Jason,
Thanks for finally speaking out! I wish more people would realize the points you made in the e-mail. I had a couple of quick questions:
1. I drink chocolate milk PWO (use low-fat milk then add in Hershey's syrup). Is it OK to add in a scoop of unflavored whey to the drink?
2. I recently ordered your Tap Out e-book set (LOVE IT!). I'm strapped for cash at the moment due to having my wisdom teeth removed...do you have any cost-effective ways of making blast straps to use for the scarecrow and blast strap push-ups?
Thanks and looking forward to the new book.
-Dan Johnson
Dan,
Glad you liked it. Yes, you can add some unflavored whey to the drink.
You can do some of the blast strap exercises just by getting two long pieces of chain and looping them around a bar. Fasten the ends with some kind of clip or karabiner and then just put a small hand towel around the chain and grab it. This will work for inverted rows, pushups and scarecrows.
Jason,
I believe what you say in this E-mail. When I was in U.S. Marine Corps boot camp, I put on 12 pounds and was more "ripped" than ever. No supplements, and with a hell of a lot of "road work". Just three meals per day. I appreciate your truth, thanks.
sincerely,
Dale Allen
Dale,
It’s all about hard work. Thanks for the email.
Good man....no bs and I love it. That's how I base my clients’ workouts as well. Keep it up.
Jason VanHeulen CSCS
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Aria Spa & Club
Jason,
Then I would have to imagine you’re doing a damn good job ;)
Jason:
I wanted to let you know how much I've enjoyed your recent blog entries; glad you are back.
Martin
Martin,
Thanks a lot for the comments, I really appreciate it.
Can't wait dude I'll definitely grab a copy. I am living proof that doing things you don't recommend really do hinder training results; and, following your routines really do produce fast positive results. I bought your book quite a while back and have periodically deviated from your routines and rules due to lack of commitment. In the short times that I did follow the routine loosely and it has given me about 15 lbs. of muscle.
To back up this newer point about protein supplements, I stopped drinking protein after I got this stomach virus a couple weeks ago. I couldn't stomach the fuckin thickness of the shake so I had to pass on them. Anyway, since then I've just been stickin to lots of beef, chicken, pork, and tuna, plus the multi-vitamin in the morning and fruit throughout the day. First of all I just felt healthier; I felt like a human instead of a science project. Besides improved overall body function, I experienced higher gains in lean muscle instead of the bloated looking bulky muscle.
Anyway, looking forward to the book,
Matt
Matt,
Awesome to hear about your great results. Keep it up.
Hi great to see someone has finally got it right, you are spot on. I was pi**ed around for over 15 years by all these full of sh*t no it alls, until I finally realised that it was all bull sh*t I now train heavy and hard but always add weight weekly or as often as poss, my diet is now 'normal ' but enough to grow weekly and hey presto 46lbs of new muscle in 10 months with no fat increases and twice as strong as before, piece of p**s when you know how! Let me know when your book is out as it sounds like the kind of stuff I now like to read! Put a stop to all the lies and tell everyone how it really works, there must be millions of confused and frustrated lifters out there, its sickening, everyone could easily succeed with the truth.
Good luck with your book
Mark
Mark,
Thanks for sharing your success story. I love to hear them. The truth is what I am going to deliver.
Thank you for dispelling the myths in your latest blog. Damn, it's about time. Yeah, it's probably going to ruffle some feathers, but who cares? You're probably going to confuse the hell out of a lot of people, but it's up to them to make the right choice. What you write is SO true. Ok, maybe, just MAYBE if you've hit a plateau that supplements or a little extra jolt may assist in breaking through it, but it's nothing you should use on a regular basis.
Cheers. Thanks for all the info.
Bobby Thompson
Bobby,
Every time I open my mouth I ruffle some feathers. It won’t stop me from speaking the truth, however. Keep on the right track.
Great article! i've thought the same about protein and post-workout drinks because i
consumed them methodically and never noticed an ounce more of weight gain nor increase in
strength.
thanks again.
Tom G.
Tom,
I was discussing this with a colleague of mine last night and he was mentioning how all of the studies on post workout nutrition are completely flawed and really don’t prove anything. When will the lies ever stop?
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Supplement Scam
Thanks so much to everyone for all the positive responses to yesterdays post. I will try to share more of them this week but here is one that I thought you might find interesting:
Jason- so you think all the research about post-workout nutrition is fabricated. Awful lot of evidence out there for over twenty years. Not sure where this idea is leading.
