have those opinions. On one thing they do agree, however. You must have a regimen. You can begin by defining your objective. Why are you interested in building muscle? What do you hope to accomplish? What is your ultimate goal? To learn more about effective techniques for building muscle, check out Building Muscle 101 March 21st, 2005 If you are looking to add pounds of quality muscle to your body, there is so much more to the nutrition aspect than just eating more calories. It's not just how much you eat but also when you eat it and what you eat. Here's a new article for you to check out on a quality weight lifting diet March 19th, 2005 Busy Week! But my alma mater beat #3 seed Kansas last night to win it's first every NCAA Basketball Tournament Game!! Here's a new site being built by my friend Tony that you might want to check out. It's called how to build muscle and fitness March 10th, 2005 There are so many different ideas on weight training and bodybuilding that it is very difficult to know what to do. This includes various split routines such as 3 day split weight lifting routines. Usually one of two things happen. Some people develop the 'paralysis by analysis' syndrome and end up either never getting started with a program or they quit soon after starting. On the flip side, many people go from one weight lifting routine to another without any rhyme or reason as to why they have chosen a specific weight training program. And they bounce around so quickly, changing their lifting program so often, that they never stick with a routine long enough to know if it's effective or not. To learn more about effective 3 day split weight lifting routines and get an example I've one I've found to work very well, click here For lots of weight training tips, fat loss, nutrition and exercise program information to help you build your best body as quickly as possible, check out my Fit Physique Fit N Healthy newsletter. It's free and you'll receive a number of bonuses just for signing up. March 4th, 2005 Weight Training to Boost Metabolism and Increase Fat Loss Here's another study that reinforces the ideathat intense weight training is the key to effectiveand permanent weight loss, not aerobics. Many scientists and so-called fitness "experts" continue to deny the value of weight training forfat loss and weight control because the actualworkout sessions don't burn as many calories comparedto jogging, cycling, or the newest aerobics routineon DVD. However, another study has again showed that intenseweight training boosted metabolism for a full two daysafter the actual weight lifting workout. Metabolism is estimated by measuing oxygen consumption.Exercise boosts post-exercise metabolism by increasingthe temperature of the muscle, stimulating chemicals calleduncoupling proteins that increase calorie burning, and disrupting normal cell functions (cell water, electrolytesand minerals). Elevating your post-exercise metabolismis an important contributor to fat loss and weight control.This study showed that intense weight training helps peopleburn more body fat by increasing your metabolism for up totwo days after an intense weight lifting session. In addition,adding new muscle from weight training permanently increasesyour metabolism. Aerobics, while burning calories duringthe workout itself, does neither of these things. Source: Eur. J. Appl. Physiol., 86: 411-417, 2002 If you haven't done so already, don't forget to sign up for my free newsletter at www.buildleanmuscle.com/ezine.html March 2nd, 2005 Back To Basics For New Gains Basic routines are not just for beginners. In factmore advanced trainees would probably make better gainsif they focused on the basics more often in their training. Here's a mass bodybuilding workout to help you get out of a rut and make new muscle building gains - Back to Basics for New Gains March 1st, 2005 In my experience, many people have trouble determining how often they should weight train - not just how many days per week but how many days per body part. Here's an article to help better explain the frequeny aspect of weight lifting, along with pointing you toward other sites that cover this topic as well. Click here to learn more about the frequency of weight lifting. February 28th, 2005 NEW - 3 Ab Exercise Tips You Need For A Flat Stomach How To Use My Favorite Piece of Ab Equipment to develop a flat, sexy midsection February 26th, 2005 NEW! - Weight Lifting Techniques to get you back on track toward your training goals February 25th, 2005 NEW - Tips on ways to gain weight to help you add pounds of muscle quickly February 24th, 2005 The USA Today survey I mentioned in the previous entry also polled people are their reasons for not exercising and this is what they found: 1 - 44 percent of the respondents said that they hate training. Here's a small bit from my ebook Get Fit Fast One of the biggest problems many people have that causes them to fail to reach their goals is that they focus on the costs. They get caught up on all the sacrifices that they will need to make in order to achieve the goals they've set for themselves. Since you are reading this, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you either want to build muscle or lose fat, or both. Let's use fat loss for this example. Most people who want to lose weight never get started, or eventually give up, because their entire focus is on all the costs and sacrifices needed in order to lose that fat. Right away their mind starts working overtime -"Oh no, no more pecan pie, no pizza, no Big Macs, less TV, less sleep in order to get to the gym, no Friday night bar hopping, etc. etc." With that kind of mindset, no wonder people have a difficult time achieving their fitness goals. But hey, as the saying goes, you have to pay the price, right? No. Forget about the price you have to pay. As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar puts it, "You don't pay the price, you enjoy the benefit." Read that again and let it sink in. Change your thought process. Every time your mind spouts off about all the costs and sacrifices, tell yourself, "I don't pay the price, I enjoy the benefit." Tell yourself this every day. You can do it at the same time you review your goals. You don't pay the price, you enjoy the price because you enjoy the benefits. If you stick with your program long enough, it will be like a switch being flipped inside your head. All of the sudden, whether it's during you planned nutritious meal, in the weight room, or on the treadmill, you'll realize you are no longer suffering but you are enjoying yourself. Why is that, you think? Most likely, because you've begun seeing the benefits of your program and now that is what your mind is focusing on - the higher self esteem, the higher energy level, the better health, the new clothes you fit into, the veins in the biceps, etc. Remember, you don't pay the price for success, you enjoy the benefits. Here's what you do pay the price for. You pay the price for failure. You now know how important it is to plan out your strategy for achieving your goals. Make your goals incremental, not just long term. This will help your motivation and passion alive. In order to enjoy the benefits, you must learn to enjoy the process. By focusing on the benefits and not the costs, you will learn to enjoy the process by which you achieve those benefits. By setting training goals and focusing on achieving them, you will change the focus of your training from one of discomfort and neccessity, to one of enjoyment and accomplishment. 