It’s Thanksgiving and you know what that means: food, family, friends and sexy pilgrims. Check out Muscle Milk’s foray into the world of branded entertainment with the world’s first Thanksgiving R&B slow jam.

The video stars Tenacious D member JR Reed and tells the story of the pilgrim who never made it into the history books. Enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving

You’re Welcome via The Sexy Pilgrim

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Photo Credit: Jasonlam

Every year as Thanksgiving gets closer, you’ve probably seen the depressing reports: “Most people gain between 5 and 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“This is the time of year when people celebrate their slowly depreciating life expectancy, via large bottles of whiskey and through gluttonous consumption of very large turkey legs.” - The Fly at ibankcoin.com

I’m not sure if this worries you or not, but a lot of people are terrified about getting fatter in the next two months. They anticipate the workouts falling by the wayside and the holiday food calling out to them irresistibly, defeating even the strongest willpower. There’s good news and bad news about this.

Good news: According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount gained is much more modest – just over a pound.

Bad news: A study by the National Institutes of Health found that this seasonal weight gain – even just a pound – is the kind of weight gain that most people don’t lose when the holidays are over; it simply adds to the “weight creep” that “sneaks up” on you as you get older.

People often wonder how it’s possible to wake up one morning at age 40 or 45 and “suddenly” they’re 30 pounds fatter – or more – than they were in college. Mystery solved.

Of course, some people really do pack it on over the holidays, but whether its a pound or ten pounds, did you ever ask yourself why does holiday weight gain happen at all?

In previous years, I’ve asked my readers and here are some common answers I was given:

Holiday Excuse Survey Says…

“I’m too busy over the holidays to work out as often as usual.”

“I’m more stressed over the holidays, and the food is there, so I eat more.”

“I have at least three parties to attend and then there’s Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s impossible to stay on a diet”

“No one can tell me not to enjoy myself over the holidays so I’m just going to eat whatever I want.”

These answers all have a few things in common:

“Either/Or” Thinking and “Reverse Goal Setting” Exposed

First, they assume that you can EITHER get in better shape OR enjoy yourself, but not both. Stated in reverse: You can either deprive yourself of holiday enjoyments or gain weight, but it has to be one or the other. The truth is, “either/or thinking” is neurotic thinking and a great killer of fitness programs.

Second, these are all excuses or rationalizations. “I’m too busy” for example, is always an excuse, because I have never known someone who was too busy to make time for his her highest life priorities. We all have the same amount of time – 24 hours a day – the real problem is, most people don’t make exercise and healthy eating a priority. And remember, words mean little. Actions reveal a person’s true priorities.

Third, none of these are the real reasons most people gain weight over the holidays to begin with. The real reason is because an intention was never set for the opposite: To get in better shape over the holidays.

Most people set a “goal” to get in worse shape over the holidays. It’s not consciously set, of course, as few people would intentionally set out to get fatter. They simply do it by default. In their minds, they accept that it must be just about impossible to stay in shape with everything going on over the holiday season, so why bother?

Rationing Lies For Holiday Failure

Once the decision has been made, then the rationalizing continues:

“Why should I deprive myself?”
“Family is more important”
“Worrying about diet and exercise during the holidays is neurotic”
“I don’t care if I gain a few pounds, I’m going to enjoy myself anyway”
“It’s only these two or three weeks that I let myself go wild”
“I’ll start the first week in January and lose the weight then.”

As a result of this “negative goal-setting,” they expect to work out less, eat more and gain a few pounds, and they don’t seem to even consider alternatives.

But what would happen if you…

SET A GOAL TO GET IN BETTER shape over the holidays?

What would happen if you decided that it was not an all or nothing proposition and that you could enjoy the holidays and all it has to offer and get in better shape at the same time?

And what if you decided that your health and your body were the highest priorities in your life, because you realized that can’t enjoy anything else in life, including family or holidays, if you don’t have your health?

Here’s what would happen: You’d get in better shape!

I’m not all that different from you just because I’m a bodybuilder and fitness professional. I have many of the same problems, concerns and struggles as you do. Although today I always get in better shape between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, that’s a result of a conscious choice, a close examination of my old belief systems and a lot of action. For me, it all started about eight years ago.

