Photo Credit: Kyle May

This can’t be?  A report from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). called “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America” released obesity statistics for 2008.

What You Need to Know:

• Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in 2008
• The percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30% in 30 states

Two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20%. In 1980, the national average for adult obesity was 15%. Sixteen states experienced an increase for the second year in a row, and 11 states experienced an increase for the third straight year.

As far as I’m concerned, as fitness professionals we are FAILING.  It’s not for the lack of trying or effort.  But the cause isn’t just adults.  There’s a very good interview with Jack LaLanne called Blazing Trails.

Let me leave you with what Jack said…

On one hand, I’m very encouraged by the number of people exercising today. There are more people exercising than I’ve ever seen before. On the other hand, there are more fat people today than ever before in our nation’s history. Our message isn’t reaching as many people as it needs to. We should be talking to kids in kindergarten and first grade. We should be teaching them about physical activity and nutrition. It’s just as important for developing their brains as is reading, writing and arithmetic. ~ Jack LaLanne

What Can You Do About It?

If you’ve got children, talk to them.  Learn how to read a nutrition label.  It’s great adults want to become healthy but if childhood obesity is already at 30%, those statistics will only rise.

View The Full Report with Obesity Statistics per State

How would you solve this problem?

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

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Like why they’ve heard Creatine is a steroid?  Or how come Brand X protein causes a roid rage when taken by somebody male who’s young?  Or that high protein diets CAUSE kidney stones.

The answer is quite obvious.

Consumers for the most part, put forth very little effort into supplement research. To complicate matters, they don’t even know where to begin to do any research.  Most people get advice about supplements from 3 places:

* friends or friends of friends

* forums

* clerks who work at supplement shops

It’s the ONE thing fitness professionals online don’t want to talk about like religion, sex or politics.  Yet they all know the client will eventually start asking questions or learn about supplements.

At this point I see most fitness professionals do 2 things:

Choice #1: Recommend the very basis without brand names (that’s been my standard for years)

Choice #2: Recommend some supplements from their buddies shop (hell if you are going to buy them anyway, I might as well make some money).

Are you surprised that Choice #2 is what I personally see most of the time?

Why I choose choice #1 is simple.  I don’t know you well enough to tell you what substances to put into your body.  I will not recommend things without YOU doing some minimal research yourself.  I’ll be more than open and honest about my own supplement schedule as it does help some people but I’m not about to start flat out recommending things to people.

In my signature, the nickname that was given to me about 2 years ago was “The NoBull Muscle Guy.”  Mainly it’s because I am willing to tell you things nobody else wants to talk about and I’ll say what you don’t want to hear.

While there are exceptions to the rule…

I don’t take financial advice from the shoe guy at Ross and you guys shouldn’t be taking supplement advice from the clerks at the supplement shops.

You should ONLY be going in there because you KNOW two things.

#1:  What you want (brand, ingredients, ect)

#2:   Price you are willing to pay

Again, while there are exceptions to the rule, generally speaking people there know nothing more than personal experience and/or “Bro Logic” (phrase used by Will Brink) about supplements.  Being part of this blog, you should step into those shops with some knowledge of what you need.  You don’t just randomly go in, ask some person without any qualifications.. about what works for your body type.

Not only will you get ripped off, bad advice, but you could end up taking something that gives you an adverse reaction.  Who knows.

Go there with PURPOSE.

* Get in
* Get Out

If they don’t have what you need, either ask when a shipment will be in stock (they can look that up right) and then thank them and leave.  Don’t ask about creatine and kidney stones or why and how Creatine might cause a roid range.

Laugh that off quietly and Twitter about it later!

But if you are legitimately concerned.. CALL THE COMPANY in question.  Go to the source.  If there are reports of adverse effects, the FDA requires companies to record that and report.  ASK.  It’s your right and their obligation.  You have to take supplement research a bit more serious than browsing at a store.  You are putting stuff into your body and you should know something about it.

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

P.S. - I wrote a very lenghtly post about How to Evaluate a Supplement. I suggest you read it and do your research before just buying the latest and greatest or what Joe/Sally said on some forum.  You’ll end up with more money in your pocket and feeling smarter.

