Diet & Nutrition
Diet and Nutrition are 1 of, if not, the most important part of getting the body you want. You have to eat good to look good. But if you go that extra mile and eat great... you guessed it, you can look great! No matter what your goals are, 1 thing is the same. You need protein, and you don't need fat. Thats the most important rule here. Stay away from fatty foods. Cookies, chips, candy, chocolate, cake, fast food, fried food etc. Not all fat is bad for you though. There is a healthy fat. This fat can be found in fish, and flax seed oil.
Protein, why do you need it? Protein is the building block for muscle. Without protein, dont even bother going to the gym. To gain muscle mass, you need to eat protein. Some people say eating 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. I disagree. I say stick with 1 gram per pound. So if you weigh 150lbs, eat 150 grams of protein. And that means everyday, whether your going to workout that day or not, you still need to supply your muscles with the protein they need to recover for the next workout and to grow. Some high protein foods are:
Chicken
Lean Meats
Egg Whites
Turkey
Tuna Fish (and other seafoods)
All of those foods are low in fat, if any fat at all, and very high in protein. A can of tuna has no fat, and 30 grams of protein. Not bad huh? Don't like these foods? Don't have time to eat all that protein? Check out the Supplements section.
Also about protein.. you need it after a workout. Eat a can of tuna or something high in protein after your workouts to supply your body with the protein it needs to recover after the workout you just had. I have a protein shake after every workout. For more info on protein shakes, check out the Supplements section.
As you might have guessed, fruits and vegetables are very important to your diet. Besides the fact theres no fat, they have the vitamins and minerals you need!
Drinks.
The best thing to drink is water, and alot of it. I drink about a gallon a day. You need it. It will give you the fuel you need to kill yourself in the gym getting the body you want. Another good drink is low/non fat milk. Milk has alot of protein in it, but personally i hate the taste of milk. But if you like it, non fat milk is great for you. But don't forget about the water!
Diets.
You have to make yourself a diet. Whether its a weight gain diet, or a weight loss diet, you have to get organized. Plan what your going to eat before you eat it. I know that almost every monday night im going to be eating chicken breasts, and that after every workout im going to have a protein shake, and that i need to go to the store and buy some tuna fish because i will be eating a can every day. Make yourself a diet as low in fat as possible, and high in protein and then get yourself organized so that eating isn't a problem anymore. It becomes as easy as walking, you just do it without thinking. This way, theres no time to think about eating those potato chips, or not eating enough protein.
Carbs.
People trying to lose weight should eat a diet very low in carbs while someone whose trying to gain weight can get away with eating the extra carbs.
Losing Weight: Motivation & Dedication
Motivation & Dedication
Throughout my site, i have explained many things. Exercises, routines and splits, diet and nutrition, and so on. But the one thing i can't do for you is make you do it, and keep doing it. This is the only section of the site where i can't help you. Theres no tips or secrets or anything. YOU HAVE TO HELP YOURSELF! I am currently so into this stuff right now that i can't see a time where i will ever stop going to the gym. Why? I'll tell you why....
Because i like looking and feeling good and knowing that each time i step into the gym, i will come out looking better and feeling better then when i first walked in. That right there is my motivation. Having friends and family i haven't seen in a while say to me "Holy shit, you got big man!" is my motivation. Knowing i can bench more then everyone i know is my motivation. Watching other people become totally out of breath after playing basketball while im breathing fine is my motivation. Knowing that you are reading this and that you will try to look better then me is my motivation.
I can go on and on with reasons. But that won't matter unless you can motivate you. Find your own reasons and every time you think for a second, even for a second, about qutting, remind yourself of those reasons.
Theres a long running inside joke that me and a few friends of mine at the gym have. A group of people we like to call "the new years crew."The new years crew has new members every year. Theres a new years crew in every gym. So, who are the new years crew? Well, every new years what do you do? Besides getting drunk and counting from 10 - 1? You make a new years resolution. I haven't taken any polls lately, but im sure most of those resolutions is to get in shape. Whether its to loss weight, gain weight, add muscle, whatever, thats probably what most people say. And most of these people form the elite group know as "the new years crew." The new years crew will join your gym, workout for a few weeks, and you will never see them again. And every new years, you will see another new years crew, and in a few weeks, they will be gone. Why? Because there is a lack of motivation and dedication. And no, there is no motivation supplement or dedication powder. So whether you end up working out from now until forever, or you become a member of the new years crew... thats all up to you.