2 - 37 percent say they lack time. This is one I've always had a big problem with but not because I am extremely busy. I am extremely busy but I still find time to train. For one, proper training does not take a lot of time. And two, most people who say they lack the time spend quite a bit of their time doing nothing but wasting it. Think of all the things you might do that wastes time. You can start with the average adult watching hours of television every single day. 3 - 14 percent say "other." This isn't specific enough for me to really comment on. 4 - 5 percent say diet is all they need to see results. A very few are so genetically blessed that they may see good results with diet only. This was true of a friend of mine I knew a few years back. She always looked like she was ready to step on stage at a top fitness or figure competition and win. She had the muscle definition, the abs ,the whole package. Well, she never exercised, she ate junk food and she was a big time smoker. Like I said, a very few of us are genetically blessed. And for the others in this category, there are a couple of other results. One, is that while they lose weight with diet alone, they become what I call "skinny fat" because they don't have any muscle tone due to the fact that a good percentage of the lost weight is muscle. They may look good in clothes but that's about it. And this causes the other problem. The loss of muscle from diet alone causes the metabolism to slow down. Muscle is active and burns calories, even at rest. So when you just diet and lose weight, you lose muscle and your metabolism slows down. This is one of the main reasons so many people suffer the "rebound" effect and put back all the weight they lost and more. They now have a slower metabolism. If you haven't done so, check out my free newsletter Fit Physique You can also learn a lot more in my ebook Get Fit Fast February 22nd, 2005 Why Do You Diet? USA Today recently surveyed 126 dieticians in the US about various dieting trends. Reasons People Don't Eat Healthier - 18 percent say the results take too long. I found this reason to be very interesting. It reaffirms the notion that our society has become one that believes they should get want the want immediately and that they shouldn't have to work for it - whether it's money, success, fame, losing weight, etc. This is a disturbing trend and one that needs to be reversed. Remember, no one fails more often than the world's most successful people. But they keep trying and they go after the long term goals that they've set unti they reach them. You can achieve whatever you want but you must work hard for it and it will take time. And on the flip side, many people have completely changed their bodies in as little as 12 weeks. Is that really too long a period of time to be healthy and feel great about how you look? 43 percent don't want to miss their favorite foods - First, the number of tasty dishes and recipes available on a healthy diet is almost limitless. You'll find that you really don't miss much. Second, once you've achieved your health and fitness goals, you'll find that you can have your favorite foods - from time to time and within reason. And you'll appreciate those foods much more. And third, remember that food is for the purpose of keeping us healthy and energetic. It's not supposed to be an emotional substitute for something else that may be lacking in our lives. 39 percent say other - Could this mean lazy? We've become a lazy society and it takes extra work and preparation to eat healthier and live a healthy lifestyle. There are many ways to overcome all three of these obstacles. If you haven't done so already, subscribe to my free newsletter Fit Physique. You'll learn many tips, tricks and techniques to overcome obstacles such as these. February 21st, 2005 Wow. Have I been lazy. Well, actually I've just been really, really busy this past month but things should be settling back into a normal routine soon. I also had a very nasty flu bug that put me flat on my back for the past week and a half. I don't recommend getting it. It's not a lot of fun. The bitterly cold weather and the piles of snow have me wanting to up my nutrition intake (ie, pig out) and build some serious muscle mass (ie, get fat!). After all, no one would notice under all these clothes, right? Of course, we're into the end of February already and spring will be here before you know it. Now is the time to change up my weight training routines, alter my nutrition and diet program, and start adding some cardio interval training. This will(hopefully) give me plenty of time to lean out without sacrificing much in the way of muscle tissue. So I've started devising a new program that I'll be starting next Monday that will be a twelve week program to take me into April and biking season. I want to keep my muscle and start burning fat. In addition to adding some interval training, I'll want to change my lifting program up a bit as well. I don't want to start lifting wimpy weights or dial down my intensity, otherwise I'll start losing muscle. However, I do want to have my lifting sessions help burn a few calories as well. To do this, I'll be cutting down my rest time between sets from about 3 minutes during the middle of winter to 45 - 90 seconds (depending on the exercise). I'll do this gradually over a couple of weeks. I'll also be changing my rep scheme around by upping the rep number a bit and adding some intensity techniques like partial reps, drop sets, supersets and the like. But I'll do so in a systematic fashion so that there is a natural progression to the program that has me peaking in April. I don't want to just pile on intensity techniques at random and burn out by overtraining. I'll also be adding deadlifts back into my program. But not just any