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Farewell TRIBUTE! - Ronnie Coleman: Greatest of All Time!



"God has a Plan for each and every one of us, all you have to do...
is keep the Faith... and accept your're Calling" -- Ronnie Coleman (8 x Mr Olympia)

SUPER-Human! - Ronnie 'The King' Coleman!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WddDmgr3sQc

Skinny-Guy Mistakes!
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Avoiding your Muscle Building Mistakes.

You’re reading this because you wanna get grow, right? Well, contrary to popular opinion (and the agonizing opinions of those women who are afraid to lift weights because they’ll get “too big”), it ain’t easy packing on pounds of lean mass. And, just so you realize how difficult it is, today I’m going to take a novel approach. Rather than soothe your inner child by telling you it’s easy to pack on the brawn, I’m going to discuss the challenges you’ll face and the mistakes most others like you make. So hopefully in the end you’ll see the error of your ways and you’ll learn how to fix that error, taking you from skinny to buff in no time. But first, if you’re really hoping to get the buff physique, I want you to get comfortable with two ideas right from the start.

Idea #1 — To gain muscle mass, you’re going to have to spend more money on groceries than you’re currently spending. If you endeavor to get bigger and don’t start increasing your weekly grocery bill, all your muscle building prayers will go unanswered.

Idea #2 — To gain muscle mass, you’re going to have to shop, cook, eat, and clean the kitchen more often than you’re currently doing. That’s right, if you don’t increase your grocery store frequency as well as the amount of food you prepare, the amount of daily fork lifts you do, and the amount of dish washing you do, your reign as the world’s weakest man will continue to go uncontested.
Sure these are challenges. And you’re not supposed to hear about them, right? Most of the articles and books out there nowadays seem to want to spin lovely fairy tales about how easy it is to get into great shape, how easy it is to lift heavy weights, and how easy it is to eat better.
But the reality is this: it’s not easy. However, it does get easier if you’ve prepared yourself mentally for the challenges that lie ahead and realize that it’ll take some time to accomplish your goals. You see, people typically overestimate how difficult things will be and underestimate how long they’ll take. Expect to be able to gain weight without seriously altering your current habits and taking the time to allow the new habits to sink in, and of course you’ll fail. Truly, the old cliché, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” has become a cliché for a reason—there’s some truth to it.
Understanding that some of your habits have led to legs that only Colonel Sanders could love, you may be wondering what habits are in need of a change and what habits will direct you toward the path of muscle building success?
Well, I’ll again be honest. I can’t know exactly what your personal ineffective patterns are without sitting down with you in my clinic and assessing your current habits. However, in general, after working with thousands of clients, I do know that most people make some of the same mistakes with respect to muscle building nutrition. And here are the most prevalent ones:

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Mistake #1: Eating Too Few Calories.

Most people who want to get big simply eat too few calories. I know what you’re thinking — DUH! I already know this. But do you? If you’re skinny, then you don’t!
The body obeys the laws of thermodynamics (just a fancy physics word for describing how the body can’t build muscle without extra energy around to build it with) and therefore if you’re losing weight—you’re not taking enough energy in; if you’re weight stable—you’re balancing intake with output; if you’re gaining weight—you’re taking more energy in than you’re burning.
So if you’re reading this article and want to get bigger, the solution should be relatively simple,
right? Pick up some food and start eating it right now. By eating a greater number of calories than you’re currently eating, you’ll finally be able to put those high school physics lessons to good use.
So, first and foremost, start eating. Before you worry about macro percentages, about which program is the best for you, what supplements you should take, etc. Just start eating. And if you’re the type that wants to know more, while you’re feeding, start reading... about optimal food choices and nutrient timing. But remember; don’t wait till you know everything to get moving. As an old proverb states: “The man needs to know everything before moving forward will spend his entire life on one leg.” Start eating now and keep reading so you can make the changes as you go along.

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Mistake #2: Cupboards Are Bare.

Most people live like Old Mother Hubbard. Ever have the experience of heading to the fridge to get something to eat and getting there to find nothing left that didn’t have mold in it or on it? I’m sure you have. And in situations like this, not even Harry Houdini could summon calories from thin air. In order to ensure you’re getting enough food, you don’t need a magic act, you need to ensure your fridge and your cupboards are always stocked properly. You’ll need to chuck out all the crap that’s in your kitchen, replace it with good stuff, and keep replacing it. If you don’t have a system for shopping (for example, I shop every Sunday), the cupboards will always be bare.

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Mistake #3: Failing To Plan Meals.

