8 Steps to a Muscle-Building Diet

Everyone talks about calories. Whether the goal is to lose weight or gain muscle, everyone wants to know that magic number. The truth is that everyone’s caloric needs are different. The exact amount has to do with existing body weight and activity level. If you’re an average person, you need to consume 10 calories for every pound of body weight just to maintain your existing weight. Gradually increasing that by an additional 500-1000 calories a day will help with weight gain. In fact, an additional 7 calories per pound are required to be able to perform intense weight training exercises and cardio. So, for example, a 170 pound individual would need to consume 2,890 calories a day in order to be able to build quality muscle (170 x 17 = 2890).

The percentage of where these calories are coming from is equally important. Bodybuilders do well with a 40/30/30 ratio, 40% complete complex carbs, 30% protein and 30 % fats. This, of course, is a guideline. Listen to your body; everyone has different dietary responses. Your metabolism, body fat levels and insulin sensitivity will all factor in on how your body responds. If you are not seeing results or aren’t happy with how you feel, make adjustments until you arrive at a ratio that works for you.

Ideally, when attempting to build muscle, your overall goal should be to gain anywhere from half a pound to two pounds of muscle each week. Adding extra calories, above your normal intake, will promote faster results. There is, however, a right way and a wrong way to do this. The tips below can help you in your muscle building diet regime.

1.  Start your day off right with an organic greens supplement. Infusing your body with vitamins and minerals as well as phytonutrients, amino acids, alkaline salts and chlorophyll is a great way to wake up. Not only will you be neutralizing acid but you will be ensuring that your cells are able to thrive in a healthy environment.
2.  Create a rhythm to your meals by eating five, calorie-rich meals at regular intervals throughout the day. Be sure to include healthy, whole foods as well as one muscle-building, protein shake each day. The extra calories may initially seem excessive, but are necessary to aid muscle growth.
3. In addition to eating at regular intervals, be sure to space your carbs out throughout the day as well. In fact, consuming carbs before training, during training, 1 hour after training and 4 hours after training is ideal. The key is to only give your body carbs when needed for intense activity. 
4.  In addition, to spacing your carbs out at key points throughout the day it is equally important to vary the source of your carbs. Consuming strictly potatoes at every meal does not help your body perform at its peak and may cause food allergies. For the best results, alternate between potatoes, yams, brown rice, Ezekiel bread, oatmeal, beans and small amounts of fruit. If you are substituting a shake for a meal, the best solution would be a carb powder like Vitargo or Karbolyn, which are the top two choices on the market currently. Gatorade can substitute in a pinch. 
5.  Proteins are an important part of any muscle-building diet. They help our bodies boost both digestion and absorption. Be sure to vary your protein sources, selecting from quality options like buffalo, sirloin, poultry, salmon and eggs. If you are substituting a protein shake, hydrolyzed protein is the top powder supplement. 
6.  Don’t forget your veggies. They taste good and they’re good for you. Adding a least 1 cup of vegetables to your plate at every meal helps with digestion, absorption and controlling blood sugar levels. 
7.  Like everything else, change up the sources of your fat at every meal. Eating a variety of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats is good for you. There are many great sources to use that are healthy and taste great.  Try nuts and seeds (walnuts, pecans, cashews or almonds as well as pumpkin and sunflower seeds), nut butters, coconut oil and olive oil. 
8. Drinking a shake 30 minutes into your workout not only keeps you hydrated but also helps to reduce the effect of cortisol being released into your bloodstream and to encourage muscle growth. Be sure to include 30-50 grams of carb powder, 5-10 grams of glutamine, 5-10 grams of branch chain amino acids, and 3-5 grams of creatine for a powerful boost.

Just to give you a better understanding of what these tips mean in terms of real food, here is a sample daily meal plan for a person weighing 200 pounds who is interested in gaining muscle. Of course, you can adjust this according to your needs, personal tastes and budget.

Sample Meals:

Meal 1
8 oz of extra lean beef

3 whole eggs
1 cup of veggies

2 ounces of mixed nuts

Meal 2 (Pre-Workout)
8 oz of white fish 

2 cups pasta (preferable whole wheat)
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 cup of veggies

Meal 3/ Workout Shake (Begin Sipping During Workout)
80 grams of carb powder + Glutamine, Creatine, BCAA
15 minutes later – 40 grams of isolate protein

Meal 4 (1 Hour Post Workout)
12 oz of chicken 

12 oz of sweet potato
2 cups of veggies

Meal 5 (4 Hours Post Workout)
8 oz of turkey

2 cups of broccoli

1 cup of egg whites

2 cups of brown rice
1 slice of low-fat cheese
1 cup of veggies 

Meal 6:
10 oz steak or salmon
1 cup of veggies

2 oz avocado

The “Freebie” Meal

Everyone gets busy. It happens to the best of us. Work.Family obligations.The alarm clock. I’ve designed this diet plan to allow room for a “Freebie” meal, which is basically anything you want, even a burger and fries. The goal is to hit your calories for the day and move on. Don’t let little hurdles get in the way.

The best way that I have found to follow a diet plan like this is to keep a food log. Use a notebook; make an excel spreadsheet, whatever works for you. Keep track of your calories and break it down by how many grams of protein, carbs and fats you are ingesting. By logging your daily intake, you have a better picture of your journey, where you have been and where you are headed. If you do not feel on pace to hit your goals, you can look over your notes and easily make changes. See where you went wrong or what worked in the past. 

