anthony alayon magazine

about the authorz

his week I talked to a friend of mine who has been very busy

working as it is around this time that his business really starts to pick up every year. It peaks over the Holi-days and then starts to slow down again to normal levels after New Year. As a result, he has not been able to do as much as he wanted to in the gym and has not been able to get in all the meals that he needs to consume on time either. Because of this, frustration has set in and he has been contemplating perhaps just dropping the whole program until the beginning of the New Year when things begin to normalize for him. However, I advised against do-ing this for the following reasons: Since I had no time to do cardio-vascular exercise, I would superset antagonistic muscles in order to get some sort of cardiovascular ef-fect (refer to my abbreviated body sculpting plan at the end of this article). That is all I could afford to do at the time. I always tried to get my training in before work, but if for some reason I would miss it in the morning, then I always had

lunchtime to make it up or later in the evening after work. Worst case, there was always the weekend for makeup sessions. Regarding meals, I always brought in all of my meals with me pre-prepared and also enough Meal Replacement Powders for those times that I was really on the run.

Some of you for whatever reason may not even be able to do more than three sessions a week. If this is the case, then no issue; make the most out of the time that you do have available to train. The key to making lasting body sculpting gains at the end of the day is that you have a realistic plan that can be executed consistently, not trying to follow one that looks really good in paper but cannot be executed. You will get to where you want to go, it may just take a little bit longer depending on how much time you can dedicate to reaching your goals. Please take a look at the abbreviated routine be-low.

Abbreviated Body Sculpting Split Workout RoutineWorkout (A) – Chest/Back/Abs

Triset #1• Incline Bench Press 3 sets of 10-12 reps• Wide Grip Pull-ups to Front 3 sets of 10-12 reps• Crunches 3 sets of 15-20 reps

Triset #2• Chest Dips 3 sets of 10-12 reps• Close Grip Chins (Reverse Grip) 3 sets of 10-12 reps• Hanging Leg Raises 3 sets of 15-20 reps

Triset #3• Incline Flyes 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps• Low Pulley Rows 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps• Bicycle Crunches 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps

Workout (B) – Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Triset #1•Upright Rows 3 sets of 10-12 reps•Triceps Pushdowns 3 sets of 10-12 reps•Incline Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps

Triset #2• Bent Over Laterals 3 sets of 10-12 reps• Concentration Curls 3 sets of 10-12 reps• Lying Dumbbell Triceps Ex-tensions 3 sets of 10-12 reps

1.Stopping to train would lower his metabolism which in turn would lower his energy levels and thus make him less productive at work. 2.Though he cannot get in the gym as often, getting his workout in and following the diet as much as pos-sible will prevent him from losing valuable muscle gains while mak-ing undesirable fat gains. This in turn prevents him from getting fur-ther depressed as he sees his body deteriorate. 3.Once January comes and he can start hitting the gym more often and following the meal schedule to the “T”, he will be in good shape and his body will respond very quickly to the more aggressive schedule. This is a very different scenario than the one he would have encountered if he would have stopped training and dieting altogether, as in this case, he would have needed to use at least a week to get his body conditioned for the weights again and it would have taken him an extra week, or maybe even two, to get rid of any body fat that he might have gained

Hugo Rivera Doing Dumbell Bench Press

depending on how bad the diet was. Be Flexible, Be Consistent, Be Pre-paredTherefore, in order to be successful in body sculpting you need to have the right mindset. Body sculpting is both a physical and extremely psy-chological endeavor. Of course, we all get frustrated when our sched-ules are affected by work, or any other life circumstance that may be thrown our way. Life is full of mon-key wrenches in case you haven’t noticed and it does not make it easy for us to get our workouts and meals in. Therefore, we have to fight ag-gressively and plan ahead if we want to get our workouts and meals in. As body sculpters we must keep our eyes on the ultimate goal, which is always more muscle mass with less body fat. In order to accomplish that one must be consistent with the training and diet. If for whatever reason the program that the body-builder has mapped out is too much of a time commitment at a certain period in life, then the solution is to modify the body sculpting program to one that does fit the time sched-ule…be flexible. For instance, back in my engineering days there were periods when I had to work 60-70 hours a week, I modified my train-ing to where I would hit the gym 5 days a week for 40-45 minutes of weight training. Since I had no time to do cardio-vascular exercise, I would superset antagonistic muscles in order to get some sort of cardiovascular ef-fect (refer to my abbreviated body sculpting plan at the end of this article). That is all I could afford to do at the time. I always tried to get my training in before work, but if for some reason I would miss it in the morning, then I always had lunchtime to make it up or later in

3.Follow a sensible and well periodized training program: Un-fortunately, many bodybuiders who are just getting started make the mistake of either choosing a body sculpting routine that is too advanced for their level, or simply go to the gym without any train-ing plan. Too much too soon leads to injury and just going from machine to machine without any set routine just leads to marginal body sculpting results at best. The cure to this problem is to grab a sensible body sculpting routine that fits your training level and execute it day in and day out.

4.If you want results, do not neglect the nutrition component: Without a body sculpting diet to go along with your training pro-gram you will fail to lose body fat and gain muscle. Nutrition is what gives us the raw materials for recuperation, energy, and growth. Therefore, it is important that you get familiarized with the characteristics of a good body sculpting diet and apply those principles in order to ensure getting the body sculpting gains that you are looking for. And along these lines, if you are looking to have abs, nutrition is the main component that needs to be tweaked in order to get those. Why? Because ripped abs are a function of low body fat and low body fat is attained through following the proper diet.

5.Don’t rely on supplements to do the work for you: Supple-ments do not make up for improper training, or lack thereof, and/or a low quality diet. Body sculpting supplements only work when your diet and your training program are optimal. Keep in mind that supplements are just additions to an already good nutrition and training program. Once all of those aspects of your program are maximized, then you can start thinking of adding body sculpting supplements to your program.

6.You need to get proper rest: Muscles do not grow as you work them out. They grow while you sleep. Therefore, sleep deprivation will cost you valuable body sculpting gains. Ensure a good night sleep every night and avoid staying up late if you don’t need to in order to keep cortisol levels low. Seven to ideally eight hours of sleep each night will not only keep you healthy and more energet-ic, but also will ensure that body sculpting gains keep on coming.

7.Consistency leads to body sculpting success: Remember that consistency of ex-ecution will lead to ultimate body sculpting success: If you consistently ap-ply a sound training system, nutrition, sup-plementation and recov-ery plan you will achieve your fitness goals.

8. If you fall off the wag-on, lift yourself up and get back on it! Too many body sculpters focus on perfec-tion. Therefore, if they miss a workout, a meal, or cheat on their diet, they get all frustrated and toss the whole program. As my good colleague and worldwide nutrition expert Keith Klein says: “That is the equivalent of getting a

flat tire and puncturing the other three plus the spare!” Remember, this game is won through consistency of execution, not through perfection.

9.You control what you put in your mouth: Remember that only you control what goes in your mouth. Food does not control you!

10.Believe in yourself: Last but not least, and as funny as it sounds, there must be no doubt in your mind that you can make this transformation a reality. If not, you won’t be able to achieve your desired results. Believing in yourself is really the first step. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Take care and train hard!

