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WARNING: Before starting any new diet
or exercise routine you should first consult with your physician and seek
their input on diet and lifestyle changes taking into consideration your
current physical condition, age, and health background. The information on
this page is for your reference and I take no responsibility for ANY
personal injury resulting from this advise. |
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As an avid natural
bodybuilder I have had some measure of success over the years molding my
once skinny 103 pound frame into one that I am happy with now at 140.
The society we live
in puts so much pressure on us to be slim trim and fit. This is done in all
sorts of ways but mainly through the media. The real problem is that we are
creatures of habit and whether you are trying to gain muscle mass or loose
fat percentage and loose mass, it's all about making a lifestyle change.
No quick fixes. No spot
reduction. It just can't happen.
Just ask your self did you
go to bed last night at 120 pounds and wake up the next morning at 240
pounds?
Of course not. So
unless you have some medical condition such as cancer where you are wasting
away, it will take more time to loose the weight then it took to put it on.
85 percent of the
battle is your diet. The other 15 percent is sleep and exercise.
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Can
you help me gain lean muscle mass and looses fat even if I'm not active
right now?
Yes but it
requires some leg work by you first.
Start by
visiting your doctor.
Once you have
their permission to begin a diet and exercise routine to gain lean
muscle mass and loose body fat you can begin to make changes to your
lifestyle that help you avoid the risks your current lifestyle may have
put you in.
These risks
include, but are not limited to:
Any lifestyle
change takes time to become the norm for your body. Think of it as
a transplanted tree in the backyard of your lifestyle landscape.
For the first 90 days you must check on the tree every day, water it
well and make sure the tree is being feed correct amounts of nutrients.
After 90 days the
tree is settled and starts to grow and shade and protect you from the
heat of the old lifestyle. In a year you forget that the tree was
ever transplanted at all because its part of your landscape.
Your landscape
includes aspects from three areas of human existence, the human spirit,
the power of your own mind, and of course the physical body - The Triad.
O-Kay
Once your ready
to start the program we need to learn your current diet. Many
people think they know what they eat but when it comes time to actually
document it they are shocked by the amount of food, the size proportions
and content they actually eat on a given day.
Start by writing
down everything you eat for the first two weeks. Note the size and time
you ate the items. Also note was it satisfying and curbed your
hunger.
Weight yourself
each seventh day at the same time, and same manor. (if you did it the
first time at 6 am before eating do it again 6 am before eating.)
You will
analyze your current diet for carbs, proteins, and fats, and chart your Base Metabolic Rate - B.M.R. and
then plan a new balanced healthy diet and exercise routine to help you make the lifestyle
changes you need to reach your goals.
You will also be
setting REALISTIC short term and long term goals. These landmarks on the
lifestyle landscape will help you to remain focused and motivated to
continue your healthy lifestyle changes.
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Can you help me tone up, or
increase my results from my current routine?
Great you are
already doing some form of exercise routine. But most likely your
not seeing results due to a real lack of resistance in the program, lack
of intensity in your sessions, or diet issues.
The body needs
some form of resistance in order to grow muscle. MUSCLE burns more
fat just by being there then fat does. Lean muscle mass needs
energy to exist. Fat does not. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BECOME
ARNOLD - ALL MUSCLE BOUND. But you will have some tightening and
toning of the muscle you have in order to increase your lean muscle mass
to fat ratio.
Start by doing
the same diet tracking as described above. Also if your not recording
your weight training / cardio routine in a daily journal start
doing so. Sample log sheets are included in the Tools section.
Record exercise,
weight used, number of reps attempted, and successful reps completed.
Also record your general mental feelings (cranky, happy, etc.) and
the amount and quality of sleep you got the night before.
Also test your current
Body Mass Index - BMI. This determines your body fat percentage.
I have included in the tools section methods for calculating your own
BMI, but Skin Fold Calipers offer the best measurement and the least
margin of error. The best site location and testing method is the USCG/USN specs to take skin fold
measurements. Developed by the US Coast Guard and Navy in order to
predict survivability in cold ocean waters, theses are the most accurate
measurements you can achieve without the use of a special chamber that
will remove all the air from the test chamber and then measure density,
or the hanging scale under water testing methods where the subject is
required to exhale all air and remain calm for 30 seconds under water or
inside a vacuum chamber which are both hard to do for the normal person.
We can review your journal
entries or track a few workouts then change the routine to get
past plateaus and dead ends.
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Diet overview - Click on
the Foods page for details
My First Simple Rule: All
things in moderation food wise, and you need to eat less more often
during the day.
Simple Rule Number Two: Keep the
portions small and eat it slow. The protein portion of any given meal
should not be more than your fist in size. The other components of
that meal combined also should not be bigger than your fist. This
includes salads!