Building muscle is a goal that you can accomplish. The above tips can help you reach that goal. And, just for inspiration:

“An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn't been there. Goals can be elusive, which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding.” (Alberto Salazar)

The Great Protein Debate – Powder vs. Real Deal

Let’s start by saying that for general nutrition, real food wins hands down. At one point in time, society thought that engineered, altered and enhanced were good, healthy words. We now know that nothing man-made tops Mother Nature. Whole foods should make up the majority of your diet, whether you are eating to build muscle, lose fat or just because it tastes good. In fact, I like to say,

“If you want to look solid and feel solid, your diet should consist of solid foods.”

In today’s go-go-go world, however, lifestyle sometimes dictates different choices throughout the day. It is tough to prepare an entire steak dinner when you barely had enough time to squeeze in a workout. In fact, most days it’s tough to fit it all in. That said, there are pros and cons to using protein powders and to using whole foods.

The Pros of the Powder
Believe it or not, even though I firmly believe in whole foods, there are several pros to using protein powder. 

1. Convenience. We are all busy. Once we factor in work, a social life and working out, there is little time left in the day. Taking the time to prepare protein rich foods several times a day is not always possible. In fact, body-builders require up to 7 meals a day. Quality, protein-dense foods like fish, lean meats and eggs just are not available via vending machine or offered at the local drive-thru (pink slime, anyone?). Having the option to use a few scoops of protein powder in an on-the-go shake is a great time-saving trick for anyone when time is tight.
2. Dieter’s Compliance. When losing weight, calories need to be cut. Unfortunately, cutting calories sometimes leads to cutting down grams of protein when, in fact, protein is needed to maintain muscle mass, manage appetite, control blood sugars and provide a feeling of fullness. Protein powders can accomplish all these duties while keeping the overall caloric intake lower.
3. Absorption Rate. Whereas whole foods are great for nutrition, it takes time for our bodies to break them down and be able to absorb them. Protein powder, on the other hand, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and put to work. This is especially helpful post-workout, when protein synthesis and glycogen re-synthesis have increased rates.
4. Drinkable. That may seem like an obvious statement, but, when adding calories to your diet in order to bulk up, sometimes physically eating that much whole food is not possible. Skinny guys with smaller appetites have difficulty consuming the necessary calories when they are still full from the last meal. In fact, even body-builders know that it can be easier to drink the extra calories than to chew them. Plus, you can add a variety of foods to your shake to change the flavor and up the caloric content.

The Real Deal
Whole foods like red meat, dairy, eggs, poultry and fish are crammed full of Mother Nature’s goodness. They are filled with awesome nutrients like vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids and saturated fat. There are so many reasons why whole foods are superior to man-made powders. The two most important ones are:

1. Processed. We have all seen enough in-depth reports, nightly news stories and YouTube videos to know to be wary of processed foods. The truth is that no man-made product can come close to reproducing the high quality nutrients that come from whole foods. The nutrients are either damaged during processing, unnaturally fortified or just plain synthetic. Your body simply cannot optimize the nutrients available in a powder the way it can in whole foods.
2. Variety. I am a huge proponent of food rotation. Not only does it help with boredom, but it is essential in avoiding food allergies. Many athletes develop allergies, from mild to severe, due to their constant consumption of the same protein sources. In fact, rotating protein sources is key to promoting optimal heath and building lean muscle. It is difficult to rotate your protein sources when they are in powder form. With whole foods, however, it is much easier to change from fish to chicken to beef and back again.

An Important Note
Not all food is created equal. Our primary goal is usually to eat healthy, to consume enough calories to gain lean muscle and to optimize the calories that we do eat. Stop. Back up. We need to recognize that where our food came from is becoming increasingly important. Food that appears to be whole, to be healthy, to be nutritious can be less nutritionally dense and sometimes even toxic. If your budget allows it, find sources for whole foods that are free of exposure to pollution, chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones and other harmful toxins. You are working so hard to grow a solid body; it does not need to become needlessly polluted.

See For Yourself
If you still don’t believe that you need to limit your reliance on protein powders and consume the majority of your calories from whole foods, test it out for yourself. For one month, try consuming 1 protein shake and five whole food meals. Drink the shake immediately after your workout. Do not change anything else about your routine or your day. At the end of that month, take your measurements. For the next month, eat just three whole food meals a day and drink three protein shakes. Do not change anything else about your routine or diet.

Take your measurements again. Measure your calves, legs, waist, shoulders, chest and arms with a tape measure and measure your body fat with calipers. You may be surprised at the results, but you will know the importance of relying on whole foods for the majority of your calories first-hand. In addition, pay close attention to the other signals your body gives you over the month. Sleep quality, performance at the gym, speed of recovery after your workout and overall energy levels are all important. Pay attention to how your body reacts with more whole food meals as well as with the additional powder substitutes.

The key take away from this is that the more whole foods you can eat, the better. Protein powder is convenient. There is no denying that. A shake can be made on the go, with little effort and can fit into just about everyone’s busy schedule. The calories are easy to control, whether you need to bulk up or slim down and the protein itself is easily absorbed post-workout. Whole foods, however, are nutrient-rich and good for you. Processing not only destroys many of these nutrients, but may also add unnecessary chemicals and toxins. The human body has survived for thousands of years on whole foods. The phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind.