About the AuthorHugo Rivera, About.com’s Bodybuilding Guide and ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer, is an internationally-known best-selling author of over 10 books on bodybuilding, weight loss and fitness, including “The Body Sculpting Bible for Men”, “The Body Sculpting Bible for Women”, “The Hardgainer’s Bodybuilding Handbook”, “The Weight Training Diary”, and his successful, self published e-book, “Body Re-Engineering”. Hugo is also a national level NPC natural bodybuilding champion and you can visit him at:

www.hugorivera.netwww.bodybuilding.about.comwww.losefatandgainmuscle.com

W

ctivating your metabolism can be challenging. There’s so much information out there

that much of it is seemingly contra-dictory at best and completely false at worst. Combine this with so many audacious claims by companies that they can create your beach body in ten days, it is understandably hard to know what to believe and even where to begin.

What I’m suggesting is that we start at the beginning and build around the basics. Keeping things as simple as possible can be the easiest and most efficient start to getting a lean body! Here are 5 fat burning foods to con-sider next time you are at the grocery store.

Fat Burning Food #1: Salmon Salmon is extremely dense in pro-tein and omega-3 essential fatty ac-ids. The essential part means that the body cannot create these acids itself, so it’s crucial to obtain these fats through your diet. It also has a balanced ratio of saturated, polyun-saturated and monounsaturated fats, a combination which reduces the risk of joint inflammation and boosts the immune and circulatory systems.

Fat Burning Food #2: OatmealMy personal choice for breakfast is oatmeal. This food not only tastes great but can really help boost your metabolism. Oatmeal contains some good fats, and it’s a source of low glycemic carbohydrates. Low glycemic carbohydrates help the body store glycogen, which provides time-released energy and helps incinerate body fat. Addi-tionally, oatmeal is high in fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Soluble Fibers facilitate the body to re-lease sugars at a slower rate and help to bind fatty acids, which as-sists in lowering LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol). Insoluble Fibers help to move food through your intestines and prevent the stomach from having too much bulk inside at one time.Oatmeal can be mixed with protein, fruits, vegetables, granola, and just about anything to make some serious “superfoods.” (insert super oat-meal video)

Fat Burning Food #3: VegetablesMany vegetables, such as broccoli, contain negative calories. These foods require more calories to pro-cess and digest than they actually contain; that is, a normal serving of broccoli contains about 25 calories,

W

but the body requires 80 calories to burn it off. The high fiber content of these foods means they put the body to work to get to the nutrition and put the food through the body, so much so that the body requires more en-ergy than the food releases. (include a list of your favorite, or the most efficient, fat-burning vegetables and a reminder that it isn’t calorie neu-tral if they’re cooked in butter, oil, or anything, though good oils are healthy too)

Fat Burning Food #4: NutsNuts are a great, filling snack that can be added to your diet with strong health benefits. As long as you do not go crazy overeating nuts, the nu-tritional benefits are strong. I like almonds, walnuts, and cashews, all of which are nutritionally similar (is this true?) Nuts contain lots of fiber and beneficial fats, and they’re also high in antioxidants, including vitamin E and selenium. My rule of thumb is to consume one to two ounces of nuts at most in a sitting. Despite that nuts contain good fats, this approach will keep the chance of overconsuming fat and keep the belly fat disappearing.

Fat Burning Food #5: Flax Seed & Fish OilsFlaxseed and fish oils are great food supplements for anybody to take re-gardless of their health and fitness goals. These oils contain omega-3 fatty acids which have many posi-tive health effects, foremost speed-ing up metabolism. Omega-3s can also help to reduce soreness after workouts and act as an anti-cata-bolic agent (explain). Using these oils allow the body to maintain its level of strength while the body re-duces body fat. Additionally, they provide the body with natural energy and work to maintain triglyceride/cholesterol levels. Take flax seed and fish oils in the morning and at night; don’t cook with them and keep them refrigerated as they’re sensitive to both heat and light. The brands I use personally are Spectrum Flax Seed Oil and Carlson Lemon Flavored Fish oils.

Anthony AlayonAuthor Of The Fat Extinction Programfor More Information Visit:www.fatextinction.com

Anthony Alayon Author of the fat extinction Program

I was on a weekend trip with some friends recently and one of my friends was cooking breakfast for the whole group. I went over to see what he was cook-

ing and saw he was getting ready to make a big batch

of eggs...

Well, to my shock and horror, I noticed that he was cracking the eggs open and

screening the egg whites into a bowl and throwing out the egg yolks. I asked him why the heck he was throwing out

the egg yolks, and he replied something like this...

“because I thought the

egg yolks were ter-rible for

you...that’s where all the nasty

fat and choles-

terol is”.And I re-

plied, “you mean that’s where all of

the nutrition is!”This is a perfect exam-

ple of how confused most people are about

nutrition. In a world full of misinforma-

tion about nutrition, somehow most

people now mistakenly

think that the egg yolk is the worst part of the egg, when in fact, the YOLK IS THE HEALTHI-

EST PART OF THE EGG!By throwing out the yolk and only eating egg whites, you’re essentially throwing out the most nutrient dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and min-eral loaded portion of the egg. The yolks contain so many B-vitamins, trace minerals, vitamin A, folate, choline, lutein, and other powerful nutri-ents... it’s not even worth trying to list them all.

In fact, the egg whites are almost devoid of nutri-tion compared to the yolks. Even the protein in egg whites isn’t as powerful without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available. Not to even mention that the egg yolks from free range chickens are loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids.Yolks contain more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, and B12, and panthothenic acid of the egg. In addition, the yolks contain ALL of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as ALL of the es-sential fatty acids (EFAs).And now the common objection I get all the time when I say that the yolks are the most nutritious part of the egg...“But I heard that whole eggs will skyrocket my cholesterol through the roof” No, this is FALSE!First of all, when you eat a food that contains a high amount of dietary cholesterol such as eggs, your body down-regulates it’s internal production of cholesterol to balance things out. On the other hand, if you don’t eat enough choles-terol, your body simply produces more since cho-lesterol has dozens of important vital functions in the body.And here’s where it gets even more interesting...

There have been plenty of studies lately that in-dicate that eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol, thereby improving your overall

cholesterol ratio and blood chemistry.And 3rd... high cholesterol is NOT a disease! Heart disease is a disease...but high cholesterol is NOT. Cholesterol is actually a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions... it is DEAD WRONG to try to “lower your cholesterol” just because of pharmaceutical companies propagan-da that everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs. If you’re interested in this topic of cho-lesterol specifically, I have another ar-ticle listed at the bottom of this page about why trying to attack cholesterol is a mistake, and what the REAL deadly risk factors actually are.In addition, the yolks contain the antiox-idant lutein as well as other antioxidants which can help protect you from inflam-mation within your body (the REAL culprit in heart disease, not dietary cho-lesterol!), giving yet another reason why the yolks are actually GOOD for you, and not detrimental.To help bring even more proof that whole eggs are better for you than egg whites, I recently read a University of Connecticut study that showed that a group of men in the study that ate 3 eggs per day for 12 weeks while on a reduced carb, higher fat diet increased their HDL good cholesterol by 20%, while their LDL bad cholesterol stayed the same during the study. However, the group that ate egg substitutes (egg whites) saw no change in either and did not see the improvement in good cholesterol (re-member that higher HDL levels are as-sociated with lower risk of heart disease) that the whole egg eaters did. So I hope we’ve established that whole eggs are not some evil food that will wreck your body... instead whole eggs

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

Fun Fact: Did you Know A rooster takes 18-20 breaths a minute, a hen takes 30-35?

