No I don’t mean like that. I mean build some rock hard muscles.

Working out in the gym is great for building strength and muscle. Heavy iron is responsible for some of the best physiques of all time.

But there is another way to pack on solid rippling flesh.

Most of us have owned Chest ExpandersBullworkers with steel springs at one time or another and had great results from them. Then one day we go to the gym and see everyone working out with iron and think “that is the ‘only’ way to do it”.

Nowadays you can get chest expanders with rubber strands instead of steel. These have fewer disadvantages i.e. pinched chest hairs and are lighter.

Many of the old time strongmen performed feats of strength and set records for strand pulling.

Exercising with traditional weights, the resistance is the same throughout the exercise but, with springs and strands the resistance increases as it stretches.

This will work the muscles in a totally different way, starting with very low resistance and increasing as you get to your strongest point.

Want To Add A New Twist?

How about a few sets of slow motion exercises. These can be done with iron or strands.

You will need to reduce your regular resistance by at least 30. Now do the exercise in slow motion so that it takes 10 seconds to lift the weight and 5 to lower it again. Aim for 3 sets of 8 reps, each to total failure.

When I say total failure I mean it. If you can finish a rep it is not total failure. Total failure is when you get part way through a rep and can not go any further. At failure point do not just stop, try for 4 seconds more to move the resistance before slowly lowering back to starting point.

If you can complete 3 sets of 8 reps then it is time to increase the resistance by 10. If you can not complete the first set of eight in slow motion educe the weight so you can do at least 2 of the 3 sets for eight reps.

Do the exercise in perfect form without using any other cheating moves, if you do a curl, just use your biceps, not your hips or back.

You can perform many exercises with a set of strands and keep in shape when you can not get out to the gym.

With a little imagination you can do a variety of exercises in addition to the standard chest pulls.

You can put one foot in one of the handles to do one arm curls or upright rowing.

You can hold a handle behind your back and do overhead presses or tricep extensions.

Hold a handle by your abs to do lateral side raises.

Now There Is A New Kid On The Block And The Name Is Bodylastics.

Bodylastics are different sized rubber strands of varying resistance and you can exercise each body part with any resistance.

They come with, a door anchor that can be used on most doors at any height, 2 hand grips and 2 ankle straps.

With a little thought you can emulate any exercise you can do in the gym and a few you can’t. The Bodylastics website shows 140 different exercises.

What about the times when you cant get to the gym? Bodylastics are light at less than 2 pounds weight and can easily be packed in your hand luggage when travelling.

As with any new program it is recommended that you start slowly and build up gradually as you gain experience. Even Arnold had to start with low weights and learn from more experienced bodybuilders.

This article is provided as entertainment and no responsibility can be taken for loss or injuries incurred during physical exercise. If you have not undertaken any form of exercise for a while, please consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

Fitness is not a competition with anyone else. It is just for you, so find what you enjoy and go have some fun.

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2. Can Six-Pack Change You Into A Real Man?
3. Treadmills Boost your health but make sure you choose the right one

Finally, some of them will be totally unaware of this information and will be shocked when they read it. Basically, I fully expect this article to cause a sh storm that will reverberate throughout the supplement industry.

The only people who I know are going to be happy about this article is the consumer, but I am getting ahead of myself. As we all know, creatine is one of the best bodybuilding supplements ever discovered. It increases strength, lean body mass, and, to a lesser extent, endurance. If that were not enough, it’s relatively cheap to boot!

What more could we ask for from a supplement?

When creatine was first introduced it was sort of pricey, but no one really cared because it worked so well. As time went on and more companies began selling creatine, the inevitable price war began and prices came down.

At that point creatine was only being produced by a few companies, so creatine was basically creatine and the price was the only real consideration. As is typical of the market place, once creatine became big business, several new manufacturers popped up and it became no longer a price war as much as a quality war. The expression “creatine is creatine” no longer holds true. More on that shortly.

At this time there are probably four-five companies large enough to mass produce creatine for the sports nutrition market. These companies in turn sell their product in huge bulk amounts to various distributors around the world.

As far as the mass producers are concerned, there is a large German company, two companies out of China, and two in the United States. Though there are various other companies, for this article we will basically concern ourselves with these five major producers which probably comprise 80-90 of the creatine production market.

Why I had to write this article

The supplement industry in the United States is by and large a self-regulated industry. Unlike other countries, we the USA don’t have government constantly telling us what we can and cannot do with our supplements. Though they have been trying to discredit supplements for decades, the FDA and pharmaceutical medical industrial complex have largely failed to do so.

As a self-regulated industry, we must do just that. Let me state here and now, I am all for self-regulation and totally against government regulation when it comes to supplements. When we find gross problems, we have to expose them no matter what the cost. Any supplement that is found to be potentially dangerous, terribly misleading, or otherwise a total scam, must be exposed as such.

If we don’t do it, then we allow the “powers that be” who have an interest in discrediting the supplement industry to get one step closer to the Orwellian scenario of other countries. I thought long and hard as to whether or not I should write this article, but in the end, as a person of good conscience and ethics, I knew I had to.

In the end, it will cost the entire supplement industry far more than any one loss could ever cost a single company if problems with a certain product are not exposed.

As far as I am concerned, this is us airing out or own dirty inter-industry laundry and policing our own, instead of waiting for the “don’t confuse us with the facts” popular media or other groups to come after the supplement industry.

I know it must sound like I am almost apologizing for writing this article, and in a way I am. It could potentially cost certain people a great deal of money. On the other hand, it could also make some other person a great deal of money, depending on where they fall this will make more sense to the reader as you read along.

In the end, the truth can never been denied, it can only be delayed. With each day of delay, the cost to everyone goes up. Nuff said.

Are you getting more than you paid for?

Most of us are always happy when we get more than we paid for, but in some instances, it’s not such a good idea. If we are buying say vitamin C and the label says “500mg per capsule” and laboratory analysis reveals it contains 600mg, then that is a great thing.

However, if we test a product and not only does it contain what the label claims, but several other compounds we did not know were in there and had no place being in there, then that’s a completely different story.

For example, when the amino acid L-Tryptophan was taken off the market for the death of several people, it was not because of the L-Tryptophan itself, but because of a chemical contaminant found in a batch of the L-tryptophan that was not supposed to be there. This was a perfect example of getting more than you paid for in the worst possible scenario.

What I am going to write about in this article certainly is not as bad as the L-tryptophan fiasco, but it could be a potential health concern.

So after that long, cryptic, and bizarre introduction, what am I getting at? Recently, a company tested the five largest creatine manufacturers products and tested the products of various distributors from the USA, Germany, Great Britain, and other countries.

At this time, the company who did the testing wishes to remain anonymous, lest they be accused of throwing stones at the supplement industry. However, this is a very large and reputable company and they stand behind their test results.

