Explosive Power, No More Back Pain & Ripped Abs?

If you have never heard of Jim Smith of The Diesel Crew you have definitely been missing out. Jim is by far and away one of the most brilliant and innovative minds in the entire strength and conditioning industry today and never ceases to impress his peers with his unique training methods.

I sat down with him recently to discuss his new manual, Combat Core.

Question: Jim, what do you think is the biggest mistake most trainers make when trying to develop core strength?

[JS] Most trainers focus on what I have dubbed building strength of movement patterns. What they fail to realize is that this is only one piece of the total puzzle. Building strength in the gym with movements like leg lifts, sit-ups, reverse sit-ups and so on...is a compliment to a bigger, more comprehensive core strength program. There are other criteria that make up the rest of the pyramid that I have established in Combat Core.

Question: What, in your opinion, is the biggest myth concerning abdominal programs?

[JS] For trainers, I would point to my previous response. For the general public and even athletes, I would say that they believe that "more is better." They believe, if they do 1000 crunches each workout, they will get ripped abs. Of course, the real answer is that being able to display a sick set of abs is the direct result of low body fat levels. If you want abs, you better get the fat off that is covering them.

Question: How does core strength affect back pain and posture?

[JS] Your abdominals and back musculature work together to stabilize and protect the spine, hips and pelvis. If any of these muscle groups (and surrounding structures) are weak, posture is affected and sometimes the muscles (groups) become inhibited which causes the secondary movers to become overactive or on-tension. This will inevitably lead to injury and poor performance. Building torso strength by incorporating compound exercises that activate many muscle groups at the same time, teaches the lifter or athlete to move their body as a single, coordinated unit. Isolated exercises tend to lead to imbalances if used too much.

Question: How have your abdominal training strategies changed over the years?

[JS] I used to think that by throwing in a couple sets of sit-ups or leg raises at the end of the workout was enough torso strengthening work. But over the years as I have gained experience and continued to study performance, I have developed a new, more comprehensive training model specific to athletes. The same attention and effort that you put in to planning your primary training sessions, you must also spend on designing your core training strategies.
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Jim is having a huge sale on Combat Core that ends at midnight, tonight. If you place your order between now and midnight you will receive five limited time only bonuses that absolutely kick ass.

Combat Core is by far and away one of the most impressive works I have seen from any fitness professional in a long, long time. It honestly blew me away and I picked up tons of unique new exercises while reading it.

Click HERE now to get your copy today.

12 Week Transformation Contest

I am very excited to announce that we are
holding the first ever Muscle Gaining Secrets
12 Week Transformation Contest.

The rules of the contest are the following:

--You must be a Muscle Gaining Secrets
customer and use one of the workouts from
the package.

--You must register in our private forum
and post your before pictures.

--You must begin on or before April 4th.

--The contest ends on July 4th, 2008.

The prizes awarded to the top finishers will
be:

1st place- $1,000.00
2nd place- $500.00
3rd place- $250.00

We will also be adding some bonuses prizes
as time goes on.

This is the perfect time to start
getting in shape for summer and have a shot
at a thousand bucks while you're at it.

So what are you waiting for?

Get on over to
http://www.musclegainingsecrets.com, now
and start getting jacked today.

Train hard,
Jason Ferruggia

Dining With Danzig

Along with my friend Sean Hyson of Men’s Fitness, I had lunch on Saturday with Mac Danzig, the winner of last seasons Ultimate Fighter and future UFC champion. Upon meeting Mac for the first time one of the things you notice immediately is that he is incredibly polite and respectful; nothing like the image that they created for him through the magic of editing on The Ultimate Fighter. The second thing you notice is that his hands are incredibly huge compared to the rest of his body and that you probably wouldn’t want to get hit by one of them.

Following are a few highlights from the conversation we had at one of New York’s top vegetarian restaurants:

•He doesn’t weight train because he gets too big too fast and just doesn’t really enjoy it. Instead he does bodyweight exercises.

•He loves running/sprinting for conditioning.

•Most of his training/conditioning work is just MMA training.

•He stopped consuming all dairy products in 1999 due to a recurrence of sinus and respiratory issues among other things.

•His condition and immune system improved immediately and his sinus problems were a thing of the past.

•He doesn’t believe in high protein diets. He walks around at 170 and competes at 155 but only consumes 100-140 grams of protein per pound daily.

•He drinks a gallon to a gallon and half of water per day.

•His diet consists of lots of brown rice, quinoa, tempeh, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils. He cheats in the off season with soy ice cream or vegan cookies.

•He swears by The Ultimate Meal and Vega meal replacements and says he notices improvements in energy and recovery ability when taking them.