are FAR superior to egg whites. I recently compared eggs I bought at the grocery store with a batch of eggs I got at a farm stand where the chickens were free roaming and healthy.Most people don’t realize that there’s a major difference because they’ve never bought real eggs from healthy chickens... The eggs from the grocery store had pale yellow yolks and thin weak shells.On the other hand, the healthier free range eggs from the local farm had strong thick shells and deep or-ange colored yolks indicating much higher nutrition levels and carotenoids... and just a healthier egg in general.This is due to the fact that a free-roaming hen allowed to roam on plenty of land will eat a variety of greens, insects, worms, etc transferring MUCH higher levels of nutri-ents to the eggs compared to an unhealthy hen that is trapped inside a dark factory farm hen house in horrible conditions and fed nothing but piles of corn and soy. It’s a DRASTIC difference in the nutrition that you get from the egg.So next time a health or fitness professional tells you that egg whites are superior (be-cause of their “fat-phobic” mentality to-wards dietary fats), you can quietly ignore their advice knowing that you now under-stand the REAL deal about egg yolks.And can we all please STOP with this silly-ness about eating an omelete with 4-5 egg whites and only 1 egg yolk... If you want real taste and real health benefits, we’d all be better off eating ALL of our eggs with the yolks.After all, do you REALLY think that our an-cestors thousands of years ago threw out the yolks and only ate the egg whites? NOT A CHANCE! They intuitively knew that all of the nutrition was found in the yolks. But our modern society has been brainwashed with misinformation about fats and cholesterol.

Another interesting study about eggs...I read a study recently that compared groups of people that ate egg breakfasts vs groups of people that ate cereal or bagel-based breakfasts. The results of the study showed that the egg eaters lost or maintained a healthier bodyweight, while the

cereal/bagel eaters gained weight. It was hypothesized that the egg eaters actually ate

less calories during the remainder of the day be-cause their appetite was more satisfied compared

to the cereal/bagel eaters who would have been more prone to wild blood sugar swings and food cravings.Oh, one last thing I almost forgot... I per-sonally eat 4 whole eggs almost every day with breakfast, and I maintain single-digit bodyfat most of the year.

Enjoy your eggs and get a leaner body!

Are Whole Eggs or Egg Whites Better for You?

Fun Fact: Did you Know A rooster takes 18-20 breaths a minute, a hen takes 30-35?

easuring your body fat percentage is a valuable tool to chart your progress

on your quest to get six pack abs. Hopefully most people realize by now that abdominal exercises don’t burn fat off your stomach. Abs are made in the kitchen, not just in the

gym. No matter how much you work out, if you don’t eat right and achieve a calorie deficit, your abs will remain covered in a layer of adipose.

When the realization hits you that must reduce your bodyfat percentage to see your abs, one of the biggest questions that pops into your mind is, “how low do I have to get my body fat percentage to see my abs?” It’s a tough question to answer and the answer may be different for men and women.

Here’s what I’d recommend: >>>>>>>> Get familiar with some benchmarks for body fat levels.

This is my own chart, which I created with a combination of research literature and my own personal experience.

Body fat rating scale

Women - Competition Shape (“ripped”): 8-12% Very Lean (excellent): < 15% Lean (good): 16-20% Satisfactory (fair): 21-25% Improvement needed (poor): 26-30% Major improvement needed (Very poor): 31-40%+

Men - Competition Shape (“ripped”): 3-6% Very Lean (excellent): < 9% Lean (good): 10-14% Satisfactory (fair): 15-19% Improvement needed (poor): 20-25% Major improvement needed (Very poor): 26-30%+

Just a quick note - You’re not destined to get fatter as you get older, but in the general population (non fitness and bodybuilding folks), the average older person has more body fat.

What I did to accommodate this was to include a body fat range instead of one number, so younger people can use the low end of the range and older people can use the higher number.

Also, just so the average reader can keep things in

perspective, single digit body fat for women and low single digits for men is far beyond lean - it’s RIPPED - and that’s usually solely the domain of competitive physique athletes.

Competition body fat levels were not meant to be maintained all year round. It’s not realistic and it may not be healthy, particularly for women. For most women, 12% body fat or thereabouts is ripped, and for many, that’s contest ready (figure or fitness competition).

Just for comparison, I’ve done over 7,000 body fat tests during my career, and the lowest I have ever measured on a female was 8.9% (4-site skinfold method). She was a national-level figure competitor and she was shredded - full six pack of abs... “onion skin!”

However, I do know some women who get down to 11-13% bodyfat - by all standards extremely lean, complete with six pack abs - but oddly, they still had a few stubborn fat spots - usually the hips and lower body.

What about guys? Well, I know a guy who looks absolutely chiseled in his abs at 11% body fat, but other guys don’t look really cut in the abs until they get down to 6-8% body fat. Bodybuilders usually aren’t ready for competition until they get below 6%.

That’s the trouble with trying to pin down one specific body fat number as THE body fat level for seeing 6-pack abs (or being ripped or contest-ready): Everyone distributes their body fat differently and two people may look different at the same percentage.

The average guy or gal should probably aim for the “lean” category as a realistic year round goal, or if you’re really ambitious and dedicated, the “very lean category.”You’ll probably have to hit the “very lean” category

for six pack abs. However, the bottom line is that there’s no “perfect” body fat percentage where you’re assured of seeing your abs.

Besides, body fat is one of those numbers that gets fudged and exaggerated all the time. I hear reports of women with body fat between 4 and 8% and I usually dismiss it as error in measurement (or there’s some “assistance” involved).

Body fat testing, especially with skinfolds, is not an exact science. All body fat tests are estimations and there is always room for human error.

The low numbers are nice for bragging rights, but the judges don’t measure your body fat on stage. What counts is how you look and whether you’re happy with that (or whether the judges are happy with it, if you’re competing).

You can use my chart to help you set some initial goals, but for the most part, I recommend using body fat testing as a way of charting your progress over time to see if you’re improving rather than pursuing some holy grail number.

You can learn more about

how to measure your body fat

professionally or by yourself

in the privacy of your own

home in my Burn The Fat,

Feed The Muscle program.

You can learn more about how to measure your body fat

professionally or by yourself in the privacy of your own home

in my Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program. more details at:

www.BurnTheFat.com or http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com

There’s no need to give up some of your favorite foods in an effort to lose weight and keep it off. Here is one of my favorite weekend breakfast reci-pes that will still fit into your healthy eating plan.

You’ll see that all of the ingredients below are Diet Solution approved and completely healthy. How does it taste? Absolutely delicious. And that has been verified by my husband, my in-laws, my parents and several friends that have stayed at our house and enjoyed our Saturday morning ritual with us.

French Toast a la The Diet SolutionIngredients:2 slices Sprouted Grain, Spelt or Rice bread (we’ve tried using all of them and they all work well)2 whole eggs1 TBSP butterMaple Syrup or Apple Sauce (no sugar added)Cinnamon to tasteDirections:Scramble the 2 eggs in a bowl large enough to fit one slice of bread. Dip the bread and make sure it is coated generously with the egg mixture. Heat a

pan (on low to medium) large enough for 1 or 2 slices of bread and add the butter. Once the butter is melted in the pan (if it begins to turn brown, you have the heat up too high) add the bread coated with the egg mixture. Cook the bread on each side for 3-4 minutes covered (I find that covering the pan cooks the egg more evenly but you can cook it uncovered as well). Serve with maple syrup (1 tsp per slice is more than enough) or topped with ap-ple sauce and cinnamon (that’s how I like mine.)