Finally Water is the essential
element Humans need in order to survive. It hydrates, and cleanses
toxins from our bodies. So work your way up to 8 glasses a day slowly
since you can drink too much water and cause your brain to swell.
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How Much of What
You need to balance the exercise,
diet, sleep and cardio activities in your new lifestyle. Each
person will respond differently to the same diet and routines.
Also once you find the right combination, you need to mix it up ever 90
days or so because as animals we adapt and conform to environmental
changes. So if the routine has bench presses for chest, after 90
days change to incline presses, after 90 more days you can switch back
or try a new exercise for chest. The goal is to keep your body
guessing. |
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What about
supplementation?
What about over the counter
supplements and diet pills, and fat burners? In my opinion a well
balanced diet limits the need for any supplementation. The supplement
industry in the USA is a Billion dollar plus per year machine. Peddling
what used to be called Patent Medicine, or snake oil, 99% of the
supplements on the market are unregulated, and their long term effects
are unknown. I have tried my share of the latest supplements over my
early years and found all or them with the exception of two to wastes of
my hard earned money.
The two that weren't in my
opinion were branch chain amino acids in pill form, or liquid form (used
as a soy sauce replacement) and Creatine which worked for me ONLY
because at the time I ate almost no red meat. If you do eat meat
then just put your cash in the toilet and flush it since that's what
your doing anyways.
Fat burners are just out of the
spotlight they once were as the darling solution to unwanted pounds due
to a recent ban by the FDA after a string of deaths due to abuse and
overdose. If you need a buzz drink caffeine. If you need to loose a few
pounds do cardio.
As to vitamins I use a multi
vitamin in the winter just to make sure I get everything I need.
All vitamins are the same, the difference is the extra trace elements
they add to them. Again a well rounded diet should eliminate the need
for these unproven elements. I keep it simple and I'm in no way
indorsing one brand over another, but when I use them I use Flintstones
chewable. The price is right and they taste great. Don't be suckered
into buying high priced brands, marketed for men with this condition, or
women of this group. Only your doctor after a blood test or consultation
can determine if you need a particular vitamin, or mineral.
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To Juice or not to
Juice
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In a recent survey of High
School Athletes, over 300,000 said they had used Steroids and or other
performance enhancement drugs.
Buying black market or
veterinary grade Steroids is dangerous and illegal! Don't think you
won't get caught buying from some off shore web site. What your buying
may not be what it was said to be. Students a few years ago here in
Hartford bought drugs on-line through a web site that turned out
to be nothing more than Armor All. So much for the quick Beach / Spring
break body. Imagine injecting that into your butt, cause some poor guy
had twice before the area became infected and surgery was required to
repair the damage.
Steroids have their place as
legitimate medical treatments for many health issues. Healthy
people taking them for quick gains or so called instant beach bodies are
playing Russian roulette with their life, risking sterility, kidney and
liver disease, and cancer. If your body is not producing the right
amount of male hormone (testosterone) then you are a candidate for
replacement therapy. Only your Doctor can prescribe legal steroids.
The human body is a great
balancing machine, Ying and Yang like. If your body is creating
the right amount of testosterone and you flood your body with more of
it, two things happen. First the body tries to reestablish the natural
balance and increases the amount of estrogen, the female hormone, you
produce, causing your male pectorals to develop into breast like
nipples. Painful and ugly to see, these so called "bitch tits" if
left untreated can in time become cancerous. Male breast cancer is on
the increase in the united states.
Secondly your body attempts to
shut down your own natural testosterone factory. Most visible as a
shrinkage of the actual testicles, and a reduction in libido. If your
testicles shut down for a period of time your body may never be able to
restart the production cycle.
Precursor OTC supplements such
as Noranderstien can cause the same side effects as above since they
increase the supply of testosterone by going around the natural factory
in your pants.
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The Brain / Body
Connection
Your Brain is your best workout
partner / motivator. A positive mental attitude will allow you to reach
your goals and have the body you want, and be very happy with it. A
negative mental attitude will run you down and defeat you.
Use a full length mirror and really look at yourself, then visualize
yourself wearing that new bathing suit, dress, or suit. See yourself
bigger, stronger, leaner, better at your sport or winning that
Bodybuilding competition. Plan your meals ahead and plan on eating
right, don't leave it to Wendy's to plan your meal. Enjoy your workouts,
no matter how grueling they seem at the moment. Having a good time
making changes to your lifestyle can be challenging at times, but if you
see it in your mind sooner than later you will see it in the mirror. You
will feel better, have more energy, and reach your goals.
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