http://www.adonisindex.com Targeted Muscle Building and Fat Burning Systems for the Perfect Physique Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:00:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Get the real truth on fitness, dating, nutrition, lifestyle, and much more. For men only. Brad Howard no askbradhoward@gmail.com (John Barban, Brad Howard) Copyright 2009 Adonis Lifestyle LLC Love. Looks. Life. Period. health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,women http://www.adonisindex.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/ADONIS-Lifestyle.jpg http://www.adonisindex.com Copyright 2009 Adonis Lifestyle LLChealth,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenHealth/Fitness & NutritionHealth/Self-HelpSociety & CultureHealthaskbradhoward@gmail.comBrad Howard http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/TZxheUZVsYk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/geographic-influence-on-claims/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:00:57 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=5282 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/fitness-magazines-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Just realise how much advertising there really is." title="fitness-magazines" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we bring you another podcast from our phi-life series. Today&#8217;s topic: Geographic Influence On Claims Did you know that advertising claims in the health and fitness industry are regulated differently in each country? For example, in one country a product might claim to help you lose 10 pounds in 30 days, while in another country  that same [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/TZxheUZVsYk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/geographic-influence-on-claims/feed/ 0 adonis index,Brad Pilon,fitness claims,john barban,phi life Today we bring you another podcast from our phi-life series. - Today's topic: Geographic Influence On Claims - Did you know that advertising claims in the health and fitness industry are regulated differently in each country? - For example, Today we bring you another podcast from our phi-life series. Today's topic: Geographic Influence On Claims Did you know that advertising claims in the health and fitness industry are regulated differently in each country? For example, in one country a product might claim to help you lose 10 pounds in 30 days, while in another country  that same product  will claim up to 20 pounds of weight loss! This is true because from a marketing perspective, what might work in one country might not work in other. We actually find this happening quite often. North America is a prime example. You can have the same product for both the  U.S. and Canadian market. However, each country will have a completely different claim. What the companies are able to get away with saying depends on their government's regulations.  If you live in the U.S., you may be accustomed to hearing certain phrases such as, "Lose 30 pounds in 30 days" or "How to build 20 pounds of lean muscle in the next 4 months."  These phrases are commonly found in TV ads and  fitness magazines. However, if you tried to marke the same product with this claim in Canada you might lose millions, because people simply wouldn't believe it to be possible and nobody would buy. The claims that you’re exposed to on a regular basis in your home country will have an effect on where your "BS radar" is set. If you showed the U.S. ads to Canadians they would be very skeptical, however for U.S. viewers transformation from fat-average to fitness model in couple of months might not be that thrilling or impressive at all. What's even more interesting is how all the media channels tie-in to one another. Ever thought to yourself, "If everyone keeps saying it, it must be true right?". That's the very moment your judgement becomes clouded by media and your your skeptical eye begins to  diminish. Today Brad Pilon and John Barban will discuss how claims on print media, video media and product packaging vary in different countries and why that affects your buying decisions. You will also learn and discover: The difference in what the government allows you to be exposed to and what you then believe is realistic to achieve Why consistency in print, visual, website commercials matters and how it affects your judgement How marketers used a false unsupported claim "U.S. Formula" to boost sales in North America That you are more  of "a product of your own environment"  than you may think That if you can predict the greatest possible claim people will accept, you will make a lot of money If it's possible to know which claims are true Why the claims can be so different from country to country, but people have the same physiology Listen to the podcast here: John Barban, Brad Howard no 22:12 http://www.adonisindex.com/geographic-influence-on-claims/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/tiLsPSED6-k/ http://www.adonisindex.com/supplement-packaging/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:00:15 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=5269 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/iStock_000021148905Small-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Do you think supplement packing is not important? Do you think that the ingredients are the key? You may surprised..." title="drug tablet" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we bring you another podcast from our phi-life series. Today&#8217;s topic: Supplement Packaging What do you think is the most important thing in supplement development? If your answer was  ingredients, you would be incorrect. When developing a new product, the supplement developers actually work backwards from packaging. In reality the package is what will [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/tiLsPSED6-k" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/supplement-packaging/feed/ 0 adonis index,Brad Pilon,john barban,phi life,supplement packaging,Supplements Today we bring you another podcast from our phi-life series. - Today's topic: Supplement Packaging - What do you think is the most important thing in supplement development? - If your answer was  ingredients, you would be incorrect. - Today we bring you another podcast from our phi-life series. Today's topic: Supplement Packaging What do you think is the most important thing in supplement development? If your answer was  ingredients, you would be incorrect. When developing a new product, the supplement developers actually work backwards from packaging. In reality the package is what will sell the product, not the ingredient. The ingredients are pretty much the same across all the products, so that's not what sets a specific supplement apart or even what will make you choose one for purchase. One can hardly imagine how complex the process of just "creating the package" really is. It's not only the color of the supplement that matters. It's the questions of whether you put the ingredients into capsule or powder form? If so, do those contents belong in a  bottle or package? Packaging is the first impression a customer will have with a product. The next step of the process is figuring out what to say, what font to use, what colors to use, what fitness model to endorse the product with what particular claim and much more. You simply cannot sell a supplement without the right package and claim, because that's what drives sales. Everything must fit together, the claim has to fit the cover and everything has to be in-sync from a buyer's perspective. Packaging is utmost importance for a supplement company. In today's podcast you will  discover just how much it matters and what really goes into packaging   design. This is not to tell you that supplements are evil and should be avoided at all costs., Quite the opposite, certain supplements can help you with your fitness goals. However, understanding whats goes behind the scenes will help you pick the supplements you really need and avoid spending money on products that are useless to you, but may look very appealing at first. Today you have a chance to get inside the heads of previous supplement developers - John Barban and Brad Pilon. You will also learn and discover: What colors entice you to buy  The reason some supplements are on the market (not all supplement are backed by clinical studies) The exact steps that take place before the supplement is put on the shelf [For supplement developers] How to make an impression on your customers and stand out in competition How package size correlates with the magnitude of promised results How supplements can get away with outrageous claims How your thought process as a customer affects package development If it matters whether the supplement cover looks pretty or not Listen to the podcast here: John Barban, Brad Howard no 35:03 http://www.adonisindex.com/supplement-packaging/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Isx0a_TibEE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/phi-life-series-super-hero-marketing/#comments Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:09 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=5199 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/iStock_000016652243Small-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="iStock_000016652243Small" title="iStock_000016652243Small" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we bring you a podcast from our phi-life series. Today&#8217;s topic: The Danger of Super Hero Marketing So can you get as big as the Hulk? Deep down we know we can&#8217;t get this big, but that certainly doesn&#8217;t prevent us from trying. This never ending journey of aiming to get as big as [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Isx0a_TibEE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/phi-life-series-super-hero-marketing/feed/ 0 adonis index,Brad Pilon,john barban,phi life,super hero Today we bring you a podcast from our phi-life series. - Today's topic: The Danger of Super Hero Marketing - So can you get as big as the Hulk? - Deep down we know we can't get this big, but that certainly doesn't prevent us from trying. Today we bring you a podcast from our phi-life series. Today's topic: The Danger of Super Hero Marketing So can you get as big as the Hulk? Deep down we know we can't get this big, but that certainly doesn't prevent us from trying. This never ending journey of aiming to get as big as The Hulk includes steroid intake, falling for the myth of bulking and mega dosing supplements. We have been exposed to Super Heroes our entire life. From a young boy reading  comic books to a grown-up watching the latest Super Hero movie.  Then finally,  once we begin to explore the world of  fitness we are introduced to the real Super Hero - bodybuilders.  These "Super Heroes" may not be able to fly, but their physique's certainly reminds us of The Hulk. This is where things start to head down hill for the "Average Joe." When we get into the fitness and bodybuilding community we (for some bizarre reason) wanna live like bodybuilders. We want the lifestyle of Mr. Olympia, so even though we are not him and never will be, we still live to train and eat...We've all been down that road. Which is completely contrary to what we now here at Adonis Lifestyle teach - Eat and train to live. This is a dangerous path to be on, because suddenly it becomes your identity, you are the weird "fitness guy" who never goes out, doesn't know how to have fun and often times isn't even in such a great shape (shirt on big, shirt off average or fat). Well, today we will look into this mindset and determine where it all began.  We will discuss what influences cartoon Super Heroes have and how they actually shape your your fitness goals and the perception of your own body. Also in today's podcast, John talks about his experience with a salesman trying to pitch the very supplements he developed! You will also learn and discover: What type of  environment the supplements stores create which always compel you to buy more supplements The difference between "online" supplements store and supplements stores that are "brick and mortar" There are only 3-4 important supplement ingredients that are used and sold... so why are there so many "other" supplements? How people make billions by selling products that aren't effective Why people buy supplements even when there isn't any scientific evidence it actually works Whether you can actually look like guys in the fitness/bodybuilding magazines What specific documentary movie you can watch to get a clearer picture about the fitness industry Why supplements sell Why guys wanna be larger than life Why you continue to buy the  newest supplements even though the last one's didn't work What is a "Pipe  Dream" vs.  what is actually attainable &  How this makes a world of difference in terms of marketing and driving sales How supplements advertising works Listen to the podcast here: John Barban, Brad Howard no 34:06 http://www.adonisindex.com/phi-life-series-super-hero-marketing/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/CnyN4EJiq0M/ http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-closer-to-your-ideal-body/#comments Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:00:04 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=5081 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/adonis-index-Gavin_favorite-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="The ideal body shape - lean muscle, no excess body fat." title="adonis-index-Gavin_favorite" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Gavin Rennison. Gavin has been following Adonis Index for about 12 months now and today he has decided to share with us his astonishing progress. He is definitely among the more experienced and muscular guys in our community. Check out his picture: It Doesn&#8217;t Have to Be Complicated Gavin got [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/CnyN4EJiq0M" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-closer-to-your-ideal-body/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Today we have an interview with Gavin Rennison. - Gavin has been following Adonis Index for about 12 months now and today he has decided to share with us his astonishing progress. - He is definitely among the more experienced and muscular guys in our... Today we have an interview with Gavin Rennison. Gavin has been following Adonis Index for about 12 months now and today he has decided to share with us his astonishing progress. He is definitely among the more experienced and muscular guys in our community. Check out his picture: It Doesn't Have to Be Complicated Gavin got into weight lifting at the age of 25, so right after juvenile muscle growth. You would say that he could not build lots of muscle after the age of 25, but then he has pictures that show otherwise. This is a proof that you can still gain lots of muscle mass even if you are not starting with your training in your teens or early 20s. However, Gavin as most of the guys who go to the gym wasn't very consistent with his workouts, it was on and off training throughout the years. He also lacked any knowledge in how to structure his workouts, so he just did basic splits like everyone else. Since he tried increasing weights on regular basis he got some results. However, then he felt into the whole bulking, 6 meals a day approach, gained lots of weight as a result and got up to 200 pounds. After finding out about Adonis Index he was shocked at the contrast between bodybuilding diet and Anything Goes Diet we preach here at AI. The bodybuilding diet is very strict, but doesn't provide linear results compared to freewill eating with the AGD principles were the results are linear. And that's the issue with the traditional bodybuilding and fitness approach - too much hassle for little results. It doesn't have to be that way, getting in shape and achieving an ideal body shape isn't as difficult as people think. You can make it simply, and quite frankly you should, because the chances of you getting achieving your ideal body with perfect measurements are ten times higher if you keep things simple. Once you overcomplicate your approach, start to read dozens of diet books, you will second guess yourself, you will try various approaches like 6 meals a day, bulking or whatever is hot right now and for no results. Gavin decided to keep it simple and stick to his approach and he got amazing results. Here are a couple more of his pictures: More Tips from Gav: Know your boundaries Be consistent Don’t make it your lifestyle If you have some fat to lose, lose it first, because once you do you will never have to do it again, you will get lean for life and as a bonus you'll finally see how much muscle mass you have Don't try to get big at every cost Don't obsess over supplements Do a photoshoot after your transformation (you can use it as a deadline) Don't ever try the traditional bulking, it doesn't work and it's stupid Get a workout program that keeps changing, because that will keep you interested longer Bounce back when you push it too far Gav's measurements: Waist: 31" Shoulders: 48.25" AI score: 1.56 Links from the interview: Adonis Index Workouts The “Photo-Shoot Ready” Recipe - Article from Allen Elliott about preparing for a photoshoot If you want to get in touch with Gavin, talk to him about his approach and get more tips, here's his profile in our community Read Gav's experience with Adonis Index in his own words: Well, where do I start in thanking all at Adonis for what they've achieved in creating such a simplistic approach to all things diet and fitness?! The Adonis Index has been a truly and literally life changing find for me. It has...Continue Reading Here Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done: John Barban, Brad Howard no 29:59 http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-closer-to-your-ideal-body/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/pBiayH3fbaI/ http://www.adonisindex.com/eye-on-calories-when-drinking/#comments Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:00:21 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4840 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Rodrigo_Caceres_BnA2-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Rodrigo_Caceres_BnA" title="Rodrigo_Caceres_BnA" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Rodrigo Caceres who placed 3rd in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Rodrigo wanted to place in the top 10 and he did, he placed third, let&#8217;s look at his story and what [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/pBiayH3fbaI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/eye-on-calories-when-drinking/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Rodrigo Caceres who placed 3rd in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Rodrigo Caceres who placed 3rd in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Rodrigo wanted to place in the top 10 and he did, he placed third, let's look at his story and what he did that brought him this results. Until recently Rodrigo wasn't doing any sort of training. He was stuck in the rut of  gaining weight after getting married. . One day he decided to get back in shape. So he got a routine from a  personal trainer and started going to the gym. He got a bit leaner, but also got annoyed and bored with his routine, so when he stopped training he fell back into the rut of weight  gain. He once again got back on  track by attending some spinning clases  combined with a "whole foods" diet. But as he got leaner, he had no muscle mass and started to receive comments that he was "too skinny." In response to these comments he decided to join the bodybuilding community and adopted the usual approach - eat more, eat every 3 hours. The result? Fat Gain yet once again. Over the years this became a never ending cycle of weight loss and weight gain. Rodrigo truly believed that if he leaned out he would have more muscle. So in an act of desperation, he went online to find a way to lean out and that was when he stumbled upon Eat Stop Eat, which lead him to Adonis Index. At first he didn't want to accept the ideology, but listening to the podcasts and the grand opening of  a new gym near his home convinced him to get started. Before we get into his transformation, there is something you need to know about Rodrigo, let's consider his educational background. Rodrigo studied philosophy, so his perspective is a bit different than most. He was used to self-analysis and introspection and was always consciously aware of his feeling at any giving moment. Posessing this knowledge he expected to have very little  trouble with the mechanics and assumed that the mental part of the transformation would  be fairly simple. However, quite the opposite happened. Truth is that the mental part of any transformation is tough, no matter what your experience  or expertise is. Even though some people have it easier, everyone will have to overcome inner challenges that's why we call it a transformation, because at the end of it, you are a different person, both physically and mentally. Rodrigo was very motivated, but like everyone he had moments when he felt a bit depressed. He told us that this was actually one of the hardest mental challenges he'd ever went through. It all seems superficial, but it's really not and even despite the fact that the contest is only for 3 months it's still very challenging. It's just not what people expect  it will be, you have emotional ups and downs, and the process is far from straightforward. It will definitely push you out of your comfort zone and force you to break old habits. We always say that it's simple but not easy, however this doesn't mean it's not doable.  A successful transformation is indeed possible and as you can see here, lots of people have gone before you. It's important to realize that the promises you see on TV are false, it's what the marketers wants you to believe to be true.  Nothing worth  pursuing in life is ever easy. Can You Drink Alcohol and Cut? As you have read previously from the Naughty Guide post, you can have alcohol and still get ripped, the key is moderation, as with anything. Rodrigo decided that he won't give up alcohol and that's something he wants to enjoy even during the contest prep and he did. You can too if you want, it's up to you whether you want to enjoy your calories in meal or drink. What Rodrigo realized was that with drinking comes a lot of eating, so he limited himself  to only a couple of glasses and refrained from eating. John Barban, Brad Howard no 42:22 http://www.adonisindex.com/eye-on-calories-when-drinking/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/4Ki6lQbss7I/ http://www.adonisindex.com/no-bulk-eat-less-wa/#comments Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:00:25 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4839 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Justin_Dyke_BnA-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Justin_Dyke_BnA" title="Justin_Dyke_BnA" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Justin Dyke who placed 6th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Justin was accustomed to building  his own workout routines; he simply applied the information he read from magazines and online articles. It wasn&#8217;t until he began [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/4Ki6lQbss7I" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/no-bulk-eat-less-wa/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Justin Dyke who placed 6th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Justin Dyke who placed 6th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Justin was accustomed to building  his own workout routines; he simply applied the information he read from magazines and online articles. It wasn't until he began college that the concepts of diet and exercise truly peaked his interest.  He realized there might be more to to health and fitness than just weight lifting.  Justin even considered the possible advantages of controlling his  food intake. Rather than focusing on calories, he decided to follow the "healthy eating"  approach.  However, when he began to monitor his calorie intake, he finally saw a difference in the mirror. What's interesting is that even though he got some results, he continued to  look for new ways to improve his diet.  He became more and more obsessed with diet and controlling what he consumed. His obsession reached new levels when he added the  bulking regimen in addition to his healthy diet. He ate lots of food to gain weight. He was successful in this approach; the only issue was that it was gain of fat and not muscle. Instead of  moving forward he was actually heading in the opposite direction (the worst feeling ever). He felt powerful in the gym, but still didn't have the look he wanted. Justin was neither fat nor skinny, he maintained normal weight and BF%, but this bulking method ballooned his weight up to over 200 pounds. The tide began to turn in his favor when a friend of his introduced him to the Adonis Index. Oddly enough, that was a couple years ago and Justin just didn't believe the program would work for him, so he simply put it off. It wasn't until after listening to dozens of AI interviews and podcasts  that he finally decided to give it a shot. He asked himself "What do I have to lose by trying the workouts for 3 months and entering the contest?" when he realized that he could only gain from the experience, he decided to committ to the contest. He stayed focused by keeping his goals in mind  and used the contest deadline as motivation to get the job done. How to Slowly Condition Yourself to Eat Less In a short amount of time Justin went from eating six times a day like a pro bodybuilder to eating just once a day by following Eat Stop Eat's intermittent fasting protocol. So how exactly did Justin do this? Well, he didn't do it overnight, he took the slow approach. During the first couple of weeks he transitioned from eating 6 times a day to eating just 3 times a day. After he was comfortable with this pattern, he slowly began to skip the other two meals and tried fasting for 24 hours. As soon as he realized that he is not going to die of starvation, he decided to incorporate fasting into his regular lifestyle. It's really just about mentally letting go and then physically conditioning your body to follow these new patterns. For Justin, it was a tough mental game though. At first he had to let go of the emotional attachment he had to the bodybuilding diet and then start skipping the meals. Summary of Justin's Best Tips: Keep it simple at all times Focus on workout consistency Have faith in the process and it will work out for you Ignore other outside forces - You will be tempted to change things, so don't, stick to this one thing and give it an honest try Links from the interview: Main Adonis Index Workout Specializations AKA Boosters Eat Stop Eat If you want to get in touch with Justin, talk to him about his approach and get more tips, here's his profile in our community Read Justin's experience with Adonis Index in his own words: I have been working out since high school and never really started taking it serious until my junior year of college when I started concentrating hard on the nutrition side. John Barban, Brad Howard no 28:02 http://www.adonisindex.com/no-bulk-eat-less-wa/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/qc7F-wTT7uc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-workouts-with-sports/#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:00:30 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4838 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Cristiam_Reinoso_BnA-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Cristiam_Reinoso_BnA" title="Cristiam_Reinoso_BnA" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Cristiam Reinoso who placed 9th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: After going through different program Cristiam has decided to try the Adonis Index and he followed the program exactly as it&#8217;s [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/qc7F-wTT7uc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-workouts-with-sports/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Cristiam Reinoso who placed 9th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Cristiam Reinoso who placed 9th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Afte... John Barban, Brad Howard no 30:29 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-workouts-with-sports/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/N4pHeZpS3zg/ http://www.adonisindex.com/workout-consistency-accountability/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:00:25 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4671 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Richard_Tesorio_BnA-e1348584939437-150x150.png?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Richard_Tesorio_BnA" title="Richard_Tesorio_BnA" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Richard Tesorio who placed 8th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Here&#8217;s Richard&#8217;s story&#8230; Richard graduated high school at 115 pounds soaking wet.  Naturally skinny, he was constantly trying to bulk up. He always wanted that [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/N4pHeZpS3zg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/workout-consistency-accountability/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Richard Tesorio who placed 8th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Richard Tesorio who placed 8th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Here's Richard's story... Richard graduated high school at 115 pounds soaking wet.  Naturally skinny, he was constantly trying to bulk up. He always wanted that big, ripped defined body. So one day he started working out  with a friend who had him been involved in some badass tactical operations. However, as awesome as that may sound,  he couldn't even walk home after his first workout. Something needed to change... Richard decided to get a new trainer, however this guy was Somalian and just freakishly strong. Even though he got some results, there was no end goal to his training.  It was at this  time Richard hit an all-time low; he simply stopped going to the gym. Finally, with a renewed vigor  he resumed his workouts, still chasing his dreams of attaining the ever so elusive ripped physique. He knew of the Adonis Index System as early as 2008, but busy with life, he never applied himself to the workouts. Before fully committing to AI, Richard tried running, cardio and insanity workouts...he was stuck in a cycle of hopping from program to program, not getting any results. To make matters worse, although he recovered from a thyroid issue, he made no changes to his diet which ballooned his weight from 115 to 140 pounds; his weight gain finally leveled off at 159 pounds. Now burdened with the unwanted bulk from his weight gain, Richard tried a few diets, but hadn't yet learned the concept of calories in and out. He also had no understanding of body shape, he would lose weight, only to become a smaller version of himself and not the better looking version, as he hoped for. He was very unsatisfied with his physique, however, since he was still getting the Adonis Index emails and had the program, he finally decided to commit and try this Adonis thing. Patience Will Help you Win the Game...Rushing Will Only Backfire your Progress Richard's initial approach to the Adonis Index workouts was very smart. Before he started worrying about big gains he just wanted to get into the habit of going to the gym. In the evening there's simply too many people, so he figured that mornings will be less crowded and more equipment will be free for him to use. At first he was like everyone else comparing himself to other people, but you know you shouldn't do that, and like Richard said, looking back most of these people don't even know what the hell they are doing. Once he figured out that he needed to focus on himself, he started learning the moves and focusing on the lift with lighter weights. He basically gave himself a permission to lift light at first. By learning the proper techniques he progressed quickly without getting injured in the process. Richard starts his mornings with water and black coffee and performs his Adonis Index workout; he then fasts until 5:30PM. This routine is in accordance with most people's schedules so he is able to remain social at events that normally occur in the evenings. A typical diet normally involves some sort of restriction, but most people try to restrict too much, because they strive for quick results. Sadly, this is a proven method for failure. The goal should be to make that restriction feel as minimal as possible. You can have sweets and cupcakes, it doesn't matter as long as you restrict calories and have some balance in your diet. However, be prepared for some resistance. Because it looks crazy if you are eating "junk food" in public, it doesn't make any sense to them that you could be eating like this and be following a supposed fat-loss diet. In the grand scheme of things. that donut is insignificant; no one knows you fasted for 16 hours and will finish with a medium-sized dinner. John Barban, Brad Howard no 45:43 http://www.adonisindex.com/workout-consistency-accountability/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/cZAEH1YNfjQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/our-youngest-adonis/#comments Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:00:29 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4672 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Tommy_Lacaprucia_BnA-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Tommy_Lacaprucia_BnA" title="Tommy_Lacaprucia_BnA" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Tommy Lacaprucia who placed 2nd in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Tommy isn&#8217;t even 17 years old yet, so he is by far our youngest contestant. For only a 12 week [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/cZAEH1YNfjQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/our-youngest-adonis/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Tommy Lacaprucia who placed 2nd in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Tommy Lacaprucia who placed 2nd in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Tommy isn't even 17 years old yet, so he is by far our youngest contestant. For only a 12 week transformation, his progress is outstanding. Tommy admitted that growing up he was always on the chubby side and he  deeply desired to get in shape. As a result, he turned to a popular TV fitness program.  However, with this program he was constantly overtraining and under eating. His motivation was spot on, but the process he followed didn't yield the results he wanted.   After all, his goal was  to be in shape yesterday... No fault of his own, as this is what we all want. But during a transformation patience is key. Sadly, Tommy  ended up losing muscle mass, and became what we call "skinny fat".  To make matters worse, he even began to receive comments from his family concerned about his health and appearance. Before doing this crazy TV finess program he at least looked good with his shirt on, but  mentally, this program really screwed him up. Thankfully, the tide turned in Tommy's  favor in January of this year when he discovered the Adonis Index system. He agrees that this was a game changer for him. He used our regular workouts with a few booster specializations, accompanied with the Reverse Taper Diet and Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. Standing at a height of  5'10" he went from 163 pounds to 144 pounds, gained muscle and lost significant amount of fat.  His new look landed him a more aesthetic body shape with visible abs, just scroll up for pictures. Keep in mind, this is only after 12 weeks, just imagine what Tommy can look like after 12 months or 12 years. It's amazing what can happen when you find a program that works and stick to it.   Experience Cannot Be Bought Do you remember your very first workout? You probably felt endless amounts of pain the next few days after your workout. That's because your body wasn't used to the physical stress; you were probably sore for a week just from one workout. But as you probably also remember this changed pretty quickly and in no time you could handle 3 workouts like that in a single week. But there is one more thing we haven't mentioned yet. Once you get over this "muscle learning curve" you can handle as many  workouts as the older, more experienced guys. Why is that? This is partly because when you are new to weight training, you can't use the workout in it's full potential like somebody with let's say with 20 years of experience. Younger and less experienced guys just can't generate the same amount of intensity with training. Tommy's solution was to was add SEVERAL boosters to the main workout module. If you recall the interviews with Vivek and Adam, you'll recall that they both trained twice a day! Sure you might get sore, but if it's not an injury, why not suck it up, train more often and get double the gains? This is something you might wanna consider and experiment with. As long as you have the energy and time, there is no reason for you not to add more training volume and sessions to your regimen. Links from the interview: Eat Stop Eat - Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices Reverse Taper Diet - Diet protocol designed to prevent you from rebounding and yo-yo dieting Muscle Building Foundation - Workout plan focused on building muscle mass Booster Specializations - Bonus workouts for improving the areas of your body you are unsatisfied with Adonis Index Original Workouts 3.1 - Workouts responsible for the most amazing transformations online Read Tommy's experience with Adonis Index in his own words: I’ve been following AI since January 1, 2012 and I absolutely love everything about it! John Barban, Brad Howard no 26:52 http://www.adonisindex.com/our-youngest-adonis/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/U3fO45NDql0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/do-it-yourself-photo-shoot-anthony-rivest/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:00:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4599 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/www.adonisindex-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Anthony&#039;s 12 week mid term results." title="www.adonisindex" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Anthony Rivest who placed 5th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Anthony was very proud of the progress he made in his 12 week transformation.  His next goal is to achieve his [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/U3fO45NDql0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/do-it-yourself-photo-shoot-anthony-rivest/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Anthony Rivest who placed 5th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Anthony Rivest who placed 5th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Anthony was very proud of the progress he made in his 12 week transformation.  His next goal is to achieve his "ideal" AI numbers. However, it's his amazing pictures that we'd like to highlight in this blog post. The phrase, Do it yourself (DIY) refers to building, modifying, or repairing something without the aid of experts or professionals. Surprisingly enough,  Anthony didn't hire a professional photographer nor did he did do anything crazy for his photo-shoot prep. It was all homemade, just a bed sheet, mild water depletion, and a short fast. The result? No pressure, no money spent, and zero stress. Anthony even had cake and fajitas on the day before the shoot! While there are several different approaches to arriving "photo-shoot ready", most of them are essential only if you are well-developed  and taking performance enhancement drugs; otherwise not really.   Let's Uncover the Mystery Around Dieting Since Anthony is a bit taller than most people his BMR is significantly higher and so is his appetite. This means that when he eats, he eats a lot of food at one sitting. Let's break down his approach a bit and maybe you can incorporate some of his techniques into your lifestyle. For the most part it's based on the principles of Eat Stop Eat and Anything Goes Diet, it also happens to be an approach that lots of people in the Adonis community have incorporated. The thing is that apart from the many flaws that the traditional approach "eat every three hours" has is that if you eat light meals all the time you will never feel satisfied and that can lead to some serious binge eating. This is why it makes more sense to have fewer, but big meals. You will also spend less time on cooking, eating, cleaning the dishes. Not eating AKA fasting not only saves time, removes the thinking about food, but it also helps you stay more focused and productive. Anthony also told us that fasting helps him with school, he even credits getting better grades because of it. When all the students get back from launch break to class, they feel tired, but Anthony is full of energy and he is able to concentrate. And it's not just that skipping lunch helps, skipping breakfast is the same. You have to realize that as soon as you have at least a medium size meal you will feel tired and sleepy, definitely not like learning or working. Most people say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, well what it seems that actually skipping the breakfast and eating food later is the best thing you can do. It's literally breaking the fast, so try to move it as far into the day as possible. ...And my guess is that you aren't even hungry when you wake up, just thirsty and need to drink some water, so maybe you are mistaking hunger for thirst. If you are not ready for a full fast yet, try to gradually move the first meal of the day further ahead. If you wake up at 6am, regularly eat at 7am and want to benefit from the intermittent fasting, try to move your first meal to 10am. Once you are comfortable with that you can move that first meal to 2pm and then try to do the full 24 fast. Just give it a few weeks until your body gets used to it. It's better to start your day with a coffee and if you are like Anthony, you would start your day not only with coffee but also with your workout. If you do your workout in the morning, you have the rest of the day to do whatever you like. However, if you planned the workout for the afternoon,  chances increase that you may skip it. This may sound non important but this is one of the reasons people don't get results - they just skip the workouts...and there is always an excuse... I'm too tired John Barban, Brad Howard no 30:24 http://www.adonisindex.com/do-it-yourself-photo-shoot-anthony-rivest/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/vAjQGXbchgk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/path-of-the-adonis-lifestyle/#comments Mon, 17 Sep 2012 10:00:54 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4555 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/miguel-adonis-index-transformation-150x150.png?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="miguel-adonis-index-transformation" title="miguel-adonis-index-transformation" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Miguel Garcia who placed 10th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Miguel never trained in his life until recently. He began his fitness journey about 4 years ago when he  joined a [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/vAjQGXbchgk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/path-of-the-adonis-lifestyle/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Miguel Garcia who placed 10th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Miguel Garcia who placed 10th in our last 12-Week Transformation contest. Check out his transformation pictures: Miguel never trained in his life until recently. He began his fitness journey about 4 years ago when he  joined a gym and began working with a personal trainer. He created a workout routine for Miguel that was all about endurance (why endurance?!?)...but even after 6 months of doing this intense training routine he didn't see any changes, so he dropped out of the program. After that he started researching on the Internet wanting to learn more about fitness and training. And since 99% of the websites talked about bulking and cutting philosophy it seemed like  the next logical step for him. He noticed a few changes, but it was only with his shirt on. He gained weight, but he still wasn't satisfied with the way he looked. The regiment of eating five times a day and  just wasn't sustainable for him. It felt like another job for him and truth to be told, that's really not how it's supposed to be. Miguel never wanted to be huge and live a bodybuilding lifestyle. He just wanted to be in shape with defined muscles. So he started researching again. He believed his chances of achieving  a body he would like would be near impossible. So instead he focused on being more healthy, he took on running and jumped on the famous P90X workout. He finished that program, but he told us that by the end the only thing he wanted to do was to break the DVDs, that's how difficult it was to get through the program. He gained musle, lost fat, and could run faster, but it still wasn't what he expected; let alone the enormous amount of effort it took for him get there. This just reinforced the belief that it was extremely difficult if not impossible to get in shape, at least for him. It was at this point that Miguel hit an all time low. He dropped off everything and was done with fitness, he was just so beaten up and disappointed that he didn't want to exercise anymore and he started eating a lot. He gained lots of weight, and it wasn't even the bulk look, it was just plain fat. One day he looked at himself and became concerned he was losing control and that his health was at risk. He found another workout program, finished it and saw no results and no change in his body shape yet AGAIN. And on top of that, because it was a pretty intense program it stimulated his appetite and pushed him to eat more. It was a lot of work with no pay off. He started researching again and FINALLY he found the Adonis Index. At first he thought it was some kind of scam, which doesn't come as such a surprise considering he came from hard work, no rest, bulking philosophy approach and here at Adonis Index we contradict almost everything that you hear from the conventional fitness media. But since he never got any serious results, he gave it a shot and after 12 weeks of the mid-term contest for the first time in his life he started seeing some good change, just check out the photos at the top of the page. Today he is on the path of getting the body he wants... So what about you? Where are you on the path to achieving the body YOU want? Moving on, let's hear a little more from Miguel. Tips from Miguel: Be social during the weekends and just prepare for it during the week You can go undercover with your approach, my girlfriend was the only one who knew what I was doing Progress is progress, even if it's just baby steps Seriously try something and make up your mind after you do it, not before-- give it an honest go, then you will be able to say if it worked or not Trust the program and take measurements along the way Links from the interview: Muscle Building Foundation - Do you think you are too far from even think even ideal body shape? John Barban, Brad Howard no 19:24 http://www.adonisindex.com/path-of-the-adonis-lifestyle/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/TW8vmiPABHg/ http://www.adonisindex.com/achieve-single-digit-bodyfat/#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:00:53 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4520 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/simon-adonis-index2-150x150.png?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="simon-adonis-index2" title="simon-adonis-index2" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Simon Bernard who won 1st place in the 12-Week Transformation. Check out his transformation pictures: Simon has entered  a couple of our  contests but never  achieved his desired results. He stands at 5&#8217;7&#8221; and was about 145 pounds before finding [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/TW8vmiPABHg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/achieve-single-digit-bodyfat/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Simon Bernard who won 1st place in the 12-Week Transformation. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Simon Bernard who won 1st place in the 12-Week Transformation. Check out his transformation pictures: Simon has entered... John Barban, Brad Howard no 28:44 http://www.adonisindex.com/achieve-single-digit-bodyfat/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/AubUUO0B0Ck/ http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-satisfied-with-your-body-shape/#comments Mon, 03 Sep 2012 10:00:03 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4435 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Lester_Sing_BnA-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Lester_Sing_BnA" title="Lester_Sing_BnA" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Here&#8217;s your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Lester Sing who placed 4th in the 12-Week Transformation. Check out his transformation pictures: Lester was always lean, at least till he got out of high school. That&#8217;s when he started gaining weight &#8211; and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/AubUUO0B0Ck" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-satisfied-with-your-body-shape/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Today John talks to Lester Sing who placed 4th in the 12-Week Transformation. - Check out his transformation pictures: - Lester was always lean, Here's your new interview with one of the winners from the 8th Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Today John talks to Lester Sing who placed 4th in the 12-Week Transformation. Check out his transformation pictures: Lester was always lean, at least till he got out of high school. That's when he started gaining weight - and it wasn't muscle. This is pretty common, most people get out of school, stop doing sports, and begin living a sedentary lifestyle. Lester gained quite a lot of weight and at his height 5'4'' he got up to 180 pounds. This is something that happens when you stop paying attention, start eating more, start attending more social eating events and stop exercising. Lester realized that he had to do something about this so he invested in a couple workout programs and tried several different approaches. He dropped to 139 pounds (achieved his goal) and decided to stay active. However, he still wasn't happy. Even though he improved his body, he wasn't comfortable taking his shirt off, yet. As he said, he didn't think he could see his abs again. ...Then he noticed an online ad for Adonis Index. He jumped on board, got the workout plan, got into the community and started training. He wanted to test out whether the program can produce any results for him. And he was very surprised when he saw his final pictures. Results Come with Patience Lester played around with fasting and Pilon's 24 hour fasting protocol called Eat Stop Eat. What worked for him the most was fasting for 15 hours and then having the first big meal of the day. It took him a lot to get from eating every 3 hours to eating just once a day. And if you are experiencing something similar, then understand that changing your eating habits may take up to two weeks. Your body needs to get used to eating less often. You will experience a hunger pang followed by a strong urge to eat. It will take some time and effort to get used to it, but after about two weeks you will be comfortable with having an empty stomach and it's at  that time when you will begin seeing the results. The first week you will think that what you are doing is wrong, it will feel uncomfortable, because it's simply something new. ...And your body subconsciously fights when you are trying new things. But after you get over this initial first bump, you will feel great, you will feel alive, more in control. It's necessary to go through this, because it's probably the best way to learn how to manage your food intake, you will just learn so much about yourself and about food and your eating habits that it's impossible to describe it (even though Pilon did a pretty good job in his latest ESE book). Tips from Lester: Dedication and consistency are necessary for you to succeed It's a slow process so how much you want it will determine the results you will get Take lots of photos and then put them side by side Fat won't come out all at once You will eventually get there it just takes time and patience You have the time to work out, and even if you miss a tv shows, so what? If you are used to eating at certain times (same goes for food choices) it will take a couple weeks for you to change it Don't eat 6 times a day, it's easier to track the calories when you have just two big meals Keep track of everything – weight log, strength log, measurements, photos Don't be afraid to be light, it's nothing to be ashamed of and quite frankly nobody gives a sh*t If the weight is messing with your head then don’t even bother, the mirror/photos is what matters Links from the interview: Main Adonis Index Workout 3.1 - The workout that's responsible for the most amazing transformations online Adonis Index Community - The friendliest and most helpful fitness community in the world Eat Stop Eat - Diet Lifestyle protocol designed to help you to lose fat and regain freedom in your food choices John Barban, Brad Howard no 27:22 http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-satisfied-with-your-body-shape/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/WQbHhxAvANE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/former-special-forces-officer-wants-look-good/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:30:20 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4301 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Peter_Dickison_Reverse_Taper-150x150.png?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Peter_Dickison_Reverse_Taper" title="Peter_Dickison_Reverse_Taper" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Pete. Pete follows the Adonis Index workouts but has not competed in any of our contests, however his fitness lifestyle approach has rewarded him with a remarkable &#8220;contest-ready&#8221; physique. Because of his amazing results we decided to interview him to learn more about how he achieved this &#8220;elite&#8221; level of [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/WQbHhxAvANE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/former-special-forces-officer-wants-look-good/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,muscle gain,Vaclav Gregor Today we have an interview with Pete. - Pete follows the Adonis Index workouts but has not competed in any of our contests, however his fitness lifestyle approach has rewarded him with a remarkable "contest-ready" physique. - Today we have an interview with Pete. Pete follows the Adonis Index workouts but has not competed in any of our contests, however his fitness lifestyle approach has rewarded him with a remarkable "contest-ready" physique. Because of his amazing results we decided to interview him to learn more about how he achieved this "elite" level of fitness. Check out his pictures: Pete's background is ex-military; where he served as a Special Forces Officer. We quickly discovered from Pete that the time, effort, and training that went into becoming a Special Forces' Officer was simply mind-blowing. However, when Pete left the army he continued his workout regimen as if he was still active duty.  