FitnessQuests

The Food Pyramid is Killing You! (Not what you think)

As most of you know, the Food Pyramid is the USDA's guide to healthy eating. It involves the classification of foods into groups while giving recommendations as to how many servings you need from each group for optimal health. What you probably don't know is that it's a top source of our obesity problem and it's killing you.

In 1978 the FDB (a consumer co-op in Denmark) created the food pyramid. In 1992 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) adopted this system to replace the antiquated “food groups” system which had been in place in some form since its introduction in 1916.

In 2000, the food pyramid was altered and the MyPyramid program as established. This new pyramid did more to promote exercise and healthier options than its predecessor but also left its instruction more vague and complicated to follow.  In 2005 there was another alteration which brings us to the current version.

There have been several other forms of the pyramid created by other entities. For instance in 2009, Harvard School of Public Health created the Healthy Eating Pyramid which focused more on exercise and separating food groups into their healthiest forms.

Sounds pretty boring and straight forward right? How could this be anything but helpful? Here comes an awakening.

For many of us, the food pyramid represents our first understanding that something called nutrition actually exists other than your parents telling you to finish your vegetables. It also has much to do with the curriculum taught to nutritionists and dieticians. This makes it highly unfortunate that much of it is either very vague and misleading, or flat out wrong. So let’s take a look now at the pyramid.

For our example we’re going to use the one I grew up with which was introduced in 1992. Believe me, the new one might look better but it has its own unforgivable weaknesses.

I started school in 1985 in Florida. When in first grade, my school put it in the curriculum to begin learning about nutrition. This was all very simple stuff really. We learned things like Mr. Apple was a fruit and therefore he was in the fruits and vegetables group and is therefore, good for you. Anything that was in one of the four food groups was considered good for you.

The four food groups were breads & cereals, fruits & vegetables, meat, and the milk group. There was later a fifth group added called the fat and sweets group. In the next several years it was drilled into our heads to only eat from the four food groups and try to not eat too much food from the fifth food group.

Then in 6^th grade (1992) they introduced the Food Pyramid. Honestly this changed very little. It was really nothing more than a visual representation of what they’d been preaching for years. They split up fruits and vegetables and added more emphasis on number of servings but they were so vague that they only served to confuse.

How are you supposed to know what 6-11 servings of bread and cereal, 2-4 servings of fruit, 3-5 servings of vegetables, etc look like at the end of the day? Seriously, 2-4 isn’t a range, it’s a 100% shift. Also there were further complication is that 2-4 was to be a minimum while 2-3 in the meat group was a maximum although they didn’t print that on the pyramid.  So now 2-4 is not even a range but somehow a minimum? And what kind of OCD person could follow this?

If you’re scratching your head right now trying to figure out why they would make this so vague and confusing, the answer is simple. Anytime the regulatory agencies try to do anything good for the people they’re trying to protect, they are met with screaming lobbyists that don’t want their companies to look bad or be forced into expensive changes. Usually the end result of the lobbying is watered down guidelines and wordings in new laws that are easy to get around. There is a great example of this in my “What is Yellow #5 (tartrazine)” post.

You’ll also notice that most of the wordings make it seem like it’s good for you to eat more. Tell me you haven’t heard things like “It’s a great way to get in all of your recommended servings of vegetables”. It’s all worded to make you eat more because then the companies the lobbyists represent can sell you more food. When you hear something like, need to be getting in 6 to 11 servings of bread and cereal, the automatic association is the more you get in, the better. You’re working all day to get in your 11 servings of bread and cereal (which is the base of your recommended diet). An extra large bowl of Froot Loops is great because that’s like 4 servings of cereal out of the way in one swoop.

This leads us to another huge problem with the food groups and pyramid system most of us grew up with. They don’t differentiate between good and bad foods. Whole wheat vs. white, bologna vs. chicken, fruit vs. fruit juice; it’s all the same. Froot Loops are just as much part of the “healthy” bread and cereal group as steel cut oats and ketchup is in fact a vegetable (fruit?)

Here’s your Smart Choice reminder that you’re being healthy.

 

Checking out the USDA.gov website, you’ll notice that there is no mention of differentiation at all. If you look into breads by clicking on that section of the pyramid, you’ll see a single recommendation that says to make some of your selections products that are “made with” whole grains so you can get your fiber. That’s it. No emphasis at all and everything but fiber is ignored. They didn’t want you to know about all the other differences so you could make a wise choice. Also, "made with"? Look around the rest of it. They make no effort to give you almost any advice other than avoid fat like the plague. Choose skim milk and fat free yogurt. Eat lean meat and trim off any fat you see. Always choose low fat or fat free options. Here’s my favorite paragraph on the page…

“Be sure to eat at least the lowest number of servings from the five major food groups listed below. You need them for the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein they provide. Just try to pick the lowest fat choices from the food groups. No specific serving size is given for the fats, oils, and sweets group because the message is USE SPARINGLY.”

A couple things I want you to notice there. First is the beginning wording “BE SURE (psychological authority) to eat AT LEAST THE LOWEST number of servings from the FIVE MAJOR FOOD GROUPS” Obviously written to make you feel like you’re not eating enough.

The next thing I want you to notice is the leaving out of fat in what you get from your food. We know that fat is a vital nutrient (even saturated fat). Without it, your body will not be able to perform many functions including cell creation. Also, your hormones will go completely out of whack. Dietary fat is incredibly important!

Then they go even further and flat out tell you that fat should be avoided. They even used cap locks in telling you to avoid it. Don’t you think they knew in 1992 that fat was important to you? After all, just 8 years later they added “oils” into the new version as a necessity. Believe me, the USDA did not learn this in those 8 years. Here’s proof. In 1942 the USDA came out with the 7 major food groups. This lasted until 1955 when they decided to make it less complex so they whittled it down to four.