•Since swearing off all animal products he has never felt or performed better. His sleep quality has also increased noticeably.

•He is a huge music fan and listens to an incredibly wide variety of stuff including Black Sabbath, Wu Tang Clan, Neil Young, Peal Jam, Public Enemy, Ministry and of course, Danzig.

How to Gain Weight & Build a Barn Door Sized Back

If you want know how to gain weight and build a thick, muscular back there are three exercises that you need to become very familiar with. Those exercise are chin ups, rows and lastly but most importantly; deadlifts. If you did nothing but those three exercises faithfully you would end up with a thick and impressive looking back.

When it comes to uncovering the secrets of how to gain weight you need to realize that the back muscles make up a huge portion of your total musculature and that developing them will add countless pounds to your frame.

So how do we go about developing all of the muscles of the back? Firstly we have to address the traps which start at the neck and go all the way down to the mid back. These can be worked most effectively with dead lifts, shrugs and hang cleans. Deadlifts can be done for anywhere between one and twenty reps. Shrugs are best kept at 6-12 reps and cleans should usually be done for six reps or less.

Next on the list are the smaller muscles around the shoulder blade area which are the infraspinatus, rhomboids, teres major and minor and rear deltoids. These muscles work during all forms of rows. If you are really looking to get the most bang for you buck and to work as many muscles as possible then stick with big compound rowing exercises like dumbbell and barbell rows. These will work most muscles in your back. But if you are more advanced and want to isolate and directly target some of these smaller muscles you can do that with face pulls, bent over lateral raises, scare crows and external rotations. These smaller isolation type exercises are not necessary but can help prevent imbalances and can put the finishing touches on a well muscled back. Unlike other isolation exercises like leg extensions and concentration curls, these exercises actually do serve some purpose and are effective at building size and strength and preventing injury. When utilizing some of these smaller isolation exercises be sure to keep the reps in the 8-12 range as that is what seems to work best for these muscles.

The lats are next and are the muscles that stick out under your armpits and give you the appearance of width. They make up a great deal of the total back musculature. To really increase the size of your lats and thus the width of your back, focus on all variations of chin ups and the occasional higher rep set of pulldowns.

Lastly we have the erector spinae which is basically the lower back musculature. This area extends from the top of the glutes up to the traps. A well developed set of erector spinae really stands out and lets people know you are way more than all show and no go. There is no better lower back exercise than the deadlift and its variations. Some other great erector spinae builders are good mornings, back extensions and reverse hypers. These exercises should be done for 6-20 reps, while deadlifts can be done for 1-20 reps.

While everything written above is important and should be considered, you could ignore all of it and just deadlift on a regular basis and still develop a very impressive back. Whenever someone asks me how to gain weight I tell them to eat a lot and do deadlifts. Deadlifts are the king of the back builders and work every muscle group. If you are pressed for time, stick with deadlifts. If you have more time to dedicate to building a big back do two sets each, twice per week of some type of deadlift or lower back exercise (deads should only be done once per week as they are very tough to recover from), shrug, upper back “isolation move,” compound row and chin up.
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For more advice on how to gain weight visit MuscleGainingSecrets.com

New Private Members Forum

Many of my emails have not been getting through to people so I am announcing this here. We recently started a private members only forum for those of you who have purchased Muscle Gaining Secrets. The forum is free for one year if you purchased the book. If you have not received the email about your membership please contact Eileen at info@relentless-athletics.com with the subject header "Private Forum."

Try to have your ClickBank receipt. If you don't have it we can check your info for you and get you into the forum but having it would make things much easier.

Thanks and see you in the forum.

Got Milk?

May of you know by now that dairy is not good for getting lean. Others probably know that the consumption of dairy products has been linked to a decreased immune system response.

But there may be a few things about milk that you don't know.

Before you have another glass of milk or consider chugging another whey or casein shake or loading an extra slice of cheese on your sandwich you should know that most of us are lactose intolerant to some degree.

All human beings can handle lactose as babies. Most of us lose this ability as adults. The majority of adults have some level of lactose intolerance. It is not a rarity but rather the normal state for fully grown adults; we simply don't need milk anymore.

Below are some more accurate numbers, although as stated, most of us have lactose intolerance to some degree.

Lactose Intolerance Among...

People of Asian descent- 90-100%
People of Native American descent- 95%
People of African descent- 65-70%
People of Italian descent- 65-70%
People of Hispanic descent- 50-60%
People of Caucasian descent- 10%

You also have to consider that human beings are the only species that actually drinks the milk of another species. Think about that for a second and really let it sink in.