Not eating enough is one thing. But why don’t most people eat enough? Because they fail to plan their meals! As you might imagine, another cliché works in nicely here. In nutrition, failing to plan is planning to fail. Trying to simply “eat on the go”, “grab something on the way to work”, or “catch a quick lunch with the guys from the mailroom”, will only serve to accomplish one goal—to keep you looking like everyone else in the mailroom.

To transcend the typical physique, you should be eating about 5-6 meals per day (7-8 meals counting your workout and post-workout drinks). So, upon waking in the morning, if you aren’t already sure what or where you’ll be having breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, second lunch, dinner, and/or second dinner, chances are you’ll make poor selections and/or skip meals altogether.

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Mistake #4: Limited Food Choices.

Because of convenience, social conditioning, food associations, etc. many people only eat a few foods each day, limiting the number of calories they’re eating dramatically and limiting their vitamin and mineral intake. Think about it—list the different types of fruits and vegetables you ate yesterday.
Seriously, take out a piece of paper and write down the fruits and veggies you ate yesterday. I’ll wait. So, did you eat the daily recommendation of 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables? Heck, did you meet that recommendation all of last week? If not, don’t feel bad; very few of my clients do before they start working with me, and many of them are elite and professional athletes. The bottom line is this, if you’re only eating a handful of different foods each day, you’re limiting your muscle building potential tremendously.

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Mistake #5: Eating Infrequently .

Most people eat only 3 “squares” a day. As you probably know, our societal feeding structure is centered on the 3-meal day; breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
What is this, prison? People, we’re allowed to (and should) eat all day. Interestingly, when our society adopted this 3 meal a day structure, no one thought to ask our physiology if this structure was best. As you might imagine, I’m about to suggest that it’s not best, especially if muscle gain is your goal. If you want to send those medium sized Testosterone shirts to the Goodwill once and for all, you’ll have to eat when required, which means more often that most other “normal people”.

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Mistake #6: Mood Eating.

Most people eat based on their mood and/or some subjective feelings of hunger. They don’t eat based on what their bodies need. I’m sure you’ve seen these people in action.
Do you know someone who overeats when “stressed out”? You probably do. But I’m willing to bet you also know someone who doesn’t eat at all when “stressed”. So what’s the difference between these two types of people? Only the fact that they’ve associated food with certain moods rather than treating food as sustenance, fuel for their engine.
Think of it this way, you’re about to take a long drive on a stretch of highway with no gas station.
Do you fail to stop for gas before you hit the highway because you’re “not in the mood”? Of course not. Think of eating in the same way. Eating fuels your metabolic engine. So it’s time to start feeling like eating so that you can stop feeling like you’re scrawny.
So there you have it, the 6 biggest muscle building mistakes that scrawny guys make. Do any of these habits characterize your eating? If so, it’s time to make the decision to get your habits working for you rather than against you.

This is just a start — it’s just a mirror in which you can examine yourself.
The next step is to come up with an action plan!.

Take a Blowtorch to Fat! - Essential Steps to Fat Loss

I have listed below the essential steps and how to implement them into your own training and dieting program. Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.


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1. Eat less simple sugars.

This was the biggest result getter for me. One easy way to do this is to drop sodas. They have a lot of empty calories up to 120...although diet sodas aren’t necessarily healthy, they are minus sugar. I used to subscribe to the idea that products labeled as “fat free” and “low fat” were the way to go. What I didn’t know was that those same products often times had added simple sugars. Many items labeled “lite” usually have less sugars. Don’t be afraid to learn how to read nutritional information on the labels. Once I dropped extra sugar in my diet, I dropped about 6 pounds, with no extra cardio at all... just the sugar alone. It happened gradually, but has stayed off permanently.

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2. Drink 1% or skim milk.

Sometimes I drink half a gallon of milk a day, all skim. Milk is almost a perfect source of protein as well...and half a gallon has 80g! This can make a HUGE difference, ask me, I know. Try fat free, lite or reduced fat cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese as well (watch the added sugar!).

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3. Eat more often!

You probably eat 2-3 times a day, right? Eat more frequent, smaller meals, spaced out every 2-4 hours, as many as 6-8 times a day. Basically you’ll be “grazing”, and this will help your body boost your metabolism. Digestion is a big calorie burner...up to 20% of the calories from each meal go towards digestion. This will help keep your “internal furnace”” going. Try to shoot for 250+ grams of protein a day. Keep simple sugars low, (fruit is a good choice!) and saturated fats to a minimum.

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4. Eat wheat bread instead of white.

Not too sure about the science behind this one yet, but it has seemed to help. I think it has something to do with the white bread’s ability to be converted into simple sugars more quickly or something.

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5. Drink more!