The Seven Groups (1942)

• Milk
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Eggs
• Meat (Fish, Poultry, Cheese)
• Cereal
• Butter ßBAM!! Butter was a food group!

Shocking? Wrong? Stupid? We were so naïve back then? No! Butter in many cultures used to be celebrated for its amazing health giving qualities. There were winter festivals surrounding the harvest of the rich orange butter created from the healthy mineral rich grass fed cows. The butter was given first to the children and pregnant women because they needed the nutrients the most.

In fact, you should take a look at Dr. Weston A. Price’s book, ‘Nutrition and Physical Degeneration’ for some shocking information on this topic. After reading that book you will want to scream, cry, or possibly kill someone over all the lies you’ve been told and all the damage it’s done to you and your family. Did you know human beings following a healthy diet that live active lifestyles should be able to weather temperatures just above the freezing point without bundling up and without severe discomfort? It’s not just about sick, sad, and stupid. It’s not even about breaking bones, needing braces, asthma, and ADHD. We can’t even comprehend just how weak we are anymore because there is no example of what real health even is in the modern day.

So yes, butter was a food group and it wasn’t changed due to new research. It was only removed as they decided to make the guidelines simpler. Notice eggs on there as well? In fact, if you pay attention you’ll notice that four of the food groups (milk, meat, eggs, and butter) are all loaded with fat and cholesterol. Now consider that the FIRST study on cardio vascular health and disease (heart disease anyone?) wasn’t published until 1958 (three years after this was changed) and the obesity rate was under 10% in the US. Today over 60% of us are overweight and heart disease is the #1 killer. What happened? More interesting data was that between 1960 and 1980 the obesity rate stayed stable. Then in the 80’s we went on an anti-fat crusade (see above) and our obesity rates skyrocketed all the way until today.

The point is, the USDA has always known that fat is healthy. In fact, the healthiest indigenous societies have diets up to 60% in saturated fats and cholesterol. It’s quite a flip then to go from that to NO FAT!! USE SPARINGLY!!

Folks, the FDA and the USDA don’t care about you. Grain is cheaper and more profitable than meat so you should ignore the meat eating teeth that god gave you to get to the nutrients in the meat we’re supposed to eat and go eat seeds and berries instead. Are we supposed to eat fruits and vegetables too? Of course we are but you may notice that many seeds, nuts, and other vegetation such as corn and lettuce ends up whole in your feces. It’s because your body isn’t optimized to digest it so you’re not absorbing the most of the nutrients. Think about it. If pieces of whole food are going through you without being broken down, how much of what looks broken down actually got completely broken down so you could truly absorb the nutrients? It may sound disgusting but when was the last time you pooped chicken?

Now that I’ve completely ranted I have one last topic. This was the topic I actually wanted to talk about in the beginning of this entire thing; the education factor and why it’s messing you up.

For millennia, human beings have been much like other animals. We scavenged around and we ate whatever it was that we found that was edible. We ate whatever we could kill or scavenge. We ate the big, the small, dangerous, the furry, and even the six-legged. When vegetation was in bloom and accessible we ate anything that was digestible and not poisonous. When it wasn’t, it was all about whatever we could store that wouldn’t go bad and the animals we could kill. The point is, we ate what we had and as long as we had enough we were quite healthy.

We didn’t have supermarkets and specialty stores with thousands of options. We didn’t have 6-11 grains, 2-4 fruits, 3-5 vegetables, 2-3 dairy, and 2-3 meat servings. Honestly, the natural world wasn’t set up for that to be possible as you never traveled more than a few miles away from your home. What were the chances that wild broccoli was growing next to some wild carrots and tomatoes? What were the odds that you had a super berry growing next to your cave over by the spinach? There aren’t many places in the world that you could naturally eat a large variety of foods before agriculture. The fact is we weren’t built to need all this variety. We CAN eat it but it’s not what we were designed for and if it’s not what we were designed for why are you being told now that you MUST do it to be healthy?

The point is not to stop eating a variety of foods but that the USDA has gone out of their way to create rules around something that nature never thought necessary. In fact, the only rules of nutrition are to eat the things that were designed to be food for you by god and the environment around you and not by man. Here are 2 rules. If it wasn’t a major food source for people 10,000 years ago, it still isn’t. Rule #2, don’t eat so much that if a lion were suddenly chasing you, you’d be too full to run and grab your spear.

See, in making all of these rules they have you in a state where you are now easily marketed to. I once had a guy tell me that he could eat all the cotton candy and Skittles he wanted and be healthy because they had no fat in them. Sad thing is, Skittles have been known to put “a fat free food” on their paikaging and they only do that because it sells! As a kid I once made a white bread, bologna, and American cheese sandwich that I added ketchup to in order to make it fit all four food groups. Based on USDA and school teaching, I truly was being healthy.

If there weren’t a bunch of rules like no fat, no one would ever look at Skittles as healthy and Froot Loops could never have a Smart Choice check box on it. They’d be laughed out. If you weren’t told to watch your calories no one would be fooled into buying 100 calorie paiks of Oreo’s and if you weren’t so concerned about being a good boy or girl that get’s in you recommended vegetable servings, you may have paid more attention to the fact that vegetables have become a genetic science experiment instead of a healthy food.

People ask me why I don’t write articles like “The top 10 super foods you must include in your diet” or “Feeling depressed? Try these five foods to beat those blues!” These articles get views. They get forwarded around. These are what the doctors and professional write that get published on MSN and in magazines. This is the stuff that is eaten up by your average Joe and Jane but it’s only because the average Joe and Jane is used to being confused. It started in school and it continues today.

We don’t need a food pyramid and we don’t need a super berry from the side of a remote Tibetan mountain. We need to stop eating genetically modified processed garbage and sick grain fed animals and get back to eating what we were created to eat. Do that and we will be healthier and we won’t be fat. Or, we can go grab ourselves some reduced sugar Smart Choice Toaster Strudels “now with real fruit” and wonder why we're fat, sick, stupid, ADHD, diabetic, depressed, impotent, sterile, and sleepless.