His motivation to continue training was simply to be fit; not because he wanted to run marathons or go on long-distance rucksack  marches.  He continued his training because he wanted to look good  and believed this was the best way to maintain his conditioning. Pete was very fit, his endurance and strength never dwindled. But despite his level of fitness, he was carrying an undesirable amount of fat. This is a perfect example of when being fit doesn't translate into good looks. Pete was hoping that one day all the hard work of his training would show up, but sadly, that day never came. Adonis Index, Revelation or Disappointment? Then Pete discovered Adonis Index. He was fascinated by the concepts of the golden ratio, ancient Greek mythology, and loved the fact that everything was made based upon art and science. After going through the materials  he decided to drop all the other fitness products,  tuned out all the other so called fitness "experts", and gave this new program an honest try. And the result? Let's ask him: After getting out of the Army, I was still eating like I was in the military but my calorie intake did not equal my volume of training.    I slowly put on weight over a period of 5 years; the weight really increased when my son was born 3 years ago. I can safely say now that not only have I returned  back to the body I had ten years ago,  but its even BETTER LOOKING!  I am well-proportioned and not just 'functional'. Sure, these days I would find it harder to carry a heavy pack for 30km, but who cares? I don't NEED to, lol.  I mentally struggled with this concept for a long time because the army style of training was so heavily ingrained into me - I was still training for function: a function I was no longer required to perform.  I'm so pleased to have found AI and apply their training concepts. I signed up for immersion and never looked back. Pete realized that the Adonis physique is what he really wanted this whole time, he just never knew how to train for that sought after "look". Cardio was always one of Pete's greatest strengths, but he just wasn't satisfied with the way he looked. The results he longed for did not occur until he made a fundamental change in his attitude towards training. He accepted the fact that looks were important to him; there is no reason why you should hide the fact that you want to look good. Almost everyone in the gym tries to improve their max on bench press, increase their vertical jump for basketball, train for stamina and endurance and all the other sh*t while 99% of those guys really just wanna look good, that's the reason why they got into "body building" in the first place, so why hide it? If you are not willing to admit to yourself that that's the reason why you work out, you will never build a good looking body. It's similar to people who want to build wealth for themselves and their family, but they believe having lots of money is wrong. If you think focusing on training for looks and not performance is wrong, you will not be able to build a body you can be satisfied with. Think about it, if you actually want to change the shape of your body, you must change your attitude. John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:18:21 http://www.adonisindex.com/former-special-forces-officer-wants-look-good/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/65Nu-CAUuHQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/weight-lifting-is-like-music/#comments Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:00:49 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4228 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/adonis-index-johannes-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="adonis-index-johannes" title="adonis-index-johannes" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Johannes Platz who placed 6th in the Open Level 1 category in our latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Johannes is a musician which requires him to sit for long hours on end during performances and rehearsals.  He was never physically active growing up and combined with his [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/65Nu-CAUuHQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/weight-lifting-is-like-music/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,muscle gain,Vaclav Gregor,weight lifting Today we have an interview with Johannes Platz who placed 6th in the Open Level 1 category in our latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Johannes is a musician which requires him to sit for long hours on end during performances ... Today we have an interview with Johannes Platz who placed 6th in the Open Level 1 category in our latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Johannes is a musician which requires him to sit for long hours on end during performances and rehearsals.  He was never physically active growing up and combined with his work as a musician he began to experience  issues with back pain which prompted him to pursue more of a fitness lifestyle, specifically weight lifting. However, Johannes journey into fitness was not without some setback and disappointment. At first he went to a therapist, who got him to do some basic bodyweight exercises and later on prescribed a weight lifting program consisting of a few exercises of 3 sets with 15 reps. After six months he saw some decent results. It wasn't exactly a complex fitness program, but at least he began to exercise regularly and was able to eliminate his back pain. Be Aware of Goal Hijacking When Johannes relocated to to Switzerland; he was away from his therapist and began to seek out a new fitness routine. He jumped on a few weight lifting programs and got into a decent shape, but he fell victim to the conventional "eat bit to be big" approach. After a while he realized two things: He never wanted to be huge like bodybuilders He gained muscle, but he became "pudgy" in the process That's what we call goal hijacking - you have a goal (getting in shape in this case) and you start moving in a right direction, but you fall off track on your way there (ex.: by aiming for the bodybuilder type of look). The whole purpose of the programs Johannes tried was to get bigger by  gaining a ton of muscle - you know those claims like "gain 30 pounds of muscle over summer" programs. Even though it worked to a certain degree, he had to prepare and eat meals up to six times a day, which is pretty time consuming, considering the fact he didn't like the way he looked. It wasn't until one day when he discovered new role modes of an ideal shape from images of guys like Taylor Lautner and Ryan Gosling.  From that point, he realized that this is the body shape he wanted to achieve. Through a few referrals he found Eat Stop Eat, the Anything Goes Diet and lastly the Adonis Index. He  immediately started following the nutrition advice and doing the workouts. Eat Stop Eat helped him understand that it's okay to skip meals and he found it very freeing. Anything Goes Diet was a relief as well because somebody finally told him that he doesn't have to worry about the food he puts in his mouth, and that there is no evidence of high caloric diet supporting muscle growth. It even got him into cooking, which is something he never did before! And once he saw Andrew Peter's pictures he decided to  jump in and participate in one of the contests and take his physique to the next level. Tips from Johannes:  If you aren't exercising. start weight lifting ASAP There are a lot of fitness programs, but none of them are as flexible and simple to follow as Adonis Index (plus this one actually works) Take before and after pictures to really see what amazing progress you have done The little bit of bodyfat you drop can make a huge difference in pictures People start noticing that you are in shape roughly at AI 1.5 Don’t compare yourself to others, it’s just your progress, everyone is different from genetic potential standpoint Competitors are often times very genetically gifted and in some cases on drugs, so don't take their bodies as your ideals There is always someone who looks better than you Be consistent with your effort in the gym Stay in your calorie budget Don't be afraid of cooking the food yourself Links from the interview: Adonis Index Main Workout - Workout program that is responsible for the most amazing transformations online Muscle Building Foundation - Adonis Index workout for building muscle mass John Barban, Brad Howard no 37:02 http://www.adonisindex.com/weight-lifting-is-like-music/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/PhML3T-fuiI/ http://www.adonisindex.com/9-pounds-muscle-gain/#comments Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:00:14 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=4175 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/adonis-index-vivek-after-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="adonis-index-vivek-after" title="adonis-index-vivek-after" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Vivek who placed 3rd in our latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. The topic of this interview is muscle gain and how quickly it can happen. Check out his pictures: This is the second time Vivek has placed in one of our contests.  To make matters more interesting, this is Vivek&#8217;s first [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/PhML3T-fuiI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/9-pounds-muscle-gain/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,muscle gain,Vaclav Gregor Today we have an interview with Vivek who placed 3rd in our latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - The topic of this interview is muscle gain and how quickly it can happen. - Check out his pictures: - Today we have an interview with Vivek who placed 3rd in our latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. The topic of this interview is muscle gain and how quickly it can happen. Check out his pictures: This is the second time Vivek has pla... John Barban, Brad Howard no 38:48 http://www.adonisindex.com/9-pounds-muscle-gain/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/DfPxqkNBCNs/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-physique/#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3980 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/adonis-index-kidafi-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="adonis-index-kidafi" title="adonis-index-kidafi" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Kidafi Byer who placed 2nd in the Open Level 2 Category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Kadafi is no newbie to weight training or to the Adonis Index Lifestyle. He has been with us for a while now. And this wasn&#8217;t his first Adonis Index contest either. From last [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/DfPxqkNBCNs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-physique/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Adonis Physique,john barban,Vaclav Gregor Today we have an interview with Kidafi Byer who placed 2nd in the Open Level 2 Category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: - Kadafi is no newbie to weight training or to the Adonis Index Lifestyle. Today we have an interview with Kidafi Byer who placed 2nd in the Open Level 2 Category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Kadafi is no newbie to weight training or to the Adonis Index Lifestyle. He has been with us for a while now. And this wasn't his first Adonis Index contest either. From last contest he successfully maintained his fitness and even managed to gain a bit of lean muscle mass without putting any fat mass on, if anything he got more ripped! And that was exactly the point - get in shape with one or two contests and use the next one to find out how to maintain your body and get even more ripped. Decide, Plan, Act When Kidafi saw Allen Elliott's winning pictures in one of the contest he knew he would be a worthy opponent and that it will be hard to beat him. He decided to take his time to strategize, prepare and then put in as much effort as he could into building the Adonis physique for the contest. This time he wasn't fasting very often, just a few times in the last four weeks prior the contest. Rather than fasting he used the Reverse Taper Diet principles and tapered his calories up towards the end of the contest. In his diet he didn't change anything, he ate pretty much exactly what he did last time, just a bit more since he wasn’t really cutting much. And that’s what you can expect to happen. If you’ve been eating too much in the past and gained a bit of fat, then you need to start eating less. However, once you lose the fat and you get lean you can slowly increase your calorie intake closer to your maintenance. At this point dieting becomes super hard and cutting is a really big challenge. Basically your body will have very little fat stored and it will force you to eat more calories more often. This is why fasting at 8% bodyfat it's almost impossible. Can You Take the Pictures Yourself or Do You Have to Pay for a Photographer? For the photoshoot itself Kidafi recommends having someone else take the pictures. You can either have a friend/spouse take it or pay for a professional photoshoot. A lot of our contestants like to schedule the professional photoshoot, because it helps you with accountability and also gives you a clear deadline to shoot for. And since you are going to put a lot of effort into all this, you might as well capture it professionally and have the pictures for life. However, a professional shoot is not necessary to win a contest. We've had quite a few people take amazing pictures at home or on the beach. Kidafi's pictures are great and he did them by himself! Just realize that taking pictures is an art and there is a whole niche of photographers who specialize in fitness, so don't be surprised when your pictures aren't magazine cover quality when you take them yourself. But why would you even take the pictures? Well, even if you are not comfortable taking pictures right now, that will change once you get in shape. It's worth getting a real photoshoot to really see what you got. Kidafi's Approach for Building the Adonis Physique This time around Kidafi didn't care about his weight. His goals were to get a bit leaner, gain more muscle if possible and generally have more of a "fuller" look while remaining injury free. He is not the biggest guy in the gym, he is not the heaviest, but he is ripped and he loves the look. Apart from the fact that weight is irrelevant and doesn't tell the whole story, if you weigh yourself on a daily basis it's guaranteed to mess with your head. There simply aren't any big changes you're going to see day to day besides water fluctuations. In his workout Kidafi shifted from lifting heavy to concentrating more on the lifting technique. He gave himself  permission to lift light and focused on the squeeze and tension of his muscle contractions instead of just lifting heavy weights up and down. The feeling after the workout was very satisfying, John Barban, Brad Howard no 30:15 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-physique/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Iuk4IJSOtNE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/less-work-to-stay-ripped/#comments Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:00:56 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3882 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Andrew-Tullio-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Andrew-Tullio" title="Andrew-Tullio" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Andrew Tullio who placed 3rd in the Open Level 2 Category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Andrew had to re-think everything. He had to figure out a new way to eat and what would be the best time to have each meal. He was [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Iuk4IJSOtNE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/less-work-to-stay-ripped/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Andrew Tullio who placed 3rd in the Open Level 2 Category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: - Andrew had to re-think everything. He had to figure out a new way to eat and what would be the ... Today we have an interview with Andrew Tullio who placed 3rd in the Open Level 2 Category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Andrew had to re-think everything. He had to figure out a new way to eat and what would be the best time to have each meal. He was always used to have big meals. He was never a fan of working on eating smaller portions. However, when you eat three times a day, it might not be a such a good habit to have, because it's very easy to eat too much food. Most people can get away with eating one big meal, some can even get away with two big meals, but almost no one can eat three large meals every day, and still be lean. And this need to figure out a new way of eating is not the first time we've heard about it. It's actually a recurring theme. It's great if you have figured out how to lose fat and you've got lean. However, if you also want to STAY lean, you have to figure out a whole new way to eat to maintain your new body. If you start overeating or get back to your old eating habits you will start gaining fat quickly and you will erase all your progress in a matter of weeks. There are three basic ways of eating: The one that gets you overweight The one that makes you lose fat The one that you need to learn to keep your new lean body Since the old habit Andrew had wouldn't help him lose weight and keep it off, he had to do some thinking. At this point he only knew how to eat to gain weight and how to eat to lose weight, but nothing in between. He had to figure out how to eat in a balanced way so he would stay lean all year round. He tried a few things that mostly revolved around having multiple meals and just counting the calories. However, like he told us, it was just too much counting and he couldn't enjoy the big meals he loved. Then, he figured it out. What really worked for him was having one big meal at the end of the day. This way he would stay in a deficit, because there is only so many calories you can eat at one sitting. and he didn't have to count calories, so it was a win-win. Now Andrew doesn't have to count anything, he doesn't worry about maintenance or gaining weight. It's all taken care of with one meal a day. He can still eat big with just a small compromise on his part. But is it really that big of a compromise? Sometimes he might allow himself a snack, but usually he just eats a big dinner. Snacks are good, if you can keep the calories in check (think of fruit as a perfect low cal, but tasty snack). The issue with snacks is that most people snack on high calorie options and they don't stop at just one. Another issue is that the moment you start eating, your appetite goes up and you will want to eat more. FYI this is one of the reasons why eating breakfast is NOT a good idea. Why One Meal a Day Works and What It Can Do for You? Assuming you already understand the benefits of intermittent fasting, eating one meal a day has a bit more to it as well. Not having to count calories You can have snacks if you limit the frequency and the amount You can enjoy the weekends a bit more You can eat "normally" at some unexpected social eating event, because you are in a slight deficit You can eat a really big meal every day! You can finally focus on something different than food during your day - that's the productivity cure you were looking for the whole time You will have more energy during the day and you won't feel tired as a result of eating every three hours Andrew would have a big meal and small piece of chocolate with it almost every single day. What other diet will allow you to have chocolate every day? Not that many, right? Obviously you have to choose the right foods, you can't eat nothing but cake, but still it doesn't have to be "clean" by the conventional fitness standards. You really can have chocolate or pizza if you want. John Barban, Brad Howard no 39:16 http://www.adonisindex.com/less-work-to-stay-ripped/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/kpdy1BAanAw/ http://www.adonisindex.com/another-adonis-interview-with-scott-tousignant/#comments Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:02:04 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3834 It&#8217;s no secret that I believe in training for shape and proportion vs training for massive size and bulk. I&#8217;ve been down the &#8216;bulking&#8217; road in my younger days and although I was strong it also left me fat and totally out of shape for years. Looking back it seems like such a waste of [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/kpdy1BAanAw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/another-adonis-interview-with-scott-tousignant/feed/ 0 It's no secret that I believe in training for shape and proportion vs training for massive size and bulk. I've been down the 'bulking' road in my younger days and although I was strong it also left me fat and totally out of shape for years. It's no secret that I believe in training for shape and proportion vs training for massive size and bulk. I've been down the 'bulking' road in my younger days and although I was strong it also left me fat and totally out of shape for years. Looking back it seems like such a waste of time...so many years spent out of shape. Even though it took me a while I eventually figured it out and learned that it's just not possible to 'big' your way through life. It's been years since then and the Adonis Index system and philosophy is how I transformed myself and my entire approach to working out, 'fitness' whatever that means, and what it means to be 'in shape'. We've got solid metrics that are rooted in science and art history and have proven to be applicable for everyone. This goes for both people on our system as well as people who aren't necessarily following our system. The point is you can build a golden Adonis Index ratio more than one way. The workout programs I've built are my best shot with what I know about program design to get you to your golden AI as quickly as possible. But workout design is an art form, almost like composing music. You can make an infinite number of songs while still using the same selection chords, musical scale, instruments, notes, keys etc. The only thing that limits what can be produced is the imagination of the artist. The same thing goes with working out. Even though there are a finite number of exercises, set and rep schemes, and number of workouts you could possibly do in a week, there is almost a limitless number of ways to combine them into a workout that will get you to your goal...as long as the workout designer has their eye on the same prize. Enter Scott Tousignant. He's an artist with his eye on the same prize. A perfectly proportioned body. Scott has been a friend of ours for a while now and he's is very familiar with all things Adonis Index. He has a very similar outlook on what has gone wrong in the diet and fitness industry and how a mindset shift towards proportion, shape and maintaining a low body fat level is the real goal for working out. We both agree that the 'get big at all costs' mindset is fading and for good reason...it looks terrible. Setting a bodyweight goal, or a maximum strength goal, or any other performance or overall size metric is all secondary to the true answer we're all looking for...and that is a perfectly proportioned body for our height. In todays podcast Scott and I talk about working out and the mindset shift that must take place to start training for proportion and shape instead of overall bulk and size. Scott is living proof that there is more than one path to a golden Adonis Index ratio. He designs his own workouts and used them to get into the shape in the above pictures in this post. He's lean, muscular and has a golden Adonis Index ratio. Thats just about as good as it gets. So would I ever do Scott's workout? You bet, in fact I need to do other workouts just to get out of my head. Let me explain: If you've ever built workout programs for clients or for athletes/teams it can become very mentally exhausting to follow your own workouts for too long. I become very hypercritical of how my workouts feel, if something should be upgraded, or tweaked or modified. I actually have a very hard time following my own workouts without being somewhat stressed about them as I want them to be perfect. This is of course irrational as there is no such thing as a 'perfect workout' but nevertheless this is what ends up happening to me when I follow my own program for too long. I get caught up in my own head and struggle to 'just do it'. This is something that everyone who follows Adonis Index workouts can do with an AI workout...except me! I use Scott's workouts as part of my ongoing workout cycling to allow myself the freedom to go to the gym and 'just do it' for a while without analyzing my own workouts. John Barban, Brad Howard no 53:45 health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/another-adonis-interview-with-scott-tousignant/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/4D9Fg5fmYGw/ http://www.adonisindex.com/allen-elliott-fitness-modeling/#comments Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:00:50 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3787 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/allen-elliott-adonis-index-contest1-150x150.png?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="allen-elliott-adonis-index-contest" title="allen-elliott-adonis-index-contest" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Allen Elliott who won the Open Level 2 category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Allen is kind of our lifetime achievement winner. Whatever contest we threw at him, he won it. Improving and taking it to the next level each time. His results are obvious and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/4D9Fg5fmYGw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/allen-elliott-fitness-modeling/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Allen Elliott Today we have an interview with Allen Elliott who won the Open Level 2 category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: - Allen is kind of our lifetime achievement winner. Whatever contest we threw at him, he won it. Today we have an interview with Allen Elliott who won the Open Level 2 category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Allen is kind of our lifetime achievement winner. Whatever contest we threw at him, he won it. Improving and... John Barban, Brad Howard no 32:58 http://www.adonisindex.com/allen-elliott-fitness-modeling/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/AGBww3VXgGk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/build-muscle-without-eating-meat/#comments Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:00:11 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3724 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Adonis-Index-Jeremy-after-transformation-pictures-4-150x150.png?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Adonis Index Jeremy after transformation pictures (4)" title="Adonis Index Jeremy after transformation pictures (4)" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Jeremy Inabnit who placed 2nd in our latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: And here is one more: Jeremy was working in California and had a pretty good job. As things started to spiral down in 2006 he decided to sell some stuff and travel. He [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/AGBww3VXgGk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/build-muscle-without-eating-meat/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Jeremy Inabnit who placed 2nd in our latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - And here is one more: - Jeremy was working in California and had a pretty good job. Today we have an interview with Jeremy Inabnit who placed 2nd in our latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: And here is one more: Jeremy was working in California and had a pretty good job. As things started to spiral down in 2006 he decided to sell some stuff and travel. He was tired of his lifestyle and of working for less and less money. This desire to travel lead him to some amazing placed like Kenya or Republic of Georgia. He traded one lifestyle for another. As he was changing his lifestyle and overall approach to life, he also began searching for ways to improve his diet and training. This lead him to Eat Stop Eat, which he incorporated almost instantly and shortly afterwards to Adonis Index. He didn't jumped right into the program and instead just started listening to the podcasts. At that time he was still following his old workout routine, but searching for a better, more efficient way of training. After listening to dozens of the Adonis Index podcasts he realized that this is the right choice for him. And he decided to give the workouts a shot. He was teaching, doing volunteer work, was constantly around tasty food and thought he wouldn't be able to follow the program. But he decided to stop making excuses and jump right in, and the rest is history. Small Sacrifices Can Lead to Big Benefits Jeremy actually competed in AT6, but he didn't like the pictures, so he didn't submit them. He worked on improving his approach and entered AT7. For AT7 he used the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle and fasted a few times a week and followed the Adonis Index 3.0 program with some specializations. What was really interesting was his diet. Jeremy decided to become a vegan and he stayed vegan during the whole AT7 contest. This is a big one, because most people would think that not eating meat, eggs and all the usual sources of protein would lead to strength and muscle loss, but if anything Jeremy GAINED muscle. And as you can see on his pictures he is far from skinny. So, if you were curious whether you can be a vegetarian or vegan and still pack on some muscles and get ripped, well the answer is yes, you can. As stated in Brad Pilon's book How Much Protein, you really don't need that much protein in your diet as some fitness marketers would have you believe. From research we know that once you are above the average intake it just doesn't make any difference. Jeremy wasn't concern with his protein intake during the whole time, why? Well, why would he...he wasn't feeling weak. Quite the opposite and he liked what he saw in the mirror, so there wasn't any need for him to worry about protein at all. What we are also getting from research is that as you progress in the gym and gain more experience, your body actually becomes efficient at how it's using protein. As a result you will need less of it, not more. Quite contrary to the conventional bodybuilding myth huh? What Jeremy also noticed is that not only he could continue building muscle while being vegan, but he even lost cravings for all the sweet stuff. And that's huge, because this just proves that you can condition yourself in or out of food cravings. Test this yourself, try eating a donut every morning at 9am for 30 days. At day 31 stop and write down how you feel about not having your regular donut. Chances are you will want that donut and will do anything to get it. Jeremy freed himself from cravings by being a vegan. He threw in some protein shakes just to keep the protein intake in check. You would think that's already more than enough changes and "sacrifices" to make even more. Well, he made one more. Jeremy completely eliminated alcohol intake. This is something most people are not willing to give up. What you eat is your personal choice and no one should tell you otherwise (just limit the amount), so even if you enjoy steaks and ribs, that's fine. However, John Barban, Brad Howard no 26:41 http://www.adonisindex.com/build-muscle-without-eating-meat/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/UFHir7GX_CU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/save-time-with-dieting/#comments Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:00:23 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3679 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Todd_Burgette_AT7-e1335001486910-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Stop making excuses an get on the path to building a better body today." title="Todd_Burgette_AT7-e1335001486910" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Todd Burgette who placed 4th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Todd is 6 foot tall and was 240 pounds. He lost 60 pounds over the course of 14 weeks. That&#8217;s a pretty big accomplishment. Before training with Adonis Index he was going to [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/UFHir7GX_CU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/save-time-with-dieting/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Todd Burgette who placed 4th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Todd is 6 foot tall and was 240 pounds. He lost 60 pounds over the course of 14 weeks. Today we have an interview with Todd Burgette who placed 4th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Todd is 6 foot tall and was 240 pounds. He lost 60 pounds over the course of 14 weeks. That's a pretty big... John Barban, Brad Howard no 41:37 http://www.adonisindex.com/save-time-with-dieting/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/uwUEntI4Ois/ http://www.adonisindex.com/excuse-or-opportunity-transformation/#comments Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:00:14 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3609 <img width="150" height="150" src="http://c2470912.r12.cf0.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Rob_Roberson_AT7_Transformation_4thPlace-e13350014378551-150x150.jpg?9d7bd4" class="attachment-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Rob_Roberson_AT7_Transformation_4thPlace-e1335001437855" title="Rob_Roberson_AT7_Transformation_4thPlace-e1335001437855" style="float:left; margin:0 15px 15px 0;" />Today we have an interview with Robert Robinson who placed 4th in the Transformation category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: You would say that a 30 year old guy who works in a lab and is getting a job as a teacher AND planning for his wedding in his spare time [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/uwUEntI4Ois" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/excuse-or-opportunity-transformation/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Robert Robinson who placed 4th in the Transformation category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - You would say that a 30 year old guy who works in a lab and is getting a job as a teache... Today we have an interview with Robert Robinson who placed 4th in the Transformation category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: You would say that a 30 year old guy who works in a lab and is getting a job as a teacher AND planning for his wedding in his spare time will be pretty busy (and maybe too busy) with his life to be concern with getting in shape or even entering a fitness contest. As impossible as it sounds Rob proved to us again that it can be done, no matter how busy you are and how stressful your life is. Rob told us that contrary to what we would guess, a busy life provides structure and it's actually easier to get things done when you have very little free time. You may have noticed this yourself, that on some days when you have a lot of work, and need to get your workout done, you are really productive, because you have so much planned out, you have to keep going until it's all finished, no laziness or looking for ways to kill time - productivity only. Most people would consider being 'busy' as an excuse and would complain about how they have no time to go to the gym or eat properly. Not Rob, he saw an opportunity in this (that's the spirit!). Before we dig into his approach, let's look at his diet and training history (expect some interesting stuff). Everyone Expected Rob to Be Big for the Rest of His Life Believe it or not, but at one point Rob was 300 pounds! He was big, but like he said he wasn't big like bodybuilders, he was big and overweight. Back then he didn't think about the look of his body and since it didn't affect his work, he didn't concern himself with it. He loved Arnold's movies, so he thought being big is a good thing. It was also sort of expected from his family. Then he had a moment when he visited a friend of his who had Arnold's encyclopedia of bodybuilding. After reading it and going through the pictures he realized that he doesn't look the way he wants or should and he needs to change. Using some diet approaches he found on the internet he got down to 216 (from 300) and basically lost 80 pounds in six months (pretty impressive). And then he stalled at that point for a while. After some time he got even further down to 180 pounds, but he wasn't sure what was causing the results. Which is pretty interesting, because even though he managed to lose that much weight he was still afraid of gaining the weight back...this is because everyone who lost weight he knew always gained it back. At first he thought that just because he was eating a diet low in carbohydrates he was losing fat. Later  after finding Adonis Index he realized that what really caused his massive weight loss was a reduction in calories, combined with a drastic increase in activity, and most importantly - consistency in these two areas over time. He lowered calories somewhat unintentionally since he though that carbs are the bad guy or he would do hours of activities and not realize hoe many calories it was burning. Being Big vs. Being Ripped Rob was glad he lost all that weight, however like he said he was skinny-fat, he had (in his words) "no muscles at all" at that point. At the beach when he would take off his shirt, he would just be smooth with no muscle definition. He was low in bodyweight, but not satisfied with his physique, he simply didn't look the why he envisioned for himself. This is further proof that there is a huge disconnect from how you look and what the scale says. People don't understand this concept and get scared as soon as the scale number gets low (in their opinion). The truth was that Rob never focused on developing any muscle mass, so it doesn't come as such a surprise when you think about it. We are so culturally focused on the number on the scale, but completely ignore the "quality" or the "whole picture" that makes up the look and health of our body. John Barban, Brad Howard no 58:44 http://www.adonisindex.com/excuse-or-opportunity-transformation/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/UJjN4RYQcmk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/journey-to-cover-model-body/#comments Mon, 28 May 2012 16:00:25 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3575 Today we have an interview with Adam Murphy who placed 4th in the Open Category Level 1 in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Today Adam looks at training and lifting differently, they are two different terms. Before finding the Adonis Index Adam was already very familiar with going to the gym and working out. However, just [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/UJjN4RYQcmk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/journey-to-cover-model-body/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Adam Murphy who placed 4th in the Open Category Level 1 in the latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Today Adam looks at training and lifting differently, they are two different terms. Today we have an interview with Adam Murphy who placed 4th in the Open Category Level 1 in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Today Adam looks at training and lifting differently, they are two different terms. Before fin... John Barban, Brad Howard no 33:29 http://www.adonisindex.com/journey-to-cover-model-body/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Ze0Ay7SGn2g/ http://www.adonisindex.com/make-it-lifestyle/#comments Wed, 23 May 2012 16:00:18 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3540 Today we have an interview with Matt Misiurak who won 5th place in our recent Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Matt has been with Adonis Index for a while, he even placed in the AT3. In just 11 weeks he lost 35 pounds. He got to a bodyweight of 162 pounds and lost [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Ze0Ay7SGn2g" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/make-it-lifestyle/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Matt Misiurak who won 5th place in our recent Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Matt has been with Adonis Index for a while, he even placed in the AT3. Today we have an interview with Matt Misiurak who won 5th place in our recent Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Matt has been with Adonis Index for a while, he even placed in the AT3. In just 11 weeks he lost 35 pounds. He got to a bodyweight of 162 pounds and lost 9 inches on his waist going from 42 to 33 inches. However, despite making the transformation, he gained the fat back and got all the way back up to 190 pounds. This was as he puts it "pretty bad", he knew something was obviously missing in his mindset. And here is the thing, having a great body is not an outcome or final destination, it's not a point in time, but rather it's the result of a continuous effort. It simply has to become a part of your lifestyle. Now, this doesn't mean you have to eat six meals a day, weighing your food, doing two hours of cardio in the morning and working out for three hours in the afternoon. If you are not preparing to compete and step on a live stage you never need to go to those extremes. However, here is the truth, getting in shape is a process not a destination and not only that, but it has to be a lifestyle. This is why we preach flexible and long-term sustainable options, here are a few of them: Intermittent routine periodic fasting Low calorie weekdays as a way to 'bank' calories for weekends 3-5 workouts a week on average Focusing on flexibility, balance and freedom in your diet ...and choosing these options over the more inflexible and obsessive patterns like carb cycling or macronutrient optimizing, and obsessing over good vs bad food lists. Our system is meant to get you in shape while still having a life worth living! Matt learned the hard way that getting in shape is only the first step. The second step is all about figuring out how to stay in shape. You have to continue working out, keep progressing, finding  new goals and new ways of balancing your life with your fitness. When he saw the 190 pound mark on the scale he realized that for the past few months he was moving backwards in his life and that needed to change. In your life you must move forward to feel satisfied, happy and fulfilled. There needs to be constant improvement, you have to strive for a better life in order to enjoy it no matter where you currently are...we can all do a little bit better each day if we choose to. "I Always Wanted a Six-Pack, At 29 I Finally Have It!" What Matt did to start moving forward again was "shadowing" one of the contests we had at that time to get back in shape. He decided not to compete officially, because he was afraid of taking it too extreme and rebounding again. Everything was going well, so he entered the AT7, well the results are amazing. Here is one more picture: This time Matt took a much more sustainable approach and changed his body for good and lives the Adonis Lifestyle. And that's what this is about. The goal is to get in shape and STAY THERE. Stop looking for excuses and start finding reasons why you can do it and why you deserve to have the AI body. If It's Something You Wanted to Achieve Your Whole Life, Why Haven't You Done Anything About it? Sometimes you get caught up before you get started. Matt talks about asking yourself 6 basic question to determine what to do to achieve your goals and have the life you want, here they are: When - It should always be RIGHT NOW! What - Build a great shape Why - Why do you want to get in shape? What will it change in your life? Where - Where ever you are RIGHT NOW Who - Yourself, YOU will always be the priority in your life How - Eat less, follow the AI workouts and train consistently This will sound way to simple and stupid to most people, but if you take a few minutes and really think about the answers you will be much clearer on what should you do next. Once you find answers to all these questions you will understand why you want to achieve your goal. John Barban, Brad Howard no 25:36 http://www.adonisindex.com/make-it-lifestyle/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Zu6oIWPBc3I/ http://www.adonisindex.com/powerlifter-runner-now-trains-with-adonis-index/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3470 Today we have an interview with Carl Thomson who placed 5th in the Open Level 1 Division in our latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: At the beginning Carl was like most of the guys, he was skinny and wanted to put on some muscles. He went on the web and found a local [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Zu6oIWPBc3I" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/powerlifter-runner-now-trains-with-adonis-index/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Carl Thomson who placed 5th in the Open Level 1 Division in our latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - At the beginning Carl was like most of the guys, Today we have an interview with Carl Thomson who placed 5th in the Open Level 1 Division in our latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: At the beginning Carl was like most of the guys, he was skinny and wanted to put on some muscles. He went on the web and found a local gym. Over the years he tried several different programs, but his upper body shape remained unchanged. But this wasn't everything. Carl also did a powerlifting workout program, where he was supposed to progress every week on his bench press and squats, having a specific weight target he needed to hit workout after workout. Considering the fact that Carl could squat 395 pounds and deadlift 440 pounds at the age of 14 he was a bit inclined towards the powerlifting type of training. He is also 5 foot 4, so his height is ideal for this sport as well. However, after a couple of weeks, he couldn't even fit into his jeans, his legs were huge. He started researching some ways to measure his legs, so he could buy more fitting jeans. And searching for measurements and proportions he ended up at the Adonis Index website. Why Adonis Index Style Is the Way to Train What Carl really liked was the fact that the main workouts were mostly dumbbell based thus easy to do and he wouldn't have to wait for equipment in his overcrowded gym. The powerlifting program he was using was very difficult to do, because if he didn't get to the gym early he wouldn't be able to get his exercises done. And like he said the workouts were fantastic. The phase he enjoyed the most was the strength endurance and the progression to hypertrophy of the main module. After a couple of weeks his body shape finally started to change in a way that he wanted. Carl realized that powerlifting isn't his primary goal, but rather having a good looking body is. Shortly after reading the Adonis Index and experiencing the change he realized that there are different body shapes you can get yourself into. Think about it for a while. Just by working out in a specific way you can change the way you look and completely transform your body shape. Just think of the various shapes in the different sports you see like cycling, swimming, tennis, soccer, sprinting, marathons, football, hockey...every player of those sports has a characteristic body shape that is defined by their sport. HOWEVER, the important factor is that they look the way that is best for their performance in that given sport! Swimmers have really developed shoulders, rowers have well developed backs, marathon runners are extremely lean and have less muscle than the average person, however this undersized body helps with their run performance. Do you see the point? Those physique's are all performance based! At no point have I mentioned whether the physique looks good or not. Your form is built by your function, so you must choose your function wisely. And this is an important thing to realize. Carl did both powerlifting, and endurance training for marathons, but the training he loved most was physique training with the Adonis Index. And that's the question. Do you want to be an athlete and allow your function to dictate your form or train for a specific look and have the lifestyle that goes along with a good looking, healthy body? If so, then the training isn't the goal, the outcome, your body shape is. It only makes sense to focus on improving what looks the best, which is a muscular, lean body with a dominant V-taper shape (perfect AI ratio). Once you are on this path and aiming for the perfect V-taper, you will see some amazing changes, your body will transform and people will act differently around you. And once you build a solid body shape you can also focus on your lagging muscle groups or even stop training those muscles that are already well-developed. For example Carl will never have to train his calves or thighs very much from now on, take a look: John Barban, Brad Howard no 35:48 http://www.adonisindex.com/powerlifter-runner-now-trains-with-adonis-index/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Ezo-pGu4biQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/gain-muscle-stay-lean/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 16:00:22 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3396 Today we have an interview with Ross Goldsack who won the Open category level 1 in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Ross looks great and he was really happy with his look and how the pictures turned out. Here&#8217;s one more: Ross has a very common story and experience with fitness. A few [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Ezo-pGu4biQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/gain-muscle-stay-lean/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Ross Goldsack who won the Open category level 1 in the latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Ross looks great and he was really happy with his look and how the pictures turned out. - Today we have an interview with Ross Goldsack who won the Open category level 1 in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Ross looks great and he was really happy with his look and how the pictures turned out. Here's one more: Ross has a very common story and experience with fitness. A few years ago he decided to work on his physique and started going to the gym with his buddies and also started consuming fitness information, mainly the fitness magazines. The workouts became a habit and he was really enjoying them. And like everyone else in this position he naturally wanted to improve, so he progressed into reading bodybuilding magazines and started reading more about various ways to build more muscle and lose fat. However, he felt victim to the traditional fitness advice and made a lot of mistakes. Let's discuss a few of them. Mistake No.1 Consuming Lots of Fitness Information Fitness industry is full of companies making billions in revenue. The goal isn't to get you in shape though. The goal is to continuously have you buying their products. And as a result, you start to feel that you absolutely have to get the new magazine, full of the latest tips that nobody knew about four weeks ago, or the new "functional workout" protocol, or the new protein supplement that just came out promising those amazing gains in the first three weeks... and we could go on and on. If you have been in this industry for a while, you are probably overwhelmed by all the fitness information and various approaches. At this moment you should take a completely different approach. You should detach yourself from the fitness industry and focus on doing the simple things that will get you the most results. Mistake No.2 Comparing Yourself to Bodybuilders One of the biggest mistakes Ross made at this early stage of fitness, before finding Adonis Index, was going through the bodybuilding magazines and comparing himself to the photos in them. The issue with this magazines is that they are full of pictures of professional bodybuilders. With the transformation contests here at Adonis Index, you'll get pictures that can be compared with fitness covers, because we give advice on how to make yourself look bigger or leaner by posing, show more muscle definition with a tan or water deplete. However, comparing yourself to bodybuilders is a bit ridiculous if you are not willing to take the "extra" mile. Yes, that would mean taking steroids. If you are not taking anything beyond supplements, why are you comparing yourself to guys, who inject themselves with stuff you have never heard about and in a dose that would scare off a horse? Mistake No.3 Doing the Bulking & Cutting Stuff A few years back Ross got caught in the conventional bulking and cutting approach. Ross got to a point where he would weigh about 210 pounds. He could fill out a large shirt, but still not have the look he desired. Like he said, he looked like crap. He was feeling bigger, but fatter. And no surprise, because what he gained was all fat, he was basically trying to eat his way up to bigger muscles, which is a bit ridiculous and biologically impossible. There is nothing wrong with being big in a shirt, but most guys will probably prefer looking good shirtless than in a shirt. So, what will it be shirt on big and shirt off fat or shirt on fit and shirt off ripped? Make a choice. FYI when Ross did the cut down and lost the fat, he lost the exact amount of weight he gained during the bulking phase. So, he went through the misery of gaining fat and losing it again all for nothing, muscle mass as we would expect did not change at all. What's the point of that? Slowly Re-Focus on Building a Natural Body After finding Adonis Index through Eat Stop Eat, Ross started listening to all of the podcasts and reading every article at Adonis Index he could get his hands on. John Barban, Brad Howard no 35:00 http://www.adonisindex.com/gain-muscle-stay-lean/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/fly8LXSHEhw/ http://www.adonisindex.com/powerful-adonis-transformation/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:00:34 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3332 Today we have an interview with Phil who won the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Phil started lifting weights after graduation, he didn&#8217;t think he had favourable genetics, but he had the &#8220;hard work genes&#8221; as he says. However, the issue was that he was doing the same exercises and routine for [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/fly8LXSHEhw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/powerful-adonis-transformation/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Phil who won the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Phil started lifting weights after graduation, he didn't think he had favourable genetics, Today we have an interview with Phil who won the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Phil started lifting weights after graduation, he didn't think he had favourable genetics, but he had the "hard work genes" a... John Barban, Brad Howard no 46:56 http://www.adonisindex.com/powerful-adonis-transformation/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/oV36DvWNzvk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/killer-body-vaclav-gregor/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:37 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=3238 Today we have a very special interview with Vaclav Gregor, he&#8217;s agreed for us to refer to him as Greg. Some of you might recognize him from a previous contest. Greg is now a member of the Adonis Index team and works with the Brad&#8217;s and I to keep the AI mission moving forward. He [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/oV36DvWNzvk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/killer-body-vaclav-gregor/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Transformation,transformation,Vaclav Gregor Today we have a very special interview with Vaclav Gregor, he's agreed for us to refer to him as Greg. Some of you might recognize him from a previous contest. Greg is now a member of the Adonis Index team and works with the Brad's and I to keep the AI... Today we have a very special interview with Vaclav Gregor, he's agreed for us to refer to him as Greg. Some of you might recognize him from a previous contest. Greg is now a member of the Adonis Index team and works with the Brad's and I to keep the AI... John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:12:36 http://www.adonisindex.com/killer-body-vaclav-gregor/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/pK6Qyl5n4Gc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/try-opposite-of-bulking/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:00:07 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2956 Today we have an interview with John Jordan who placed 2nd in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: John&#8217;s transformation was quite impressive and he has a reason to be happy and proud of himself. At first he wasn&#8217;t sure what to expect, but since he worked out really hard, followed his diet plan and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/pK6Qyl5n4Gc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/try-opposite-of-bulking/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with John Jordan who placed 2nd in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - John's transformation was quite impressive and he has a reason to be happy and proud of himself. - Today we have an interview with John Jordan who placed 2nd in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: John's transformation was quite impressive and he has a reason to be happy and proud of himself. At first he wasn't sure what to expect, but since he worked out really hard, followed his diet plan and did everything he could to show his hard work in his photos he placed second in the transformation contest. And it's absolutely natural to have doubts about your progress and not be sure how you are going to end up. Especially if you have never done anything like this and you really have no idea how well you will look once you lean out and get a tan. The only way to find out is to do your best, take the pictures and see. You can't really tell a lot at the beginning, you may start seeing some minor changes about a midway through, however most people see the results right at the end in the final week. And if you don't have much to go, maybe just a couple of pounds to lose, build a bit of muscle and basically get photoshoot ready, you won't necessarily notice any changes on daily basis. You see yourself in the mirror all the time and those daily changes will be subtle and require patience on your part. ...But when you take the final pictures after 12 weeks that's when you get blown away by the overall change. One of the few metrics or tracking tools you've got that can help you determine whether you are building more muscle or not is an increase in strength. Strength usually comes first followed by a change in the size/shape/look of your body. You can be strong without necessarily gaining more muscle at first. Gaining strength means that you are on the right track and will ultimately translate into visibly more muscle mass. John says he didn't feel any change at the midway point of the contest...then he noticed some really good strength improvements in the gym. That feeling of strength helped him stay the course and push through to the end of the contest. The Illusion of Being Bigger How many pounds did John gain? Not how many pounds of muscle, but how much heavier do you think he is in his after pictures? Really...pick a number before reading any further, you might be surprised by the actual answer. So, how much do you think? 