Do you think most people get enough essential fat? The fish oil thing is fabricated
also? Lots of studies.
How about glucosamine, again a lot of evidence. It seems to have stood the test of
time.
Is there an underlying thought process here?
Thanks
Michael
Mike,
It's all BS. I am lucky enough to know tons of the biggest and strongest guys in the
world. I have trained tons of athletes who were inhumanly big and strong and fast. Not to sound cocky, but I, myself am fairly strong and fast and routinely outlift people who outweigh me by 50lbs or more. No one believes in that crap. And if they did use all that garbage do you think that they would actually be bigger or stronger? Of course not. Post workout nutrition is the biggest scam of all time. Yes, you replenish glycogen faster, blunt cortisol levels, blah, blah, blah. Who cares? It doesn't matter nor does it make the least bit difference in the REAL WORLD. If you read the studies you can force a placebo effect on yourself and think it all works and matters. It doesn't. If I have a Gatorade and pizza and my twin brother drinks some pre-made fancy post workout shake for 16 wks straight it will make absolutely no difference at all. It doesn't matter because unless you are training three times per day you don't need to worry about the fastest acting shake under the sun.
See some people believe everything they read. I believe nothing I read. I only want to hear from people who have tons of real world evidence that they have actually seen
supplements do anything with themselves or their hundreds of clients. You can set up
studies to prove anything. Studies are usually worth the paper they are printed on.
Another reason I hate post workout drinks is because I hate ingesting unhealthy processed chemical crap like that. I keep my unhealthy intake to beer, weed and fried food. I don't need to throw in 60 packs of aspartame and all kinds of other crap on top of it on a regular basis. Food always was, still is and always will be better than supplements.
Fish oil is great. Do people get enough EFA's? No. Should they eat more salmon? Yes. If they don't, I have no problem with fish oil. In fact I like it. I was just trying to make a point and as you know I always do so in an in your face fashion.
With glucosamine you kind of missed the point of the article. I was talking about performance enhancement, thus I will not even discuss glucosamine as it doesn't enter into the equation here at all.
I just prefer to get everything I need through a good, well rounded organic diet. Nobody can argue that that isn't better than whacking down buckets of pills and chemicals all day. In fact, as a health and fitness professional I think its negligent for me to recommend aspartame and all kinds of other fake shit to people. I would rather tell them to eat fruits and veggies and lean protein and nuts and drink beer on the weekends if they like. They will be much better off.
Like I said, supplements suck.
Jason- so you think all the research about post-workout nutrition is fabricated. Awful lot of evidence out there for over twenty years. Not sure where this idea is leading.
Do you think most people get enough essential fat? The fish oil thing is fabricated
also? Lots of studies.
How about glucosamine, again a lot of evidence. It seems to have stood the test of
time.
Is there an underlying thought process here?
Thanks
Michael
Mike,
It's all BS. I am lucky enough to know tons of the biggest and strongest guys in the
world. I have trained tons of athletes who were inhumanly big and strong and fast. Not to sound cocky, but I, myself am fairly strong and fast and routinely outlift people who outweigh me by 50lbs or more. No one believes in that crap. And if they did use all that garbage do you think that they would actually be bigger or stronger? Of course not. Post workout nutrition is the biggest scam of all time. Yes, you replenish glycogen faster, blunt cortisol levels, blah, blah, blah. Who cares? It doesn't matter nor does it make the least bit difference in the REAL WORLD. If you read the studies you can force a placebo effect on yourself and think it all works and matters. It doesn't. If I have a Gatorade and pizza and my twin brother drinks some pre-made fancy post workout shake for 16 wks straight it will make absolutely no difference at all. It doesn't matter because unless you are training three times per day you don't need to worry about the fastest acting shake under the sun.
See some people believe everything they read. I believe nothing I read. I only want to hear from people who have tons of real world evidence that they have actually seen
supplements do anything with themselves or their hundreds of clients. You can set up
studies to prove anything. Studies are usually worth the paper they are printed on.
Another reason I hate post workout drinks is because I hate ingesting unhealthy processed chemical crap like that. I keep my unhealthy intake to beer, weed and fried food. I don't need to throw in 60 packs of aspartame and all kinds of other crap on top of it on a regular basis. Food always was, still is and always will be better than supplements.