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Photo Credit: John Jeddore

I’ll refrain from talking about brand names and such as I think we all have our opinions on those and many times price is a factor.

I’m also not posting this list to preach about the benefits of supplements.  The post title is “What Supplements Do You Take” and I’m merely answering.  This list is complete for June 2009.

This isn’t my schedule but rather a framework.  And please keep in mind.. these are supplements meant to supplement an outstanding nutritional program.  I do not use this list to fill in gaps or substitute or my lack of proper eating.  It’s in addition to … not in place of.

So let’s begin…

My Foundational Supplements:

These are supplements I take daily with meals (not all meals), regardless of training.

* Multi-vitamin
* Essential Fatty Acid complex (EPA/DHA)
* Joint Matrix
* Digestive Enzymes
* Udo’s Oil 3-6-9 Omegas (plant sourced)
* Beta-Glucan
* ZMA

My Picks for Performance/Muscle Building Supplements:

My selection at this time for pre-workout and post-workout recovery.  I’ve tried drinking various energy combinations during a workout (Waxy Maize, Vitargo, water beyond a sip at the drinking fountain, etc) and found it to be bothersome.  My workouts don’t last long enough that I need energy during the workout itself.  I’ve got reserves for 60 minutes of high intensity training.

This section is the most critical for me.  If I can have enough energy to do a very high intensity workout AND I can recovery quickly, my gains will be staggering.

When I do not have a session that involved weight training, this list shrinks a lot.

-Some things are bulk, raw materials that aren’t available for end line consumers. –

* Whey protein
* Creatine
* Vitargo S2
* L-Leucine
* Muscle Milk
* Monster Milk/Mass
* Monster Amino
* Monster Pump
* Beta-Alanine
* Provon 290 whey protein isolate

My Optional Supplements:

Things I’ve found beneficial and I take at irregular times.  I am a coffee drinker and I switch to green tea.  Not for the metabolic effects but for the pick me up of caffeine and the other associated benefits with green tea.

* Caffeine
* Green tea
* Cytomax

Cytomax is something I found useful in 2 specific categories:

a) when attempting to do a high volume, high intensity leg workout such as the Quad Hobbler posted by Tom Venuto.  It’s the only solution I will consider drinking during the actual workout besides sipping water.  Anything that is “endurance” related which can be some weight training workouts believe it or not.

b) taken long after workouts but before bed on high intensity days to eliminate cramps.  Leg cramps plague me.  This is the only solution I’ve found that eliminates it almost immediately.

And that concludes this lengthy list on what supplements I currently take.

I’d like to know what supplements you take if any.  Please post your comments below.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to update this post when things change or I go home and swallow a pill and realize I didn’t post it here.

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

QUESTION:

You said you don’t need to take supplements to build muscle?  At least that is what your book claims along with everybody else in this industry.  Are you contradicting yourself?

ANSWER:

You do not. I was asked what I personally took, and I responded when most other professionals will not.  I’m not a supplement pusher but I’m not a supplement hater.   You only need handwork, consistency and adequate food intake coupled with recovery to build muscle and burn fat.  I said that, others say it and I stand by it.

QUESTION:

What supplements should I take?

ANSWER:

I’ve got no idea what you should take given your personal financial situation, your work ethic, your age, any medications or other complications and/or needs.  Recommending supplements to people isn’t something I do for a variety of reasons.  One being, I might be fine taking Product A when you have an allergic reaction.  I think sticking to the basics is the best idea.  Beyond that, if your diet is nearly perfect, that’s the time you can put forth some honest effort into making a plan for yourself.  Cookie cutter list of supplements to take is like giving cookie cutter financial advice.  Most people LOSE.  It may or may not pertain to them.  They end up frustrated and upset.  Hence, I make these recommendations for ME and me only.  Not you.  Re-read that this is for informational purposes only.

QUESTION:

How come other fitness guys don’t post this?

ANSWER:

I don’t know.  I’d guess the same reason they don’t post a lot of things.  They create images and often live different lives.  What you see in this blog, my personality, my preferences for a training style, my opinions.. is how I live.  All the time (except when I’m sleeping).  I take supplements personally and therefore, I don’t create some illusion I don’t.  But I don’t run around pushing them on people and I don’t give out recommendations as I don’t know your history among other things.  It’s a question I get all the time and it’s always the one I can’t answer perfectly.