Also, I know this company to be one of the worlds most reputable companies, so I had no problems with their testing results or methods. The test results came to me through the back door so to speak. So what was tested for and what did it reveal? The creatine products were tested for Dicyandiamide, Creatinine, Dihydrotriazine, and sodium content.

What did the tests reveal? It revealed that there is a wide range of differences between creatine products from different manufacturers. The purity level of all the creatine products were also tested and they generally fell between 88 and 92.

Now before you go off yelling “but my creatine says 99 pure creatine monohydrate on the bottle,” you have to remember there is a small amount of water in creatine monohydrate.

Before we bother with the results, we need to take a look at the chemicals that were tested for-and subsequently found- in these samples. What really bothered me was the fact that there is little safety research on some of these chemicals, most notably the dihydrotriazine.

I did Med-line searches, looked through various chemical data related books i.e. the Merck Index and other publications, made many phone calls to chemists, spent hours on the internet, and was amazed to find so little real safety data on some of these materials.

Considering the fact that some creatine products contain fairly high amounts of these chemicals, the lack of solid safety data did not make me feel very comfortable. The major point of this is really the amount of creatine ingested in relation to the amount of contaminant present. It’s not that a compound has a small amount of some contaminant per se, but the levels of the contaminant is found in relation to how much of the product is consumed is the real question.

In the December issue of Health and Nutrition Breakthroughs p12, 1997 Dr. Podell addressed the same concern regarding creatine as I have when he stated “…there is the potentially important issue of product purity. Given the high doses of creatine most people take, even a minute toxic impurity could have a dangerous effect. Unfortunately we cannot be sure of a manufacturers’ quality controls.”

As we all know, people don’t just take 500mg 12 a gram of creatine, they take 10,000mg 10g, 20,000mg 20g, or even 30,000mg 30g of creatine per day, so even a small amount of a contaminant such as the dihydrotriazine can add up quickly.

For example, one creatine product contained as much as 18,000 parts per million PPM of Dicyandiamide. If a person is taking in ten grams per day of creatine, that’s 180 mg of this chemical a day. If you are taking in 30g a day of creatine-as is often the case during the loading phase-you would be getting a whopping 540mg a day of dicyandiamide!

The Chemicals

Dicyandiamide DC

DC is actually a derivative of one of the starting chemicals cyanamide used in creatine production. DC is formed during the production of creatine products, and large amounts found in a product are considered the result of an incomplete or inefficient process. A quality creatine product will contain very small amounts, less than 20-50ppm. At this time, DC does not appear to be a particularly toxic chemical. Oral studies with animals rats and dogs lasting up to 90 days have not shown serious toxicity or carcinogenic effects, and acute poisoning also takes very high amounts.

DC appears to have many uses in the chemical industry. Some of the more interesting is the use of DC in the production of fertilizers, explosives, fire proofing compounds, cleaning compounds, soldering compounds, stabilizer in detergents, modifier for starch products, and a catalyst for epoxy resins.

At the concentrations found in some of the creatine products see below, it’s a good thing this stuff does not appear to be particularly toxic. However, as far as I am concerned, I don’t want to be eating the stuff. One interesting point as it relates to DC and toxicity is, if one looks at the safety sheet on the stuff it states that DC breaks down into hydrogen cyanide gas when exposed to a strong acid. Hydrogen cyanide gas is very toxic and has been used as a chemical warfare agent!

As Bruce Kneller points out see side bar, stomach acid, which has a PH of 2, is a very strong acid. Is even a tiny amount of hydrogen cyanide gas produced from the intake of large amounts of DC? The chemist I spoke to did not seem to think so and the safety data with animals would tend to support this, but who knows. Bruce might be overreacting a bit on this, but it’s better to lean on the cautious side with such things. Bottom line, it’s best not to be eating large amounts of DC in this writer’s opinion.

Dihydrotriazine DT

DT appears to be the real mystery chemical as far as potentially toxic contaminants found in some creatine products. One company had it listed as “…Dihydrotriazine is often found in various creatine products. This substance is a byproduct of non-optimized creatine productions and consequently widely spread over creatine products. Dihydrotriazine is a compound with unknown pharmaceutical and toxicological properties.” It was virtually impossible to find any useful safety data on this chemical.

However, DT is part of a large family of chemicals known as the “triazines.” It is an organic base with many derivatives. Some of these derivatives are toxic while others are known to be non-toxic, so it is very difficult to come to any real solid opinion regarding the potential toxicity of this chemical.

One chemist I spoke to from a major pharmaceutical supply company said to me on the phone “it’s safe to say that there will be major differences in toxicity between derivatives since ‘triazine’ simply means possessing three CN-H groups. Some derivatives are highly toxic.”

Bill Roberts, a medicinal Chemist and writer for Dan Duchaine’s Dirty Dieting news letter commented after I sent him over this information “There really is no way to say just how high a chronic intake of this chemical these chemicals is safe in humans from the information given. If the amounts were very small, say a few milligrams per week, it’s a reasonable guess that there would probably be no problem.

But if a creatine brand has say 1 of this impurity these impurities then people are going to be consuming thousands of milligrams of this compound these compounds over time. I think we have to be concerned about taking so much of something that really isn’t well studied in humans for safety. It would certainly be unwise to assume thattoxicity is not an issue.

If the consumer has a choice between a creatine brand that contains this impurity these impurities in significant amounts, and one that is more pure, I’d certainly recommend spending the extra money and obtaining the purer product.”

So as you can see, we are left with a major question mark regarding DT. For me, the less I know about a chemical the less of it I want to find in any product I am ingesting.

Though this chemical might turn out to be perfectly harmless, I think it should not be found in any amount and thus should be non-detectable n.d. in the ppm range until we know more about this chemical. As you can see from the tests, some companies have n.d. amounts while others have far more than that. I find this unacceptable, and so should you.

Creatinine

Creatinine is one of the easy compounds to discuss on this list. Creatinine is actually a natural byproduct of creatine metabolism in the human body and of creatine production. A small amount can be found in every creatine product. However, in some products large amounts can be found, as high as 7700 ppm in one case see chart. It is probably safe to say that the ingestion of creatinine is a safe endeavor.

There is some research that links the ingestion of creatinine from meats with increased colon cancer incidence, but in all honesty I would not put much stock in that or get all worked up about it. The point is, when I buy creatine I want to eat creatine, not creatinine.

Though a natural byproduct of creatine metabolism, it does not have any ergogenic effects and therefore I don’t want large amounts of it in my creatine, period. A high quality creatine product should contain less than 100ppm of creatinine in my opinion.