I have so much more to say but at 6 pages, this is by far my longest post and it needs to end. You know I’ll be back soon though with more.

Oh, if you didn’t see it, Food Inc is the #5 best selling DVD in 2010 so far on Amazon! People are waking up! So, as always, I’ll keep putting out the info if you keep bringing in the readers. Together we absolutely CAN change the direction of this ship and take our health back for good.

 

Until next time,

Kris

 

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Never thought I'd say this but hats off to McDonald's and their new smoothie

Fast food has gotten a terrible wrap over the years. Do they deserve it? Absolutely! Are they the sole purveyor of the fat western world? Not a chance. No matter how terrible their food is, you know it's terrible going in and they make no effort to tell you otherwise. Well, at least they didn't until recently...

Over the past few years (and after many lawsuits) many fast food establishments have made new attempts to appear cleaner and healthier. They work to give you options that you've never had before in most fast food places. Now you can get 1000+ calorie salads and grilled chicken sandwiches that clock in at over 800 calories. Some places even give you pre-cut and packaged fruit that has long since lost any nutrients it ever had. 

It seems the healthier sounding the food they put up, the worse it actually is for you. That's why when McDonald's put out their new smoothie, I immediately thought it was probably death in a cup. That's why I was shocked to find out that it really wasn’t. In fact, I’d venture to say that it’s only really a mere common cold in a cup. A mild fever really. Not even the flu!

I know I just lost serious credibility in the fitness world for saying what I just said but hey, I call them like I see them.

Let's take a look at the facts here. (We’ll be examining the middle 16 oz size.)

260 calories

5g fat

54g sugar

2g protein

0 fiber

(There's also some various vitamins and minerals from the fruit of course.)  

Now, is that wonderful? No but to be honest its only real weakness is the sugar and while it has more than it needs to, the truth is that if you mashed 16 ounces of pure banana in a cup it would have 56g of sugar. Of course it would also have 12 grams of fiber but that's not the point right now. The point is the weakness in this drink is the sugar and for what it is, the sugar isn't actually that high.

Much of what I've been reading has been saying that this is a major no-no to put with a meal due to its high sugar content but I wanted to challenge that statement. See, if you got a medium Coke instead, it would have 58g (4g more) of sugar and none of the vitamin content. On top of that, it wouldn't be very filling. Drinking a 16 ounce smoothie could potentially make it so you're unable to finish your large fries (greasy sugar yay!) It would also quell your need to finish that off with a McPopular candy bar McFlurry(saving you exactly four large truckfuls of sugar).  

Now let's take a look at the ingredients.

According to their website its strawberry banana fruit blend, low fat yogurt, and Ice. Sounds good right? Well not so fast. Hidden much further down on their ingredients PDF is the ingredients list for their strawberry banana blend (I have to take away some points for deceptive practices).

Those ingredients aren't quite as friendly...

Strawberry Banana Fruit Blend: Strawberry puree, banana puree, water, sugar, concentrated apple juice, contains less than 1% of the following: cellulose powder, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, xantham gum, citric acid, colored with fruit and vegetable juice, pectin, ascorbic acid (preservative).

On closer look you see the 4th ingredient is sugar. Notice though it’s not HFCS or an artificial sweetener which is a plus. Then they put in concentrated apple juice which is essentially also sugar. Then as you go down the list you find the artificial flavors (come on, you knew they'd be there), xantham gum (an emusifier not really all that evil and notice its only one), and then a really big surprise, no artificial colors! Who would have thought?

See, I know it’s not good for you and it’s certainly not health food so why is it that I say hats off to McDonalds? Because for the first time ever, they actually tried to have some integrity. This wasn’t made by the McDonald’s of old that would have used the word smoothie just to ease your conscience as you unknowingly gorged on 9000 calories of toxic sludge and science experiment. They actually seemed to have tried to stay with the idea of making the healthiest “health food” they could whilst keeping in their framework of taste, speed, and affordability.

 

So, do I recommend you consume this beverage or call it healthy? Absolutely not. Do I recommend you go to McDonald's and pay them to make you fat and unhealthy ever? Absolutely not. Do I support McDonald’s in what appears to be an effort to clean up their act as much as they can? Yes. Should you care also? Absolutely and here’s why.

McDonald’s is not just the leader in fast food. They are the trend setter. When they do something successfully, other’s follow. More importantly than that though is what many people fail to realize. If you ever saw the documentary “Food Inc” (which I recommend if you haven’t), you were introduced to the overall impact that a company like McDonald’s has on our overall food supply. Because McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef, chick, pork, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, wheat, apples, etc, it is their wishes that are followed in the raising and growing phases. Simply put, the way your food is created is up to McDonald’s even if you never set foot in one. Suppliers don’t set up a system for McDonald’s and one for everyone else. That would cost more. Instead, they set the whole thing up the way McDonald’s wants it and everyone get’s that product. If tomorrow McDonald’s said that they wanted nothing but humanely raised grass fed beef, free range non-gmo chicken and vine ripened tomatoes, that would suddenly be all you found in grocery stores.

Will they ever do that? Will they ever decide to make that change? It’s hard to imagine they will but I wouldn’t have thought they’d have done this either. The reason this happened though was not because they want to be nice. No, the reason they did this was because we as a people are finally waking up. We are looking at the ingredients. We are learning what they are. We are avoiding the trash they try to give us and it’s affecting their bottom line. It may seem like its one person against all the big mean corporations but like I’ve said before, it doesn’t take much to change them. All it takes is for a few people to wake up and not follow along anymore. You don’t need to march and picket and rally and write letters, you just need to stop buying and get the word out! They will change before they will let their stock price go down I assure you.

