QUESTION #7:
W h a t I s T h e B e s t F a t B u r n i n g S u p p l e m e n t ?
Despite what you may have heard, the banning of Ephedra did not destroy the best fat burning supplement known. And it's not even a supplement at all.
The answer to the best fat burning supplement is a diet that increases your metabolism combined with cardio. Those two factors alone will burn more calories than any
chemical combination. And you'll be safer and the effects will be long term.
But before we go into that… you can incorporate things like caffeine, green tea, and other herbs to give you a boost. But nothing will be as permanent and long term and building a basic understanding of nutritional fundaments.
Armed with the basics of nutrition and what foods burn fat, your meals during the day and the muscle you will gain will do far more fat burning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year than any pill you might find on the market today. And rest assured, food won't be banned for a very long time.
It's a shame that people will spend countless dollars on supplement products when just eating 5-6 meals in a day that will burn more calories than any pills. And eating food is something you should do anyway so it's not likely to be cut from the budget if things get right. And it's not likely to cause any unwanted side effects if you have some reaction to some herb in some product.
Not only will a good diet burn fat you'll also be able to build muscle. What pill burns fat and builds muscle? None.
QUESTION #8:
W h a t D o I D o I f A B o d y P a r t I s S t r o n g e r o r B i g g e r T h a n A n o t h e r ?
Should you skip it? Stop working the bigger side out? You could…
Or you could let the non-dominant arm/side be the deciding factor when the set is over.
You probably won't notice this with chest presses. Most people are concerned with this when it comes to arm exercises. Especially biceps. If I curl 50 lbs 8 times on my left arm and only 4 times on my right what should I do?
Do 4 reps. And quit.
The idea of using a different weight has been suggested but in order for a body part to grow it must be overloaded. I'd let the non-dominate side dictate the weight. Or have a spotter help you out. I usually start the set off with my right (being I'm left handed) so that I know when I've reached failure.
If you were to use unequally weighted dumbbells, then your stronger side would need a heavier weight so that you reach failure about even. But that idea, while in theory sounds good, only serves to keep the gap growing. Why not let the weaker side catch up? I'd use the same weight. But I would let my weaker side dictate.
Do you really want your stronger side growing faster? Probably not.
QUESTION #9:
W h y I s W o r k i n g M y L e g s T h a t I m p o r t a n t ?
Believe me… I hated leg workouts. Until I realize the true potential that a simple set of squats could unleash. Frankly… I see the same people on the leg press machine, leg extensions, doing lunges and doing squats week after week. But for every other muscle group, it's like a new day. There are the familiar faces of course, but there are always new people. It's like working legs is an exclusive club.
And yet that is 50% of your body! Your entire lower body you will neglect because:
• You don't like working legs
• You don't want bigger legs
• Your legs are big enough
But let's suppose… you do work legs. And without much weight at all. Just enough to stimulate your entire body propelling it into new levels of growth. Do you think that is possible?
How can doing squats increase our bench press? If you are stuck on bicep curls, how can incorporating legs into your routine break you thru those plateaus?
I'm here to tell you right now, as you read this, that doing leg workouts is a whole lot more than just getting bigger, more toned, or stronger legs.
Think about it. Testosterone is a primary ingredient of building muscle. So you do a hard set of tricep pushdowns. Your body responds by making more testosterone. Let's just guess at 10% more for the day. Phew. Hard workout. Good job!
Do you qualify as one of those people?
But… let's say you do a set of breathing squats at 100% intensity.
You just boosted your testosterone production 1000%.
Do you think I'm being facetious?
But back to the purpose of this question. Working your legs isn't an option. It's something you do. So you don't want bigger legs? Fine. Don't pile on the weight. Don't overload them. Just stimulate your metabolism, and stimulate your body changing. So you don't like legs? Get over it.
Fact is, by incorporating legs into your workout, you will see more gains in 6 weeks then most people do in 3 months.
Don't take my word for it. Look around at your gym? The guy with a huge upper body and tiny chicken legs. Do you want to look like that? Who are the bigger guys in your gym? Who are the women that you most want to look like? I can assure you those people do legs. Any top notch physique does legs.
Doing a cardio machine that uses legs is not the same.
So that's why working your legs is so important. Please do not make excuses. You do not have to train to failure where you cannot walk. You don't have to squat 600 lbs. You simply must train the 50% of your body that pretty much 80% of everybody just doesn't do.
Next time you are in the gym take a good look around. Notice the leg equipment. Notice the same people using that week after week.
Become one of the individuals at your gym that trains legs and discover the secret to growth.
HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY WORKING EVERY MUSCLE
- NOT JUST CERTAIN ONES - IS THE SUPERIOR METHOD OF GETTING THE RESULTS YOU WANT:
• Builds lean muscle
• Reduces body fat levels
• Increases energy
• Balances blood sugar in the body
• Increases neuromuscular efficiency
• Improves sexual performance
• Lowers cholesterol in the body
• Protects against heart disease
• Improves mood
All the above reasons are by-products of increased testosterone. For men, this means better muscle gains. For women, don't worry you don't have enough testosterone to get big and bulky like a man. For everybody, working legs will help you with the above factors and assist you in reaching your goals.
QUESTION #10:
C a n Y o u L o s e F a t A n d B u i l d M u s c l e A t T h e S a m e T i m e ?
Look, there's a great Zen story that basically answers this question.
HE WHO CHASES TWO RABBITS, ENDS UP WITH NONE
Please understand that while it's not impossible it's just not efficient. You might as well pick a goal and work towards it. Losing fat and building muscle are two different goals with very different paths to get there.
QUESTION #11:
D o N i t r i c O x i d e S u p p l e m e n t s W o r k ?
( R e a l l y D o A n y S u p p l e m e n t s W o r k ? )
Work to do what? Give you better pumps? Yes. Build more muscle? Where's the proof.
Okay, before I go on, I'd like to point out that most of the research on NO products has been done by supplement companies that sell the products. Unlike creatine and protein which has a wealth of other information sources including credible scientific institutions, I would like to see the same for NO.
Now wait. Does that mean if you took this type of product and it worked for you that we should all just say, forget science, if it worked for Bob then it must work for everybody. Who cares how, it just does?
Make no mistake; NO type products are great for pumps. And there might be truth to the statement that it opens up nutrient pathways to allow you to absorb more muscle building nutrients. And maybe pumps do build muscle. Although I personally think overloading the muscle does more for that then any pumps.
More important than that…if you don't take NO supplements are you missing out on gains? My strong hunch is that you aren't missing out.
Bottom line, if you take NO and you fail to eat properly you won't gain anything. So if you aren't 100% focused on nutrition and training, then all these supplements will do is pretty much make you broke.
Now, listen to this very carefully:
Not all supplements are worthless. Taking some supplements will help you achieve your goals. But only if you have the other 98% in check.
Fortunately there are a few websites that can help you with credible independent research.
Three of the best are:
So let me ask you… are you positive that your nutrition and training are complete? If so, then NO might be something to try out and see for yourself. And that statement goes for every supplement (minus vitamins, protein, essential fatty acid complexes).
NO and supplements alike only account for 2%. Make sure you have the rest down solid and that 2% will be very noticeable!
QUESTION #12:
W h a t C a n I D o T o G a i n W e i g h t ?
Now before I go on…
It's not your training program that will pack on the pounds but your nutritional habits.
But first let me give you an example. So many people have some idea of their calories they need in mind. Maybe you are going for 3500-4000, but you haven't got a specific goal and you aren't counting your calories.
**THIS IS A RED FLAG**
Whenever I hear the term "hard gainer" I smile, because whoever uses that term is definitely limiting their potential. I don't think there is such a thing as hard gainer. I believe they are hard learners.
-- Darin Steen
That says to me:
You have no idea where to start. And as many people are when they have no foundation, they are frustrated. And justly so!
So here's what you do:
Step 1:
You need to figure out how many calories a day you need to consume. 3500-4000 might be a goal but how do you know that is what you need?
Step 2:
You have to track your daily caloric intake closely or you are just guessing. It does not need to be accurate down to the last calorie but it needs to be an ACCURATE (within 10% or so) portrayal of what you have eaten during the day. Most people are greatly surprised to learn that they are consuming more calories per day than they had originally thought, sometimes THOUSANDS of calories more. This does not mean that you start skipping meals; it just means that you need to have an accurate understanding of what you are putting in your body so you can balance that against what your body needs to achieve your goals.
Step 3:
No more excuses for not eating. Going to college and having to work nights means you will have to plan on making meals in advance. Eating 5-6 times a day is a must. When I went to college I didn't do this. And I didn't gain weight either. I ate my 2-3 meals a day and had fun at college. I never planned a meal. And I stayed a skinny kid.
So there you have it.
You can figure out a training program all you want. You can do a very basic, somewhat heavy, 4x a week program and make more gains if you eat right then a guy who has the perfect hardcore routine and just eats to get by.
By the way, many of these hardgainers train hard and too frequent. If you have a high metabolism, you will make better gains by going heavy and training less.
If you can dedicate time to training at a specific time, you can prep some food, put in it Tupperware, baggies or whatever, throw it in a backpack and eat at scheduled intervals.
And yes, being in college makes that very hard.
QUESTION #13:
W h a