Throughout my site, i have explained many things. Exercises, routines and splits, diet and nutrition, and so on. But the one thing i can't do for you is make you do it, and keep doing it. This is the only section of the site where i can't help you. Theres no tips or secrets or anything. YOU HAVE TO HELP YOURSELF! I am currently so into this stuff right now that i can't see a time where i will ever stop going to the gym. Why? I'll tell you why....
Because i like looking and feeling good and knowing that each time i step into the gym, i will come out looking better and feeling better then when i first walked in. That right there is my motivation. Having friends and family i haven't seen in a while say to me "Holy shit, you got big man!" is my motivation. Knowing i can bench more then everyone i know is my motivation. Watching other people become totally out of breath after playing basketball while im breathing fine is my motivation. Knowing that you are reading this and that you will try to look better then me is my motivation.
I can go on and on with reasons. But that won't matter unless you can motivate you. Find your own reasons and every time you think for a second, even for a second, about qutting, remind yourself of those reasons.
Theres a long running inside joke that me and a few friends of mine at the gym have. A group of people we like to call "the new years crew."The new years crew has new members every year. Theres a new years crew in every gym. So, who are the new years crew? Well, every new years what do you do? Besides getting drunk and counting from 10 - 1? You make a new years resolution. I haven't taken any polls lately, but im sure most of those resolutions is to get in shape. Whether its to loss weight, gain weight, add muscle, whatever, thats probably what most people say. And most of these people form the elite group know as "the new years crew." The new years crew will join your gym, workout for a few weeks, and you will never see them again. And every new years, you will see another new years crew, and in a few weeks, they will be gone. Why? Because there is a lack of motivation and dedication. And no, there is no motivation supplement or dedication powder. So whether you end up working out from now until forever, or you become a member of the new years crew... thats all up to you.
How to Lose Weight
Losing Weight
When you think of weight loss, you think of rice cakes and never eating. Well, thats why most people never lose the weight. In this section i will explain how you can lose weight without eating one rice cake and how you can eat not 1, not 2, but 5 meals a day and still lose weight!
Weight loss is simple, burn more caloiries then you consume.
If you can fully understand that then you are on your way to weight loss. There are 4 simple steps to weight loss. Here they are:
1) Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. Don't change anything, just eat like your normally do and count how many calories. Also, weigh yourself.
2) Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories less then you normally do. So pretend the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, eat 1500. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day or eating all day all the time, spread those 1500 calories out over 5 small meals. Eat one every 2 and a half to 3 hours. Doing this will speed your metabolism.
3) Cardio. Cardio is a must for weight loss. Jog, walk, swim, jump rope, ride a bike, whatever.. just do it! All it takes is 30 mins a day, 5 days a week.
4) At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You'll notice a difference just after one week! Now, don't expect to see a 10lb weight loss. Anymore then 1 or 2 pounds lost a week is unhealthly. So look for 1 or 2 pound loss at the end of the week. Don't sound like much? You can lose 5-8 pounds a month! Thats around 75lbs a year! So if you have ALOT of weight to lose, you can lose it. If have just a few pounds to lose, you can lose it!
More Tips For Weight Loss
- Stay away from fat! Get rid of the chips and candy. No more fast food, nothing fried. Stay away from high carb foods. Carbs will eventually turn into fat. Foods like bread, rice, potatos, are high in carbs. They are ok to eat, but dont eat bread and potoatos ALL the time. Stick to high protein low carb/low fat foods like tuna fish (and other seafood), chicken breast, turkey, fruits and vegetables etc.
- WATER! Drink water! Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Yes thats alot of water, but its that water that will give you energy and speed your fat loss.
