Stress

I often see a lot of experts recommending people reduce their stress. While this may be true for some older folks with high blood pressure, I don't think most people are anywhere near that level.

Stress isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the more you can handle, the better. It takes a stressful life to be productive and thus successful in almost any endeavor.

I've always view stress a lot like weight lifting. The training session is the stress itself while the bigger muscles is the success and productivity that comes from it.

Also like weight lifting, don't expect to squat 500lbs your first time (don't take on too much at once). Instead gradually try to build it up.

If you're stressed out, back off a bit until you can handle it but realize that you're doing the best you can and improving.

The Right Direction

This past weekend was the biggest competition in bodybuilding - The Mr. Olympia contest held in Las Vegas, NV.

The reigning champ was dethrowned by challenger Dexter Jackson of Jacksonville, FL. I never thought I'd say this but...I'm glad.

I love Jay as a bodybuilder, champion and especially as a person. Unfortunately though, his reign came at a time when the criteria for bodybuilding slowly started to change.

With the retirement of Ronnie, more and more pros started to streamline their physiques. More attention was placed on having a small waist and superb conditioning since no one was standing next to Ronnie anymore more.

And Jay played along.

Jay can't though. He's a bona-fide mass monster. Standing next to Toney Freeman, Dexter Jackson, Phil Heath and Dennis Wolfe he looked out of place.

It was the year of the tiny waists at the Olympia.

I, for one, am glad that bodybuilding has taken the first step towards the more aesthetic physiques.

My Thoughts on The Palumbo Diet

I posted earlier that I decided to use the Palumbo Diet for an offseason "mini-diet." Now that it's over, here's what I think of it.

Energy levels - Arguably better than eating carbs. Once in ketosis, you don't get insulin swings and crashes or sugar highs. It's a very stable energy. That said, once you get down to a certain leanness, it doesn't matter what diet you're on. I'm about in that zone. Dave calls it the "Pain Zone."

Cost - This diet is CHEAP, which is a huge plus while in college. The most expensive thing is the one red meat meal each day. Tuna/chicken/turkey is cheap. Eggs are cheap. Oils are cheap and last FOREVER.

Satiety - I was only really hungry in the mornings. However, there is not a lot of options. You can eat meat, nuts and oils. That's about it. It can get pretty boring and it feels like you're eating VERY little.

The masochist in me likes it though.

Muscle Maintenance - I don't feel like I've lost any muscle. In fact, strength has been going up. I think the reason a lot of natural guys think this diet is bad for them is that they're flat all the time. Once you get used to that feeling, it's really not that bad.

The key though, is keeping cardio at a LOW intensity. I think Dave may be on to something with this - but that's another blog altogether.

I'm also glad I'm finally off all stimulants. It took me a lot longer than I would've liked after my contest. I normally don't use any caffeine in the offseason.

I leaned out VERY fast. Overall, I would do this diet again but I don't feel it should be necessary. If I was very fat, this diet would be AWESOME. Next mini-diet will not be a keto though. I'm too lean to not have a little carbs.

Here's what a typical day looked like:

9:30 - 2 whole omega 3 eggs, 1 cup eggbeaters, 12 fish oils
12:30 - 1.8 scoops whey/casein shake, 2 TBSP Natural PB
2:30 - 1.5 cans Tuna, 0.7oz Macadamia Nuts
4:30 - Same as above
6:30 - 7oz Top Round, 2 cups Spinach, 1 cup Broccoli, 1 TBSP Sesame Oil
8:30 - 1 whole omega 3 egg, 1 cup eggbeaters, 8 fish oils, 2 Evening Primeose Oils

This comes out to about 2100 calories, 290g protein, 20g carbs (8 fiber) and 110g fat.

Olympia Predictions

The biggest contest in bodybuilding gets underway tonight at 6:30 PDT.

Here are my predictions.

There's a difference between chosing who you THINK you place where and who you think the judges will place them.

That's the highest I've seen Freeman predicted by some one.

If I had it my way:

1. Wolfe
2. Freeman
3. Heath
4. Jackson
5. Anthony

How I think it'll actually pan out:

1. Cutler
2. Jackson
3. Wolfe
4. Heath
5. Anthony

MuscleTech

I've been frequenting bodybuilding.com a lot more lately.

One thing I've noticed is the CONSTANT bashing of MuscleTech products. It seems like it's almost the cool thing to do. If you use MuscleTech products, you're clearly out of the loop.

The fact is, MuscleTech probably does more for the sport than any other supplement company. They sponsor many, MANY shows (including the Mr. Olympia this weekend) and sponsor more athletes than any other company.