Fish oil is great. Do people get enough EFA's? No. Should they eat more salmon? Yes. If they don't, I have no problem with fish oil. In fact I like it. I was just trying to make a point and as you know I always do so in an in your face fashion.
With glucosamine you kind of missed the point of the article. I was talking about performance enhancement, thus I will not even discuss glucosamine as it doesn't enter into the equation here at all.
I just prefer to get everything I need through a good, well rounded organic diet. Nobody can argue that that isn't better than whacking down buckets of pills and chemicals all day. In fact, as a health and fitness professional I think its negligent for me to recommend aspartame and all kinds of other fake shit to people. I would rather tell them to eat fruits and veggies and lean protein and nuts and drink beer on the weekends if they like. They will be much better off.
Like I said, supplements suck.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Dont Believe Everything You Read
You have all read it and heard it before:
You need two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight a day.
You need a super fast acting post workout shake.
You need to take supplements to get big and strong.
You can't get stronger while dieting.
You need to do a dynamic warm up before lifting heavy.
You can't do conditioning or cardio if you want to get bigger and stronger.
These are all nonsensical myths that people want you to believe. If you do believe this stuff, it will actually be true. That's how the mind works. What you believe becomes your reality. I don't believe any of that stuff and thus it doesn't affect me or the hundreds of people I have trained over the last 13 years.
You don't need super high protein diets. It is a waste of your time and money to try to consume anything more than one gram per pound of bodyweight a day. The only time you would even need that much is if your carbs are extremely low. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. Cut out all your protein shakes and just eat food. Your protein will drop by at least 25% but I would be willing to bet it has no negative effect on your size or strength. This myth is spewed by those who sell protein; don't buy it.
It doesn't matter how fast you replenish glycogen after a workout unless you are training three times per day. Fat free chocolate milk is the best tasting post workout drink going and works as well as any high priced crap on the market today. There is one real benefit to a post workout drink and one benefit only; it helps you get in more calories. By the time you finish training you probably haven't eaten in at least two hours, maybe more. After you clean up, shower, drive home or to a restaurant, another hour could pass. But if you slug down some kind of shake immediately after your last set it gives you a quick few hundred calories, and then you can eat your meal in an hour when you get home. That's it. Plus, most people don't feel like eating solid food after a hard workout which leaves them choking back their own vomit for 30 minutes.
You don't need ANY SUPPLEMENTS AT ALL! ZERO. That's right, I said and I stand by it. Supplements suck. They are a waste of time. All of them. Period. The end. Get your vitamins and minerals from eating lots of fruits and vegetables and don't worry about creatine, glutamine or branched chains. Drink coffee if you need a pre workout boost.
If strength gains are made by improving your neural drive how come you can't get stronger while dieting? You can. If you believe you can't, you won't. If you don't buy into this, you will get stronger. Now some lifts, like squats and deadlifts, are easier when you weigh more and have a bigger waist because of the wider base of support. Many other lifts will be harder because your leverages will change as your measurements decrease. Who cares? Just keep training to get stronger and you will be fine. If you believe you can do it, you will. If you don't, you will be weak and small like an internet guru in no time.
The dynamic warm up is starting to get really played out. Yesterday I started my workout with high pulls. I walked into the gym and did the following dynamic warm up to prepare for this workout...High pulls. It was a great workout and I am still alive to tell the tale.
I have trained countless athletes over the years and all of them spent a great deal of time running, jumping and playing their sport on top of the time they spent in the gym with me. They all got bigger and stronger. Forget you ever heard the myth that too much conditioning kills your size and strength gains and do what you want. Run sprints, play hoops, whatever; you will be fine.
In the last few days I have done the following while dieting strictly(down 15lbs in the last month):
1 Arm DB Rows- 35 reps with the 100's
Touch football for two hours Saturday with no warm up
Sled dragging Sunday for an hour
Deadlifts, yesterday- 500x5 from pin 2
Sprints today- 30 minutes intervals
While there is nothing overly impressive about any of that I should point out that I have had less than a gram of protein per lb of bodyweight, 500-1000 calories below maintenance, zero supplements and zero protein shakes. If I believed every myth listed above I should be weak and hospitalized right now. For those that don't know, without eating right and training hard I have the genetics of Pee Wee Herman. So I am not a freak case. I also try all of this on many, many test subjects. The results are all the same.