QUESTION:

Where can I buy… <any supplement>  How come you don’t post links?

ANSWER:

Because I’m not making recommendations.  This is a list post.  For informational purposes.  Disclosure.  For curious minds.  Not me trying to encourage you or direct you anywhere.  People asked, I responded.  That’s it.

QUESTION:

Where can I learn more about the science behind supplements IF I choose to take this path?

ANSWER:

I wrote a very lenghtly post about How to Evaluate a Supplement. I suggest you read it and do your research before just buying the latest and greatest or what Joe/Sally said on some forum.  You’ll end up with more money in your pocket and feeling smarter.

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Listen to the Audio Interview or Download the Entire Episode.

If you are subscribed to this blog, you will automatially se the interivew in your feed and/or be able to sync with your podcast software like iTunes.

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

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Monster Milk RTD

Cytosport’s latest edition to the Monster line… Monster Milk RTD is finally live! As of June 11th, 2009, Cytosport ran their first batches of this high quality, high content protein aimed at the bodybuilder who wants it all, in a single RTD container.

IMPORTANT:

Each bottle is 2.5 servings!  This is ideal for 50% 1hr before a workout and 1hr after.
But keep in mind.. this is TWO and a HALF servings.

Monster Milk RTD Flavors:

• Vanilla
• Chocolate
• … more?

Monster Milk RTD Supplement Facts: (Photo of Supplement Label)

At 310-350 calories and 50g of protein per bottle, this  a pre-workout and post-workout nutritional supplement that covers all the bases.  It’s not carb loaded, but you will get 18g per bottle.  At 45g of high quality protein (multi-source whey and casein blends) the natural bodybuilder is going to be quite anabolic pre and post workout.  Which is exactly what you want.

Of course you’ll get plenty of aminos and a dose of creatine.

9g of lean lipids coming from MCT’s, sunflower oil and canola oils.

5g of fiber is typical of functional foods.  Adding fiber is a good thing.  And at 5g it’s enough to make a difference but not so much as to cause a problem.  Those of use who eat our servings of starchy carbs (fruits and vegetables) are probably covered but 5g may be just enough to kick somebody to the daily allowance.  Not a bad thing in any case.

More Than Your Average Protein Shake

Supplement Facts Quick Sheet:

Serving Size: 8 fl. oz. (237mL)
Servings per container: 2.5

Amount per Serving:

Calories: 120
Calories from fat: 30
Total Fat: 3.5g
Total Carbohydrates: 5g
Protein: 18g

Cytosport is in Benecia, California.  Which means.. this product is indeed MADE in the USA.

More Photos from Flickr

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

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Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle makes some outrageous claims, has a bunch of larger-than-life testimonials, and costs more than your average hardcover book. When scrolling through the (very long) official website, your mind will be racing with questions wondering if it’s a scam or a legitimate program, because you have to admit, the concept behind the program is very intriguing.

It’s getting harder every day to distinguish the legitimate fat loss programs from the ones that are nothing but scams, so…

Before you decide to purchase Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, let’s put it to the test.

First, the author, Tom Venuto has been featured on hundreds of websites as well as in magazines such as Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness, Ironman, Men’s Exercise and Men’s Fitness. Tom is also the author of a hardcover national best-seller, The Body Fat Solution (Penguin/Avery books). There was even a blurb about his latest book in Oprah Magazine.

Venuto is a bodybuilder – in fact, his whole system is based on “fat-burning secrets of bodybuilders and fitness models.”  Looking at his pictures, you can see that he is beyond good shape, the guy is jacked and six-packed.  You’d be tempted to scream “Steroids” except that Venuto says he’s lifetime natural and has competed in drug-tested competitions for more than 20 years.

After a little more research, you’ll find that Burn The Fat was released in 2002 and was the #1 e-book best-seller for 4 years in a row. Most Internet weight loss programs haven’t even been around that long, let alone topped the charts that long. Also, New York City publishers and major magazines like Men’s Fitness don’t give the time of day to fly-by-night Internet marketers, so there’s some credibility.