- Strength training! YES! Weightlifting isn't just great for muscles, its great for fat loss. Muscles burn calories. Strength training, eating better, drinking more water and doing cardio is what will make you lose weight. You can do just 2 of those things, and still lose weight. But if you do them all, you will lose weight faster!
- Weigh yourself at the end of every week.
If you ever have more then 2 weeks without losing any weight, its time to change something. Eat 250 less calories then you've been eating. And keep everything else the same. Each time you see weight loss stop for more then 2 weeks, decrease calorie intake by 250 until you get down to the weight you want to be. NEVER starve yourself!
- Sleep! YES! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get atleast 8 hours of sleep a night.
When you think of weight loss, you think of rice cakes and never eating. Well, thats why most people never lose the weight. In this section i will explain how you can lose weight without eating one rice cake and how you can eat not 1, not 2, but 5 meals a day and still lose weight!
Weight loss is simple, burn more caloiries then you consume.
If you can fully understand that then you are on your way to weight loss. There are 4 simple steps to weight loss. Here they are:
1) Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. Don't change anything, just eat like your normally do and count how many calories. Also, weigh yourself.
2) Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories less then you normally do. So pretend the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, eat 1500. Instead of eating 3 big meals a day or eating all day all the time, spread those 1500 calories out over 5 small meals. Eat one every 2 and a half to 3 hours. Doing this will speed your metabolism.
3) Cardio. Cardio is a must for weight loss. Jog, walk, swim, jump rope, ride a bike, whatever.. just do it! All it takes is 30 mins a day, 5 days a week.
4) At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You'll notice a difference just after one week! Now, don't expect to see a 10lb weight loss. Anymore then 1 or 2 pounds lost a week is unhealthly. So look for 1 or 2 pound loss at the end of the week. Don't sound like much? You can lose 5-8 pounds a month! Thats around 75lbs a year! So if you have ALOT of weight to lose, you can lose it. If have just a few pounds to lose, you can lose it!
More Tips For Weight Loss
- Stay away from fat! Get rid of the chips and candy. No more fast food, nothing fried. Stay away from high carb foods. Carbs will eventually turn into fat. Foods like bread, rice, potatos, are high in carbs. They are ok to eat, but dont eat bread and potoatos ALL the time. Stick to high protein low carb/low fat foods like tuna fish (and other seafood), chicken breast, turkey, fruits and vegetables etc.
- WATER! Drink water! Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Yes thats alot of water, but its that water that will give you energy and speed your fat loss.
- Strength training! YES! Weightlifting isn't just great for muscles, its great for fat loss. Muscles burn calories. Strength training, eating better, drinking more water and doing cardio is what will make you lose weight. You can do just 2 of those things, and still lose weight. But if you do them all, you will lose weight faster!
- Weigh yourself at the end of every week.
If you ever have more then 2 weeks without losing any weight, its time to change something. Eat 250 less calories then you've been eating. And keep everything else the same. Each time you see weight loss stop for more then 2 weeks, decrease calorie intake by 250 until you get down to the weight you want to be. NEVER starve yourself!
- Sleep! YES! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get atleast 8 hours of sleep a night.
Important Fitness Facts
Important Facts
"What works for someone might not work for you." This is one of the most important things you need to learn. Someone might have great looking huge arms from doing 9 sets for biceps, while someone else (like myself) can see great gains from only doing 4 sets! When i first started working out i did 9 sets total for biceps. Thats what the magazines said you MUST do, and thats what a friend of mine in the gym says he does. So i did it, and saw no gains. So i changed it. I did 6 sets instead. After about a month or 2, i saw some gains! So i figured, if going from 9 sets to 6 worked, lets go even lower. So i did 4 sets and within 4-6 months i put a full inch onto my arms.
The point of this story?
Try something, if it works, stick with it, if it doesn't, change it. Its just that simple. If you can understand that little fact then you can bet on getting that body you want! If whatever your doing isn't working, change it. Whether its the exercises, the number of sets, the days of the week you do each muscle or anything else, if its not working, change something, change it all, who knows! Do whatever it takes and work as long as it takes until you find what works for you. Because once you find that one routine, that 1 number of sets and reps and exercises that works for you, you will be damn happy you spent the time looking for it.