10, 15 pounds? And remember we are talking overall weight, not muscle alone. Well, whatever number you had in mind, it was wrong. Why is that? Because he didn't gain any weight, not a pound. John actually lost several pounds to get to this shape. That being said, it doesn't mean he didn't gain any muscle at all. The point is that to look really good, you need to gain only few pounds of muscle, not 20 or 30 like some supplement claims say, which in most cases is impossible without any pharmaceuticals. A few pounds of real muscle gained in the right places and in the right proportion will make an incredible difference. Most people don't even realize how much or how big one pound of muscle can actually be or look like. Little note, next time you go to a grocery store, take a pound of steak and put it next to your arm to really see this. Once you see that that pound is the size of your whole biceps you will understand that expecting to gain 30lbs of muscle is a bit ridiculous and the only people that can gain so much are in their teens or early 20's and have never worked out before. And since John got totally shredded he had to lose several pounds. Without boring you with the math now, when you'd calculate this he actually LOST WEIGHT to get to the shape in his after pictures...even though he looks significantly bigger and most muscular. This is the illusion of leanness and well-proportioned muscles. Once you get in shape and really lean...six pack lean, when other people will see you without your shirt they will constantly guess that you weigh more than you do. John Barban, Brad Howard no 18:32 http://www.adonisindex.com/try-opposite-of-bulking/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/cv7S4tt_xmo/ http://www.adonisindex.com/save-years-of-struggle/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:00:39 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2920 Today we bring you an interview with Kerry Hopkins who placed  6th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Kerry started working out when he was 16. However, his workouts lacked any structure and it was just about working out rather than really training. And there is clearly a difference between just showing up [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/cv7S4tt_xmo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/save-years-of-struggle/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we bring you an interview with Kerry Hopkins who placed  6th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Kerry started working out when he was 16. However, Today we bring you an interview with Kerry Hopkins who placed  6th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Kerry started working out when he was 16. However, his workouts lacked any structure and it was just about working out rather than really training. And there is clearly a difference between just showing up in the gym and lifting some weights compared to going there with a specific goal, a good workout plan, and training with some dedication. Unfortunately most guys in the gym usually end up chatting with other people, boosting their ego on the bench press and pumping their 'mirror muscles'. For Kerry it was always about doing just a few sets here and there two times a week. And after a while due to a lack of motivation he stopped going to the gym all together. ...Then He Found Adonis Index For about a year Kerry was reading all the blog posts and listening to all the podcasts here at the Adonis Index, because he loved the science behind it and the simple approach. Everything made sense to him. However, it still took him a year to really get on board and take action. It wasn't until he saw some previous contest winners that he realized he needs to take action...just reading about this won't be enough. And this is really important, if you don't take action based on what you read about then you can't expect any results, can you? Let's make a quick test. Do you know when you've actually learned something? Little hint, learning is not just accumulating knowledge. You haven't learned anything if you can just cite pages from a book, it's when you change your behavior and take action on that knowledge. You learn when you change your habits, take action, start acting differently and put the theory in practice. After a year of working out Kerry noticed that not much had changed, so he decided to take action. He tried the contest and was unsuccessful due to a few set backs, he didn't even bother submitting pictures, because he knew he didn't change. He made several mistakes like following the advanced Adonis Index workout the Triple Stack while he was on a very low calorie diet. As a result he got burnt out after a month. That's when Kerry learned that you can't pull off a big caloric restriction when you are already pretty lean while following a really challenging and tough workout. He decided to get back to AI 3.0, which he found worked the best to cut and build at the same time. Kerry fasted once or twice a week, had just a coffee in the morning maybe with a piece of chocolate. Later on he would eat half of the dinner with his family and that would be it for the day. And then on the weekends since it was easier to overeat while he was out eating and drinking with his friends, he would eat back up to maintenance. He just didn't want to sacrifice his social life, so he decided to save his calories during the week and enjoy his weekends with his friends. The point is to have a social life and still look good. Then after 12 weeks he took the after pictures and just couldn't believe what he saw. And here's the thing, in a mirror you can see some new lines and may notice some improvements along the way. Day to day you will seem to look pretty much the same and it's hard to tell how much you've really changed. However, when you put the before and after pictures side by side that's when you can actually see a big difference. Kerry is around 9% bodyfat (just a guess) and like he said the model body doesn't seem unattainable anymore. It's just about building a bit more muscle. As long as he is consistent with the workouts the muscle will continue to come. Since he still has juvenile muscle growth on his side he can build some significant muscle mass over the next few years. Luckily for him he found Adonis Index early on in his life and was spared all of the crap like bulking and cutting, John Barban, Brad Howard no 21:51 http://www.adonisindex.com/save-years-of-struggle/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/SZCuJH8H6iU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/two-contests-from-ideal-shape/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:53 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2834 Today we have an interview with Al Sandoval who placed 6th in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: And in case you forgot how Al looked when he originally started, check this out: This was Al&#8217;s second contest. He won the transformation category in a previous contest. There really seems to be [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/SZCuJH8H6iU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/two-contests-from-ideal-shape/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Al Sandoval who placed 6th in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - And in case you forgot how Al looked when he originally started, check this out: - Today we have an interview with Al Sandoval who placed 6th in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: And in case you forgot how Al looked when he originally started, check this out: This was Al's second contest. He won the transformation category in a previous contest. There really seems to be a pattern in this. It looks like guys get rid of a few pounds, get into a contest, get lean and then they focus on building more muscle and moving towards a specific shape. If you're like Al, you might actually be just two contests away from your ideal body shape. Al's Insights from His Second Contest Al was very proud of his final pictures and incredibly impressed with his first change. He wanted to take some time off, but convinced himself to do next contest. What is is like going from one contest to another one? Hard, but doable. He says motivation was tougher this time. Which is understandable, because putting so much energy and focus into this for so long without any break is really tough. It doesn't mean that you will do just one contest and then you are done for the rest of your life, no not at all, you obviously will have to maintain your look and will still have a lot to work on, but getting ready for a fitness photoshoot requires way more energy and attention, which is why most guys don't do two back-to-back contests. When you take some time off and just work out and eat to stay where you are, your desire to take your physique to the next level and compete gets bigger. But Al decided to give this a shot and showed up with some amazing pictures. During the preparation for the first contest he would look at his before pictures and at his "hate handles" as he calls them to keep himself motivated and to stick to his diet plan. This time he knew he looked good, so there was the temptation to slip a bit, since it wouldn't do any damage. And that's exactly it. Just because you get from overweight to a decent shape, it doesn't mean all of your life problems and everything will be solved. No, that's not how it works. Once you get over one challenge the next one will appear and so on, this is how you move forward and with a bit of determination you can get some amazing results. Most people will give up after a while, even if they get past the first few challenges...and with that said "most people" don't have extraordinary results and don't live extraordinary lives, do they? Once Al got in shape, his new challenge to face was finding a reason why he should continue when he already looks good, what goal should he aim for. He decided that he want's a six pack, because that is something he never had in his life and that's a goal worth pursing. And even now he is still on track and determined to get to that goal. The Leaner You Get, The Harder It Is to Lose Weight To get decent muscle definition and a six pack, you need to be willing to persist and take it further than most people. This is a point where we are seeing similar feedback from pretty much all the contestants. The leaner you get, the harder the fat loss actually becomes. When you have to lose 50 pounds, it will be quick and pretty easy compared to slow progress of going from average/lean to ripped/shredded. Water plays a huge role in this. When you are overweight, your body retains literally pounds of water that wouldn't normally be there. Second reason why it's easier at first is because your body has enormous energy storage that it can use. When you get to about 12% bodyfat, this changes. Suddenly there is very little bodyfat on you, your desire to eat increases because your body wants you to eat at your energy expenditure and it's really hard to limit your calories intake. On top of that when you get lean, certain metrics like the scale or waist measurement suddenly become useless. This doesn't mean it's impossible to get ripped, John Barban, Brad Howard no 15:10 http://www.adonisindex.com/two-contests-from-ideal-shape/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/y5cfmg1J0V0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/golden-ratio-ideal-body-shape/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:00:40 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2807 Today we bring you an interview with Vivek. Vivek placed 3rd in the latest Adonis Index Contest in the Transformation category. Vivek started with no experience or knowledge about exercises whatsoever. If you told him that bench press is for building bigger legs, he would probably believe you. From a diet stand point it wasn&#8217;t so much [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/y5cfmg1J0V0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/golden-ratio-ideal-body-shape/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we bring you an interview with Vivek. Vivek placed 3rd in the latest Adonis Index Contest in the Transformation category. - Vivek started with no experience or knowledge about exercises whatsoever. Today we bring you an interview with Vivek. Vivek placed 3rd in the latest Adonis Index Contest in the Transformation category. Vivek started with no experience or knowledge about exercises whatsoever. If you told him that bench press is for building bigger legs, he would probably believe you. From a diet stand point it wasn't so much different. Vivek is vegetarian, but he had no idea what any of the diet claims meant. Calories were basically just something the brand put on the label along with the logo. Until 2011 dieting and exercising were unknown concepts for him. Finally he decided to get in shape and lose some weight. He went with the conventional fitness approach and started eating "healthier food". For two months he was basically eating brown rice, fruits and vegetables. However, since he wasn't paying any attention to calories, he didn't lose any weight at all. He was basically eating the same amount of calories, but from different sources of food and so called healthy sources. This "healthy eating" made absolutely no difference in how he felt or how much he weighed. Like he said, Vivek wasn't obese, but he was a bit overweight and needed to lose a few pounds and since eating 'healthy' wasn't working, he kept looking for something different. What Does an iPhone and Your Body Have in Common? Vivek has an IT company, so working with software and technology he understands that the golden ratio is an important aspect in developing any application and that aesthetics are the key. Just take an iPhone, you would have a really hard time finding a phone that would be more aesthetically pleasing than the one from Apple. And it's no coincidence either. The developers used the concept of a golden ratio in the development process. Same ratio that Vivek uses. Same ratio that Adonis Index workouts are designed to shape your body into. When he stumbled across the Adonis Index he was excited because somebody actually  quantified and put some science around the concept of aesthetics, took concepts he knew and applied them to building the ideal body shape. Seeing the same concept he used in technology development, for shaping his body was incredible revelation to him and he immediately knew it made sense. He started studying the program and implementing the advice. The implementing part is important, because you don't learn by gaining more knowledge, you learn when you change your behavior and take action. Learn to Use the Metrics Vivek made an interesting observation, and that is people have a poor understanding of how to use metrics, they either don't use them at all, or they don't use them correctly. He created a spreadsheet, tracked what he ate and realized that eating "healthy" is not an answer. Despite what the fitness magazines, personal trainers, dietitians and other "certified experts" say, in order to lose weight you can eat whatever you like, but you have to stay in a caloric deficit. Eat a balanced diet, with lot's of vegetables, but stay in caloric deficit, then you will lose weight, the answer is not by eating some magic, "healthy" food. Next thing is that your daily fluctuation will show on the scale, so the only way to know whether you are progressing or not is to measure your weight on a weekly basis. And that's exactly what Vivek did, he looked at what he ate on weekly basis only. He calculated his RMR multiplied it by seven and had a number of calories he burned each week without any additional exercise. And for every pound of fat he wanted to lose he would subtract 3500 from this number, being left with the calorie budget for that given week. At the beginning he pressed for a larger deficit when he had the most fat to lose and ate really low calories the first few weeks. It was way easier and simpler and the only thing he did was to log what he ate. He didn't eat six meals a day, didn't over-consume protein, didn't count macro-nutrients, didn't weigh food, John Barban, Brad Howard no 39:06 http://www.adonisindex.com/golden-ratio-ideal-body-shape/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/lXsZq3qbza8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/never-quit/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:30 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2779 Today we have an interview with Keith Taylor who placed fifth in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Never Give Up, Ever! Keith started lifting as a kid, all of the big guys were going to the gym, so it seemed like a good idea. He was basically [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/lXsZq3qbza8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/never-quit/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today we have an interview with Keith Taylor who placed fifth in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: Never Give Up, Ever! Keith started lifting as a kid, Today we have an interview with Keith Taylor who placed fifth in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: Never Give Up, Ever! Keith started lifting as a kid, all of the big guys were going to the gym, so it seemed like a good idea. He was basically mirroring what they were doing, which wasn't so hard considering they lacked any structure and always just picked the weights and pushed them up as many times a possible. There was very little back or shoulder work, basically it was just about working the "mirror muscles" - biceps and chest, and then they tossed in some squats for good measure. After high school Keith tried going to a public gym, but he didn't like it very much, so he decided to invest in a home gym. Back then he was just following advice from magazines and pretty much working out like he did at high school, without any structured program. He got stronger, but he didn't gain any size. You could look at him and tell that he was fit, but he was never ripped. Keith was also eating a lot and ate his way up to 170 pounds, which at height of 5'4'' is not exactly shredded. Then a few years later in 1991 he injured a nerve in his back while trying to lift something at work. As a result of this injury he couldn't do any lifting for the next 20 years. Yea, you read that right, it wasn't until 2011 that he was able to get back to weight training. And if that wasn't enough, he also had asthma. He couldn't run or do any high intensity training. So, if someone had a good reason to pity himself and blame the world for what has happened it would be Keith. Well, that wasn't what he did. Keith didn't give up and started researching for a way to get rid of his asthma. Then one day as he was looking for something that would help with autoimmune issues he found fasting. It didn't take long that he stumbled upon Eat Stop Eat. He didn't think twice about it and immediately tried it. And believe it or not, he got better in just 30 days. Keith just couldn't believe how much better he could breath after 30 days. It worked, he significantly improved his asthma to a state that he could do some physical activity. Determination Is the Key Next step was to work on his injury. He would try to start working out every year since the injury, but it was always the same, he just couldn't lift the weights. Then in 2011 he noticed a difference, he could finally lift something. Not that he would be strong, but the pain was bearable and he could move the weights. This was great news. He knew that in the Eat Stop Eat manual was a link to a workout program, so he went home opened the book and clicked on it and got to the Adonis Index website. Since he could lift some weights and improved his asthma he decided to jump on board and give it a shot. He started with some shoulder specializations and worked his way up to the regular workouts. After a while and with a few adjustments he could handle the volume and follow the full training program, for the first time after his injury. Keith's Diet and Interesting Findings about Gluten Last thing he tried was dropping gluten. And in just 30 days he lost about 20 pounds. This basically meant cutting out most of the refined and processed stuff, but since he likes to cook, he didn't mind. He wasn't sure that it was really the gluten, so he decided to put it back in his diet and he got worse and started gaining again. This was an obvious proof that it worked, so he decided to cut it out and keep it that way. He stayed away from gluten and could keep the fat off and asthma in control. Ultimately he figured out that he can have gluten a few times per week, but only a few times, because he is highly sensitive to it. And that's how it works, most people don't have any problem with gluten at all, some are completely intolerant, and some are just very sensitive to it. If you don't have any issues, John Barban, Brad Howard no 31:44 http://www.adonisindex.com/never-quit/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/pge3biXDESc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/do-you-want-to-be-200-lbs/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:00:14 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2721 Today we have an interview with Shan Hefley, who placed second in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his photos: &#8220;&#8230;I Just Wanted to Get Bigger, Then I Read Adonis Index.&#8221; Shan started working out at an early age and since he gained some weight in college he dieted down and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/pge3biXDESc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/do-you-want-to-be-200-lbs/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest Today we have an interview with Shan Hefley, who placed second in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his photos: "...I Just Wanted to Get Bigger, Then I Read Adonis Index." Today we have an interview with Shan Hefley, who placed second in the Open category in the latest Adonis Index Contest. Check out his photos: "...I Just Wanted to Get Bigger, Then I Read Adonis Index." Shan started working out at an ea... John Barban, Brad Howard no 49:06 http://www.adonisindex.com/do-you-want-to-be-200-lbs/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/D9UJVzynKnM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/personal-trainer-fitness-industry-truth/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:00:11 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2760 Today with have an interview with Blair Baxter and he placed 5th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his before and after pictures: Blair is a personal trainer and in the interview he says that he&#8217;s probably let a few people down, because he has given advice that he now understands was [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/D9UJVzynKnM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/personal-trainer-fitness-industry-truth/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today with have an interview with Blair Baxter and he placed 5th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his before and after pictures: - Blair is a personal trainer and in the interview he says that he's probably let a... Today with have an interview with Blair Baxter and he placed 5th in the latest Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his before and after pictures: Blair is a personal trainer and in the interview he says that he's probably let a few people down, because he has given advice that he now understands was useless. He openly admits the fitness industry is pretty pathetic and leaves us with more questions than answers. He always thought that he needed to eat every three hours or his body will go into a starvation mode. It's an irony that at college he pretty much understood how the body works, when he wanted to lose fat, he just cut out the calories and instinctively ate less. Without any nutritional courses he knew that it's just about calories in and calories out. Later on when he started following the fitness magazines he got mislead and bought into the whole bodybuilding lifestyle. Blair's Experience with the Adonis Index Being a personal trainer made the decision to start following the Adonis Index workout a bit tough. Blair just wouldn't want to follow a different training routine, after all he was fully capable of designing his own effective workout. He would follow the Eat Stop Eat and Anything Goes Diet principles, but not the workout, he felt like it wouldn't work and he knows better. He was predicting that his shoulders would hurt, that it would not help him build any more muscle mass and it seemed too complicated to him. He was just sitting at his gym and finding excuses why he didn't want to follow this training program. It took him a while to get his mind over the fact that he is going to do somebody else's program and not change anything. But Blair saw the pictures of the previous contestants and he knew that if this worked for so many guys before him, it would work for him too. So he decided to put his ego away and just try it for three months. Blair said that he works out not because he likes working out, but because he likes the results. However, in the past he was usually jumping from program to program every month. For the first time he was able to stick to one program alone and finish it. The basic Adonis Index program changes so often with so much variety because more variety and change keeps the program interesting and helps you to stick to it for longer periods of time. Make no mistake, this is completely by design. We know that most people have a very short attention span with their workouts and half the battle with designing a good workout is keeping you interested in it long enough to see the results. If You Want to Show the Work You've Done in the Gym You Have to Eat Less Blair was amazed by the results of just eating less, his muscles were actually starting to show up. He always thought he is supposed to just bulk up otherwise he would lose muscle. Now he was doing exactly the opposite and surprisingly enough, it worked. In reality the muscles were always there, but covered by fat. In the past there were a few attempts to lean out, but after a while he would always think that he is getting too small, so he would start bulking again. Now he has quite a different perspective. Here is how he put it: "When you feel like you are getting too small and you are almost there you have to keep going". And that comes from somebody who spent a good chunk of his life bulking up. The permission to be light seems to be a big challenge for most guys, especially for those not used to being lean and light. But truth to be told, no matter how it feels or what you now think, being big and heavy doesn't equal being a bigger man, that is not how it works. And while Blair was afraid that he will disappear if he drops a few more pounds, he persisted thanks to support of his friend that got him to Adonis Index in the first place and got himself a fine placing in the transformation contest. It may not make any sense to you now, John Barban, Brad Howard no 59:33 http://www.adonisindex.com/personal-trainer-fitness-industry-truth/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/i6hbKN07NS8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/lose-100-pounds-get-ripped/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2688 Today we bring you an interview with Dan Richardson who placed 4th in the Open Division in the last Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: This is not the first competition Dan placed in. Right now he has three contest under his belt. Here are the pictures from one of his previous contests: This [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/i6hbKN07NS8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/lose-100-pounds-get-ripped/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest Today we bring you an interview with Dan Richardson who placed 4th in the Open Division in the last Adonis Index Contest. - Check out his pictures: - This is not the first competition Dan placed in. Today we bring you an interview with Dan Richardson who placed 4th in the Open Division in the last Adonis Index Contest. Check out his pictures: This is not the first competition Dan placed in. Right now he has three contest under his be... John Barban, Brad Howard no 45:03 http://www.adonisindex.com/lose-100-pounds-get-ripped/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/qn9DEfUoygE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-herman-interview/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:49 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2613 Herman Douglas placed 3rd in the Sixth Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. Check out his photos: Herman has been working out since 9th grade, so he&#8217;s a pretty experienced lifter. While he has a lot of experience in the gym, he was never in a really exceptional shape. And because he was afraid of losing all the [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/qn9DEfUoygE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-herman-interview/feed/ 5 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,adonis index transformation contest Herman Douglas placed 3rd in the Sixth Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. - Check out his photos: - Herman has been working out since 9th grade, so he's a pretty experienced lifter. While he has a lot of experience in the gym, Herman Douglas placed 3rd in the Sixth Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. Check out his photos: Herman has been working out since 9th grade, so he's a pretty experienced lifter. While he has a lot of experience in the gym, he was never in a really exceptional shape. And because he was afraid of losing all the muscle he ate a lot of calories that in reality prevented him from losing any fat. Herman is 5'9'' and was always scared of being lighter than 200 pounds. Like he said, it is pretty ridiculous to think that somebody his height should weight that much. If you are working out that sort of weight can look good in a shirt that perception drastically changes when you take it off. For Herman it wasn't until his wife took some pictures of him, especially of his back. Only then he realized how much fat really is on his body. Most guys never really care how they look from the back and focus on the mirror look only. When Herman saw that there is a lot of fat hiding from him or from what he can see in a mirror, he was really surprised. He thought he was in much better shape. After a friend introduced him to the Adonis Index he started to wonder if this new approach would get him some results. It still took him some time to get over the fact that he needed to drop not just 10 pounds, but really somewhere around 30 pounds of fat to get in decent shape. Stop Using Weight as a Fitness Indicator A lot of guys think that they need to get to 200 pounds and while it's impossible for the vast majority of guys to be that heavy while being lean, there is no need for that either. If you think you need to get big and hit the 200 mark as soon as possible, you are looking at it from the wrong perspective. Ask yourself this: "Do I want to look good and enjoy all the benefits of having a killer looking body?" If so then stop focusing on getting bigger and rather take a look at yourself and concentrate on a specific shape and proportions. Shape and proportion are what matters and what will determine whether you are in good shape or not, not how much you weigh. There are several issues with using weight as an indicator whether you look good or not. Weight itself tells you nothing. Weight is directly proportional to your height. A 6'4'' NBA player will have genetic potential for building more muscle mass than an average 5'10 gym rat. So setting up a weight goal without considering other factors just points out on a lack of perspective. Be different from other guys and don't set your goal for weight gain, focus on the ideal shape and proportions instead. When Herman first heard from his friend that he should be 30 pounds lighter, he wasn't ready or in a state to hear such advice. The idea of being over 200 lbs was still in his head and he was afraid of letting it go. He was happy with the weight and he looked good in clothes. He just didn't want to admit to himself what was really going on. He, like many other guys was scared that what he believes may not be true and didn't want to shatter his belief system. It took him a while, but seeing his friend getting in shape, he decided to give this new idea a shot and at the end he is glad he did. What Herman Did to Get in Shape Once he got over the belief that he needed to be heavy, he could start eating less calories and actually lose weight. At first he needed to lose a lot, so he was eating roughly 1000 calories per day, however this was getting tougher every week and he was forced to raise his caloric intake and he gradually went from 1000 to 1800 over the next couple of weeks. And this is something you can expect to happen, if you have a lot of fat to lose (let's say 30 pounds) then at the beginning you will be able to eat very low, however as you progress and get leaner, you will have to start eating more and more and slightly optimize to maintenance once you get to a single digit body fat number. John Barban, Brad Howard no 32:00 http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-herman-interview/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/w9Rk-Cu96qo/ http://www.adonisindex.com/commitment-equals-results/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:19 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2636 Today&#8217;s interview is with Andrew Peters, who won the sixth Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Andrew is 24 and has spent the past few years playing rugby and lifting weights, however his training lacked structure, a goal, and a serious commitment. As a result he didn&#8217;t have the body he wanted. He realized [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/w9Rk-Cu96qo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/commitment-equals-results/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation Today's interview is with Andrew Peters, who won the sixth Adonis Index Transformation Contest. - Check out his pictures: - Andrew is 24 and has spent the past few years playing rugby and lifting weights, Today's interview is with Andrew Peters, who won the sixth Adonis Index Transformation Contest. Check out his pictures: Andrew is 24 and has spent the past few years playing rugby and lifting weights, however his training lacked struc... John Barban, Brad Howard no 31:50 http://www.adonisindex.com/commitment-equals-results/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Cf5kF6VlkaI/ http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-open-contest-winner-tips/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:00:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2566 Today&#8217;s podcast is very special. It&#8217;s an interview with the Adonis Index Open Contest winner Ryan Williams. Ryan has been on board for several months now and he didn&#8217;t have a long way to go, but he definitely took it to the next level. Check out his pictures: &#160; Ryan thought that it&#8217;s near to impossible [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Cf5kF6VlkaI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-open-contest-winner-tips/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,adonis index transformation contest Today's podcast is very special. It's an interview with the Adonis Index Open Contest winner Ryan Williams. - Ryan has been on board for several months now and he didn't have a long way to go, but he definitely took it to the next level. - Today's podcast is very special. It's an interview with the Adonis Index Open Contest winner Ryan Williams. Ryan has been on board for several months now and he didn't have a long way to go, but he definitely took it to the next level. Check out his pictures:   Ryan thought that it's near to impossible to get ripped and look like a Hollywood action movie star. He thought that it would require a very strict lifestyle and an incredible amount of work, which would be impossible to fit into his work schedule which requires a lot of traveling. However, with two kids (six and two year old), wife and regular trips across continents he managed to get in a great shape, a cover model shape you would say. The best part? He is willing to share how he did it. You have a chance to learn how he planned his workout, structured his diet and the other stuff he did to get in shape, you can take his best tricks and tweak them to fit to your own lifestyle. New Approach Got Him Results Ryan revealed that before finding the Adonis Index he was eating a lot, definitely more than his body could burn. He, like many other guys, thought that he can muscle his way to leanness, he thought that if he got big enough and built enough muscle, his metabolism would be so fast that it would burn all the fat on his body. On top of that in the past he read in a fitness magazine that he should never eat below 2000 calories. He never really weighed himself, but Ryan's estimate is that at one time he must have been way over 200 pounds, probably even close to 250. It wasn't until he found Eat Stop Eat and Adonis Index that he realized this is probably not the best approach to take to get in shape. Probably the biggest revelation for Ryan was that he could just diet once and stay like that forever, just do some micro diet management for maintenance and that would be it. He set his daily calories intake at 1800 calories and added two fasts on top of that. He wasn't counting calories, he was doing more of calorie guessing and just eye balling the food to know the rough calorie content. In the past he never followed a real muscle building program either. It was always just a mix of bodybuilding splits that he thought he should do from what he read in fitness magazines. In his own words: "I just trained the mirror muscles, that was it." The biggest shock once he started doing the Adonis Index workouts was of course the training volume. He thought that he was over-training and doubted that he could do it. However, after a few weeks the soreness went away and he realized that it wasn't over-training, but rather under-conditioning, he just wasn't used to such a physical stress before, so his muscles needed some time to get accustomed to such a high volume and intensity of training. Another important fact Ryan mentions in the interview is the importance of periodization, which is crucial, because if you don't change your workout often enough, you will get bored and you will not enjoy your workouts. And how do you plan on sticking to something if you don't enjoy it? You Need to Have a Flexible Approach Ryan said that what got him hooked about Adonis Index was the fact that it is oriented on aesthetics and proportions, the goal isn't to just get big, but to actually achieve a specific shape. Ryan is an opera singer and sometimes he needs to perform without his shirt on, in the past he would do some crazy strict fitness stuff like eating six times a day, eating tons of protein, because he was afraid of losing his muscles for the show and training a lot. Basically this made him a slave to his diet and gym routine for the sake of looking good on stage, however after the show he would always go back to looking pretty average. The big mind shift came once he tried the program. Six months is all he needed to get in the best shape of his life (sounds like something several previous contestants have in common). John Barban, Brad Howard no 43:09 http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-open-contest-winner-tips/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/cwmIyYwZ1C0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-young-gun-interview-with-vaclav-gregor/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:41:20 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2603 Many guys lift their first weights when they&#8217;re in their late teens. This is a great time to start working out because you can leverage juvenile muscle growth as well as your workout induced muscle growth&#8230;but it only works if you know what you&#8217;re doing in the gym. Just showing up and lifting whatever weights [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/cwmIyYwZ1C0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-young-gun-interview-with-vaclav-gregor/feed/ 0 contest interview Many guys lift their first weights when they're in their late teens. This is a great time to start working out because you can leverage juvenile muscle growth as well as your workout induced muscle growth... Many guys lift their first weights when they're in their late teens. This is a great time to start working out because you can leverage juvenile muscle growth as well as your workout induced muscle growth...but it only works if you know what you're doing in the gym. Just showing up and lifting whatever weights you can find in whatever pattern you can find will not produce the results you want. Having a structured workout plan is critical to maximizing the effort you put in the gym. Many young guys have the effort but not the plan, this is like taking two steps forward and one step backwards and can lead to serious frustration. The plan is just as critical as the effort. A quote to remember: "The key to success is the combination of determination and intelligent effort" Just going to the gym and pushing hard isn't enough, you gotta combine that effort with an effective plan. An effective plan starts with a clearly stated goal. If that goal is to improve the look and shape of your body then you gotta get on a plan that will move you in that direction. Building muscle will be a critical part of this. Key take home points for guys starting out on a workout program: Focus on form and technique and never sacrifice form for weight Get clear on your specific goals Follow a plan that moves you towards your specific goal Don't waste time in the gym, ever minute in there matters Forget what other people say, it's your body your program, your rules, and your results Don't get caught up jumping from one workout to the next, follow one plan until it's done Remember that effort and determination isn't enough you must apply it intelligently for success   LISTEN:   John Barban, Brad Howard no 43:04 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-young-gun-interview-with-vaclav-gregor/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/IMAcn31LiN4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/eating-for-weight-loss-over-the-holidays/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:10:11 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=488 Eating during the holidays is usually associated with weight gain, but it doesn&#8217;t necessarily have to be that way. You should be able to indulge in big holiday dinners as long as you plan your eating around that dinner accordingly. As we always say, every up needs a down. So if you&#8217;re planning on having [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/IMAcn31LiN4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/eating-for-weight-loss-over-the-holidays/feed/ 2 holiday eating,holiday weight loss,Weight Loss Eating during the holidays is usually associated with weight gain, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. - You should be able to indulge in big holiday dinners as long as you plan your eating around that dinner accordingly. - Eating during the holidays is usually associated with weight gain, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. You should be able to indulge in big holiday dinners as long as you plan your eating around that dinner accordingly. As we always say, every up needs a down. So if you're planning on having a few big christmas feasts at the end of this week, you should take it light on the days leading up to the big meal. Creating a calorie deficit throughout the week BEFORE you sit down to christmas dinner is a better strategy than waiting till after the holidays to work off the extra calories. <-- You and I both know the latter never works. In this podcast, we'll talk about eating strategies that can work for weight maintenance and even weight loss over the holidays. We'll also help you identify when people are trying to hold you back from achieving your lifestyle goals and what to do about it. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/eating-for-weight-loss-over-the-holidays/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/4-Br2W7NH8A/ http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-final-pictures-coaching-call/#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:36:57 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2451 The 6th Adonis Index transformation and open contests are in the final stretch and it&#8217;s time to get prepped for your final pictures. All of the poses from the posing tutorial are mandatory if you think you have a chance at being placed in the open category. You can review the posing tutorial video here: [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/4-Br2W7NH8A" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-final-pictures-coaching-call/feed/ 0 AT6 Final Pictures,Taking After Pictures AT6 The 6th Adonis Index transformation and open contests are in the final stretch and it's time to get prepped for your final pictures. - All of the poses from the posing tutorial are mandatory if you think you have a chance at being placed in the open c... The 6th Adonis Index transformation and open contests are in the final stretch and it's time to get prepped for your final pictures. All of the poses from the posing tutorial are mandatory if you think you have a chance at being placed in the open category. You can review the posing tutorial video here: POSING TUTORIAL VIDEO We've outlined some ideas to consider for your final pictures in a previous podcast that you can review and listen to here: TAKING 'AFTER' PICTURES I strongly encourage you to listen to some interviews of past winners to get an idea of how to take an effective after picture. What needs to be submitted: 1. All mandatory poses including front, back and side shots with the front page of the current days newspaper visible in at least one shot. You will also need to do all the poses from posing tutorial video if you think you have a chance of placing in the open category of the contest. 