deadlifts. I'll be doing 20 rep deadlifts. If you've ever done this, you know it's brutal. Besides your whole body screaming, you'll also feel like you just did a lot of wind sprints. You'll most definitely want to lie down. In order to survive this type of deadlift set, I'll be switching up my overall routine. I'll be doing legs, back, chest and shoulders twice per week. I'll do deadlifts and arms together once per week. I'll talk more about training routine specifics later. If you haven't done so, now is the time to sign up for the free Fit Physique newsletter January 24th, 2005 I don't know about you, but I had quite a busy weekend. I spent most of it shoveling all that snow that hit us pretty hard here in the Northeast. But my beloved Eagles FINALLY won an NFC Championship game! The bitterly cold weather and the piles of snow have me wanting to up my nutrition intake (ie, pig out) and build some seriousmuscle mass (ie, get fat!). After all, no one would notice under all these clothes, right? Of course, we're into the last weekend of January and spring will be here before you know it. Now is the time to change up myweight training routines, alter my nutrition and diet program, and start adding some cardio interval training. This will(hopefully) give me plenty of time to lean out without sacrificing much in the way of muscle tissue. So I've started devising a new program that I'll be starting next Monday that will be a twelve week program to take me into April and biking season. I want to keep my muscle and start burning fat. In addition to adding some interval training, I'll want to change my lifting program up a bit as well. I don't want to start lifting wimpy weights or dial down my intensity, otherwise I'll start losing muscle. However, I do want to have my lifting sessions help burn a few calories as well. To do this, I'll be cutting down my rest time between sets from about 3 minutes during the middle of winter to 45 - 90 seconds (depending on the exercise). I'll do this gradually over a couple of weeks. I'll also be changing my rep scheme around by upping the rep number a bit and adding some intensity techniques like partialreps, drop sets, supersets and the like. But I'll do so in a systematic fashion so that there is a natural progression to the program that has me peaking in April. I don't want to just pile on intensity techniques at random and burn out by overtraining. I'll also be adding deadlifts back into my program. But not just any deadlifts. I'll be doing 20 rep deadlifts. If you've ever done this, you know it's brutal. Besides your whole body screaming, you'll also feel like you just did a lot of wind sprints. You'll most definitely want to lie down. In order to survive this type of deadlift set, I'll be switching up my overall routine. I'll be doing legs, back, chest and shoulders twice per week. I'll do deadlifts and arms together once per week. I'll talk more about training routine specifics later. If you haven't done so, now is the timeto sign up for the free Fit Physique newsletter January 7th, 2005 As I mentioned in the previous post, it's that time of year. The time for everyone to make New Year's resolutions. And one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is also one of the most broken resolutions as well. And that's losing weight. Or, more specifically, losing body fat. Check out some information on some of the more popular nutrition plans and see which one best fits your lifestyle and fat loss goals - Diet Reviews January 3rd, 2005 Since we're quickly moving to the end of the year, I am going to stick to goal setting andmovivational issues for this issue. After all, isn' that on everyone's mindright now - starting off a new year the right way? We don't want anotheryear to rush by and end up in the same position next December - wonderingwhat happened to the year and our goals. And to do that, we need to startoff the new year correctly and keep the momentum going. Speaking of the end of the year, I want to thank you for making 2004 sucha success and I look forward to doing the same for you in 2005. 1 - 7 Steps To Success Let's take a look at seven simple steps you can take right now to move yourapidly along toward your fitness goals. Think on paper: Only about 3 percent of adults have clear, written goals.These people accomplish five and ten times as much as people without writtengoals. Step 1: Decide Exactly What You Want. This will allow you to prioritizeyour tasks to that you are spending the most time on high value tasks that move you closer to your goals. If your goal is to add 20 pounds of muscle, there isn't much point in using up a lot of you training time by jogging 5miles a day. Step 2: Write It Down. Again, think on paper. Written goals are a powerfulthing. They have an energy behind them that helps you move toward them thatunwritten goals just don't have. Step 3: Set A Deadline On Your Goal. Create a sense of urgency and positivepressure. Without a deadline you will procrastinate and do the little thingsthat may damage your short term goals. If you are having "after" picturestaken in three weeks then you are much less likely to swallow that bag ofpopcorn, than if you are just getting in shape...eventually. Step 4: Make a list of everything you can think of that you will need to do to help you achieve your goal. Leave nothing to chance. The more planningyou do ahead of time, the more likely you will stick to the plan and achieveyour goals. The more prepared you are, the more success you will experience. Step 5: Organize the list into a plan. Organize your list by priority andsequence. Step 6: Take action on your plan immediately. Do something. Get started.Start building positive reinforcement and momentum RIGHT NOW. Step 7: Resolve to do something every single day that moves you towardyour major goal. And with fitness, you have to, don't you? Whether it isyour workout, eating six high protein meals, etc. you should always be doingsomething that moves your forward toward your goals. December 19th, 2004 There are many variations of the low carb diet available today. While popularized by Dr. Atkins, many others have tried experimenting with different low carb dieting techniques to improve the effectiveness of low carb dieting. November 18th, 2004 Are you frustrated with the lack of progress you've been getting from your weight training workout routine lately? Do you wonder how all those people in the magazines do it and how come you can't?
It's really so simple, you won't believe me when I tell you. But to be fair, I'll tell you anyway, and you can make up your own mind. Of course, you may have already figured it out from the title of the article.