Is this a cheat meal or a meal “off” of my usual healthy eating? Not at all. All of the ingredients are wholesome and natural and fit right into mine (and your) healthy eating plan. If you need or want a bit more protein with your breakfast, you can add a piece of bacon, breakfast sausage or even another egg on the side.

Enjoy your French Toast!

For more delicious, fat burning and healthy recipes, take a look at one of my favorite recipe books here: http://healthyurbaneating.com

About The New Tri Factor Formula

This formula was patented after over 3,000 independent studies behind it. It took around 40 million dollars to develop the product, has patents until the year 2035 and it is included in the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR), which is the book of the Physicians in the US where all of the drugs that work are listed. It is also the only product in the PDR that is completely natural and free of side effects.

Not available in retail stores. For those of you who are interested, click here and send us an email!

for more information about 4life

If you are looking for the most sophisticated and revolutionary preventive medicine product in the world, you need to give the 4Life Transfer Factor Plus Tri-Factor Formula a try.

Transfer Factor Plus Tri Factor Formula

For more information on 4Life products, email us at distribution.4lifegmail.com

“All

4Life

logo

s and

imag

es a

re p

rope

rty o

f 4Li

fe R

esea

rch

USA

, LLC

.”

This topic seems to be a common struggle I hear from a lot of people... They want to get lean, but they don’t want to give up drinking alcohol.Now, I’m not talking about alcoholic type of drinking (THAT is obviously a problem)... we’re just talking moder-ate social drinking here.First, although some people may will-ingly choose to give up alcohol en-tirely, I still think most of us can drink in moderation, and still stay perfectly healthy and lean. But there are a few tricks that can help you to not pack on the pounds... and I’ll mention those in a little bit.As for myself, it comes down to choos-ing what I’m going to be strict about to maintain my fitness lifestyle and what I’m not going to be strict about.For example, I’m pretty strict about never eating anything deep fried or made with trans fats, never eating white bread, and never drinking sodas or sweetened soft drinks of any kind... but I’ll admit that one thing I’ve cho-sen to not be strict about is drinking alcohol. What... a fitness pro admits that he drinks and is not a fitness “ro-bot” 24/7... No way!Well yes, it’s true... I’m in my 30’s now and I certainly don’t drink as

frequently as I did back in my crazy college days (man those college days were fun!), but I’ll certainly enjoy some cold ones when hanging out with friends, going to a bbq or dinner party, or during a night out at the bars and nightclubs.It’s all about balance in your life, and not every aspect has to be “perfect” in order for you to still get the body and health that you want. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you’re trying to be perfect.

Of course, if you have no problem abstaining from alcohol and willingly make that decision, then that will cer-tainly be the best thing for your health and your body.

However, for the rest of us, that actu-ally do like to partake in some social drinking, here are a few tips that have helped me to stay single-digit bodyfat lean, while still drinking alcohol occa-sionally.

TIP 1Obviously alcohol gives you extra empty calories on the days that you choose to drink. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and pro-tein, and 9 calories per gram for fats. However unlike ingesting carbs, pro-tein, or healthy fats from a healthy food source, drinking alcohol gives you LOTS of calories with very little micronutrients.On nights that I know are going to in-volve some drinking, it helps to make sure that dinner is based only around protein and vegetables. You’re going to take in a lot of empty calories with the alcohol, so eating a good portion of appetite-satisfying protein along with nutrient-rich vegetables can help to control your appetite and give your body the nutrients it needs.Plus, most importantly, there’s just no room for loads of carbohydrate-rich foods if you’re also going to be

“On nights that I know are going to involve some drinking, it helps to make sure that dinner is based only around pro-tein and vegeta-bles.”

consuming alcohol. Carbs + alcohol is a perfect recipe for growing a beer belly! Try to keep that evening meal a fairly low-carb meal to save yourself from extra empty calories.

TIP 2If you want to save your body from adding layers of ugly fat, by all means

stay away from syrupy,

fruity drinks that are loaded with sugar... this is a double whammy for your gut as you’re not only getting all of the empty alcohol calories, but also loads of empty sugar calories. Big fruity drinks such as a big margar-ita, or other tropical fruity drinks can sometimes have as much as 500-600

calories per

s e r v i n g and 70-100 grams of sugar! And I don’t think this even needs to be men-tioned, but if you care about your body, any drink that uses soda pop as the mixer is go-ing to be loaded with sugar (usually high fructose corn syrup) and calories.Instead, your best bet is to stick with a clear alcohol mixed with club soda (NOT tonic) and a squeeze of lime or lemon (hey, at least you get a little vitamin C and antioxidants with the squeeze of lemon and lime!). Vodka with club soda and extra lemon and/or lime squeeze is my drink of choice at

the bars and nightclubs.Stay away from tonic water mixers! Some people don’t realize this, but tonic water is loaded with almost as much sugar as regular soda pop... on the other hand, club soda has no calo-ries at all. It’s clearly the lowest calorie way to drink.

TIP 3If you’re going to drink beer, you’re better off choosing just 1 or 2 dark beers rather than 5 or 6 light beers. Sure, dark beers have more calories than light beers, but dark beers also have more B vitamins and antioxi-dants than light beers, so you actually get more nutrition from the dark beer. As long as you keep it to just 1 or 2 dark beers, you may still stay within 150-400 calories.

Generally, it also takes a little longer to drink a good dark beer compared to a watery light beer too.

TIP 4Try to get in a high intensity full body workout before your night out of drinking. If you do this, at least you’ve revved up your metabolism and have your body processing calories a little faster.Also, trying to get in some sort of ex-ercise the morning after your night out can also help to get your body back to a good state of health. This may not be your best workouts in terms of energy, but it can help to just get your body moving and break a sweat, and get back to a good homeostasis.

TIP 5Avoid the late-night munchies after a night of drinking! This is where most people do the biggest damage to their waistlines.Instead, make sure to have some lean protein and vegetables quickly avail-able at home (perhaps some pre-cooked chicken breasts, grass-fed steaks, or even tuna fish and some veg-gie sticks) so that you can satisfy your late night post-party appetite with lean protein instead of carbohydrates. Veg-gies and protein is the key here.

The worst thing for your body is load-ing up on pizza, ice cream, and oth-er carb-rich junk after a night out of drinking.

TIP 6If you drink multiple drinks socially, try to keep drinking alcohol to only 1-2 days/week maximum if you want to stay lean. On the other hand, if you never drink more than 1-2 drinks per day, I think having 1-2 drinks daily with a meal can still be part of a healthy lifestyle. As long as those calories are accounted for and you still stay within your daily caloric maintenance.

TIP 7Wine is one of the healthier drink choices... if you must have a drink, you might as well choose wine so you at least get a good dose of antioxidants as well. Red wine is known for it’s

antioxidant content, however even white wines contain some antioxidants as well... white wines just aren’t quite as high in anti-oxidants as red wines. Hey, if you can get a little resveratrol while enjoying your company, why not!And finally, like I mentioned before, drink-ing alcohol just adds one more thing to your list that you have to work against in getting the body you want.Abstaining may always be the best choice, BUT we also need to be realistic and know that social drinking is not something that most people are willing to give up entirely.For that reason, this list of tips to help man-age social drinking in a healthier way can really help you to stay leaner and healthier and still balance a little bit of social drinking into your life.

7 minute workout

b y a n t h o n y a l a y o n

Pick what you want to eat and jump start you metabolism instantly!

