Fitness Exposé

Bodybuilding Secrets Exposed

You are here: Home / Archives for Featured

Mission Accountability Update: Week 3

By 1 Comment

This week saw some exciting things develop that I am not ready to reveal. When the time is right I will share photos and information with you regarding the good news I got this week.

Positive of Future Accomplishments

Over the past several years I have tried many different things with varied success. However, at this point I am certain that I am going to make some huge progress towards my goals in the very near future. That's right! I am positive that I will be making some huge progress in the very near future.

Metabolic Issues

I had read an article that explained a way to determine if your metabolism is damaged. It suggested taking your temperature right before going to bed 4 nights in a row. It then said to average those 4 numbers and determine your average body temperature. My number came out to 95 degrees. I am a full 3.6 degrees below normal on an average basis. According to what I've read, my metabolism is definitely damaged at this point. The good news is that there is a fix for it. You have to eat more for a period of time to rev up the metabolism again.

I happened to have in my digital library a copy of a Metabolism Repair Manual by Leigh Peele. I read through that book recently and confirmed that the fix is to eat more over the next 2 weeks minimum. I plan to fix this issue right away.

Change in Training Coming Up

I am going to be making some adjustments to my training program. Essentially I am going to shorten up my rest periods between sets quite a bit to up my fat burning potential during my weight training. That will also help to give me a little bit of a metabolic boost. It is the small things like this that make a difference in the long run.

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Related Posts:

Book Review: The Paleo Diet

By 1 Comment

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain was a disappointing read for me. I am always quite interested in new approaches to diet and exercise and that is why I got so interested in this book. However, the end result is that I didn't really learn much more than I could have from the web for free.

Too Much Information

The author spends far too much time trying to convince us that cavemen at a certain way. He even wants us to beleive that their way of eating can be called “health secrets.” I was willing to believe that cavemen ate a certain way from the outset.  That's why I bought the book — I was interested in how to eat like a caveman. He lost me when he started talking about low carb diets.

Low Carb Rehashed

The author wants you to buy into the fact that the Paleo Diet is not just another low carb diet. Let's see, they want me to eat nothing but lean meat, fruit and vegetables. That sounds low carb to me. In fact, it is a different type of low carb, but it is definitely another low carb diet.

 

30 pages to describe stuff we all already know is just ridiculous. You are telling me to eat a certain way, so get to it and list some food I can eat and some food I cannot eat. That gets the point across much faster.

Crazy Claims

The book really took a turn for the worse when I saw the title to Part Two–Losing Weight and Preventing and Healing Diseases. Sorry, but there are alot of reasons why eating just lean meat, fruit and vegetables will make you healthier. It isn't magic, so why present it that way?

No Doubts

Now, before I get a ton of comments saying “The Paleo Diet works” I want you to remember that alot of diets work. I have tried so many different thnigs that I am convinced my metabolism is messed up. I am working with a way to fix that (more on that at some point in the next 30 days), but the fact is that these diets all work for a short period of time. I don't see the Paleo Diet as a sustainable way of life. It is far too impractical for most people. It will require (in my opinion) far too much supplementation to make it work. The bottom-line: I didn't like any of this book and wish I had never purchased it.

Related Posts:

Lacking Focus Kills Your Progress

By Leave a Comment

I'm sure if you spend enough time at the gym you will see these people. They sit on a machine and do nothing for long periods of time. Perhaps they grab their cell phone and text or worse, talk to other people. Lacking focus like this kills your progress and these people need to learn that hard lesson.This is why you should learn to stay focused.

I workout most often in the early morning hours (4 a.m.). When I see these people I am amazed. Why would anyone hit the gym so early just to waste time while there? To me that seems extremely ridiculous. Time at the gym is precious and should not be wasted in this manner. As I thought about this topic I realized there are 5 things people do at the gym to show they lack focus.