2. Label each picture with your first and last name as well as the pose ex: "John_Doe_Front_Pose" 3. Write a 250 word essay describing your experience with our system and through the contest 4. Complete the contest data chart that you downloaded at the start of the contest, this includes your waist, height and shoulder measurements from before the contest and your final measurements, along with your ideal AI measurements for your height and how close you got to them. 5. Re-size your after pictures so they are approximately 500 pixels in height for the ones you submit (make sure you keep the original picture in it's original larger size for your records, also if you end up winning our cover model competition we will need the bigger picture file as well) 6. Compress all of these materials in a zipped file and send it to my email johnbarban (at) gmail (dot) com no later than midnight EST Nov 23rd. John   John Barban, Brad Howard no 15:18 http://www.adonisindex.com/at6-final-pictures-coaching-call/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/DwUL6azI3CA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/ripped-without-counting-calories-or-doing-cardio/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:28 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2273 Brad Greyeyes Brant has a very interesting name, but what is even more interesting than his name is the fact that he placed 4th in the Adonis Index Contest specifically in the transformation category. He went from being lean to being ripped, just take a look: When Brant first got interested in getting his physique [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/DwUL6azI3CA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/ripped-without-counting-calories-or-doing-cardio/feed/ 4 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,Brad Pilon,Cardio,Counting Calories,eat stop eat Brad Greyeyes Brant has a very interesting name, but what is even more interesting than his name is the fact that he placed 4th in the Adonis Index Contest specifically in the transformation category. - He went from being lean to being ripped, Brad Greyeyes Brant has a very interesting name, but what is even more interesting than his name is the fact that he placed 4th in the Adonis Index Contest specifically in the transformation category. He went from being lean to being ripped, just take a look: When Brant first got interested in getting his physique handled he was 260 pounds. Even though he is 6'5'', 26o pounds is a lot. At this point even taking stairs was starting to be an issue. Just take a look at how Brant looked at this weight several years ago. After looking at himself in a mirror Brant decided to get in shape. And he started as most guys would, he found some muscle building and fat loss programs designed by a bodybuilder, he signed up for them and followed it for about six months. He was doing about an hour of cardio each morning seven times a week. He was training at specific times of the day, if the program said go to the gym at 5 p.m., he would go at 5 p.m. He was timing his meals to the minute, always made sure he ate every three hours no matter where he was or what he was doing. Even though his wife was very supportive, this approach was incredibly inflexible. Could you imagine not being able to eat your birthday cake? Or have a Christmas dinner with your family? This is exactly what he did. Brant is the type of guy who is all out or nothing at all. He though that his approach was a sign of dedication, but in reality what it really was, was an obsession. He Found Out He Can Enjoy His Life & Look Good at the Same Time After a while Brant came across Brad Pilon's blog and once he read what Brad eats during his day he was completely confused. Because Brad is in exceptional shape and he eats like an average person (some would even say like a kid), brownies, pizza and pasta are regular foods in his meal plan. In his schedule there was nothing about eating every three hours, having protein with each meal or preparing his meals upfront. Brad was just saying that he is enjoying his food and that the only thing he aims for is to limit the amount of calories to keep lean. On his blog he noticed the workout Pilon was doing and he decided to give it a try. He bought the Adonis Index Workout and started following it. Brant never wanted to look like a huge bodybuilder, so the Adonis Index philosophy of building a proportioned body with lean waist and visible six pack abs was something he was interested to build for himself. He gave the workouts a shot and after seeing the results never looked back It's all about what you truly want. Is it a really good looking body or do you want to be strong and focus on performance? What do you really want? Brant has chosen the look and even though he made this choice ironically he is stronger than ever. However, you still need to know what you are after. Most guys really want to just look good, strength and performance is secondary but many guys cannot separate the two ideas. If you have the same problem with getting over the goal of becoming stronger, you need to understand something. Strength is relative and specific to only those exercises you do on regular basis. For example you can get really good at incline dumbbell press, but completely suck on regular barbell bench press. Another example, Brant’s dad is incredibly strong, because he is used to doing physical work, however he can’t do a pull-up. On the other hand Brant is not as strong as his dad overall, but pull-ups are not an issue for him. Strength is relative. And if you are not a competitive power lifter then there is no point in aiming for strength for it's own sake. Set the goal of improving your physique and the strength will come along with it. Brant's Tips to Get Contest Ripped Brant placed 4h in the contest and that is an incredible accomplishment and requires a big amount of effort. Let’s take a look at what it is that Brad did that was different from other contestants. John Barban, Brad Howard no 40:12 http://www.adonisindex.com/ripped-without-counting-calories-or-doing-cardio/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/y-tf35uWW7U/ http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-loss-journey/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:00:18 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2229 Al Sandoval placed FIRST in the Adonis Index Contest in the transformation category. Al found a way to lose fat that he put on in the last 20 years. At the end of 12 weeks he managed to beat everybody else and win the whole transformation contest. Take a look at what it took to [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/y-tf35uWW7U" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-loss-journey/feed/ 5 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,adonis index podcast,fat loss,Lose fat,losing fat Al Sandoval placed FIRST in the Adonis Index Contest in the transformation category. Al found a way to lose fat that he put on in the last 20 years. At the end of 12 weeks he managed to beat everybody else and win the whole transformation contest. - Al Sandoval placed FIRST in the Adonis Index Contest in the transformation category. Al found a way to lose fat that he put on in the last 20 years. At the end of 12 weeks he managed to beat everybody else and win the whole transformation contest. T... John Barban, Brad Howard no 30:31 http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-loss-journey/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/HBk6kbvwWr4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/eat-hamburge-lose-pounds-of-fat/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:00:59 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2224 Nick Yarbrough placed second in the Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. Nick&#8217;s after pictures are incredible. You would not guess that he is only 21 years old. His muscles really show in these photos and he is living proof that with effort comes great results. Take a look at what it takes to [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/HBk6kbvwWr4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/eat-hamburge-lose-pounds-of-fat/feed/ 11 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,adonis index podcast,Lose 18 Pounds of Fat Nick Yarbrough placed second in the Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. Nick's after pictures are incredible. You would not guess that he is only 21 years old. His muscles really show in these photos and he is living proof that with effort comes... Nick Yarbrough placed second in the Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. Nick's after pictures are incredible. You would not guess that he is only 21 years old. His muscles really show in these photos and he is living proof that with effort comes... John Barban, Brad Howard no 25:35 http://www.adonisindex.com/eat-hamburge-lose-pounds-of-fat/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/zZp-bEKH3zc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/build-muscles-from-protein-powder/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:00:06 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2203 Calvin Chen is one of the younger guys who entered the Adonis Index Contest. He placed 5th in the transformation class. Apart from Mike, who was interviewed last week and was focusing mostly on fat loss, Calvin needed to build muscle and that&#8217;s exactly what he did. 12 weeks is a very short period of [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/zZp-bEKH3zc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/build-muscles-from-protein-powder/feed/ 7 adonis index,adonis index workout,Adonis Transformation Contest,arm muscles,back muscles,muscle growth,muscle mass,Muscles Calvin Chen is one of the younger guys who entered the Adonis Index Contest. He placed 5th in the transformation class. - Apart from Mike, who was interviewed last week and was focusing mostly on fat loss, Calvin Chen is one of the younger guys who entered the Adonis Index Contest. He placed 5th in the transformation class. Apart from Mike, who was interviewed last week and was focusing mostly on fat loss, Calvin needed to build muscle and that's exactly what he did. 12 weeks is a very short period of time to build muscle. Calvin had the advantage of juvenile muscle growth. You can check it yourself, here are his before and after pictures.       It's obvious that Calvin has built bigger shoulders, this is because Adonis Index Workouts are focused on building upper body width. Calvin is a college student, so he doesn't have much of a training background yet. Before he found the Adonis Index, he started like most young guys. He was lifting some dumbbells at home, he didn't have any good program to follow, he did everything just learning from fitness magazines. He trained only his bicep, triceps and chest. This is probably one of the most common mistakes - not having a proper workout program to follow. If you look around yourself in the gym, you will see that most of the guys don't look that good and don't have a quality plan at all. Obviously this training is good only if you want to lift something...anything, but if you want to actually see any change in muscle mass, you have to take a different approach. What you need is this, a workout program that: Is designed to help you achieve your goals (performance OR look) Has variety of reps and sets Has fixed rest periods (This makes a big difference as far as intensity goes.) Requires mostly free weights (dumbbells and barbells) If the purpose is to look better, it should focus more on your shoulders and back rather than arms and legs. During the 12 weeks Calvin did the most difficult task - build muscle. It's easy to strip off the fat in 12 weeks, but to build muscle? Not so much. Usually you will see only little change in muscle growth in such a short period of time. Building muscles takes years of dedicated training. Calvin's advantage was through his juvenile muscle growth. If you are his age (19) and you are not yet working out, you should start as soon as possible, because this is when you can get the best gains. This is as close to a steroid effect as you can naturally get. A lot of older guys beat themselves up, because they started late, the difference in the possible physique if you start young is huge. Average Protein Intake Was Enough Nowadays almost every guy is obsessed with protein intake. It seems that we are so affected by advertisements that we feel something Brad Pilon calls protein guilt. It's really hard to avoid this. Most of the guys try to eat as much meat, eggs and protein foods as possible and supplement it with protein shakes on top of that. But is this really necessary? Calvin views protein intake differently. He was following Pilon's advice from the book How Much Protein. He didn't watch or track his protein intake, the only thing he knew exactly is that he took 52 grams of protein powder each day and that's it. Based on his diet, his protein intake was around 80-100 grams, which goes against the conventional wisdom of eating 150-200 grams a day to build muscle. Calvin didn't even worry about calorie intake. To prevent from gaining fat, he was eating mostly fruits and vegetables and regularly fasting. Not exactly something you would find in a fitness magazine. And all this obviously worked for him. He gained several pounds of muscle, and is no longer called skinny and is definitely on the right track. Here is the take away for skinny guys who are interested in gaining more muscles in a short period of time: If you don't have the experience don't create your own workouts based on advice from fitness magazines and bodybuilding forums, find a professional workout program that is designed to help you achieve your goals Be consistent with your workouts John Barban, Brad Howard no 35:14 http://www.adonisindex.com/build-muscles-from-protein-powder/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/JDGVqmBDTO8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/overcoming-emotional-eating-reprogramming-your-mind-to-control-your-weight/#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:45:50 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2280 Changing the look and shape of your body requires a holistic approach. This means the change has to come both with your physiology and psychology especially if you struggle with emotional or stressful eating. Physiology simply means getting your calories under control, making more sensible food and eating decisions as well as sticking to a [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/JDGVqmBDTO8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/overcoming-emotional-eating-reprogramming-your-mind-to-control-your-weight/feed/ 2 emotional eating,psychology of weight loss,stress eating Changing the look and shape of your body requires a holistic approach. This means the change has to come both with your physiology and psychology especially if you struggle with emotional or stressful eating. - Changing the look and shape of your body requires a holistic approach. This means the change has to come both with your physiology and psychology especially if you struggle with emotional or stressful eating. Physiology simply means getting your calories under control, making more sensible food and eating decisions as well as sticking to a regular exercise program that is well designed to move you towards your health and fitness goals whatever they may be. You can even think of the physiology part as the things that are obviously outwardly such as going to the gym, choosing smaller portion sizes, and ensuring that your diet is based more on whole foods that satisfy your needs without over consuming calories from dense sources. The physiology is what you read about in fitness magazines, and it's the information that gets cluttered, contradicted, and over consumed. This is because the physiology for many people isn't the problem. For some people it's the psychology. Getting a handle on the psychological aspects of weight control is an entirely different matter and it's not so obvious what is happening in your mind and with your emotions. Taking control of your psychology and learning to reprogram yourself for weight loss success requires just as much work as the physiology, but this is a different kind of work. If you think you have an emotional or psychological issue with eating and weight control the first step is getting to the root of the issue. This is hard and in many cases uncomfortable work, and the answer isn't always obvious. In many cases you'll be the last person to know what the real issue is until you start doing the work to find out. Click this image to check out Nicolas book on Amazon These are usually deep rooted issues that touch on your sense of identity and self worth. It will involve undoing old psychological patterns and laying down new ones, and it requires repetition to make it stick, just like working out. To truly change your body for good, you must change both your physiology AND your psychology. Changing one without the other isn't enough. In today's podcast, I interview Dr. Nicola Bird about changing your psychology to help overcoming emotional and stress related eating to make a real lasting change in your body. She is my psychotherapist and the ace up my sleeve that helps me stay balanced and keeps me moving forward. We'll discuss the root of the identity crisis that many people face when they do finally make a change in their body. We will also talk about why so many people self sabotage and become their own worst enemy when they try to change their bodies. This is a great interview and I suggest you take notes if emotional or stress eating is an issue you've been struggling with. Finally if you like what you hear from Nicola you can visit her website here and even book a session to start working through your own issues with her over the phone. I highly recommend it if you feel stuck or hitting a sabotage point that you cannot overcome. I find that her methods are the most effective way to start getting your psychology inline with your physiology for a lasting change. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:06:29 http://www.adonisindex.com/overcoming-emotional-eating-reprogramming-your-mind-to-control-your-weight/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/T8q_SQYwSp0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/protein-bars-kept-him-from-losing-fat/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:00:18 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2175 Mike Schaefer placed third in the Adonis Index Transformation Contest. He has done an amazing job. Obviously he lost a lot of fat and managed to achieve great muscle definition. In today&#8217;s interview Mike talks about his journey of struggle. He explains how he was trying all sorts of different approaches and what finally helped [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/T8q_SQYwSp0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/protein-bars-kept-him-from-losing-fat/feed/ 0 adonis index,Adonis Index Contest,adonis index podcast,BMR,Calories,losing fat Mike Schaefer placed third in the Adonis Index Transformation Contest. He has done an amazing job. Obviously he lost a lot of fat and managed to achieve great muscle definition. In today's interview Mike talks about his journey of struggle. Mike Schaefer placed third in the Adonis Index Transformation Contest. He has done an amazing job. Obviously he lost a lot of fat and managed to achieve great muscle definition. In today's interview Mike talks about his journey of struggle. He explains how he was trying all sorts of different approaches and what finally helped him get into the Adonis Index Contest shape. Here take a look at his before picture's and compare them to his afters. If you are currently not very comfortable going to a pool party or to a beach with your friends you are exactly where Mike was a few weeks ago when he started the contest. Mike was working out pretty much his whole life, but he never had six pack abs or even a lean body. It all started several months ago with him wanting to change and making a commitment to get in the best shape of his life. The trouble was he didn't really know what getting in shape meant and how to do it. After reading a few fitness magazines he decided to get the look of the guys on the cover and started following the advice he read in those magazines. He thought that in order to lose weight he needed to add some new muscle. You probably heard this in the past. Add an "extra" 20 pounds of muscle by bulking up to 200 lbs to speed up your metabolism and you will burn all the fat and your muscles will just somehow magically pop out. Mike calls this "muscling your way up to leanness".  Because he wanted to start losing fat and believed this approach to be true he started working out like a maniac and eating like a maniac as well. This is what he read in the magazines and believed to be true: "You need eat to be big. You need to eat tons of protein. Protein is a building block to all muscles, without it muscles just "fade away". Without pre-workout and post-workout supplements you will not be able to build muscle, which means you won't burn those extra 50 calories per pound of muscle and start losing fat."..yadda yadda. Mike fell for all of it. When you look at his before picture you will see that it didn't really help him lose any fat at all. Quite the opposite. He didn't believe in adding cardio or other activity, adding calories was on the radar not cutting them. He thought that if professional bodybuilders eat 7000 calories and spread that in 10-12 meals a day he should do something similar, so he started eating up to 4000 calories EVERY day. He ate as much as he could. He always made sure he ate lots of protein bars to get enough protein every day. He was taking lots of supplements that didn't really do anything for him, but like he said, he was convinced that he should be taking them, so he did, despite the results. Does this sound familiar? Have you ever tried something like that in the past yourself? If you did my guess is that you haven't lost any weight at all. This is because fat loss doesn't work that way and there is a much better approach. After Mike got to 210 lbs the fat was still there, he wasn't able to see his muscles and that raised some self-doubt about what he was doing. Then he hit the 220 lbs and he got really worried, these results just weren't part of the plan. It felt really uncomfortable, he started to be having some weird retention issues and even things like his ankles would get swollen. Not a nice thing to go through. Because his previous weight loss attempts resulted in weight gain and mostly fat gain he decide to look for a different approach. His new goal was to get rid of all that fat for a beach vacation and get six pack abs for the first time in his life. Here is what Mike did for this contest (the difference between the pictures above). Fat loss is pure math. There is no secret in specific food combinations or macro nutrient ratios. It's all about calories in and calories out. We could break this into several steps: Calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Figure out how much fat you wanna lose John Barban, Brad Howard no 46:36 http://www.adonisindex.com/protein-bars-kept-him-from-losing-fat/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/tYb5srBSSc4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-coaching-call/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:00:54 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2163 It&#8217;s been approximately 4 weeks into the 6th Adonis Index transformation contest and it&#8217;s a perfect time to do an inventory of what has been working and what needs some work. If weight loss is your issue you have to remind yourself that the process is not linear. Some weeks are going to go really [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/tYb5srBSSc4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-coaching-call/feed/ 0 Coaching Call,Contest,podcast It's been approximately 4 weeks into the 6th Adonis Index transformation contest and it's a perfect time to do an inventory of what has been working and what needs some work. - If weight loss is your issue you have to remind yourself that the process ... It's been approximately 4 weeks into the 6th Adonis Index transformation contest and it's a perfect time to do an inventory of what has been working and what needs some work. If weight loss is your issue you have to remind yourself that the process is not linear. Some weeks are going to go really smooth and others are going to be a lot bumpier. Muscle building is the same thing, some weeks just feel like a lot more progress is happening than others. This is sometimes tough to deal with as your  daily and weekly effort seems to feel linear and consistent even though your results are not. The key at this point is recognizing that the path has it's ups and downs and to be consistent over the long term. Twelve weeks is going to go by in a flash. Finding a groove is important and sticking with the parts that are working is going to keep you moving forward. Give yourself some room for change, but don't try to change everything at once. Review your list of what is working and what needs changing, pick the one or two most important things that need to change and make a plan. Give it about 1-2 weeks to see if what you're changing is working then move on. If something doesn't work, discard it and try something else. Remember that this process is not perfect or smooth, it's a controlled stumble forward. In todays coaching call we'll cover what to do at the quarter contest point and how to set up your inventory list, and how to think your way through the next 4 weeks of the contest. John LISTEN TO THE COACHING CALL: John Barban, Brad Howard no 37:00 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-coaching-call/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/5OPaZXVSezA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-evolution-of-an-adonis-interview-with-jason-gottlieb-part-2/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:00:32 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2133 In todays podcast we pick up where we left off from last week with Jason Gottlieb. He walks us through how he prepared for and won the open division in the latest Adonis Index competition. We&#8217;ll discuss his diet and training routine and more psychological tricks and mindsets for getting in phenomenal shape. Jason also [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/5OPaZXVSezA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-evolution-of-an-adonis-interview-with-jason-gottlieb-part-2/feed/ 11 Adonis Index Contest,contest winners,Jason Gottlieb In todays podcast we pick up where we left off from last week with Jason Gottlieb. He walks us through how he prepared for and won the open division in the latest Adonis Index competition. - We'll discuss his diet and training routine and more psychol... In todays podcast we pick up where we left off from last week with Jason Gottlieb. He walks us through how he prepared for and won the open division in the latest Adonis Index competition. We'll discuss his diet and training routine and more psychological tricks and mindsets for getting in phenomenal shape. Jason also took top notch pictures that will likely land him on the cover of one of our books as one of our first cover models.                   Jason also put his personal picture chronology/evolution that you can see below here.   Listen in as Jason explains how he made this amazing transformation. If you haven't already listened to part one you can go to this link to listen --> Interview with Jason Gottlieb Part 1 John P.S. There is no formal introduction at the beginning of this audio as I'm less than competent at editing the two pieces of this interview (you'll remember that part one also ends quite abruptly, which is also due to my lack of editing prowess). LISTEN TO PART 2:   John Barban, Brad Howard no 47:24 http://www.adonisindex.com/the-evolution-of-an-adonis-interview-with-jason-gottlieb-part-2/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/NuX6X37hxPE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-lifestyle-of-being-in-great-shape-interview-with-jason-gottlieb-part-1/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:00:10 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=2114 There is some down time and recovery time that we all need after dieting and training hard and pushing our bodies to a new level. Managing the physical and physcological states after recovery might be an even bigger challenge than getting in shape in the first place. You can trick yourself into thinking that maintaining [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/NuX6X37hxPE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-lifestyle-of-being-in-great-shape-interview-with-jason-gottlieb-part-1/feed/ 4 Contest,contest winner,maintaining great shape,the lifestyle of being in great shape There is some down time and recovery time that we all need after dieting and training hard and pushing our bodies to a new level. - Managing the physical and physcological states after recovery might be an even bigger challenge than getting in shape i... There is some down time and recovery time that we all need after dieting and training hard and pushing our bodies to a new level. Managing the physical and physcological states after recovery might be an even bigger challenge than getting in shape in the first place. You can trick yourself into thinking that maintaining your new shape is effortless but it isn't. Staying in shape takes a new kind of effort compared to the effort it takes to get into shape in the first place. This is the elusive state of 'maintenance' that seems to be the hardest part for most people. At some point you need to come to a realization that it has to become a lifetyle that you live and embrace. It's something different from preparing for a contest or dieting for a photoshoot. In many ways it's less strict and less intense, but it's a new skill set and a new mindset that you must learn. Once you've gone through a transformation you will know what it takes to change your body and you'll know that you have it in you to do so. Maintaining that new body is a different step entirely. The physical effort isn't has hard, but the psychological and mental effort will be a new challenge and new learning experience. It's not always going to be an all or nothing 100% blitz the way a contest or photoshoot prep is. Maintenance requires smaller changes but ones that must last for longer. The real game of maintenance is not a physical one but a psychological one. It's learning to see what you really look like on a daily basis. It's learning to adjust your daily routine and your social routine to fit with your body ideal goals as well as your social goals. It's learning to manage your overall stress and pick your spots when to push hard and when to back off. This is the first part of a two part podcast were Jason and I talk about how he managed his condition and learning to maintain his shape from one contest to the next and got into phenomenal shape and won the open contest. We discuss how he is learning to deal with maintaining his new shape and some of psychological tricks he uses to objectively perceive where he is and not let his mind play tricks on him  (and believe me, your mind will play tricks on you) This is something we all have to deal with after getting in shape. Making it a lifestyle and having the body you want on a daily basis while enjoying life is the ultiamte goal. Jason has made some major strides to making this a real lifestyle and he shares them with us in this two part interview. Today is part 1. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 38:08 http://www.adonisindex.com/the-lifestyle-of-being-in-great-shape-interview-with-jason-gottlieb-part-1/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/5g2yOoWX09g/ http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-blueprint-turning-pro-with-vince-delmonte-part-3-of-3/#comments Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:27:32 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1906 6 years after doing his first fitness competition Vince finally put it all together and got his pro card. In this third and final interview Vince talks about how he got much more serious with his contest preparation in order to obtain his pro card. He hired a coach, laid out a plan and stuck [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/5g2yOoWX09g" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-blueprint-turning-pro-with-vince-delmonte-part-3-of-3/feed/ 14 contest prep,interview 6 years after doing his first fitness competition Vince finally put it all together and got his pro card. In this third and final interview Vince talks about how he got much more serious with his contest preparation in order to obtain his pro card. - 6 years after doing his first fitness competition Vince finally put it all together and got his pro card. In this third and final interview Vince talks about how he got much more serious with his contest preparation in order to obtain his pro card. He hired a coach, laid out a plan and stuck to it. Nothing was left to chance this time including doing back to back shows (which is quite common). The condition you see Vince in here is the culmination of over 9 years of training, learning about diet, discovering what works and what doesn't, and the experience of multiple contests. The key message is to track what you've done, take measurements and make notes. The only way to improve is to learn from your past experiences. Getting in contest shape is an inexact science, there are general guidelines that you start out with, but as you move through the process you'll find things that happen to work better for you  compared to someone else. Once you discover the mix of training intensity, volume, and the dietary components that fit for your body then you'll be off to races. In this final interview Vince explains what has worked for him and how he got into his best shape to date, and what his plan is for the future. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 41:35 http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-blueprint-turning-pro-with-vince-delmonte-part-3-of-3/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/MyAfSyCBo9s/ http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-blueprint-learning-from-mistakes-with-vince-delmonte-part-2-of-3/#comments Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:25:04 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1901 After competing in his first fitness model shows in 2005 Vince took 3 years off from competing to improving his physique. During his first shows in 2005 his primary goal was getting lean, however his muscle mass suffered. This time around building and maintaining muscle was the primary focus. His training philosophy changed and evolved [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/MyAfSyCBo9s" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-blueprint-learning-from-mistakes-with-vince-delmonte-part-2-of-3/feed/ 0 Contest Blueprint,Getting in contest shape,Interview with Vince Delmonte After competing in his first fitness model shows in 2005 Vince took 3 years off from competing to improving his physique. During his first shows in 2005 his primary goal was getting lean, however his muscle mass suffered. After competing in his first fitness model shows in 2005 Vince took 3 years off from competing to improving his physique. During his first shows in 2005 his primary goal was getting lean, however his muscle mass suffered. This time around building and maintaining muscle was the primary focus. His training philosophy changed and evolved from a whole body routine to a more advanced routine with more volume, shorter rest periods and element of overall conditioning built into the weight training workouts themselves. And the results speak for themselves, he definitely got bigger as you can see here. After winging it for his first contest diet he also decided to follow a structured contest diet given to him by a coach and record all of it. Keeping track of what you're doing is a major key to improving as you can look back and see what worked and what didn't. This is a critical step to constantly improving your physique. The 2008 competition arrived and Vince was one of the biggest guys on stage, which was his goal, but he wasn't lean enough and placed worse than he expected. This time around he sacrificed too much definition to be bigger and the judges punished him for it. Another tough lesson learned. In part two of our three part series Vince describes what changes he made to both his training and diet to build more muscle, and the mistakes he made along the way that lead to his placing in the 2008 show. We'll also set the stage for what he learned from this experience and how it changed his view of competing and transforming his physique. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 37:24 http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-blueprint-learning-from-mistakes-with-vince-delmonte-part-2-of-3/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/TD29fM5UFCM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-prep-blueprint-putting-it-together-with-vince-delmonte-part-1-of-3/#comments Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:00:15 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1882 When he first picked up a weight at age 22 Vince Delmonte likely didn&#8217;t know it would take over 9 years to transform and evolve his physique to the shape he has today. Most new comers have the false idea that all it takes is a summer of hard training to get the body that [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/TD29fM5UFCM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-prep-blueprint-putting-it-together-with-vince-delmonte-part-1-of-3/feed/ 1 contest prep,Vince Delmonte When he first picked up a weight at age 22 Vince Delmonte likely didn't know it would take over 9 years to transform and evolve his physique to the shape he has today. - Most new comers have the false idea that all it takes is a summer of hard trainin... When he first picked up a weight at age 22 Vince Delmonte likely didn't know it would take over 9 years to transform and evolve his physique to the shape he has today. Most new comers have the false idea that all it takes is a summer of hard training to get the body that they've been imagining from scanning covers of fitness magazines. Little do they know those athletes and models have spent years training and dieting, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes and refining the process. And that's precisely what it is...a process. This is exactly what Vince has done to transform his body over time. In this special 3 part interview series Vince will walk us through the evolution of his physique starting with the first bodybuilding show he did in 2005 up to his latest show where he won his pro card in April 2011. In this first interview Vince describes how he approached his first show with a lot of heart and determination but without much of  a plan. He definitely got into a shape that most people would be perfectly happy with, but this wasn't the shape he was hoping for. He knew there was definitely room for improvement. He shares his insights on what it was like to compete for the first time, the mistakes he made and the lessons he has learned and took with him for his next competition.   John Barban, Brad Howard no 24:47 http://www.adonisindex.com/contest-prep-blueprint-putting-it-together-with-vince-delmonte-part-1-of-3/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/F9Od-XizcsQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/best-shape-of-his-life-at-60-years-old/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:45:30 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1859 Joe Weaver competed in our Adonis Index senior open division and came in 2nd place. I caught with him on the eve of his 60th birthday to chat about what it&#8217;s like to get into the best shape of his life. Joe explains how things have changed over the years and how the whole process [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/F9Od-XizcsQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/best-shape-of-his-life-at-60-years-old/feed/ 4 contest interview,get in shape at any age Joe Weaver competed in our Adonis Index senior open division and came in 2nd place. I caught with him on the eve of his 60th birthday to chat about what it's like to get into the best shape of his life. - Joe Weaver competed in our Adonis Index senior open division and came in 2nd place. I caught with him on the eve of his 60th birthday to chat about what it's like to get into the best shape of his life. Joe explains how things have changed over the years and how the whole process started. He shares some valuable information about the difference between training when you're in your 20's and 30's compared to your 50's. As a senior Adonis you've got to pay more attention to your rest and recover and listen to what your body is telling you. When we're young we tend to have an immortality complex and we tend to abuse our bodies, but a we move along in life we can't do this anymore. The lifelong process of working out, getting in shape and staying in shape isn't a sprint, it's a marathon, and pacing yourself is the key to getting the most out of your body without breaking down. Joe shares many words of wisdom for longevity and being in great shape at any age. And make no mistake about it Joe is in great shape, and a shape many 20 and 30 year olds would envy. John P.S. The breathing technique Joe refers to is called "Ujjayi" The book Joe refers to in the podcast is called "Body Mind & Sport" by John Douillard LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 59:28 http://www.adonisindex.com/best-shape-of-his-life-at-60-years-old/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Pu3uT5QkSBw/ http://www.adonisindex.com/going-places-adonis-index-style/#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:00:00 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1835 Building a great physique can open all kinds of doors for you. The next step is choosing to walk through those doors, and that is exactly what Allen Elliot is doing with the physique he has built using the Adonis Index systems. Allen finished first place in our open contest in the 25-40 age category. [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Pu3uT5QkSBw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/going-places-adonis-index-style/feed/ 7 Adonis Index Open winner,building a great physique Building a great physique can open all kinds of doors for you. The next step is choosing to walk through those doors, and that is exactly what Allen Elliot is doing with the physique he has built using the Adonis Index systems. Building a great physique can open all kinds of doors for you. The next step is choosing to walk through those doors, and that is exactly what Allen Elliot is doing with the physique he has built using the Adonis Index systems. Allen finished first place in our open contest in the 25-40 age category.   Allen has competed in the new 'physique' category which takes a more sensible approach to competitions compared to the steroid ridden over bloated bodybuilding categories.   Allen explains the opportunities that have presented themselves form being an Adonis and that you should keep an open mind towards change and where things can go with your body and your life. Staying consistent and trusting the program you're following is always the key to making steady progress. And Allen is living proof. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 25:24 http://www.adonisindex.com/going-places-adonis-index-style/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/i1aP5toPhi0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-look-20-years-younger/#comments Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:15:49 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1822 Getting &#8220;big&#8221; isn&#8217;t the same as getting in shape. Most guys are missing the point when they dedicate years and even decades of their life in an effort to simply be bigger. You may be able to fill out a large shirt, but you many not ever want to take that shirt off in public. [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/i1aP5toPhi0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-look-20-years-younger/feed/ 4 Adonis Index Transformation,get in shape at any age,look 20 years younger Getting "big" isn't the same as getting in shape. Most guys are missing the point when they dedicate years and even decades of their life in an effort to simply be bigger. You may be able to fill out a large shirt, Getting "big" isn't the same as getting in shape. Most guys are missing the point when they dedicate years and even decades of their life in an effort to simply be bigger. You may be able to fill out a large shirt, but you many not ever want to take that shirt off in public. Leo Bell fell into this trap before he found the Adonis Index system and got ripped at age 48! Leo finished 2nd in our 4th transformation contest and proves that weight is just a number and the leaner you are the bigger you look.     This is a trap that many guys fall into and some never get out of. Months of 'bulking' turn into years, and the years turn into decades. Some guys can find themselves in the perpetual 'bulked' state for the better part of their 20's and 30's and in some cases even through their 40's. At some point this bulking cycle has to end and it becomes time to get into real shape and show off the muscle that you got. Building muscle mass is part of the process, but getting lean is the other part. At some point you have to accept and understand the size isn't the only goal. It's never too late to get in shape, and Leo Bell is living proof that once you put your mind and effort to the right goal you can achieve amazing results faster than you thought possible. The key is opening your mind to the concept of being lighter and leaner, and then sticking to a program that is designed to get you there. John LISTEN:   John Barban, Brad Howard no 29:08 http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-look-20-years-younger/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/y-6GdUQPx6E/ http://www.adonisindex.com/consistency-is-the-key-to-building-muscle-and-staying-lean/#comments Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:20:24 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1804 The North American obsession with weight loss and fitness might be in part due to the fact that most people in north America tend to gain weight and get out of shape if they&#8217;re not paying attention to it. Sometimes we need to be reminded that other cultures don&#8217;t eat the same way as westernized [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/y-6GdUQPx6E" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/consistency-is-the-key-to-building-muscle-and-staying-lean/feed/ 5 Adonis Index open,Interview Kidafi Byer The North American obsession with weight loss and fitness might be in part due to the fact that most people in north America tend to gain weight and get out of shape if they're not paying attention to it. - The North American obsession with weight loss and fitness might be in part due to the fact that most people in north America tend to gain weight and get out of shape if they're not paying attention to it. Sometimes we need to be reminded that other cultures don't eat the same way as westernized societies do. Having a big breakfast lunch and dinner isn't a universal around the globe.   when Kidafi Byer moved to the usa he was told he would get fat, but he didn't let it happen. Instead he got golden and placed 2nd in our Adonis Index Open contest. In today's podcast we talk about different ways of eating and what it takes to build muscle. Consistency and patience is a major key. You can't expect the muscle to come faster than it'll come. Challenging yourself in the gym and lifting heavy but withing your means is how you  will progress. Over doing it to the point of breaking down and having sloppy form isn't going to get you there any faster. Being consistent with portion control and calorie control is all that you really need to do with diet, but we know that is easier said than done. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 46:57 http://www.adonisindex.com/consistency-is-the-key-to-building-muscle-and-staying-lean/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/iaFUF_0pRE4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-your-head-in-the-game/#comments Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:29:56 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1785 Making a physical transformation is just as much about where your head is at as where your body is at. In fact the first step to making a transformation is never your workout or your diet, it&#8217;s your mind. And that is what Greg Rojem realized had to happen for him to make the transformation [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/iaFUF_0pRE4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-your-head-in-the-game/feed/ 4 Making a physical transformation is just as much about where your head is at as where your body is at. In fact the first step to making a transformation is never your workout or your diet, it's your mind. And that is what Greg Rojem realized had to hap... Making a physical transformation is just as much about where your head is at as where your body is at. In fact the first step to making a transformation is never your workout or your diet, it's your mind. And that is what Greg Rojem realized had to happen for him to make the transformation he did.   In todays podcast we talk about the mental barriers Greg had to overcome to get his mind ready for what it takes to transform his body. Belief has to precede action. You gotta believe you can make a change before you  can actually make that change. From there it's a matter of being consistent and never straying from your goal. Believe it will happen, then take the steps to make it happen. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 29:18 health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/getting-your-head-in-the-game/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/-rworubPG38/ http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-ripped-and-staying-ripped/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:24:56 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1764 Getting in amazing shape is the first step of the journey, the second and much longer step is staying in that shape. And there is no better person to talk to about this critical second step than Mark Levy. Mark won the senior open category of the Adonis Index contest. His pictures speak for themselves. [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/-rworubPG38" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-ripped-and-staying-ripped/feed/ 8 Getting ripped and staying ripped,maintenance Getting in amazing shape is the first step of the journey, the second and much longer step is staying in that shape. And there is no better person to talk to about this critical second step than Mark Levy. Mark won the senior open category of the Adoni... Getting in amazing shape is the first step of the journey, the second and much longer step is staying in that shape. And there is no better person to talk to about this critical second step than Mark Levy. Mark won the senior open category of the Adonis Index contest. His pictures speak for themselves.     We talk of the evolution of working out being a major part of our identity to simply becoming a tool that simply gets you a result that you want. There is a fine line between defining yourself by your workout and simply using it as a means to an end. This doesn't mean that you blow off your workouts and don't take them seriously...but rather it means we all need to learn to categorize where our workouts and diet planning fit into our lives. The point is making a lifestyle change and give your workout and diet it's fair place in your life without letting it consume your life and your identity. Maintaining a great physique is an active step just like transforming your physique. Learning how to live in maintenance is where we all strive to get and Mark has many great insights on his life in maintenance. Listen up because this is the goal we're all shooting for. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 45:47 http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-ripped-and-staying-ripped/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/U_VCTFSsvH4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/get-lean-first-then-build-muscle/#comments Wed, 25 May 2011 15:43:26 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1744 Muscle building happens at different rates at different times of your life. If you first start working out in your  late teens or early 20&#8242;s you get a big initial growth burst because of juvenile muscle growth being stacked on top of the beginners burst that everyone gets. Once you reach your mid 20&#8242;s the [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/U_VCTFSsvH4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/get-lean-first-then-build-muscle/feed/ 5 Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Junior Open Winner,transformation Muscle building happens at different rates at different times of your life. If you first start working out in your  late teens or early 20's you get a big initial growth burst because of juvenile muscle growth being stacked on top of the beginners burs... Muscle building happens at different rates at different times of your life. If you first start working out in your  late teens or early 20's you get a big initial growth burst because of juvenile muscle growth being stacked on top of the beginners burst that everyone gets. Once you reach your mid 20's the fast growth stops and you have to accept that growth takes more time and effort and patience. This is the revelation that our Adonis Index Open Junior category winner David Donoghue has learned during is time with us as an Adonis Index community member and now contest winner. In todays podcast David shares his experiences with muscle building and some of the things he has experimented with and how he got into the phenomenal shape you see him in here. The message is pretty clear. Bulking and cutting simply doesn't work. Spending years and even decades overweight just to build a few pounds of muscle is hardly a good way to go about getting in shape. You could end up spending all of your 20's and 30's as a fat guy telling yourself the lie that you're 'bulking' and one day will cut down. This is a big mistake and many older guys are struggling with this. But David is smart and at only 25 years old he's already got this figured out and will never make the mistake of being trapped in the endless bulking cycle. The first key is giving yourself permission to be light and accepting that your bodyweight can't tell you how good your body looks. Getting to a lean bodyfat level you're happy with should be your first step, then from there spend your time in the gym building muscle. At this point you can be ready to push it hard in the gym, and that is exactly what you need to do to build muscle...you gotta push it HARD during every workout. It's the difference between 'working out' and 'training'. When David started 'training' is when the results really started showing up. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 43:08 http://www.adonisindex.com/get-lean-first-then-build-muscle/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/bglmysu1urc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/changing-your-body-changes-your-perspective/#comments Wed, 18 May 2011 15:09:11 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1715 Your attitude towards yourself and towards others is going to be influenced by the look and shape of your body. You simply cannot separate your self perception from what you see in the mirror on a daily basis. This will color how you view everyone else even if you don&#8217;t realize it. The only time [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/bglmysu1urc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/changing-your-body-changes-your-perspective/feed/ 4 Adonis Index Contest Transformation,Transformation Interview Your attitude towards yourself and towards others is going to be influenced by the look and shape of your body. You simply cannot separate your self perception from what you see in the mirror on a daily basis. Your attitude towards yourself and towards others is going to be influenced by the look and shape of your body. You simply cannot separate your self perception from what you see in the mirror on a daily basis. This will color how you view everyone else even if you don't realize it. The only time this will become clear to you is when you finally change your body and start seeing yourself and everyone else through a new set of eyes...and this is exactly what Sean Rafferty did in our last transformation contest when he took 4th place. Sean explains what his perception and judgement of other people in the gym were like before he made his transformation, and then again after he became one of those people he was 'judging'. It's definitely a new perspective and a fairer more accepting perspective, and finally you'll never know what it feels like until you make the change for yourself. We also talk about Sean's challenges with diet throughout the contest, how he found motivation and support to make the change and what he thinks are the keys to sticking it out and making it happen. John LISTEN:   John Barban, Brad Howard no 38:49 http://www.adonisindex.com/changing-your-body-changes-your-perspective/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/G-t6FDFAUwI/ http://www.adonisindex.com/gotta-know-where-you-are-to-know-where-youre-going/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 15:56:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1690 Making a big time change is really just a collection of little mini-changes over a period of time. On a day to day basis you might not really notice what is happening, and only when you reach the end do you see how far you&#8217;ve really come. Part of making a big change is admitting [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/G-t6FDFAUwI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/gotta-know-where-you-are-to-know-where-youre-going/feed/ 8 Adonis Index Transformation Ben,Contest,fat loss Making a big time change is really just a collection of little mini-changes over a period of time. On a day to day basis you might not really notice what is happening, and only when you reach the end do you see how far you've really come. Making a big time change is really just a collection of little mini-changes over a period of time. On a day to day basis you might not really notice what is happening, and only when you reach the end do you see how far you've really come. Part of making a big change is admitting to yourself where you are right now and deciding that you want to change, and that is exactly what Ben Niemeier did and took 3rd place in the 4th Adonis Index Transformation contest.   