The Vlog

When I began lifting, I got stronger and bigger quickly. The reason? I lifted with strong people who also showed me technique. Unfortunately, I hit a limit when I became as strong as they were and reached their level of technical proficiency. I’m training a beginner lifter who within two months is squatting 1 1/3rd his own weight 10 times! That may not sound like a lot, but take what you way and add a third. Could you squat that 10 times within two months when you first began? He is now lifting three times a week doing the same lifts every session and progressing every session. The reason he progresses every session is because he listens and has impeccable technique. When your technique is not a problem, the weights aren’t a problem either. The point is, get a person who knows what they’re doing because they’ll get you to where you want to go the fastest.

Von

Everything that I write about – I do or have done in the past. I will not bullshit you. I’ve tested this stuff, researched it, and seen how it works first hand. Also, I don’t have great genetics. I went from being super skinny to overweight, so I’ve experienced the extremes and have done what it takes to get great results. I can’t stand to see trainers espousing stuff when they obviously don’t do what they say. What’s up with that? One thing that I still like to do is experiment. For my last fat loss diet, I followed “Refined Physique Transformation” by Christian Thibaudeau. This was the greatest fat loss article ever written. But you must already have a stable framework of training and nutrition for his stuff to be of any value to you. Currently, I’m following a version of “Warp Speed Fat Loss” by Mike Rousell and Alwyn Cosgrove. But don’t I already know the best way to lose fat with my vast knowledge? I’ll tell you the truth, no one does. You need to experiment and find what works best for you. Since I’ve got a stable base now, I can afford to experiment and do whatever inspires me. I’ll report the results to you when I end.

Von

Von

Not that many people drink pure water. The average person trying to lose weight does not drink enough water. Even worse, these individuals get in their water intake through beer, sodas, teas, juices, etc. This stops fat loss in its track. Trust me, everyone needs water and not just to live. One population which could absolutely use more water are athletes (and actually anybody), especially during training. In my gym where I do Muay Thai training, not everyone drinks water when its 95 degrees and sweating about 5 buckets worth of sweat. But I don’t drink water because I’m actually thirsty. I drink because I know my performance will decline if I’m not optimally hydrated, not just sufficiently. There is a huge difference between optimal and sufficient. The research has shown that although you may be sufficiently hydrated to not die, your performance will suffer if you are not optimally hydrated. Do you want to be weaker, fatigue faster, and increase your chance of getting muscle cramps? Then drink water while your working out!

No doubt about it, cravings suck! I’m dieting right down and although I haven’t had cravings, this is what I feared the most about dieting. What are some strategies to combat it? Through personal experience, I can tell you that reducing your stress is a great way to not “emotionally eat.” Also, eat low-carb. Eat fiber. Drink lots of water. Eat frequently, but hold out for at least two hours which anybody can usually do. Also, if you’re dieting, have a timeline by which you will reach your goal. Then you will know that your time of cravings is only temporary.

What if “Survivor” combined with “Biggest Loser” on a deserted island with no equipment and no trainers? What would you do? I’ll tell you what I would do weighing 400 pounds – the big 3. Push-ups, body weight squats, and prone cobras. Why? These gives a total body workout, burns a ton of fat, builds strength, and insures that all of the weight you lose will be from fat. Recall that if two groups are both dieting and one group is doing cardio and the other is doing strength training, both will lose the same amount of weight. However, the strength training will lose fat exclusively while the cardio group will lose both fat and muscle. Who do you think would look better?

I stated the greatest supplement was fish oil, but I might have been mistaken. Rivaling fish oil is fiber. You’ve probably heard that fiber is good for you, but few people know the wide range of benefits it has to offer. For weight loss, fiber will help you feel full faster, reduce caloric absorption, lower blood sugar, lower insulin levels, and lower tri-glycerides. It also reduces the risk of the second most prevalent cancer, colon cancer. Lastly, it reduces cholesterol. The bottom line is everyone could use lots of fiber, so get your fruits, vegetables, beans, high-fiber cereals, and whole grains. (Check any “whole wheat” or “multi-grain” products for fiber content because sometimes it doesn’t contain anymore than its white counterpart.)

As I’ve said before, everyone knows how to lose weight. The problem is, very few are successful in keeping the weight off. In my experience, one needs a diet plan one can stick with for the long term and unless you find this plan, you will not succeed. Here are a few tips that can keep you going after your diet is over:

∙Don’t diet forever – it is dangerous
∙First, include a post-diet plan and secondly, include a maintenance plan
∙Expand your recipe-base and look for good-tasting meals which will lessen your temptations to go hog-wild. (This takes experimentation.)

If one did a row call for diabetes care, here is how it would look. Insulin for Diabetes? Here. Medications for Insulin Resistance? Here. Low-fat Diet for Weight Loss? Here. Low-carb Diet for greater weight loss, lower triglycerides, and lower blood sugar levels?… (absent). If you know anyone who has type II Diabetes and is on a low-fat diet, ask them if they’ve tried low-carb dieting. If not, you can tell them that every study has shown greater weight loss, lower triglycerides, higher HDL, and better blood sugar control when comparing a low-fat diet vs a low-carb diet in the same study. Then you can tell them that in one study, 95% of the participants were able to discontinue their medications on the low-carb diet. The bottom line is that it works!

Today I went into the gym and got crushed under weights I expected to kill. I was discouraged, but I realized one important principle – “fatigue masks performance.” Obviously if you have a really strong person run a mile as fast as they can and ask them to bench press right afterwards, they will be nowhere near their true strength levels. When this person can rest for a little while, they’ll be able to bench press a lot more. This is what happens sometimes in the gym when you go and you can’t even lift what you did last week. You are too fatigued. The solution? Simple, still lift intensly (or whatever is intense for you) and recover more for the next week. Why not just recover without lifting? You could if you lifted the next day or two days later. However, if you don’t, you’ll actually be de-training your true strength. This is why we train anyways. While its easy to get discouraged, you have to realize that your true strength is simply covered up by too much fatigue and you need more rest.

The research is pretty clear: low-carb diets outperform higher carb diets in reducing weight, blood sugar, triglycerides, and cravings. Does that mean its right for you? Maybe. If your the type of person who is obese and eats stuff like snack bars (like kashi), cereal, yogurt, bread, sphagetti, grains, etc., I recommend you give low-carb a shot. Some people think they’ll die giving this stuff up. But the benefits absolutely outweight the drawbacks including improved self-esteem, better health, and greater functionality. Also, these types of foods can be incorporated back into the diet in limited quantities and you can still reap the benefits of a low-carb diet.