When you boil it all down, that's what you are left with - hard work. I want you do try an experiment. The next few times you go to the gym for your weight training workout, stay aware of your surroundings. Keep an eye on everyone else as they work out. What do you see?
I'll take a guess at what you won't see (unless you are working out in one of the few hardcore gyms left). You most likely won't see anyone doing free weight squats (especially not the 20 rep squat routine). You also won't see anyone doing free weight deadlifts.
Heck, in most gyms, you won't even have a power rack for doing squats or a place to do deadlifts. And yet they are the two most productive exercises you can do for both building muscle and burning fat.
What kinds of exercises are they doing? Lots of arm work, leg extensions, leg curls, cable work, etc. The easy stuff, relatively speaking. But definitely not the stuff that changes your body. Sure, there are the blessed few who seem to transform not matter what exercise program they are on, but for most of us it requires hard work and dedication. Weight training is not easy. It is challenging and rewarding but don't kid yourself, it's not easy. And most people don't want to pay the price to get the rapid results they are looking for.
Don't be one of those people. Your mind is so much more powerful than you give it credit for - You are so much more powerful than you give yourself credit for.
Weight training is more mental than it is physical. Without making up your mind to lift a weight, you can't lift it.
Don’t get me wrong. There are limits or we’d all be benching 2,000 pounds. The point to remember is that most of us are settling for progress way below what we are truly capable of accomplishing. You have to make the mental decision to work hard, to do three more reps when your mind is telling you it's time to pack it in and grab a cold one. Those are the reps that count. And one way to improve your ability to work hard, jumpstart your progress and start making gains again is to change things up from time to time. This helps to keep you mentally fresh, motivated and more likely to pump up your intensity in the gym. Consistency in your training is a good thing...most of the time. You're much better off consistently hitting the gym three times a week than if you consistently hit the snack bar seven days a week. But consistency can hold you back, too. By doing the same thing over and over again you can fall into a rut. The big problem is that you may not even notice that it's become a problem. You train, you eat right, so there can't be any problem, right? Maybe. Maybe not.
If you always perform the same exercises for the same number of sets and reps (and a number of people always use the same weights), eventually your gains will cometo a screeching halt. In addition, your mind goes on auto pilot, so your intensity level drops without you even realizing it. And worst of all, you may become bored, start skipping workouts and then ditch the workouts completely. Changing up your program can rejuvenate you mentally, giving you a big motivational boost, get your interest back, and spur you on to a new set of gains. If you begin to feel bored or unchallenged with your current program, change it up. It doesn't have to take much to get you back in touch with your workouts. You can change as little as you want, or revamp your whole routine. Hate to drop the bench press (you must be a guy)? Then radically change the set and rep scheme. Are you always doing sets of 6 - 8 reps so you can use a heavy weight that makes you look respectable in the gym? Forget the ego and try doing sets of 25 - 30 reps per set for a few weeks. This will get you back into the exercise physically and mentally. Feeling burned out? Change everything. Try a completely new exercise for every exercise you are currently using. Do a different number of sets and reps, change the rest period from 2 minutes between sets to 30 seconds. There are so many things to change that you should never get bored. Your workout becomes such a habit that you don't always even realize problems like these. If you think that might be the case, try changing something about yourworkout every 4 to 8 weeks. Heck, mark it down in your journal now when your next change should be.
Keep your mind fully engaged in your program by constantly giving yourself new challenges to prevent burnout - both physical and mental. Gregg Gillies is the author of Get Fit Fast! Top Fat Loss, Muscle Building Guide to Transform Your Body November 6th, 2004 Here are the results of the recent Olympia Weekend. My question is, is it actually possible for a men's defending champion to ever lose? And two, Monica Brant should NEVER lose a contest that she enters. EVER. But that's just me. Oh, and Terri Mooney trains at the gym down the street from me, so of course she should not have come in last. Men's 1. Ronnie Coleman 2. Jay Cutler 3. Gustavo Badell 4. Dexter Jackson 5. Markus Ruhl 6. Gunter Schlierkamp 7. Chris Cormier 8. Dennis James 9. Victor Martinez 10. Darrem Charles 11. Pavol Jablonicky 12. Kris Dim 13. Ahmed Haidar 14. Johnnie Jackson 15. Troy Alves 16. Craig Richardson 17. Mustafa Mohammad 18. Richard Jones 19. Claude Groulx Women's Overall Winner . Iris Kyle Heavyweight 1. Iris Kyle 2. Lenda Murray 3. Yaxeni Oriquen 4. Betty Pariso 5. Betty Viana 6. Lisa Aukland 7. Bonnie Priest Lightweight 1. Dayana Cadeau 2. Denise Masino 3. Marja Lehtonen 4. Nancy Lewis 5. Desiree Ellis 6. Mah Ann Mendoza 7. Joanna Thomas 8. Valentina Chepiga 9. Vilma Caez Figure 1. Davana Medina 2. Jenny Lynn 3. Monica Brant 4. Jaime Franklin 5. Amber Littlejohn 6. Christine Pomponio 7. Mari Kudla 8. Tanji Johnson 8. Elaine Goodlad 9. Zena Collins 9. Mindy O'Brien 10. Aleksandra Kobielak 11. Melissa Frabbiele 12. Shannon Meteraud 13. Dina Al-Sabah 14. Jaana Kotkansalo 15. Lisbeth Halikka Fitness 1. Adela Friedmansky 2. Jen Hendershott 3. Kelly Ryan 4. Kim Klein 5. Tracey Greenwood 6. Julie Palmer 7. Stacy Hylton 10. Anna Level 11. Klaudia Kinska 12. Stacy Simons 14. Teri Mooney November 4th, 2004 Prohormone