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Ever see Rocky III?
In the climactic fight, Clubber Lang is beating the bejeezus out of Rocky. He’s taking a whuppin’.
And what’s Rocky’s response?
“Is that all you got?”
In a way, it’s kinda like my early career as a physique architect.
In the beginning, I deliberately tried to do it all at the same time. Fat loss. Muscle building. Six pack carving. Supplement optimization. Building a business.
I figured if I could do it all at once, I could make it anywhere.
And to make matters even more challenging, I was attempting to do it all while attending university full-time.
Because if I won, it’s like hitting the jackpot in Vegas.
In the beginning, IT WAS HARD. I got Clubber Lang pummeled. But like Rocky, I yelled “bring it on!” and took every punch.
Until one day, there came a point where everything I was trying became… doable.
I knew if I just stayed in the ring long enough and didn’t throw in the towel, things would get better and better.
Fat loss is kind of like driving a car.
The first day, you can only wonder how you’ll be able to drive while checking your blind spot to change lanes.
However, sooner than you thought you’ll be able to do that while on the phone and eating breakfast.
Today, not to brag or boast, I’ve helped many people (both regular and famous) build the body and life of their dreams.
I don’t know what problem you’re facing, but just because the scorecards are against you in the first eleven rounds, doesn’t mean you can’t land a knockout punch in the 12th.
Keep fucking going.
There’s a Latin phrase- memento mori- which means “remember death” or “remember that you will die.”
It’s an idea you should keep in the back of your mind at all times. Because it will remind you what’s important.
It will make you really take a good hard look at your life and how you’re spending your time.
We all waste time.
Even the most disciplined, productive, modern day warriors do. So we all need a reminder occasionally. A check up from the neck up.
Focus on what matters.
Know that you will die.
Do the things you’ll be able to reflect upon proudly and happily when your final day comes.
The Vegas Disaster
59 human beings who had their opportunity to live in this beautiful world taken from them in an instant. That’s 59 families who didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones.
59.
In a way, I’ve found myself paralayzed since I saw the news.
What I know – whether we all want to admit it or not, is that in an hour, in a day, in a week, we’ll fully be back in the roller-coaster of our personal lives with our subjective ups and downs and getting lost in all that we have to do and deal with in our lives.
No matter how much this news shakes us out of ourselves and into a sense of deeper compassion for anyone involved in the tragic incident, we will find ourselves back to ‘normal’ soon.
So take at least ONE moment, right now.
Put your hand on your chest and feel your heart beating.
Would you like to increase your training volume & intensity by 15% in your very next workout?
Well you can do just that with an Advanced Training Technique called “Jump-Sets”.
With Jump-Sets you’ll pair up 2 exercises for different muscle groups and perform a modified “super set” variation by jumping back and forth between the 2 exercises. While regular super sets are good for increasing your training intensity.
The use of “Jump-Sets” take things to a whole new level because you can literally increase BOTH your training volume AND training intensity simultaneously and literally see a 15% strength increase in just 1 workout!
The most famous muslce man of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was a religious believer in using jump sets in his training to maximize muscle gains – as were many of the great old time bodybuilders.
Jump sets allow you to alternate between body parts, so that you can train both muscle groups with high intenisty.
Here’s an example:
Imagine you were going to perfrom shoulders and back in the same workout. Your exercieses of choice are military press and pull ups.
Norally you’d perform 3-5 sets of one exercise, and then move on to the other.
With jump sets we will be doing the military presses and pull ups back to back.
So set 1 would be 10 presses, followed immediately by 10 pull-ups. Then rest. Then repeat 4 more times.
The workout time is the less, but the overall workload is massively higher since you are completeing the same amount of work in a lot less time.
Jump sets work best for opposite (agonist and antagonist) muscle groups. Some of the best options include: Chest & backs, biceps & triceps, and quadriceps & hamstrings.
The exercise choices are endlress and only limited by your equipemetn and imagination. That being said, here are a few popular options:
Incline bench press and bent over row
Push ups and pull ups
Sit ups and hyper extensions
Bicep curls and tricep extensions
All in all, they are a great exercise tool to mix up your routines and add a little sizzle to your workouts. Give them a shot and let me know how it goes.
