Backstage pump / prep work on target....

8 more days....

So the deadline is drawing closer, I made it through hell week, 2 hours cardio and only 100 grams of carbs a day; but I am lean! Now it is all about resting and carb loading to fill out for the big day. During the endless hours of misery, the question naturally arises: Why am i doing this to myself ( every year)?

The answer is not so obvious, after all it is certainly not money or fame that motivates the average bodybuilder to compete. It is the desire to better yourself and your body, to show that you actually can put up with a 16 week diet and 530 am cardio. It is also what makes you and what separates you from others. I am very excited about the coming weekend, I will be 5 lbs heavier than last year with the same degree of conditioning.

Shameless political plug coming up: Go Obama!

Die Nummer 1 sind wir!

It is about time for an update....3 months of competition preparation have passed and the results are starting to come in. Yesterday, Scott "Dr. Abs" Gerst competed in his first natural bodybuilding show ever and he did not disappoint. After battling a stomach virus for the last 72 hours, he got ready in time to put on a great performance. After spending much of friday with carbloading, posing and coloring, he showed up on stage at a razor sharp and lean 144 lbs.

Despite being cheated out of a top 3 finish in the masters class, he won the novice class!

Congratulations to him and let the post-comp eating feast begin!

As for myself, I have the Baltimore Classic on Nov 8th left, where I ll try out for a pro card. So far things are on track, stay tuned!

Maik

The other 50%

On the surface, body building is an individual sport. However, behind every champion there is whole brigade of people that all work to make this individuals success possible. There is the trainer, nutritionist, masseur...all the way to the janitor who makes sure the gym is use able for those 630 am workouts.
And there is the athletes spouse! Without an understanding and supportive significant other it is absolutely impossible to be successful. The challenges are many, no social life, moodiness on low-carb days, stained sheets from the posing color etc.
In fact, during my current preparation I would have divorced myself 4 weeks ago! So we should always keep in mind, that despite all those muscles we are only half the picture.
Train heavy!
Maik
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I just don't have the genetics

The statement in the title is something I hear quite often , be it in the gym or just during a conversation. Genetics seem to be the main culprit for athletic shortcomings, be it to build muscle or to loose body fat. So how much do genetics really influence your success in the gym?
The answer is: less than you would like to believe. While it is true that everyone has good and not so good muscle groups, it is also true that ANYONE can get in amazing shape.
Most of us don't have the potential of a certain Arnold S. but this does not mean that we can not achieve our respective goals. Let's take the gentleman to the left, Frank Zane.
He had narrow clavicles, a long torso, 16 " arms and weighed 190 lbs at a height of 5'10". In other words,one of the worst possible make ups for a pro bodybuilder.
He also won Mr. Olympia 3 times, beating even Arnold.
How did he do it? You guessed it , he stuck to his diet, trained with an unmatched intensity and did not take no for an answer.
So don't psych yourself out about your genetics, you cannot change them anyways.
Keep lifting!
Maik

And what else is happening?

I figured it is time to give an update about the overall developments at Adlertraining. Even though we are in the midst of summer, fall season is approaching fast and several clients are competing.
First in line would be Vince, who is competing in a sprint triathlon in Connecticut on August 1st. We have been working hard to improve his swimming and tweaked the diet accordingly. Then there is Scott "Dr. Abs", who will compete in a natural bodybuilding in October. His diet and training are on track, i am sure he will do damage in the Masters class.
As for my self I plan on competing in September and November, hopefully 15 lbs heavier than last year with the same leanness.
Stay tuned!
Maik

Alcohol and bodybuilding, do they go together?

One of the topics that comes up quite a bit is alcohol consumption while training and dieting. So the question is: is it possible to drink and still achieve a lean physique?

The following is not intended to dissuade people from drinking recreationaly but to point out the short comings of alcohol for an athlete in training.

First of all, alcohol delivers quite a few  empty calories ( calories without nutrition) , almost twice as many as carbohydrates  ( glass of red wine 123 cal, beer 135 cal, cocktails up to 700 cal). The emotional inhibition  which comes with alcohol often leads to mindless eating while drinking, the famous late night pizza f. i., and all these calories  easily add up to weight gain. Furthermore, alcohol directly affects motivation thereby making it harder to stay on a diet. 

Alcohol also lowers testosterone thereby inhibits fat-burning, since a lower testosterone levels means a lower metabolic rate.

Performance is also affected for up to 48 h after the consumption of alcohol, so if you have a workout planned the next day it just wont be 100 %.

So if you are serious about losing weight it is best not to drink at all, since the one-glass-at-dinner approach very seldom works.

Train hard!

Maik

Jan '08 to July '08 or " but I am doing pretty good with my eating"

The  single biggest factor in the battle for a better body is nutrition. And yes, everyone knows about which foods to eat etc and yet , hardly anyone is in shape.How is this possible?  Lack of willpower for sure but also limited understanding of caloric intake.

First of all, you need to take responsibility for your physical appearance.  Energy CANNOT be created, so if you store more energy ( body fat) than you would like to, you are simply eating too much.

 For starters a food diary is an absolute necessity if you are serious about changing your physique. Write down everything you eat and drink for five days, then review it. Even ABC news did mention the advantages of such a food log today http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health?Fitness?story/id=5327486&page=1

 From there , you need to figure out the optimal caloric intake for you, which should allow you to drop 2 lbs per week on a constant basis. In order to do that, weigh all you foods and use websites like www.thecaloriecounter.com to figure out macro nutrients and caloric value. Success will be inevitable!

" But I can't do that" I hear quite often, when I make this suggestion. This goes back to point 1 : Take responsibility for the way you look"

for the non-believers. . . ., the picture above is a client who told me in February that he is doing"pretty well with his diet", since Mid-April he follows his diet to the T ( his partner also, I am not sure if he had a  choice...) and they both have achieved amazing results as evident.

So I urge anyone who is serious with his training to take the next step and learn as much as possible about diet and put this knowledge to good use.

Until next time

Maik

Setting goals

I was recently asked to write about the journey of training and dieting. While this seems like a rather arduous task, it really isn't. In a way, bodybuilding is somewhat similar to business. You need a vision ( of yourself) and a strategy as to how to get there.Do you have body parts that lack? Do you want to add another 15 lbs of muscle?
From there on you draw up a plan for 6 or 12 months and set the stage. As you go along ,you need to have smaller goals that are achievable within a 4 week time frame. ( upper abs coming through, bench up by 5 lbs etc). In my experience, athletes with a poorly laid out plan still do better than without one.
Another very important tool is visualization , you need to have a vision of yourself what you would like to look like. If that presents a problem, pick someone out of a magazine, or choose Tom Platz's legs, Arnolds biceps, Ronnies back ,Cutlers haircut :-) as your model.
Equipped with these tools, you should reach your potential!
Train hard,
Maik
P.S.: Attached is a pic from the Adlertraining bowling party,. I hope everyone had fun!

Are you really getting results?

With summer finally reaching  NYC and the Hamptons, the gym is a great opportunity to observe other trainees and their progress during winter since the summer crowd comes out of their hiatus in late May. I was working with clients all of Memorial Day weekend and was shocked by the discovery that many people look the same or worse year after year, despite working out.

one really has to ask: Am I getting stronger? Am i leaner?Is my diet in check? Can I handle a higher volume? If the answer to all of these questions is no, than the athlete has to take a good, a hard look at his training and diet regiment and make some significant changes.

nobody would put a car in neutral until the tank is empty, yet when it comes to training; this seems to be common place.

Don't be that guy/girl!!!

Train hard!

Until next time

Maik