This Program inludes:- body fat analyzer and online dietician

- secret 10 commandments to fat loss success - power of the mind book- power of the mind book

- excercise videos

Featuring The Patent Pending Online Dietitian

Because so many people feel that cardio is boring, I felt like I needed to share to my read-ers one of my favorite ways to do cardio. Jumping rope is vigorous, drains your entire body, and is al-ways a pleasant shock to the sys-tem that I can’t help but find to be really fun! I don’t think enough people use a jump rope for aerobic exercise. It’s a great way to have some fun and get great cardio in as well as improve your coordination and agility. There is, after all, a rea-son that many competitive athletes jump rope. If frequently performed, jumping rope is a great contribu-tor to increased muscle endurance. And since it can be done anywhere, jumping rope is a great alternative to cardio when the weather may keep you out of your running shoes, off the tennis court, or with the bike still in the garage.

6 Reasons to Use a Jump Rope as a Means of Cardiovascular Ex-ercise1. Jump ropes are inexpensive. You can purchase a quality jump rope for about $20. (recommen-

dation?)

2. Small size! You can carry a jump rope anywhere and get a decent workout in while traveling or anywhere where you may be cut off from the gym.

3. Small space! You can jump rope anywhere, in or out of the gym, in or out of the office, out on your lunch break, or anywhere that you have just a few extra feet around you so you can comfortably perform a full motion.

4. Jumping rope is a nice change of pace for those who have gotten tired of the same boring grind of cardio.

5. Calorie Shredder: jumping rope can burn massive amounts of calories in a small period of time. 30 minutes of jumping rope can easily burn off 500 calories on the average metabolism.

6. Full-body workout – the act of jumping rope helps strengthen the muscles beyond just the legs and the core. Most of the body feels

the benefit of jumping rope, from your feet to your shoulders and arms.

How to Choose a Good Jump RopeI recommend using a jump rope that is leather as it will not wear down over time as synthetic or stringy ropes will. Make sure that the han-dles of the rope are thick and com-fortable. Test that the rope length is adequate by holding the handles of the rope in each hand and placing your feet in the middle of the rope as it is just touching the ground. If your hands are just below the arm-pits, then your rope is the right size.

Some Tips on How to Prevent Injury from Jumping Rope1. Always wear comfortable shoes. A good pair of shoes will reduce wear and tear on the joints and minimize the chance of ankle injury.

2. Warm up first. Jumping jacks are an excellent exercise to use because the motion of a jumping jack mimics the motion of jumping jacks.

Starting OutJumping rope is harder than it looks, especially if you’re a beginner. The exercise requires a solid amount of coordination and agility as well as concentration. Let’s break down the

learning process into three stagesBeginning StageIt’s important to get over the hump of what may be an initial wave of frustration when learning how to properly jump rope. But it’s im-portant to persevere. When I first started jumping rope, it took a lot of patience to get used to the motions. Quite simply, it’s far more complex than a stationary bike or a treadmill.In order to properly jump rope, ex-ecute the following steps:Step 1: Start out by holding the han-dles in each hand and have the rope touching the back of your heels on the ground.Step 2: Attempt to complete a few full motion revolutions. Practice these steps for about five minutes, completing as many as you can.At this stage I would just perform 5 minutes of jumping rope 3 days a week. Do not exceed 5 minutes a day as you may develop substantial soreness quicker than you think!Intermediate StageAfter around four weeks, you should feel comfortable with five minutes at a time, and you should feel im-

I have been dealing with Anthony since my senior year in high school. I would always call him for different advice to make sure I am getting the right advice. There are a lot of people out there trying to sell you things. Especially being a professional athlete you need to make sure you put the right things in your body. One slight error or ounce of protein or whatever it may be can make the difference and hurt your chances to playing that year or give you a suspension that year. Anthony has done a great job helping me get the right things that can be an asset to my body and my training.

PROFESIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER

HAS FAT EXTINCTION WORKED FOR YOU? CONTACT US AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

BIOGRAPHYHeight: 6-2 Weight: 245Year: 2 Yrs/Pat: 2Acquired: D3b-09(89th overall)School: South FloridaBorn: Dec 11, 1985

Click Here To Try The Fat Extinction Program

For Only $1

For More Information Visit:www.fatextinction.com

Next Months Testimonial:Hugo Rivera

Click Here to TryThe Fat Extinction Program For only $1!

THIS version is done with one dumbell held in front of you at your chest, with you hands under the top set of plates like a big goblet (hence the name). It keeps the dumbell out of your way and requires no special rack or setup to do. Hits the core nicely, too, because of how you’re support-ing the weight.GREAT exercise for the lower body overall.Here’s what it looks like:

GOBLET SIDE LUNGESFOR LATERAL HIP AND LEG POWERPOSTED BY NICK NILSSON

The Side Lunge is an excellent exer-cise for the hips and entire lower body. It works the lower body in a lateral movement plane rather than the much more commonly-worked front and back movement plane.It’s a VERY valuable exercise that can be a pain in the butt to do with barbells (better to use a rack, but you have use a rack that you can walk out of because you have to move side to side) and the normal way with dumbells hanging down at arms-length – your legs get in the way very easily.

By Nick Nilsson

If you believe the magazines, you want to do everything you can to eliminate the hip flexors from your abdominal training. But can this bit of advice actually be hurting your speed? When you strengthen and train the hip flexors for explosive power, you can significantly (and very quickly) boost running speed. Your body is able to bring your legs forward faster and you’ll be able to accelerate faster.

Who do you think is going to win the race...The person with the faster stride turnover or the person with the slower turnover (assuming their strides are equal in length). Big duh. The single most effective exercise you can do to increase running speed quickly in a person is not squatting or power cleans or anything like that. It’s explosive hip flexion. Now, it is true that the hip flexors are highly involved in the sit-up exercise. But i’m definitely not recommending you do ballistic, explosive sit-ups to work the hip flexors. You’ll be much better off doing direct hip flexor work using bands or cables. Bands especially are excellent because you can explode strongly against them without having to worry about decelerating the resistance...The stretching of the band takes care of that for you. So first, get yourself some training bands (if you

Secret Training Tip #221:Hip Flexors Aren’t Evil

“The single most effective exercise you can do to increase running speed quickly in a person is not squatting or power cleans or anything like that. It’s explosive hip flexion.”

Do They Hold The Key to Faster Running Speed?

don’t have them or can’t get them, a low pulley cable with an ankle harness will work just fine). I got my bands from here:Http://www.Fitstep.Com/goto/ironwoody-bands.HtmThe simplest exercise you can do is to attach a band to a solid object down near the ground (or use the low pulley with the ankle harness). Loop the other end over your thigh. Hold onto something solid

then explode up against the band. The exercise itself looks like you’re trying to knee somebody in the gut as hard as you can. Simple as that. Do it against resistance and do it explosively. This will do more to increase your running speed than squats ever will. [If you’re interested in seeing more explosive hip flexor exercises, i’ll have a link at the end of the article]To prevent that tightening problem i mentioned above, be sure to stretch your hip flexors after every session and regularly throughout the day if you spend a lot of time in a seated position (which puts your hip flexors in a shortened position for many hours at a time). To stretch them, drop down on one knee like you’re in a lunge position then just lean your upper body