Ban Passed by House and Senate S.2195, the legislation that in effect re-classifies all prohormones and steroid precursors as controlled substances, has been passed by both the Senate and the House. The new law will ban all prohormones including: androstanedione (5a-androstan-3,17-dione); androstenediol-- 1-androstenediol (3b,17b-dihydroxy-5a-androst-1-ene); 1-androstenediol (3a,17b-dihydroxy-5a-androst-1-ene); 4-androstenediol (3b,17b-dihydroxy-androst-4-ene); and 5-androstenediol (3b,17b-dihydroxy-androst-5-ene); androstenedione-- 1-androstenedione ([5a]-androst-1-en-3,17-dione); 4-androstenedione (androst-4-en-3,17-dione); and 5-androstenedione (androst-5-en-3,17-dione); norandrostenediol-- 19-nor-4-androstenediol (3b, 17b-dihydroxyestr-4-ene); 19-nor-4-androstenediol (3a, 17b-dihydroxyestr-4-ene); 19-nor-5-androstenediol (3b, 17b-dihydroxyestr-5-ene); and 19-nor-5-androstenediol (3a, 17b-dihydroxyestr-5-ene); norandrostenedione-- 19-nor-4-androstenedione (estr-4-en-3,17-dione); and 19-nor-5-androstenedione (estr-5-en-3,17-dione; As the bill is currently written, it appears that the law will take effect 90 days after it is signed. Most suppliers have already begun to deplete their inventory in anticipation of the ban. October 13th, 2004 The following was posted in the forums -Is there anything pro or con about doing two a day weight/cardio training sessions. It seems that some people use them but others say that if you can do it then you aren't intense enough. Any thoughts? Here's my response - Here's your answer - it depends. But seriously, a lot more information is needed to answer a question like that. There are so many variable involved in training that get factored in to whether two a days would be overtraining - nutrition, goals, training intensity, training volume, types of training each session, how many days per week, etc. etc. For example, if you were doing an all out, ball busting, your gonna pass out from the effort 20 rep squat and 20 rep deadlift program, where you trained squats in the morning and deadlifts in the evening, you'd be dead (figuratively speaking - I hope ) within a couple of days. However, if you were doing some moderate cardio in the morning, followed by a 45 minute medium intensity, low to medium volume weight training program in the evening, you'd probably be okay if all the other components of your regimen are in place. Clearly, there are a lot of factors involved when determining whether or not a specific training idea or program will work for you. Join the discussion and see what others have to say - www.mebodybuilding.com October 11th, 2004 On A Personal Note The weekend of September 18th and 19th marked my 12th year participating in the MS 150 Weekend Charity Bike Ride to raise money for the fight against Multiple Sclerosis. The ride started just outside Philadelphia and went to Ocean City, New Jersey on Saturday and back on Sunday. The trip was great, although exhausting. We did manage to avoid the rain they thought we might be getting from that particular week's hurricaine but we weren't able to avoid the wind, especially on the ride back Sunday. The wind was absolutely brutal, making it very cold at 7 in the morning. Every year this event renews my hope that things aren't as bad as they seem. They are good people in the world. over 5,000 riders participated and raised over $3 million dollars. Like every year, the volunteers (the people that really make events like this happen) were absolutely amazing. What they do to support the riders every step of the way is phenomenal. Thanks to all of you who supported this cause with the purchase of one of my books. You make a difference. Now, besides the wonderful aspect of contributing to a great cause, how does such an event help me reach my health and fitness goals? Through the motivation of setting a deadline for achieving a goal. After all, I don't think I could bike 160 miles over a weekend if all I did was sat on my butt, watched tv, ate pizza and drank beer. No way. The deadline of this ride helped keep me on track, riding my bike 5-6 times per week. Every time I thought about skipping a day for no reason more than I just didn't feel like it, I'd remind myself that pretty soon I'd be riding those 160 miles and that would get me out and on my bike. Most likely, if I didn't have the 'deadline' of this event, I would skip those days. Setting a deadline to achieve your goals goes a long, long way toward making sure you do what you need to do to get where you want to go. It's much more difficult to put something off when you have a deadline looming. Now that fall is here and it's getting windy and cooling off (at least here in the northeast it is), biking season trails off and it's time to devise a new training program to reach new goals. First off, I can add heavy squats back into my training program. I also have to adjust my caloric intake to adjust for the fact that I am no longer biking 150 miles a week. I don't want to drop it too low, though, and slow down my metabolism, especially since I want to focus on building muscle and staying lean. Given these goals, I am going to work in three week cycles, adjusting my calories in the following manner. Day 1 - 2,600 At this point, I will take a look at my progress (using body fat calipers, the scale and the weight increases on my exercises) and then devise a new plan for the next three weeks. The cycling of calories in this manner is good both for building muscle and losing fat. How high you start and how low you go depends both on your goals (building muscle or losing fat) and your individual metabolism. If you are building muscle you don't want to make your low days too low. You just want to have some slightly lower calorie days so that you keep fat gain to a minimum as you add muscle. For losing fat, you don't want your high days too high (for obvious reasons) but you also don't want your low days too low, otherwise you will lose lean muscle and put your body into starvation mode, which will cause it to slow your metabolism down and store fat - two big no no's. If the weight