Sodium

Like the aforementioned creatinine, sodium is an easy one to talk about. Also, like creatinine, it is a generally safe thing to ingest at normal intakes. At the levels found in these creatine products, the amount of sodium added to the diet is very small and should pose no problems, even to the most sodium phobic person. However, like I said before, when I pay for creatine I want creatine, not sodium. The lowest sodium content was 20ppm and the highest was 500ppm. I leave it to the reader to decide what is a tolerable sodium content to them.

Conclusion

Believe it or not, the company who did the testing told me that although those were the main chemicals they tested for, some creatine products read like a who’s who of different chemical compounds, though they admitted that they are usually found in trace amounts. As for the consumer, if it were me, I would demand the HPLC test results from whom ever I was buying my creatine from regarding the chemicals listed in this article.

If you don’t care, that’s OK also. As for me, I will make sure my creatine comes only from companies and distributors who sell creatine made by the large German company, or other companies, who clearly have their collective act together when it comes to producing an ultra pure creatine product.

Bottom line?

The expression “creatine is creatine” no longer holds true. However, a high quality creatine product it still the best thing going in bodybuildingsports supplements.

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1. The Importance Of Creatine In Building Lean Muscle
2. Creatine
3. The Whey To Weight Loss Part II

There is a ton of free advice seen in the media these days
and if it is taken seriously, can really set you back on your
weight loss endeavours. This can lead to the kind of frustration
that makes people think they are “destined to remain fat for life.

This in not true, Have a look at the Weight loss myths below and
draw your own conclusions.

Exercise on an empty stomach and burn more fat.

Effective weight loss is the total amount of calories
burned during the day, not how or why they were burned.
It doesn’t matter if it is night or morning, so exercise
early in the day has no advantage to exercise later in
the day.

Studies show that increased metabolism induced by anaerobic
exercise is actually less after a large meal. Which probably
means that more energy is being used for digestion than
what is being used to repair muscle.

More exercise is better.

Every exercise session is beneficial to each individual,
however more is not always better. It depends on what is
trying to be achieved. There is a level and frequency
required to achieve results.

After this level is reached, additional exercise can
have the opposite effect, not allowing the body to
recuperate and adapt to the stress induced by the
exercise, which can be detrimental to your results.

After stopping exercise muscle will turn to fat.

This in not possible, Muscle and fat are two different
types of tissues in the body and you cannot convert one into the
other. This is like trying to turn water into milk.
If you stop training, the muscles will shrink
in size – and do not disappear. The more calories
taken in that are not burned off will be deposited as fat.

If youre not sweating, youre not working hard enough.

Sweating is the body’s way of cooling itself down.
Many factors contribute to body temperature, including
room temperature, types of exercise done, body-fat levels,
clothing, and exercise intensity. The intensity for
exercise can’t be judged by the amount you sweat.

A well-trained person will often sweat a lot because
their body can more efficiently regulate heat.

Taking sugar before exercise to raise energy levels.

Ingestion of sugar will lead to a rapid rise in blood
sugar levels. This rapid rise stimulates a release of
insulin, which quickly removes the excess sugar from
the blood system, often causing your blood sugar levels
to drop, sometimes below the level that it started at,
leading to faster exhaustion.

Gaining weight is just a part of getting older.

Getting older is not an excuse for gaining weight!
As we age and begin a more sedentary lifestyle we
start to lose muscle mass.

The efficiency of your metabolism is directly linked
to how much muscle you have on your body. The most
efficient way of maintaining your body’s muscle mass
and keeping your metabolism from dropping, is by
doing a high intensity strength training workout once a week.

X is the best form of exercise.

Claims like this are usually based on marketing strategy
and personal bias. Even when claims are based on factual
information, they have little practical value to the
average exerciser. The most important thing is to choose
an activity that you like, and perform it properly and
consistently.

If its fat free I can have as much as I want.

Unfortunately fat free doesn’t mean calorie free.
The word fat free is misleading because if you
overeat on anything, even fat free foods and you
don’t burn off those calories, your body will
store the excess as fat.

Don’t drink water when you exercise or you will get cramps.

By drinking litres of icy cold water in one go while
exercising you will probably suffer from cramps.
This is why it is important to drink water
continuously before, during and after exercising
to replace the fluid you’ve lost and avoid any discomfort.

By not having a personal trainer I wont make gains.

Hiring a personal trainer is one way you can use to
reach your goals, but you are an adult capable of
making decisions and setting your own goals once
you have the knowledge of how to go about it.
Following a good exercise program and eating
plan does not require someone standing over
you and telling you how to do it.

By exercising my abs I will lose my pot belly.

Exercising your abdominals will help to tone and
firm the abdominal region, but it will not reduce
fat deposits that are responsible for a pot belly.
Fat reduction comes from burning more calories
than you take in. Fat is reduced uniformly throughout
the body there is no such thing as spot reduction.

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2. Weight Loss and Exercise Myths — Test Your Fitness IQ
3. Fat Loss And Weight Loss-Do They Mean It?

Its also important to note is that training too often is both dangerous and counter-productive. More training does not equal more muscle. The body does not become stronger during exercise; it actually becomes stronger during the repair period between exercising. This is rather non-intuitive, but its a basic scientific fact. As such, its critically important for people to avoid over-training, and to build in appropriate rest periods between reps, sets, and workouts.

Intrinsic Motivation and Keeping Up Progress

This may be the most neglected component of an effective weight-gain system, yet its easily as important as the other two noted above.

The problem of motivation is typically not one of starting. Many people have the will and desire to start a weight gain program; at least, they do for the first few times. Where motivation makes or breaks a weight gain program is when it comes to monitoring progress and maintaining muscle gain.

This doesnt imply that people are weak or uninterested in progress; actually, its rather more complex than that. Though 1,000 people may focus, on the same day and at the same time, on gaining weight effectively and with measurable muscular results, its not an exaggeration to say that each of these people will experience something different. Some of those differences will be profound and visible; other differences will be subtle and difficult to put into words. The dilemma here is that people may start doubting the validity of their program when their progress or lack of progress does not mirror the results achieved by someone else. Or worse, some people may truly start doubting their own ability to ever gain weight when they see someone else making apparent progress towards their weight gain goals.

The remedy to this dilemma is contained in the term follow-through. The key to successful weight gain lies fundamentally in ones ability to follow-through with a program, and to stick with it, while at the same time making appropriate adjustments to exploit gains, and avoid disappointment. Ultimately, if the nutrition and strength training components are in place, achieving weight gain goals are merely a matter of time and effort; and that is where motivation plays its most important role.

Typical proven strategies to ensure motivation remains high and continuous include adjusting workouts to add some variety and avoid boredom; using visuals such as a before and after picture, or a video to monitor progress; writing down realistic! goals; measuring physical improvements on a bi-weekly basis; measuring mentalpsychological improvements on a bi-weekly basis; staying focused, and of course, taking breaks when necessary.