The Live Large TV Backstory : Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Headed Next

“Live Large TV” was not always the exclusive, educational and highly-entertaining group of thousands of members that it is now. In fact, it used to be just little ole me. Emphasis on little. You see, way back in 2002, I was a scrawny kid with a dream. As much as I would like to say that I planned on “Live Large TV” from the beginning, I just wanted to get buff. Sorry.

Learning Like a Consumer

I am willing to admit that I learn from my mistakes. I started out like everyone else, at a gym, hoping for a miracle. I watched a close friend learn like a consumer. He bought every magazine, read every article, hired every trainer and tried every trick in the book. It led to a lot of confusion and few results. I didn’t know much then, but I knew enough to know that I needed to take a different route.

Finding a Mentor

Enter an amazing mentor that busted every myth of bodybuilding and really opened my eyes. Everything that I thought was true, everything that my friend read in those magazines, was wrong. In fact, after 24 weeks of doing everything completely different than what the so-called experts said, I gained 41 pounds of lean muscle mass. To paraphrase Smith-Barney, I got that body the old-fashioned way, I earned it. No drugs. No supplements. I continued my progress until I reached a ripped 195 pounds and an extraordinary 4% body fat. I looked good enough to become a WBFF Pro-Fitness Model. Score one for the little guy.

Change is Good

I don’t know about you, but I never stop learning. I can’t help it. I want to tweak my workouts, to test theories, to change techniques as I learn more. The concept is still the same, the ideas are still there. It’s just the methods and techniques that have evolved. They still get results, just better, more efficient results. Change is good.

“The more you learn, the more you grow…” right?!

The YouTube Experiment
I decided to document my training, nutrition habits and even my overall mindset towards living large in my career, relationships and life. Before I knew it there were 20 episodes, ranging from 20 to 40 minutes each. Like so many people, I thought, “YouTube!”

I uploaded the episodes and things were great. Sure, I had a couple of rude comments, but there are always trolls hanging out at YouTube. I just ignored them. Then, one day I logged into my account only to find out that all my hard work was deleted. The reason? Inappropriate Content. I was blown away. There are videos of many, MANY inappropriate things on YouTube, but me? Wow!

The “Live Large TV” Family

To say I was upset is an understatement. I was sad. I was angry. Most of all, I was confused. I didn’t know what to do next. Luckily, the “Live Large TV” subscribers are like a really big, extended family. I asked for help and they responded in droves. An overwhelming 70% of my 120,000 regular newsletter readers said they wanted to keep seeing “Live Large TV” and were willing to pay for it. It was the perfect solution. I no longer had to deal with the arbitrary nature of YouTube and my viewers no longer had to deal with internet trolls, spammers and negative energy. Win-win.

Moving Forward

We now have a paid platform to keep the idiots out and the “Living Large TV” family together. Everyone, and I truly mean everyone, is committed to learning, growing and improving. It is just the most supportive group of people on the net. Have you ever heard the phrase …

“You are the sum of the 5 people you hang out with the most”

Basically, it means that if your top 5 friends are healthy and fit, then, in all likelihood, you are, too. Hanging out with people who want to live their lives well, positive and LARGE will help you do the same. That’s just one of the benefits of this great group of people that I have come to know. General awesomeness. It’s contagious.

Get Ready for Season 3
Are you tired of all the hype on the net? Confused? Fed up? Relax. You’re in the right place now. My goal is to help you re-gain control and transform your body into the leanest, strongest physique you can have. If you have ever wondered…

• How long should I train?
• How hard should I train?
• How often should I train?
• What exercises should I do?
• How many sets should I do?
• How many reps are best?
• How fast should I move the weight?

… then we can help. Each episode in Season 3 is dedicated to a different training variable. From sets to reps, from tempo to recovery, we are covering it all. I want to teach you everything that I know. Think of it as paying it forward. I had a great mentor show me the way and I am just returning the favor. You will learn the skills and knowledge to know not just what works, but why it works.

Get your all access pass to “Live Large TV” and join the thousands of others that are finally learning how to transform their bodies successfully. This skinny kid did and, for about the price of a greasy cheeseburger, you can, too

Five Rare Muscle Building Tips For Skinny Guys

I'm going to share five rare muscle building tips for skinny guys who want to build muscle quickly and naturally. The information below will require you to read with an open mind and really think about what you are reading and why it works.

Tip #1 For Skinny Guys: Clarify your goals

Here is what most skinny guys say, “I want to gain a lot of mass!” Can you be any more vague? A better goal is, “I want to gain 14 pounds of muscle by July 1st.”  You need specific and measurable goals if you ever want to see them become real.

Tip #2 For Skinny Guys: Train on a stable surface 

Trying to build your chest up on a stability ball is a big waste of time. Unstable surfaces are more neurologically challenging but you are not overloading your “core” muscles with sufficient stimulus to trigger growth.