But the real question is, does the program actually work?

The claim made by Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is that bodybuilders and fitness models are the leanest athletes in the world. Venuto himself was 3.7% body fat at one point (note: on the day of a contest). Therefore, says Venuto, if you find out how bodybuilding, fitness and figure competitors get so lean and you do the same thing, you will get the same results. It makes sense. However, there’s no magic solution here.

From reading Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, you learn that you won’t get 6-pack abs or a body like a fitness model by training a few minutes a day and eating junk. You learn that to get lean you have to change your lifestyle and adopt new habits to replace the old ones that made you fat. You learn that to get “ripped” it takes an even more regimented nutrition program.

When looking at the Burn The Fat website, you’ll see a home page plastered with testimonials from people of all ages. Since it’s impossible to be sure these testimonials/people are real, a little outside research is in order. What you’ll find on a web search is a free discussion forum called the Burn The Fat Facebook group, which has several thousand members who support each other to implement the program. You’ll also find several Burn The Fat Yahoo groups. There is also a paid online support community (sponsored by Venuto), called the Burn The Fat Inner Circle, with thousands of members using the Burn The Fat system. Membership to this site is optional and doesn’t come with the e-book.

With a little more online research, it’s easy to find positive reviews and before and after photos of people who have successful used Burn The Fat to lose weight. You’ll also find some YouTube videos and blogs devoted to chronicling the training journals and nutrition programs of fat burners.

It’s hard to dispute that Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is one of the most established fat loss programs online.  Not only is third party proof all over the Internet, this program has been around since 2002. A program just can’t survive that long on the web if there isn’t good word of mouth. And of course, we know this method has worked for bodybuilders for decades.

The final question then becomes, will it work for YOU?

Burn The Fat, Feed The  Muscle is a best seller and there’s proof that it works.  But it will probably appeal the most to a certain kind of person.  First, it takes effort and a significant time investment.  It trades focus, dedication and hard work to get significant, permanent and natural fat loss (as opposed to some rapid fat loss programs where you’re required to take drugs or supplements and where the weight is a lot more likely to come back).

Another thing to know is that the main focus of the e-book is on nutrition, and it requires counting calories and crunching numbers to create menu plans. There’s a lot of value in that kind of precision, but this approach may not be for everyone.  Some people prefer to just estimate portion sizes. Burn The Fat is probably ideal for people who need structure, enjoy planning and are detail-oriented (accountants, engineers, math buffs and other analytical types will be in seventh heaven). If you like to know WHY you’re doing something instead of just being told WHAT to do, you’ll appreciate the detail in the 300+ pages.  It’s definitely thorough. Encyclopedic even.

Here’s the bottom line:

If you want a quick fix weight loss solution, if you’re looking for what pill to take or if you’re not willing to exercise, then Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is probably not for you.

On the other hand, if you’ve tried all the diet trends and fads, if you really want to know the (sometimes uncomfortable) truth about fat loss and if you have the discipline to make lifestyle changes, then you’ll find Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle to be an excellent investment that delivers what it promises – you burn off the fat, you keep your muscle and you don’t have to starve yourself to do it.

It may not be for everyone, but it’s no scam. Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is legitimate and effective. You can learn more at the official website at http://www.BurnTheFat.com

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

P.S. - Want a chapter by chapter review?  This is one of the longest, most detailed reviews of each chapter of Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle.  Click here to read the EXTREME  Review.

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Imagine how nice it would be to know how long it might take to be “swimsuit” ready. You’d know when to start getting cut for the summer and roughly how long it might take.

How many people ask…

How long will it take me to lose weight?

By using some information in your body composition, it’s easy to tell how long does it take to lose weight.

Just a few steps can take you from a body fat percentage to the number of weeks it’s going to take you to reach your goals.

You might know how to burn the fat, but do you know how long will it take me to lose weight? Let’s find out right now.

Keep in mind that your body is made up of lean body mass and fat. If you know you are 40% body fat, the conclusion would be the other 60% is lean body mass (muscle and bone).

If you know the correct description of weight loss then you’ll know it’s the reduction of body fat while maintaining or gaining muscle mass.