Putting it All Into Place and Taking Action

As noted earlier, there is a disconcerting amount of poor quality or no quality information available that purports to help naturally thin people gain weight. The majority of this harmful information revolves around eating more; which, if it works, simply leads to the creation of permanent fat cells. Unfortunately, for naturally thin people stuck in this cycle of misinformation and misunderstanding, their choices are to either remain thinner than theyd like, or put on fat pounds and risk a high body fat ratio or even obesity.

Thankfully, however, nothing needs to be created in order to help naturally thin people succeed in their weight gain goals; scientific advancements or miracle cures are not required. Simply, what is required is action based on what is already available, and what has been noted above proper nutrition, effective strength training and self-motivation.

Ensuring that these three elements are present is the unifying theme that is common to almost every successful weight gain story that has ever been written, applauded, and admired.

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Although the above would probably be the major mechanisms by which whey could help the dieter, there are several secondary effects of whey that may assist in weight loss. For example, wheys effects on serotonin levels. Serotonin is probably the most studied neurotransmitter since it has been found to be involved in a wide range of psychological and biological functions. Serotonin also called 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT is involved with mood, anxiety, and appetite.

Elevated levels of serotonin can cause relaxation and reduced anxiety. Low serotonin levels are associated with low mood, increased anxiety hence the current popularity of the SSRI drugs such as Prozac and others, and poor appetite control. This is an extremely abbreviated description of all the functions serotonin performs in the human body – many of which have yet to be fully elucidated – but a full explanation is beyond the scope of this article.

Needless to say, Increased brain serotonin levels are associated with an improved ability of people to cope with stress, whereas a decline in serotonin activity is associated with depression and anxiety. Elevated levels of serotonin in the body often result in the relief of depression, as well as substantial reduction in pain sensitivity, anxiety and stress. It has also been theorized that a diet-induced increase in tryptophan will increase brain serotonin levels, while a diet designed for weight loss e.g., a diet that reduces calories may lead to a reduction of brain serotonin levels due to reduced substrate for production and a reduction in carbohydrates.

Many people on a reduced calorie intake in an attempt to lose weight find they are often ill tempered and more anxious. Reductions in serotonin may be partially to blame here. One recent study The bovine protein alpha-lactalbumin increases the plasma ratio of tryptophan to the other large neutral amino acids, and in vulnerable subjects raises brain serotonin activity, reduces cortisol concentration, and improves mood under stress. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Jun;7161536-1544 examined whether alpha-lactalbumin – a major sub fraction found in whey which has an especially high tryptophan content – would increase plasma Tryptophan levels as well reduce depression and cortisol concentrations in subjects under acute stress considered to be vulnerable to stress.

The researchers examined twenty-nine “highly stress-vulnerable subjects” and 29 “relatively stress-invulnerable” subjects using a double blind, placebo-controlled study design. The study participants were exposed to experimental stress after eating a diet enriched with either alpha-lactalbumin found in whey or sodium-caseinate, another milk based protein. They researchers looked at

Diet-induced changes in the plasma Tryptophan and its ratio to other large neutral amino acids.

Prolactin levels.

Changes in mood and pulse rate.

Cortisol levels which were assessed before and after the stressor.

Amazingly, the ratio of plasma Tryptophan to the other amino acids tested was 48 higher after the alpha-lactalbumin diet than after the casein diet! This was accompanied by a decrease in cortisol levels and higher prolactin concentration. Perhaps most important and relevant to the average person reading this article, they found “reduced depressive feelings” when test subjects were put under stress.

They concluded that the “Consumption of a dietary protein enriched in tryptophan increased the plasma Trp-LNAA ratio and, in stress-vulnerable subjects, improved coping ability, probably through alterations in brain serotonin.” This effect was not seen in the sodium-caseinate group. If other studies can confirm these findings, whey may turn out to be yet another safe and effective supplement in the battle against depression and stress, as well as reduced serotonin levels due to dieting.

Although there is a long list of hormones involved in appetite regulation, some of which have been mentioned above, serotonin appears to be a key player in the game. In general, experiments find increased serotonin availability or activity reduced food consumption and decreased serotonin increase food consumption. If whey can selectively increase serotonin levels above that of other proteins, it could be very helpful to the dieter.

Other possible advantages whey may confer to the dieter is improved blood sugar regulation Frid AH, Nilsson M, Holst JJ, Bjorck IM. Effect of whey on blood glucose and insulin responses to composite breakfast and lunch meals in type 2 diabetic subjects. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul;82169-75. which is yet another key area in controlling appetite and metabolism.

Finally, calcium from dairy products has been found to be associated with a reduction in bodyweight and fat mass. Calcium is thought to influence energy metabolism as intracellular calcium regulates fat cell adipocyte lipid metabolism as well as triglyceride storage. Its been demonstrated in several studies the superiority of dairy versus non-dairy sources of calcium for improving body composition, and the whey fraction of dairy maybe the key.

The mechanism responsible for increased fat loss found with dairy-based calcium versus nondairy calcium has not is not fully understood but researchers looking at the issue theorized “… dairy sources of calcium markedly attenuate weight and fat gain and accelerate fat loss to a greater degree than do supplemental sources of calcium. This augmented effect of dairy products relative to supplemental calcium is likely due to additional bioactive compounds, including the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and the rich concentration of branched-chain amino acids in whey, which act synergistically with calcium to attenuate adiposity.”

It appears components in whey – some of which have been mentioned above – are thought to act synergistically with calcium to improve body composition Zemel MB. Role of calcium and dairy products in energy partitioning and weight management. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 May;795907S-912S..

Conclusion

Taken in isolation, none of these studies are so compelling that people should run out and use whey as some form of weight loss nirvana. However, taken as a total picture, the bulk of the research seems to conclude that whey may in fact have some unique effects for weight loss and should be of great use to the dieter. More studies are clearly needed however.

So what is the practical application of all this information and how does the dieter put it to good use? Being the appetite suppressing effects of whey appear to last approximately 2-3 hours, it would seem best to stagger the intake throughout the day. For example, breakfast might be 1-2 scoops of whey and a bowl of oatmeal, and perhaps a few scoops of whey taken between lunch and dinner.

If whey does what the data suggests it does in the above, that should be the most effective method for maximizing the effects of whey on food calorie intake on subsequent meals as well as the other metabolic effects covered. If working out, the schedule may be different however and people should follow the pre and post nutrition recommendations made in my ebook “Muscle Building Nutrition” or advice easily found on the ‘net via the many sports nutrition and bodybuilding related web sites.