No you raging alcoholics... I can hear the cheering already! Make sure what you drink is a hydrating liquid...not caffeinated soda or coffee, and alcohol does not count! Drink up to and even more than 1 gallon of water a day, depending on you activities. This will rid the body of toxins, and flush your system. This may be more important than any of the other points. One way to monitor your water intake is to keep an empty mile jug, and will it with water every night before you go to bed. Drink some from the jug throughout the day. At the end of the night, evaluate how much you have drank. If you are at work a lot like I am, take a plastic bottle, (12oz, 16oz) and keep filling it throughout the day. Keep it on you during your workouts...don’t rely on the water fountain, as sips are hard to measure.

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6. Cardio Before Breakfast.

Fasted cardio in the morning is optimal because insulin levels are bottomed out, hormone sensitive lipase (the fat cell releasing enzyme) is fully active while lipoprotein lipase (the fat storage enzyme) is dormant. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone. At this time there is less glucose in your blood stream to be burned, vs. after having just ate a meal, leaving fats as the go-to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, too long and you eat up muscle tissue when your body perceives starvation

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7. Be Aware Of Your Carbohydrates.

Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them! The best times to give yourself larger portions of carbs is when you first wake up and before and after workouts, as you can be sure it will be put to use and be burned off, not stored as fat. Consume no more than 25-35 grams in other meals if you must have more carbs based on your job and or lifestyle and even then, make them high fiber vegetable based carbs. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get the day started, get through a workout and the carbs to recover from the workout, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be trace carbs or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

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8. Don’t Get Hungry.

Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet; you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if it’s lots of veggies and water.

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9. Do Not Consume Large Amounts of Fat And Carbs Together.

This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now, but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over-reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high GI more so then low GI) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (about 15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal of course!

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10. Take Your Fish Oil.

They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). (Take 3-6g a day).

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11. Use Thermogenics Correctly.

Taken at the right time with the right ingredients and you can gain an edge with such products. Look for supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning. There’s plenty of quality brands out there. Ingredients to look for are: Caffeine: PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist. Yohimbine HCL: Alpha 2 adrenergic antagonist. Aspirin: Inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids. Green Tea Extract: Iinhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine. L-Carnitine: Acts a fatty acid transporter to get fats burned as energy.

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12. Protein Before Bed.

45 to 60 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% fat or less) or casein protein powder to fight late night hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night; it’s void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No, it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

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13. Eat Citrus Fruits.

Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavonoids such as naringin, found in oranges and more so in grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it may have negative side effects. Kiwi, mango and strawberries also fit the bill as good citrus fruits.

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14. Weight Train To Hold Lean Muscle.

Maintain some form of weight training at least 3 times a week or your body won’t have a single reason to hold lean muscle, it will burn muscle faster than the recession is burning away at the stock market, even more so if you’re doing substantial amounts of cardio each week. Too much cardio and no weights means a soft skeleton body in no time.

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15. Interval Train To Burst Through Plateaus.

If long duration steady state cardio (45+ minute session) stops working, throw in a shorter 30- minute interval (hard/easy work rest periods), 1-2 times a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

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16. Refeed Rather Than Cheat.

Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, “refeeds” are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very-high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 2-3 hours before bed) it tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much at all if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight. These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a sad effort then you get sad results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who look for short cuts and magic pills. Many people are surprised when they find out how small changes in their diet can lead to big results in fat loss... I know I was, but I learned it was true! I have listed a few common things in the diet that can be manipulated, added, or dropped, to attain desired results. Try some or all of these tips to help boost your fat loss efforts. It’s not easy, and not quick...(I’m still gettin’ there myself), so give it at least 1-2 months before you start to see results. Try to participate in some cardiovascular activity about 3 times a week, for 20-30 minutes a session.

Pre-workout & Post-workout Dietary Tips

Many people are unaware of the importance of both pre-workout and post-workout dietary requirements. Getting it wrong pre-workout can be the difference between a good and a poor workout. Getting it wrong post-workout can be the difference between a fast recovery and slow recovery.

Pre-Workout DIET:
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It is important to have the right meal before an intense workout. This will ensure that during your exercise, you will feel strong and will have the energy to do your exercise at full intensity. You would not want to feel weak in the course of your workout, especially near the end, you would experience a “crash” so to speak, and would be unable to complete your exercise regimen for the session.
A preferred pre-workout meal would be a meal replacement powder instead of solid food, since the latter takes a longer time to digest.
Meal replacement powders made into a shake will provide you with the right carbohydrates that can easily be absorbed by the body and will fuel your workout till the end.
This will also help decrease Cortisol levels that normally increases during exercise. With high Cortisol levels, your muscle is in danger of catabolism, especially if these high levels are maintained for a long period of time, due to the absence of carbohydrates.
Also, the shake will preferably have whey as its protein source since it has a large amount of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) that can be quickly absorbed by the body.
BCAAs would protect your muscles from being used as a fuel during your workout, and will also provide for the necessary nutrients after your workout. There are also studies that show its effects in decreasing body fat storage especially in the middle area.
* Drink the shake 30 minutes to 60 minutes prior to a workout.