Very soon I will be releasing my new training manual which will destroy every myth there is and explain everything you need to know about training, in full detail; uncensored and no BS. No editors, no nothing, just me dishing the straight truth that nobody wants to tell you.
Get ready...
You need two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight a day.
You need a super fast acting post workout shake.
You need to take supplements to get big and strong.
You can't get stronger while dieting.
You need to do a dynamic warm up before lifting heavy.
You can't do conditioning or cardio if you want to get bigger and stronger.
These are all nonsensical myths that people want you to believe. If you do believe this stuff, it will actually be true. That's how the mind works. What you believe becomes your reality. I don't believe any of that stuff and thus it doesn't affect me or the hundreds of people I have trained over the last 13 years.
You don't need super high protein diets. It is a waste of your time and money to try to consume anything more than one gram per pound of bodyweight a day. The only time you would even need that much is if your carbs are extremely low. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. Cut out all your protein shakes and just eat food. Your protein will drop by at least 25% but I would be willing to bet it has no negative effect on your size or strength. This myth is spewed by those who sell protein; don't buy it.
It doesn't matter how fast you replenish glycogen after a workout unless you are training three times per day. Fat free chocolate milk is the best tasting post workout drink going and works as well as any high priced crap on the market today. There is one real benefit to a post workout drink and one benefit only; it helps you get in more calories. By the time you finish training you probably haven't eaten in at least two hours, maybe more. After you clean up, shower, drive home or to a restaurant, another hour could pass. But if you slug down some kind of shake immediately after your last set it gives you a quick few hundred calories, and then you can eat your meal in an hour when you get home. That's it. Plus, most people don't feel like eating solid food after a hard workout which leaves them choking back their own vomit for 30 minutes.
You don't need ANY SUPPLEMENTS AT ALL! ZERO. That's right, I said and I stand by it. Supplements suck. They are a waste of time. All of them. Period. The end. Get your vitamins and minerals from eating lots of fruits and vegetables and don't worry about creatine, glutamine or branched chains. Drink coffee if you need a pre workout boost.
If strength gains are made by improving your neural drive how come you can't get stronger while dieting? You can. If you believe you can't, you won't. If you don't buy into this, you will get stronger. Now some lifts, like squats and deadlifts, are easier when you weigh more and have a bigger waist because of the wider base of support. Many other lifts will be harder because your leverages will change as your measurements decrease. Who cares? Just keep training to get stronger and you will be fine. If you believe you can do it, you will. If you don't, you will be weak and small like an internet guru in no time.
The dynamic warm up is starting to get really played out. Yesterday I started my workout with high pulls. I walked into the gym and did the following dynamic warm up to prepare for this workout...High pulls. It was a great workout and I am still alive to tell the tale.
I have trained countless athletes over the years and all of them spent a great deal of time running, jumping and playing their sport on top of the time they spent in the gym with me. They all got bigger and stronger. Forget you ever heard the myth that too much conditioning kills your size and strength gains and do what you want. Run sprints, play hoops, whatever; you will be fine.
In the last few days I have done the following while dieting strictly(down 15lbs in the last month):
1 Arm DB Rows- 35 reps with the 100's
Touch football for two hours Saturday with no warm up
Sled dragging Sunday for an hour
Deadlifts, yesterday- 500x5 from pin 2
Sprints today- 30 minutes intervals
While there is nothing overly impressive about any of that I should point out that I have had less than a gram of protein per lb of bodyweight, 500-1000 calories below maintenance, zero supplements and zero protein shakes. If I believed every myth listed above I should be weak and hospitalized right now. For those that don't know, without eating right and training hard I have the genetics of Pee Wee Herman. So I am not a freak case. I also try all of this on many, many test subjects. The results are all the same.
Very soon I will be releasing my new training manual which will destroy every myth there is and explain everything you need to know about training, in full detail; uncensored and no BS. No editors, no nothing, just me dishing the straight truth that nobody wants to tell you.
Get ready...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Things That Suck
First of all I have to apologize for my lack of posting lately. I have been incredibly busy with several things, including trying to finish a new project which will be launching in the next few weeks.
I promise I will get back to posting on a more frequent basis very soon.
Anyway, here's a list of things that suck (in no particular order):
1) Articles about the leg extension or smith machine being bad- OK, we fucking get it! EVERYBODY gets it. And I may be going out on a limb here but I don't think it's really cutting edge information anymore.