Related posts:

1. Whey Protein Concentrate – Is This the Best Protein?
2. The Role Of Whey Protein In Achieving Significant Muscle Gain
3. The Bodybuilding Benefit of Whey Protein

The first thing to consider when examining your routine is the training effect on the nervous system. With the beginning trainee, their nervous systems capacity to handle intense exercise is quite limited. Therefore, it makes sense that the individual should be working on their nervous system capacity as opposed to body part training. Unfortunately, most athletes or beginning trainees make the mistake of trying to copy a cookie cutter routine out of the magazines or a routine of a professional bodybuilder.

The problem with following a pros routine is that the routine generally far exceeds the capacity of the individuals ability to train. The individual quickly spirals into overtraining, gets discouraged, and sometimes quits training altogether. Not an inspiring success story, that is for sure. Why is it that a novice trainee or even an intermediate bodybuilder over trains when following a pros routine? All things being equal it is because the advanced athlete or pros nervous system capacity for work is much higher than the aspiring trainees. The professional has probably spent 10 years minimum increasing his bodys capacity for training.

So, what does nervous system training involve? Well specifically with the beginner, almost any type of training will work. This fact is one of the biggest reasons there is so much confusion in training modalities in the body building market. Typically, any training that you perform at first places demands that are so much higher than your regular nervous system output, some results inevitably occur.

Unfortunately, most athletes have incorporated a great deal of bad habits in this early training, which ultimately spells failure down the road. For best results over the short and long term the beginner and intermediate trainee should incorporate training that increases the nervous systems capacity for training. So what does this nervous system training include?

Nervous system training typically involves training specific exercises through specific planes and motions with an eye on frequency, volume, and exercise selection. In other words, what is typically called multi-joint exercises are incorporated as the foundation of the training. These would be your classic exercises like squats, bent over rows, pull-downs, dips, benches; these sort of multi-joint exercises.

When system training, one should train groups of body parts together to maximize the overload for a specific area. In other words, you would train body parts such as chest, shoulders and triceps on one day; back, biceps on another day, and legs on another day. There are lots of different ways you can mix this up, depending on the amount of time you have available as well as how long you wish to work out and also at how fast you wish to progress.

Another consideration when training the nervous system is that one has to pay particular attention on the frequency of training. Generally, you need to keep the frequency relatively high. That means hitting the body parts a minimum of twice a week. In some cases, you can go as high as three times a week; once again, depending on how much volume, how intensely a person is training, and the nutrition levels of the athlete. Of course, with nervous system training, one has to build up gradually. So in a very new athlete, nervous system training might incorporate whole body training only three times per week.

As a person progresses and more volume can be handled, the body parts are typically split up. So on the three-day program, it would be maybe full body workouts; on a four-day, it would be maybe upper body and lower body. Afterwards, you would go to maybe a five or even six-day routine for the serious athlete. This allows a significantly higher frequency and also the ability to bomb body parts over and over again with varying rep ranges.

The other aspect of building a symmetrical physique to look at is individualized body part training. Size of course is not everything; especially in the body building world. One wants to have the physique look aesthetically pleasing as well as developing large muscles. So in body part training, the exercise selection becomes more isolated. Generally there is more volume of sets in a body part session and the body parts are trained less frequency. So to sum it up, you do more exercises, more volume in isolating particular body parts.

Typically at this more advanced stage, a person is looking to sculpt the physique, work on specific weak points, to balance the physique and to create a more symmetrical look. Also, this increases the separation and general appearance of each of the muscle groups. In body part training, typically the frequency that you hit a body part is much less than you would on nervous system training. So a body part might only get hit once a week, but that one session would be extremely intense, overloading that muscle in every possible manner and then moving on to the next body part on the following day. Typically in body part training, you would cycle more exercises through a rotation of maybe three, four or five weeks, going back and forth so that maximal development of every aspect of the physique is achieved.

Now in order to create balanced growth as well as size, one must alternate back and forth between the nervous system training and body part training. This is so that a person can achieve maximal growth as well as minimizing any detriments to the physique. Always, you have body parts that are growing better than others and so the isolation body part training can allow you to re-evaluate your weak points and overcome these inherent weaknesses in your physique. By doing so, we build not only a large body but also a symmetrical body. The question then arises; how do I know when and where to switch between nervous system training and body part training?

There is no set rule on this however; one must look at it from this point; typically, the more inexperienced a trainee is, the more time they need to spend on nervous system training. Most trainees will benefit from two or three years of primarily nervous system training. So for example, one might spend three to six months just on nervous system training alone and briefly switch to a body part training for maybe 12 weeks before going back to another nervous system training routine. You would repeat this for a year or so, and then gradually working more body part training sessions in with the nervous system training.

Another thing to consider is during nervous system training, calorie restrictions is definitely not recommended. An overload of nutrients and calories is required in order to maximize growth. Often times during nervous system, we are not so much concerned with the finer aspects of physiques or physique building. Therefore, you pile in the calories to keep as much anabolic activity occurring so that the maximum amount of growth is achieved.

After several years of cycling between training styles one would benefit by making the switch to body part training and incorporate a low calorie diet. This factors a couple of things; one, you strip down the layer of body fat that has been built to reveal what is really muscle. Most people overestimate how much muscle they have and underestimate how much fat and water they have on their physique. At this stage in the athletes career it is beneficial that a low calorie regimen be followed at least for 12-20 weeks per year. By doing this frequently, it allows an individual to see the imbalances in physiques and correct them. The other aspect too is that it also helps the athlete to lower the metabolic step point; therefore, the individual in the next nervous system training will not have to consume as much food as heshe would if were continually staying on the nervous system training protocol.

This of course arrives at the next aspect of the training equation. Whether training to failure or not training to failure. Unfortunately, there is a lot of myths about the whole failure and intensity aspect of training. Article after article bombards the beginning and advanced trainee alike about the importance of training to failure. People are thought if they do not train to failure, they are not training intense enough or that they are some kind of wimp. Of course this type of mentality has nothing to do with science and as a matter of fact, will almost guarantee that the athlete reach a stagnantation point.
Optimally, the trainee never goes to failure and here isa coupleof the reasons why

First, when an individual is training naturally, the model of training is significantly different than the athlete who is using drugs. Most articles are written about pro-athletes or top amateurs who are using an incredible amount of drugs and therefore, really distort the science behind training. Because of this massive use of drugs, they endocrine systems operate completely different than that of the natural trainee and they are able to recover from mega high intensity training sessions.

Unfortunately over time, this endocrine system overload creates an eventual catabolic condition. If you check out any of the pros after their career, you can see how much muscle they actually lose. It is quite shocking. Often times, because of this lop-sided aspect of the endocrine system overload, the athletes career is stopped short due to disease. I cannot tell you how many body builders careers have been ended prematurely due to massive influx of drugs which eventually led to some system failure.