How do you get the word out? Just talk to people! Don’t feel like talking? Send out articles like mine to your friends. Share them on Facebook, Tweet them, Digg them, Stumble them, etc. The more people read them, the more people wake up and the more change we can affect. When you find other reliable sources, share that stuff as well. Change can come but we all have to act. Please help me spread the word!

 

Until next time,

Kris

 

PS:If you like this article please hit the "like" button below for Facebook

Here's a free thank you gift to my readers.

Hey guys and gals!

I just wanted to take a second to thank all of you that have been reading my blog and spreading the word to others. Although the reading base is still low, it seems to grow a little everyday as you guys continue to pass the important information on to your friends and loved ones. For that and for being pretty much the coolest people ever, I thank you.

So, instead of a post today, I wanted to give you something a little better. I just picked up an ebook written by Mike Geary who is a fitness and nutrition author that I greatly respect. Mike, like me, is a big advocate of using better health to have a better body. He's used that formula to write what is now the best selling six-pack abs book on the internet called "Truth About Abs". You can pick up a copy here Fatlossessentials.com if you're interested. It really is everything it says it is.

A few minutes ago though I got my hands on another book of his called Training & Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body. It's normally about $18 but Mike has decided to let a few of us give it away to our readers and I was lucky enough to get on board for you guys. It's pretty substantial too. Its about 65 pages and touches on a bunch of helpful topics. To grab a free copy just click the link below and it will open in your browser in PDF form. I recommend you save it to your hard drive cause you'll want to have a copy to look over later.

Download free ebook here!

If you know someone else that might be interested you can send them here or you can simply email them the book. I hope you enjoy it and get something great out of it! I'll be back with some new stuff in a couple days.

 

Until next time,

Kris

 

PS: Don't stop spreading the news now!Hit the like button below and give others a chance for some free stuff. Also, if you haven't subscribed yet the Facebook like button toward the top right-hand side of the page will get that done. You can also retweet, Digg, Stumble, bebo, myspace, email, or send the link by carrier pigeon if you want to. Whatever gets the word out :)

How to really shock your muscles into growth

How to really shock your muscles into growth

So I’m two workouts into phase 3 of Vince Delmonte’s Maximize Your Muscle program and I can tell you that once again, my muscles are fried. It doesn’t seem to matter that I’ve been working out for years and it doesn’t seem to matter that I’ve already hit every muscle in my body from every angle imaginable. The bottom line is that regardless of all of that, each muscle group I’ve worked in the new program is screaming sore right now. They are almost as sore as my first day working out. The thing is, they were this sore when I started phase 1 and 2 also.

There is a reason I’m telling you this. I often hear people talking about including different exercises in their routine so they can “shock” the muscles into growth. They want to hit the muscle from all angles to make sure they don’t stop getting results. The truth is, while there is some truth to this way of thinking, most people are missing the point. When was the last time you went home as sore as the first time you walked in the gym because you changed up an exercise? Sure you may find that a small section of your body that you normally miss is sore but when was the last time the whole muscle group was screaming for mercy the next day?

The thing is, shocking the muscles is about a lot more than changing an exercise. In fact, if you really want to shock your muscles, you’ve got to change a lot more than just the exercise and this is what most people miss. The reality is that most people train the same way every time they walk into the gym.

Many people only have a small arsenal of exercises and they never really change them up at all.

There are other’s that jump on the bandwagon of people that believe in always expanding their movement arsenal so they never get stale. You can always find these people asking for new exercises to hit this or that part. They all think that there is some Holy Grail movement that will give them the body they’ve always wanted. They are better than the first but not by much.

What most of these people forget is that your body isn’t just made of muscles. Your body is a system of systems that all have to work together to build those muscles. Changing a movement isn’t going to have much effect on your nervous system, your hormone levels, or really anything but the movement of that muscle. If it hits some new part of the muscle it might do something but not much. Probably better for definition than mass. So what’s the answer?

Quite simply, the answer is you have to change everything. For instance, if you’re bench pressing for 3x10 @70% of your max weight with 90 second rests, change it to 5x8 @60% max with strict 30 second rest periods.  Change between explosive and slow and controlled, change the count, change the order of the exercises, etc. If you’re used to doing 3 days per week body part training, try high intensity full body workouts 5 days per week. You know when you’re really shocking your body because the fatigue is different. It feels different. Maybe your muscle just hits a wall and can’t lift anymore, another time your muscle may feel fine and then suddenly your body just gives out, another time your pump may be so ridiculous that you just can’t move the muscle anymore.

What many people don’t realize is that you can take the guy that only knows a few exercises and does the same thing every time he comes in the gym and completely revamp his workout without adding a single new movement to his repertoire. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t add more for optimal results but I’m just saying its possible. The problem is that most people simply don’t know how. Even if they can change a few things up, most people don’t know what they are really accomplishing by doing so.

It’s for this reason that I keep with the Maximize Your Muscle program. Sure, I know my way around the gym. I know my way around better than half the trainers I see. That doesn’t matter though. The reason I’m doing this program, is because every month I receive a new set of workouts that changes everything and I didn’t have to think about it at all. I don’t have to wait until things stop working to start looking for a new way; like clockwork, it just shows up. Furthermore I already know that this stuff has been tested and approved by someone that has been where I am. I know its been put together through trial and error of someone that is probably even more passionate about this stuff than I am. I know this stuff isn’t random and that its put together in such a way that each month builds on the last.

The great thing is that all this comes to me for less than the price of one personal training session each month. Now if you are new to all this, I don’t really recommend you go with this program. Vince actually has a better one for you called No Nonsense Muscle Building which will take you through your first year of training with amazing results if followed. However, if you’ve been at this for a few years and are sick of mediocre results, find yourself a program like this ASAP. As of now the Maximize Your Muscle program is closed but if it opens back up… get in quickly.