For most of my adult life, I wasn’t much of a traveler and I didn’t enjoy flying or staying in hotels. For one thing, I had so many business commitments in the East Coast health club business, that I seldom left town for long, as I had to “tend to the stores.” But I also had a belief that if I traveled, my workouts and nutrition would suffer. After all, “it would be hard to stick with my usual bodybuilding diet, and I wouldn’t have access to my usual gyms”, I told myself. For these reasons, I never did much travel..

Then I was forced to take some trips for business reasons. Predictably enough, my nutrition and workouts suffered while I was spending time in airplanes and in hotels. With my experience having confirmed my beliefs, I re-affirmed to myself, “See, travelling is nothing but a pain. You just can’t stay on a diet and training program when you’re out of town.”
After several more trips, I noticed that something very negative happened: I surrendered. I had resigned myself to “not bother” while I was on the road. I let my expectations create my reality.

But I didn’t let it go on for long. As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I decided that I wouldn’t tolerate it, so I challenged myself and my previous limiting beliefs. I asked myself, “Why the heck not? Why let myself backslide? Why even settle for maintaining? Why not challenge myself to improve while I’m traveling?” The answer was: There was no good reason, there were only excuses.

From that day forward, I set a challenge for myself…

To come back from every trip or vacation in better shape than when I left.

Of course there were exceptions, as when I went on a vacation for total R & R. But I never let travel get in my way again. I prepared food that I would eat on the planes so airline food was never an excuse… I usually chose hotels that had kitchens, so I could cook my own food. I went food shopping immediately after check-in. I wrote my training schedule and scouted gyms in advance… And I actually found myself training harder than usual.

No matter where I was training – it could even be some “dungeon” of a gym in the middle of nowhere – it didn’t matter because my mind was focused on improving and looking better when I came home than when I left. I had a goal to motivate me!

What do you think happened? It’s not hard to guess: I always came home in better shape than when I left.

Since then, my “travel challenge” has become somewhat of a ritual in my life. When I’m away from my “home-base” it becomes a “fitness road trip.” I search the Internet or yellow pages or ask locals to help me find the most hard-core gym nearby wherever I will be staying (Gold’s Gym works for me!) When I get there, I train every bit as hard as if I had a competition just weeks away. I look forward to it now. In fact, this is what led me to my “holiday fitness challenge” idea.

Like many people, I travel over the holidays, so I’m automatically in “travel challenge” mode at thanksgiving, Christmastime and New Year’s. But with the additional temptations and busyness that the holidays bring on top of the usual travel stresses, I saw fit to declare a new challenge: “The Holiday Challenge.” The difference was that for my “holiday challenge,” I pledged to not only to return home in better shape than when I left, but to enjoy the holidays to the fullest at the same time.

People who think I deprive myself to look the way I do would be shocked: I eat like a KING over the holidays including Pumpkin (or apple) Pie at Thanksgiving and OF COURSE my mom’s famous red and green Jell-O Christmas cake. Then on New Year’s I’m usually toasting champagne and having a blast with friends or family….

The difference is, I don’t eat like that very often.

Every other meal stays right on schedule and I work out hard and consistently over the holidays; I don’t let everything fall apart just because ‘tis the season.’

The idea that you can EITHER enjoy the holidays OR stay in shape – but not both – is wrong, it’s damaging and it’s limiting.

Life is not an either or proposition; it’s a matter of balance.

Success does not mean going to extremes. Success can be a simple matter of re-examining your beliefs, rearranging your priorities, setting goals, changing the questions you ask yourself and re-evaluating your expectations.

Your expectations will become your reality. What are you expecting? Are you expecting success? Are you expecting to be in better shape after holiday parties, celebrations, banquets, dinners, and desserts? If not, then why not? What’s preventing you from enjoying all of the above and still getting in better shape? Do you have a limiting belief which dictates that it’s one or the other? Could it be that you never set a goal, intention or expectation to do it? Could it be that you’re rationalizing or making excuses? If so, then I challenge you to change it this year.

As of this writing, there are less than two months until the end of the year. Why not see how much you can improve your physique over the holidays, without depriving yourself of any holiday enjoyments or festivities? Just step up your expectations. Step up your standards. Step up your nutrition. Step up your training. Step up your action. Step up and accept the “Burn The Fat holiday fitness challengeand see what happens!