On top of that, they're actually able to bring bodybuilding products to the mainstream with Hydroxycut.

Sure, their products may be expensive - but you get what you pay for. They do work (ever tried Gakic?)

Stop the hate!

Personalities of the Successful

I was in my biology lecture today when my professor talked about how our experiences and view of the world shapes our personality. It got me thinking, what similarities in personality do the most sucessful people have?

I came up with this list:

1. Sucessful people are optimistic.
Try to anticipate the great events of the future instead of dreading potential stress. All worrying about stress will do is add to its weight if it does happen and it's completely useless if it doesn't.

I choose to see the world in it's best light because I truly believe that God created quite a wonderful thing. Why pick out the tragedies and flaws constantly? All it does is put people in a negative state of mind. This is why I don't watch the news anymore.

See the good not only in every current situation but EXPECT it in the future.

2. Successful people offer something unique.
Ghandi approached his problems without violence. Martin Luther King was a black leader with good credibility and great speaking skills. Arnold Schwarzenneger was the first BIG movie star.

Every successful person has been innovative and unique. They tend to think outside the box and are NOT afraid of being themselves.

You can NEVER be anyone but yourself. So embrace it and use your strengths to the best of your ability.

3. Successful people are passionate.
I think it goes without saying that Ghandi and Matrin Luther King were passionate about their respective causes. Arnold was also very passionate about bodybuilding is is arguably the best ambassador the sport has ever had.

Being passionate about what you do makes things a lot easier when it comes time to sacrafice. It's MUCH easier to persevere when you can't imagine life without something.

4. Successful people are risk takers.
If you never take risks you'll probably never get anywhere in life. Ghandi decided to fast until agreements were made in India. Had the agreements taken longer he could have died - but he gave them incentive to make them!

Arnold took a gamble when he decided to move to the US. Could he make it over here?

5. Successful people are decisive.
The greatest of the great make decisions easily and quickly and then BELIEVE in them and make sure they get carried out. They don't waste time worrying (see point #1) and have a level of certainty and confidence that enhances their lives.

Bigger Faster Stronger

I watched this movie over summer and thought it made some amazing points. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd highly recommend taking the time to view it.

http://www.watch-movies.net/movies/bigger_stronger_faster/

Why is it that women can take estrogen (birth control pills) but men taking testosterone is frowned upon?

Unfortunately, they did a poor job of marketing this movie and it never made it very far in the mainstream. It seems as if the bodybuilding/powerlifting community are the only people that know of it.

I don't take steroids but I'm not against people that do. They could probably enhance the lives of thousands of aging individuals.

Check it out.

True Protein

If anyone out there wants to help me out, use my discount code at www.trueprotein.com for 5% off your next order.

The site has customizable protein and supplements and absolutely great prices.

The customer service is second to none.

If you live on the left coast you'll have fast shipping as well.

Top 5 Mass Foods

It seems the teens on bodybuilding.com ask what foods they should eat to gain mass quite often. Recently I've been responding with this list. Here are the reasons why I think these foods are effective.

1. Red Meat - High fat and high protein. It's great for your male sex hormones and packs plenty of cholesterol for the synthesis of them. Many a bodybuilder has reported increased hypertrophy when eating red meat as opposed to leaner sources. It's likely due to the extra fat but some even swear that they still get better gains when calories are controlled. There is also natural creatine in red meat.

2. Whole Eggs - Again a high fat and high protein food. Like red meat, it is quite high in cholesterol as well. However, dietary cholesterol is not very good at raising your blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is much better at it and, believe it or not, most eggs have about 1g of saturated fats (and plenty of heart healthy monounsaturated fats). Eggs are a good source of lecithin and choline as well. These are substances that are currently being marketed as supplements!

3. Olive Oil - This is a great healthy fat that is dirt cheap. It is rich in heart healthy omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid. Adding a TBSP or two to your shakes is easy to consume and packs a ton of healthy calories!

4. Waxy Maize Starch - OK at least one carbohydrate source had to make the list, right? Waxy Maize is a high molecular weight carbohydrate that enters and leaves the stomach very quickly leaving you hungry soon after you eat it. This is great for mass gain as you won't feel bloated. Waxy Maize is great for after your workouts as it allows for quick glycogen replenishment. It's especially good if the typical dextrose/maltodextrin combo tends to crash you.

5. Peanut Butter - Every loves peanut butter! Like olive oil and WMS, it's easy to eat and digests slowly. In 3rd world countries, they make a powder out of peanut butter because they've found that it snaps people out of starvation quicker than most foods.