If I poured someone a glass of milk that I just squeezed out of a pregnant womans right breast they would freak out and not even consider drinking it. But if I poured them a glass of milk laced with 80 different allowable antibiotics (according to the FDA) that I just got down on my knees and squeezed out of a smelly, disgusting cow that same person wouldn't think twice about slugging it right down.

Pretty disgusting if you ask me.

High milk consumption has also been shown in studies to actually increase the risk for osteoporosis instead of decrease it. In fact, the calcium absorption rate of milk is quite low.

Below are calcium absorption rates for a few different foods:

Brussel sprouts- 63.8%
Mustard greens- 57.8%
Broccoli- 52.6%
Turnip greens- 51.6%
Kale- 50%
Cow's milk- 32%


As you may have guessed I am not a fan of milk consumption and no longer recommend it for anyone. But the choice is yours.

What should I drink instead?

Water.

What about in my cereal or with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk or oat milk.

Doesn't soy increase estrogen?

The research is not conclusive in my opinion but even if it does, 1-2 cups of soy milk won't be enough to do it. Of course, if you are a pear shaped fat ass who already has a pair of D cups I wouldn't go near anything that even had a one in a billion chance of being slightly estrogenic.

I drink a glass or two of soy milk a day and haven't noticed anything negative from it. I also use rice and almond milk.

How to Overcome Weight Training Plateaus

When you are stuck with a certain weight on a certain exercise but are progressing across the board with the rest of your program there are a few things you can do.

Sometimes making five pound weight jumps is too much for most people. The problem, however is that you have no other choice. Most gyms only carry 2.5 pound plates which amount to a five pound increase when you put one on each side of the bar. With dumbbells it’s even worse because they go up in five pound increments which amount to ten pounds total. The way around this is to invest in some 1.25 pound plates and some Plate Mates. If you search the internet you can some sites that carry 1.25 pound plates or even one pound plates. These are great for adding to the bar in order to make small, consistent gains, week after week. Plate Mates are weighted magnets that come in 1.25 and 5/8 pound increments. They can be stuck on the end of dumbbells to allow for smaller increases from week to week. I highly recommend that you invest in both of these if you are interested in making continual progress and never want to hit another plateau.

If you don’t yet have one or 1.25 pound plates or Plate Mates you could add weight to the bar even if it means you have to drop out of your rep range slightly. So if you are supposed to be doing 5-8 reps in your program but are stuck with 225 pounds for seven and can’t go up you could actually try going to 230 at your next workout. While this may sound counterintuitive at first you have to realize that it is a new stimulus so at least you are not repeating the same thing again which does nothing to help you make progress. Even if you only get four reps with 230, it’s ok; it’s still something new. Next week you will try to get five reps with 230 and so on and so on. You will find, over time, some of your muscle groups have better endurance than others and that it is easier to add reps on some exercises while it is easier to simply add weight on others. This is just something that is very individual and which you will have to monitor closely over time.

The next thing you can do to break your plateau is to skip your second set of the exercise and instead of doing two straight sets do just one rest-pause set. So you would go to failure with 225, which in our hypothetical example would be six reps. At that point you put the weight down and take 10-15 deep breaths while resting 20-30 seconds. After your brief rest period grab the weight again and proceed to go to failure. You will usually get about half the reps you did on the first set so this would be three reps in our example. Repeat the sequence one more time and then move on to your next exercise. At the following workout you would try to beat the total number of reps that you got in the three sets.

Another option is to make a slight change to the way you do the exercise. Sometimes moving your grip in or out to the strongest position is enough of a change to get you on the road to progress again. So if you are bench pressing with a 26 inch grip you could move it out to a 30 inch grip. Most people will be stronger with a slightly wider grip because the range of motion is slightly less. If you were doing a chin up or pulldown you could move your grip inwards where you would again be stronger. This basically becomes a new stimulus that the body is not prepared for. It will also allow you to get more reps with the same weight or increase the weight which is a new stimulus as well as mentally stimulating and refreshing.

So there you have it, a variety of ways to bust through your plateaus and keep making consistent, steady progress. The end result will be a considerably bigger, stronger you.

Now go get after it.
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For more ideas on how to get out of your rut and smash through plateaus check out MuscleGainingSecrets.com.

How to Build Muscle Fast

If you want to build muscle fast there are a few very important factors you need to be aware of. First of all, if you have less than Herculean genetics you need to be sure to avoid overtraining. There are several different ways to do this which are listed below.

• Don’t do more than 12-15 sets per workout.
• Don’t train for longer than an hour.
• Don’t train more than four days per week; three days is even better.
• Don’t train for more than 8-12 weeks without taking a week off.
• Don’t train with 90% or above your one rep max for more than three weeks in a row.