That’s right… The First Annual Burn The Fat Holiday Fitness challenge contest is open from Wednesday November 18th to Wednesday November 25th.

Over the course of a “50-Day Burn” which spans all three major holidays – Thanksgiving (US), Christmas and New Year’s – you’ll have the motivation, the accountability and structured program to end the year strong, start the new year on the foot and possibly get in the best shape of your life.

Even better, you’ll be able to eat delicious Holiday Food and enjoy yourself to the fullest at the same time because this is a lifestyle program which allows your favorite foods in moderation and balance.

And the best part of all: I’m sending the winners of the contest to Negril Jamaica to show off their new bodies on the beach in 2010!

Taking the Burn The Fat Challenge is simple. You can enter the contest two ways:

(1) Purchase the Burn The Fat e-book or

(2) Join the Burn The Fat Inner Circle fitness support community (”contest central”)

You’ll be automatically enrolled with either purchase.

Or, if you want ALL the contest details and the FULL list of prizes, visit the contest page.

Press Release

Tom Venuto is an internationally recognized fat loss expert, nutrition researcher

Tom Venuto is an internationally recognized fat loss expert, nutrition researcher, freelance writer and natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder.

Since 1989, Venuto has been involved in virtually every aspect of the fitness and weight loss industry – as a personal trainer, nutrition consultant, motivation coach, fitness model, health club manager and author / writer.

Tom’s popular articles on nutrition, training, fat loss and fitness motivation can be found on hundreds of websites worldwide including Bodybuilding.com, About.com, Lee Labrada’s Lean Body Coaching Club, Christian Finn’s Facts About Fitness.com, Will Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed.com and too many others to list.

Tom has been featured in bodybuilding and fitness magazines including IRONMAN magazine (US, Italian and Australian editions), Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men, Men’s Exercise and Men’s Fitness.

He has also appeared in the mainstream press including Oprah magazine, The Wall Street Journal, First for Women magazine and he has been a guest on dozens of radio shows including Martha Stewart healthy living (Sirius), WCBS-AM and 1250-ESPN.

Tom is the founder and CEO of The Burn The Fat Inner Circle and author of the best-selling e-book, Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle.

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A few days ago, fat loss author/expert Tom Venuto
issued a bold challenge to hundreds of thousands of people…

Basically, he “called them out,” but in a motivating sort of way, that is.

Tom was making an announcement about a new type of fitness transformation challenge contest that will run – get this – through ALL the holidays:

Thanksgiving (US), Christmas and New Years.

He actually suggested that now is the BEST time to transform your body and that procrastinating until New Year’s is a pointless waste of time. If you wanted a better body, why wait, right?

He also said that he thinks its downright “neurotic” to believe that you cant get leaner AND enjoy holiday food at the same time.

According to Tom, that is a form of “EITHER / OR THINKING” which leads many people to procrastination, quitting or self-sabotage.

Tom’s email box practically exploded and his blog comments are nearing 400 and still coming in by the hour and he hasn’t even released the contest prizes list or started the registrations yet.

(Rumor has it, he is sending the contest winners somewhere warm and tropical… a perfect place to show off a new body!)

Tom said he has NEVER seen so much excitement in the fitness community in the 10 years he’s been online.

So what created all the buzz?

Well, Tom simply asked two questions in his premiere fitness contest announcement:

“Are you concerned about dealing with holiday food and drink temptations that might lead you to become one of the “holiday fat gain” statistics?”

“If so…. DO YOU ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE TO GET IN BETTER SHAPE OVER THE HOLIDAYS?”

Hundreds upon hundreds of people raised their hands and said, “YES, I accept the challenge!”

Read  the Full Details of the Challenge

It became clearly apparent to Tom more than ever before, even though he already believed this for years, that what people need more than “another diet program” is MOTIVATION…. INSPIRATION… and a REASON WHY to get up and transform your body!

Maybe, just maybe, if you too say “YES, I accept your challenge, Tom,” a fitness competition over the holidays could be an event that not only keeps you from gaining fat from the season’s indulgences, but could inspire and
motivated you to achieve your best shape of the year, or even the best shape of your life.