Let’s use a short term and realistic goal of a 5% reduction in body fat for these examples. A few simple calculations and we can translate this goal into pounds and how long it’s going to take to achieve your goal.

Calculate How Much Does Your Fat Weight:

(Example Client is male, 220 pounds, 40% body fat)

Step 1: Determine the Fat Weight

Body Weight x Body Fat Percentage (220 x 40% = 88)

In our example, this person is carrying 88 pounds of fat.

Step 2: Determine the Lean Body Mass

Body Weight – Fat Weight (220 – 88 = 132)

132 pounds are from lean body mass in our example.

Now here comes the fun part finding your ideal weight with that 5% reduction in overall body fat.

Calculate Your Goal Weight:

Step 1: Your Goal Weight

Lean Body Mass / (1.00 minus Body Fat Percentage Goal)

In our example, the person carries 132 pounds of lean body mass. The body fat percentage goal is 35% (5% body fat reduction).

132 / (1.00 – .35) = 132 / .65 = 203 pounds

Do you see it? 203 pounds is the goal weight for a person who’s 220 pounds at 40% body fat that wants to reduce their body fat by 5%.

Calculate How Long It Will Take to Burn the Fat:

Step 1: Current Weight – Goal Weight

That means 220 pounds – 203 pounds = 17 pounds body fat reduction.

Based on the accepted standard of one pound per week, this person is looking at about 17 weeks to go from 220 pounds at 40% body fat to 203 pounds at 35% body fat while maintaining their 132 pounds of lean body mass.

Remember, you want to burn the fat, but keep the muscle.

And now you know, it’s going to take 17 weeks to see the expected results. 5% is a short term, safe goal and at one pound a week, you’ll have a very high rate of muscle retention.

Not only do you know how to burn the fat thru nutrition and exercise, but unlike most people, you can find out how long it will take to see the results you want.

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

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Monster Amino | Monster Maize | Monster Pump

In 2009, Cytosport released a new line of products called “Monster.”  Their intent was to cater to the high end bodybuilder who wanted the best quality stuff.  The first born was Monster Mass.

Mid-2009, Cytosport has done it again with 3 new family members!

Welcome…

Monster Amino: 5000mg BCAA Goodness!

Monster Amino by Cytosport

Let’s not get too technical as I’ve not done a full taste test yet but here’s what the label claims:

• L-Lsoleucine 1.25g
• L-Leucine 2.5g
• L-Valine 1.25g

Sure there’s some calories upwards of 120 but less than 1g of sugar.

Monster Pump: 17g + Cellular Volumizing Complex

Monster Pump by Cytosport

This is obviously a pre-workout formula.

Monster Maize: 40g of Complex Carbs

Monster Maize by Cytosport

Is this the next super carb?  If you read Will Brink’s summary about Waxy Maize it may give you some insight.  However, what I can say about Cytosport is they deliver top quality products and if the content isn’t up to par, a few customer calls usually get things moving in the right direction.

And there you have it.. without a taste test yet.  Without any photos of the actual labels.. these are the new line of Monster products code named…

Monster Amino

Monster Pump

Monster Maize

Combined with Monster Mass,  you technically have the full line of pre/during/post workout nutrition covered to the hilt.  Yes, there’s a nice diagram on the back of when exactly to take the products and in which order.  Something that I’ve found lacking with other lines unless you scoure the website.

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

PS - There will be a taste test and more information on each product for those interested.

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Hugo: So, that’s nutritional blunder number four. And the fifth one… the fifth one is actually one that my good friend Lee Labrada gave me one time. And keep in mind; he is the president of his company Labrada Nutrition. And I asked him in a candid interview, very much like this one, what was it that he felt was the most important supplement in a body builder’s program? Now, keep in mind he is the president of a supplement company. And he told me the most important supplement in a body builders program is water. Can you believe that! So, that leads us to the next blunder which is not drinking enough water. A lot of newbies, especially when they are teenagers, just so much miss this point, OK. And water is what makes up most of the muscle. So, therefore, if your whole body is like 56% water, just make sure that you go ahead and drink your water. How much water do you need? Well, just calculate your body weight times 0.66, and that is going to give you a number that’s going to be roughly in ounces and that is how many ounces you need to drink away.