Abs and ab workouts. Wanna know the truth about what exactly you have to do to get perfect abs? To read the site feature about abs and ab workouts, click here!
Genetics, some people use them as an excuse for looking bad.
"I have bad genetics, therefore i must be fat and get picked on and made fun of and be called fat" or "i have bad genetics, therefore i will always weigh 100lbs and get beat up by everyone because im so skinny." That is all total 100% bullshit! If your fat, its not your genetics, sure they play a part in making you fat, but its your fault you stay fat! If your skinny, stop complaining that because your dads so skinny, and your mom is so skinny, that you will forever have to be a skinny little punk. Its your parents fault for giving you those skinny genes, but its your fault for staying skinny! The skinny kid can gain weight and put on muscle, and the fat kid can loss weight and put on muscle. Everyone can win, you just have to play the game and play it right!
There are 3 body types...
Ectomorph - These are the skinny people. These guys have the fastest metabolism of them all. The ones who have been skinny all there life. They are skinny for a reason. This body type makes these ectomorphs lucky and unlucky. Good news, they are lucky because they will always have a lower body fat then all the other body types. These guys will be able to loss weight and loss fat faster then everyone else. Bad news, its extremely hard for these guys to gain weight and muscle mass. These guys have to eat and eat and eat to put on just a little weight.
Mesomorph - These guys have the best of both worlds. These are the in-between people. The ones that might be skinny, might be fat, or might be in the middle. They have a metabolism slower then the ectomorphs, but its a little harder for them to lose weight, and a little easier for them to gain weight..
Endomorph - The slowest metabolism of them all. These guys have the hardest time losing weight and keeping it off. But these guys have it easy when it comes to gaining weight, problem is, they gain to much..
Figure out which one is you.
I am an ectomorph, i was always refered to as "skin and bones" by my grandma. But just because im an ectomorph, that doesn't mean i can't be 200lbs of pure muscle, with a 5% body fat. And the endomorphs can be 120lbs if they want to be. They can be called skin and bones by their grandma's. They can also be 200lbs of pure muscle, or.. they can even be 275lbs of pure muscle because of their weight gaining ease. Mesomorphs can be all of the above..
Stretching.
One of the most over looked parts of working out. You must stretch. Aside from flexablitity, stretching is VERY important when it comes to injuries. Not stretching properly increases the risk of getting injured. Not only that, but stretching warms up the muscle. It gets the blood pumping. A warm muscle is a strong muscle! Remember that. So be sure to do a few minutes of stretching before every workout. And in between sets, stretch! Whatever muscle you are working out at the time, stretch it in between every set!.You'll thank me later..
Injuries and proper form.
You would not beleive how many workout related injuries there are these days. Some people are just stupid. I read this quote once at a site just like mine a few years ago.. "When you go to the gym, leave your ego at the door." What that means, is, when you step into the gym, forget about that hot chick watching you workout, forget about those big guys working out next to you, forget about seeing your friend there. DON'T TRY TO SHOW OFF TO ANYONE! I see it almost every day, people of all ages doing way to much weight then they can handle and they are doing it with terrible form because its so much weight. Did you come to the gym to get in shape, get muscular and lose fat, or did you come to lift really heavy weights? Im not saying dont' lift heavy weights. Lift heavy always! But only lift as heavy as you can where you can still use perfect form. Going too heavy for one set and messing up form just for that one set can cause an injury. If the weight you are using is causeing you to break form, lower the weight and don't think twice about it.
"What works for someone might not work for you." This is one of the most important things you need to learn. Someone might have great looking huge arms from doing 9 sets for biceps, while someone else (like myself) can see great gains from only doing 4 sets! When i first started working out i did 9 sets total for biceps. Thats what the magazines said you MUST do, and thats what a friend of mine in the gym says he does. So i did it, and saw no gains. So i changed it. I did 6 sets instead. After about a month or 2, i saw some gains! So i figured, if going from 9 sets to 6 worked, lets go even lower. So i did 4 sets and within 4-6 months i put a full inch onto my arms.