And most remarkably, you can do it NOW – DURING the holidays while enjoying the food and festivities (with balance and moderation), and you will NOT be one of the procrastinators who say, “I’ll start after New Year’s day.”

Tom’s Burn The Fat Inner Circle Will be “CONTEST CENTRAL” and he just opened up a new forum where ALL contestants, members AND non-members (contestants only) alike, will converge to post their before/after results, post their journals and all support each other towards an incredible “50-DAY-BURN!”

If you want to be a part of online fitness history and become a contestant in the first-ever 50 Day Burn The Fat Holiday Challenge, you will be instantly eligible for the contest when you join the inner circle:

===>  Burn The Fat Inner Circle

One way to get started: Read or Re-Read Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

If you don’t have the ebook yet, this manual is not only the “bible of fat loss” – it’s a virtual roadmap on how to eat, train and get motivated to win a transformation contest or, simply get yourself in the best shape of
your life

Get Burn The Fat

Anyone who already owns Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is automatically eligible to enter the contest, with no other purchase required.

Registration for the contest will open at the Burn The Fat Inner Circle on Thursday, November 19th.

Watch for more details coming soon.

Until then, here’s a serious and important question for you…

Even if you don’t think you will “officially” enroll in Tom’s Burn The Fat Holiday Fitness Challenge Contest to go after the win, the prizes and the public glory, will you accept the challenge, at least for your own personal motivation to get you though the holiday season and end the year strong?

You can read Tom’s Holiday Fitness Challenge call to arms, and get on the notification list about the contest prizes, rules and instructions by visiting this page:

Take the 50 Day Holiday Challenge

I hope that you take on the challenge!

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

P.S. - Every “fitness pimp” will be doing one of these challenges I’m certain (excluding myself).  Do yourself a favor if you are serious about accepting such a challenge.  Go with the best.

P.P.S. - I have no qualms about recommending the 50 Day Holiday Challenge even to my own mother.

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The Most Important Musle Building Tool

Imagine, for a moment that it’s 6 months from today …

You are frustrated, confused and almost ready to quit the gym.  Everybody is ramping up for the slew of holiday fitness challenges.  You feel compelled to make some kind of change in your fitness routine as you feel nothing works.  You’ve tried everything.  You glance around and see 12 or more “fitness pimp” workout plans.  Those guys.. you want to throw a stone at them.  You’ve spent more money trying to reach your goals through workout plans and dietary supplements that you want to contemplate.  But let’s suppose…

There’s a tool you can use today that you probably are not using to the full potential that would make all those plans work for you.  That would end your frustration.  That won’t cost you a single dime.  Is there such a tool?

Yes!

It is called a workout journal.

As I glanced around my gym today, crowded as usual, I have to tell you.  I was the ONLY person who had a neatly printed out workout journal.  Everybody else had straps, iPods, cell phones and the 1 gallon water jugs.  There were bags skewed around as usual.  Yet in a gym full of 50 or more people, not ONE had a workout journal to track their current and past progress.

Nobody.  None.  Zero.  Zilch.  Need I say more?

How can you expect to make solid fundamental progress if you have NO CLUE as to what you did last week.  Let alone the workout you are about to begin.  Frankly …

If you do not have or use one, it should not come as a surprise as to why you are struggling and frustrated that today is much like the last six months.  Seriously.  In order to make forward progress, the workout you do today has to be in some measurable way harder than the workout you did in the past.  The only way you can know that is to be diligent in tracking what you did before.  Then trying to beat that in some way.  That tracking method is a workout journal!

If you do not have one or use one, get one.  But do not take my word for it.

Sean Nalewanjy talks about the #1 muscle building tool …

Could this be true?

Take The Challenge:

* next time you are in the gym, take a look around.  See who is using any type of workout journal method.

* post your observations in the comments box below.

Most people I know seem to think this is common sense like using a seat belt.  But when confronted with the cold hard truth, almost nobody has this simple tool at their disposal when they need it most.  In the gym, as a reference tool while doing a workout.

So the next time you are frustrated with your progress, rather than slap down yet another $69 dollars on the fitness program of the month plus monthly membership fees (it is the rage now) … go over to Target, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, etc and buy a composition notebook.  I guarantee if you are not using this tool and you start to use it faithfully, there is no way you cannot make progress.