2) Dynamic warm ups- to quote my friend and world famous fitness expert who shall remain nameless, "fuck dynamic warmups (gayest term ever - even jogging is a fucking dynamic warmup - the only thing thats not a fucking dynamic warmup is standing motionless - idiots).
3) The anti static stretching movement- Static stretching is fine. Get over it.
4) Arguing full body workouts vs. splits- They both work in different situations. There is no right or wrong. Accept the fact.
5) Trying to constantly find the fastest acting post workout combo to put in a shake- Who gives a rat's ass? If I am able to replenish glycogen in two minutes or two hours, what difference does it really make? I'm not training again until TOMORROW!!! I'm sure I'll be fine and that the super lightning fast reverse osmosis hydrolyzed krprtonized, micronized, sanitized, desensitized, over analyzed, hypnotized, mesmerized whey wont work that much better than skim milk.
6) Articles about how steady state aerobic exercise sucks- The point has been made a million times. It's no longer cutting edge information. And it's still not 100% right. Like my good friend Jim Wendler said to me on the phone yesterday, "the last thing we need to do is being telling all the overweight people in this country that jogging is no good. Everyone should run a mile a day and maybe we'd all be a little healthier."
7) Lifting forums- Arguing training with someone on an internet training forum is about as whey(thanks to Jim for this term) as you can get.
8) Writing about how great you are in every article you write.
9) Strength coaches or trainers who can't squat at least 405. Are you kidding me?
10) Getting your bicep and ditch of your elbow tattooed. Call me a bitch, but that hurts.
11) Lists that end with 10.
I promise I will get back to posting on a more frequent basis very soon.
Anyway, here's a list of things that suck (in no particular order):
1) Articles about the leg extension or smith machine being bad- OK, we fucking get it! EVERYBODY gets it. And I may be going out on a limb here but I don't think it's really cutting edge information anymore.
2) Dynamic warm ups- to quote my friend and world famous fitness expert who shall remain nameless, "fuck dynamic warmups (gayest term ever - even jogging is a fucking dynamic warmup - the only thing thats not a fucking dynamic warmup is standing motionless - idiots).
3) The anti static stretching movement- Static stretching is fine. Get over it.
4) Arguing full body workouts vs. splits- They both work in different situations. There is no right or wrong. Accept the fact.
5) Trying to constantly find the fastest acting post workout combo to put in a shake- Who gives a rat's ass? If I am able to replenish glycogen in two minutes or two hours, what difference does it really make? I'm not training again until TOMORROW!!! I'm sure I'll be fine and that the super lightning fast reverse osmosis hydrolyzed krprtonized, micronized, sanitized, desensitized, over analyzed, hypnotized, mesmerized whey wont work that much better than skim milk.
6) Articles about how steady state aerobic exercise sucks- The point has been made a million times. It's no longer cutting edge information. And it's still not 100% right. Like my good friend Jim Wendler said to me on the phone yesterday, "the last thing we need to do is being telling all the overweight people in this country that jogging is no good. Everyone should run a mile a day and maybe we'd all be a little healthier."
7) Lifting forums- Arguing training with someone on an internet training forum is about as whey(thanks to Jim for this term) as you can get.
8) Writing about how great you are in every article you write.
9) Strength coaches or trainers who can't squat at least 405. Are you kidding me?
10) Getting your bicep and ditch of your elbow tattooed. Call me a bitch, but that hurts.
11) Lists that end with 10.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Speed Training Report Launches Today!
It's finally here! My friend Patrick Beith and his partner Latif Thomas, both world renowned speed experts, have just launched the Speed Report and I don't think you will want to miss out on the limited time introductory offer. For the best in speed training information click HERE now.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Lift Strong
This morning, while in the midst of my "upper body dynamic warm up" (three, cross chest arm swings; think Hulk Hogan on his way to the ring to wrestle the Iron Shiek in '84)I remembered that I had forgotten to notify everyone of the launch of a very exciting new project.
My good friend and two time cancer survivor, Alwyn Cosgrove, recruited a number of the top experts in the fitness industry for a huge compilation of incredible information. It is a total of over 800 pages of kick ass training info for only $24.99!!! All of the proceeds go to cancer research.
Please visit http://www.liftstrong.com/ to pick up your copy today.
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