By Nick Nilsson

back. You’ll feel a great stretch along the front of your thigh up through your hip flexor. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds then repeat on the other leg. Conclusion: Hip flexors are not evil. They’re critical, especially if you want to improve running and/or leg speed (i say leg speed because it’s important in skating as well and i can’t really call that running!). By properly strengthening the related muscle groups (abs and lower back) and by stretching the hip flexors, you’ll have no problem keep proper alignment in your body and you’ll experience great improvements in speed performance. For pictures and video of explosive hip flexor exercises, click this link: Http://www.Fitstep.Com/misc/newsletter-archives/issue65-flexors.Htm

Author Nick Nilsson

Women’s Weight Training Myth #1 -Weight training makes you bulky and masculine.Due to the fact that women do not, and cannot, naturally produce as much tes-tosterone (one of the main hormones re-sponsible for increasing muscle size) as males do, it is impossible for a woman to gain huge amounts of muscle mass by merely touching some weights. Un-fortunately, the image that may come to your mind is that of professional female bodybuilders. Most of these women, unfortunately, use anabolic steroids (synthetic testosterone) along with other drugs in order to achieve that high de-gree of muscularity.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #2 Exercise increases your chest size.Sorry girls. Women’s breasts are com-posed mostly of fatty tissue. Therefore, it is impossible to increase breast size through weight training. As a mat-ter of fact, if you go below 12 percent body fat, your breast size will decrease. Weight training does increase the size

of the back, so this misconception prob-ably comes from confusing an increase in back size with an increase in cup size. The only way to increase your breast size is by gaining fat or getting breast implants.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #3 Weight training makes you stiff and musclebound.If you perform all exercises through their full range of motion, flexibility will increase. Exercises like flyes, stiff-legged deadlifts, dumbbell presses, and chin-ups stretch the muscle in the bot-tom range of the movement. Therefore, by performing these exercises correctly, your stretching capabilities will increase. The myths about women’s weight train-ing and female bodybuilding do not ever seem to go away. With this article, I’d like to share the facts regarding weight training and female bodybuilding. Women’s Weight Training Myth #4 - If you stop weight training your muscles turn into fat.This is like saying that gold can turn into

By Hugo Rivera

brass. Muscle and fat are two totally different types of tissue. What happens many times is that when people decide to go off their weight training programs they start losing muscle due to inactiv-ity (use it or lose it) and they also usu-ally drop the diet as well. Therefore bad eating habits combined with the fact that their metabolism is lower due to inactiv-ity, and lower degrees of muscle mass, give the impression that the subject’s muscle is being turned into fat while in reality what is happening is that muscle is being lost and fat is being accumulated.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #5 Weight training turns fat into muscle.More alchemy. This is the equivalent of saying that you can turn any metal into gold; don’t we wish! The way a body transformation occurs is by gaining mus-cle through weight training and losing fat through aerobics and diet simultane-ously. Again, muscle and fat are very dif-ferent types of tissue. We cannot turn one into the other.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #6 As long as you exercise you can eat any-thing that you want.How I wish this were true also! How-ever, this could not be further from the truth. Our individual metabolism deter-mines how many calories we burn at rest and while we exercise.

If we eat more calories than we burn on a consistent basis, our bodies will accumu-late these extra calories as fat regardless of the amount of exercise that we do.This myth may have been created by people with such high metabolic rates (hardgainers) that no matter how much they eat or what they eat, they rarely meet or exceed the amount of calories that they burn in one day unless they put their mind to doing so. Therefore, their weight either remains stable or goes down. If you are confused about nutri-tion, please read Nutrition Basics.

Women’s Weight Training Myth #7 Women only need to do cardio and if they decide to lift weights, they should be very light.First of all, if you only did cardio then muscle and fat would be burned for fuel. One needs to do weights in order to get the muscle building machine going and thus prevent any loss of muscle tissue. Women that only concentrate on cardio will have a very hard time achieving the look that they want. As far as the lifting of very light weights, this is just more nonsense. Muscle responds to resistance and if the resistance is too light, then there will be no reason for the body to change.Women Should Train HardI have trained with girls that train as hard as I do and they look nothing but femi-nine. If you want to look great, don’t be afraid to pick up the weights and lift hard!

article extension

start making moneytoday

*Distributors earnings vary as a result of numerous factors. Earnings statements made in this ad are not intended to guarantee a particular outcome, but rather show what is possible based on a broad range of 4Life® distributors’ historical data, personal commitment, and skill level. All references to income, implied or stated, through the Life Rewards Plan™ are for illustration purposes only.

“All 4Life logos and images are property of 4Life Research USA, LLC.”

Hormone replacement therapy that only includes estrogen and proges-terone but leaves out testosterone is a curse of many a women’s fat loss program. This is not only a concern for postmenopausal women. Young women should think twice about using birth control pills. Birth control pills elevate estrogen and progesterone lev-els while drastically lowering testos-terone levels. This is reason why many women experience large gains in fat as well as a decreased libido when using birth control pills.”In women with established adrenal in-sufficiency, studies find 50mg DHEA corrects low serum concentrations of DHEA/DHEA-S, and brings testoster-one into the “normal” range. With one recent study finding “DHEA treatment significantly improved overall wellbe-ing as well as scores for depression, anxiety, and their physical correlates. Furthermore, DHEA significantly in-creased both sexual interest and the level of satisfaction with sex.”(5)Side EffectsAre there any side effects to DHEA use for women? Generally, they are easily dealt with by lowering the dose and “… are mostly mild and related to androgenic activity of DHEA in women and include increased sebum

DHEAThe Most Underrated Supplement For Women

production, facial acne, and changes in hair status.” (6)In my experience, the above is related to dose. The low-normal dose rec-ommended (see below) rarely if ever causes side effects, but there’s no free lunch in biology, and adjusting any hormone up or down, comes with po-tential for side effects along with the benefits. The issue – as in the case with any drug, supplement, etc – is whether the benefits outweigh the risks/side effects. As the (potential) benefits of DHEA high, and the side effects at best mild to non existent, my opinion is the risk/benefit ratio is very much in favor of using DHEA, but everyone has to decide for themselves on that score.

“What About Us Women Will?!” OK, this finally brings us to women and DHEA after the long winded in-tro above, but finally, here we are! Although the research in men using DHEA has been unimpressive and contradictory, such is not the case with women. In women, research us-ing DHEA is much more consistent and compelling and there appears to be some gender specific responses to

DHEA use.(3)As a supplement that can improve mood, libido, memory, and pos-sibly alter body composition (i.e., increase muscle, improve bone den-sity, and reduce bodyfat), DHEA appears to be a winner for women. Most of the research has been done in DHEA deficient populations, but data – and real world experi-ence- suggests it’s also a benefit to women not medically deficient in this hormone. Although the benefits of this hormone to women comes predomently from its conversion to testosterone, it also appears some of the effects may be due to other mechanisms.(4). One recent study concluded:“The use of DHEA therapy may also be discussed in women of any age when a trial of androgen supple-mentation seems justified because of the existence of an inhibited sex-ual desire or a sexual arousal disor-der associated with documented an-drogen deficiency. The rather weak conversion of DHEA into testoster-one protects from the risk of over-

dosing associated with testosterone preparations.”Side Bar: Testosterone myths. Testosterone is often viewed as a “male” hormone. Although testos-terone is the dominant androgen in men, it’s a hormone essential to the health and well being of both sex-es, just as men produce and require some estrogen. How important can this hormone be to women? Karlis Ullis, MD, a faculty member of the UCLA School of Medicine, who treats women with hormone imbalances states:“It is clear to me, both from my clin-ical practice and from research, that testosterone is vital for women to preserve their lean mass and to pre-vent obesity. Not only will testoster-one help mobilize body fat and ne-gate some of the fat storing effects of estrogen, it is also extremely effective in building lean mass in women – even at small doses.