5 Things to Prove TheyLack Focus

1. They do the same workout over and over, never changing things up.

2. They do hours of cardio without any weight training at all.

3. They text while ‘working out”

4. They use weights that are far too light for them.

5. They use weights that are far too heavy for them.

What can you do?

Honestly, there is nothing any of us can do about this situation. We are in control of our own actions and that is it. Thus, your only answer to this stigma is to avoid it in your own training.

Tips for Staying Focused

1. Change up your workout on a regular basis.

2. Do not waste time in the gym.

3. You are in the gym to train, so train.

4. Don't overdo anything and that includes cardio.

5. Enjoy yourself!

What are your thoughts?

Related Posts:

Stronglifts 5 x 5 for Squatting Success

By Leave a Comment

The Stronglifts 5×5 workout is a hybrid of the Starting Strength workout by Mark Rippetoe. The aim is to build strength and muscle. The question: is it effective?

Stronglifts 5×5 basics

This program involves 2 workouts lifting 3 times a week, rotating both workouts in an alternating fashion. If you were to lift Monday, Wednesday and Friday you'd do Workout A on Monday, Workout B on Wednesday and Workout A again on Friday. You'd start again the next Monday with Workout A.

Stronglifts 5×5 workouts

As mentioned, this program has two workouts. The first workout is as follows:

Squats 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Bench Press 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Standing Overhead Press 5 sets of 5 repetitions

The second workout is as follows:

Squats 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Bent over rows 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Deadlifts 1 set of 5 repetitions

These are very difficult workouts to say the least. You are squatting 3 days a week.

Stronglifts 5×5 core principles

This program takes full advantage of the progressive overload principle. You use a weight that can get you every repetition. Each time you do a workout you increase the previous weight by 5 pounds. Again, does this work?

Stronglifts 5×5 verdict

You will be amazed at how well you do on this program. I increased my 1 RM on squats from 325 pounds to 435 pounds in 12 weeks. During that same period my 1 RM for deadlifts went from 375 pounds to 495 pounds. The strength gains were enormous.

It was a very easy program to stick to. I was worried I'd get bored, but the constant increase in the load really kept me motivated.

I would highly recommend this program to anyone wishing to gain strength. I did not see much of an increase in size (except my legs, which grew by 0.75 inches over the 12 weeks).

Give this program a try. It is now in my arsenal for future training cycles.

Related Posts:

Keys to Consistent Results

By 1 Comment

As I sat last night and thought about training and the progress others have made around me the past 5 years, one word kept coming to mind. I kept having one thought over and over again. It was as though I was being haunted by this one word. Can you think of the one word that brings about success with training? The word I am thinking of is consistency.

Consistent schedules make training easier

Some people are forced to train at all sorts of odd times as a result of their work schedule. This makes training a more difficult proposition. There are too many variables that can get in the way.

A consistent schedule for your training will ultimately make it easier to stick to. You won't have to wonder when you will get your training in. You won't plan anything else at your training time because it is an appointment that can't be broken.

Consistent training enables progressive overload to work

Anyone who has weight trained for any length of time has heard of the concept of progressive overload. Even if you haven't heard of the progressive overload principle I am certain you've applied it in your training. The principle involves always getting more reps or lifting a heavier weight each workout.

Consistency will allow for this principle to go to work changing your body. By not missing workouts you will slowly increase the load on each workout. This will accelerate the positive changes you are seeking.

Consistent training creates a habit

When you first start training it is not yet a habit. Consistency helps to turn training into a habit fir you. You will soon crave your workouts. The great feeling you get when you realize you've managed to hit the gym consistently will drive you to repeat that success pattern over and over again.

The consistency challenge

I am a big believer in breaking goals down into small parts. I want to issue a challenge to you. What is your training schedule for the next week? Write it down and then consistently complete it for one week. Upon completing one week, aim for two weeks. After two weeks aim for 4. If you complete the challenge you will have trained consistently for 7 weeks. That's quite an accomplishment.

What do you think? Can you be consistent?

Related Posts:

New eBook!