In today's podcast, I talk to Ben about his transformation, what it was like to look back and see where he started and his reaction to his new body. Ben also shares how his general disposition has changed and how it's hard to comprehend how life changes when your body changes...it really is a "you'll understand when you get there" situation. Finally we discuss the importance of admitting and accepting where you are right now in order to know how to get to where you want to go. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 46:06 http://www.adonisindex.com/gotta-know-where-you-are-to-know-where-youre-going/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/4NAtU6_bemE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-contest-winner-dan-blunk/#comments Wed, 04 May 2011 11:00:32 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1668 In todays podcast we talk to the winner of the 4th Adonis Index transformation contest Dan Blunk. Dan&#8217;s story of the 12 week contest is much different than past winners as he had many lifestyle obstacles to overcome as well as catching the flu right in the middle of the contest. Flu or not, Dan [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/4NAtU6_bemE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-contest-winner-dan-blunk/feed/ 1 Adonis Index transformationc contest winner,dan blunk contest winner In todays podcast we talk to the winner of the 4th Adonis Index transformation contest Dan Blunk. - Dan's story of the 12 week contest is much different than past winners as he had many lifestyle obstacles to overcome as well as catching t... In todays podcast we talk to the winner of the 4th Adonis Index transformation contest Dan Blunk. Dan's story of the 12 week contest is much different than past winners as he had many lifestyle obstacles to overcome as well as catching the flu right in the middle of the contest. Flu or not, Dan persevered and pushed through it all and came out as the winner. In this podcast we'll talk about the challenges of working out when you're sick, sticking to a commitment that you've made to yourself and the importance of social support and finding your motivation to move forward. We also talk about the common mistakes guys make of trying to be bigger by overeating and ending up getting fat and in some cases giving up on the idea of ever actually getting in the shape they really want. This may have even crossed your mind, but Dan mentions the feeling of simply giving up on the idea that he could ever get into the shape he's been working for over the past 15 years. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 50:36 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-contest-winner-dan-blunk/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/PJmKrxO5fJU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-contest-winners-announced/#comments Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:35:03 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1608 It&#8217;s time to announce the winners of the fourth Adonis Index Transformation contest as the first ever Open contest. The competition keeps getting tighter each time as the bar just keeps getting set higher and higher. Contestants were judged on total change in AI, how close they got to their true golden ratio and their [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/PJmKrxO5fJU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-contest-winners-announced/feed/ 27 before and afters,open contest winners,Transformation contest winners It's time to announce the winners of the fourth Adonis Index Transformation contest as the first ever Open contest. - The competition keeps getting tighter each time as the bar just keeps getting set higher and higher. - It's time to announce the winners of the fourth Adonis Index Transformation contest as the first ever Open contest. The competition keeps getting tighter each time as the bar just keeps getting set higher and higher. Contestants were judged on total change in AI, how close they got to their true golden ratio and their final pictures. Finally, if you want to get a hold of the systems that make all of this possible, here's where you need to go: ==> Click here to grab your copy of the Adonis Index Systems Ok lets get to it. Adonis Index Transformation Contest #4 1st Place: Dan Blunk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Place: Leo Bell --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Place: Ben Neimeier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Place: Sean Rafferty ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th Place: Richard Lane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th Place: Greg Rojem --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adonis Index Open Contest: Senior Division (40+ years old) 1st Place: Mark Levy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Place: Joe Weaver --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Place: Rich Sigona ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Adonis Index Open: Middle Division (25 - 40 years old) 1st Place: Allen Elliot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Place: Kidafi Byer ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Place: Andrew Tullio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adonis Index Open: Junior Division (under 25 years old) 1st Place: David Donoghue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations to all, you did a phenomenal job getting into great shape. I'll be contacting each of you personally as we owe you money and I'd like to do a podcast interview with each of you to share your training and preparation that you went through over the past 12 weeks. This just set the bar even higher for our next competition which starts May 11th. John p.s. If you want to get a hold of the systems that make all of this possible, here's where you need to go: ==> Click here to grab your copy of the Adonis Index Systems John Barban, Brad Howard no 17:20 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-contest-winners-announced/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/laL3YUXaRYE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/genetic-potential-vs-lifestyle-potential/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:09:37 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1552 &#8220;Muscle building&#8221; marketing tends to speak about &#8216;genetic potential&#8217; and ways to overcome this potential (which if you stop and think about it is impossible). It&#8217;s also largely irrelevant because it&#8217;s not your genetic potential that limits you but rather your lifestyle potential. Lifestyle factors are almost always the rate limiting step to your ability [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/laL3YUXaRYE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/genetic-potential-vs-lifestyle-potential/feed/ 16 genetic potential,lifestyle potential,muscle growth "Muscle building" marketing tends to speak about 'genetic potential' and ways to overcome this potential (which if you stop and think about it is impossible). - It's also largely irrelevant because it's not your genetic potential that limits you b... "Muscle building" marketing tends to speak about 'genetic potential' and ways to overcome this potential (which if you stop and think about it is impossible). It's also largely irrelevant because it's not your genetic potential that limits you but rather your lifestyle potential. Lifestyle factors are almost always the rate limiting step to your ability to grow bigger muscles and get really lean. The confusion for most men comes when they set their body image ideal goal/target based on a model, athlete, celebrity or bodybuilding who is living a much different life than they. You simply cannot know what the lifestyle of your model image really is...you'll never know how much rest, stress, drugs, supplements, and training they really do unless you lived with them. This is another reason why you cannot compare yourself to anyone else besides you. In today's podcast we talk about the blurry line between genetic and lifestyle potential and why the images of most athletes, celebrities, and fitness and bodybuilding models must be taken with a grain of salt because of the unknown lifestyle factors that come into play. You likely have the same 'genetic' potential as all of your image model ideals, but you probably don't have the same 'lifestyle' potential. Note: Posing tutorial video will be up wed next week. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 44:44 http://www.adonisindex.com/genetic-potential-vs-lifestyle-potential/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/5PeQHvSHR5M/ http://www.adonisindex.com/inflammation-theory-of-muscle-growth/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:38:22 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1539 Believe it or not we still don&#8217;t really know how muscles grow. The scientific literature provides multiple lines of evidence that all contribute to our understanding but we still don&#8217;t have definite cause and effect proof of the exact reason of how we grow and why that grow is limited. &#160; We know that you [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/5PeQHvSHR5M" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/inflammation-theory-of-muscle-growth/feed/ 12 inflammation theory of muscle growth,muscle growth Believe it or not we still don't really know how muscles grow. The scientific literature provides multiple lines of evidence that all contribute to our understanding but we still don't have definite cause and effect proof of the exact reason of how we ... Believe it or not we still don't really know how muscles grow. The scientific literature provides multiple lines of evidence that all contribute to our understanding but we still don't have definite cause and effect proof of the exact reason of how we grow and why that grow is limited.   We know that you have to do some sort of resistance training on an regular basis to stimulate muscle growth, and we know that age, intensity and diet (to some degree) have an influence. And finally we know there is a big difference in the amount of muscle you can grow when using anabolic steroids. Given all of these facts we are proposing a new theory that chronic inflammation is the rate limiting step in muscle growth. Brad Pilon has recently put together a body of research that supports the inflammation theory of muscle growth and it explains why: Bulking up to gain muscle might actually have the reverse effect and ruin your chance to build muscle. This also explains why guys on steroids can have success 'bulking up' on massive calories and gain muscle, while a non-user will just create massive inflammation and thus destroy any chance of muscle growth. The chronic north american lifestyle disorders may all be contributing to a lack of progress in your muscle gaining efforts. The best way to gain muscle is to stay lean year round and avoid overeating or any fat gain. This is definitely an eye opener, but if you stop and really listen to what is being said in today's podcast most of the points likely fit with what you've observed in yourself and in other people around the gym. You can also watch a presentation on the inflammation theory of muscle growth at this website: Inflammation Theory of Muscle Growth John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 33:21 http://www.adonisindex.com/inflammation-theory-of-muscle-growth/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/GF6hc7kr32o/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-big-can-your-muscles-grow/#comments Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:38:24 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1530 Creating your best looking physique requires two things: 1) Low bodyfat  &#38;  2) Well Developed Muscles &#160; Lower bodyfat levels are a matter of diet and to some degree genetics, but todays post is about the second issue, developing muscle. The muscle size that you can eventually develop is based on many factors including: Genetic [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/GF6hc7kr32o" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-big-can-your-muscles-grow/feed/ 7 muscle building,muscle growth Creating your best looking physique requires two things: - 1) Low bodyfat  &  2) Well Developed Muscles -   - Lower bodyfat levels are a matter of diet and to some degree genetics, but todays post is about the second issue, developing muscle. - Creating your best looking physique requires two things: 1) Low bodyfat  &  2) Well Developed Muscles   Lower bodyfat levels are a matter of diet and to some degree genetics, but todays post is about the second issue, developing muscle. The muscle size that you can eventually develop is based on many factors including: Genetic starting point - Somatotype Durability - How resistant you are to injury Emotional Disposition - How easily you become stressed and anxious Mental Focus - How much and how long you can focus on your workouts and your intensity level in the gym Available Time - How much time you have available to dedicate to training Rest and Recuperation - The time and ability you have to rest, recover from your workouts and unwind from the other stresses in your life Other Lifestyle Factors - There are a number of other factors that get in the way of your training including work responsibilities, traveling, family responsibilities, school, social events etc. In today's podcast we'll discuss the rate limiting steps that are determining how big you can grow your muscles. In most cases the amount of muscle you can ever develop is not limited by your genetics but rather by your lifestyle. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 47:53 http://www.adonisindex.com/how-big-can-your-muscles-grow/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/dsFjRdZ-QRU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/what-does-building-muscle-mean/#comments Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:00:13 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1523 Most men want bigger muscles&#8230;it&#8217;s the reason most of us go to the gym, it&#8217;s the reason men continue to experiment with new workout protocols, new supplements and even drugs&#8230;bigger muscles. A quick glance around any gym will reveal men with vastly different sizes of muscles. So what makes one guy that much different than [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/dsFjRdZ-QRU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/what-does-building-muscle-mean/feed/ 4 Building Muscle,muscle building Most men want bigger muscles...it's the reason most of us go to the gym, it's the reason men continue to experiment with new workout protocols, new supplements and even drugs...bigger muscles. - A quick glance around any gym will reveal men wi... Most men want bigger muscles...it's the reason most of us go to the gym, it's the reason men continue to experiment with new workout protocols, new supplements and even drugs...bigger muscles. A quick glance around any gym will reveal men with vastly different sizes of muscles. So what makes one guy that much different than the other in a given group? The factors that contribute to the muscle size of any given person you might come across include: Genetics # of years weight training Type of program followed Intensity of training The age you started weight training Supplements Drugs Money - how much supplements or drugs you can afford Time - The amount of time you can spend working out Stress - How much stress you are under in the other areas of your life All of these factors contribute to the amount of muscle any given person has, and this is also why you can't really compare yourself to anyone else. This is all part of understanding muscle growth and what to expect. At this point you might have noticed that I haven't said anything about 'building muscle' but only muscle 'growth'. That is because it's incorrect to use the word 'build' to refer to muscle. Or at the very least, the word 'build' makes us think of muscle growth in the wrong terms, and as long as we think in terms of muscle 'building' we will always be susceptible to marketing scams about muscle growth. The first step to really understanding how to create bigger muscles is to first start thinking about muscle growth as it truly is, and that is hypertrophy, not 'building'. DEFINITION: Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. The definition of the word "build" can mean many things, but none of it's meanings are the same as the word 'hypertrophy'. Hypertrophy can most closely be related to the concept of filling up a water balloon and perhaps making a slightly bigger balloon to fill. Making this distinction in the way you think of muscle growth is a key step to developing the body you want and namely, bigger muscles. In todays podcast we discuss how to correctly think about muscle growth and how this fundamental shift in the way you think and speak about muscle growth will change the way you view working out for both muscle size and definition. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 39:32 http://www.adonisindex.com/what-does-building-muscle-mean/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/1WnTuUoAXS4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/working-out-vs-training-interview-wes-granger/#comments Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:40:21 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1517 Staying consistent and having support are the two biggest keys to making big time changes in weight loss and muscle building. The consistency of your workout and your ability to stay injury free are the two biggest factors on the training side of the equation that will add up to long term success. Consistency and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/1WnTuUoAXS4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/working-out-vs-training-interview-wes-granger/feed/ 3 interview wes granger,working out vs training Staying consistent and having support are the two biggest keys to making big time changes in weight loss and muscle building. - The consistency of your workout and your ability to stay injury free are the two biggest factors on the training side of th... Staying consistent and having support are the two biggest keys to making big time changes in weight loss and muscle building. The consistency of your workout and your ability to stay injury free are the two biggest factors on the training side of the equation that will add up to long term success. Consistency and social support on the diet side of the equation are the two biggest factors to dropping weight and getting lean. You can find many online communities that seem to be on target with your goals, but as you get further into them the support you hoped for might not be there. Finding the right community (online or off) could be the difference between getting to your goals and falling off the wagon for good. Sometimes it just takes a few words of encouragement and a friendly kick in the butt from a supportive group to keep you on track towards your goals. In todays podcast we interview Wes Granger who has dropped a lot of weight, and got into great shape. Wes talks about how he finally got his body to change and how he did it. John LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 41:31 http://www.adonisindex.com/working-out-vs-training-interview-wes-granger/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/DIB1kJSpWtc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/reading-research-papers/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:00:04 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1501 In this new world of blogs, and the interwebs, and instant access to &#8216;info&#8217; there is no shortage of misinformation. This misinformation includes marketers and commentators with little or no qualifications to report on the topics that they&#8217;re reporting on as well as readers and consumers going to websites such as pubmed and looking through [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/DIB1kJSpWtc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/reading-research-papers/feed/ 9 Bryan Chung,reading research In this new world of blogs, and the interwebs, and instant access to 'info' there is no shortage of misinformation. - This misinformation includes marketers and commentators with little or no qualifications to report on the topics that they're rep... In this new world of blogs, and the interwebs, and instant access to 'info' there is no shortage of misinformation. This misinformation includes marketers and commentators with little or no qualifications to report on the topics that they're reporting on as well as readers and consumers going to websites such as pubmed and looking through the various abstracts assuming the information there is enough to make an informed decision about what to do with either their diet or workout. In both cases you can end up being mislead or misleading yourself. And this is to say nothing about lay people who go to pubmed, find an abstract and then re-post it on a forum and declare they have the answer to some muscle building or fat loss question. So in an effort to put this in some sort of perspective I interviewed Bryan Chung who has his Phd in research methodology. We try to get to bottom of how to read a research paper and how to tell if a paper is of high quality or not, and finally what the average person can or should do about deciphering research claims in this misinformation age. Bryan is a plastic surgery resident and a Phd in research methodology. He critiques research papers on his blog at www.evidencebasedfitness.blogspot.com So if you have a research paper in diet or fitness and you want to get an expert opinion on the quality of the paper then you can send it to Bryan at his blog and maybe he'll give it a once over in a future post. READ: Download the Transcript: Reading Research Papers LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 39:15 http://www.adonisindex.com/reading-research-papers/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/1v24H4GQJCQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/finding-your-motivation-interview-with-andrew-scott/#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:00:57 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1494 We&#8217;re in the 3 week of the fourth Adonis Index transformation contest and motivation to push through the full 12 week run is a big factor in winning and making a big change. Andrew has built an impressive amount of muscle over the past year and especially during the last transformation contest. Each day you [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/1v24H4GQJCQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/finding-your-motivation-interview-with-andrew-scott/feed/ 0 Adonis Index Transformation,Andrew Scott,Finding Your Motivation We're in the 3 week of the fourth Adonis Index transformation contest and motivation to push through the full 12 week run is a big factor in winning and making a big change. - Andrew has built an impressive amount of muscle over the past year and espe... We're in the 3 week of the fourth Adonis Index transformation contest and motivation to push through the full 12 week run is a big factor in winning and making a big change. Andrew has built an impressive amount of muscle over the past year and especially during the last transformation contest. Each day you need to find your motivation and find what works for you. Along the way some people will support you and some people won't. It's up to you to find your motivation on a daily basis and keep pushing through no matter what obstacles life throws at you. In todays podcast we talk to Andrew Scott who placed in the money in our last contest as he built an impressive amount of muscle. Andrew talks about going through two contests now and the fact that if you stick to your guns you'll eventually get to where you want to go. Above all you gotta do it for you, and not for anyone else. John READ: Download the Transcript --> Finding Your Motivation Interview Andrew Scott LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:00:21 http://www.adonisindex.com/finding-your-motivation-interview-with-andrew-scott/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/aaUvoItmg20/ http://www.adonisindex.com/understanding-peer-review/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:00:34 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1487 There are many diet books, and workout programs you can find online, in magazines and at the book store. Many of the books on nutrition are very compelling to read and quite convincing. But just because a book sounds convincing that doesn&#8217;t make it factually correct. The issue arises when people view a book or [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/aaUvoItmg20" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/understanding-peer-review/feed/ 5 research,science There are many diet books, and workout programs you can find online, in magazines and at the book store. Many of the books on nutrition are very compelling to read and quite convincing. But just because a book sounds convincing that doesn't make it fac... There are many diet books, and workout programs you can find online, in magazines and at the book store. Many of the books on nutrition are very compelling to read and quite convincing. But just because a book sounds convincing that doesn't make it factually correct. The issue arises when people view a book or magazine the same as a piece of peer reviewed research. But the fact is that books and magazines do not go through a rigorous peer review process. Even if a book has research cited in the reference section it still hasn't gone through the peer review process the way a scientific paper has. Scientific papers go through a review process where experts in a given field review and critique research before it can be published. If the paper isn't up to standard it may not be published. But a book can be full of incorrect information and easily be published. And that is the big difference between real science and someone who writes a book that is supposed to seem like science. In today's podcast Dr. Geoff Dover explains the peer review process for you and why it makes a big difference between scientific papers, magazines and books. John READ: Download the transcript here: Peer Review Process with Geoff Dover LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 48:50 http://www.adonisindex.com/understanding-peer-review/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/5xb4q2ixJdM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-last-10-pounds-interview-with-andrew-tullio/#comments Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:14:32 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1477 There is a fine line between &#8216;good&#8217; shape and &#8216;great&#8217; shape. And getting into great shape is what most people want to do when they set out to make a change in their body. But do you really know what it takes to get into great shape? There is something we&#8217;ve come to call &#8216;shirt [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/5xb4q2ixJdM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-last-10-pounds-interview-with-andrew-tullio/feed/ 12 Contest,Interview Adrew Tullio,The last 10 pounds,transformation There is a fine line between 'good' shape and 'great' shape. And getting into great shape is what most people want to do when they set out to make a change in their body. But do you really know what it takes to get into great shape? - There is a fine line between 'good' shape and 'great' shape. And getting into great shape is what most people want to do when they set out to make a change in their body. But do you really know what it takes to get into great shape? There is something we've come to call 'shirt on big' and 'shirt off big' Andrew Tullio is a perfect example of someone who was already in 'good' shape, and went the distance to get into 'great' shape. Most guys make the mistake of assuming they need to get bigger and heavier to be more impressive looking. But this only works when you have your shirt on. If you saw most 'big guys' with their shirt off you'd find out they have at least 20-30 pounds of fat to lose. The reality is they're only big because they're carrying extra fat that is making the shirt stretch a bit more around their arms and shoulders. But to truly be in great shape you need to shed the fat so your muscle can show through. This is what we call 'shirt off big'...when your shirt comes off and you've got a full set of 6-pack abs and sharp defined muscles, division from your chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps, and all throughout your back muscles. To achieve this kind of look you will likely need to be much lighter than you ever expected. Most of us have a distorted conception of how much we 'should' or will weigh when we're ripped. And this is the illusion of looking bigger as we get lighter. The leaner you get the bigger your muscles start to look, and this is the whole point of the Adonis Index ratio and 'shirt off big'. In todays podcast Andrew Tullio walks us through his experience getting 6-pack ripped, and 'shirt off big'. He reveals his total surprise at the bodyweight he had to be to get to this weight and what it was like going through his transformation. John READ: Read the transcript here: The Last 10 Pounds: Interview Andrew Tullio LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 45:44 http://www.adonisindex.com/the-last-10-pounds-interview-with-andrew-tullio/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/0SaBdyvZQdA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-contest-4/#comments Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:00:19 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1466 The 4th Adonis Index Transformation Contest (AT4) starts Wednesday Jan 19th 2011, ends April 13th 2011 midnight EST. How to Enter the Transformation Contest: PICTURES: Required Before Pictures with your shirt off from waist up: Front &#8211; Facing Camera arms at your side Side &#8211; Turn 90 degrees from the camera arms at your side [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/0SaBdyvZQdA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-contest-4/feed/ 17 adonis index transformation contest,Adonis Open Contest,AT4,Contest The 4th Adonis Index Transformation Contest (AT4) starts Wednesday Jan 19th 2011, ends April 13th 2011 midnight EST. How to Enter the Transformation Contest: PICTURES: - Required Before Pictures with your shirt off from waist up: - The 4th Adonis Index Transformation Contest (AT4) starts Wednesday Jan 19th 2011, ends April 13th 2011 midnight EST. How to Enter the Transformation Contest: PICTURES: Required Before Pictures with your shirt off from waist up: Front - Facing Camera arms at your side Side - Turn 90 degrees from the camera arms at your side Back - Facing away from the camera Newspaper - Take another "front' picture holding the current days newspaper in your hand Newspaper close up - Take a close up of the front page of the newspaper with the date clearly visible MEASUREMENTS: Shoulders Waist Weight Height Create a folder on your computer and store all of this information in it as your "BEFORE" folder. Name each picture file as follows: firstname_lastname_before_pose...Example: JohnBarbanBeforeBACK. This makes it much easier for me to find the files when you send them in April. To enter the competition simply take the required pictures and measurements as outlined above and store them on your computer as your 'before' file. On April 13th take the same pictures as your 'After" file. Emailing me both files along with a 250 word essay about your transformation experience before midnight April 13th 2011 counts as your official entry. So for now you just need to take your official before pictures and measurements and store them on your computer this Wednesday. Prize money for AT4 is as follows: 1st place - $500 2nd place - $350 3rd place - $250 4-6 place - $200 Adonis Index Open Competition Categories Junior (under 25 years old the date of the contest) Middle (25 years old to 39 years old) Senior (40+) Each category will be judged on final AI look alone (not a transformation). The pictures for this competition must be take on April 13th and submitted via email to me before midnight EST April 13th 2011. You're also required to submit the following measurements: Shoulders Waist Weight Height Proof of age is required with a digital photo of a piece of photo ID. Drivers license or passport is acceptable. Take a close up photo of either of these pieces of ID and include this picture in your contest picture submission file. Standard poses will be required and a list of poses with examples and a tutorial on how to pose will be provided over the course of the next 12 weeks for you to become familiar with the poses and practice. Judging criteria will be based on the following: Adonis Index Ratio - How close you are to the calculated ideal numbers for your height Muscularity - Muscle size and shape Condition - Visible definition of the muscle groups Prize money for each category is as follows: 1st - $500 Second- $350 Third- $250 Adonis & Venus Summit - April 15th-17th Las Vegas The first Adonis & Venus Summit will be held two days following the end of the Transformation and Open contest. This is an informal gathering in Las Vegas for whoever wants to attend. Both the Adonis and Venus communities are encouraged to join us (Brad P Brad H and I) in Las Vegas to relax, talk shop and meet some of your fellow community members. More details on the summit will be coming in the next 4-6 weeks. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 27:16 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-contest-4/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/071CLZFElZU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-into-contest-shape-interview-with-allen-elliot/#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:00:29 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1454 The way your body looks changes from day to day, and even from hour to hour, and on a bigger scale from month to month and year to year. Today we&#8217;re going to focus on what it takes to get into condition for a winning look. And what better way to do this than with [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/071CLZFElZU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-into-contest-shape-interview-with-allen-elliot/feed/ 13 Adonis Index Contest,Adonis Index Transformation,Contest,Contest Condition,Interview Allen Elliot The way your body looks changes from day to day, and even from hour to hour, and on a bigger scale from month to month and year to year. Today we're going to focus on what it takes to get into condition for a winning look. The way your body looks changes from day to day, and even from hour to hour, and on a bigger scale from month to month and year to year. Today we're going to focus on what it takes to get into condition for a winning look. And what better way to do this than with Allen Elliot...he know what it takes to 'dial it in' and he'll be sharing some the techniques he used to get into the condition you see here. There are many factors that go into the look of your body including: Total bodyfat - Not much to explain here. If you're carrying too much fat none of your muscle will show through Body Water - From fully hydrated after a meal to bodybuilding contest dehydrated and fasted Training History - Do you have years of well developed muscle mass, or are you still a novice with room to grow Current Training State - Are you pumped up from a workout or just got out of bed And finally are you 'dialed in' to win a contest, or are you maintaining within striking distance for the next contest, photoshoot, or simply just the next time you feel like you want to tighten things up and make an impression. Crafting a winning look to your body is a lot like working on a sculpture...but in this case the clay is your body and your tools are your workout and your diet (I think Arnold says it in a very similar way in his movie "pumping iron") Finally, the way you pose and display your body is the icing on the cake and could very well determine if you win or lose a bodybuilding show or the upcoming Adonis Index "open" competition. In todays interview we pick Allen Elliots brain on how he learned to dial in for his bodybuilding show and really display his hard work through proper posing and contest conditioning. Listen up if you're thinking of entering the open, because Allen has some good advice and insights to share, AND some of you will likely be competing against him! Hey we're all in this together and we all want to see each other succeed (even if you're technically competing against each other) we are all really on the same team. John READ: Download the transcript here: Getting Into Contest Shape: Interview With Allen Elliot LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 43:56 http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-into-contest-shape-interview-with-allen-elliot/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/2_TXWOWGwa4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/winning-against-the-odds-interview-with-jason-gottlieb/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:00:14 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1443 If you want to make a change in your body then you have to start TODAY! There is no such thing as starting &#8216;tomorrow&#8217; because there is always another tomorrow. It has to be today. If you get caught up explaining why you can&#8217;t do it, or can&#8217;t start now, you&#8217;ll never start. You&#8217;ll always [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/2_TXWOWGwa4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/winning-against-the-odds-interview-with-jason-gottlieb/feed/ 7 Adonis Index Transformation,Contest If you want to make a change in your body then you have to start TODAY! There is no such thing as starting 'tomorrow' because there is always another tomorrow. - It has to be today. - If you get caught up explaining why you can't do it, If you want to make a change in your body then you have to start TODAY! There is no such thing as starting 'tomorrow' because there is always another tomorrow. It has to be today. If you get caught up explaining why you can't do it, or can't start now, you'll never start. You'll always find a reason to be 'too busy' or 'too tired' or 'too caught up in other things'. None of these are legitimate excuses...instead they're just excuses. If you don't believe me then you have to listen to todays podcast with Jason Gottlieb. He finished second in our latest transformation contest and just about every part of his life that could be stacked against him was. From working 80 hour work weeks, to avoiding chocolate and trail mix snacks all day long, to having to workout at 6am every morning...Jason did what most people won't do, and the results speak for themselves. Jason explains how he managed to make a dramatic transformation while constantly being tempted with food every day, and working ungodly hours but still making it to the gym. If anyone ever had an excuse why it wouldn't be possible to make a change, Jason is the guy...but he didn't let the constraints of his life hold him back. If he can do it, so can you. John READ: Download the transcript here: Winning against the Odds: Interview with Jason Gottlieb LISTEN: John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:11:31 http://www.adonisindex.com/winning-against-the-odds-interview-with-jason-gottlieb/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/_jvJHWK7rT4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-real-results-interview-with-thomas-power/#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:47:52 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1433 Working out is just a tool to achieve a desired result or outcome&#8230;this is pretty obvious. But when you commit to a workout that isn&#8217;t producing the results you want it might not be as easy to change to a new workout as you think. Sometimes you might think it&#8217;s you that is failing and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/_jvJHWK7rT4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-real-results-interview-with-thomas-power/feed/ 0 Adonis Index Transformation,interview series,muscle building Working out is just a tool to achieve a desired result or outcome...this is pretty obvious. But when you commit to a workout that isn't producing the results you want it might not be as easy to change to a new workout as you think. - Working out is just a tool to achieve a desired result or outcome...this is pretty obvious. But when you commit to a workout that isn't producing the results you want it might not be as easy to change to a new workout as you think. Sometimes you might think it's you that is failing and not the workout itself. Maybe it's just not a fit for your current training status, or maybe you've got the wrong expectations. In any case, if you're not getting results, but you're putting in the effort, then something has got to change. Like Einstein said "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results". This is what Thomas had to overcome when he realized his old workout simply wasn't producing the results he wanted. One of the most interesting things Thomas said was that he had to 'swallow his pride and just trust that the Adonis Index Workout would work". I find this to be a revealing statement because the workout he had been doing for the previous two years just wasn't producing the results he wanted, and he was faced with a choice. Either continue doing the old workout and try to force it to work, or take a leap of faith and try the Adonis Index workout. The rest of the story is history...Thomas finished in the money on our latest contest building a significant amount of muscle. In todays podcast we discuss the "permission to be light" and how it can free you from the old way of believing that you must 'gain weight' and 'bulk up' to build muscle. We'll also discuss intensity and joining contests to generate motivation. And finally we'll talk about embracing what your genetics have. If building muscle comes easy but you struggle with fat loss...well embrace the fact that you can build muscle easily (because the 'skinny' guys would kill to build your kind of muscle) On the other hand if you're naturally lean but building muscle is a challenge for you, embrace the fact that you can have visible abs without really dieting for them...(the bigger guys would kill to have abs all the time without dying) The point is the grass is always greener on the other side if you always focus on what you DON'T have...instead you should embrace what you DO have and get to work developing your weaker points. READ: You can download the transcript here: Getting Real Results: Interview with Thomas Power Listen: John Barban, Brad Howard no 38:25 http://www.adonisindex.com/getting-real-results-interview-with-thomas-power/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/NxBJ5xncJRg/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-lose-60lbs-in-12-weeks-interview-with-richard-lane/#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:09:57 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1423 12 weeks may not seem long, but if you put your mind to it some incredible things can happen in that time frame. And that&#8217;s exactly what Richard Lane did when he lost 60lbs in 12 weeks and finished in the money in our last transformation contest. Richard took a unique (but simple) approach to [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/NxBJ5xncJRg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-lose-60lbs-in-12-weeks-interview-with-richard-lane/feed/ 32 Adonis Index Transformation,how to lose 60lbs,Weight Loss 12 weeks may not seem long, but if you put your mind to it some incredible things can happen in that time frame. - And that's exactly what Richard Lane did when he lost 60lbs in 12 weeks and finished in the money in our last transformation contest. - 12 weeks may not seem long, but if you put your mind to it some incredible things can happen in that time frame. And that's exactly what Richard Lane did when he lost 60lbs in 12 weeks and finished in the money in our last transformation contest. Richard took a unique (but simple) approach to fat loss over this time period and he's got many insights to share. He explains how the positive feedback he got from friends helped provide the momentum to keep progressing, and how he learned what is limits were socially when it came to 'stimulus' including food, alcohol and partying. Richard also perfected a way to explain his dramatic method for weight loss without having everyone freak out on him (this is a great tool and some pretty slick talking he does...go figure, he is a salesman by trade!) All in all Richard has a unique experience and insights that I found very intriguing and I think you will too...so listen up (or read up!) READ: You can download the transcript here: How to Lose 60lbs in 12-Weeks: Interview with Richard Lane John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:07:54 http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-lose-60lbs-in-12-weeks-interview-with-richard-lane/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/IGo9xxy18nU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/learning-what-fat-loss-feels-like-interview-with-matt-misiurak/#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:28:17 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1412 The latest Adonis Index transformation contest produced some remarkable results and each person had their own way of getting there. In todays podcast we interview Matt Misiurak and learn how he dropped over 30lbs in 12 weeks and how he trained himself to literally know what fat burning &#8216;feels&#8217; like. After training himself to understand [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/IGo9xxy18nU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/learning-what-fat-loss-feels-like-interview-with-matt-misiurak/feed/ 5 The latest Adonis Index transformation contest produced some remarkable results and each person had their own way of getting there. - In todays podcast we interview Matt Misiurak and learn how he dropped over 30lbs in 12 weeks and how he t... The latest Adonis Index transformation contest produced some remarkable results and each person had their own way of getting there. In todays podcast we interview Matt Misiurak and learn how he dropped over 30lbs in 12 weeks and how he trained himself to literally know what fat burning 'feels' like. After training himself to understand the feeling of fat burning Matt realized he didn't need to count or guess calories as the feeling was enough to guide him to his goal. This is a very insightful interview as Matt's experience with weight loss and changing his body is different than some of the other guys we have interviewed. This just goes to show you that even though the 'rules of weight loss' are the same, the experience and way you will go about achieving your goals of getting to your ideal Adonis Index Ratio is going to be completely unique to your body and your specific lifestyle. READ IT Download the transcript here: Learning What Fat Loss "Feels" Like: Interview With Matt Misiurak John John Barban, Brad Howard no 36:29 health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/learning-what-fat-loss-feels-like-interview-with-matt-misiurak/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/0G2IdMcB-04/ http://www.adonisindex.com/42-years-old-and-ripped-an-interview-with-mark-levy/#comments Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:29:11 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1384 During this past transformation contest we had some entries that blew us away and Mark Levy was at the head of that list. Just to be clear, Mark was in pretty good shape to start the contest but his final condition was just SICK! Mark is the definition of the word RIPPED&#8230;but don&#8217;t take my [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/0G2IdMcB-04" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/42-years-old-and-ripped-an-interview-with-mark-levy/feed/ 23 Getting Ripped,transformation During this past transformation contest we had some entries that blew us away and Mark Levy was at the head of that list. Just to be clear, Mark was in pretty good shape to start the contest but his final condition was just SICK! - During this past transformation contest we had some entries that blew us away and Mark Levy was at the head of that list. Just to be clear, Mark was in pretty good shape to start the contest but his final condition was just SICK! Mark is the definition of the word RIPPED...but don't take my word for it...have a look for yourself: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In today's interview we talk to Mark about how he got into this condition and some of the major changes he made in the way he manages his diet and how this transformation has crossed over into other area's of his life. The best part...Mark ate ice cream and cake every week during his cut down! SIGN ME UP! If you want to read the transcript of the interview you can download it here: 42 Years old and RIPPED: An interview with Mark Levy John John Barban, Brad Howard no 56:49 http://www.adonisindex.com/42-years-old-and-ripped-an-interview-with-mark-levy/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/eKwhEQL9O8g/ http://www.adonisindex.com/transformation-winner-dan-richardson-interview/#comments Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:22:09 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1379 The results of the latest Adonis Index transformation contest were fantastic and Dan Richardson lead the way. He had a phenomenal transformation and took first place overall. In todays podcast we interview Dan and get the inside scoop on what it was like to go through the contest and take first place. Dan will reveal [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/eKwhEQL9O8g" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/transformation-winner-dan-richardson-interview/feed/ 13 adonis index transformation contest,Dan Richardson,fat loss The results of the latest Adonis Index transformation contest were fantastic and Dan Richardson lead the way. He had a phenomenal transformation and took first place overall. - In todays podcast we interview Dan and get the inside scoop on what it was... The results of the latest Adonis Index transformation contest were fantastic and Dan Richardson lead the way. He had a phenomenal transformation and took first place overall. In todays podcast we interview Dan and get the inside scoop on what it was like to go through the contest and take first place. Dan will reveal the trials and challenges of dropping over 30lbs in 12 weeks and staying committed to his decision to enter and win the contest. READ If you want to read the transcript of the interview instead you can download it here: Interview with Dan Richardson John John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:10:06 http://www.adonisindex.com/transformation-winner-dan-richardson-interview/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/x8iic_ygUqs/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-transformation-contest-winners-announced/#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:36:37 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1341 Well this was by far and away the toughest competition to judge and I know we had to leave out some very worthy candidates. This just confirms the necessity for the &#8216;open&#8217; contest starting in January. We&#8217;re going to have our regular transformation contest but we&#8217;re also adding an &#8216;open&#8217; contest that is judged on [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/x8iic_ygUqs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-transformation-contest-winners-announced/feed/ 26 Well this was by far and away the toughest competition to judge and I know we had to leave out some very worthy candidates. - This just confirms the necessity for the 'open' contest starting in January. We're going to have our regular transformation c... Well this was by far and away the toughest competition to judge and I know we had to leave out some very worthy candidates. This just confirms the necessity for the 'open' contest starting in January. We're going to have our regular transformation contest but we're also adding an 'open' contest that is judged on final look alone (not a transformation). The criteria for the open contest hasn't been set yet but it will include AI ratio, conditioning (leanness) and muscle mass. There will be 3 categories divided by age. Junior (under 25 years of age) Regular (25-49 years old) Senior (50 +) There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize awarded for each division. Also starting in Jan will be our 4th transformation contest. This time around previous transformation contest winners will be included on the judging panel for each new transformation contest. As I said before this was incredible hard to judge and when you look through the pics keep in mind this was judged first and foremost on overall transformation. You all did a great job and I'll be contacting each of you via email to thank you for entering the contest. I suggest that most of you should enter the open contest as well! On to the winners. ================================================================================== 1st Place Overall: Dan Richardson ================================================================================== 2nd Place: Jason Gottlieb ================================================================================== 3rd Place: Andrew Scott ================================================================================== 4th Place: Thomas Power ================================================================================== 5th Place: Matt Misiurak ================================================================================== 6th Place: Richard Lane ================================================================== There were also many other great entries that didn't place in the top 6 but could easily place in the open class early next year. We will put up another post with some of the other entries and profile their success as well. Everyone