Those are a few of the easiest ways to avoid overtraining. Heeding that advice will definitely help you build muscle fast.

Productive mass building workouts are centered on one concept and one concept only; progressive overload. You have to consistently get stronger and lift more weight and do more reps if you ever want to get bigger. Doing the same thing repeatedly will get you absolutely nowhere and is a complete waste of your time.

Also, you need to be sure that you are using big, compound exercises like squats, deadlifts and chin ups with heavy weights. Don’t waste your time with isolation exercises and pumping techniques that do nothing to help you build muscle fast.

Next, you need to be sure your diet is in order. This means that you are eating copious amounts of food every 2-3 hours. Going longer than this without a meal will impede your progress and you will never get huge. You should be focusing on organic whole foods such as grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for the majority of your calories. The rest of your intake should be made up of clean sources of protein like eggs and fish.

Another thing that will help you build muscle fast is paying the utmost attention to your recovery. You should be getting as much rest as possible which includes sleeping a minimum of eight hours per night and hopefully even taking a short nap during the day. Another thing that can boost your recovery ability is regular massage. This can be a real massage from a masseuse or just a simple self massage with a foam roller or tennis ball. Either way you do it will help tremendously, just be sure to do it.

Although most people overlook its importance, stretching is another crucially important component of a good muscle building program. Stretching can help tight muscles grow more efficiently and can even help prevent injuries in certain instances. If you don’t do any stretching now, I highly recommend that you start. You will be pleasantly surprised by the results, I’m sure.

If you follow the tips above you will build muscle fast; perhaps faster than you ever imagined. I have provided the information, now it’s up to you to use it.

Good luck.
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For more tips on how to build muscle fast visit www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com

The Single Most Important Factor

What is the single most important thing you can do at the gym to ensure that you will continually get bigger and stronger?

It’s very simple. The most important thing you can do each and every single time you go to the gym is try to set a PR (personal record) on every lift you do. That’s it. What this means is that you should always be trying do either do more reps with the same weight (within reason, any sets above 12 on most upper body exercises and 15-20 reps on lower body exercises will do nothing to stimulate muscle growth) or more weight for the same number of reps. Doing the same thing that you have done in a previous workout will do absolutely nothing to help you get bigger and stronger. The first time you apply a new stress to the body it will adapt by building itself up bigger and stronger. But when it faces that exact same stress again the next time, it will be prepared for it and thus will not adapt again. This is why you have to go up in either weight or reps and try to set a new PR.

Powerlifters and weightlifters continually try to set PR’s in contests. They also do this in training by testing their one rep maxes every few weeks or months. But setting PR’s does not have to be relegated to singles. You should try to set six rep PR’s, ten rep PR’s and twenty rep PR’s. You always have to be improving. To do this you have to keep detailed records of everything you do in a training journal and always look back at it so you have a goal to shoot for at every workout and on every set you do.

No set should ever be done without the goal of setting a PR. The only exceptions are prehab exercises and times when you are rehabbing from an injury. If you continually try to set PR’s on everything you do it gives your workout a much greater purpose and meaning. Not only that but it is a thousand times more fun than just mindlessly going through the motions trying to get a pump. Suddenly your workout becomes something that has quantifiable results that can be measured each and every single time you set foot in the gym. What could be more motivating than that? Chasing PR’s also eliminates all the useless junk volume that most people end up doing after they have finished their main exercises.

Even if you start your workout with big exercises like chin ups and military presses and set new eight rep PR’s on those, it doesn’t mean that when you get to the little exercises and the end like hammer curls and pushdowns that should forget the principle and just do whatever it takes to get a pump. On the contrary, you should still be trying to set a new eight, ten or twelve rep PR on both of those exercises as well.

Forget about adding more sets, decreasing your rest periods and supersetting for a while because none of those approaches will ever give you the long lasting results you are looking for. If you want to really ramp up the speed at which you build muscular size and strength, start trying to set PR’s on every lift you do and get ready to be blown away by the results you achieve and how much more enjoyable your training will become.
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To dramatically increase the effectiveness of your training, go to MuscleGainingSecrets.com
, now.