Even if you just did push-ups at home and used this concept, you would notice development in your chest.  Relying on your memory or writing your workout down later is NOT the answer and is not the same.  This is something you will want to have in the gym.  You can later transcribe it to another type of tracking tool if you wish.

Workout Journal’s I Like:

• A composition notebook
• Gym Technik: Mobile Fitness Tracking
• BodySpace
• The Truly Huge Bodybuilding Workout Journal
• Free Printable Workout Log | Exercise & Training Logs
• Mead Composition Book 12-Pack: 100 pages, wide ruled, assorted colors (09918)
• Free Printable Workout Log

Now if you use a workout journal, I applaud you.  But you are making progress right?  If not, a change up in routine is probably all you need to stimulate new growth.  If you are like most of the typical gym-goers (no offense), you do not have one or you do not use one faithfully and that is a serious problem.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

P.S. – I used to keep workout journals for years.  You do need to do that.  You only need to keep one to track your current progress.  Unless you like being able to see many year’s worth of progress, just keep one that records what you have done over the past 4 months.  It will be long enough to see progress or lack thereof and will allow you to make calculated adjustments for future workouts.

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Elliott Husle: Pro Strongman

By Elliott Hulse Co-Creator of Lean Hybrid Muscle

If you’re like me, you probably want nothing more than to feel like a ’super-stud’ every time you take your shirt off in public. You want to have the confidence to say, ‘Boy, this sweaty shirt is chaffin’ me’, then reach over your shoulder and tear your shirt off like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. When you know that your pecs look like two soup bowls inserted beneath your skin, and your abs are as hard the asphalt you stand on, it’s tough to keep your shirt on!

Today you are gonna learn the top 5 training principles that you MUST implement in order to make your physique and performance goals… a reality. But, before I open the info-floodgates, there is something you’ve got to understand. Men… all men, should recognize that we are athletes and our training programs must reflect this.

Even if you’re a ‘pencil pusher’ or a ‘white collar crook’, the essence of your being is athletic. In order to see any type of fitness results it is essential to recognize that Squats, Power Cleans, 40 Yard Dashes and Vertical Jumps are not only for NFL Combine participants… they are for you!

1. You’re An Athlete By Design

The foundation principle of everything that I teach all begins with one extremely powerful phrase: “We are primal beings living in a modern world”

Our physical bodies have been unchanged for thousands of years. In fact, today, our bodies are an exact expression of what our ancestors were over 100,000 years ago. It is believed that it takes about 100,000 years for 0.001percent of a genome to change… so yourself and Primal Man are for all intents and purposes… the same.

What has changed is how WE have chosen to live, if you can even call it that. As we have ‘advanced’ in technology we have regressed in physical strength and stature.

We function at a much lower capacity than were inherently capable of. This is analogous to those people who buy off-road vehicles that will never see anything but concrete! You’ve been given the ultimate athletic tool… use it.

2. Short, Hard and Intense Workouts Yield Lean, Hard and Muscular Bodies

When you spend over an hour in the gym sitting on useless ‘fitness machines’ while you’re waiting to do your ‘next set’…your nervous system’s primal response is to release Cortisol and Glucocorticoids – which are stress hormones, (these make you sick, sad, fat and, stupid) in response to your body thinking… “Holy Cow, we’ve been training for over an hour… perhaps we’re being chased by a tiger and need to preserve body fat”, then it begins sacrificing muscle tissue for energy! This is called The Catabolic Effect. Also, workouts exceeding 1 hour have been shown to be associated with a rapid decrease in androgen levels.

This is why marathon runners look so emaciated… id much rather look like one of those Lock, Stock & Ready Sprinters with muscles rippling across their backs and abs.

3. Aerobics and Cardio Training Is Boring & Ineffective

Strength coach Charles Poliquin has coined the phrase “Chunky Aerobic Instructor Syndrome” (CAIS). You’ve seen them, they do cardio all day long… don’t you think that they would be a bit leaner? Well, there is a scientific reason as to why they are cubby even though they bounce up and down on those colorful blocks all day long. In fact research has shown that aerobic instructors who taught an average of 3 hours a day maintained a body fat of 22-24% – mind you, that Olympic athletes hover around 9%.