“Wow, that guy is such a WEIRDO.”
“Omg I know… he’s so AWKWARD.”
“Why doesn’t he STOP already…?”
That’s what all the girls were saying at at the St. Lawrence Market in Hermosa Beach, California…
I was sitting out there one beautiful Saturday, surrounded by pretty girls, sunshine and a cool fall breeze. Who was this “weirdo’ everyone was talking about?
He was a scrawny 17 year old boy wearing sweatpants and a tank top.
Why were all the girls calling him awkward?
Here’s why: Every weekend, for as long as I can remember, this skinny little dude comes to the market. He puts on his headphones, he stands on top of a 2-foot concrete bench…
And he dances. For hours.
With thousands of people watching him from the bars, the stores and the market.
This is FASCINATING to me, for 2 big reasons:
1, He is not a street performer. Nobody is paying him.
Because he is NOT a good dancer. In his mind, I’m sure he feels like Michael Jackson…
But in reality, he looks more like a drunken gazelle, wiggling his bony arms and legs around in awkward rhythms. Of course, this is because he’s still learning and improving.
Nobody gets good at dancing without hours and hours of practice (same for any high-level skill).
2, This guy is IMMUNE to social pressure.
He doesn’t care how stupid or awkward he looks, and he doesn’t give a damn who stares at him. He just keeps dancing. Picture that for a second – he could have chosen to practice his dance moves behind closed doors at home, where no one could ever judge him. Instead, he stands on top of a freaking PEDESTAL, with thousands of people watching and judging…
That takes some serious f@#kin BALLS.
I remember sitting at the bar that one Saturday, listening to these girls make fun of him for looking awkward. And I suddenly felt angry. These girls all felt so comfortable and safe, sitting there on the patio.
They were in their comfort zone, surrounded by people who look the same, act the same and do the same things every weekend. And they had the nerve to judge this kid for being different…?
Then I realized… it’s not their fault. They were just doing what they’ve been programmed to do, the same as anyone else.
Just like the 99% of people in the world who have NO idea what it means to leave your comfort zone and do something that scares you.But you and I know differently, don’t we?
In our world, that skinny dancing teenager isn’t a weirdo…
He’s a HERO.
I guarantee you, he not only becomes a better dancer every single day. He becomes a better man, as well… because he’s not just training his body…
He’s training his mind to withstand social pressure, and to stop caring what people think of him. Imagine what you would do if you had that kind of CONFIDENCE…
What would you do with that level of SOCIAL FREEDOM?
Would you still be living the life you have now, or would you reach for more?
How would your life be different if you felt FREE to do what you really wanted?
You’d be going for what you truly WANT… instead of settling for what you think you can get. Everyone says this – we all THINK we want the best out of life…
But do we really? What do our actions say?
For most other guys, their actions say they are content to do what everyone else does. And then they’re surprised when they get the same thing everyone else gets:
Mediocrity.
A mediocre salary at work.
A mediocre looking body.
Mediocre looking girls.
That’s the price of being comfortable and safe.
That’s the price of sitting on your ass at the bar and judging other people, instead of standing up there on the pier and putting something on the line…
You get a life that isn’t BAD… but isn’t GREAT either.
It’s just… average.
So the question for today is…
Are you okay with being average?
Are you okay with being friendly and safe with women… but never getting the wild, thrilling, passionate experiences you really want?
Are you okay with an average body?
Never getting the looks, the glances and never feeling that raw, powerful charisma that emanates from someone with a badass body.
Are you okay with being middle class and just barely having enough to get by at the end of each month?
Or would you rather STEP UP and get better, hotter women in your life, more money and of course a body reserved for the Hollywood elite?
The kind of life that 99% of men will only dream about, simply because they never had the balls to try.
The choice is yours:
Either sit down with the comfortable crowd at the bar, or stand up and be the guy on the pedestal.
Be average, or be awesome.
Do epic shit today, my friend.
Whenever I step foot into a gym these days, I always see people religiously downing protein shakes.
Protein supplements are so ingrained in the 21st century gym culture, that it truly is difficult to justify ending a workout without consuming some type of shake or protein supplement.
