Do what the box says!

My wife and I went on Saturday night to see Bill Cosby perform live in NYC. While the first half hour was so-so, he did deliver some pearls of wisdom.

One that Iliked in particular was about some guy named Phil in Pennsylvania, who apparently makes the best Thanksgiving stuffing on the face of the Earth. Bill finally sits him down and asks for the recipe, so Phil says: "I take Stove Top stuffing." Bill: "And?" Phil: "Nothing. I do what the box says. People always add things to the stuffing that simply do not belong there. Just do what the box says."

Stick to the basics! The same applies to weight training and getting shape. Do not do any crazy diets, take 2-hour cardio classes, or use insane amounts of drugs.

Do what the box says, stick to the basics, keep it reasonable.

1. Have a plan. Why do you workout? Where do you want to be in 3 months?

2. Do your compound exercises such as the squat, dead lift, military press, pull up and rows. Strive to improve every week.

3. Eat your protein, 1.5 grams per lbs of body weight for men, women a little less (I know that the RDA by the FDA is lower but they also want you to eat starches 5 x a day).

4. Get your rest. Eight hours of sleep is a minimum.

5. Cut the junk food to once a week. You are a bodybuilder, not a competitive eater.

6. BE PROUD. Bodybuilding is one of the most rewarding things you can do, do not deny it to yourself. Enjoy the journey, be helpful to others in the gym and outside.

Forward, always forward
Maik

Progress

so it is getting colder, leaves are falling ... perfect time to put on some quality weight or "bulking". Bulking seems to be a mystery to most people, there are basically 2 camps in every gym: perma-bulkers and perma -dieters. The first group is simply fat with some muscle underneath, the later group is lean but never makes any real progress out of fear to put on an ounce of fat. Now, one of the unfortunate truths is that to gain muscle, you will have to gain some bodyfat with that. But it can be minimzed if the diet and training protocol are done correctly. How so?

Bulking does not mean: eat everything in sight, keep you foods clean. It is called body-building, not belly building!!

Add some low-carb days during the week, so your body keeps on guessing. Structure the workouts around heavy compound movements and strive to get stronger every week. Put an all-out effort into the sets that matter, and get the rest you need once you are away from the gym.

 One of my " disciples" is up 5 lbs in only a few short weeks, following a simple 4 days a week lifting program with a basic diet, with only marginal fat gain.

So, don't kid yourself, if you can't flex it, don't build it!

till next time

maik