So once again, going back to the failure question; a person should train their exercises so that the last rep on every set is challenging, but it is not an all out effort. Now in order to get the intensity up volume is the key. So lots of sets for lots of reps is far more efficient and be far effective than short training sessions with max intensity. The scientific term of course is work out efficiency, but really the scientific term is not important.

The second aspect that needs to be addressed her is destroying the one hour workout myth. Once again, magazines and articles perpetuate this idea that the 45 minutes to one hour is all the time a person needs to build big muscles. This of course borders on ridiculousness. If one looks at, for example in the real world, an athlete such as an Olympic speed skater, these athletes perform incredibly high amounts of volume and incredible high amounts of frequency. Not only that, their time under tension far exceeds what most body builders workouts do. One other factor is speed skaters are performing an extensive amount of overload each day and very seldom does that athlete go to failure. Yet, look at the results. Speed skaters have some of the most largely developed legs in the entire world. Right there is a real world example that indicates that failure is not required and that training a few hours a week to achieve maximum development is a myth. I have yet to see any athlete that has trained a few hours and matched the legs of the worlds top speed skaters.

Once again here is a real world example that goes back to natural training versus drug usage. Not exceeding the endocrine systems capacity to recover is critical in natural training. This is easier achieved if you train lots of sets and quite frequently. Bill Pearl, one of the greatest bodybuilding champions of all time, was a big believer in this principle and he reached a weight of 242 pounds at a height of 510. Keep in mind that Bill Pearl never used any drugs to build his physique. An even more impressive consideration is that his physique was built in a time where the emphasis was not on the legs. In actuality, Bill probably had a 265-pound physique if you accounted for the lack of leg development that was in vogue during the late 60s and early 70s.

So once again for maximum results, a person needs to destroy the one-hour workout myth. Now, in the optimal situation, of course the individual would cycle between the two systems for maximal growth. So let us review the key points to get you on track and in the growth zone.
To maximize the growth, you need to go to nervous system training, high volume, exercise-specific techniques that involve body parts grouped together.

Body part training is going to be relatively between two to three times per week. Volume is going to be high and never train to failure. Also, there is going to be a massive amount of nutrient factors and calories. Body part training is more isolated, it tends to be large amounts of volume and less frequency. Most peoples best results occur with training each body part one day per week in a 5 day or 6 day split.

Low calorie dieting is best performed during body part training to strip away fat to discover the weaknesses in the individuals physique. Duration of this cycle should be 12-20 weeks. Thais training cycle is most often used for contest preparation and is too be combined with cardio sessions to maximize definition.

Of course there is a lot more details to training such as rep ranges, exercise selection, body part groupings, training splits etc. But first the individual needs to grasp the big picture. This is where and expert can save the athlete years of frustration.

Word to the wise no athlete has got to the top of there sport without professional expert advice. Dont kid yourself into thinking that you can read a magazine or a bodybuilding book and then no everything to build a great body. Hire a top trainer today that has experience in building top quality physiques and practices what heshe preaches.

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A. Improper diet.

Most people are not eating enough protein and eating too many simple carbs.

They are not stressing their muscles during each workout. You don’t have to kill yourself, but you must subject your body to out of the ordinary stress each workout to grow muscle.

B. They lack consistency.

They do not stay focused throughout the entire 12-week period. If they don’t see results immediately, they get discouraged and quit. You have got to stick with your plan. No program will work for you if you are not consistent.

To get results, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes, and work as hard as necessary and you have to be consistent. Your body responds to consistency. Sometimes it may get to the point of obsession, but it has to be that way for you to reach your goal.

Here’s some basic information and things you should be doing to help you bulk up

1. To gain weight you must eat more calories than your body burns off, so EAT MORE!!!!!! The most important thing that I cannot over stress is that you need to eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you’ve never eaten before. but not junk food like donuts and chips or candy.

Start eating six meals per day space them out to about once every 3 hours.

2. Increase your protein intake and reduce your simple carbohydrate intake. Without protein your body cannot build new muscle

3. Keep your workouts under one hour. Short and intense!

4. Concentrate on free weight exercises that work the large muscle groups. The best weight training exercises for building mass are the simple ones. For mass, stick with compound free weight exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips.

5. Use heavy weights and low reps, rest 3 minutes between each set.

6. Do only 2-3 exercises per body part.

7. Split your workout. Since you have a very high metabolism like me, you need to train with more intensity, but less frequently.

Day 1 Chest, shoulders and triceps
Day 2 Rest
Day 3 Back, and Bicep
Day 4 Rest
Day 5 Legs and abs
Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Rest

8. Increase you water intake. A good formula for this is to multiply your bodyweight by .66 to get the required number of ounces per day.

9. Use nutritional supplements. If you can’t afford too many products, just stick with the basics; like whey protein. If you can’t afford whey protein the next best thing is egg whites.

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While its easier to focus on one or the other there are a few tricks you can use that will have you on the right track in no time.

First things first The Traditional Approach

To gain muscle a person has to consume more food, protein, carbs, fats, nutrients, and vitamins than they need to get bigger and less overall calories if they wish to get leaner.
This of course is the main reason bodybuilders tend to “Bulk Up” in the off-season.

This means the individual will eat loads of calories in the hopes of gaining more muscle mass. The extra muscle gain is achievable but the individual also will experience a significant gain of fat in the process, oftentimes more than the muscle gains.

After the “Bulking Up” period the individual will usually want to “rip up” for summer or for a contest. Then they usually have to subject themselves to a rigorous training and restrictive diet for 3-6 months to get theyre body fat levels where the muscles are clearly defined.

The continual up and down Yo-Yo in weight gain plays havoc with the physical body not too mention the psyche of the individual. This generally accepted practice in bodybuilding has also led to the widespread use of drugs used by many athletes to bulk up or to get ripped.

Bodybuilding Traditionalists Dirty Secret

The Truth of the matter is the editors and writers for the big magazines wont tell you is the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by the top amateur and professional athletes who use an array of pharmaceuticals to build and maintain their muscles while dieting.

Its Dirty Secrets like this that lead the unsuspecting population to question why their programs dont work, or why they are not so genetically gifted. Traditional methods have created a tradition of drugs going all the way back into the 50s. The problem has gotten worse not better.

Bottom line these drugs are dangerous have consequences, and can leave you and your body in a lot further away from your goals in the long run. Stay away from them!

Unfortunately, the pressure to be in shape and to become the next Ronnie Coleman has trickled down even to the regular Joe in the gym who wants to look good in a pair of Calvin Kleins, and now you have guys and girls walking into gyms for the first time asking what the should be on.

This abuse of drugs has led to the overall dysfunction of the bodybuilding community on multiple levels mentally, physically and psychologically. Whats weird is the Drug Program today is so commonplace it has become traditional thinking as opposed to natural bodybuilding principles which are good healthy food, rigorous training of the mind and body, and an overall expression of health and vitality.