"I gained 18 pounds of muscle, got noticeably leaner, faster and increased my bench press by 35 pounds in one summer using Jay's Muscle Gaining Secrets and dominated the competition when I returned to camp in August. When it comes to designing muscle building workouts, Jay is the best there is. ”
Jay Frank
Linebacker, Northeastern University

"Yo Jay! F*CKING THANK YOU! I can't tell you how much other nonsense workout programs I used that didn't do sh*t compared to Muscle Gaining Secrets. This is actually blowing me away. The info is awesome and the results are sick! People think I'm using steroids. I'm up 9 pounds in my first three weeks and my strength is crazy! I will send you more updates and pics real soon. Thanks bro.”
Mike Ritello
Stamford, Connecticut

Train Smarter

I enjoy all of your advice. Still, this "live to fight another day" piece came at just the right time. I too was deadlifting. With 495 on the bar and a plan to get a few at 585 I felt a twinge. Lucky I had checked my email earlier today. Your course is already helping me to put on more size with less time in the gym than I've experienced in a decade, so, there was no way I wasn't going to listen to this tidbit. I decided to put away the fangs, ratchet back down and move on to chin-ups. Not a doubt in my mind it was the right thing to do. Nor do I doubt I would have gone the other way if you had not interjected. Tomorrow instead of cursing myself, I look forward to some cardio. (not really but I'm going to do it anyway ; )

Thanks,
Lonny MacDougall
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Jason,
I can't tell you how helpful this would have been had I thought about this last week. I appreciate your newsletters and benefit from their guidance and suggestions. I love the kettlebells myself!

A brief history of my lifting career...I started powerlifting about 6 years ago with Donnie Thompson and Mark "Spud" Bartley, Carl Tillman, Shedrick "Tex" Henderson and a few others at the Compound in Columbia, South Carolina. During that time I did about 4 strongman meets. I did well in the powerlifting setting some state and national records but never did very well in the strongman because I wasn't conditioning myself nor was I training for it very often (did a few weekend training sessions with strongman/powerlifter Mikey Johnson). Then after recovering from a torn distal bicep tear, surgery and PT, about 15 months later I had regained all the strength I had before but my passion for PLing was gone. So, about April of '07 I switched to olympic lifting and began training with a renound oly coach here in SC, Mike Srock. I have been doing that full time for the last few months and haven't really gotten into the groove with the %'s during my workouts or without using gear.

Last week, doing heavy front squat singles (I have never done heavy front squats), I decided to see what I could do for a single. On my last set of 365lbs I went down and "POP!" I dumped the weight, left the gym and went to an orthopedic doc the next day. I have either torn my IT (unlikely he says) or my vastus lateralis. There is no bruising, but it does hurt=pain when I squat down/stand up. From the looks of the deformation in my outter quad, I think it's a partial tear of the IT.
I'm 28 now and have been lifting long enough to know, not to do something as stupid as I did. I shouldn't have tried to go heavy on the front squats, much less tried heavy singles! :(

But this too, has been another learning experience, just like the torn bicep tendon tear. I will be that much more of a cautious/smarter lifter.


Very Sincerely,

Aaron G. Pickens, CSCS
Spartanburg, SC
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Jason:

I couldn't agree more. This principle has saved me a few times here recently. Keep up the great articles. I've learned a tremendous amount from your previous e-books and look forward to learning more in the future.

Regards,

Ken Finley
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Jason,
I couldn't agree more. I am in the same boat with my back. When I
feel this "twinge" on the left side, I am better off terminating the
training for that day. I will be way stiff and unable to train for a week
if I ignore what my body is trying to tell me. Took me a while to realize
this, but I can get back in the gym sooner if I listen to my body. Keep up
the great work.
Dale
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Jason,

Solid advice today bro.

I made the mistake of continuing through the pain a while back while I was performing dynamic squats. I was using about 50% of my max with light bands and had already done 2 sets before I tweaked my back but wasn't smart enough to call it early. By set 5 I was about crippled. Took several weeks for me to get back to normal and now feel weak as piss.

I guess one day i'll learn.

AJ
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Visit MuscleGainingSecrets.com for smarter mass building workouts and get twice the results in half the time.

The Smart Thing To Do

Last night I was at the gym doing deadlifts. I had planned on doing two sets but I went a little heavier than I should have on my first set. As I stripped a plate off each side to prepare for my back off set I felt a twinge in my back while bending over. I stood up and tried to stretch out but it didn’t help much.

“Whatever,” I thought. I have had this happen a hundred times and have always plowed through it. I put the plates back and tightened up the collars.

When I finished writing in my training journal I dropped my pen and bent over to pick it up. Again my back felt like something wasn’t quite right. In the past I would have ignored these signs and would have tried to be tough and work through it.

This time was different though. I thought long and hard and concluded that I didn’t feel like getting injured again or at least being a little messed up for a few days.

So I skipped the set and unloaded the bar. I can’t tell you the last time I made such a smart decision in the weight room. It’s taken quite a few years but maybe I finally matured enough to not push through pain and hurt myself. I can only hope so.

This morning I woke up and felt great. I know for a fact that I would have felt terrible and would have been hobbling around all day if I did that second set. I have had the exact feeling plenty of times before.