Chances are however that you may not necessarily know a huge amount about your protein supplement ingredients, how you can use the supplement to maximize your results in the gym or even if you bought the right one.
By the time you are through, you will become the protein powder expert in your social circle; shocking your friends and salespeople, next time you visit the sport nutrition store.
1. Your protein powder might be masquerading as a weight gainer
Protein powders are not created equally.
Certain concoctions of powders in the supplement world are known as mass gainers. A mass gainer is essentially a powder that includes proteins, carbs and fats.
When picking a protein powder, a person should be diligent to never accidental purchase a mass gainer instead.
The reason is that mass gainers contain a shocking amount of unnecessary calories. These extra calories, over time can turn into a spare tire around your waist.
When buying a protein powder make sure it is low fat (1-3 grams is acceptable), low carb (1-8 grams is acceptable) and has a higher protein count (20-30 grams per serving).
2. The total amino profile is very important
There are two different categories of amino acids that you should look for when buying a protein product. They are BCAA and EAA. BCAA stands for Branch Chain Amino Acids, and EAA stands for Essential Amino Acids.
BCAA’s are your muscle building amino acids. These include Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine. Leucine is vital for stimulating protein synthesis (aka muscle growth and recovery).
Because of how expensive leucine is, protein powders with added leucine – like this one by Legion Athletics – are even better choices.
3. Grass fed whey is not worth the extra penny
Milk protein from livestock treated with antibiotics and drugs may not be as bad as some people claim. There is scientific evidence however pointing to the fact that it may increase the risk of disease in humans (9).
Studies have proven that the more grass cows eat (instead of other types of crap they are given), the more nutritious their milk and beef is (10).
The filtration process of whey does a good job of eliminating a lot of crap. That being said, if your budget allows, I would urge you to opt whey that comes from cows that have been grass fed and raised without antibiotics or the use of hormones.
4. Where Protein falls on the ingredient list is vitally important
The majority of protein powders in stores, contain more than one type of whey.
They’re usually a blend of whey protein isolate (WPI), whey protein concentrate (WPC) and whey protein hydrolysate (WPH).
Top tier whey protein powders must list WPI or WPH as their first ingredient.
If a product lists whey protein concentrate first on the ingredients list, followed by whey protein isolate and/or whey protein hydrolysate, or even has those 2 further down the list, it could potentially be a major rip off.
5. Filler percentages need to be low
Filler can best be thought of as: any substance that is non-protein. Therefore, flavouring ingredients or additional carbs and fats would fall into this category.
With any protein powder, a little filler must be present. However there is a range.
Crappy products lean toward the >50% filler range, while better ones are filtered and manufactured in a way so as to minimize filler (<5%).
If a product has a high yield percentage and an excellent BCAA to EAA ratio, it is makes mathematical sense that the filler must constitute only a small portion percentage of the overall protein powder mass.
6. Whey protein isolate (WPI) is the best bang for your buck
7. Cross flow micro-filtered is the absolute best way to manufacture protein
The CFM processing method uses a low temperature microfiltration technique that allows for the creation of extremely high protein contents (>88%), very low fat and lactose levels, the retention of vital nutrients, with virtually 0 levels of un-denatured proteins.
This process results in a more expensive product that is extremely high quality. If your budget allows it, I recommend finding an WPI powder with this mechanism of separation and preparation.
The best way to find it is too look on the ingredients label where it will have in brackets CFM.
8. Your protein powder should be free of, or contain, limited amounts of artificial sweeteners
There is some evidence to suggest that the regular consumption of artificial sweeteners may be harmful to your health.
You would do best to stay with naturally sweetened protein powders if your budget allows for it.
9. Your protein powder should taste delicious (or at the very least, good)
10. Beware the MSG lurking in your protein
MSG is often used to hide the natural bitter flavor of whey. The safety of MSG consumption is the subject of continuous scientific debate and research.
That being said, recent research demonstrates that some people can experience intolerable symptoms upon ingesting it. Furthermore when ingested in higher dosages MSG has the potential to be neuroactive in the brain.
My advice: Stay clear of MSG products.
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