Til Next Time,

Kris

One Month results from using Vince Delmonte's Maximize Your Muscle Program!

Hey guys,

Kris here. It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything specifically about my progress in the gym and with Vince Delmonte’s Maximize Your Muscle program. So…

First, I just completed month one of the training. I got month two in the mail yesterday and let me tell you, it is a monster program filled with 25 insane workouts over the next 30 days. Difficult is an understatement. But as a quote I heard the other day goes, “The hard we’ll do today, the impossible may take a little longer”. I love that. One thing’s for sure though, while the next 30 days are going to be very hard, they are not impossible and I intend to put myself through every strenuous second to achieve the goals I have set out for myself.

So my progress for month one you ask?

In a word, astounding! I gained 10 pounds of muscle. My arms are not only bigger but incredibly dense and hard, my chest is expanding, my shoulders are becoming monstrous for my frame, my legs are shaping up, my back is growing, and my jeans are starting to fit a lot better in the backside.

Not just that though, my strength has really rocketed. Some lifts I didn’t raise the weight so much as I did just make the lift more solid, others lifts have really shot up. A few highlights…

Bench press-I started out on bench press very strong for my size already. I was pushing my limits every workout but I was starting to get stuck. At my body weight of 150lbs, I was squeezing out 2 or 3 half reps at 255lbs for the most part. I ended with 7 solid reps of 275lbs and just for kicks one time I decreased down to 185lbs and pushed out 31 solid reps straight! I like endurance if you can’t tell.

Squat-I’ve always been a little weak in my legs. I was very guilty of neglecting them for quite some time and I’m not paying for it. Add to that the fact that the one time I really started building my legs and got to 335 in my squats I stepped back wrong and the weight took out my shoulder and put me out of action for 10 months and you have a bad recipe for not doing enough leg work. So I started out with 225lbs but honestly, these reps sucked and I knew it. Because I wasn’t going all the way down, I wasn’t really progressing so on my third to last leg workout I actually lowered the weight to 185lbs. It was an ego hit but by using the training methods in MYM and utilizing what I knew was proper technique, I did move it back up to 225lbs of actual solid squats in those three weeks. I really wish I’d just swallowed my pride a little sooner but hey, we all have lessons to learn.

Leg press-sometimes when I couldn’t get to the squat rack I decided to swap out for leg press. Normally I stay around the 400lbs area for good form, but I was able to increase that to 590lbs with good form.

Lateral raises-this one I always did 15lbs in. I raised this to 20 pounds about 2 weeks before I started this program. On my last workout, it felt pretty good to be using 30 pound dumbbells. Man I was sore though!

Shoulder presses-because of the aforementioned shoulder injury, I’ve always been careful with these. I have long arms so getting them fulling in position has always been a problem. I started the program with 60lb dumbbells and move up to 70s though. My last workout I didn’t have access to a bench though so I used a machine and maxed the machine out at 155lbs per side. Its amazing what you can do when you don’t have to stabilize. Remember, that’s basically me lifting two of me straight over my head, one in each hand, for reps.

Tricep overhead extensions-mind you this is 8 sets of 8. I moved from a 65 to an 85lbs dumbbell.

Weighted dips-I’ve mentioned this but I’d never really done weighted dips before. The first time I used a 45lb plate. By my last workout, I was doing my weight plus a belt with 115lbs strapped to it. Those my friends, are killers. The way I see it, that’s like putting an average weight girl on your back and repping dips! How cool would that be J

Curls-40lbs to 55lbs dumbbells. Finally crossed over that 100lb mark!

Leg extensions-This was done as one set of 20 reps after a grueling leg workout. So this isn’t my max but more just conditioning. I started out doing 120lbs and I got up to 165lbs by the end. I’m quite happy with that.

Hanging leg lifts-I have to admit, I had gotten really lazy about working my core. When I got the workout, the core workout was so much that I couldn’t do it. Started out with 25 hanging leg lifts and then went on straight into even more craziness. The first time I did 15 straight leg and the other 10 bent leg. Then I went to do the next exercise and my abs cramped up so bad I couldn’t stand up. I know, its bad. But, by the end I was doing 35 straight leg and 10 more bent leg for a set and then going on to other stuff so I’m happy with that. I won’t let that slide like that again.

Seated close grip rows-I actually substituted this one in for another one that gave me a lot of trouble. The machine doesn’t tell you the weight. Its one of those that just labels each weight with a consecutive number. I went from 20 (whatever that is) to 30 which is 5 plates down. The stacks stop at 36 so I almost maxed it out for 8 sets of 8. Oh and I normally push the last two sets to 10 reps because I’m never happy.

There’re more but I think this gives you a pretty good idea of my gains in month one of the Maximize Your Muscle program. Like I said, month two is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Its going to be a battle field in that gym J

So, guys and gals, what do you think? Is that good progress for a month or am I slacking? Post your comments down below and we’ll talk again soon.

Until next time,

Kris

 

Three vital tips for maximizing your workouts when circumstances are less than perfect!

How to improvise your workout

Ah, January. For anyone reading this that has been working out at a gym for a number of years, you know the pain of January. It’s the time of year when you walk into to do your routine but every station you want is taken by someone that has no idea what they are doing and is having more fun socializing than actually getting a workout. When I was a little younger I remember just praying February would come so I could get back to my workouts as planned. I guess my age is catching up with me now though because I find myself giving these people pointers on their form and encouraging them to keep at it.

For some reason though, this January was somewhat amiss. Really, all month I’ve been able to go in and get in my workouts. Things haven’t actually been that crowded and I am incredibly thankful. However, over this last few days, it has felt like the first week of January any other year. Every time I walk In the door, there are new faces all over my weights. Normally I would just ask to jump in but because I have timed rest periods, its not something that is really all that feasible. So I’ve had to make some compromises and that is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.