stops coming off, don't always go lower on calories but consider increasing your cardio training (or just increasing the intensity of the time that you do your cardio - the more intense it is, the more calories you burn during the same amount of time). Next issue we'll take a look at my weight training and cardio programs. We'll also take a look at the problems the supplement industry is facing. And I don't mean the fradulent supplement companies trying to steal your hard earned dollars. I am talking about the legitimate supplement companies that provide products that improve your health - the trial lawyers and the federal government are targeting them and looking to do away with quality products the same way they got rid of ephedra. Did you know the FDA, in the past, tried to make simple vitamins and minerals classified as drugs so they could control distribution. This is bad news. Please don't miss the next issue. Your health could depend on it. Thanks for reading. RESOURCES: Check out these resources to help you reach your goals. Fitness Resources Now is the perfect time to check out Fit Physique. http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/fp.html "The book is outstanding. Great reading." Mike Westerdal, CPT "Gregg's entire book is awesome! It's filled with some of the best information you will find about losing fat and looking great. How could it not be? Gregg is one of the brightest fitness professionals I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Be sure to check it out "Fit Physique" at: http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/fp.html" Jim Labadie, Certified Personal Trainer It not only gives you a direct roadmap to help you gain muscle, and burn fat fast it also provides you with non-hype based, proven fitness information that you can apply in many fitness arenas. Check it out at:http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/fp.html For all you skinny guys, you might want to check out The Skinny Guy's Guide To Building Mass Fast at http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/gain.html Top supplements at the lowest prices - Remember, Fit Physique is your newsletter and buildleanmuscle.com is your site. I welcome all feedback, questions, and comments. Let me know what you like, don't like and want to see in the future. http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/about-me.html Until next time Gregg Gillies August 15th, 2004 Get Fat Getting enough of the good fats will help you lose fat, build muscle, and recover faster from your workouts.In addition, it has myriad health benefits, including beinggood for your heart. Good fats include: polyunsaturated (especially Omega-3's),such as those from fish and nuts, as well as monosaturated fats,such as those from peanut butter, olive oil, egg yolks, and fishoil. Bad fats include saturated fats from things such as animaland coconut fats. Then there is the worst kind of fat the manmade kind, trans fatty acids which can be found in our typical,of no redeeming value, junk foods such cookies, chips, friesand margarine. Limit, if not stay completely away from, the bad fats and tryto get about 30 - 35% of your calories from the good fats. "Studies show that higher-fat diets make more sense for fitpeople than low-fat diets," says Liz Applegate, Ph.D., author ofEncyclopedia of Sports & Fitness Nutrition. "In one study,endurance athletes ran up to 24 percent longer before they fatiguedwhen they ate a diet that was above 30 percent fat compared to onethat was below 20 percent," she says. More importantly to most readers of this newsletter, researchersare now beginning to realize the fact that a nutrition plan high in the good fats helps the body to burn fat. Omega-3 fatty acids increasethe size of your cells' fuel-burning furnaces so your metabolic rate risesand you burn more calories every minute of every day. Omega-3's also help your body's sensitivity to insulin. This helpsyour body store less fat. In addition, the fat you do store is morereadily and easily converted into energy and burned during activity.This keeps your blood sugar levels stable and keeps you away from thosefamed sugar crashes and cravings and irritable mood swings. Another important exercise effect is that Omega-3's also help yourbody produce testosterone, the hormone responsible for building newmuscle. The late Dan Duchaine has called the essential fatty acidsthe most anabolic legal food supplement one can take to build muscle. Of course, more muscle equals more calorie burning equals less body fat. Fat can also help you recover from your workouts. Vitamins A, D, Eand K are fat-soluble and are very important antioxidants in the muscle-building, bone-repairing category. As I mentioned above, fat also helps your heart. Omega-3 fatty acidsand monounsaturated fats help lower bad LDL cholesterol and help preventblood clots, making your heart able to do it's job with less stress. On a personal note, I suggested my favorite essential fatty acid supplements to a friend of mine recently who has always suffered fromhigh cholesterol, despite working out five plus times a week and eatinga very healthy diet. I'm going to quote the email she sent to me. I love getting stuff likethis. "I was at a demo this morning, from 10-2, and it was at a gym that was having a members appreciation day, so they had other tables set up. This guy who had a table next to mine was doing blood pressure tests and cholesterol tests. When it slowed down and bit he asked me if I wanted my cholesterol done. I told him it would probably be pretty high, it's been over 230 for the last few years. I told him about the marine oil supplements I was taking and told him I have been taking them only about 7 weeks or so, and he told me he'd check my cholesterol, to see if the supplements are bringing it down any. I got a reading of 150!!! He thought maybe he did it wrong, so he did it AGAIN, on my other hand, (pin prick and blood taken) and it read 150 AGAIN!! Exactly! He got all excited and asked me for the n3inc website! I told him I have not changed my diet OR exercise -- the only thing I am doing different is taking ResQ 1250 and ResQ LDL-X. I hear testimonials like this time and time again from people whotake these supplements. The website address is www.n3inc.com" . And don't forget to grab your 300 delicious low carb recipes -Low Carb Recipes Special Report The following is very important and will stay at the top of the journal for awhile. All new entries will start below it. Thanks. Those of you that have been with me over the past year already know this and to some of you it may be new. This September will be my 12th year riding in the MS 150 Bike Tour to help end the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis. Each year, the event gets better and better and last year over 5,000 riders raised over $2 million dollars to help fight MS. We can't do it without the volunteers andthe people life yourself. For the 12th time I've committed myself to meet both a physical and fundraising challenge by joining the MS 150 City to Shore Bike Tour. Only I can prepare for the physical demands (and I've already begun - it's windy outside!), but I need your help with fundraising. MS is an unpredictable and devastating disease that can attack any of us in the prime of life. Imagine, one day you are ready to take on the world and the next day you are faced with the diagnosis of an incurable and potentially deadly debilitating disease. The cause is a mystery.The cure is unknown. That is why I ride. MS researchers have made extraordinary progress these last few years. In fact, people like us have helped to change MS from being an untreatable disease to one that can be managed with various medical treatments. Can I count on you to support my efforts to attain my goal? Every bit helps. Here's what I'm willing to do. If you purchase a copy of either Fit Physique or The Skinny Guy's Guide To Building Mass Fast, I will donate $6 of your purchase to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. And in addition, I will throw in another free bonus for you. My friend Chris Scarborough has given me the rights to his ebook, How To Lose Weight and Get Lean. This is a full length book that used to sell for $22. Chris has moved on to training young athletes and his site - Now I have acquired the rights to do what I want with it. Instead of selling it, I am going to give it to you as a free bonus with your purchase of either Fit Physique or The Skinny Guy's Guide To Building Mass Fast in addition to donating $6 of each purchase to the National MS Society. Chris's book is a fantastic no nonsense, no hype approach to safe fat loss. Basically, you'll get two great books for the price of one, and you'll be donating money to a great cause. This is in addition to the other free bonuses that include f'ree online personal training. Once you've made your purchase, drop me an email with your Clickbank receipt number. If you would like a receipt for tax purposes as well, let me know. Thank you, in advance, for making a difference in the fight against this horrible disease. Here's an email I received last week. Gregg, It has been just over 12 weeks since I purchased your book. I was skeptical at first, not truly believing it could work for me. I started out at 132, and now I am 171. I am going to send you before and after pics so you can see the difference. My strength has gone through the roof, and it seems that I am continuing to make more progress. My diet consists of about 4000 calories a day with 235 grams of protein. I eat all of the right foods though, no junk. My muscles are hard and toned, exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I thought I could never achieve. As of now I am on schedule to hit 185 by summer. Did I mention that I have invested in tons of tank tops and sleeveless shirts? Thanks again man. Without your program I’d be 142 pushing 144 by summer. Chris Cella I love receiving emails like this. Check out - Fit Physique Check out - The Skinny Guy's Guide To Building Mass Fast Sincerely, Gregg Gillies August 7th, 2004 I was discussing the banning of Ephedra with a friend of mine the other day. She had just come back from showing new supplements at a gym near her. The members were grabbing all the ephedra containing drinks they could before it became illegal in April. I'd like to share with you her email and then give you my thoughts on this issue. If you're a responsible person in this country, you can consider yourself a fool, because you might continuously get screwed by reckless people who will never accept responsibilty for themselves -- EVER. The government has made it too easy NOT TO. I've realized lately that this is the hard fact. Responsible people will get screwed much more than reckless people. You know when I was working that demo at that health fair, I was standing right by one of our coolers, that had a bunch of ABB Ripped Force in it. The employees and trainers there kept coming up and grabbing them. One of the managers then started bitching about the fact that they had drank Ripped Force with ephedra for YEARS there, and now they had less than 2 months to enjoy it now while they can. So they were slamming it down, especially that day, since they were so busy and running around. The two of us started ranting a bit about the whole thing, and I made that point that YOU made, about the government saying that "it's dangerous, but you can knock yourself out on it until April!" I couldn't agree more! As many of you may know, the fat loss supplementephedra has been banned by the FDA. They say that it is dangerous and that they are protecting you, the consumer. However, upon a closer look at the facts, their reasoning just does not have any credibility (and I'll prove it in a moment). If that's the case, then why ban a popular and effective fat burner? Let's look at some of the facts regarding ephedra, shall we? We're going to take a look at 2 different tables. Thefirst table is the Emergency Department Table of 2000,put together by DAWN (Drug Abuse Warning Network). Thenumbers reflect the number of mentions each drug receivedin regard to emergency room visits.