Recuperative Post-workout DIET
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It is best to drink a protein shake right after a work-out. This will ensure that your body will be able to feed quality protein to make them grow. As muscles are already in dire need of such depleted nutrients, this post-work out drink would be of great help.
* The drink should be taken 30 to 60 minutes after the workout.

Casein is another type of protein that is slowly absorbed by the body, and thus the delivery of the amino acids into the system is gradual.
Before going to bed, a glass of casein would be helpful since it will reduce protein breakdown, at the same time prolong protein synthesis.
Note: When weight training and consuming large amounts of protein ensure that you drink plenty of water throughout the day to flush out the toxins from your system.

Protein: A Bodybuilder's Best Friend

When building a meal plan, it makes sense to start with the most critical, yet physique-friendly macronutrient.

Although we're talking about advanced bodybuilding nutrition plans, things don't need to be overly complicated. In fact, I like to keep things really simple. That's why I summarize the intricate biochemistry of protein this way:

Your body uses protein to build stuff.

Anyone who knows what a dumbbell is knows that protein helps build muscle. But we tend to forget that protein helps build many other things like bones, hair, skin, nails, tendons, and ligaments, along with more obscure things like blood plasma, visceral (organ) tissue, and almost 2,000 enzymes.

The fact that the body (especially the body of a hard-training individual) has so many critical uses for protein, is the primary reason why using calories to indicate how much energy the human body will be able to derive from food doesn't make sense.

Virtually all of the protein you eat will be used as building blocks for something else. Very, very little will be available to produce our body's energy currency, glucose. Even less would be available to create fat, largely due to the inefficiency of this process.

When you consider that protein is very unlikely to cause fat gain along with the fact that protein consumption boosts metabolic rate by about 25%, you can see why it's a bodybuilder's best friend.

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5 DAMN GOOD REASONS TO USE EFA's

(Essential Fatty Acids)


Two Questions, Two Supplements... I get asked two questions a lot:

1. If you could only take two supplements, what would they be?
2. What core supplements should I put my spouse / parent / child / grandparent on?

My answers are the same for each question:
A protein shake and an Essential fatty acid supplement such as fish oil capsules.
My 50+ year old mother gets a protein shake because she’s notorious for skipping breakfasts. My 7 year niece gets a small shake instead of an after-school cookie. My training partner gets three shakes a day because, well, his regular diet has about as much protein in it as Paris Hilton’s atrophied excuse for a be-hind. So everyone I know gets a protein shake.

And fatty acids? Man, where do I even begin? Functional fatty acids (FFA) are even more important that protein powders, because while it is feasible to get adequate protein through diet alone, it’s nearly impossible to conveniently get enough fatty acids through solid foods. Even the most anti-supplement dieticians I know pop a few fish oil capsules every day.

• Want to practically beam with health and vitality? You need to supplement with fatty acids.
• Want to live a long life and have a lot of life in those years? You need to supplement with fatty acids.
• Want to be lean and muscular? You need to supplement with fatty acids.
• Want to stay mentally sharp and perhaps even psychologically healthy?

You need to supplement with... yeah, you guessed it.

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"How can I do more push-ups?"

Okay so lets talk nuts and bolts training. In later stages Im going to expand with body wisdom and its importance. “How can I do more push-ups?” That question has been asked of me a few times. The answer rarely changes and is never exciting to anyone who hears it. Ready? here it is... Do more push-ups!

Sounds simple doesn’t it, now give it some thought because hard and long is the road that leads to a great physique. I say what the hell! whats easy anyway! It’s not even easy to get your ass out of bed in a morning, but we find a way to do it don’t we. There aint no shortcuts!
First, you must allow yourself the time to decide if you want to make this commitment. Don’t say “yes” in your mind, trust me on this... It will take a tremendous amount of effort and pain to form a great physique, and don’t expect miracles overnight. This is not the “Legs in a week” program that some fitness shithead’s selling on QVC!

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“Just do it”

That’s why it always made me laugh seeing those Nike training shoe ads “Just do it” I say to myself “ I’ve been doing it shithead!!” I never needed a shoe salesman to tell me how to get it done! Corporate encouragement is’nt what builds a warrior or an athlete, its heart and desire.! So, set your goals, outline a time frame for the desired results, get busy, and ride the bitch till the wheels fall off! Anything else is just pissing in the wind!