Yesterday was my leg day and it seemed every leg station I wanted was taken. Now I have very specific exercises I’m supposed to follow for the Maximize Your Muscle program so what should I do? Well, in a situation like that, you only really have three choices. You can ask to work in and inevitably sacrifice things like rest times which are vitally important, you can choose to pack it up and go home because there is just no way you’re going to get in your workout or you can do what I did and start improvising.

If you’re on a specific program though, you can’t just start throwing in new exercises off the top of your head or you’re not really following the program. So what to do? I’ve decided to put together a few tips for you below that I believe will really help you stay on your program even when parts of your program aren’t available.

1.    You have to have a program:

This may seem like a duh concept but you’d be surprised how many people fail to create or follow a program for themselves. Without a program, measurable progress becomes virtually impossible. A good program should have goals, proper warm up and stretches for the exact workout your doing, specific exercises to reach your goals, and a way to keep time on your rests. For instance, if you’re trying to gain weight like me, you have to have a lot of compound movements such as bench press, squats, deadlifts, cleans, lunges, pull ups, etc. You should have a set and rep scheme worked out and know your rest periods for each. You should know how long your time under tension should be and you should have a count for your reps and you should have a journal to ensure proper tracking of your workouts so you know what you’re trying to beat. And we can’t forget nutrition. All of these things are critical to achieving success. Leave any of them out and you might just be spinning your wheels.

2.    Understand what your program is about:

The first good step in making a program is to understand what you are trying to do. If you don’t know exactly what you are trying to do and how the things you are doing will take you to your goal, you will never reach your potential. I don’t care if you workout daily with maximum intensity. If you don’t have some understanding of what you are doing or have someone close by that does, you will never reach your potential. You will just be flailing around bouncing from one worthless thing to the next and your body will never figure out what its supposed to be doing. So the first step in being able to improvise, is to know what you’re improvising for. If you have a program designed that calls for a stretch exercise for you triceps but you don’t realize it, you may decide that dips or a close grip bench press will work in place of it but being mid range tricep exercises, you won’t be accomplishing what your program has set out for you and you won’t reach you full potential in the program.

3.Planning:

You know what they say; failing to plan is planning to fail. Once you have everything else worked out, once you know your goals and have a program worked out. You then have to have contingencies set up for when something takes you off your set track. This could be a number of things, maybe one exercise is giving you physical trouble. Maybe you’re back or wrists are bothering you with a certain exercise, maybe someone has taken your machine, maybe the station you use normally is out of order. There are a number of reasons why you may need to make a quick switch to another exercise. The trick is that you have to have an alternate exercise in the can and waiting for execution. For instance, if someone is on the squat rack, be ready to move to the leg press, if the pull down area is out of order, do some pull ups. If you can’t access the easy bar for curls, use dumbbells. There is always another way to get done what you’re looking to accomplish but in the middle of a good workout, you can’t hum and ha around trying to figure it out. If you’re trying to keep the intensity going, you have to know where to go and do it now. Get a list of alternate exercises and  keep it handy. Write it in your journal ahead of time so you don’t waste precious time in the gym. Plan ahead, and you will never be knocked off your path to success and the body you want.

There you have it. Three tips that you should keep in mind at all times if you want success in fitness. I know to some of you, the thought of putting together a plan like that can be daunting. If this is the case for you, do yourself a favor and get a trainer to get you going in the right direction. If that’s too expensive, there are many great programs online. I’ve used several but a really good one is one I talk about all the time. Vince Delmonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building. In that program, Vince goes over everything you need to know and actually builds several programs for you. He even includes nutrition plans for whatever your goals are based on wherever you are right now on your path. Do yourself a favor and check it out here. Or if your goal is to lose a few pounds or finally get those coveted six-pack abs, Check out Your Six Pack Quest here. Both of these programs are great places to begin!

Expect Success!

Kris

 

Getting back into the "Maximize Your Muscle" workout

So as I said earlier, I took a 3 day break from the gym to rest my body after the first three rounds of this hellacious cycle of workouts known as Vince Delmonte's Maximize Your Muscle. This first month has been a killer but just like his other stuff, the results when followed are amazing. I'm up 8 pounds of muscle so far in a little less than 3 weeks! The last time I grew this fast was actually using his No Nonsense Mucle Building routines, but let me stand down before he thinks I'm trying to date him!  Seriously though, go check out his stuff if you're looking to move past your current level of fitness. I'll throw in a link to the NNMB course below.

Anyway, today was chest, back, and abs and it was a killer. I had to take it a little easy on chest because I still think I have a small tear in my right pec. Sooooo, I hit 265 instead of 275lbs on the bench press :) Felt good though. Sometimes when I'm going that heavy I don't bring the weight all the way down and today my form was almost perfect. I'm definitely getting stronger. I did go easy on my dips though. I have been using the weight belt to attach about ninety extra pounds on my body but it didn't feel right, so I decided to drop it in half and only use one 45 pound plate. For my last chest exercise, I used the chest fly machine. I actually not only increased my weight but also my reps. At the end I felt pretty strong, so just for kicks I tried to take on the whole stack. This was the end of my chest workout so I was quite happy with the four reps I pulled off.

Next was back. I modified it some and threw in some pull ups in place of my pull down warm up. I haven't done those in a while and they were a little easier than I remember, so something is working! Next I went with narrow grip rows. Once again, I upped my weight and my reps from last weeks workout. I was really thinking about adding even more weight but my goal was just to do a little better than last week, and I was already doing quite a bit better. Remember, I have to build o ntop of what I did this workout on my next one, so we don't want to rush too fast! 