Its time for a new way because the old mentality of traditional bodybuilding is over.

Gimme A Break From Tradition Thinking!

Fortunately, there is a better way to gain muscle and to lose body fat at the same time. It’s called the “Cycle Diet” and it is fast becoming the most popular way to stay lean year round while continually gaining muscle. Let’s examine first how the cycle diet works and then how you can incorporate it into your training routine.

Every bodybuilder who maintains there body fat levels below 7 percent knows as soon as they start eating the first few days of high calories their body explodes with new growth before any body fat gains occur.

The reason for this is the body is in a super-compensation state and initially stores the extra calories as glycogen in organs such as the liver as well as intramuscularly. Fats are also stored intramuscularly as well as protein is utilized for the growth and repair of muscles.

This super-compensation state only lasts for maybe 24 hours before the body starts to shuttle the extra calories into fat cells. But before that occurs there is a window of explosive growth available waiting to be tapped into and here is how you can do it.

Bodybuilding Legend Scott Abel Cracks The Code

The entire process was initially developed and coined the Cycle Diet by legendary trainer Scott Abel. I believe that anyone interested in the deeper metabolic science behind the diet order one of Scotts DVDs as its well worth the money. Scotts a brilliant innovator that has contributed more to the science of bodybuilding than any other person in the last 50 years and he has had a profound influence on my own training.

I have created a variation of Scott’s Cycle Diet geared specifically for natural trainees. While I feel Scotts breakthrough and the science behind it is sheer brilliance his protocol does have some challenges for natural athletes as well as for individuals who may be enzyme deficient already.

I strongly recommend picking up a copy of enzyme pioneer Dr. Howell and his book Enzyme Nutrition for details on how rampant enzyme deficiency is in the population at large.

The 2 Main Challenges Of The Traditional Cycle Diet

The first problem is Metabolic Damage from Enzyme deficiency. While the cycle diet works for months even years there is an unseen cost. Over the long haul the Enzymatic cost of eating so much enzyme deficient foods and the potential damage and loss of metabolic enzymes. This can lead to training lethargy, poor recovery, early aging, and injuries.

The second cost is the long-term effects of this type of eating stress on the digestive tract, which can lead to thick deposits of mucoid plaque. This plaque is a breading ground for unhealthy bacteria to proliferate, which generate toxins that can lead to major health complications down the road.

This protocol allows you to build muscle while losing body fat as well as keeping your body free of toxic buildup.

Here is how it works.

First, you need to get your body fat levels below 7 percent for the maximum benefit of the protocol. The cool thing is once you get down to this level you can maintain this body fat level year round. If you are unsure how to get ripped you will want to follow one of my cutting up training and dietary protocols. It usually takes between 12-20 weeks to hit single digits for anyone under 30 percent body fat. I use the percentage a week method to determine how long it will take you to get in the single digit zone.

Second you need to be training a minimum of 5 days per week. In other words you need to be an intermediate or advanced trainee capable of handling significant volume and intensity in your training.

Third you need to keep your calorie intake about 500-1000 calories below expenditure daily. If you are following one of my five-day training programs simply multiply your Lean Body Mass LBM by 12. Whatever the total is, use that number as youre starting caloric intake.

Of course this should be divided up into 5 meals of the right combinations of protein, carbs, fats and nutrients. For more information see my article on Getting Ripped Without Getting Ripped Off

I also suggest that you follow a 5 day Body Part per day program such as the one’s on my website. Once you have your workout program and your dietary intake down you are ready to go for the Ultimate Natural Training Cycle. Virtually anyone who follows the system will be as ripped as they want to be in less than 6 months but before we get ahead of ourselves we must first begin by

Priming The Pump

Now for the first 3 days of your training you will keep your caloric intake in the calculated range all on training days. On your first rest day, which usually will occur on the 4th day you will perform one of the juice fasts I recommend for the whole day.

Consume as much juice as you like on the fast day and be sure to take some fiber to help remove accumulated mucoid plaque in the digestive tract. There are many herbs that can aid in the process as well which we outlineatthe freaky insider forums. I call this cleaning out the intestinal tract Priming the Pump.

Keep in mind that only natural juices, preferably organic are used on the juice fast day free of sugars, additives, preservatives, sweeteners or anything else. I recommend the Jack Lalanne power juicer to make your own fresh super juices. Intermediate and advanced athletes may wish to use one of my more aggressive cleansing fasts for even better results.

On the 5th and 6th days of the week you will resume your training and diet schedule, with the concurrent calorie deficit. This is really important as maintaining a strict control over calorie totals on the training days is essential to make the program work. That means no cheats, treats, or deviations from your diet.

On the 7th day, which should be an off day from training as well, “EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT”.

Is This 7th Heaven?

That’s right all the things that you would like load up on them. It’s a good idea to schedule social occasions or interactions on that day, so you can eat Grandma’s apple pie, or have some pizza and ice cream with the guys during the big game. Its best to schedule the High Calorie day on a rest day and be sure to consume as many calories as you can.

Keep in mind that you start in the morning of your rest day and you stop in the evening. So you keep the time frame down to about 18 hours, as this will ensure no fat will be gained.

It is a good idea to start with fats in the morning first so that you don’t experience too much digestive discomfort. It’s also a good idea to double or triple your enzyme intake for the high calorie day as well as on the juice fast day for maximum absorption of nutrients.

For the finer details on training, diets etc be sure to check out my free newsletter at my website.

Why The Cycle Diet Works

The Cycle diet works because of the 3 basic reasons

1Short time frame of high calorie consumption
2The initial caloric deficient state sets up a super compensation state
3A rigorous training schedule which creates stimulus for fat loss and muscle gain

The bottom line is once you get the protocol down to suit your own metabolism it’s pretty much impossible for your body to add body fat.

The cascade of anabolic hormones during the brief high calorie intake will be used to fill up energy stores and build more muscle. This is the ideal condition for growth of muscle tissues to occur. Many athletes are shocked by the giant leaps in muscle size, leanness, and muscularity that occur while on the cycle diet for a few months.

Fine Tuning The Process

You will need to fine-tune the process over time but it’s pretty simple once you get the routine down. Best of all you don’t have to restrict calories for long periods of time. Once every week you get a break and the juice fast day helps clear out any plaque built up form the high calorie day.

Most athletes find the cycle diet much easier and more a more fun way to stay in shape all year. Whats even better that Natural Athletes everywhere can build can build mass while staying lean year round and stay healthy. No harmful chemicals or drugs needed.

Who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too!

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There are more people getting fitter after forty than ever before.

We now know that it is possible, and desirable, to keep exercising into old age.