The point of this story?
Try something, if it works, stick with it, if it doesn't, change it. Its just that simple. If you can understand that little fact then you can bet on getting that body you want! If whatever your doing isn't working, change it. Whether its the exercises, the number of sets, the days of the week you do each muscle or anything else, if its not working, change something, change it all, who knows! Do whatever it takes and work as long as it takes until you find what works for you. Because once you find that one routine, that 1 number of sets and reps and exercises that works for you, you will be damn happy you spent the time looking for it.
Abs and ab workouts. Wanna know the truth about what exactly you have to do to get perfect abs? To read the site feature about abs and ab workouts, click here!
Genetics, some people use them as an excuse for looking bad.
"I have bad genetics, therefore i must be fat and get picked on and made fun of and be called fat" or "i have bad genetics, therefore i will always weigh 100lbs and get beat up by everyone because im so skinny." That is all total 100% bullshit! If your fat, its not your genetics, sure they play a part in making you fat, but its your fault you stay fat! If your skinny, stop complaining that because your dads so skinny, and your mom is so skinny, that you will forever have to be a skinny little punk. Its your parents fault for giving you those skinny genes, but its your fault for staying skinny! The skinny kid can gain weight and put on muscle, and the fat kid can loss weight and put on muscle. Everyone can win, you just have to play the game and play it right!
There are 3 body types...
Ectomorph - These are the skinny people. These guys have the fastest metabolism of them all. The ones who have been skinny all there life. They are skinny for a reason. This body type makes these ectomorphs lucky and unlucky. Good news, they are lucky because they will always have a lower body fat then all the other body types. These guys will be able to loss weight and loss fat faster then everyone else. Bad news, its extremely hard for these guys to gain weight and muscle mass. These guys have to eat and eat and eat to put on just a little weight.
Mesomorph - These guys have the best of both worlds. These are the in-between people. The ones that might be skinny, might be fat, or might be in the middle. They have a metabolism slower then the ectomorphs, but its a little harder for them to lose weight, and a little easier for them to gain weight..
Endomorph - The slowest metabolism of them all. These guys have the hardest time losing weight and keeping it off. But these guys have it easy when it comes to gaining weight, problem is, they gain to much..
Figure out which one is you.
I am an ectomorph, i was always refered to as "skin and bones" by my grandma. But just because im an ectomorph, that doesn't mean i can't be 200lbs of pure muscle, with a 5% body fat. And the endomorphs can be 120lbs if they want to be. They can be called skin and bones by their grandma's. They can also be 200lbs of pure muscle, or.. they can even be 275lbs of pure muscle because of their weight gaining ease. Mesomorphs can be all of the above..
Stretching.
One of the most over looked parts of working out. You must stretch. Aside from flexablitity, stretching is VERY important when it comes to injuries. Not stretching properly increases the risk of getting injured. Not only that, but stretching warms up the muscle. It gets the blood pumping. A warm muscle is a strong muscle! Remember that. So be sure to do a few minutes of stretching before every workout. And in between sets, stretch! Whatever muscle you are working out at the time, stretch it in between every set!.You'll thank me later..
Injuries and proper form.
You would not beleive how many workout related injuries there are these days. Some people are just stupid. I read this quote once at a site just like mine a few years ago.. "When you go to the gym, leave your ego at the door." What that means, is, when you step into the gym, forget about that hot chick watching you workout, forget about those big guys working out next to you, forget about seeing your friend there. DON'T TRY TO SHOW OFF TO ANYONE! I see it almost every day, people of all ages doing way to much weight then they can handle and they are doing it with terrible form because its so much weight. Did you come to the gym to get in shape, get muscular and lose fat, or did you come to lift really heavy weights? Im not saying dont' lift heavy weights. Lift heavy always! But only lift as heavy as you can where you can still use perfect form. Going too heavy for one set and messing up form just for that one set can cause an injury. If the weight you are using is causeing you to break form, lower the weight and don't think twice about it.
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