Sometimes it’s just not worth it.

I have had several injuries in the gym over the last 20 years that could have been avoided if I trained smarter and listened to my body. My ego and relentless determination always got the best of me, however.

The morale of the story is that no matter how bad you want it, no matter how hardcore you are…you have to listen to your body. You can avoid so many injuries and continue to make great progress if you do. Some days you just won’t be able to generate any intensity no matter how hard you try. On days like that you probably shouldn’t be training. Don’t use it as an excuse, but if you are genuinely off your game that day, skip your workout or do less.

You will stay healthy and make continual progress. There is nothing worse than being on the shelf for three months with an injury. Trust me on that one. Smarter training equals better results.

Visit MuscleGainingSecrets.com now for the best mass building workouts around.

Genetics and Muscle Building

Question: Just how big of a role do genetics play in the muscle building process? Are some people doomed from the word go, or is this nothing but a lame excuse?

Answer: Genetics definitely play a role in how big you can eventually get. Some guys can get absolutely jacked by eating three meals per day and doing a few sets of pushups and chin ups. These guys can also do workouts that would overtrain most of us into the ground and grow from them. This doesn’t mean you should compare yourself to them or do what they do. Some people succeed in spite of what they do. Great genetics let you get away with subpar training and a less than optimal diet.

But the fact of the matter is that these guys are few and far between. Most of us don’t have that luxury and will have to do everything right in our muscle building workouts and with our diets to gain serious amounts of mass. This fact is not to be used as an excuse for your failures and shortcomings, however. Everyone, and I mean everyone, can gain at least fifty pounds of muscle from the time they first start weight training. It may take some longer than others, but it can be done, every time. If you train and eat right there are no excuses. Sure you may never look like Flex Wheeler or Ronnie Coleman but you can make incredible improvements. The “hard gainer” excuse is nothing but a lame cop out, in my eyes. I have terrible muscle building genetics and have trained several guys who were in the same boat. We all gained a minimum of fifty pounds of muscle with some guys gaining close to a hundred. My advice to everyone is to ignore this kind of talk and forget about your genetics entirely. Don't listen to the weak minded losers who will tell you that those kinds of gains are impossible without drugs. They are destined for failure in all that they do in life. It’s corny and clichéd but if you believe it, you can achieve it.
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For the best muscle building workouts you will find, visit MuscleGainingSecrets.com.

Muscle Building Cardio

Many people live in constant fear that too much cardio will cause them to lose muscular size and strength. Their fears are not unfounded; too much cardio will, indeed, eat away muscle tissue and cause strength losses. There are a few types of cardio, however that will actually do the opposite. Instead of cardio that just burns fat or just improves your cardiovascular system or, worse yet, does neither of those but just causes muscle loss, there is actually such a thing as muscle building cardio.

Unfortunately most people don't do it. They waste all their time on the stair climber or eliptical machine when they could actually be doing something that will burn fat and build muscle at the same time.

My favorite types of muscle building cardio are sprints, hill sprints, sled sprints and Prowler sprints. These workouts should be be performed in the following manner:

-- Warm up thoroughly.

-- Sprint for 5-20 seconds straight as hard and as fast as you can.

-- Rest for 1-3 minutes or as long as needed to catch your breath, bring your heart rate down a bit, and prevent yourself from throwing up.

-- Repeat for 15-20 minutes 2-3 days per week.

This type of cardio training is what produces the incredible physiques you see on sprinters and NFL wide receivers. Technically it's not traditional, old school cardio, but it works to get you big and lean.

The most dangerous form of muscle building cardio is plain old sprints. If you are not accustomed to sprinting regularly you are at great risk for a hamstring, hip flexor or knee injury. Hill sprints slow you down, especially if the hill is fairly steep and for that reason are much safer. Sprinting with a sled attached to your waist does the same thing and is very effective and very safe. Pushing the Prowler is an incredibly demanding but result producing workout. For those who are unfamiliar with the Prowler, it is pictured above and can be purchased at EliteFTS.com. It is worth every penny and will get you in great shape in a hurry.

There you have; the most effective forms of muscle building cardio. Get off the Nordic Track and give these workouts a try today. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Holidays

I just wanted to take a second to wish everyone a very happy & healthy holiday season. Thanks for all your support this year, I really appreciate it. I hope you have a great one.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,
Jay

Cool New York Times Article

Click HERE to check it out.

How to Build an Impressive Chest

Question: I have heard that the bench press is a crappy chest exercise. Is this true? If it sucks, what’s better?