DHEAThe Most Underrated Supplement For Women

Conclusions and RecommendationsBelieve me, there’s a lot more re-search I could cover, but I hope the above covers the essential points regarding DHEA and it’s potential value to women specifically. So, let’s sum it all up: For women over 40, or those with diagnosed adre-nal insufficiency (AI), DHEA could be of considerable value to general well being as well as libido, mood, etc. Typical doses are 25 – 50mg and working with a medical profes-sional to fine tune dosages is recom-mended.For “normal” women under 40, and or have not been diagnosed with AI, 25 – 50mg seems to do the trick, and starting at the lower dose and assessing over a few months is rec-ommended. Most women will no-tice improvements in mood, libido, and possibly muscle mass and or bodyfat, at lower doses. The ef-fect is increased at higher doses, but possible side effects mentioned above also become more common. At 50-100mg+, DHEA does act as a mild anabolic agent in women in my experience, and I have seen some fairly impressive results of in-creased muscle mass and decreased bodyfat at the higher doses, but it’s not dramatic compared to other an-abolic hormones used by some fe-male athletes. High doses of DHEA

will also elevate estrogen levels, so that too should be kept in mind.See you in the gym ladies!

(1,3) Cameron DR, Braunstein GD. The use of dehydroepiandrosterone therapy in clinical practice. Treat Endocrinol. 2005;4(2):95-114.(2) XV International Symposium on Atherosclerosis.(4) Buvat J. Androgen therapy with dehydroepiandrosterone..World J Urol. Nov;21(5):346-55. – 2003(5) Arlt W, et al. DHEA replacement in women with adrenal insufficien-cy–pharmacokinetics, bioconver-sion and clinical effects on well-be-ing, sexuality and cognition. Endocr Res. 2000 Nov;26(4):505-11.(6) DHEA: why, when, and how much–DHEA replacement in adre-nal insufficiency.Ann Endocrinol (Paris). 2007 Sep;68(4):268-73. Epub 2007 Aug 8.

This isn’t your typical weight loss mistakes list, replete with diet food faux pas.Rather than worrying about the minutiae of your diet plan, like whether you should be on low carb or high carb, Mediterranean or Okinawan, vegetarian or meat eater, I pro-pose that if you simply focus on these 8 issues, you’ll start getting more lasting results.

How? By being able to stick with whichever plan you decided was best for you! After all, even if you have the best nutrition program in the world -- on paper -- it doesn’t do you much good if you can’t stick with it!

Clearly, we have an obesity problem in America and many other countries across our planet. Yet, I propose that we do not have a weight loss problem today. In case you’re confused at this apparent contradiction, consider these statistics:

According to a study from Oxford University published in the International Journal of Obesity, within 3 to 5 years, about 80 percent of all ‘weight losers’ have regained the lost weight, and often gained back a little extra.

According to research by the National Weight Control Registry, that relapse rate may be as high as 95 percent.

For comparison, relapse rates for drug, alcohol and tobacco depen-dency have been reported in the range of 50-90%.

This means that lots and lots of people have lost weight, but not many have kept it off. Therefore, we don’t have a weight loss prob-lem, we have a weight-relapse problem; we have a “not sticking with it” problem, wouldn’t you agree?

In fact, the fall and subsequent weight-regain usually doesn’t take years. Many people have abandoned their New Year’s resolutions within weeks. By the time the

Super Bowl party rolls around, the diet is ancient history!

If this is true, then shouldn’t we put

more of our at-

tention on figur-ing out why you haven’t been sticking with your program,

and what you should do about it? That’s why I put together this list of the 8 biggest mistakes that put the

pounds back on.

1. No focus: you didn’t set goals, you didn’t put your goals in writing, and you didn’t keep your goals in mind daily (by read-ing them, affirming them, looking at a vision board, etc.).2. No priorities: you may have set a goal, but you didn’t put it at the top of your priorities list. For example, your goal was six pack abs, but drinking beer and eating fast food on the weekend was higher on your priorities list than having a flat stomach.

3. No support system: you tried to go at it alone; no buddy system, training partners, family, spouse, friends, mentors or coaches to turn to for information and emotional support when the going got tough.4. No Accountability: you didn’t keep score for your own accountability - with a progress chart, weight record, mea-surements, food journal, training journal, and you didn’t set up ex-ternal accountability (report to someone else or show your results to someone else).

5. No patience: you were only thinking short term and had unrealistic expectations. You expected 10 pounds a week or 5 pounds a week or 3 pounds a week, so the first week you lost “only” 1 or 2 pounds or hit a plateau, you gave up.

6. No planning: you winged it. You walked into the gym without having a workout in hand, on paper, you

didn’t plan your workouts into your weekly schedule; you didn’t have a menu on paper; you didn’t make time (so instead you made excuses, like “I’m too busy”).

7. No balance: your diet or training program was

too extreme. You went the all or nothing, “I want it now” route

instead of the moderate, slow-and-steady wins the race route.

8. No personalization: your nutrition or training program was the wrong one for you. It might have worked for someone else, but it didn’t suit your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition or body type.

Are you guilty of any of these transgressions? If so, the solutions are clear and simple: focus, prioritize, get

B Y T O M V E N U T O

ost people are aware that nutrient timing is as im-portant as nutrient com-position. In other words,

it’s not just what you eat, but when you eat it that gives optimal results. As the man says, “Timing is every-thing.” Consuming the right foods at the right time can have positive effects on body composition: which means more muscle and less body fat.

Health-conscious people are told to avoid simple carbohydrates, and for good reasons. It’s not true all the time and in every situation, how-ever. Following a heavy workout, there is a metabolic “window” – so to speak – where the body preferen-tially shuttles glucose into the liver and muscles to replace lost glycogen via both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent transport mecha-nisms. Translated, this means your body will shuttle carbs and protein into the tissues you want (muscle) instead of storing them as fat after a workout.

To carry the analogy further, the metabolic window doesn’t stay open indefinitely, so you need to take advantage of the opportunity while it lasts.

A number of studies have found that a post-workout drink containing simple, high-GI carbs and protein increases protein synthesis dramati-cally. The two work synergistically to create an anabolic environment that’s superior to either nutrient alone. In addition, some recent work suggests that a pre-workout drink may be superior to a post-workout drink, and consuming both may be best of all!

Research looking at the issue has gotten a great deal of attention in the sports nutrition world. One par-ticularly interesting study, “Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate inges-tion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise.” (Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2001 Aug;281(2):E197-206), compared the anabolic responses to a carbo-hydrate and amino acid supplement taken either before or after resis-tance exercise. It’s counterintuitive to think taking in these nutrients be-fore the workout is superior to post-workout, but according to this small study:

“…results indicate that the response of net muscle protein synthesis to consumption of an EAC solution [carb/amino acid drink] immedi-

ately before resistance exercise is greater than that when the solution is consumed after exercise, primar-ily because of an increase in muscle protein synthesis…”

Since this study was published, sev-eral researchers have proposed that providing amino acids/protein and carbs both before and after a resis-tance workout represents the best of both worlds. This is the premise of the book “Nutrient Timing” by John Ivy and Robert Portman. They present compelling evidence that the right mixture of nutrients, taken at key points in the muscle growth cycle, will optimize improvements in muscle growth, strength, and power, as well as enhance recovery from exercise.