Especially with repetitive exercises like aerobics the body adapts quickly to the stimulus and ceases to respond to the stimulus. Also, you begin to become very fuel-efficient… Listen, think of a metabolism that has adapted to long treks of cardio as being a Honda… it burns very little fuel (i.e. fat) but can go miles and miles. Think of a metabolism that is roaring with increased mitochondria activity (as is present in someone who weight trains with circuits) as a Hummer, large fuel combusting metabolism!

Here’s Why this is so important! You want a stronger heart, without the fat saving response of long boring cardio treks. That is why I teach my clients how to do work capacity sets. We take 4-6 exercises and complete them back to back with no rest and aim to complete them all with in about 2 minutes… if your heart is not ready to pound out of your chest after that, then maybe you should visit your veterinarian!

Here’s a simple circuit that you can do at home – first 20 squats, then 20 lunges, then ’step ups’ on a bench 10 each leg, finally do 10 squat jumps and get it all done in less than 90 seconds! Kick-ass workout!

We begin every session with Plyometrics and then get right into 3-5 “work capacity” sets for upper and lower body.

4. Get High on Oxygen & Sunshine

Besides the fact that training on treadmills and ’sit down’ exercise equipment is less effective than getting your feet on the ground and learning how to use your own bodyweight, training indoors can be detrimental to your performance and fitness results.

As ‘primal beings’ we are in need of several vital elements and forms of energy. The suns rays are nourishing to your mind as well as body. It is well documented that those who live in the cooler northern climates that enjoy less sunshine through out the year are several times more likely to suffer from depression.

Also, if you’re like most Americans you work and live indoors (maybe). In fact, the average person spends 90% of their time indoors. Several health experts have propounded that our homes and workplace are the most toxic environments in our lives. Many studies have stated that toxic particles and fumes found in your home and workplace include: air fresheners, spray starch, paints, mothballs and even ‘new car’ smell kills more people every year than automobile accidents!

So, what do you do? Train in the great outdoors! When I train my Strength Camp clients at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg Florida, not only do we benefit from the sweet bay breeze but also the scenery is beautiful enough to give a nun spring fever!

5. It’s Gotta Be Fun!

Drop out rates for exercise programs are almost as high as the drop out rate in my old middle school! The bottom line is, if you don’t enjoy it – you wont do it. The most effective way to ensure that you stick with your training program is to change it often. This doesn’t mean hop from one modality to the next before you get any results. It means stick with your weight-training program for a minimum of 90 day but change the exercises you use for each body part at least every 3 weeks.

This not only keeps you interested but also, your nervous system will be challenged with the new exercises and be forced to adapt. This yields fast and long-lasting results!

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

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Follow Me at Supply Side West

This year when I venture off to Las Vegas for Supply Side West, I’m going to try and be a bit more creative and use some of the cool technology.  Since I’ve got my wonderful BlackBerry Tour, I have the ability to use UberTwitter to Tweet and even post pictures.  So this is not only a fun show (I’ve been several times before) but it will allow me to try and engage interested parties in a way I wasn’t able to do before.

I’m headed to the show November 11, 2009 and will be Tweeting my way thru the show.  Not too much mind you!  I’ll try and keep it interesting and informative.  You can find the simple instructions below on how to keep updated on this event.

What Is Supply Side West:

As I’ve said before, it is a huge expo style show with behind the scenes kinda stuff most fitness pros don’t follow.  This isn’t a show for competitors.  It’s not littered with supplement companies.  This is the show where the suppliers of the ingredients get together to showcase their products and talk to vendors and the likes.

It’s how I keep up to date on what actually goes into that protein shake you are drinking.  It’s my insight into what goes into products, from what country and all the finer details.  It’s much more than a supplement show where all you see are fitness models and packaged goods with LOUD music and annoying claims.

SupplySide West is the world’s largest event for healthy and innovative ingredients. The show features hundreds of exhibitors showcasing thousands of ingredients.

How You Can Follow Me at Supply Side West:

I will be using the hashtag #SSW09 for Twitter posts (aka “Tweets”) concerning this year’s Expo.  If you are a Twitter user, please make sure to add “#SSW09” to all your tweets about the Supply Side West conference.