Answer: The bench press is a great exercise. If you bench properly, there will be minimal pectoral involvement, however. The triceps and front delts will do most of the work. This is individual and is based on your strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part, your chest will not be doing the majority of the work when you bench press.

Trying to make the bench press target the pecs more by bringing your elbows out wide and lowering the bar up higher on your chest (the way that bodybuilding magazines typically show you how to do it) is a shoulder injury waiting to happen, so that’s not an option to even consider. I did these many years ago for a few months before I knew any better and my shoulder has never been the same since. Don't make the same mistakes that I did.

Even though the pecs do not do the majority of work during the bench press I still think it's is a tremendous, if somewhat overused, mass builder for the whole upper body. If you have shoulder issues, however, it should be avoided at all costs, but for everyone else it is one of the great upper-body exercises.

Equally as effective, if not more so, is the dumbbell bench press. The dumbbells allow a more natural range of motion and are much safer. These can be done on a flat bench or an incline bench. The dumbbells also give you the option of pressing with your palms facing down toward your feet (pronated) as they do when you press with a bar or with your palms facing each other, in toward your body. The latter variety places less stress on your shoulders but if you are healthy you could probably use both varieties.

Finally, pushups of all varieties will always remain among my top chest builders. My favorites are weighted blast-strap (blast straps are available at EliteFTS.com) pushups with the straps set about five feet apart from each other. The function of the pecs is to draw the arms across the midline of the body. By setting the straps far apart from each other, you make the pecs function in this way as you press/pull yourself back up from the bottom position. You have to do it and feel it to appreciate what I’m talking about, but I don’t think you will find a better chest exercise than this. If, like Frank Rizzo of the Jerky Boys, you have a chest like a wet blanket, then I highly recommend you give this exercise a try.

JF
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For more highly effective mass building exercises visit MuscleGainingSecrets.com.

Quick Tip of the Day

Drink more water. Not only is it healthy and not only does it keep all systems running effectively but it also helps store carbohydrates more efficiently. A lack of water can also decrease performance. If you are slightly dehydrated you will automatically be weaker.

Dehdration can also lead to catabolism.

Whoa!

Say what?

That's right, my friends, dehydration can lead to muscle catabolism (muscle loss). More people are dehydrated than know it. If your urine isn't clear there is a good chance that you are not optimally hyrated. And if you are not hydrated then you could be getting smaller and weaker.

Now stop staring at Jessica Biel's ass and go drink some water.

A Supplement That Actually Does Something

Today's post is stolen from my good friend Keith Scott of KeithScottTraining.com.

I agree 100% with what he said and wanted to share it with you in case you have been living under a rock and haven't started taking fish oil yet.
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The INCREDIBLE Benefits of Fish Oil
By Keith Scott

If you don’t supplement with fish oil then you are missing out on one of the best researched, most effective and important supplements on the market. Before I start with the benefits, a quick explanation of what fish oil is might help to start this off in the right direction.

Fish oil is derived mostly from the fatty tissues of cold water, fatty fish such as mackerel, herring, trout, sardines, and albacore tuna. Fish oil is considered an essential fatty acid (EFA) and contains mostly the omega 3 fatty acid.

With each day that goes by, there seems to be more and more research out there claiming another great benefit of supplementing with fish oil. To summarize the gist of what has been written and research in a few words; this stuff is pretty amazing!

Reported Benefits of Supplementing with Fish Oil:

• Fat Loss and improved body composition – Research has shown that fish oil seems to turn on the body’s fat burning mechanism and even better, it was shown that most of the fat loss was in the abdominal region. Yes, your belly fat!

• Fights Inflammation – reduces the inflammation causing substances in the body. Inflammation will kill you eventually. It wreaks havoc on your body and long term health. Not to mention it is responsible for painful conditions around the body. Fish oil can help with muscle soreness and joint pain

• Improves cardiovascular health –Fish oil lowers triglycerides, reduces the likely hood of blood clots, can lower high blood pressure & reduces the chance of stroke.

• Mental Health – Fish oil has been reported to reduce depression, and elevate the mood. It was even found that fish oil supplementation in children with ADHD dramatically improved their symptoms and in some children, allowed them to get off of all medication for the disorder.

• Healthy Eyes - Fish Oil fights Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma and dry-eye syndrome
• Boosts the immune system

• Can increase sex drive

• Helps with menstrual pain

• Improves digestion

• Fights Osteoporosis

• Helps to prevent cancer

• Lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease

• Helps with Asthma

• Helps with Multiple Sclerosis symptoms

• Helps with skin problems – Eczema, and psoriasis

• Helps with Diabetes

• Can lower stress

• Reduces headaches

• Helps with Fibromyaglia

Personally, I have been taking it for over 2 years and have noticed amazing changes. I feel better day to day with less muscular pain and joint pain…even after lifting heavy weights. I also seem to handle stress better, and am usually in a good mood.
The evidence is there. Do your own research if you must, but in my opinion, this supplement is a must for everyone.