Let’s compare a supine dumbbell chest press on a ball versus a dumbbell chest press on a bench.  During a dumbbell chest press on a ball, most skinny guys will barely be able to press 50 pounds a side and the unstable surface will result in triggering the lateral stabilizer motor units you don’t need to keep you from flipping off the ball, so it reduces neural drive from the muscles you do need and are trying to improve (pecs, shoulder flexors and triceps).  Whenever the body recognizes an unstable foundation for force production, its force generating output is down-regulated accordingly.  In short, overloading the muscle is required to stimulate new muscle growth so why limit the load? There’s no point!

Tip #3 For Skinny Guys: Stop believing, “You got to shock the body.”

Even today, you’ll hear this quote come up in gyms, forums, infomercials and other media with the belief that “you have to tear down the muscle and then build it back up.”  But is this true? Absolutely, the catalyst for change is variation from your norm level of fitness. But the idea that one has to annihilate one’s tissues and physiological/neurological processes must be brought to question. 

Is getting a sun burn necessary to experience a tan? Does increased bone density require a fracture? Do calluses require lacerations? When seeking adaptation, the goal should be to seek out least amount of unaccustomed activity. In fact, you want the stimulus to be virtually imperceptible as an increased challenge. This would be considered the ideal stimulus for the most immediate adaptation response, especially in the beginning.  In weight training, we strive to increase our loads approximately 2% each workout. Anything more and you’ll move more towards microscopic tissue damage and associated signs to injury including delayed onset muscle soreness, edema and lengthy recovery period.

 Tip #4 For Skinny Guys: More is less! 

90% of people use volume as the primary stressor and get the result they seek 10% of the time. 10% of people use intensity as the primary stressor and get the results they seek 90% of the time.

This training principle extends from tip #3, and stresses that for many instances, you will get a quicker training effect from doing a smaller amount of training.  In short, you will see more results when doing less training.

Tip #5 For Skinny Guys: Always ask, “Is there anything I can do before this… to better prepare for this… to lesson the leap?”

Can running have a positive influence on your health? Of course, but the level of participation is key. Why do people spend months recovering from a marathon? Was 26.2 miles the perfect distance for each of those 20,000 people to run on that given day at that time of the day?  There are many variables that must be progressed based on what you are currently accustomed to.  Here are some areas of progression that must be considered:

• From none to some
• From sloppy to controlled
• From small range of motion to large range of motion
• From stable surface to unstable surface
• From light to heavy
• From slow to fast
• From minimal volume to more volume
• From minimal effort to maximal effort

Understand that “micro progressions” are not “wimpy”. It simply means, “You’ve got to earn the right to do more, go faster, lift heavier etc. Controlling everything you do is the key!” It’s not about how much you do but HOW WELL you do it!  Remember, we’re trying to get a sun tan, not a sun burn!

Workout for skinny guys

Skinny guys have been lead to believe they need to spend more and more time in the gym to build big muscles. The reality is that skinny guys should train less and eat more. Skinny guy muscle building should be approached the same way they would approach getting a sun tan.

Why Sunlight Is Like Working Out For Skinny Guys

Exposure to sunlight does not instantly produce a tan just like exposure to weight training does not instantly produce muscle. The ultraviolet radiation in sunlight stimulates melanocytes in the skin to produce more melanin as a protective mechanism, darkening the skin.

The same situation arises when you expose exercise stress to your body - the greater the exercise stress the greater the stimulus for super compensation to occur.  If you go to the beach while there are clouds covering the sun, you can be outside all day long and not experience any tanning effects.  Exercise stress is the same. You can spend the entire day in the gym working out and if the stimulus is not sufficient you will not see much if anything in terms of improvements. However, if the exercise stress is sufficient, very little is required to see new gains.

The Minimum Effective Dose

Our bodies have a limit to how much stress we can handle within a period of time. Up to a certain point ultraviolet radiation can produce a nice looking tan. Beyond a certain point, the skin is damaged and results in a burn.  Up to a certain point in a workout, intense exercise stress will create the potential for new size, strength and stamina but beyond a certain point will lead to exhaustion that can result in overtraining or injury.

The training effect is the desired goal of the training. The training effect could be anything from increased relative strength to muscle endurance.  The training effect is not experienced until you recover from the training. If you sun tanned for five minutes, your body needs time to recover from that five minutes before you expose it to six minutes.  Failure to respect these recovery needs can lead to overtraining, plateau or becoming weaker.

The Skinny Guy Is Unique

Just like darker skinned individuals can tolerate a longer duration in the sun compared to someone with lighter skin, some skinny guys can do a higher frequency of training before overtraining.  Determining the optimal training volume, intensity and frequency is a topic covered in depth of Season 3 of Live Large TV and there are many training theories to consider in finding what’s optimal for you. Ultimately, experimentation and accurate record keeping are the only way to will determine how to individualize the different training variables for success.