If you are new to using hashtags, note that you can follow hashtags via our page on Twubs (http://www.twubs.com/ssw09). This makes it easy for you to keep track of all posts about the show, regardless of whether you are following me or the various tweets.

Who knows, I might even be able to stop by a booth or two if you Tweet me your info using the hashtag above.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

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Once again, it was my great pleasure to have Tom Ventuo on another podcast.  A while back, Tom took some time to tell me about his Fat Burn Files.  In this episode, I ask Tom many questions that I’ve received over the years.  They are timeless debates, myths and frustrations that almost everybody who picks up a weight finds themselves facing.

Thank you Tom for spending one hour and 33 minutes of your time sharing the knowledge you’ve obtained in 20+ years of bodybuilding.

Some of the things we covered on this call:

• How many hours does Tom Venuto spend training?
• Does he ever skip meals or make mistakes?
• Can you change your body time over time?
• The importance of goal setting
• When to cut and when to bulk
• Split routines vs. full body
• Tom’s award winning cardio for leanness
• Muscle building plateau busting ideas
• and much much more!

Listen to the Audio Interview or Download the Entire Episode.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Tom Venuto is an internationally recognized fat loss expert, nutrition researcher

Tom Venuto is an internationally recognized fat loss expert, nutrition researcher, freelance writer and natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder.

Since 1989, Venuto has been involved in virtually every aspect of the fitness and weight loss industry – as a personal trainer, nutrition consultant, motivation coach, fitness model, health club manager and author / writer.

Tom’s popular articles on nutrition, training, fat loss and fitness motivation can be found on hundreds of websites worldwide including Bodybuilding.com, About.com, Lee Labrada’s Lean Body Coaching Club, Christian Finn’s Facts About Fitness.com, Will Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed.com and too many others to list.

Tom has been featured in bodybuilding and fitness magazines including IRONMAN magazine (US, Italian and Australian editions), Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men, Men’s Exercise and Men’s Fitness.

He has also appeared in the mainstream press including Oprah magazine, The Wall Street Journal, First for Women magazine and he has been a guest on dozens of radio shows including Martha Stewart healthy living (Sirius), WCBS-AM and 1250-ESPN.

Tom is the founder and CEO of The Burn The Fat Inner Circle and author of the best-selling e-book, Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle.

Websites Referenced on the Interview:

www.burnthefat.com
www.thebodyfatsolution.com
www.burnthefatinnercircle.com
www.bodybuildingsecrets.com
www.richiesmyth.com

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Blood Energy Potion

Being in the fitness industry for several years now, I’ve seen all kinds of crazy supplements.  From Acai Berry, Goji juice, NO2 products, Super-Whey and anything else you can name.  But I honestly don’t recall drinking a blood like substance in a bag to hit the radar in some time.

Maybe it’s hoax?  I don’t know but somehow I think it’s real.  I’m not about to review this one but I thought.. there must be a bodybuilding vampire that reads my blog.  And if so, they probably need to know about the Blood Energy Potion.

From the website… Urban Collector

“Blood Energy Potion is our newest pre-order. New from the makers of Mana and Health Energy Potion comes Blood Energy Potion: the world’s first synthetic blood beverage. The fruit punch flavor packs 4 hours of energy along with iron, protein, and electrolytes. Not only does Blood Energy Potion have a similar nutritional makeup to real blood, but it has the same color, look, and consistency of blood. Get real blood nutrients without that real blood taste! The re-sealable transfusion bag style pouch provides the convenient delivery of fluids for vampires and humans alike! Contains no real blood, just synthetic!”

It comes in a re-seablable transfusion bag?!  What else do you want?

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

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Frank Zane (classic bodybuilder) next to Markus Ruhl (current).

TWO SIMPLE QUESTIONS:

1. Which look do you prefer if any?
2. Is there such a thing as too big?

Submit your comments in the box below.

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

P.S. - I don’t have the information on who created this photo. But I’d be more than happy to give credit where credit is due.  I just can’t find a source.  If there is one, I’ll update this post to reflect that fact.

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Photo Credit: Jill

When it comes to packing on muscle quickly, the fastest way to do that involves being in a slight calorie surplus.  But many people take this to mean, “Just eat” and eat lots and don’t worry about it.