did a great job, congratulations to all who entered and finished the contest, it's truly a rare thing to go through any sort of contest and transformation like this. We'll be updating you between now and January with the specifics of the new contest including the open class and the transformation class. There is no transcript of today's podcast as we are simply discussing the results of this contest and how hard it was to pick winners. John p.s. Feel free to share this page with others that may need the inspiration. No one is alone in this. John Barban, Brad Howard no 33:44 health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-transformation-contest-winners-announced/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/uFcC---zzIk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/transformation-contest-thanskgiving-health-clubs/#comments Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:01:32 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1329 The 3rd Adonis Transformation contest ends this week and it&#8217;s time to get your entries in. To officially enter you need to email me (john at adoniseffect.com)  all of the following materials before midnight wed Nov 24th. Before pictures; front, back, side (with newspaper visible in one pic, can be a separate pic from this [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/uFcC---zzIk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/transformation-contest-thanskgiving-health-clubs/feed/ 1 Choosing a Health Club,Eating over the Holidays,Transformation Contest 3 The 3rd Adonis Transformation contest ends this week and it's time to get your entries in. - To officially enter you need to email me (john at adoniseffect.com)  all of the following materials before midnight wed Nov 24th. - Before pictures; front, The 3rd Adonis Transformation contest ends this week and it's time to get your entries in. To officially enter you need to email me (john at adoniseffect.com)  all of the following materials before midnight wed Nov 24th. Before pictures; front, back, side (with newspaper visible in one pic, can be a separate pic from this same round) Before measurements; Shoulder, waist, and weight, starting Adonis Index Ratio (waist : shoulder) After pictures; front, back, side (same deal with the newspaper), and some other poses would be nice to see, now that you got it might as well show it off. After measurements; waist, shoulders, weight, final Adonis Index Ratio (waist : shoulder) 250 word essay; explain your experience going through the transformation, how you've changed, how people are reacting to you, and how your life has changed in general. read last weeks post and listen to last weeks audio for detailed instructions on taking your after pictures (if you haven't already done so) During this weeks audio we talk about eating over the holidays, how to get through it without gaining weight, and then we get into the specifics of the health club industry and what the industry does to sell memberships and how to choose a health club. READ: You can download the transcript here: Transformation Contest 3 Thanksgiving Eating and  Health Clubs John John Barban, Brad Howard no 54:01 http://www.adonisindex.com/transformation-contest-thanskgiving-health-clubs/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/OToJ5TSBYPQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-take-adonis-transformation-after-pictures/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:00:01 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1316 It&#8217;s the home stretch for the 3rd Adonis Transformation contest, and it&#8217;s time to learn how to take the final picture. The pictures you see of fitness models in magazines and on many websites are usually professionally done with experienced photographers who know how to get the look they want from the models body. This [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/OToJ5TSBYPQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-take-adonis-transformation-after-pictures/feed/ 5 Adonis Transformation,Contest,Pictures It's the home stretch for the 3rd Adonis Transformation contest, and it's time to learn how to take the final picture. - The pictures you see of fitness models in magazines and on many websites are usually professionally done with experienced photogra... It's the home stretch for the 3rd Adonis Transformation contest, and it's time to learn how to take the final picture. The pictures you see of fitness models in magazines and on many websites are usually professionally done with experienced photographers who know how to get the look they want from the models body. This is just a short list of things that are typically done to get a model ready for a photoshoot. You can use some or all of these techniques to get ready for the Adonis Transformation 'after' picture. Tanning - muscle definition always shows up better with a tan Shaving - Getting get rid of the body hair allows the muscle definition to show through Oil - some models put a very light coat of oil on to bring out the definition, some even use a quick shot of pam cooking spray! Lighting - the right lighting can make or break a photo shoot, get it right and you're on the cover of the magazine, get it wrong and you're not getting paid Water depletion - most models will cut out water for the 24 hours leading up to the photo shoot (and many will toss in a mild diuretic with this)...this gives your muscles the hard dry look. Hyperhydrate before Dehydrating - Another technique for cutting water is to drinks lots of water between 72-24 hours before the shoot, then cut water completely for the last 24 hours, some models say this helps with depleting water even better than simply cutting it out at the end. Muscle Pump - This is a 50/50 proposition. Some people look bigger and fuller after pumping up, but it might cause you  to look smooth and wash out some of your definition. this is something that needs to be tested at the time of the photoshoot. Carb Loading - Some models try carb loading a couple days before the shoot by doing an exhausting whole body workout and then eating a big carbohydrate meal post workout. The theory is that your muscles will absorb more glycogen than normal and give them a bigger fuller look. The drawback is that if you do this wrong you can end up ruining the look of your definition on the day of the shoot. These are all techniques that have been used in the past with some success. Techniques that I consider mandatory are: Shave Tan Lighting Water Deplete The other items you can experiment with and see how they make you look. I suggest taking 3 rounds of pictures on the last 3 days of the contest. Each day you try a different technique to see how they change your look. Take morning picture after you wake up cold, then take pictures after you've worked out. Take a picture after 24 hours of depleting water and take more pictures after eating a big meal. It might not be obvious when you look your best, so taking these three rounds of pictures will give you some choice so you can see what your best look is. Remember we need a front, side and back shot relaxed with your arms at your side, after that it doesn't hurt to throw in some poses too (front double bicep, back double bicep, side tricep etc...just be creative). Make sure the current days newspaper is in plain view in one pic of that round of pictures (make this a separate picture from the real posed shots). This is what you've been working for and everyone you're competing against will be doing the same thing. I want you all to take the best possible pictures you can so you can really show off what you got! Next week we'll cover the specifics of sending the pictures and other final measurements and essay. John Download Transcription: AI Contest 3 - Taking Pictures John Barban, Brad Howard no 26:03 http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-take-adonis-transformation-after-pictures/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/74vn0j8o-OI/ http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-burning-vs-carb-burning/#comments Mon, 08 Nov 2010 11:00:02 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1306 At any given moment your body is always burning some fat and some glycogen. The intensity of your state is what determines where this ratio is. Sleeping is on the low end of the intensity scale and this is when you are burning a very high percentage of fat. On the other end is an [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/74vn0j8o-OI" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-burning-vs-carb-burning/feed/ 20 caloric deficit,carb burning,fat burning At any given moment your body is always burning some fat and some glycogen. The intensity of your state is what determines where this ratio is. - Sleeping is on the low end of the intensity scale and this is when you are burning a very high percentage... At any given moment your body is always burning some fat and some glycogen. The intensity of your state is what determines where this ratio is. Sleeping is on the low end of the intensity scale and this is when you are burning a very high percentage of fat. On the other end is an all out max sprint where you are burning stored ATP. Every other state of intensity is somewhere between these two extremes the ratio of fat vs glycogen/glucose that you are burning changes depending on the state you are in. This doesn't mean that sleeping is necessarily the best way to burn fat. What it does mean is that it doesn't really matter what type of exercise you do or what intensity it is...all of it will still cause you to burn more calories, and that is what matters for fat loss. Even if you are doing high intensity exercise that burns mostly glycogen, your body will use your bodyfat stores to make up this deficit. In todays podcast we'll discuss the difference between burning body fat and glycogen and why this really doesn't matter if your goal is fat loss. At the end of the day a caloric deficit is the only goal for fat loss no matter how you arrive at it. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 40:47 http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-burning-vs-carb-burning/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/gLNdiUsxUgA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/multivitamin-vs-food-does-it-matter/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:00:34 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1291 When you start to categorize food based on it&#8217;s nutrient composition instead of the experience of it simply being food you end up in a very strange place. If you thinking about it enough you&#8217;ll end up with this common question: &#8220;why can&#8217;t I just take a multivitamin to get all of my essential nutrients [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/gLNdiUsxUgA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/multivitamin-vs-food-does-it-matter/feed/ 9 eating for nutrients,multivitamin,vitamins vs food When you start to categorize food based on it's nutrient composition instead of the experience of it simply being food you end up in a very strange place. - If you thinking about it enough you'll end up with this common question: - When you start to categorize food based on it's nutrient composition instead of the experience of it simply being food you end up in a very strange place. If you thinking about it enough you'll end up with this common question: "why can't I just take a multivitamin to get all of my essential nutrients and then just eat whatever foods I want" This is an obvious question and there is no obvious answer. The essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals have been categorized this way because removing any one of them from your diet for an extended period of time will show a measurable physical deficiency (think Vit C deficiency and scurvy) There may be other nutrients we don't know about that could provide some sort of  benefit, but in general we already know which ones you MUST ingest on a regular basis to avoid serious negative effects. Theoretically there is no reason why you couldn't just get all of your vitamins and minerals from a multivitamin and eat whatever mix of food you like to go along with it. It's likely that you'll end up eating a mix of food anyway and get even more vitamins and minerals from whichever foods you choose to eat...there are very few food items that have absolutely no vitamins or minerals present in them. Unless you tried to survive on pure white sugar there is really no way of eating without getting many vitamins and minerals. Beyond these essentials there are a few other things to consider like fiber and perhaps some essential fats (although there is no scientific consensus on the need for essential fats or a daily dose) Deconstructing food to it's constituent parts is a good way to take all the fun out of eating. It makes much more sense to try and just enjoy whatever foods you have available and explore different tastes, flavors and styles. There is very little chance that you will ever become vitamin or mineral deficient if you live in any sort of industrialized country (and if you're reading this post that likely means you). In today's podcast we'll talk about the concept of nutrients from multivitamins vs food and why this a false dichotomy simply because all foods have vitamins and minerals. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 39:20 http://www.adonisindex.com/multivitamin-vs-food-does-it-matter/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/-Z2n6yAmzGM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/supplement-recall-novedex-containing-atd/#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:54:42 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1274 The FDA recently requested a recall of various muscle building supplements that contained a substance called 3, 17-keto-etiocholetriene which is an anti-aromatase drug&#8230;so who cares about anti-aromatase drugs? Well Aromatase is an enzyme that coverts testosterone to estrogen in a mans body, this conversion is where estrogenic side effects from steroid use comes from (most [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/-Z2n6yAmzGM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/supplement-recall-novedex-containing-atd/feed/ 3 3.17-keto-etiocholetriene,anti aromatase,novedex,supplement recall The FDA recently requested a recall of various muscle building supplements that contained a substance called 3, 17-keto-etiocholetriene which is an anti-aromatase drug...so who cares about anti-aromatase drugs? - The FDA recently requested a recall of various muscle building supplements that contained a substance called 3, 17-keto-etiocholetriene which is an anti-aromatase drug...so who cares about anti-aromatase drugs? Well Aromatase is an enzyme that coverts testosterone to estrogen in a mans body, this conversion is where estrogenic side effects from steroid use comes from (most notably breast tissue growth aka "Bitch tits") So why would a natural guy who is not using testosterone want to take an anti aromatase drug/supplement? Even normal men have a small amount of testosterone aromatizing to estrogen, the theory is that if you block even this conversion you can create a negative feedback loop tricking your body into thinking testosterone is low and thus causing your body to increase testosterone production...so the theory goes. One of the supplements that has been recalled had a scientific research study done showing that subjects who took the product had increases in free and total testosterone...these results aren't surprising now that we know there was a legitimate drug in the product all along. To be fair to the manufacturer there were no adverse event reports associated with the sale of the product for the duration of it's time on the market. The point is that you can never really be sure what is in the products you are taking and even the FDA's line as to what qualifies as a 'supplement' vs a drug is often blurry. This is by no means the only time this has happened. In some cases drugs are knowingly put in supplements to build up the 'street cred' of the product, and in other cases the FDA's definition of what qualifies as a drug is blurry enough that manufacturers just push the limit until the FDA if forced to make a decision. It has happened with ephedrine, it happened with 'pro-hormones' like andro and DHEA, and now with ATD, and it will continue to happen as raw material suppliers discover new classes of compounds that fall between the line of supplment and drug. In todays podcast we'll discuss this recall and what goes into making a supplement and how drugs can end up in supplements without you knowing it. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 37:06 http://www.adonisindex.com/supplement-recall-novedex-containing-atd/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/cXa81l7Bnik/ http://www.adonisindex.com/goal-hijacking-and-the-muscle-index/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:46:51 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1255 The Muscle Index We talked about the Muscle Index last week and how it&#8217;s a better measure of true lean muscle mass gains. My latest Muscle Index score is 33.4 So this is the relative number that goes with the look and shape I have right now. Anyone with a similar Muscle Index will likely [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/cXa81l7Bnik" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/goal-hijacking-and-the-muscle-index/feed/ 19 Adonis Index Workout 3.0,Goal Hijacking,Muscle Index The Muscle Index We talked about the Muscle Index last week and how it's a better measure of true lean muscle mass gains. - My latest Muscle Index score is 33.4 - So this is the relative number that goes with the look and shape I have right now. The Muscle Index We talked about the Muscle Index last week and how it's a better measure of true lean muscle mass gains. My latest Muscle Index score is 33.4 So this is the relative number that goes with the look and shape I have right now. Anyone with a similar Muscle Index will likely have a similar look as I do (regardless of their height) If you're significantly more muscular than I am your number will be higher than this and if you're less muscular or have significantly more bodyfat your number will be lower than this. For me the Muscle Index is the best way to measure real progress towards building a lean muscular physique. The Adonis index ratio is part of the Muscle Index and therefore having a good AI ratio is incorporated right into a good MI (Muscle Index). The actual measurements of the muscle index are outlined in the manual which is now included in the base Adonis Index Workout system. I suggest reading this manual and following the strength testing procedure as indicated to come up with your true strength measurements. This way you will have an accurate and comparable baseline to start charting your true lean muscle mass progress. I believe that the Muscle Index is the best way to measure real changes in muscle mass. Goal Hijacking If you are the type who regularly exercises you already know that it's easy to lose track of where you are in the gym or at home. Bouncing from one workout to the next and trying new things is very common and it's easy to get distracted from what your trying to do. You've got to own your goals in the gym no matter what they are. I don't care if you want to be bigger or leaner, or both, or want to run a marathon, or a triathlon or bench press 500lbs...you can even have multiple goals, some performance based and some based on the look and shape of your body. Whatever it is be sure that you're on target with the real goal as it is very easy to adopt a training idea or style as an identity that completely derails you from the original goal you had in the first place. This can happen with powerlifting, crossfitting, 'functional training', and many other styles of exercise. If you're honest to goodness goal is just to bench press 400lbs no matter what it takes to do that, then that is great, but our program isn't really going to help you with that...in fact most programs won't, the real answer for that is years of powerlifting and likely some steroids. If on the other hand your goal is to build a great looking lean muscular physique without drugs then we got something for you! In today's podcast we'll talk about the Muscle Index and how to apply it and how to recognize when your goals might have become hijacked from you when you weren't looking. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 48:48 http://www.adonisindex.com/goal-hijacking-and-the-muscle-index/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/l4eIR6RDjQs/ http://www.adonisindex.com/stubborn-belly-fat-what-it-really-is/#comments Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:56:24 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1235 Measuring muscle growth and fat loss isn&#8217;t as easy as stepping on the scale although this seems to be the default way most people try to do it. The look of your body is determined by fat mass, muscle mass and water. But this isn&#8217;t as straight forward as you might think. Body Fat Storage [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/l4eIR6RDjQs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/stubborn-belly-fat-what-it-really-is/feed/ 9 bodyfat,Muscle Gaining,Muscle Index,stubborn belly fat Measuring muscle growth and fat loss isn't as easy as stepping on the scale although this seems to be the default way most people try to do it. - The look of your body is determined by fat mass, muscle mass and water. Measuring muscle growth and fat loss isn't as easy as stepping on the scale although this seems to be the default way most people try to do it. The look of your body is determined by fat mass, muscle mass and water. But this isn't as straight forward as you might think. Body Fat Storage Patterns Fat mass is not stored uniformly around your body, and there is a storage rate and burn patter to your fat as well. In other words some places store more fat than others (ie: Belly) and some places burn fat slower than others (ie: Belly). We know that on a mans body, fat tends to store faster and to a higher degree in the abdomen area viscera (underneath your abs around your intestines and organs). The visceral fat actually burns quickly and this is part of the reason why your waist measurement can decrease dramatically without your abs becoming visible right away. This fat that is above your abs is what most people refer to as 'stubborn fat'. In reality this fat doesn't have a bad attitude and is no more 'stubborn' than your shoes (I don't know why people try to give fat a personality like this). The fat covering your abs has a lower blood supply and less fat mobilizing receptors than other fat compartments in your body, this means it takes longer for this fat to be completely burned off compared to other areas...hence the reason why your abs are the last thing to show when you're dieting down. This doesn't mean you can't get rid of this fat, it just means that it'll be the last place you'll finally see definition, and it's likely not going to correlate with pounds lost on the scale when you get to your leanest look. Measuring Muscle Growth For experienced lifters muscle growth is also difficult to measure with a scale. Daily fluctuations in body weight can easily mask any short term change in muscle mass. The size of a muscle is somewhat transient and true changes in it's size require longer term measurement intervals to truly track changes (6-12 months). Measuring circumferences is a much better and more accurate way to measure changes in muscle growth compared to the scale, at least this way you have proof of where the size/muscle really is. Measuring Fat Loss and Muscle Building Progress Measuring both muscle building and fat loss progress at the same time is virtually impossible on a scale as you can do both with no change in your bodyweight. Since bodyweight simply cannot tell you much about your short term changes in fat or muscle mass a new and better metric is necessary...enter the Muscle Index. As we talked about last week the Muscle Index is a way of measuring how muscular your body is withing relying on the scale and correcting for gains in weight due to fat or extracellular water weight. In other words, if you gain 10lbs, but it's all from fat, water and thanksgiving dinner the muscle index calculation won't lie, but the scale will. In todays podcast I recruit the help of a good friend Bryan Chung. Bryan is a plastic surgeon resident and has his PhD in sports medicine. You can read is critical review of fitness research at his blog: http://www.evidencebasedfitness.blogspot.com/ We discuss how hard it really is for the average person to guess how much bodyfat they have and what they assume their body should weigh when they're 'in shape'. We also talk about the uneven fat distribution patterns of men and women and why relying too much on the scale can play mind games with you and derail your progress. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 35:42 http://www.adonisindex.com/stubborn-belly-fat-what-it-really-is/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/luNNqVGrSCo/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-muscle-index-measuring-muscle-gains/#comments Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:00:04 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1201 Muscle building is probably one of the most misunderstood things in fitness. This lack of understanding is partly why we can fall for scam products and false claims. As I&#8217;ve said before muscles are much more like water balloons than bricks, and the way we build them is much more like inflating a balloon than [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/luNNqVGrSCo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-muscle-index-measuring-muscle-gains/feed/ 32 Measuring Muscle,Muscle Index Muscle building is probably one of the most misunderstood things in fitness. This lack of understanding is partly why we can fall for scam products and false claims. - As I've said before muscles are much more like water balloons than bricks, Muscle building is probably one of the most misunderstood things in fitness. This lack of understanding is partly why we can fall for scam products and false claims. As I've said before muscles are much more like water balloons than bricks, and the way we build them is much more like inflating a balloon than laying bricks. Water accounts for over 80% of your muscle volume, and the amount of water you can fit/force into your muscles plays a major role in determining how big you can make them. The actual protein 'scaffolding' of your muscle fibers/cells are what make up the rest. Weight Training for Muscle Building: 1) It builds more protein so the scaffolding of your muscles cells is larger 2) It forces more water, glycogen and protein into your cells hydrating and filling them with more fluid (pumping them up) The Slow Leak Theory of Muscle Growth Your muscles are in a dynamic state of synthesis and degradation. If you don't workout your muscles will eventually shrink back to their genetically predetermined original size. In fact, if you don't move or use your muscles at all (ie: immobilization in a cast or 100% bed rest) they will shrivel away to almost nothing. The point is that your muscles function on a 'use it or lose it' basis. They will always revert back to a smaller size if you don't force them to get bigger by lifting weights. As soon as you stop lifting weights they will start shrinking again. Imagine that your muscles are constantly slowly leaking back to their original smaller size, and constant weight training is the only way to keep them pumped up. How To Measure Muscle Growth Most supplement ads and fitness sites will talk about gaining 'pounds' of muscle. This however is not an accurate way of measuring true changes in muscle mass. You and I could gain 5-8lbs of lean mass in one day simply from eating more food and drinking water. Our lean body mass would increase, our percentage of fat mass would decrease, but our muscle mass would not have changed. True changes in muscle mass are harder to detect in experienced lifters and therefore there must be a more precise way to measure these changes. I have come up with a new way to measure changes in muscle mass that account for bodyweight and fat mass. This new measurement is called The Muscle Index. Toxic Calorie Level We'll also talk about the Toxic Calorie level and how eating at this level is what causes fat gain, heart disease, diabetes, and other inflammatory disorders. Eating 'big' every once in a while isn't so bad, but eating at your toxic calorie level on a regular basis will overwhelm your body and cause major problems. In todays audio lesson we'll talk about the Muscle Index and how to accurately measure changes in muscle mass. We will also talk about the slow leak theory of muscle and why you must continue to lift weights in order to keep your muscles growing and even to maintain the size you've already built. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 47:49 http://www.adonisindex.com/the-muscle-index-measuring-muscle-gains/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/FhmvwM6qr3E/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-3-coaching-call-2/#comments Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:29:21 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1169 We&#8217;re about 4 weeks into the second Adonis Index Transformation contest. Today we&#8217;ll cover some questions and issues that have come from the contestants including: Interval Training for weight loss Taking shoulder and waist measurements The difference between the Ideal Adonis Index Ratio vs a 1-1.6 shoulder to waist ratio Gym etiquette &#8230;and staying on [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/FhmvwM6qr3E" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-3-coaching-call-2/feed/ 19 Coaching Call,Contest,transformation We're about 4 weeks into the second Adonis Index Transformation contest. Today we'll cover some questions and issues that have come from the contestants including: - Interval Training for weight loss - Taking shoulder and waist measurements - We're about 4 weeks into the second Adonis Index Transformation contest. Today we'll cover some questions and issues that have come from the contestants including: Interval Training for weight loss Taking shoulder and waist measurements The difference between the Ideal Adonis Index Ratio vs a 1-1.6 shoulder to waist ratio Gym etiquette ...and staying on track by managing expectations. John John Barban, Brad Howard no 58:49 http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-3-coaching-call-2/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/dccG0y6llUA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/implied-goals-vs-your-goals/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:30:24 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=611 Health and fitness marketing is designed around a set of implied goals such as: muscle building, weight loss, enhanced performance, a heightened feeling of well being. These are the generic goals that most marketers assume you&#8217;re interested in but nobody can choose your goals for you. Your goals have to be a personal choice. Once [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/dccG0y6llUA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/implied-goals-vs-your-goals/feed/ 14 Goals Health and fitness marketing is designed around a set of implied goals such as: muscle building, weight loss, enhanced performance, a heightened feeling of well being. - These are the generic goals that most marketers assume you're interested in but n... Health and fitness marketing is designed around a set of implied goals such as: muscle building, weight loss, enhanced performance, a heightened feeling of well being. These are the generic goals that most marketers assume you're interested in but nobody can choose your goals for you. Your goals have to be a personal choice. Once you've stated your personal goals clearly it becomes much easier to take action on them and avoid distractions that don't bring you closer to your goal. If you don't state a clear goal you can end up with dozens of unfinished projects, lots of money wasted on programs, supplements, food and books. And worst of all you can end up discouraged and thinking that your a failure. In this podcast we will discuss the following: 1. The implied goals of health and fitness marketing 2. Why it is important not to compare yourself to others 3. Accepting your genetic strengths and limits 4. Setting your own goals vs accepting an implied goal 5. Understand where you are right now and what to do to change it 6. Realistic vs unrealistic expectations John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/implied-goals-vs-your-goals/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/88Qx1tXcQLo/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-coaching-call/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:54:25 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1091 We&#8217;re starting week 3 of the third Adonis Index transformation contest. By now you should be into a routine with your workouts and getting a good handle on your diet. If your goal is building muscle you should be focusing on your intensity in the gym. That means eating enough calories to keep your strength [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/88Qx1tXcQLo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-coaching-call/feed/ 6 Adonis Transformation Contest,Coaching Call,Contest We're starting week 3 of the third Adonis Index transformation contest. - By now you should be into a routine with your workouts and getting a good handle on your diet. If your goal is building muscle you should be focusing on your intensity in the gym. We're starting week 3 of the third Adonis Index transformation contest. By now you should be into a routine with your workouts and getting a good handle on your diet. If your goal is building muscle you should be focusing on your intensity in the gym. That means eating enough calories to keep your strength up for heavy workouts (but not so much that you gain fat). If you're goal is burning fat you should be cutting enough calories to create a deficit every day while keeping your intensity as high as possible for effective workouts. Both goals require discipline and effort. In todays podcast we'll talk about what to expect at this point of the contest, we'll review the different workouts in the Adonis 3.0 system and what has changed. We'll also give a few tips to staying on track and having success. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-coaching-call/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/0VSZxznmM4M/ http://www.adonisindex.com/preventing-weight-lifting-injuries/#comments Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:00:14 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1070 In order to build the maximum amount of muscles and get the most out of your weight lifting workout you have to avoid injuries. You could have the best work ethic, the smartest workout plan (ie: The Adonis Index Workout!) and the best gym in the world, but if you get injured none of it [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/0VSZxznmM4M" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/preventing-weight-lifting-injuries/feed/ 6 In order to build the maximum amount of muscles and get the most out of your weight lifting workout you have to avoid injuries. - You could have the best work ethic, the smartest workout plan (ie: The Adonis Index Workout! In order to build the maximum amount of muscles and get the most out of your weight lifting workout you have to avoid injuries. You could have the best work ethic, the smartest workout plan (ie: The Adonis Index Workout!) and the best gym in the world, but if you get injured none of it will matter. Most of us will get some sort of injury from either playing sports, pushing too hard one day in the gym, or overuse. Minimizing these injuries and keeping your muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and bones as healthy as possible is the key to staying consistent with a good training program. It's this consistency with your training that will produce big time changes in your physique. So you're job is to train hard, and train smart and stay injury free. In todays audio lesson I interview a good friend of mine Dr. Geoff Dover who does his research in athletic therapy. We discuss: How we get injuries from weight training How to tell the difference between serious pain and delayed onset muscles soreness How to decide if a pain is ok to work through or needs medical attention What the mechanism of most injuries are How to avoid common mistakes in the gym that cause injuries Stretching The importance of warming up Geoff gives us some great insights into the science of injury prevention and what we can do to help avoid them. John John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/preventing-weight-lifting-injuries/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/PA9v2xI-y0o/ http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-contest-3/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:00:38 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1058 The 3rd Adonis Index transformation contest starts Wed Sept 1st and finishes on Nov 24th. Cash prizes go to the top 6 contestants (top prize is $750) as well as other bonus prizes to be named later. Contestants are judged on overall transformation and the change in their Adonis Index Ratio. Starting ratio is considered [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/PA9v2xI-y0o" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-contest-3/feed/ 33 Transformation Contest The 3rd Adonis Index transformation contest starts Wed Sept 1st and finishes on Nov 24th. - Cash prizes go to the top 6 contestants (top prize is $750) as well as other bonus prizes to be named later. - Contestants are judged on overall transformatio... The 3rd Adonis Index transformation contest starts Wed Sept 1st and finishes on Nov 24th. Cash prizes go to the top 6 contestants (top prize is $750) as well as other bonus prizes to be named later. Contestants are judged on overall transformation and the change in their Adonis Index Ratio. Starting ratio is considered as well as age and training experience. You'll have equal chance to win regardless if your goal is burning fat or building muscle (or a mix of the two) I've revamped the workout flow of the main Adonis Index workout program for this contest and laid out how to follow the program and where to put the first 'rage' workout in. I've also released the new muscle building foundation 12 week workout (which is the new workout component of adonis 3.0) Depending on where you're at in your training this new foundation workout might be the one for you to follow during this contest. Here are my recommendations: Novice: If you're a novice to weight training (less than 1 year experience) and you're primary goal is building muscle (and you have minimal fat to lose) then you might want to use the 12 week muscle building foundation workout. Advanced: If you've already been through the main Adonis Index program you will likely benefit from moving to our Advanced 12 week ATS workout - This is the workout Rich Sigona used to take second place overall in the last contest. To see Rich's results CLICK HERE. For most other experience levels the main Adonis Index Workout system will be the one to use. If you're already using the main system and you're planning on continuing for the contest, I suggest following the new flow that I have put together for the contest. You can also add a 'booster' workout to assist any muscle group that you feel needs extra workout. Keep in mind that the booster workouts are only meant to be added one at a time for each 4 week cycle. In other words, you'll likely end up overtraining if you add more than 1 booster workout in any given 4 week cycle. How To Enter The Contest: Before pictures: Front back and side shots, waist up shirt off...include a picture with the current days newspaper in plain view. Measurements: Height Weight Waist circumference shoulder circumference These pictures and measurements are the first part. After pictures and measurements: On Nov 24th take the same 3 pictures (with the newspaper in plain view in one extra pic) Same measurements and a 250 word essay about your experience throughout the transformation Once you submit your before and after pictures, measurements and essay you're officially in the contest. ... So between now and Nov all you need to do is take your before pictures and measurements and get to the gym! Throughout the next 12 weeks we will be doing coaching calls to help you make the best possible transformation. In the final week we will also coach you on taking an effective 'after' picture so everyone is on a level playing field. In today's podcast we'll cover all of the contest info as well as some information about Adonis 3.0 and the Venus Index program. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/adonis-index-transformation-contest-3/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Chw88eu88ic/ http://www.adonisindex.com/building-muscle-and-losing-fat/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:00:19 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1050 Most of us who workout are trying to build muscle, and along with that we&#8217;d all like to get rid of some fat too. One of the first and most common questions that comes up next is this: &#8220;Is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time&#8221; The answer depends on [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Chw88eu88ic" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/building-muscle-and-losing-fat/feed/ 19 Building Muscle,losing fat,muscle building,Weight Loss Most of us who workout are trying to build muscle, and along with that we'd all like to get rid of some fat too. One of the first and most common questions that comes up next is this: - "Is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time" - Most of us who workout are trying to build muscle, and along with that we'd all like to get rid of some fat too. One of the first and most common questions that comes up next is this: "Is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time" The answer depends on what your definition of 'building muscle' is. The look and size of your muscles is a transient state based on how many calories you're eating, the type of food you eat, the supplements you do or don't take, the drugs you do or don't take, and the volume, frequency and intensity of your workouts. If you change any one of these factors you're likely going to have some change in the look and size of your muscles. When it comes to fat loss you must eat less calories than you burn, this might also cause your muscles to be less hydrated (less full looking) than when you're eating as much as you like. This doesn't mean you're losing muscle, it just means that they'll be more full looking when you go back to eating maintenance. Keep in mind that a muscle is over 80% water and the hydration status of your muscles plays a big part in how they look on a day to day basis. You can get refresher on what muscle growth is here: WHAT IS MUSCLE GROWTH The question shouldn't be: 'can I build muscle and lose fat at the same time' but rather 'what will my muscles look like once I've lost the fat' In todays audio lesson we'll talk about the factors that go into muscle building and fat loss and why this muscle building vs fat loss question isn't easy to answer. We'll also talk about government regulations on fat loss claims and why you might see and hear different claims online vs on television or in print magazines. For a refresher on the calories required for weight loss go here: HOW MANY CALORIES TO LOSE WEIGHT John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/building-muscle-and-losing-fat/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/qKqjKhava-8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/protein-synthesis-and-muscle-growth/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:00:26 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1042 Many muscle building supplements market the concept of increasing &#8216;protein synthesis&#8217;. The assumption is that protein synthesis = muscle growth. This is half right. For a muscle to grow larger two things have to happen 1) An increase in protein synthesis (anabolism) 2) A decrease in protein breakdown (catabolism) Regular weight training workouts can stimulate [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/qKqjKhava-8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/protein-synthesis-and-muscle-growth/feed/ 8 muscle growth,muscle mass,protein synthesis Many muscle building supplements market the concept of increasing 'protein synthesis'. The assumption is that protein synthesis = muscle growth. - This is half right. - For a muscle to grow larger two things have to happen - Many muscle building supplements market the concept of increasing 'protein synthesis'. The assumption is that protein synthesis = muscle growth. This is half right. For a muscle to grow larger two things have to happen 1) An increase in protein synthesis (anabolism) 2) A decrease in protein breakdown (catabolism) Regular weight training workouts can stimulate and net increase in protein synthesis and some research labs are measuring exactly what happens in your muscles after a workout. In todays  audio lesson I interview a friend of mine Dave Gunderman who is doing his research on the protein synthetic effect of working out. Dave will walk you through what it's like to be in one of these studies, the basics of muscle protein synthesis and the type of workouts  that he suggests are best for maximizing protein synthesis. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/protein-synthesis-and-muscle-growth/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/BOFzd7u6Iq0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-adonis-effect-true-accounts-with-rich-sigona/#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:00:58 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1031 If you&#8217;ve been listening to or reading our stuff for any length of time you&#8217;re likely aware of the concept of &#8220;The Adonis Effect&#8221; which is the reason we&#8217;re all working out and trying to take care of our bodies in the first place. This effect is both external and internal, is psychological, physical, and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/BOFzd7u6Iq0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-adonis-effect-true-accounts-with-rich-sigona/feed/ 8 body transformation,muscle building,Weight Loss If you've been listening to or reading our stuff for any length of time you're likely aware of the concept of "The Adonis Effect" which is the reason we're all working out and trying to take care of our bodies in the first place. - If you've been listening to or reading our stuff for any length of time you're likely aware of the concept of "The Adonis Effect" which is the reason we're all working out and trying to take care of our bodies in the first place. This effect is both external and internal, is psychological, physical, and psychosocial. It affects you and everyone around you. The way you look and feel will change the way you see yourself and others, and the way others see you and how they act around you...and its ALL GOOD. In todays audio lesson we'll talk to our second place overall winner of the latest Adonis Effect transformation contest, Rich Sigona. One look at Rich's before and after pictures is worth a lot more than 1000 words! We'll talk to Rich about what it took to get to his new golden form, what it's taking to stay in this shape since the contest ended and the profound changes it's had on his life. Some changes are subtle, some are more dramatic, but it's all part of the reason we're working towards our best bodies and it can happen to you too. This is what it's all about. John p.s. Make sure to click the "like" button. Thanks! John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/the-adonis-effect-true-accounts-with-rich-sigona/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/4l5P3ZXE4UE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/can-glycogen-loading-and-eccentric-reps-replace-steroids/#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:00:03 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=1020 Lately we&#8217;ve been getting a few more pointed questions and discussions about advanced nutrition and exercise techniques. Two that have come up are: 1) What is the optimal level of glycogen for muscle growth 2) How do eccentrics affect muscle growth Glycogen is the storage form of glucose and your muscles can store more glycogen [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/4l5P3ZXE4UE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/can-glycogen-loading-and-eccentric-reps-replace-steroids/feed/ 17 eccentric reps,glycogen,muscle growth,steroids Lately we've been getting a few more pointed questions and discussions about advanced nutrition and exercise techniques. Two that have come up are: - 1) What is the optimal level of glycogen for muscle growth - Lately we've been getting a few more pointed questions and discussions about advanced nutrition and exercise techniques. Two that have come up are: 1) What is the optimal level of glycogen for muscle growth 2) How do eccentrics affect muscle growth Glycogen is the storage form of glucose and your muscles can store more glycogen after exhaustive exercise. In fact some muscles can store up to 3 times as much glycogen if an exhaustive exercise session is done followed by a surplus of glucose rich liquid is consumed. This however is typically only done for endurance athletes competing in multiple events over multiple days. The research isn't so clear on muscle growth and in fact it seems that glycogen levels don't really have much to do with muscle growth. If your goal is fat loss, then may notice that your muscles feel a bit less 'full'. This isn't anything to be concerned with as it's normal to feel a bit weaker and a bit 'flatter' while you're reducing calories in an effort to reduce bodyfat. This is a transient state that will return to normal when you go back to eating maintenance calories. Eccentric exercise is another issue that comes up with regard to muscle building. Every time you lift a weight you will be doing at least some eccentric work, but some believe that there is merit to focusing on the exact timing of eccentrics. There is some merit to do focused eccentrics, however there isn't much evidence to support overly deliberate eccentrics as a mainstay to a muscle building routine. In both cases it seems that fancy lifting techniques are hypothesized and maybe even romanticized to be able to produce steroid like gains without using steroids. The truth is the 2 main things that will produce the most muscle gains from a natural body are: 1) Consistency 2) Maximum Effort Once you have these two factors mastered you can start experimenting with other concepts and theories to accelerate your gains. In todays audio lesson we'll go into detail about glycogen, eccentrics and muscle gaining and what the real drivers of muscle gaining are and how our focus and goals can end up in the wrong place. John Download Transcription: Can Glycogen Loading and Eccentric Reps Replace Steroids? John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/can-glycogen-loading-and-eccentric-reps-replace-steroids/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/AcivK0WmoD8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-part-2/#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:00:56 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=982 This is the second part of our interview with Jason Haynes. We were covering a lot of interesting points about changing your body and perception so we just keep the original interview going. The interview ended up being far too long to fit into one podcast so here is the second half. I figured I&#8217;d [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/AcivK0WmoD8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-part-2/feed/ 5 contest winner,Transformation Contest This is the second part of our interview with Jason Haynes. We were covering a lot of interesting points about changing your body and perception so we just keep the original interview going. The interview ended up being far too long to fit into one pod... This is the second part of our interview with Jason Haynes. We were covering a lot of interesting points about changing your body and perception so we just keep the original interview going. The interview ended up being far too long to fit into one podcast so here is the second half. I figured I'd put another pic of Jason up for you to see his phenomenal progress. If you need a comparison just go back to http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-overall-winner/. Going through a transformation like Jason's is rare. Many people will wish and dream it can happen to them but few people will actually take action and go for it. Not all transformations will be as dramatic as Jason's but the effect it will have on your mind/body/spirit will be just as potent. Anyone who has taken action and gone through a transformation contest (ours or someone else's) or simply set a goal and went after it knows exactly what I'm talking about. Going through transformation like this is always a body and mind experience, the world will never look quite the same, you'll never feel quite the same, and people will see you different afterwards...and it's all good! It's literally a new life. John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-part-2/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/jHkIr-n4xI0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-overall-winner/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:00:33 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=952 This is the first part of a two part interview with Jason Haynes the overall contest winner of the second Adonis Effect transformation contest. In this interview we&#8217;ll discuss how Jason completed his transformation journey through the second contest and arrived in the best shape of his life. Check out is overall transformation over the [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/jHkIr-n4xI0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-overall-winner/feed/ 26 contest winners,transformation This is the first part of a two part interview with Jason Haynes the overall contest winner of the second Adonis Effect transformation contest. - In this interview we'll discuss how Jason completed his transformation journey through the second contest... This is the first part of a two part interview with Jason Haynes the overall contest winner of the second Adonis Effect transformation contest. In this interview we'll discuss how Jason completed his transformation journey through the second contest and arrived in the best shape of his life. Check out is overall transformation over the past 9 months. The end of this audio cuts off abruptly because we were having some connection problems. Here's the 2nd half of the interview on this post. Enjoy. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/interview-with-jason-haynes-overall-winner/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/6vdBRp7gdkg/ http://www.adonisindex.com/ketogenic-diets-for-fat-loss/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:00:29 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=863 Ketogenic diets were studied in the 1920&#8242;s as a treatment for epilepsy. Somehow the concept resurfaced in the 90&#8242;s as a supposed way to lose weight. The most popular incarnation of this diet philosophy was the Atkins diet. The theory is intriguing an goes against what most people were being told at the time. Basically [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/6vdBRp7gdkg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/ketogenic-diets-for-fat-loss/feed/ 67 ketogenic diet,ketosis,low carb diet Ketogenic diets were studied in the 1920's as a treatment for epilepsy. Somehow the concept resurfaced in the 90's as a supposed way to lose weight. - The most popular incarnation of this diet philosophy was the Atkins diet. - Ketogenic diets were studied in the 1920's as a treatment for epilepsy. Somehow the concept resurfaced in the 90's as a supposed way to lose weight. The most popular incarnation of this diet philosophy was the Atkins diet. The theory is intriguing an goes against what most people were being told at the time. Basically you get to eat all the fat and protein you want as long as you stay away from carbohydrates. The initial thought of steak, cheese, bacon, eggs, chicken, and more steak sounded tasty. But after even a few days on this style of diet most people want to eat some carbohydrate based food very badly. In short, this diet is unsustainable and not a long term weight loss solution. In this audio lesson we'll go over the basics of what a ketogenic diet is and what it can and can't be used for. John (Download Transcription: Ketogenic Diets: The Truth About Extreme Low Carb Diets For Fat Loss) John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/ketogenic-diets-for-fat-loss/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/wQkY4ZxP2yY/ http://www.adonisindex.com/david-shade-interview/#comments Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:54:42 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=855 Yesterday, I did an interview that was extremely eye opening. (It&#8217;s not work safe, so either put on some headphones or turn the volume down.) I&#8217;ve been getting emails from you guys about this &#8220;rogue&#8221; sex expert by the name of David Shade, so naturally, I tracked him down and got him to spill some [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/wQkY4ZxP2yY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/david-shade-interview/feed/ 17 Yesterday, I did an interview that was extremely eye opening. - (It's not work safe, so either put on some headphones or turn the volume down.) - I've been getting emails from you guys about this "rogue" sex expert by the name of David Shade, Yesterday, I did an interview that was extremely eye opening. (It's not work safe, so either put on some headphones or turn the volume down.) I've been getting emails from you guys about this "rogue" sex expert by the name of David Shade, so naturally, I tracked him down and got him to spill some of his philosophies on both women and life. Now, David and I have never met personally, however I do know one of the guys in his camp quite well and we talk on the regular, so if you're wondering if what you're about to listen to is scammy or not, based on my friend Craig, I can vouch for the authenticity of what you're about to hear. But be warned, some of it is intense and may not be very comfortable to ponder. Give this a listen, it's quite eye opening... and if this sounds like something you may need to get handled, you can't go wrong with his "Wild Screaming..." course (which includes "Cure Nice Guy") Here's the interview: John Barban, Brad Howard no 1:05:50 health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/david-shade-interview/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/hL-JlvwFAAc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/you-gotta-go-with-the-flow/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:00:30 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=823 There are multiple levels of knowledge when it comes to any area of study. The major divide being the difference between understanding a theory and applied knowledge. In the first case you could be well read and studied in a given field but without experience. In this case you may not have the full confidence [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/hL-JlvwFAAc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/you-gotta-go-with-the-flow/feed/ 7 contest winner,transformation There are multiple levels of knowledge when it comes to any area of study. The major divide being the difference between understanding a theory and applied knowledge. - In the first case you could be well read and studied in a given field but without ... There are multiple levels of knowledge when it comes to any area of study. The major divide being the difference between understanding a theory and applied knowledge. In the first case you could be well read and studied in a given field but without experience. In this case you may not have the full confidence in what you know to be true. In the second case (applied knowledge) you both understand the theory and have applied it in a real life setting...this is the formula for building life long confidence and true wisdom. In todays audio lesson we'll be talking to the winner of the second Adonis Transformation contest Build category winner Deiderik Masure (aka DD). DD will be sharing his experiences of the 12 week transformation and how he managed to win his category and what it takes to make a real change in your body. DD relates how your diet and exercise routines are two separate things and will have their own ups and downs. Having a lousy day on one of them doesn't mean it must also ruin the other. One of the major lessons DD learned was that sometimes life is going to throw you a curve ball, but you just gotta go with it and the results will still come. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/you-gotta-go-with-the-flow/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Q4QA-tSl_yE/ http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-overtraining/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:00:00 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=809 Overtraining is something we often hear about in fitness magazines but rarely ever experience. Many of us will feel sore or exhausted after a workout, but are these feelings actually overtraining? In most cases what people think is overtraining is actually under conditioning. In other words, you&#8217;re just not strong enough or have enough endurance [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Q4QA-tSl_yE" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-overtraining/feed/ 3 Overtraining is something we often hear about in fitness magazines but rarely ever experience. - Many of us will feel sore or exhausted after a workout, but are these feelings actually overtraining? - In most cases what people think is overtraining i... Overtraining is something we often hear about in fitness magazines but rarely ever experience. Many of us will feel sore or exhausted after a workout, but are these feelings actually overtraining? In most cases what people think is overtraining is actually under conditioning. In other words, you're just not strong enough or have enough endurance for the workout you attempted. True overtraining is a state where you have completely pushed your body beyond it's limits and you break down physically and mentally. The feeling is similar to having the flu, and in fact you can get sick in a true state of overtraining. In today's audio lesson we'll discuss the difference between true over training and simply pushing too hard at a given workout. You'll learn what the real signs of over training are and how to know when you're really approaching it and when you're just sore from a good workout. John (Download Transcript: Are You Overtraining?) John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-overtraining/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/CY2D8a3eLbY/ http://www.adonisindex.com/what-is-muscle-growth/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:06:12 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=800 Most guys who workout with weights will tell you that they&#8217;re trying to &#8216;build&#8217; muscle. On the surface this seems like a perfectly legitimate and normal claim, but the closer you look at the mechanism of muscle growth you&#8217;ll see that we don&#8217;t really &#8216;build&#8217; muscle but rather we &#8216;grow&#8217; or &#8216;inflate&#8217; muscles. Muscles are [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/CY2D8a3eLbY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/what-is-muscle-growth/feed/ 11 Building Muscle,muscle growth Most guys who workout with weights will tell you that they're trying to 'build' muscle. On the surface this seems like a perfectly legitimate and normal claim, but the closer you look at the mechanism of muscle growth you'll see that we don't really 'b... Most guys who workout with weights will tell you that they're trying to 'build' muscle. On the surface this seems like a perfectly legitimate and normal claim, but the closer you look at the mechanism of muscle growth you'll see that we don't really 'build' muscle but rather we 'grow' or 'inflate' muscles. Muscles are always in a transient state. The size of a muscle is always dependent on the external stresses that are forced on it, and specifically exercise. After that there are some nutritional factors, genetic and drugs that can change the size of a muscle. In each case the size of the muscle is a transient state that can be predicted based on the genetic, nutritional, drug, and mechanical influences. In today's audio lesson we'll discuss what is really going on when we say we're trying to 'build' muscle. Hopefully we'll end up with a bit of a clearer image of what working out really does to our muscles. John (Download Transcription: "Muscle Growth") John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/what-is-muscle-growth/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/f35sgKPxlaU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/what-is-vs-what-if-thinking-action-vs-inaction/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:00:45 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=793 Taking action to change your body (or any part of your life) requires you to take action today. The only way to consistently take action and build momentum is to think about what is happening here and now; that means thinking about WHAT IS and not worrying about WHAT IF. What IS thinking places your [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/f35sgKPxlaU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/what-is-vs-what-if-thinking-action-vs-inaction/feed/ 1 action,what is Taking action to change your body (or any part of your life) requires you to take action today. - The only way to consistently take action and build momentum is to think about what is happening here and now; that means thinking about WHAT IS and not w... Taking action to change your body (or any part of your life) requires you to take action today. The only way to consistently take action and build momentum is to think about what is happening here and now; that means thinking about WHAT IS and not worrying about WHAT IF. What IS thinking places your attention on the present moment and what needs to happen now to bring you closer to your goals. What IF thinking places your attention on a fabrication of a potential future that doesn't even exist and may never exists...this is wasted effort. If you want something to change then you have to start today, and that means thinking about what IS happening. The more 'what if' thinking you do the more easily you will fall for more diet and fitness scams. All this thinking does is empty your wallet and drain your confidence. In this weeks audio lesson we'll discuss the difference between 'what is' thinking and 'what if' thinking and how the diet and fitness industry uses 'what if' thinking scenarios to scare you into purchasing useless products to help you avoid a multitude of 'what if' scenarios that will never happen. John (What IS vs What IF transcription) John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/what-is-vs-what-if-thinking-action-vs-inaction/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/kfFFZLQuvXs/ http://www.adonisindex.com/taking-action-is-the-key/#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:00:47 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=788 There is more diet and fitness information available today than there every has been, but that doesn&#8217;t mean more people are actually getting into good shape than ever before. In fact the more &#8216;information&#8217; you read about diet and fitness the less likely you are to actually take any action on it and start seeing [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/kfFFZLQuvXs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/taking-action-is-the-key/feed/ 0 There is more diet and fitness information available today than there every has been, but that doesn't mean more people are actually getting into good shape than ever before. In fact the more 'information' you read about diet and fitness the less likel... There is more diet and fitness information available today than there every has been, but that doesn't mean more people are actually getting into good shape than ever before. In fact the more 'information' you read about diet and fitness the less likely you are to actually take any action on it and start seeing any results. This is called "analysis paralysis". Getting caught up reading all the different marketing angles and claims about diet and fitness can quickly leave you in a paralyzed state with no idea what direction to go. The first step to changing your body (or making any real change in your life) is to take action, ANY action at all. The biggest hurdle is getting off of the sidelines and into the game. Once you've started to take action you will have a much better idea of where you next steps should be. In todays audio lesson we'll talk about: Why taking any action no matter how simple it is will produce far better results than trying to 'educate' yourself in any given field Why inaction produces more in action and how you can quickly become paralyzed. Why reading more and doing less is a recipe for failure. Why inaction leads to asking the wrong questions with lead you further away from the truth rather than closer. How taking positive action brings forth the right mindset and the a clearer vision of what is necessary to succeed. John (Action = "The Difference" Transcription) John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/taking-action-is-the-key/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/UH3tUO01-9U/ http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building/#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 10:00:27 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=782 The amount of muscle you can build is controlled by multiple factors, the two most important being your genetic starting point and your workout routine. Your age is the next most important factor. The specifics of your workout routine including the sets and reps and rest intervals play an important role in determining which routine [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/UH3tUO01-9U" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building/feed/ 8 muscle building,somatotypes,workout program The amount of muscle you can build is controlled by multiple factors, the two most important being your genetic starting point and your workout routine. - Your age is the next most important factor. - The specifics of your workout routine including t... The amount of muscle you can build is controlled by multiple factors, the two most important being your genetic starting point and your workout routine. Your age is the next most important factor. The specifics of your workout routine including the sets and reps and rest intervals play an important role in determining which routine will work best for you based on your current training status and your goals. Nutrition and supplementation plays a minor role in muscle building. Adequate calories and how much protein you eat daily are all that is typically needed to ensure maximum results from a muscle building program. In today's audio training lesson we'll discuss the major factors that contribute to your muscle building success. John (transcript: Insider Muscle Building) John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/L4OyjNNDFQ4/ http://www.adonisindex.com/nutrition-research-problems-measuring-calories/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 10:00:12 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=777 Nutrition researchers are trying to determine what the best weight loss diet is, and in order to do this they must account for all the calories a person eats before they make any conclusions. This however is a bigger challenge than you might think. It has become apparent that people cannot accurately report how many [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/L4OyjNNDFQ4" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/nutrition-research-problems-measuring-calories/feed/ 23 measuring calories,Weight Loss Nutrition researchers are trying to determine what the best weight loss diet is, and in order to do this they must account for all the calories a person eats before they make any conclusions. This however is a bigger challenge than you might think. Nutrition researchers are trying to determine what the best weight loss diet is, and in order to do this they must account for all the calories a person eats before they make any conclusions. This however is a bigger challenge than you might think. It has become apparent that people cannot accurately report how many calories they are eating on a regular basis. In fact chronic under-reporting of calories is one of the most common and pervasive issue in diet/health/fitness research. Whether it is due to embarrassment or lack of memory, people will simply get it wrong when they are asked to report how much they've eaten. This makes studying diet and weight loss almost impossible as there is no solid conclusions that we can make about dieting other than the fact that people won't admit what they've eaten. In this audio training session we'll discuss the issues with nutrition research and why the results are hard to measure. We'll also talk about the permission to be light, to wear a size medium shirt and the difference between shirt on big and shirt off big. (Download Transcription: "Problems Measuring Calories") [pdf] John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/nutrition-research-problems-measuring-calories/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/qXVR1jxNUPc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-do-you-measure-muscle-mass/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 10:00:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=765 Working out with weights builds muscle mass, this we know for certain. The amount of muscle you can gain is what we don&#8217;t know and it&#8217;s very difficult to measure. Most supplements companies and fitness marketers will use a bodyweight claim to display increases in muscle mass. But is bodyweight is notoriously bad at predicting [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/qXVR1jxNUPc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-do-you-measure-muscle-mass/feed/ 33 Working out with weights builds muscle mass, this we know for certain. The amount of muscle you can gain is what we don't know and it's very difficult to measure. - Most supplements companies and fitness marketers will use a bodyweight claim to displa... Working out with weights builds muscle mass, this we know for certain. The amount of muscle you can gain is what we don't know and it's very difficult to measure. Most supplements companies and fitness marketers will use a bodyweight claim to display increases in muscle mass. But is bodyweight is notoriously bad at predicting or displaying changes in muscle mass over the short term, and very limited over the long term as well. Many factors determine your bodyweight such as hydration status, the amount of time since your last meal, the amount of food mass in your stomach/intestines, fat mass. It's not uncommon for an average man to fluctuate between 5-7 pounds in a given day simply from food and liquid intake (and water and mass loss from sweating and just going to the bathroom to make a 'deposit') The large daily fluctuations your body can go through make it very difficult to detect much smaller changes in muscle mass. In other words, it's virtually impossible to measure a 3-4 pound gain in muscle over the course of a year or two if you daily bodyweight can change as much as 5-7 pounds (and thats assuming you don't gain or lose any fat mass at all). Unless you have access to a body composition lab (such as those found at a university) you'll only be left guessing at your muscle mass and change in muscle mass. For this reason I've developed a new muscle mass measurement tool that will allow you to determine your relative muscle mass. This tool will also allow you to track any changes in muscle mass (weather you gain or lose muscle). This is a new and more accurate predictor of muscle mass that corrects for fat mass, somatotype and changes in non-muscle lean mass...it's called the Muscle Index and it will be the new standard in muscle measurement. In todays podcast we discuss how the Muscle Index tool is built and why it's a better measurement than bodyweight or any other predictor of muscle mass. John (download transcript here) John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/how-do-you-measure-muscle-mass/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/8Ug8Yr1onbQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/steroids-the-true-stars-of-bodybuilding-and-fitness/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 10:00:41 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=761 The true stars of bodybuilding, pro and amateur sports and fitness competitions aren&#8217;t the people, it&#8217;s the drugs. Many top athletes, bodybuilders, fitness models and even celebrities are on some combination of various physique enhancing drugs. The following list is just an example of some of the drugs a typical bodybuilder might use to build [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/8Ug8Yr1onbQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/steroids-the-true-stars-of-bodybuilding-and-fitness/feed/ 29 bodybuilding,drugs,Fitness,sports,steroids The true stars of bodybuilding, pro and amateur sports and fitness competitions aren't the people, it's the drugs. Many top athletes, bodybuilders, fitness models and even celebrities are on some combination of various physique enhancing drugs. - The true stars of bodybuilding, pro and amateur sports and fitness competitions aren't the people, it's the drugs. Many top athletes, bodybuilders, fitness models and even celebrities are on some combination of various physique enhancing drugs. The following list is just an example of some of the drugs a typical bodybuilder might use to build muscle or reduce bodyfat. Oil based testosterone injectable Water based testosterone injectable Testosterone derivative tablets (dianabol, anadrol, anavar etc) Injectable testosterone derivatives (deca durabolin, winstrol, primobolan) Growth Hormone injection Insulin injection IGF-1 injection (insulin like growth factor) Oral clenbuterol tabs/liquid T3 (thyroid hormone) HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) Diuretics (oral and injectable) This is by no means a comprehensive list, but rather the most commonly used and popular ones. Bodybuilders are the extreme and set the stage for what the upper limit of use and abuse is. From there fitness/figure models, pro athletes and celebrities who use drugs will be using some lesser combination of the same drugs that bodybuilders use. This is the trickle down effect from the extreme. In todays podcast we discuss how pervasive drug use is in bodybuilding circles and how it's obscures our perception f what we think it an attainable ideal body shape, size and proportion. John P.S. For a good example of a steroid free bodybuilder vs a known steroid user check out this link: EUGEN SANDOW John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/steroids-the-true-stars-of-bodybuilding-and-fitness/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/fl73T3CXk3w/ http://www.adonisindex.com/ideal-proportions-are-the-goal/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 10:00:26 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=757 When you first started working out you probably already had an image of the ideal body you were trying to build and it probably didn&#8217;t look like a power lifter or a strongman. In fact it was probably a very specific looking body shape that involved powerful looking shoulders back and chest with a distinct [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/fl73T3CXk3w" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/ideal-proportions-are-the-goal/feed/ 21 adonis index ratio,ideal proportions When you first started working out you probably already had an image of the ideal body you were trying to build and it probably didn't look like a power lifter or a strongman. In fact it was probably a very specific looking body shape that involved pow... When you first started working out you probably already had an image of the ideal body you were trying to build and it probably didn't look like a power lifter or a strongman. In fact it was probably a very specific looking body shape that involved powerful looking shoulders back and chest with a distinct taper to a tight waist. Most of us had a simple goal when we started working out, and that was simply to look better. Along the way we can easily get caught up in specific styles of training (athletic, functional, powerlifting, olympic style lifting etc) and lose sight of our original goal. Whether you understood it at the time or not you're first ideas of improving the look of your body probably revolved around improving your proportions and not just haphazardly trying to be bigger or thicker with no eye to the proportions. In this podcast we'll discuss how we all knew what we wanted when we first started working out (a better looking body) We'll also discuss how easy it is to get sidetracked and lose focus on why we started working out in the first place. Finally we remind you that size for the sake of size is no benefit aesthetically if it's not well proportioned. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/ideal-proportions-are-the-goal/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/FtQKrgq3uSU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/what-causes-muscle-growth/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:47:53 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=728 There are many factors that influence muscle growth including: Genetic predisposition Age Training Program Training Status (beginner vs advanced) Injuries Pain Tolerance Drug Use You&#8217;ll notice that nutrition isn&#8217;t one of the factors. Once you&#8217;ve hit your daily require of how much protein you need to gain muscle then there is little nutrition can do [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/FtQKrgq3uSU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/what-causes-muscle-growth/feed/ 23 Building Muscle,muscle growth There are many factors that influence muscle growth including: - Genetic predisposition - Age - Training Program - Training Status (beginner vs advanced) - Injuries - Pain Tolerance - Drug Use - You'll notice that nutrition isn't one of the fac... There are many factors that influence muscle growth including: Genetic predisposition Age Training Program Training Status (beginner vs advanced) Injuries Pain Tolerance Drug Use You'll notice that nutrition isn't one of the factors. Once you've hit your daily require of how much protein you need to gain muscle then there is little nutrition can do for muscle growth, but this fact is largely ignored by the supplement and bodybuilding community hence the 'eat to get big' mantra. In this podcast we'll discuss: What causes muscle growth The main drivers to muscle growth The misinterpretation of calories for muscle growth and the limited role nutrition plays. How to properly view muscle growth (balloons not bricks) John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/what-causes-muscle-growth/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/BxlUbS47d5E/ http://www.adonisindex.com/health-fitness-bmi-and-ai-are-they-connected/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:00:57 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=703 Health and Fitness are poorly defined terms and can only really make sense when you apply your own personal definition. With that said there are general definitions that most people will accept as having at least something to do with both health and fitness. Health seems to have something to do with reducing risk of [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/BxlUbS47d5E" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/health-fitness-bmi-and-ai-are-they-connected/feed/ 20 adonis index,BMI,Fitness,health Health and Fitness are poorly defined terms and can only really make sense when you apply your own personal definition. With that said there are general definitions that most people will accept as having at least something to do with both health and fi... Health and Fitness are poorly defined terms and can only really make sense when you apply your own personal definition. With that said there are general definitions that most people will accept as having at least something to do with both health and fitness. Health seems to have something to do with reducing risk of premature death and disease, namely having favorable blood markers for disease such as total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, HDL/LDL ratio, Triglycerides, glucose, insulin, blood pressure and heart rate. Beyond that, reduced stress and how you feel in general are probably the most important indicators of health. Fitness on the other hand seems to refer to movement and capacity to be active. So far there isn't one measurement that indicates health AND fitness, until now. I think the Adonis Index ratio might the one measurement that indicates both health and fitness. In recent years height to waist ratio has gained favor over BMI as a better indicator of health and disease risk for lifestyle disorders such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. But height to waist ratio doesn't say much about fitness. I think the addition of the shoulder measurement and thus the Adonis Index ratio is a more complete measurement of both health and fitness. Having and healthy and fit body is synonymous with having a body that other people will admire. In todays podcast we discuss: 1. What health means and how we measure it 2. What fitness means and how we measure it 3. What the look of a healthy body is 4. BMI vs Height to Waist Ratio vs Adonis Index Ratio as markers of health and fitness 5. A personal health perspective vs a global health perspective 6. What to do when you've made a big time change in your health and fitness John p.s. Here is the awesome thread in the forum that we talk about in the podcast (there are multiple pages, click through to the 2nd or 3rd page for the cool before and after's). p.p.s. (Brad edit) Something's up with the comments, I'll get them fixed today hopefully) John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/health-fitness-bmi-and-ai-are-they-connected/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/k7t1JD4v0ew/ http://www.adonisindex.com/what-makes-a-good-coach/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:30:56 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=674 You most likely have multiple &#8216;coaches&#8217; in your life that you refer to for diet/fitness advice, lifestyle advice, financial advice, career advice, academic advice and relationship advice. In some cases these could be friends and family who you trust, and in other cases they could be professionals that you follow/hire either online or in person. [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/k7t1JD4v0ew" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/what-makes-a-good-coach/feed/ 6 diet coach,exercise coach,lifestyle coach,strength coach You most likely have multiple 'coaches' in your life that you refer to for diet/fitness advice, lifestyle advice, financial advice, career advice, academic advice and relationship advice. - In some cases these could be friends and family who you trust, You most likely have multiple 'coaches' in your life that you refer to for diet/fitness advice, lifestyle advice, financial advice, career advice, academic advice and relationship advice. In some cases these could be friends and family who you trust, and in other cases they could be professionals that you follow/hire either online or in person. In the new digital world there are many people promoting themselves as coaches who may not be the right person for you to listen to. But how do you know the real coaches from the pretenders? In this podcast we discuss what makes up a good coach and how to tell if you're getting legitimate direction and coaching or if you're just being sold a story that does little more than separate you from your money while delivering limited results. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/what-makes-a-good-coach/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/4y_QDPvERl8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/your-definition-of-healthy/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:49:10 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=670 The word &#8220;health&#8221; doesn&#8217;t mean anything until you give it a definition. Your definition has to suit you and fit into your lifestyle. The diet, fitness and food industry try to sell their wares using &#8216;health&#8217; as a claim. And if you don&#8217;t have your working definition in place you could end up wasting a [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/4y_QDPvERl8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/your-definition-of-healthy/feed/ 6 health,healthy The word "health" doesn't mean anything until you give it a definition. Your definition has to suit you and fit into your lifestyle. - The diet, fitness and food industry try to sell their wares using 'health' as a claim. The word "health" doesn't mean anything until you give it a definition. Your definition has to suit you and fit into your lifestyle. The diet, fitness and food industry try to sell their wares using 'health' as a claim. And if you don't have your working definition in place you could end up wasting a lot of time money and effort working towards someone else's definition of 'health'. Your workout and eating habits will only make sense once you've developed your own working definition of health. In this podcast we come up with a workable definition of health that seems to simplify the whole process of exercise and diet that also incorporates genetic fitness and physical attraction and the AI and VI ratios. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/your-definition-of-healthy/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/TZ3RTymWg5E/ http://www.adonisindex.com/attention-your-most-valuable-asset/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:00:48 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=659 The most important commodity in the new market isn&#8217;t information, it&#8217;s ATTENTION. Governments, private organizations, companies, friends, family and everyone in between are all vying for your attention. Your attention is the single most valuable thing you have and everybody wants it. Companies with a product to sell will pay millions of dollars to get [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/TZ3RTymWg5E" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/attention-your-most-valuable-asset/feed/ 7 Attention,high gravity male The most important commodity in the new market isn't information, it's ATTENTION. - Governments, private organizations, companies, friends, family and everyone in between are all vying for your attention. - The most important commodity in the new market isn't information, it's ATTENTION. Governments, private organizations, companies, friends, family and everyone in between are all vying for your attention. Your attention is the single most valuable thing you have and everybody wants it. Companies with a product to sell will pay millions of dollars to get just a few seconds of your attention during a television commercial, or a magazine ad etc... Politicians spend millions of dollars and travel the country coast to coast in order to get your attention to get your votes. Children throw fits and cry for attention. Friends and family will also compete for your attention. It's your most scare resource and the one of the most value to other people. Where you direct it will determine where your life goes. In this podcast we'll discuss how the new economy is the race to get and hold your attention and how you must control where you put your attention in order to line it up with your goals. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/attention-your-most-valuable-asset/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/DIkhPMIpLbM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-experiment-of-you/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:22:59 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=650 Working out and dieting might be two of the only true experiments anyone will ever be involved in. This is interesting because you are both the experimenter and the subject. Most bodybuilders and fitness competitors have embraced the concept that their body is their ongoing experiment. They try new programs, chart their progress and make [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/DIkhPMIpLbM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-experiment-of-you/feed/ 20 diet experiment,Workout experiment Working out and dieting might be two of the only true experiments anyone will ever be involved in. This is interesting because you are both the experimenter and the subject. - Most bodybuilders and fitness competitors have embraced the concept that th... Working out and dieting might be two of the only true experiments anyone will ever be involved in. This is interesting because you are both the experimenter and the subject. Most bodybuilders and fitness competitors have embraced the concept that their body is their ongoing experiment. They try new programs, chart their progress and make changes along the way. This isn't much different from how a real clinical trial would be performed. The only difference is that a real clinical trial ends within a few weeks or months. But your experiment with your body will last a lifetime so it's in your best interest to become a good scientist with your own body. In this podcast we'll discuss the concept of you being your own experiment of one. We'll talk about the difference between a prospective vs retrospective research and why you should do more of the former. We'll also discuss the concept of jumping in and getting your experiment going. In the spirit of this podcast I just did a mini experiment over the past 5 days and here are a few pics I took at the end of it. You can do whatever you want with your experiment. Just give something a try, track your progress, evaluate it, make adjustments and then get back to work. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/the-experiment-of-you/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/_PGIvarfyWM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-gain-8-pounds-in-one-workout/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:50:26 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=644 Diet and fitness marketing material is littered with outrageous claims about weight loss and muscle gaining. Some marketers would actually have you believe that you could gain 20 pounds of muscle in a month, or 40 pounds of muscle in 6 months. Brad Pilon and I did a video showing how Brad gained a legitimate [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/_PGIvarfyWM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-gain-8-pounds-in-one-workout/feed/ 8 Diet and fitness marketing material is littered with outrageous claims about weight loss and muscle gaining. - Some marketers would actually have you believe that you could gain 20 pounds of muscle in a month, or 40 pounds of muscle in 6 months. - Diet and fitness marketing material is littered with outrageous claims about weight loss and muscle gaining. Some marketers would actually have you believe that you could gain 20 pounds of muscle in a month, or 40 pounds of muscle in 6 months. Brad Pilon and I did a video showing how Brad gained a legitimate 8lbs of lean body mass in 1 workout! This isn't a lie or a joke, Brad actually gained 8lbs of measurable lean body mass in about 1 hour. So you're probably asking yourself "how could this be?" The answer is simple...if you understand how lean mass is measured and the difference between lean body mass and muscle mass. In this podcast we replay the "how to gain 8lbs in one workout' teleseminar (for those of you who might have missed it. We discuss the main points to look for namely: 1. Don't believe everything you hear or even see 2. The difference between what is said and what you hear 3. And how your fitness and diet marketing BS radar is probably not calibrated correctly (in other words, you most likely will believe something that is not possible) John p.s. Here's an UNCENSORED podcast that goes into even deeper detail on the misuse and lies about lean body mass John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-gain-8-pounds-in-one-workout/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/HSU-ZERzbFY/ http://www.adonisindex.com/change-your-body-and-change-your-life/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:00:21 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=636 Many things happen to you when you make a dramatic change in your body including: 1. A new level of confidence 2. A shift in your perception of yourself and who you are 3. The presence you will command in any social situation 4. The respect you command from others 5. The things you believe [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/HSU-ZERzbFY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/change-your-body-and-change-your-life/feed/ 16 transformation Many things happen to you when you make a dramatic change in your body including: - 1. A new level of confidence - 2. A shift in your perception of yourself and who you are - 3. The presence you will command in any social situation - 4. Many things happen to you when you make a dramatic change in your body including: 1. A new level of confidence 2. A shift in your perception of yourself and who you are 3. The presence you will command in any social situation 4. The respect you command from others 5. The things you believe are possible will change 6. Your overall health, vigor and energy 7. The ability to carry the momentum of success into other areas of your life In this podcast we talk about many of these items with our first place overall Adonis Effect transformation winner Ron Hansen. Ron shares with us his keys to success and how he won the contest. We'll also discuss the difference between working out and training and how every rep of every workout matters. John (p.s. from Brad, if you haven't seen this video or registered for Wednesday's teleseminar, go here now ==>Brad Pilon Gains Crazy Lean Mass From 1 Weird Workout... we need to know how many more lines to add to our account as we'll already went over 2000... thanks!) John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/change-your-body-and-change-your-life/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/k8KAX6PZlkA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/youve-got-to-have-a-goal/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:34 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=625 Creating a real change in the look and shape of your body requires you to take action&#8230;taking action requires you to have a clear goal set&#8230;having a clear goal requires you to know what it is that you want. Although this sounds simple many of us may not be clear on what we want and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/k8KAX6PZlkA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/youve-got-to-have-a-goal/feed/ 19 Goals,Transformation Contest Creating a real change in the look and shape of your body requires you to take action...taking action requires you to have a clear goal set...having a clear goal requires you to know what it is that you want. - Creating a real change in the look and shape of your body requires you to take action...taking action requires you to have a clear goal set...having a clear goal requires you to know what it is that you want. Although this sounds simple many of us may not be clear on what we want and end up spending time and effort but never getting the result we're really after. In this podcast we'll talk about getting to a clear goal and simplifying the process. We interview Jason Haynes, the winner of our BURN category and 2nd place overall, and well discuss how he managed to lose almost 30 pounds in 10 weeks and how he simplified his approach to training and diet and got big time results. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/youve-got-to-have-a-goal/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/YDLc9uV5Luc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/your-body-is-linked-to-your-identity-whether-you-like-it-or-not/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:00:36 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=592 The look and shape of your body plays a major role in you sense of identity and who you are. This is true whether you choose to believe it or not. Making a serious change to your body will open your eyes to this realization (if you didn&#8217;t already know this) There are multiple factors [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/YDLc9uV5Luc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/your-body-is-linked-to-your-identity-whether-you-like-it-or-not/feed/ 13 body image,dysmorphia,Identity The look and shape of your body plays a major role in you sense of identity and who you are. This is true whether you choose to believe it or not. - Making a serious change to your body will open your eyes to this realization (if you didn't already kn... The look and shape of your body plays a major role in you sense of identity and who you are. This is true whether you choose to believe it or not. Making a serious change to your body will open your eyes to this realization (if you didn't already know this) There are multiple factors that can influence your view of yourself including money, your relationships with women and your body shape and size. In this podcast we'll talk about: 1. How an irrational body image and specifically bodyweight goal can leave you depressed and unsatisfied 2. Accepting your genetic limits is essential to having a realistic body image 3. The trap of trying to and One-Up your way through life 4. Relative size vs absolute size. "One pound" of muscle looks different on each person 5.  Having the grace and class to lead other people by example with your personal transformation Show Notes: Muscle Mass accounts for approximately 50% of total Lean Body Mass. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/your-body-is-linked-to-your-identity-whether-you-like-it-or-not/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/W7_n-XE6KlU/ http://www.adonisindex.com/satisfaction-with-your-body-starts-with-the-right-goals/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:00:39 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=588 Many people have a desire to change the look and shape of their body, and so they set a new body image goal. In many cases the goal we choose for our body image is not attainable and should have never been chosen as our goal in the first place&#8230;so how do so many of [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/W7_n-XE6KlU" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/satisfaction-with-your-body-starts-with-the-right-goals/feed/ 9 Building Muscle,goal setting,muscle building Many people have a desire to change the look and shape of their body, and so they set a new body image goal. - In many cases the goal we choose for our body image is not attainable and should have never been chosen as our goal in the first place... Many people have a desire to change the look and shape of their body, and so they set a new body image goal. In many cases the goal we choose for our body image is not attainable and should have never been chosen as our goal in the first place...so how do so many of us end up with such unrealistic goals anyway? We tend to build an image of what we think we 'should' look like using pictures of athletes, bodybuilders, fitness models and celebrities. We seem to pool these images into an idealized form we think we can build and then pursue it never once questioning if it's even possible.  In many cases there is also a specific bodyweight associated with this goal body look. This however can be a recipe for years of frustration and disappointment if we cannot somehow build the body we thought we could. Once you accept a more realistic and achievable goal, the frustration can disappear and a new sense of calm confidence will set in. And make no mistake, I'm not talking about a lowered expectation for an unimpressive body. I'm simply talking about realigning the goal of your new body image with reality. In this podcast we will talk about: 1. Setting realistic goals 2. Why a specific bodyweight should never be your sole goal 3. Why you can't 'cheat' your genetics (with training or diet) and what happens when you try to 4. Focusing on the advantage your genetics gave you instead of the shortcomings This podcast features an interview with our BUILD category winner Pierre Farine who will teach us many of these lessons and more. Pierre also shares an extraordinary thing that happened to him during his transformation. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/satisfaction-with-your-body-starts-with-the-right-goals/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/acIf7XmmaMw/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-bad-boy-formula-carlos-xuma-splits-his-guts/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:22:24 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=581 He walks into the bar&#8230; cool as a cucumber, luggage rolling behind him, smile on his face&#8230; &#8230; which was strange considering he was over 6 hours late due to NUMEROUS flight delays and other &#8220;drive you crazy&#8221; set backs. But here he was, sitting in a bar, big ass luggage in tow&#8230; like he [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/acIf7XmmaMw" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-bad-boy-formula-carlos-xuma-splits-his-guts/feed/ 6 He walks into the bar... cool as a cucumber, luggage rolling behind him, smile on his face... - ... which was strange considering he was over 6 hours late due to NUMEROUS flight delays and other "drive you crazy" set backs. - But here he was, He walks into the bar... cool as a cucumber, luggage rolling behind him, smile on his face... ... which was strange considering he was over 6 hours late due to NUMEROUS flight delays and other "drive you crazy" set backs. But here he was, sitting in a bar, big ass luggage in tow... like he owned the place. I could see it in his eyes. He could care less what people thought. "So what's the closest thing to eat around here?" he asks. Obviously, he took the cab straight from the airport to the bar all of us were at. I can respect that. I mosey over to the nearest group of women and ask the simple question, "We need some food... what do you recommend within walking distance". I get an answer, and Carlos Xuma, Mr Bad Boy, Mr. Inner Game - makes a beeline for the door, luggage rolling behind him as he embarked on his little mini quest to get his grub on. This was the first time I'd met Carlos in the flesh, although we've talked off and on for the better part of 2 years. And, naturally, this was the type of behavior I expected - calm, cool, collected, and unfazed by the days events. Is it a surprise that I'd have him on this week's podcast? It shouldn't be... We're about to expose the "Bad Boy Formula"... that dastardly sweet spot that gets the ladies tingling and explodes your confidence to new levels. Listen in as I extract the knowledge from Mr. Inner Game himself... and take your life to the next level... just by getting out of your own damn way. Confused? Don't be, it's all here. Stay Cool, Brad p.s. Carlos just set up some really insightful free videos for you to check out. I've seen them, you might want to check 'em out too. John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/the-bad-boy-formula-carlos-xuma-splits-his-guts/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Cypn5LzZ-YQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/changing-your-look-changes-your-game/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:50:12 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=568 Making a real change in your life requires 3 main factors 1) Goal 2) Deadline 3) Reward Every &#8220;to do&#8221; list and idea that you come up with is just a dream without a clearly stated goal. Setting goals that are too far off in the distance don&#8217;t help create any momentum and leave you [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Cypn5LzZ-YQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/changing-your-look-changes-your-game/feed/ 13 Changing Your Look,inner game Making a real change in your life requires 3 main factors - 1) Goal - 2) Deadline - 3) Reward - Every "to do" list and idea that you come up with is just a dream without a clearly stated goal. Setting goals that are too far off in the distance don'... Making a real change in your life requires 3 main factors 1) Goal 2) Deadline 3) Reward Every "to do" list and idea that you come up with is just a dream without a clearly stated goal. Setting goals that are too far off in the distance don't help create any momentum and leave you wishing and dreaming about 'some day' when it'll all happen for you. The goal most be achievable, within site, and clearly defined...and the most important factor to bring a goal to life is setting is a deadline. Without a clearly defined deadline a goal is meaningless. Finally a goal must always be linked to a reward (otherwise what was the point of setting the goal in the first place) In todays podcast we'll talk about the goal of changing your body and the rewards that follow. As you see your body change you will also notice people changing the way they react to you. This change is profound and you will also notice that you must also change the way you act. You'll learn all of this while we profile one of our transformation contest winners Tristan Creswick 3rd place overall. We'll discuss: 1. How your look changes your inner game 2. How your look changes what you will and won't do 3. How your look changes how people act 4. What it takes to change your body 5. How low calories really have to go for effective weight loss 6. Social and psychological changes that come with a better body John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/changing-your-look-changes-your-game/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/zGToqQoxGRg/ http://www.adonisindex.com/can-you-eat-your-way-to-bigger-muscles/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:00:13 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=562 Browsing the fitness section of the magazine stand will reveal dozens of headlines that seem to be the answer to your fitness and dieting questions. I went to my local book store and browsed the fitness magazine section. Here is a sample of the headlines I found: &#8220;709 Tips to get you  Jacked&#8221; &#8220;Get abs [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/zGToqQoxGRg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/can-you-eat-your-way-to-bigger-muscles/feed/ 47 Building Muscle,deconstructing headlines,eating to get big Browsing the fitness section of the magazine stand will reveal dozens of headlines that seem to be the answer to your fitness and dieting questions. - I went to my local book store and browsed the fitness magazine section. Browsing the fitness section of the magazine stand will reveal dozens of headlines that seem to be the answer to your fitness and dieting questions. I went to my local book store and browsed the fitness magazine section. Here is a sample of the headlines I found: "709 Tips to get you  Jacked" "Get abs you've always wanted in less than 1 hour per week" "16 Rules of fitness you MUST follow" "Low carb diet risk" "9 Biggest training traps to avoid" "15 Foods that fight fat" "78 simple ways to swap flab for brawn" This is just a small sample of all the headlines I found. It would probably take you the entire year to implement all of the "rules" and "tips" in these articles...and these are just the articles I found in the January issues! There are 11 months of magazines with "tips" "rules" and "tricks" to go for the rest of 2010. This is an example of how the fitness/diet industry has to keep you guessing and thinking that you're missing something important. All of this is in an effort to get you to buy this months magazine with the promise that you'll find the right tips to get you the results you're looking for. And of course, next months issue will have just as many tips tricks and secrets. Within this ongoing flood of tips and rules is the dogma of eating to get bigger muscles. This is one of the most persistent fallacies of the fitness industry. In this podcast we will deconstruct fitness headlines and get to the bottom of the eating to get bigger muscles fallacy. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/can-you-eat-your-way-to-bigger-muscles/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/voG1vAt2IGs/ http://www.adonisindex.com/diet-workout-health-what-defines-you/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:00:56 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=551 There are many ways you can be defined, some of them you can&#8217;t control like your height, age, race, where you were born. But there are many other things that you CAN control, like your career, education, how you conduct yourself in your relationships and your body shape. When it comes to influencing the look [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/voG1vAt2IGs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/diet-workout-health-what-defines-you/feed/ 15 definition of fitness,definition of health,Fitness,health There are many ways you can be defined, some of them you can't control like your height, age, race, where you were born. But there are many other things that you CAN control, like your career, education, how you conduct yourself in your relationships a... There are many ways you can be defined, some of them you can't control like your height, age, race, where you were born. But there are many other things that you CAN control, like your career, education, how you conduct yourself in your relationships and your body shape. When it comes to influencing the look of your body things like your workout and your eating pattern are simply tools and not a definition of who you are, but the health diet/fitness industry try to convince you to define yourself in these terms. With a closer look you will realize that terms like "health" "nutrition" and "fitness" have no meaning without the specific meaning you give to them. Each one is a personal definition that you alone should make. In this podcast we'll discuss: 1. The definition of Health 2. The definition of Fitness 3. What defines you 4. How the 'health and fitness' industry uses ambiguity to sell you things you don't understand As long as you allow someone else to define each of these terms for you, you'll always be susceptible to another new diet or fitness marketing fad. Define yourself. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/diet-workout-health-what-defines-you/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/MJR7xnTWs1Y/ http://www.adonisindex.com/gaining-weight-vs-gaining-muscle/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:12:36 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=546 Gaining weight can be the result of adding muscle mass, fat mass, or water weight (in various forms). Many guys who are interesting in &#8216;gaining weight&#8217; are actually interested in &#8216;gaining muscle&#8217; and they assume additional muscle will translate into a heavier bodyweight. But how do you know for sure how much muscle you can [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/MJR7xnTWs1Y" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/gaining-weight-vs-gaining-muscle/feed/ 20 gaining weight,muscle gain,weight gain Gaining weight can be the result of adding muscle mass, fat mass, or water weight (in various forms). - Many guys who are interesting in 'gaining weight' are actually interested in 'gaining muscle' and they assume additional muscle will translate into... Gaining weight can be the result of adding muscle mass, fat mass, or water weight (in various forms). Many guys who are interesting in 'gaining weight' are actually interested in 'gaining muscle' and they assume additional muscle will translate into a heavier bodyweight. But how do you know for sure how much muscle you can add to your body and how much weight you could possibly gain? Factors to consider include: Age Somatotype Height Years of training experience The genetic material of your body is the most basic starting point and will tell most of the story as to how much 'weight' and 'muscle' you can gain. In this podcast we'll discuss: 1. Weight gain vs muscle gain 2. Why anyone wants to gain weight in the first place 3. The difference between how you look with a shirt on vs with a shirt off 4. The relationship between how much you weigh and how you look at that weight 5. The normal fluctuations you can experience in bodyweight on a day to day basis. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/gaining-weight-vs-gaining-muscle/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/tLeG2FEQSvk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/grown-man-game-with-scot-mckay/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:34:49 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=481 We get lots of questions on a day to day basis from professional guys that are looking for a &#8220;grown man&#8217;s&#8221; approach to dating and/or relating to the opposite sex&#8230; &#8230; and, of course, we listened. Let me introduce my good friend, Scot McKay. McKay is a guy that you want to listen to as [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/tLeG2FEQSvk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/grown-man-game-with-scot-mckay/feed/ 4 We get lots of questions on a day to day basis from professional guys that are looking for a "grown man's" approach to dating and/or relating to the opposite sex... - ... and, of course, we listened. - Let me introduce my good friend, Scot McKay. - We get lots of questions on a day to day basis from professional guys that are looking for a "grown man's" approach to dating and/or relating to the opposite sex... ... and, of course, we listened. Let me introduce my good friend, Scot McKay. McKay is a guy that you want to listen to as his approach to dating and marriage is as "mature" as it gets. No games, no gimmicks... just hard hitting advice that hits the CORE of who you are. No matter if you're married, have a girlfriend, or are just plain single... the words that flow out of his mouth will resonate with any man that's over 25 years old. So give this a listen. In this podcast, we discuss McKay's new project... called "Chick Whispering"... and how to understand what quality women REALLY want in a GROWN MAN. You won't be disappointed. Stay cool, Brad p.s. Check out McKay's Chick Whispering... he's got some really cool knowledge you'll get a lot out of, no matter your situation. John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/grown-man-game-with-scot-mckay/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/seDO3-zYriY/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-an-adonis-index-workout-is-designed/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:00:03 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=477 At a glance, most workouts look very similar, with a bunch of numbers and words on a page. But if you take a closer look, there is much more than meets the eye to a well designed workout. Some of the elements that should be in a well designed workout program include: -Macro, meso, and [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/seDO3-zYriY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-an-adonis-index-workout-is-designed/feed/ 31 adonis index workout,Workout Design At a glance, most workouts look very similar, with a bunch of numbers and words on a page. But if you take a closer look, there is much more than meets the eye to a well designed workout. - Some of the elements that should be in a well designed workou... At a glance, most workouts look very similar, with a bunch of numbers and words on a page. But if you take a closer look, there is much more than meets the eye to a well designed workout. Some of the elements that should be in a well designed workout program include: -Macro, meso, and micro-cycled periodized intensity volume and frequency. -Balance stimulus throughout all major muscle groups. -Progressive overload. -Periodic overreaching to overcome plateaus in strength. -Combination of strength, hypertrophy and strength endurance training. -Specific rest intervals and exercise ogranization. There are other components, but these are some of the major ones and in today's podcast, we'll explain how and why we put them into the Adonis Index Workouts. John p.s. This discussion not only applies to the core Adonis Index Workout, but all of the other workouts in the AI curriculum as well. John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/how-an-adonis-index-workout-is-designed/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/SDY3qsl3GLo/ http://www.adonisindex.com/christian-hudson-interview-how-to-be-unbreakable/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:48:33 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=465 I think I really sell these interviews short in these little descriptions&#8230; lol (and this one will be no different) In todays, podcast&#8230; I interview none other than the &#8220;Social Man&#8217;s&#8221; Christian Hudson. Now, you may have heard of him before, and that&#8217;s because I&#8217;ve sent you emails about some of his cool products like: [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/SDY3qsl3GLo" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/christian-hudson-interview-how-to-be-unbreakable/feed/ 3 I think I really sell these interviews short in these little descriptions... lol - (and this one will be no different) - In todays, podcast... I interview none other than the "Social Man's" Christian Hudson. - Now, you may have heard of him before, I think I really sell these interviews short in these little descriptions... lol (and this one will be no different) In todays, podcast... I interview none other than the "Social Man's" Christian Hudson. Now, you may have heard of him before, and that's because I've sent you emails about some of his cool products like: - Unbreakable (confidence and killer "inner game") - Conquer Your Campus (ruling the college scene) Today, you're going to learn a little about: - the dichotomy of male self improvement - the difference between being attractive and "convincing" - how being non judgmental and having healthy boundaries INCREASES your social status and life - and even a really cool technique called "paint the picture" which virtually guarantees you'll never have a conversation dry up on you again So give it a listen, this is EASILY better than some of the things guys charge for :) Stay cool, Brad p.s. If you're looking to get rock solid confidence and "inner game"... check out UNBREAKABLE John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/christian-hudson-interview-how-to-be-unbreakable/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/X2a1_mvN__g/ http://www.adonisindex.com/naturalistic-fallacy-and-how-to-find-experts/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:00:13 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=467 There are many self proclaimed &#8216;experts&#8217; in the field of human health, nutrition, exercise and relationships. But how do you know if these people really know what they are talking about? Credentials is at least a start but isn&#8217;t the only thing to look at. Do the experts practice what they preach? On the other [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/X2a1_mvN__g" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/naturalistic-fallacy-and-how-to-find-experts/feed/ 10 Finding Experts,Naturalistic Fallacy There are many self proclaimed 'experts' in the field of human health, nutrition, exercise and relationships. But how do you know if these people really know what they are talking about? - Credentials is at least a start but isn't the only thing to lo... There are many self proclaimed 'experts' in the field of human health, nutrition, exercise and relationships. But how do you know if these people really know what they are talking about? Credentials is at least a start but isn't the only thing to look at. Do the experts practice what they preach? On the other hand are they preaching too much about too many things they couldn't possibly know about? It seems to be that so called experts start to preach about more things than they are capable of knowing and quickly revert to the naturalistic fallacy to explain concepts outside of their area of expertise. In this podcast we'll discuss the naturalistic fallacy and how to spot when a so called expert is just feeding you a line of non-sense. We'll also talk about a practical way to tell if an 'expert' really knows what they are talking about or if they're just full of hot air. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/naturalistic-fallacy-and-how-to-find-experts/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/vgrbvtZJZvY/ http://www.adonisindex.com/water-weight-fat-muscle-what-is-signal-vs-noise/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:00:52 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=446 Claims in the health and fitness industry (and any industry for that matter) can be clinically or technically significant, but have no significance in the real world. In other words, something might have a significant effect in a laboratory setting, but will never be applicable to you in your daily life. This makes it difficult [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/vgrbvtZJZvY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/water-weight-fat-muscle-what-is-signal-vs-noise/feed/ 20 water weight,Weight Loss Claims in the health and fitness industry (and any industry for that matter) can be clinically or technically significant, but have no significance in the real world. - In other words, something might have a significant effect in a laboratory setting, Claims in the health and fitness industry (and any industry for that matter) can be clinically or technically significant, but have no significance in the real world. In other words, something might have a significant effect in a laboratory setting, but will never be applicable to you in your daily life. This makes it difficult to tell what is a realistic and useful claim that you can incorporate into your daily routine for real results, and what is just marketing speak to get you to buy into something that you can never actually take action on or use. In this podcast we'll examine all of the following issues: 1 - The difference between real world significance and clinical significance 2 - Separating the signal from the noise: are the results that you are hearing about normal changes in human physiology that are simply being brought to your attention for the first time. 3 - The 80-20 principle and how 20 % of your effort will end up being responsible for 80 % of your results. 4 - Water weight: how water weight/retention is the big confounding factor in the way your body looks and how fitness and nutrition marketers take advantage of this to make claims that their products can do things that are not possible. 5 - Getting to the core principle of what works for weight loss. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/water-weight-fat-muscle-what-is-signal-vs-noise/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/yH1fuSMz6Ic/ http://www.adonisindex.com/interval-training-vs-steady-state-cardio-for-fat-loss-on-trial/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:00:26 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=415 In this podcast we review the popular claim that high intensity interval training is superior to steady state cardio for fat loss. The research supporting the claims you see and hear may not be what you think. The fact that a research paper is published doesn&#8217;t mean it is accurate, and it rarely means it [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/yH1fuSMz6Ic" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/interval-training-vs-steady-state-cardio-for-fat-loss-on-trial/feed/ 20 fat loss,Interval Training,Steady State Cardio In this podcast we review the popular claim that high intensity interval training is superior to steady state cardio for fat loss. - The research supporting the claims you see and hear may not be what you think. - In this podcast we review the popular claim that high intensity interval training is superior to steady state cardio for fat loss. The research supporting the claims you see and hear may not be what you think. The fact that a research paper is published doesn't mean it is accurate, and it rarely means it supports the claims the fitness and nutrition industry is trying to make from it. In this podcast we will deconstruct the claim about interval training and walk you through the most popular and commonly quoted research paper that supposedly 'proves' that interval training is the gold standard for fat loss. Get ready for another trip down the rabbit hole. John CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCREEN CAPTURE VIDEO OF THE PODCAST: INTERVAL TRAINING VS STEADY STATE CARDIO (The video will auto-start, just give it a second) . John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/interval-training-vs-steady-state-cardio-for-fat-loss-on-trial/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Sg5yq08HfRY/ http://www.adonisindex.com/john-alanis-interview-on-personal-authority/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:56:34 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=405 You&#8217;re gonna like this interview with John Alanis. Not only does he got into some of the tactics, techniques, and strategies that he uses to get women to chase HIM, but we also go into some interesting topics on &#8220;inner game&#8221; including: - Personal Authority - Approach Anxiety - the Bill Parcells &#8220;method&#8221; of women [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Sg5yq08HfRY" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/john-alanis-interview-on-personal-authority/feed/ 3 You're gonna like this interview with John Alanis. - Not only does he got into some of the tactics, techniques, and strategies that he uses to get women to chase HIM, but we also go into some interesting topics on "inner game" including: - You're gonna like this interview with John Alanis. Not only does he got into some of the tactics, techniques, and strategies that he uses to get women to chase HIM, but we also go into some interesting topics on "inner game" including: - Personal Authority - Approach Anxiety - the Bill Parcells "method" of women getting - Plus more AND, if you like what you hear, go check out John's stuff, he's got some cool free reports like "Where to meet high quality women" and more. More good stuff for you next week. Stay cool, Brad John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/john-alanis-interview-on-personal-authority/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/W9FJomB5T00/ http://www.adonisindex.com/nutrition-guidelines-and-marketing-who-can-you-trust/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:00:43 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=395 Nutrition guidelines are handed to us by government departments and most of us will blindly assume that the guidelines are both accurate and up to date. The truth of the matter is that much of the guidelines you see are heavily lobbied for by industry and don&#8217;t represent a true unbiased scientific opinion of what [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/W9FJomB5T00" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/nutrition-guidelines-and-marketing-who-can-you-trust/feed/ 19 health claims,nutrition guidelines,nutrition marketing Nutrition guidelines are handed to us by government departments and most of us will blindly assume that the guidelines are both accurate and up to date. - The truth of the matter is that much of the guidelines you see are heavily lobbied for by indust... Nutrition guidelines are handed to us by government departments and most of us will blindly assume that the guidelines are both accurate and up to date. The truth of the matter is that much of the guidelines you see are heavily lobbied for by industry and don't represent a true unbiased scientific opinion of what is the truth. Government mandated guidelines and marketing health claims are usually only an interpretation of some of the science available and should never be taken as a fact that can be applied to all people. When it comes right down to it, your body and your health is your responsibility and requires you to do some digging to find out if the guidelines you're told and the claims you read are even worth the paper they are written on. In just about every case the claim or guidelines you've read have much more than just your best interest at hand. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/nutrition-guidelines-and-marketing-who-can-you-trust/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/UDU4SFgtYs8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/alex-allman-interview-earn-her-attraction-all-over-again/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:19:27 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=351 (play button below) In today&#8217;s issue of the Adonis Lifestyle Podcast, I get Alex Allman from Revolutionary Sex and Passionate Lover, Passionate Life on the phone and we let loose on some really powerful stuff. Naturally, you already know that I really dig Alex&#8217;s overall vibe and way he looks at life and I think [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/UDU4SFgtYs8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/alex-allman-interview-earn-her-attraction-all-over-again/feed/ 5 (play button below) - In today's issue of the Adonis Lifestyle Podcast, I get Alex Allman from Revolutionary Sex and Passionate Lover, Passionate Life on the phone and we let loose on some really powerful stuff. - Naturally, (play button below) In today's issue of the Adonis Lifestyle Podcast, I get Alex Allman from Revolutionary Sex and Passionate Lover, Passionate Life on the phone and we let loose on some really powerful stuff. Naturally, you already know that I really dig Alex's overall vibe and way he looks at life and I think you're gonna get some really good ideas as you listen to this. We talk about: - Why most men already KNOW what's "cool", but why they don't ask on it - Why who you are right now is an accident - Why change isn't HARD... it's just scary - How to earn her attraction all over again - How it's easy to be "small" with other people and how to give her permission to be her best self around you - Why it's important to "allow" people to tell you the truth - Why you have difficulties keeping commitments to yourself - The 5 Reasons people actually do things - Confidence versus competence And that's just for starters. In the last part of the interview, we go into some sexually related stuff that you just don't want to miss. Trust me. So give this a listen and let me know what you think. Brad p.s. I had to edit out a few "f-bombs"... Alex gets animated sometimes... lol . John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/alex-allman-interview-earn-her-attraction-all-over-again/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/pxwocJH7y24/ http://www.adonisindex.com/fitness-marketing-drugs-taking-responsbility-for-your-body/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:47 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=330 Changing the look and shape of your body is something that is completely within your control to do. But you first have to admit that it is your responsibility to get it done. And this admission of responsibility is the hard part. It is much easier to blame your shortcomings on someone or something else [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/pxwocJH7y24" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/fitness-marketing-drugs-taking-responsbility-for-your-body/feed/ 7 Building Muscle,Marketing,Weight Loss Changing the look and shape of your body is something that is completely within your control to do. But you first have to admit that it is your responsibility to get it done. And this admission of responsibility is the hard part. - Changing the look and shape of your body is something that is completely within your control to do. But you first have to admit that it is your responsibility to get it done. And this admission of responsibility is the hard part. It is much easier to blame your shortcomings on someone or something else other than yourself. Fitness marketers know that you would rather not take responsibility for your body and will gladly sell you a story about how "it's not your fault" that you're gaining fat or haven't gained much muscle. Then once they've convinced you of this they promptly sell you the 'secret' solution to your fitness problem. The reality is that you are 100% responsible for the look and shape of your body. Eating and working out are completely within your control. Admitting this to yourself is the first step to actually getting the body and life you want. In this podcast we expose how fitness ad's and marketing campaigns are designed, how most of the 'models' you see are chemically enhanced, and how you're being sold a story of "impossibility". John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/fitness-marketing-drugs-taking-responsbility-for-your-body/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/Fq3wPn7qWIc/ http://www.adonisindex.com/richard-la-ruina-gamblers-secrets-to-a-killer-social-life/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:56:19 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=319 It&#8217;s Friday and that means it&#8217;s time for another &#8220;Lifestyle&#8221; edition of the Adonis Lifestyle podcast. (click the play button at the bottom to listen) In today&#8217;s interview, I talk to Richard La Ruina (also known as Gambler in some circles) on how a guy can develop a killer social life, starting from nothing. You&#8217;ll [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/Fq3wPn7qWIc" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/richard-la-ruina-gamblers-secrets-to-a-killer-social-life/feed/ 2 It's Friday and that means it's time for another "Lifestyle" edition of the Adonis Lifestyle podcast. (click the play button at the bottom to listen) - In today's interview, I talk to Richard La Ruina (also known as Gambler in some circles) on how a ... It's Friday and that means it's time for another "Lifestyle" edition of the Adonis Lifestyle podcast. (click the play button at the bottom to listen) In today's interview, I talk to Richard La Ruina (also known as Gambler in some circles) on how a guy can develop a killer social life, starting from nothing. You'll hear crazy tactics like: - How to get in the ritziest bars and clubs, for FREE... - How to create a lifestyle that women not only want to be in... but one that actually will put you in a position to CHOOSE the best women to hang out with, with no pressure, no crazy lines or games, AND with methods that actually let you be PROUD of who you are. - You'll discover Rich's fun way to get other guy's to GLADLY pick up the tab for you, because of the value you bring to their lives - Plus so much more. So, give it a listen. I know you'll enjoy it... and we'll be back on Monday with another podcast with John Barban. You don't want to miss it. Brad p.s. If you like this podcast, go check out a cool video that Rich has up on a new "stealth opener" that has a 100% success rate. It's pretty cool. p.p.s. Do you remember that game in the picture? GOTCHA! I owe you a punch... lol John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/richard-la-ruina-gamblers-secrets-to-a-killer-social-life/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/IqfgWbcSY0o/ http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-training-or-just-working-out/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:07 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=300 Any type of movement could be considered a &#8216;workout&#8217; to some degree. Even a 5 minute walk can be called a &#8216;workout&#8217;. Even though it is very low intensity and duration, it&#8217;s still some form of work beyond just resting. In order to make a real change in your muscle size and strength you need [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/IqfgWbcSY0o" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-training-or-just-working-out/feed/ 11 build muscle,Training,workout Any type of movement could be considered a 'workout' to some degree. Even a 5 minute walk can be called a 'workout'. - Even though it is very low intensity and duration, it's still some form of work beyond just resting. - Any type of movement could be considered a 'workout' to some degree. Even a 5 minute walk can be called a 'workout'. Even though it is very low intensity and duration, it's still some form of work beyond just resting. In order to make a real change in your muscle size and strength you need to be 'training' and not just 'working out'. Training requires a plan, a timeline, a goal, and specific exercise intensities. Unless you're following a program with all of the above elements built into it, you're most likely just working out and not really 'training'. John P.S. Check this link out of you'd like to see an example of a well designed workout using body weight training. John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/are-you-training-or-just-working-out/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/udTMNnC7RPM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/brad-jackson-interview-best-halloween-costume-ever/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:59:24 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=292 MWUHAHAHAHA! Halloween is a really fun time and as and adult, it&#8217;s ALSO a really cool time to let loose and meet new people&#8230; women included. So, in this Friday &#8220;lifestyle&#8221; edition of the Adonis Lifestyle Podcast, I got my friend Brad Jackson on the line to talk about some really cool but controversial stuff. [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/udTMNnC7RPM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/brad-jackson-interview-best-halloween-costume-ever/feed/ 7 MWUHAHAHAHA! - Halloween is a really fun time and as and adult, it's ALSO a really cool time to let loose and meet new people... women included. - So, in this Friday "lifestyle" edition of the Adonis Lifestyle Podcast, MWUHAHAHAHA! Halloween is a really fun time and as and adult, it's ALSO a really cool time to let loose and meet new people... women included. So, in this Friday "lifestyle" edition of the Adonis Lifestyle Podcast, I got my friend Brad Jackson on the line to talk about some really cool but controversial stuff. You're about to discover: 1. What his best costume idea EVER is... and how he had women coming to talk to HIM, without provocation, volunteering their phone numbers and buying him drinks... virtually no effort required, and how YOU can use this same idea to increase your status for the night... ANYWHERE, at any party. 2. Curious ways to keep conversations going when they begin to dry up that DON'T make you look like you're trying too hard AND make you the cool person people want to be around. 3. An interesting and fun "works every time" way to open up a group of women that is SO EASY and NON THREATENING, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it. So kick back and relax. The show is about to begin. Brad p.s. You can watch a cool video on the best Halloween costume ever right here. John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/brad-jackson-interview-best-halloween-costume-ever/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/0H_d7sfrGx0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-many-calories-do-you-need-to-lose-weight/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:01:33 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=286 (play button below) Losing weight is just a matter of calories in vs calories out. Specifically it&#8217;s a matter of eating less calories than you burn off. So just how many calories are we talking here? The answer is actually much lower than you probably think. In this podcast we talk about how low the [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/0H_d7sfrGx0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-many-calories-do-you-need-to-lose-weight/feed/ 132 Calories,How Many Calories,Weight Loss (play button below) - Losing weight is just a matter of calories in vs calories out. Specifically it's a matter of eating less calories than you burn off. - So just how many calories are we talking here? The answer is actually much lower than you pro... (play button below) Losing weight is just a matter of calories in vs calories out. Specifically it's a matter of eating less calories than you burn off. So just how many calories are we talking here? The answer is actually much lower than you probably think. In this podcast we talk about how low the real amount of calories is that you need for weight loss, and why most people overestimate it and sabotage their own weight loss success. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/how-many-calories-do-you-need-to-lose-weight/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/3bceFPsfaOk/ http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-burning-supplements-do-they-work/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:30:41 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=247 Walk into any health food shop and you&#8217;ll find an entire section of &#8220;fat burners&#8221; and weight loss supplements. It&#8217;s clear that these products sell, but do they &#8220;work&#8221;? The answer to this question is a bit more complicated than a simple yes/no. You&#8217;ve got to take into account the claims on the supplement, the [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/3bceFPsfaOk" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-burning-supplements-do-they-work/feed/ 13 Burning Fat,Fat Burners,Supplements Walk into any health food shop and you'll find an entire section of "fat burners" and weight loss supplements. - It's clear that these products sell, but do they "work"? - The answer to this question is a bit more complicated than a simple yes/no. Walk into any health food shop and you'll find an entire section of "fat burners" and weight loss supplements. It's clear that these products sell, but do they "work"? The answer to this question is a bit more complicated than a simple yes/no. You've got to take into account the claims on the supplement, the research that supports those claims, the researchers that did the work, what the government regulators have to say about it, what the insurance companies will insure, and where the research dollars come from that support the fat burning claims being made. Fat burners and weight loss supplements are big business. I'm talking billions of dollars big. Whenever there is this kind of money on the line the answers are never simple. In this podcast I try to give you a good look at the 'fat burners' side of the supplement industry and which fat burners (if any) are worth taking. (and don't forget, the 1st Adonis Transformation Contest is going on RIGHT NOW. Test out our systems for $4.95 and get the body you deserve) John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/fat-burning-supplements-do-they-work/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/xIwKE9CaJcg/ http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building-supplements-creatine-is-king/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:06:34 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=218 There are lots of different muscle building supplements available on the market and you could easily spend $100-$200 per month on them. But which ones are worth the money and which ones are a waste of money? This podcast gets to the bottom of the muscle building supplement story. John<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/xIwKE9CaJcg" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building-supplements-creatine-is-king/feed/ 47 Creatine,muscle builders,muscle building There are lots of different muscle building supplements available on the market and you could easily spend $100-$200 per month on them. - But which ones are worth the money and which ones are a waste of money? - There are lots of different muscle building supplements available on the market and you could easily spend $100-$200 per month on them. But which ones are worth the money and which ones are a waste of money? This podcast gets to the bottom of the muscle building supplement story. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building-supplements-creatine-is-king/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/j3bTkArKnLQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building-fat-loss-how-to-gain-and-lose/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:32:49 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=206 Muscle building is about your workout. The consistency, intensity, workout design and your ability to push past your previous best. Building muscle is largely about your genetics and working within your genetic boundaries. In short, the genetic environment inside your body is the biggest factor that controls your muscle building potential along with your workouts. [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/j3bTkArKnLQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building-fat-loss-how-to-gain-and-lose/feed/ 11 fat loss,How to Build Muscle,How To Lose Fat,muscle building Muscle building is about your workout. The consistency, intensity, workout design and your ability to push past your previous best. Building muscle is largely about your genetics and working within your genetic boundaries. In short, Muscle building is about your workout. The consistency, intensity, workout design and your ability to push past your previous best. Building muscle is largely about your genetics and working within your genetic boundaries. In short, the genetic environment inside your body is the biggest factor that controls your muscle building potential along with your workouts. Fat loss is about nutrition and handling your food and eating environment outside of your body. Social factors like co-workers, family, spouse, school, holidays and special occasions, the country and city you live in all make a big difference for how your fat loss success goes. The way we eat and the temptation to overeat is a constant battle for many people in modern western societies. We cover both of these topics in this podcast and show how confusing one for the other can ruin both your muscle building and fat loss results. Getting them both on target will get you results much faster. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/muscle-building-fat-loss-how-to-gain-and-lose/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/CMDW0U-B9HM/ http://www.adonisindex.com/strength-gaining-podcast-its-all-relative-but-not-really/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:32:42 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=197 Everyone would probably agree that working out with weights makes you stronger. But how do you quantify strength gain? Strength gain is relative to two things: 1) The specific Exercise you are doing 2) The specific Rep range you are doing For example if I want to increase my 1 repetition maximum bench press, then [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/CMDW0U-B9HM" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/strength-gaining-podcast-its-all-relative-but-not-really/feed/ 1 Gaining Strength,Maximum Strength,Muscle Gaining,Relative Strength,Strength and Muscle,Strength Gain Everyone would probably agree that working out with weights makes you stronger. But how do you quantify strength gain? - Strength gain is relative to two things: - 1) The specific Exercise you are doing - 2) The specific Rep range you are doing - Everyone would probably agree that working out with weights makes you stronger. But how do you quantify strength gain? Strength gain is relative to two things: 1) The specific Exercise you are doing 2) The specific Rep range you are doing For example if I want to increase my 1 repetition maximum bench press, then I need to be exercising at or close to my 1 repetition maximum frequently. If I want to increase my 12 repetition maximum bench press, then I should be exercising at and around 12 reps on bench press. There are many equations that try to extrapolate 12 rep strength up to 1 rep strength, but the equations aren't alway accurate. In this podcast we discuss how strength is developed and how it can be correlated to muscle size and your ideal Adonis Index Ratio. The bottom line is that anyone who is close to their ideal Adonis Index Ratio shoulders is also going to be one of the strongest people in the gym. John John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/strength-gaining-podcast-its-all-relative-but-not-really/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/qzUCsvVcchs/ http://www.adonisindex.com/the-adonis-10-week-transformation-kickoff/#comments Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:40:55 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=191 Quite frankly, this was one of the most informative teleseminars we&#8217;ve done in a while. Brad Pilon paid a visit. John Barban paid a visit. I made an ass of myself (literally, you&#8217;ll see&#8230; lol) And we covered a whole gangload of topics including: - The rules to the contest - Using creatine effectively - [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/qzUCsvVcchs" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/the-adonis-10-week-transformation-kickoff/feed/ 3 Quite frankly, this was one of the most informative teleseminars we've done in a while. - Brad Pilon paid a visit. - John Barban paid a visit. - I made an ass of myself (literally, you'll see... lol) - Quite frankly, this was one of the most informative teleseminars we've done in a while. Brad Pilon paid a visit. John Barban paid a visit. I made an ass of myself (literally, you'll see... lol) And we covered a whole gangload of topics including: - The rules to the contest - Using creatine effectively - Protein and diet myths and truths - A new Adonis workout system in the works? - Plus, a killer announcement you don't want to miss! Check it out below: John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/the-adonis-10-week-transformation-kickoff/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/-9SWrYD5Fm0/ http://www.adonisindex.com/food-to-build-muscle-food-for-thought/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:33:32 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=161 In today&#8217;s podcast, John Barban and I discuss how much food it REALLY takes to build muscle. Some questions we cover, and that you should ask yourself: - Is eating 4000 calories and up really necessary - Why should you &#8220;bulk up&#8221; and diet down - Before and after pics&#8230; the low down dirty secrets [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/-9SWrYD5Fm0" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/food-to-build-muscle-food-for-thought/feed/ 15 In today's podcast, John Barban and I discuss how much food it REALLY takes to build muscle. - Some questions we cover, and that you should ask yourself: - Is eating 4000 calories and up really necessary Why should you "bulk up" and diet down In today's podcast, John Barban and I discuss how much food it REALLY takes to build muscle. Some questions we cover, and that you should ask yourself: - Is eating 4000 calories and up really necessary - Why should you "bulk up" and diet down - Before and after pics... the low down dirty secrets no one wants you to know ... plus so much more. Strap in. It's go time baby! (As an aside, mark your calendar down, The Adonis Index 10 Week Transformation Contest starts Monday October 5th) John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/food-to-build-muscle-food-for-thought/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/6_Ywv4Pu7uQ/ http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-be-a-man-thats-in-control-of-his-life-with-women/#comments Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:09:46 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=145 Here is a copy of the teleseminar I did with Scot McKay of X &#038; Y Communications a few weeks ago&#8230; &#8230; it&#8217;s really good stuff. (as an aside, you should def pick up his program &#8220;The Master Plan&#8221; if you feel like any of this teleseminar applies to you. He goes in a LOT [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/6_Ywv4Pu7uQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-be-a-man-thats-in-control-of-his-life-with-women/feed/ 0 Here is a copy of the teleseminar I did with Scot McKay of X & Y Communications a few weeks ago... - ... it's really good stuff. - (as an aside, you should def pick up his program "The Master Plan" if you feel like any of this teleseminar applies to ... Here is a copy of the teleseminar I did with Scot McKay of X & Y Communications a few weeks ago... ... it's really good stuff. (as an aside, you should def pick up his program "The Master Plan" if you feel like any of this teleseminar applies to you. He goes in a LOT deeper there. ==> The Master Plan Inside this call, we talk about: AVOIDING "THE HANGOVER" (a note from Scot McKay) I realize it's Saturday afternoon, but that's not the kind of "hangover" I'm talking about this time. Instead, I'm wondering if you've seen that *movie* "The Hangover"? If you haven't, it's a "must see". Well, my main man Brad Howard and I got to talking about it the other day. It would appear that BOTH he and I have been getting LOTS of e-mails from guys who have consistently been getting "pwned" by women in very much the same way as one of the main characters in that flick. (Again, if you HAVE seen it, you know EXACTLY what I mean. And if you HAVEN'T, imagine a jealous, manipulative "double-standard chick" on steroids and you get the picture.) Here's the kicker: Based on the events in the movie and how badly the main character gets treated, Brad Howard and I decided to put on a teleseminar all about how to make sure YOU are in control of your dating life. So, Wednesday, August 26th at 9pm EDT (GMT -4), I was completely GRILLED by Brad on "How To Be A Man Who's In Control Of His Life With Women". We talked about, among other things: Inviting high-character women into your reality who are TONS OF FUN and have HEARTS OF GOLD in addition to being BEAUTIFUL. Ridding yourself of GUILT AND SHAME over wanting to break up with a manipulative woman who doesn't deserve you. (Does THAT one ring a bell? Wow...) Getting the details on EXACTLY what I mean by "igniting femininity" so that the woman you're with is literally glowing with warmth rather than being cold and bitter. (Yes...YOU hold this power more than you probably think) How you can feel great about being a man who is IN CONTROL without ever falling into the trap of BEING A CONTROLLER. (Big difference) I'll tell you what, Brad and I have done some seminars for Twitter users in the past that have gotten RAVE reviews. We and in this one, we continued the tread by seriously giving away content that others charge thousands of dollars for. -------------------- Thanks Scot... Now, give this thing a listen and take some notes. Then, when you're done... go checkout "The Master Plan" and see if it fits your fancy. ==> Click Here For Access To Scot McKay's "Master Plan" Out John Barban, Brad Howard no health,fitness,dating,sex,life,nutrition,Adonis,Effect,building,muscle,fat,loss,weight,loss,men,attracting,womenhttp://www.adonisindex.com/how-to-be-a-man-thats-in-control-of-his-life-with-women/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/vO6GcgO2va8/ http://www.adonisindex.com/coaching-athletes-is-easy-squats-and-deadlifts-are-hard/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:36:11 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=98 The other day, John and I jumped on the phone and he pushed the &#8220;record&#8221; button once again. We&#8217;re gonna turn this into a weekly/bi-weekly podcast once we get some consistency&#8230; but the fact is that every time I talk to Barban or Pilon, we end up talking about some really interesting stuff. Today&#8217;s Podcast&#8230; [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/vO6GcgO2va8" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/coaching-athletes-is-easy-squats-and-deadlifts-are-hard/feed/ 3 athletes,coaching,coaching athletes,deadlifts,Podcasts,squats The other day, John and I jumped on the phone and he pushed the "record" button once again. - We're gonna turn this into a weekly/bi-weekly podcast once we get some consistency... but the fact is that every time I talk to Barban or Pilon, The other day, John and I jumped on the phone and he pushed the "record" button once again. We're gonna turn this into a weekly/bi-weekly podcast once we get some consistency... but the fact is that every time I talk to Barban or Pilon, we end up talking about some really interesting stuff. Today's Podcast... called "Coaching Athletes Is Easy, Squats And Deadlifts Are Hard", I end up grilling John on: Why it MAY or MAY NOT make a difference if your coach/guru/cool dude has ever coached high level athletes when determining who to give your money to Why John considers Squats and Deadlifts "High Risk, Medium Reward" Exercises Plus a lot more Give this thing a listen and pound your comments and questions in below and we'll knock 'em out... one by one. (Oh yeah, and buy our stuff... lol) Oh, and if for some reason the player doesn't play, just download the file to your computer. John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/coaching-athletes-is-easy-squats-and-deadlifts-are-hard/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/jO-TL0Cn2MA/ http://www.adonisindex.com/jae-ellis-interview-ask-romeo/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:39:13 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=47 I did an interview with Jae Ellis of AskRomeo.com about a month or so ago and I&#8217;ve got to say, the guy&#8217;s got some great insights&#8230; Give this a listen: Part One: Part Two: Part Three:<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/jO-TL0Cn2MA" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/jae-ellis-interview-ask-romeo/feed/ 0 ask romeo,attracting women,jae ellis,Podcasts,women I did an interview with Jae Ellis of AskRomeo.com about a month or so ago and I've got to say, the guy's got some great insights... - Give this a listen: - Part One: Part Two: Part Three: I did an interview with Jae Ellis of AskRomeo.com about a month or so ago and I've got to say, the guy's got some great insights... Give this a listen: Part One: Part Two: Part Three: John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/jae-ellis-interview-ask-romeo/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~3/A0Jb3TuXP24/ http://www.adonisindex.com/igniting-femininity-with-scot-mckay/#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:29:12 +0000 askbradhoward@gmail.com (Brad Howard) http://www.adonisindex.com/?p=27 Today&#8217;s podcast goes into how men can discover how to IGNITE femininity by being more masculine guys. However, we go over a few of the pitfalls that most men make when trying to be masculine&#8230; and what masculine really entails. For more into an Scot McKay&#8230; you can check out his Leading Man program. (Read [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/adonislifestyle/NwOS/~4/A0Jb3TuXP24" height="1" width="1"/> http://www.adonisindex.com/igniting-femininity-with-scot-mckay/feed/ 1 femininity,Podcasts,scot mckay Today's podcast goes into how men can discover how to IGNITE femininity by being more masculine guys. - However, we go over a few of the pitfalls that most men make when trying to be masculine... and what masculine really entails. - Today's podcast goes into how men can discover how to IGNITE femininity by being more masculine guys. However, we go over a few of the pitfalls that most men make when trying to be masculine... and what masculine really entails. For more into an Scot McKay... you can check out his Leading Man program. (Read and listen to the Leading Man review here) John Barban, Brad Howard no http://www.adonisindex.com/igniting-femininity-with-scot-mckay/ Brad HowardnonadultLove. Looks. Life. Period.