Somewhere...

Remember the next time you face adversity that, chances are, somewhere out there some one else has experienced the exact same thing and overcome. I've been doing this lately and it's quite mentally relaxing and humbling.

It almost gives me motivation to be even stronger than that person - even though I've never met them.

Also, don't waste time being envious of the "easier" lives of celebrities or your spoiled best friend. The fact is, everyone has their problems, it's just a matter of how each individual solves them.

I know that it sounds cliche, but as long as you're doing the best you can, that's all that matters. You can't do any better!

Recently I've been letting school stress me out more than it should. That changes today.

It helps that I brought home my first A on my nutrition exam (quite the confidence builder).

Do you REALLY learn in school?

Today is the information age. As such, we are constantly bombarded with information from recipes (Food Channel) to home remedies for various ailments (WebMD) to exact maps to our desired destination (MapQuest). This happens so much so that we have to be careful what we listen to and what we tune out.

You don't want to click on the pop that tells you you've just won a free gift certificate to Wal-Mart EVERY TIME.

The point is, most people seem to do their learning either via personal experience or via the internet nowadays. It seem that universities are just certification bodies that give you a piece of paper showing that you acquired some knowledge.

They used to have a monopoly on knowledge. Now it's everywhere.

At the rate it's going, I suspect universities will be a thing of the past in the not-too-distant future.

Slave to Time?

It seems to me that, more and more, I'm becoming a slave to the clock.

I'm always aware of what time it is. I have a client at 4:00, a meal at 5:00 and a meeting at 6:00. I MUST be productive as possible and it's unprofessional to show up late.

Sure, on the exterior it doesn't seem like a bad thing but the problem is I never get a chance to relax.

See, I have the tendency to take on more than I can handle. I like to have a "To Do" list for the day so I can scratch off things as I go.

But once I scratch off that last thing one of two things happens:

1. I don't know what to do with myself and become bored very quickly
2. I start thinking of more things to do

I often find myself doing #2 while I'm doing other things too. This makes for a lack of concentration on the task at hand.

So I need to do 2 things.

First, I need to learn how to relax.

Second, I need to start doing that which I actually WANT to do. If I actually want to study, I won't be thinking about the weekend while I'm doing it. If I actually want to make a program for a client, I will do just that much better of a job.

I thought I'd write this out because I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem - especially in the community of bodybuilding.

Ketosis

So I started the Palumbo diet on Monday. I felt fine until about yesterday afternoon. Then it hit me.

The brain fog that everyone talks about isn't what I was expecting. I don't feel weak or anything like that but I feel like I could sleep A LOT.

It is a bit hard to concentrate for lengthy periods but they say that once I reach ketosis it will be like some one flipped a switch.

For those that don't know, by the way, the Palumbo Diet is a no carbs diet with high protein and lots of healthy fats. He also advocates a weekly cheat meal and absolutely no stimulants.

I might not do the cheat meal if I don't feel I've reached ketosis. I don't want to KEEP feeling like crap.

I should be in a large caloric deficit though. So hopefully I get some good results.

Eating Veggies will Shrink Your Brain

Teenagers everywhere rejoice!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthSci/Eating_veggies_shrinks_the_brain/articleshow/3480629.cms

Arm Update

For the first time since I can remember my bis are actually sore.

My tris would always get sore once in a blue moon and they are sore too today.

It's not super bad like I was expecting though. I can actually move them. They are, however, sore to the touch.

I will update again when I measure them.

One Day Arm Cure

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/the_oneday_arm_cure

I just got done doing this. I am quiet surprised about how...easy it was.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll get some growth out of it but I was expecting not to be able to lift my arms by the end of the day.

I was pumped as all hell and it felt a bit different in that it felt a bit inflamed too but it just felt a lot easier than I expected.

And I took every set to failure and some even a bit beyond (forced reps)!

I'll update about any growth.

Staying Lean

I'm making a note to stay very lean this offseason. I don't want to go above 6%.

Some people ask me why.

Well, it will make next year's contest just THAT much easier.

Plus it helps get me clients!

And I AM making gains. Most notably in my lower back, chest and bis.

That is all :)

Getting Strong

After my mini-diet I'm doing right now, I've decided to start up on a Dorian Yates-style routine.

This routine will get me much stronger much faster than the current high volume routine I'm doing.

Strength precedes size. The stronger I am, the more muscle damage I can accumulate while doing phases of higher reps.

There are NO weak professional bodybuilders for a reason!

When's the last time your squat went up significantly?