The Skinny Guy Workout

Monday

• Deadlifts 1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 - 90 seconds rest between sets - 411 tempo
• Chin Ups 1 x 30 sec negative, 1 x 20 second negative, 1 x 10 second negative, 1 x bodyweight, 1 x bodyweight
• Military Press 1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 - 90 seconds rest between sets - 311 temp

Wednesday

1. Incline Biceps Curls 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 6, 1 x 12 – 90 seconds rest between sets - 411 tempo
2. Lying Triceps Extension 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 6, 1 x 12 – 90 seconds rest between sets - 411 tempo
3. Barbell Shrug 1 x 15, 1 x 12, 1 x 1o, 1 x 8, 1 x 15 - 60 seconds rest between sets - 311 tempo
4. Standing Calve Raise 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 6, 1 x 12 - 60 seconds rest between sets - 311 tempo
5. Stability Ball Crunch 5 x 5 - 15 seconds rest between sets – 505 tempo

Friday 

1. Squats   1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 - 90 seconds rest between sets - 411 tempo
2. Bench Press 1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 - 90 seconds rest between sets - 311 tempo
3. Seated Row 1 x 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 6, 1 x 20 - 90 seconds rest between sets - 311 tempo

Why Is This Workout Effective? 

1. Lower volume. Each body part gets approximately five sets a week. Classic hypertrophy programs rely on closer to 10-25 sets a body part so this allows opportunity to increase the intensity, a variable that can stimulate new muscle if it’s been neglected.

2.  Broad-spectrum of rep ranges. 6-12 reps creates the desire training effect of hypertrophy and by having one back off set in each exercise we ensure we don’t de train the quality, muscular endurance.

3. Longer rest ranges err on the higher side for hypertrophy to ensure you can stimulate the high threshold motor units each set.

4. Balance between all the primary movements of the body. Their is equal volume between horizontal pulling and horizontal pushing moves, vertical pulling and vertical pushing, quad and hip and upper arm.

5. The Principle of Kaizen, constant and never ending improvement, can be applied each workout. Small changes gradually lead to bigger changes long term. The goal of every weight set should be to increase your loads 2% from set to set and to start each workout 2% heavier than your previous workout. This allows us to experience progressive overload, a critical ingredient for muscle growth.

Even if you’re not a skinny guy, this workout can act as an excellent way to stimulate new gains by dropping the volume and increasing the intensity. Don’t make any assumptions until you’ve given it an honest shot!

Sprint Training : Less Time, Better Results

Everyone is busy. From elite athletes to weekend warriors, everyone has demands on their schedule that make fitting in a regular, 60 minute cardio workout difficult. If you are tight for time, but still interested in getting a full workout, sprint training may be right for you. As an added benefit, it also improves your physical conditioning. In fact, some athletes actually prefer sprint training because they see greater results during intense sprint training sessions, in less time than their traditional ones. And, frankly, who wouldn’t love more results from less time and effort?

But, What Is Sprint Training?
Sprint training involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of rest and recovery. If the weather is nice, this intense workout can be performed outdoors, but a treadmill works just as well. Individual programs may vary based on your current level of fitness and conditioning, but usually include 30 seconds of all out sprinting and 60 seconds of resting. This 2:1 ratio of fast, explosive energy followed by a resting period is essential to allow the body time to recover before the next set. This cycle can be repeated 6 – 8 times and should include a warm up period as well as a cool down period at the end. The goal is to develop explosive power, which can’t be achieved from a cardio activity like jogging. Elite college, Olympic and professional athletes use sprint training to help them with everything from getting off the blocks a split second faster at their next race to being able to pull away from the defender and make that amazing catch on the football field. Even if your glory days are behind you, sprint training still has many benefits to offer.

5 Added Benefits
In addition to time management, sprint training can have numerous beneficial health effects.

1. EPOC: Otherwise known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, EPOC is the amount of energy it takes for your body to return to normal after an exceptionally challenging workout. In other words, your body is continuing to burn calories long after you finish your session. Researchers originally discovered this phenomenon in 1922, dubbing it oxygen debt, but these days they are aware of the positive effects of EPOC on a body from weight management perspective due to the large caloric burn associated with it.
2. Upregulate: When your body becomes accustomed to this type of workout, it produces more of certain enzymes that increase the storage capacity of the muscle for energy substrates, such as ATP. Not surprisingly, this, in turn, allows you to work both harder and faster for longer and longer periods of time without tiring. ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the most-used energy source in a body. In fact, if DNA is the building block of life, ATP is the building block of energy, powering almost all cellular activities.
3. Phosphate Metabolism: Basically, this phosphate works at conserving and transferring energy at a cellular level and phosphate creatine stores comprise a major component of the body’s fuel source for muscular activity. Obviously, anything you can do to improve your phosphate metabolism is going to assist you in other areas of training and performance. Most notably, myokinase, which is an enzyme that is responsible for resynthesizing the energy from phosphate creatine, it will increase its concentration within the muscle tissue by up to 20% after sprint training.
4. Glycolysis: This occurs after you’ve been doing sprint training for a period of time. The basic biology lesson is that glycolysis is the primary form of metabolism used during a 10 second all out sprint and contributes between 55 and 75% towards energy production during exercise.
5. Buffering Capacity: Another adaptation that’s experienced with sprint training is the buffering capacity of the muscle. Many byproducts are created during glycolysis, including lactic acid. When these accumulate in the body, it generates extreme feelings of fatigue in the muscle tissues, which, unfortunately, forces many athletes to stop exercising as this fatigue sets in. Luckily, sprint training increases one’s ability to buffer these byproducts and this increased buffering capacity allows an athlete to extend both workout length and intensity.