After a little more back it was on to the abs! Abs I've actually taken in my own direction, because I seem to have an issue with my abs. When I work them too hard, they cramp on me. The muscles contract and sometimes they don't like to let go. I take that as a sign that I just need to work them more than I am, so that's what I'm doing and it seems to be working like a charm. I hope next month to be ready for whatever sadistic ab torure he's got to throw at me. We'll see though, he certainly wasn't playing around this month.

After a workout like that, I think I'm going to sleep quite well tonight!

Oh yeah, that link--and I highly recommend you check it out because I'm telling you, this is the way lean, super muscular bodies are built. When you're in the gym going through it, there is no question in your mind that you're going to see rapid massive muscle building and crazy fat burning results and so far, those results have not disappointed. If you're slightly masochistic but a freak for real, fast, and measureable results, check this out now!

The hazard of Vince Delmonte’s Maximize Your Muscle program

I have to tell you, I love the Maximize Your Muscle program! The results are amazing but there’s a warning it should have come with…get used to buying new clothing! Thanks to Vince Delmonte, I’ve grown out of almost every button down shirt I own in just three rounds of workouts (nine total workouts) and even my baggier clothing like sweaters are getting a little tight! I don’t know whether I should write him a thank you note or demand an apology J. Furthermore, I don’t know if I should start buying more clothing now or just wait because I know I’m going to grow out of those too! Now I know what my mother felt like when I was a kid and seemed to grow out of my clothing weekly. Now I don’t know if this is a common problem. My shoulders expand pretty easily but after only three rounds of workouts!! I have a "shirt busting chest" haha! This is unbelievable!

 

Anyway, as I said, I just finished round three of my workouts and I have to say, I’m loving it! It’s rare to be this challenged in the gym. When you’re on your own routines it’s sometimes hard to really challenge yourself but when it’s all put right in front of you like it is here and you know that you’re only goal is to execute the plan, you will practically kill yourself to get everything done, and that’s precisely what I’ve done. There are a couple of exercises that are kind of new to me and some that I just haven’t done consistently in a very long time. For one, weighted dips… I’m pretty much a dip machine but they are so easy (I’m light) that I decided that in order to make a set of 8 of them challenging, I was going to have to add some weight. The first time I did it, put on the weight belt and strapped on one plate for 45 extra pounds. This was nice but still not pushing me to my limit so the next time I decided to add a second plate. This felt great but the stress on my chest was great when added to my bench press. I started noticing a little bit of pain in my chest and it appears (I’m self diagnosing) that I may have a slight tear where my right pectoral muscle meets the sternum. So, based on that, I’m going to take three days off and see if it gets better.

Other than that, almost all of my weights have increased slightly and most things are getting easier by the day even though I’ve increased the weight.

A few highlights

Bench press up 10 lbs to 275 for heavy sets

Squats remain the same 225lb but they are getting easier with better technique so I will increase this to 245 on my next workout

Machine flys (set of 20 at end of workout) 150lbs up from 120lbs!

Dumbbell curls (easy bar wasn’t available today) used 50’s for my heavy low rep sets up from 40 before this workout. Easy bar up from 60lbs plus bar to 70lbs plus bar

Inclined curls (after heavy regular curls) 22.5lbs up from 17.5lbs

Leaning one arm lateral lifts up to 20lbs from 15 and really was pretty easy at 20. Gonna have to increase again!

Dumbbell overhead shoulder press 65lbs up from 60. Was going to increase to 70 today but decided form was more important so I added a rep too each set instead.

Bulgarian split squats stayed the same at two 25 pound plates but its getting easier so I’ll try 30s next.

There are some other improvements but that’s enough for now. Also, my weight had ballooned up to my all time max of 157lbs but I lost about a pound and a half yesterday (did a little drinking I shouldn’t have done, lesson learned…again). My immediate goal is to hit 165 as fast as possible through massive (healthy) food consumption and killer workouts but I’m sure once I hit that I’ll quickly raise the goal to 175lbs. I’m on my way baby!

In case you’re reading this and wanting to give Vince’s program a shot, the one I’m on is currently closed to new members but I can personally vouch for his No Nonsense Muscle Building program that is still open to the public. I bought that over a year ago and had great results while I was using it!

Grab a copy here or just look around for some awesome tips for your routine!

 

Expect results!

Kris

Workout 5 and some other stuff

Hey its Kris,

A quick update... After five extremely tough workouts and what feels like 100 meals, I’ve gained five pounds. New total=155lbs. I’m just two pounds short now of the heaviest I’ve ever been!  I had a doctor’s appointment today in which I had to get a shot in the arm (never got my hep vaccines as a kid) so I decided to skip my arm workout today and opt to do it tomorrow instead as it felt a little bruised. This throws off my schedule by a day but no big deal. My schedule is solid so I have no worries about missing a day. I kept my nutrition on par although I probably didn’t get quite as much water in as I would have liked to.

As I said before, I’m following Vince Delmonte’s new monthly personal coaching program, Maximize Your Muscle. The first month is broken into three workouts. The first is chest, back, and abs. The second is quads, hams, and calves. The third is shoulders, bi’s and tri’s. It’s a three day on, one day off, and then start over routine. So I’ve gone through the first three workouts and then done the first two workouts for a second time with tomorrow being the final. The first time around, each workout was a complete killer. Although I’ve been working out for years now, I was definitely sore in a few new places and its amazing to see that there’s already some difference in those areas. The second time around was actually much easier for the first two workouts even with increased weight. However, I’m going to hold the weight where it is throughout the next go around to work on technique with these heavier weights. I don’t want to stick with these weights too long though as the point in the workouts is to gain strength. When hitting each major muscle with 100 reps at different points of flexion its easy to gain that strength and I don’t want to squander the opportunity.