Exercise will help prevent the onset of many diseases associated with old age, i.e. arthritis, rheumatism, poor circulation, heart disease, obesity. The benefits are endless.

Exercise is also known to improve the libido. This is due to improved blood flow to all the organs.

OK, Hugh Heffner needs to use a little Viagra, but when you are as active as him, at his age, its to be expected. Last I heard he had three lovers who he was faithful to and kept satisfied. I cant wait to get to his age!

There are senior weight lifters setting new records almost daily. Senior bodybuilders are destroying the younger competitors. Athletes in every field are being amazed by the seniors.

This is not to say that the oldies are as fast as the youngsters in top competition, but they are darn close

You do not have to compete against others to enjoy fitness. Just find something that is fun.

Walking is a great exercise and if you get away from all the traffic it is most relaxing. If you feel strange walking on your own why not take the dog out more often. If you dont have a dog, borrow one, Im sure there is an elderly person near you who would be glad of a dog walker.

How about starting a dog walking business? There are loads of people who are working long hours and do not have the time to walk their dogs. Getting paid to exercise sounds like a winner to me. Its also a good way to meet like minded people and make friends.

Swimming is a fantastic way to keep fit and healthy. Most pools have adult only sessions so you will not be dive bombed by spotty youths. Swimming is a gentle exercise that takes the strain of joints and todays heated pools are a great benefit to sufferers of arthritis and rheumatism.

If you have not done any exercise for a long time you need to start of gently. It took years to turn you into a couch potato and you can not become an Adonis overnight.

The main thing is to start slowly without forcing anything. If you have not done any walking except to the hypermarket for a few years then a walk of a few hundred yards may feel like a marathon but it will be a start. Walk a little further each day and it will become easier. If you are with a dog, play fetch, it will get a few more muscles working and the dog will love you more.

If you can only swim a few feet before stopping for breath, thats OK. Go again a few days later and swim a bit further before catching your breath. You will soon be swimming lengths of the pool with ease.

If you decide to work out in the gym, do not try to lift the whole rack of weights on your first day, maybe day 2. Start out with an empty bar until you get a feel for the exercises and then slowly add weight as you master the movements.

Perform only one set of each exercise the first few times you work out. You will feel like doing more but this will only set you up for sore muscles the next few days, and may even make you to sore to go to work.

Take time to learn strict form with each exercise and do not jerk the weights. Ask advice from the instructors, its what they are paid for.

Do not forget to warm up and do some stretches before starting any vigorous exercise. This warm up becomes more important as we get older and will help prevent injuries and lay offs.

The programs you see on the TV are not real life that goes on outside in the real world they are scripted. Do you want to be a lazy couch potato or youthful and active? The choice is yours.

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The “”Toned”" look that we all desire, is a result of increased muscle mass, and decreased body fat. Our muscles usually have to get BIGGER to achieve this look. In this article I am going to share some of my views on how to get that athletic, yet “”Feminine”" figure that so many of us are after.

First off, what do we as a society look at and consider, “”Feminine?”" 36-24-36? Maybe not those numbers exactly, but that type of body shape still holds true with most. Now how do you make this athletic-looking, without detracting from the female shape? Each person is different of course, but choosing certain body parts to emphasize over others can really help here. For example, it seems acceptable for a woman to have very round and shapely deltoids, but if the biceps and forearms as well as traps are too developed, it’s seen as “”Manly.”" So wisely choosing which body parts to maximize and which ones to minimize can go a long way. Here are my three key principles for looking strong, athletic, and yes, like a woman!

1 Maximize your shoulder to waist ratio. For those that have teeny-tiny waistlines, this could be very simple. Maybe just training deltoids first in your schedule is all that is needed. For those of us that are not 24″” or less in the waist, this might take quite some effort. I feel deltoids MUST be trained first, very hard, and frequently to get the desired look. Back width also plays a big role in making the waist seem smaller than it really is, so it is a close second. Keep in mind that this part of it is exactly the same as what a bodybuilder would try to do, so one shouldn’t get caught thinking they have to do “”Girl”" exercises, or feel restrained from doing heavy weights. I have personally been as high as 55 lb dumbbells for both overhead presses and laterals trying to get my delts to grow. I also don’t understand why most females don’t strive to do wide grip chin ups, other than they are hard. Don’t shy away from hard heavy exercises for delts and back.

“”We are not going to get those perky round glutes by doing leg kickbacks and butt squeezes!”"

2 Pump up that butt! How many women have said in the same breath “”I don’t want my butt to get any bigger, but I don’t like the way it sags.”" As a woman I can tell you they mean they don’t want their rear to get any”"Fatter”",and “”Bigger”" means “”Fatter”" in their minds. So many women have given in to the idea that it is just a genetic trait that can’t be changed. Well guess what? Glutes are just like biceps – you guys out there know if you want impressive arms, you have to train progressively on certain exercises and force the muscles to develop. Girls, it’s the same for us. We are not going to get those perky round glutes by doing leg kickbacks and butt squeezes! We have to do exercises that allow for progression in weight and reps both. If you’ve been doing say walking lunges with no weight for the past year and still aren’t happy with the way things look from behind, you need more stimulation. Add some weight to the exercise and PROGRESS! You want the glutes to get bigger while simultaneously stripping the fat away. Have you ever seen a girl with a really tight butt and think its still too big? Probably not.

“”I believe you are what you eat, and someone that eats 2000 calories of mostly protein, healthy fats and complex carbs, will look much different than one that eats 2000 calories of crap-carbs and greasy fats.”"

3 Control your bodyfat! I will admit that a woman who is 20 bodyfat with no muscle, looks smaller and better in clothes than one with the same amount of fat and much more muscle. To have that athletic look, most of us end up in the 12-15 range. I will cover in detail my methods of fat-loss in up coming articles, but in a nutshell, I will tell you to eat your protein and veggies. I believe you are what you eat, and someone that eats 2000 calories of mostly protein, healthy fats and complex carbs, will look much different than one that eats 2000 calories of crap-carbs and greasy fats. I don’t believe its about the numbers, its about the quality of the foods. Cardio is also a key element in bodyfat reduction and control. This is where people differ the most I’ve found. Some women can get by with 20-30 minutes 3-4 times per week. I often have to do 6-7 days a week and usually for 45-60 minutes each time. I have trained some girls that have had to do double sessions 7 days a week to achieve 12 body fat. So go with what works for you and your body type.

I hope you ladies reading this are ready to go to the gym and hit it hard and heavy. Keep in mind that heavy is a relative term, if 5 lb dumbbell presses are all you can truly do, push them hard and you will get stronger. In the process you will earn the respect of those around you that are doing the same. It is not where you are at now, its about where you are going! And I hope that the guys reading this will show some gym etiquette to those ladies that may not be as strong as you, but pushing just as hard to get better.

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