Drug Name - - - - - - - - - No of Mentions
Take a good look at these tables. Can you explain to me any justification at all for making ephedra illegal in this country? Why not aspirin, ibuprofin, codeine, caffeine, acetaminphen and the list goes on and on and on? Chronic use of aspirin and ibuprofen can cause long term damage to your health. As is typical (and wrong, I might add) the mainstreammedia orchestrated a large and loud misinformation campaign. I know that good news doesn't sell papers but whatever happened to things as integrity, journalistic responsibility and just getting the facts straight? In addition, making something illegal because the media doesn't know what they are talking about is absurd. Telling us it's for our own protection, while keeping many other more harmful products on the market is deplorable and should not be tolerated by the people. And if ephedra is so dangerous why is it still on the shelf? Why was it allowed to be sold for months after the law was passed? They call this looking out for the public welfare? Are they kidding me with this BS?? If you don't get worked up about this, then something is wrong. After all, what's next? What will the government, in pandering to the media and radical special interest groups, take away from you in the so called interest of "public health and safety"? Maybe it's that herb you take that has done wonders for your arthritis. Maybe the drug companies will launch a campaign against how "dangerous" it is, and on and on. Most likely, andro supplements are next. These wackos are taking away your right to make an informed choice without regard to the facts at all. Don't ignore these issues until it's something near and dear to you. By then it may be too late. You can check out some new ephedra free fat loss and energy supplements August 6th, 2004 The new workout is going well, although I'd really like to get back into doing deadlifts and squats. The knee is feeling better every day so hopefully I can start these exercises again soon. I seem to be responding positively to the dramatic change. For a long time, I had been working each body part once every four to seven days with 5 - 8 sets per body part. Right now I am working each body part three times a week, but with only2 - 3 work sets. Less volume, more frequency. I'm getting stronger, which is a good sign. I'm sure I'll need to make adjustments soon but for now the program is working well. Here's my current weight training routine again - I am going to do a three day a week total body routine for the next few weeks that includes the following exercises -
Normally, a full body routine abbreviated routine like this would include Squats and Deadlifts but that's just not possible right now with my knee. Hopefully, I will be doing these exercises again soon. August 12th, 2004 Look, I could write a book solely on the fraudulent claims and deceptive practices of the fitness informercial industry. And at some point, maybe I will. But for now, I'm going to stick to discussing the new catch phrase that they all seem to use that is driving me absolutely crazy. If you've watched any fitness informercials lately, you've heard this phrase and they make it sound like it's the most amazing guarantee they could ever offer you. Upon closer inspection of course, it's no guarentee at all and doesn't put them on the hook for your total lack of results. Basically, the "guarantee" (and I use that term very loosely in this instance) goes something like this - Are they kidding me with this stuff? Pretty sneaky, huh? In other words, you could gain fat on their 'miracle' fat loss program and they'd still be making good on their so-called guarantee. After all, they did say "up to", didn't they? Up to includes every number under 20 pounds which includes the fact that you could lose zero pounds or even gain fat and that would be results within their guarantee! Look, guarantees when it comes to a fitness program are very difficult to make. After all, two big factors come into play - genetics and the individual's effort and discipline on the program. But 'guarantees' like this, which are all over the place now, are deceptive. We all know that anyone who has struggled to lose weight is only going to hear that they can lose 20 pounds in 30 days, which of course, is the point. Look, I don't believe in a lot of government regulation. I'm a capitalist. But I don't believe in deceptive marketing. But that's okay, because I do believe in the power of the consumer, which is you. Stay away from products that make these types of deceptive claims. Without you, they have no sales. And without sales, they either have no business, or they will be forced to change their ways. You may think you are one person and don't have that kind of power, but you really do. If everyone decides to take action, all the individuals become a powerful group - the customers. And it's the customers that make a business go round. August 5th, 2004 Okay, really feeling yesterday's stiff legged deadlifts. My hamstrings and lower back are quite sore. With squats and regular deadlifts in my routine I hadn't been doing direct hamstring work for about a month so it was definitely a shock to my muscles. I hope they get over it, I have to do them again on Saturday. :-) The change toward a three day a week whole body routine feels good, although it's strange not doing any leg work. Hopefully that won't last long. August 4th, 2004 Broke in my non leg trainig routine today. I was able to do stiff legged deadlifts without kneew pain so that will become my only lower body training for a couple of week. I am going to do a three day a week total body routine for the next few weeks that includes the following exercises -
Normally, a full body routine abbreviated routine like this would include Squats and Deadlifts but that's just not possible right now. August 3rd, 2004 Hurt my knee yesterday. Not a great start to my new 12 week fat burning plan, huh? I am one to train around injuries though so I will continue with an upper body routine. I am also going to give stiff legged deadlifts a try. Basically, I think it's just a mild sprain so I will give it some rest and see how things progress. I'll just channel my frustration into the rest of my workouts. New workout tomorrow minus the leg work of course. Without the leg work, I am going to go with a full body, 3 days a week weight lifting regimen for now. April 2nd, 2004 I've wiped the slate clean and even with my extremely busy schedule I'm going to do my best to keep a relatively consistent journal going here. Is it spring time already? I know it's a little early but after a brutally cold February, it's been in the 60's the last few days here in the Northeast. It's a not so subtle reminder that it's time to switch gears a little bit. It's time to put an end to the bulking routine that gets hidden under layers of clothing and time to start thinking bathing suit weather. In other words, I need to take some time to revise my training, nutrition and supplementation to focus more on burning fat instead of bulking up. A solid 12 week fat burning plan will take me to the beginning of June. Getting started now will keep me from trying to burn fat too fast and letting go of the hard earned muscle with it.
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