Overall, there’s a solid body of sci-entific evidence to support using a blend of fast-acting carbs and amino acids/protein for both pre- and post-workout nutrition. It’s definitely a “hot” topic among sports research-ers. It’s also a topic that seems to create endless speculation and con-versation with non-scientists look-ing to get the most of their time in the gym. Everyone wants to hear the latest word, it seems.

By Will Brink

So what’s the latest word?

The place to discover cutting edge research on a topic is to attend con-ferences where researchers present their most recent findings. This is a much faster way of getting current info than reading scientific jour-nals, as it can take many months (even years!) to publish the work researchers submit for review and publication.

Each year, I attend various scientific conferences that apply to my inter-ests, research, and business. This year I attended the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) conference in Las Vegas. The ISSN is a relatively new organization and this was their third conference to date.*

A session on the role of nutrition in exercise and recovery was par-ticularly interesting. One standout study**, “Effects of protein and carbohydrate on anabolic responses to resistance training” looked at the effects of carbs, creatine, and whey – taken alone and in different com-binations – on LBM and/or strength. The conclusion was that the com-bination of all three (whey, carbs, and creatine) was the most effective and that there appeared to be a true synergism between these nutrients. This study also confirmed that these nutrients, taken both before and af-ter training, have a greater effect on lean mass and strength than when taken at other times of the day. I don’t think that comes as a big sur-prise to most people “in the know” about such things, but it’s good to see it confirmed under controlled conditions.

The take home lesson is this: if you want to optimize your nutrition to gain muscle mass and strength, it’s

vital to consume a combination of fast-acting carbs and protein during the workout “window.”

Here’s what I recommend: mix 30-50g of high quality whey with 75-100g of high GI carbs (such as glu-cose, maltodextrin, etc.,) and 3-5g of creatine monohydrate and drink half immediately before you hit the gym, and the other half immediately following your workout.

To make it extra simple, I use a pre-made carb drinks (e.g., TwinLab Ultra Fuel, etc.) and add the whey and creatine to that and mix it up. You can “roll your own” of course by buying various carb powders in bulk. I just like the convenience of the pre-made carb mixtures myself.

As you can see, I don’t use a com-plicated formula for the amounts of protein, carbs, and creatine to take pre- and post-workout. Why? Be-cause – while focusing on such mi-nutiae would make me look smart – it probably won’t have any ef-fects on you. Following the K.I.S.S. (“Keep It Simple, Stupid”) system works best here. The above formula is more then sufficient to supply the nutrients required to take advantage of the metabolic window. Some people take it a step further by di-viding the formula into three parts, to be consumed before, during and after the workout, but I don’t see the need for that either. I doubt there are any real benefits to it, but more re-search is needed there.

This isn’t a miracle mixture, of course. If your training and/or nutri-tion over the rest of the day aren’t up to snuff, this pre- and post-work-out drink won’t make up for those shortcomings. In conjunction with a good training program and diet however, combining pre- and post-

workout nutrition will clearly add to your success. And remember, it’s not rocket science, so don’t make it any more complicated then it needs to be.

*I recommend that anyone interest-ed in the topic of sports nutrition – lay person or scientist – should join the ISSN.* Visit their web site at http://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org for more information.

**Presented by Dr. Paul Cribb

People that want to know my thoughts on the correct way to lose fat should read my ebook Diet Sup-plements Revealed.

If you want to know my thoughts on the best way to set up a diet to gain weight in the form of muscle while minimizing bodyfat, consider read-ing my ebook Muscle Building Nu-trition (AKA Brink’s Bodybuilding Bible) at www.brinkzone.com.

BTW, both ebooks also cover sup-plements for their respective goals along with exercise advice.

Healthy restaurant eating is possible and can be much easier than you think. If your schedule has your trav-eling a lot or opting for take out often, use the ideas below to stick to your healthy meal plans while still enjoying your meal out.

Here is my plan of attack whenver I am on vacation, traveling for business or just in a situation that has me ordering out more than I am able to cook.

I do what I call “damage control”: Do the best I can, with what I’ve got and have an awesome time on my trip!

Prepare my “emergency kit”. I will pack and take with me: walnuts, almonds, almond butter, organic turkey and beef jerky, apples and pears. None of these need refrigeration so they will keep well wherever you are. If I’m in a situation where there is no protein handy (like when it’s time for a snack), I’ve got my nuts and jerky to tie me over. If you don’t have something handy, you just may find yourself grabbing pretzels and potato chips (or whatever other horrid food people eat while away).

Breakfast

There is always a protein on the menu, no matter what. Omelets, or smoked salmon are my favorite choices but I’ve even gone to places that now carry turkey ba-con and turkey sausage on the menu. Stay away from the heavy and deadly pancakes and waffles. This is a blood sugar disaster waiting to happen. Eating a sugar loaded breakfast like this will only set you up for hun-ger and cravings the rest of the day. And, just may ruin an otherwise great day.

About the AuthorIsabel De Los Rios is a certified nutri-

tionist and exercise specialist who has

already helped over 25,000

people all over the world lose incred-

ible amounts of weight, regain their

health and perma-nently change their

lives.

Lunch and Dinner

I have said this before. Most of us know what is healthy on the menu but we still continue to order the crappy stuff. Yes, I do believe in a treat and a cheat meal once or twice a week, but definitely not every night of your va-cation. Some people eat and choose items off the menu like they are being sent to starvation camp when they get home. This is not an “all or nothing” deal. You’ve committed to eating healthy for a lifetime. Don’t worry. The food will always be there whether you eat it all at once or space it out over a lifetime.

Ok, back to my point. First, items on the menu that you know are drenched in heavy sauces are an instant No-No. Fettuccine Alfredo? Come on now. Are you seri-ous? Can you get the steak, veggies and salad instead and be just as happy? Or, the Chicken Cacciatore with a side of broccoli rabe? (Yes, we’re at an Italian res-taurant). Often times, our taste buds are really just as happy with a healthier choice. No, this is not depriva-tion. This is choosing to feel good, be healthy and eat good food at the same time. Comprende?

Desserts

I love desserts too and I will definitely get myself a yummy piece of apple pie or chocolaty treat while I am away. But if the piece of dessert is bigger than the size of my head, I will not eat the whole thing. There is no need. My taste buds are just as happy with a few bites (and my body is happier too). Remember, we’re not going to starvation camp after this. Trust me, there is enough apple pie, chocolate or (insert your favorite dessert here) to have a small amount at a time for the rest of your life.

The Trolls

The who? Yes, you know who the trolls are. Those peo-ple who tell you to “just eat what you want”, or “don’t torture yourself”. These people always seem to come out of hiding when dining with you at a restaurant. (They are also present at parties and family functions. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid). Don’t let anybody else tell you that taking care of yourself and feeling great is a bad thing. I don’t mean to talk bad about your family and friends, but chances are they are not too thrilled with their current weight and health and really just up-set that you actually started to eat healthy and take con-trol of your life.

Remember, there is no need to avoid restaurants and vacations (but please do avoid fast food joints). You just need to focus on the healthier options and have a great time!

Here’s one of my favorite desserts, Chocolate Pudding, completely Diet Solution approved, that you can easily make at home.

No. Fettuccine Alfredo? Come on now. Are you serious? Can you get the steak, veggies and salad

instead and be just as happy?

fat extinction dinosaur

anthony alayon magazine

Documents