Saunas

I love saunas. Lately I've been using them whenever I can right in the middle of a training session.

"RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE???" you say?

Yup.

Check this out. It's written by one of my favorite authors, Christian Thibaudeau

Intra-workout sauna to make you bigger and leaner!

Back in the 60s Larry Scott (the first ever Mr.Olympia) use to claim that short stints in the sauna taken during a workout could increase growth hormone production. When I first read about that claim I did find it a bit unscientific and kinda dismissed it as just another ''theory'' that some old-timers had in the past. So I put that sauna theory in some remote part of my brain right next to fond memories of the good ole Cybergenic stack!

However after doing some research on recovery methods used by european athletes I came across a lot of information that brought Scott's theory in the ''hey, there might be something there'' portion of my brain.

Turns out that not only do sauna at 80-120 degrees really do increase growth hormone production (by around 150%) but some studies actually found it to also increase testosterone and noradrenaline levels. Taken together these changes can help you stimulate more fat loss as well as muscle gain (Lammintausta et al. 1976, Kukkonen et al. 1989 and 1988).

One study (Jezova et al. 1994) also found something interesting when it comes to cortisol levels. During the first 15 minutes of sauna exposure, cortisol levels in the body decreased. After the 15 minutes mark, they started to increase.

Interestingly, these findings support Scott's recommendations of going in the sauna for 5-7 minutes a few times during your workout. 5-7 minutes bouts will help you elevate growth hormone, testosterone and noradrenaline levels while also lowering cortisol production! This would obviously put your body in a slightly more anabolic state as well as facilitate fat loss.

If you are lucky enough to be training in a gym where there is a sauna available you can use Scott's protocol by going in the sauna 2-3 times during your workout. I personally use the method by going in the sauna between my exercises for a muscle group.

The Life of a Pro

For those wondering, this is what it's like to be a pro bodybuilder (apparently):

http://www.fouadabiad.blogspot.com/

I'm a big fan of this guy. I just HAD to plug his blog.

The Importance of Sleep

You rest when you grow.

If you're compromising your sleep you're compromising your gym efforts - whether you realize it or not.

Bodybuilders need at LEAST 8 hours of sleep per night with 10 hours being optimal.

Personally, I love my sleep. I never have any problem getting enough.

However, this past Friday I worked as a bouncer and was up until 3:30am (late for me).

I'm STILL trying to recover.

Ugh.

Overtraining

It's amazing how brain washed people have become about "overtraining."

Laziness I say.

The body can adapt to damn near ANYTHING. There's a reason why 99% of top pro bodybuilders use volume. It WORKS.

And who's to say he taking ever set to failure? That plays a huge role as well.

I believe Layne Norton (a natural guru himself) has touted the benefits of building up your work capacity. He has been questioned numerous times for his volume and HIIT cardio that he does in the offseason and has responded with the fact that the body is an adaptive MACHINE.

I'm currently training high volume and making great gains. All lifts are going up every week. I have clients on high volume routines are well that are making great strength/size gains.

People forget that part of gaining strength is neurological. The more you practice a lift, the stronger you become at it. The stronger you become at it, the more microtrauma you can create.

Is it for everyone? Of course not! But neither is low volume! You will never know unless you try it though.

Balls to the wall?

My old trainer and nutritionist told me something that will always stick with me. That is, "The guy that goes 90% for the rest of his life is going to have a better career in bodybuilding than the guy that goes 110% for the rest of his life."

Injuries are all too common in this sport and CNS burn out is easy to come by.

A powerlifting client of mine has a tendency to do this and plateau because of it quite a bit. It's easier than you make it out to be guys!

If you're bodybuilding, back off, go for higher reps and get a pump from time to time. That's what I've been doing lately and I'm training 5x a week with no aches and pains.

If I was training balls to the wall 5x a week right now I would've never made it past 3 weeks of this program.

The guy that said that was Shelby Starnes of Troponin Nutrition by the way.

Habits

It's been a while since I've posted a blog.

I needed some time to get into the swing of things with school. I've more or less figured out now what the easiest way is to do the things I need to do. I've created my habit.

People say that habits are a bad thing but, they (like everything else in the world) have their ups and downs.

The habits I've created have made me more efficient in school. At the same time, if I'm not careful, I could easily fall into a trap that I've fallen into before - that of being inflexible.

It's easy to do while leading a bodybuilding lifestyle. However, somewhat like my training, I need to view my agenda as a rough outline or a "guideline" by which I can base my day.

Hopefully I can fit blogging in there somewhere :)

"Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive." —Edith Wharton