So, let say an example I am 200 pounds, and if you go ahead and multiply that times 0.66 that gives you 132 ounces, which is roughly a little bit more than a gallon of water a day. So, definitely, definitely make sure that you go ahead and drink your water. Because if you don’t drink your water, you are going to go ahead and get into a catabolic state, which means you are going to loose some muscle tissue.

There are studies after studies that indicate that a well hydrated muscle cell is a more anabolic muscle cell. And the reverse is also true. So, a dehydrated muscle cell is a catabolic muscle cell that is at the expense of catabolic forces like cortisol, which will go ahead and break down the muscle tissue to just release some energy. So, that’s not exactly what we want. So, let’s make sure that we are drinking the water. It’s good for you and it just makes you get awesome pumps at the gym. Especially, if you are taking like nitric oxide boosters   and this is not even related to the question. But, if you are taking nitric oxide boosters and you are not drinking water, you will notice that the boosters are not going to go ahead and work for you.

Even some supplements, if you are not drinking enough water it’s just going to go ahead and kill their effectiveness. It’s very important to drink the water.

And that to me are the top five nutritional blunders out there. And I am sure that there are many more, but those are the top five that come to my head.

Marc: Those are perfect. That’s absolutely what I think. A lot of people need to hear… specially, get them back to the basics. Even myself, a lot of times you think “I already know that.” Even though you are not doing it because you know it, you are not focusing on it and you start to skip it. And so, going back and just making sure that you are doing these minimal sets of things when it comes to your nutrition. If it just helps one person out there, then that’s all I can ask for. Which kind of leads me into a different portion of your training… Here’s what happens for a lot of beginners, intermediates and advanced. They find some program, wherever it be, and they are doing it, and they just keep doing it and doing it and doing it. And they are not really sure of how often would you suggest changing your routine?

Hugo: As a matter of fact  a lot of beginners are not even aware that they need to change their routine. And it’s funny, because they come to me typically, and they are like “Oh man, I have been doing this awesome chest work, and it gave me great gains in the beginning and then it stopped working.” And my next question is how long have you been doing it for? “Oh, for like a year.” I am like, “[shock] Well, you got to change it.” They are like” Oh, but it worked great at the beginning, and I got it from this magazine. And such and such body builders say it works great…” I am like, “Yeah, it was. But, your body got used to it.” So, this leads to the following principle, which is that your body will go ahead and adapt to anything that you put it through. So, therefore, the more advanced you become, the more critical it becomes that you change your routine often. To answer your question, I typically recommend that beginners go ahead and change their routine every three to four weeks. And beginners, especially, don’t have to do much. I mean, a true beginner that has never been at the gym and is doing a full body workout can do with six weeks of the same body workout and they will get awesome, awesome gains.

And the reason for that is because the body has never been put under the stress of weight training. So, therefore, the nervous system is adapting and there’s a whole bunch of other adaptations that I am not going to bore you with. But, the fact is that they can keep the same routine for six weeks. After six weeks, they can go ahead and change it, and then keep whatever new routine they have for the next four weeks. You know progressing them, if that is what they wish to do, into more advance stuff like spilt routines and that sort of thing.

Now, for say a person that has been training now for a solid six months, and they are doing great and they want to gain more mass and they want to get more strength and definition. Then I will suggest that they change the routine every three to four weeks. And, typically, what I do, as I teach in my Body Re Engineering program, is that they change it every three weeks. And it’s not just changing for the sake of changing, I very much believe in the concept of periodization. Which sounds way more technical and complicated then what it is.

All it is is that you are going to change the variables of your exercises, your sets, your repetitions and your rest in between sets, in a few phases. And the three phases that I have are the active recovery phase   which I alluded to initially in this interview. Which is basically two days of full body workouts, you know, and then in the middle of those days, maybe, like some light aerobic activity. And then, that phase is followed by what I call the loading phase.