Now when I say the workouts were easier, I don’t mean they were easy by any means. They had me dying. They were just easier in terms of I wasn’t a pile of mush lying on the ground after each set. Also, after the first leg workout in which I could only finish the first group I hit which was quads, I was going to start the second one with hams but I decided to stay the course even if it meant overlooking my hamstrings for a week. The reason being that I wanted to see if I would improve enough to be able to do quads and then hit hams this week. I was half successful. I did quads, almost died, but still had enough left over to atleast get in some leg curls and a little body weight calves. Not the way the workout is designed but I’m happy with it. Besides, my quads need it and the workout really helps to boost testosterone.

The best news of the week. My last two sets of the bench press, I hit my goal of 275lbs!! Now I have to admit, they were more like half reps but doing 275 half reps has finally gotten me to the point of 225lb full reps. I rarely work with a spotter so I’m cautious when working with new weights about trying to bring it all the way down close to my chest. I have long arms so outside of warm up sets I never bring it down ALL the way.  

In other news, although my camera seems to be on the fritz right now, I am going to start taking and posting weekly pictures for progress purposes. I’ll try to get my first one up sometime tomorrow if I can get Laura to bring over her camera.

Last thing I wanted to say, Laura wrote up an intro post (about me type of thing) today. If you’re into running or your goal is weight loss, check her out. Not only has she lost over 50 pounds in a year but her new found love of running is going really well. She’s set up a system that’s taken her from the “couch” to already running a six mile race in just a few months and she’ll be doing a half marathon in about a month and a half from now. I’m sure she’ll talk more about how she’s done it, but if you have any questions about her (or my) training program, just ask. That’s what we’re here for.

Train Hard,

Kris

Vince Delmonte's Maximize Your Muscle Week one review

UPDATE!! Vince Opened it back up to new users at a discounted price. You have to get in on this before September 3rd. Read my experience from my first week below and then click here to get involved. I'm telling you, It's awesome!

Week one in review

A week ago I began Vince Delmonte’s new training program, Maximize Your Muscle. Now this program is billed as an advanced program that a beginner shouldn’t attempt. In the marketing he even said that if you’re just someone who can’t get their act together, don’t order this program. Inside the program he also makes several references to the fact that you are advanced and should know how to do certain things. I was happy to see that the marketing was not a ploy but very real. However, I quickly realized that being someone who has had such a hard time getting my act together over the last six months, he was talking about me too. No matter, I’m a damn idiot when it comes to the gym. If I can move, I won’t quit so I went for it. Here’s what I’ve been experiencing so far with the Maximize Your Muscle program.

Now because the program we’re talking about is subscription based, I can’t go into exact details of the program but I will say certain things about it.

1.    As we stated, this program is not for beginners or those that can’t get their acts together.

2.    This is a 12 month subscription based program. Each month you start on a new phase but you have no idea what that phase is until you get it in the mail. This is actually really good because you’re not tempted to look ahead and skip things. And like Vince says, this way all you have is one goal each month, Execute.

3.    The first month of the Maximize Your Muscle program is called the Hundred Rep Muscle. It will make you die. It will also make you more sore than you’ve ever been and build muscle you didn't know you could build. I’ve had three work outs so far so I’ve hit my whole body. Its fair to say that EVERYTHING is extremely sore.

4.    Its not just doing 100 reps per muscle. There is a specific set, rep, and rest scheme that is designed to make you cry for mercy but build a ton of new muscle. On top of that, he takes meticulous care in adding exercises in very specific orders to allow maximum muscle growth.

5.    When I first saw the workout, I was actually thinking that I was going to bypass it. It wasn’t until I listened to the two hour CD interview between Vince and Joel Marion that I decided I have to do this. I’m so glad I did because it is incredible!

6.    He must have been joking about the leg workout, i.e., you’re a monster if you can do it in the first week. After hitting my hundred reps for quads, I could barely walk. There was no way I was going to then work my hamstrings and calves. Since the workouts are twice per week though, I’ll start my next leg workout with Hams and see how that goes. (update, it took two workouts but I'm now able to finish it and I've even increased the weights)

7.    Each month you get a 20 page newsletter, a DVD of Vince walking you through the workout, a journal that you just have to fill out during or after your workouts, and I believe another CD interview with all sorts of information on life and fitness. I was actually really impressed by the CD in this first month.

At this point I’ve done three workouts and I am about to start the cycle again. The idea is to do the three workouts, take on day off and repeat. I was supposed to start back yesterday but I had to take a second day off due to the immense soreness I experienced in my arms and glutes. Even today, I’m a little scared about going back in as I’m still very sore. All things being equal though, I’m actually excited about todays workout. In the last few days, I have already seen a difference. Several people have already mentioned it. There is mass in a certain area of my tricep I haven’t felt in a long time if not ever, my traps have thickened, my shoulders are showing signs of broadening, and where the traps and shoulders meet is starting to look really nice. Now keep in mind, I haven’t had a solid workout routine in several months and I do have a good amount of muscle memory. Plus I’ve been eating like a cow (a health conscience cow) lately and started taking creatine last week so I’m probably seeing a pound or two from that. Even with all that though, I’ve been through this a couple of times and based on what I’m seeing so far, I am very excited! Even though my tri’s still feel ungodly sore, I’m still betting I will increase my bench from last week. Shooting for 275lbs this week, which is my lifetime max. I’ll tell you how it goes!!

Train Hard!

Kris

PS: While the Maximize Your Muscle program is currently closed to new subscribers until further notice (which I will definitely post if and when he decides to reopen it) he does have two other programs online. I can personally vouch for his No Nonsense Muscle Building Course as that was the catalyst for my getting into his new program but for those of you looking more to lose weight and obtain those coveted six pack abs Vince sports, there is the Your Six Pack Quest program that I guarantee you if followed will finally give you those abs you deserve. You can check them out below. They are great places to start a new fitness quest or to put new life in a stale routine. Check them out here if you're really interested in taking your game to the next level.

No Nonsense Muscle Building

Your Six Pack Quest