If You’ve Been Told:

* eat everything you can to gain weight

* eat, eat and eat some more

* eating anything is faster than eating clean

* just eat damn it!

* don’t worry about getting fat on a bulk, it’s normal

Then you NEED to read the rest of this article.  You’ve been told some bad advice by people who probably don’t realize that gaining all that extra fat just won’t go away.  What’s that?  You can’t just burn it off later?  Or take these common examples…

Sadly, the skinny guy or gal, is still skinny but has a nice layer of stomach fat.  Not exactly the bulking they were hoping for when they were told to eat everything under the sun.  Or the average guy, starts lifting heavy and couldn’t be bothered with nutrition.  He/She just knows to EAT and eat lots and notices their strength going up but they are a bit fatter.  But don’t care.  That’s what it’s about.  They think “I’ll cut later and burn all this fat off later.”

In previous attempts, I’ve talked about the concept of Dirty Bulking and the term Lazy Bodybuilding evolved.

Let me explain…

If you want to put on the most muscle possible, you would engage in what’s called a ‘bulking’ diet. That is where you eat 10-15% over your maintenance level calories. The rate of muscle growth can be quite rapid at this level of caloric intake, but the rate of fat gain can often be as high as the rate of muscle gain (a 1:1 ratio).

So why would you ever want to gain fat along with the muscle?   You don’t but it’s inevitable.  Your goal is to minimize any fat gains by eating over your maintenance but only by a small amount. Not pig out or have an excuse to eat everything.  You will gain the maximum amount of muscle possible only if you stay in a caloric surplus. People who want to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time have to alternate periods of caloric surplus with periods of caloric deficit and therefore will gain muscle much more slowly.  Or they live a low-carb, higher protein diet to build muscle and lose fat.  Which works but again, is difficult to maintain and not the method used for maximum muscle growth.

Fat is part of the game and you just bulk up.  Eventually you notice you are getting more fat.  But that’s just par for the course right?

Let me tell you right now, that is a very costly mistake.  I’ve made mention that putting on fat is unavoidable, but you’ll want t:

*  keep a lid on it

*  monitor it and

*  back if off if things get out of control

I’ve seen and watched too many people go from 10% body fat to nearly 21% and CONVINCED themselves it’s just normal for a bodybuilder to plump up during the off-season.  That being fatter is normal and they’ll just cut up and get rid of it later.

What they don’t realize is the following as pointed out by Lyle McDonald, author of The Stubborn Fat Solution.  Lyle has a degree in exercise physiology from the University of California in Los Angeles, graduating in 1993. He’s dedicated nearly 20 years of his life to studying human physiology and the art, science, and practice of human performance, muscle gain, fat loss, and body recomposition.  He’s qualified to offer up the #1 reason why gaining excessive fat as an athlete is something you want to avoid.

Consider what Lyle says about body fat on Pages 8-9 of The Stubborn Fat Solution.

“There’s an old (and incorrect) idea that adult humans don’t make new fat cells.  That is, and I’ll discuss this more in a bit, you get born wit a certain number of fat cells and you may develop more at puberty or during pregnancy but that’s it; your body doesn’t make new fat cells.  Everything in that sentence is true except the last statement; even non-pregnant adults can make new fat cells.

Usually this happens when the fat cells you have reach a certain size; that is, they are as full as they can physically be.  When this occurs, the actual stretching of the fat cell stimulates the release of factors, such as Angiotensin II, prostacylin and others, which ‘tell’ the body to make new fat cells.

Unfortunately, getting rid of fat cells is nearly (but not completely) impossible.

If there is a single reason for athletes not to get too fat in the first place, this is probably it: if your fat cells get too big, your body will make new ones.  And it’s nearly impossible to get rid of the new ones.  If you are a lean athlete looking to gain weight (and realizing you must gain some body fat to do it effectively), you should keep a lid on that fat gain.  You don’t want to stimulate your body to make new fat cells.”

Your Key Take Away Point:

Your body can and will make new fat cells at any age. It’s nearly impossible to get rid of them (short of liposuction: gives credence to that practice in some ways). You can shrink them but the goal is, not to make them in the first place.  So you bulkers and gainers, monitor your progress!  Adding 10% body fat is NOT the goal!

Marc David
“The NoBull Muscle Guy”
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

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