Safety

Sprint training is not for everyone however. Beginners should concentrate on getting a strong base of fitness and gradually build up their volume of training, intensity and endurance. In fact, starting a sprint training workout without advance preparation can cause muscle soreness and may even cause injury to those ill-equipped. Taking the time to work towards a sprint training goal is important, even as long as a month or two. Being prepared only makes it that much more effective in the long run. As with any new exercise regime, check with your physician before starting any program.

Summary

Sprint training is a great way to improve your overall health and conditioning. The short, explosive bursts of intense physical activity help at a cellular level by upregulating enzyme production that aids in energy storage and, in turn, by increasing phosphate metabolism that assists in both energy storage and transfer. Furthermore, the body’s overall buffering capacity is improved, which prevents the by-products of intense workout activities, such as lactic acid, from causing fatigue. In fact, athletes who incorporate sprint training into their regimes see a dramatic improvement in their endurance and general cardiovascular fitness in a very short time, which is extremely important to serious athletes, both professional and amateur alike.

Sprint training is also a great way for busy athletes to cram an intensely physical workout into their hectic schedules. For those who have no intention of setting foot on a football field, a race track or in a swimming pool but still have a competitive spirit and a desire to improve their performance, sprint training is a great choice. The fact that it can push one to new levels, with greater benefits in less time is a tremendous benefit. The next time you’re tight on time and schedule-challenged, choose sprint training over a longer, less effective 60 minute cardio session.

The Truth About Abs

So I got an awesome interview for you today with my buddy Mike Geary who is the author of http://www.TruthAboutAbs.com

This is very important if you have ever wanted to get a flat stomach or ripped 6-pack abs.

Mike is not only the author of the best selling abs book on the entire Internet but a really good friend of mine who I went skydiving and white water rafting with two weeks ago in Colorado.

After you read the interview (it's really good) then be sure to check out Mike's website to learn more.

Here is how our interview went down:

Vince: What is the number one component to getting a six pack?

Mike: Your training style, nutrition, and mindset are all extremely important if you want to stand a chance at getting a six pack... However, if I had to choose 1 component that is most important, it would probably have to be nutrition. Maybe you've heard the saying before that "abs are made in the kitchen".

It really is true, and that's where the majority of people go wrong in the goal to get super lean. Of course, this also ties into mindset, because you really have to get your mind in the right place in order to have the discipline to be able to eat consistently clean enough to get six pack abs.

There's a lot of confusion out there these days about calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates... every "expert" disagrees with one another on proper ratios and types of diets. I think people make this way too complicated...

If you are just to focus on a good balance between fats, carbs, and proteins, and make sure to eat only natural unprocessed organic foods (as close to their natural state as possible) instead of packaged, processed foods, a lot of the problems that most people have with cravings, sweet tooth, overeating, blood sugar swings, etc all take care of themselves.

We still can't lose sight of the fact that you can overeat on healthy foods and gain fat even while eating healthy. Therefore, your caloric intake needs to be controlled to a level that will promote fat loss if that's the goal.

Vince: What is one thing I might be doing, unknowingly, steering my quest for a six pack in the wrong direction?

Mike: I'll give 2 things that may be steering you in the wrong direction...

a. Too much cardio

Some people, in their efforts to try to get lean, focus way too much on hours and hours of cardio exercise. The problem is that this can backfire on you by making you lose lean muscle mass over time, which decreases your resting metabolic rate. Once this happens, it becomes easier to pack on body fat than ever before. I've even seen many people that do too much cardio and end up getting that "skinny fat" appearance, where they have very little muscle tone, yet they have excess stomach fat (even a "gut" possibly).

Instead of excess cardio, focus more on high intensity weight training (yes, even during a "cutting" cycle). This will help maintain your lean muscle mass throughout your body, so that you don't experience the metabolic rate decrease. Maintaining as much lean muscle mass on your body at all times is one of the most important things for staying super-lean for life.

b. Not eating enough healthy fats

This is another area where I see people go in the wrong direction. They are trying to lose body fat and they end up going WAY too low on their fat intake. When you decrease your fat intake too much, you are basically messing up your fat burning and muscle building hormones. It's not uncommon to see people decrease their fat intake too low and end up reducing their testosterone levels significantly.

Try to get some sources of healthy fats with every meal to make sure you don't go too low... This could be avocados, any and all nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc), seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds), nut butters (almond butter, natural peanut butter, etc), virgin coconut oil (good source of medium chain triglycerides), extra virgin olive oil, grass fed beef (good source of conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3s), whole eggs (yes, whole eggs...not egg whites), etc.

Vince: What is one unique way of boosting your metabolism, to finally burn fat, that I might be overlooking?

Mike: Incorporate any form of clean & presses into your routines twice per week. This could be barbell clean & presses or using kettlebells or dumbbells. If I had to choose one exercise that burns the most calories and has the biggest impact on increasing your metabolic rate, I'd have to choose high intensity clean & presses (with squats and deadlifts being at the top of the pack also). I like alternating the use of barbells for C&P's one workout and kettlebells for another.

Vince: What is your number one plateau busting secret to lose the last 10 pounds?

Mike: When you get to the point that you're already fairly lean, but just need to lose that last 5 or 10 lbs of body fat that is covering up your abs, you really need to take your workouts to a whole new level of intensity.

Consider adding all-out wind sprints and/or hill sprints into your routine if you want to take it to the next level of intensity.