Questions & Answers

Question: I've read that stretching before your workout lowers your power for about
15mins after the stretch, which is the bulk of the lifting session. Is that
true? If so, should I be stretching at all before my workouts? Thanks!

-SSgt Carol L. Miller Jr.

Answer: Carol, it is debatable how long this negative effect lasts. I don't recommend stretching statically before training unless you absolutely need to in order for you to get into certain positions. This means that if you have chronically tight hips and can't squat properly without hitting a few static stretches before then by all means do so. If you do this, try not to hold the stretches for longer than ten seconds and then repeat as many times as needed. Also, after holding the static stretch be sure to briefly contract the muscle for a second or two. Doing this seems to prevent some of the negative effects. A better option would be dynamic or PNF stretching where you stretch the muscle against resistance. PNF stretching is also known as the contract/relax method.

If you don't need to stretch before training then definitely don't. It does nothing to improve performance or prevent injury.

Question: i have been onto a lot of sites and now receive a lot of emails from people telling me tips and pointers.

Firstly i must say ur the most helpful, but i have read something you said am not exactly sure what to beleive.

You said that all supplements are a waste of money and that they dont work,
But there is the guy i still know to this day i went to school with him he is using a supplement im not exactly sure what brand but i think it is creatine when we went to school together he was tiny and i havent seen him for a while but we have the same friends, also i have seen photos.

He is now bench pressing 140 kg he is dedicated but he says that the product he uses works , just wanting to no what you think also i would like to read anything that you could send me that could help me THANKS ALOT
P.s this guy is HUge
Kade Allen

Answer: Kade, just because a guy built a significant amount of muscle in the years since you have seen him doesn't meant that creatine is solely responsible for his progress. He could have been training hard and eating right and made great gains from doing that. Having said that, I will say that creatine is one of the few decent supplements out there but it is not the miracle pill people expect. If you have trained properly with a great nutrition and recovery program for at least two years, then by all means give creatine a shot. Just don't expect mind blowing results.

Question:
I had no idea that plastics had such big an impact on the estrogen levels on its own. While I avoid plastic bottled water, I still eat out of Tupperware container (doing it right now in fact. I know. Bad weightlifter!). But I was wondering if it matters, if the content of the Tupperware container is heated or not. Do the plastics damage the food, even though you don't heat the food? If yes, is the food significantly less damaged or is all the same?

Second question, regarding column #2...
Does this mean, that the more chewing motions you make during and AFTER a meal, even though you are DONE chewing the food, the better the nutrient absorption and thermic effect of the meal?

Thanks for your time, in advance.
Jeppe Jakobsen

Answer: Jeppe, yes, eating out of tupperware or any kind of plastic containers does have a negative effect on estrogen levels, whether it is heated or not. Now, how great is this effect? I don't know for sure. I also know that it is difficult or nearly impossible to avoid plastics completely but I do think that it's a good idea to avoid any increases in estrogen as much as possible, no matter how small it may be.

I wouldn't get overly concerned about the chewing afterwards but just try to be conscious of chewing your food as much and as well as possible. It has been suggested that 50 chews per mouthful of food should be the number to shoot for.

JF

PS: Looking for some great reading info during your Christmas break? Pick of your copy of Muscle Gaining Secrets today by clicking HERE now.

Rear Delt Training?

It never fails to make me laugh when I see 136 pound guys in the gym training their rear delts. Does anyone know how ridiculous this? If you have been training for a number of years and have gained at least 40-50lbs of muscle and added at least 200+ lbs to your deadlift then you can start to think about to add in some rear delt training on occasion. Maybe not do it, but think about it.

Here is the real secret rear delt/ rhomboid/ upper back exercise that will pack more meat on those muscles than any other...

The deadlift.

If you start with a 225 pound deadlift today and increase that over the next few years to a 500 pound deadlift I can guarantee you that your rear delts, rhomboids, lower and upper traps will be enormous... or at least far bigger than they are right now.

Do you really think a bent over lateral raise with 20lb dumbbells is going to do more than a 500 pound deadlift? Not a shot in hell.

So until you have met the qualifications I listed above (or are injured), I suggest that you ditch the bent over laterals, the y-raises, the scarecrows, the band pull aparts and all that other stuff and stick with heavy deads for a few years. Once you add a couple hundred pounds to that exercise you can add in the above exercises if you still want to. But not before then.

JF