As for gym workouts, this also means no jibber-jabbering for 5 minutes in between sets at the gym... Instead, you need laser-focused intensity, and one of the best ways to keep high intensity is super-setting or alternating sets. This means while you're resting one area of your body, you're working another area of your body. I usually like to do this by alternating a really tough lower body exercise such as a squat, lunge, or deadlift, with a multi-joint upper body exercise such as a bench press, overhead press, bent over row, or pullup.

Think short rest periods, full body exercises, multi-joint exercises, lots of sweat, and your chest heaving for air... if that's what your workout is looking like, then you're on the right path. If not, then you're not working hard enough, so stop being lazy.

Vince: What is your advice for me to deal with the social temptations of alcohol, eating out, and junk food?

Mike: This is something many people struggle with, but if you set some limits, it can be easy to deal with and still stay lean. One thing I'd suggest is to make sure to not get n a habit of drinking alcohol excessively on a daily basis. If you're going to go out and have some fun with friends, try to limit the drinking to only 1 or 2 days max per week. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we can still go out and have fun with our friends without getting totally smashed.

You need to decide what is more important in your life... do you want to live healthy and have a sexy lean body, or do you want to get full-blown drunk every night? There's a lot more to life than alcohol.

As for eating out... If you're serious about getting and staying lean, eating out should only be an occasional event. Cooking your own food on a daily basis is extremely important as it's very hard to know what is in all of the junk at restaurants and fast food joints. One of the tricks I use when eating out is to NEVER eat fries or sodas (in fact, I never eat fries or sodas AT ALL).

Instead, go ahead and order that burger, but substitute steamed veggies or a salad for the fries. Almost every restaurant will make that substitution for you. And water or unsweetened iced tea are the best beverage options to keep the calories under control when eating out.

Vince: Why do I lose motivation when trying to get a six pack?

Mike: Most people lose motivation because they simply aren't seeing the results fast enough. If that's why you lose motivation, go back to all of the tips and techniques we've been talking about in here and see where your nutrition or training programs are going wrong so you can get faster results. Be patient and consistent and the results will come.

Also, you can really stay motivated by focusing on what has been successful so far. For example, maybe your fat loss hasn't been what you wanted so far, but maybe you've increased your pullups from 8 to 13 and your squat weight from 185 to 225 lbs. Keep focusing on your successes rather than your failures, and keep going for more successes.

More motivation tips -- Train regularly with a partner. This will keep you both focused and will keep you accountable to someone other than yourself. You don't want to disappoint someone else that you've made a goal with.

Also, keep a picture up in your house or at work of someone's body that motivates you to strive for those results. Look at it every day and keep visualizing your own body improving. Set a realistic goal and a time frame to acheive that goal, such as "I will lose 15 lbs of body fat in the next 8 weeks". The important thing here is realistic goal... don't expect to lose 30 lbs in 30 days (despite those weight loss scam ads that you see everywhere saying this is possible).

Vince: I understand you number have the number one ab book on the Internet, Truth About Abs. Why do you think it's so popular?

Mike: My Truth about Abs program is so popular because it works! It's REAL nutrition and REAL training programs. I give the TRUTH on what people really need to get lean sexy abs for life and why they DON'T NEED fad gimmicks like diets, ab infomercial gadgets, and bogus fat burning pills that people waste way too much money on.

Vince; Who should order http://www.TruthAboutAbs.com and who is this book not for?

Mike: This program is for anyone that wants to truly live healthy and get super-lean for life. I have college students, parents, busy professionals, and even grandparents using this program successfully.

Who is this program NOT for? Anyone who is lazy, or thinks that there is a "quick fix" out there. There isn't! So stop looking for a quick fix, and learn the truth!

Click here to learn the truth --> http://www.TruthAboutAbs.com

As you can, Mike is fountain of information and I strongly believe that staying motivated and educated is a huge part of your transformation so I wanted to share this fantastic resource with you.

I'm flying out to Las Vegas to hang out with Mike as well as some of my other fitness friends Craig Ballantyne, Ryan Lee, Jeff Anderson, Rob Polous, Scott Colby and a few other buddies!

Next update will be from Vegas baby!

Vince DelMonte

The Olympics and Deadlines

Wow... so I survived my 'Fear Factor' style vacation these past few days with my buddy Mike Geary here in Colorado. The highlight was conquering the 3rd hardest and most violent set of rapids in US called Gore Canyon!

We went over three sets of 8-foot waterfalls and I still have no idea how we didn't do any swimming and I came out completely unharmed.

In between hot springs, wine tasting, hiking to water falls, sky diving and white water rafting, I've been watching the Olympics and wanted to point out ONE reason I believe they have achieved so much in their respective sports.

The athletes set deadlines.

They don't wing it.

They don't hope they qualify or make it.

They don't have a 'We'll see what happens...' attitude.

They have VERY SPECIFIC goals.

And goals without deadlines are DREAMS!>

Each athlete knows on a specific day that it's show time!

Now let's apply this to you...

Have you set a deadline for when you are going to gain another 6 pounds of muscle mass around your shoulders, chest and arms?

Have you set a deadline for when you're going to lose that last 15 pounds of stubborn belly fat?

Have you set a deadline for when you're going to be 12 weeks closer to your goals instead of 12 weeks further from your goals?

So here's how I am going to help you.

I cordially invite you to take on my 12-week transformation contest. I'm giving $1,000 cash to the best skinny guy transformation, best chubby guy transformation and best overall female transformation.

Go to http://www.vincedelmontefitness.blogspot.com to read the rules. After that you need to send your Before Pictures to vincedelmontefitness@yahoo.ca

The contest ends November 9, 2009 so your last day to start would be this Monday August 18th.

Here are the benefits of setting deadlines and using a transformation contest to make the most of the next 12 weeks:

1. Help you finally prioritize your goal of improving your health and physique and the way you feel about yourself.

2. You're outside your comfort zone and will be forced to take continual action and this is the ONLY time change happens.

3. You won't procrastinate - every single workout and meal counts now and will move you closer to your goal or further from your goal.

4. You will build experience quickly and be forced to apply my 'trial and error' technique and ensure you lose 1% each and every week.

5. You'll have a kick-butt set of Before and After pictures that you can share with your friends for life.

If you want to seriously lean down then grab my fat loss program --> http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com

If you seriously want to gain some size then grab my muscle program --> http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

Both programs work even better when you put a deadline to them :)

I'm off to catch a plane for Kelowna, BC to watch my brother race in the National Triathlon Championships this Sunday.

I'll be looking forward to getting your Before pictures over the weekend.

Have a great weekend,

Vince Delmonte
Author, No Nonsense Muscle Building
Author, Your Six Pack Quest
Contributor to Men's Fitness Magazine
Advisory Team, Maximum Fitness Magazine
H.B.K. CPT

P.S. Check out what Pam said about the Female Only workout that accompanies my Your Six Pack Quest program...

'Just finished day one of the women's version and I have to say that is quite a workout! I really was surprised it was that hard (and I like hard!) So thanks for the start. I know it's up to me to finish.'

Joint-Specific Mobility & Stability Seminar in Florida

One of my online fitness buddies, Eric Cressey, a sought-after coach for healthy and injured athletes alike just let me know about an incredible one-time opportunity to learn how to prevent and correct the most common musculoskeletal problems once and for all!

Topics to be covered include:

-Functional Anatomy of Various Joints

-Static and Dynamic Assessments

-Corrective and Preventative Exercise Programming

-The Art of Hardcore Corrective Exercise: How to Maintain a Training Effect While Correcting Imbalances

-Troubleshooting Resistance Training Technique

When: January 5, 2008: 9AM-4PM

Where: Bahia Mar Beach Resort and Yachting Center
801 Seabreeze Boulevard, Ft Lauderdale FL, 33316
(888) 802-2442

Cost: *$99/person prior to December 26th, $129 thereafter; *$20 off for those with a valid student ID

*** Click Here for the EARLY Bird Rate ***

*** Click Here for the Regular Rate ***

You can email Eric at ec@ericcressey.com for more details and a registration sheet. Please type "Florida seminar" in the subject line.

Hope to see some of you there!

Vince DelMonte
P.S. For more info on Eric, check out http://www.ericcressey.com

The ONE thing that will make 2008 your best year EVER

What is the MAIN thing that will determine your fitness results in 2008? Not genetics. Not drugs. Not time. Not motivation. Not knowledge. Not a better program. Not a coach. Not a piece of equipment.

There is one thing MORE powerful, in my confident opinion, than any other factor - CONSISTENCY!

Here's what is going to happen in about 10 days when 2008 hits:

Every single person is going to be surfing Google for "muscle building program" or "build massive muscle" and they will be surfing every bodybuilding website and forum, until they find the ONE.

Once they find the ONE, they will feel confident that this is the solution to their problems. They are excited because the program is new.

But after 3 or 4 weeks (maybe they make it 3 or 4 months if they're really ambitious) it gets old. It's not "exciting" anymore which results in a few more Google searches until they find another program from someone they have never heard of before or perhaps they discover a unique training method which looks better than the hard training they are already doing.

They immediately print off this new workout, and the program you planned on being the ONE a few weeks ago, is suddenly by the waste side because it's been replaced with a new one.

This will happen over and over and over again until, believe it or not, it will be 2009 and they'll have little to show for all the programs they've "taste tested" and not been consistent with.

Can you relate?

The program has not failed you. You have failed yourself. You have failed in NOT being consistent and NOT giving it enough time to work.

Do you think pro bodybuilders switch between full body workouts for a few weeks then kettlebells another month then sand bag training, then Olympic training, then Pilates then 10 x 10, blah, blah, blah. NO!

Pro bodybuilders (or eliete athletes for that matter) do not program hop. They do the same things year in and year out - they are consistent! Sure, they might incorporate some better methods over the years but they are consistent in applying the FOUR things that truly make a difference in a muscular physique:

Overload + Progression + Caloric Support + Consistency

That is it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

In recent conversations with some of my most muscular friends, a common theme arises. Each of these guys and gals have built their physiques with only 1 (or maybe 2) methods of training. But they are CONSISTENT, year in and year out, with the method they follow.

They are okay with "missing out" on the latest trends, programs and philosophies because they are getting great results being consistent and not getting distracted by the "latest" no matter how promising something may seem.

Committ yourself to being consistnet in 2008!

Vince DelMonte
Author & Creator, No Nonsense Muscle Building
Contributor to Men's Fitness Magazine
H.B.K. CPT