A loading phase is a higher repetition phase, you know, 10 to 15 repetitions   just speaking on average   and then sets. You know I may start with eight sets per body part and then take it all the way up to, like, 10 to 14 sets, even   14 for the most advanced of us but, typically, 12 sets should suffice. And I rest very little in between sets. Most of the time super setting just antagonistic muscle groups   meaning, chest and back, bi’s and tri’s that sort of thing.

And these are very fast paced routines, they will tax your aerobic system, and you would really be feeling pumped and just going through them rather quickly. By the end of the three weeks, what I do is, every week I go ahead and increase the volume a little bit. And then by the end of the three weeks, I will get your body almost to the point of overtraining. And then I just simply back off. What I do is that I cut the sets. I cut the repetitions but increasing the weight. And I also increase the recovery in between sets.

And I do that very effectively. What I do is that I will always train with antagonistic muscle groups. So, for instance, I will go ahead and do an inclined bench. And I will do a set of six to eight repetitions. Then I will rest a minute and a half and then do some weight or pull ups. Do six to eight repetitions, rest a minute and a half, and go back to the inclined bench.

In this manner, I’ve rested over three minutes for the same exercise, but I kept on moving forward, not cooling down and not wasting time at the gym, because I’ve always felt that resting for three minutes way pretty much unbearable.  But, in this manner, what I’m doing is, during those three weeks of heavier training, more rest in between sets and less volume, the body kind of catches up, and it responds by over adapting and creating more muscle tissues at an accelerated rate, and also creating more strength, which is necessary to increase muscle mass.

So then after that period I just go back to like a week, or two if I feel over trained, of active recovery training. Then, you know, start back up. So, in that manner, I suggest changing you training routine like every three weeks or so.

Marc: Well, you’ve got to get this question a lot; and I know I get it a lot, and you try to write FAQs and you try to write articles and do podcasts, but it seems like every other month, there is something new on the horizon with fat loss supplements. So, what is your personal feeling on that? I know some competitive bodybuilders, and this is where the split comes in; they do use things like that because, heck, they are willing to take any edge they can to chemically enhance their metabolism or fat burning. But, what we’re talking about here is not the competitive bodybuilder, but like you said, the guy of the gal who just wants to look better and be fit. And they are frustrated, and all of the sudden they are getting bombarded with fat loss supplements. What’s your take on that?

Hugo: I’ll tell you what, and this is something that I can tell you since I visit so many of these stores and I talk to the staff and I talk to the people visiting them. There is a huge misconception that if you take these fat loss supplements, you don’t need to diet, and you don’t need to do cardio or workout as hard. Let me tell you something. That is absolutely not the case.

If you lose fat you’re diet better be right on where it’s supposed to be, you better be weight training hard, you better be doing your cardiovascular exercise. And then maybe you go ahead and get a good fat loss supplement that may help you by giving you a little bit more increased energy, some appetite suppression and, you know, simply helping you with neurotransmitter activity in the brain so that you don’t feel as lethargic during the dieting process and thing like that. But, other than that, none of these diet supplements are anything magical at all. As a matter of fact, unfortunately, most of them are just down right garbage, in my opinion. And they are just glorified caffeine pills.

Keep in mind that caffeine has many names, you have caffeine, you have guarana, kola nut, you have cocoa powder. You have a whole bunch of names, a whole bunch of herb where you can extract caffeine from. So, you could, in theory, have a fat loss supplement with like ten different ingredients all being really just caffeine, you know? So you take this stuff and you feel awesome, and you like “Oh my Go, oh my God. This is like great, this is working awesome,” but you’re taking is a really expensive caffeine pill.

So, a lot of these supplements are not based on science at all. There are very few companies out there that have some decent supplement, and those are the ones that maybe you should consider taking. But, as far as fat loss supplements go, there are no magical ones that I have ever some across, that will go ahead and do this humongous difference in you physique, you know?

Marc: Yep, I understand. And you also alluded to how important nutrition was regardless of what you goal was. Whether building muscle, or losing fat. But, even in your case, or your friends, or clients that you’ve worked with; do you see a lot of people that say “You know, I know what I am eating, I’m tracking it all.” But, if you watch them, are they actually under reporting the food that they eat? Is there that kind of problem, or most people that you come in contact with truly putting down every single thing they put in their mouth   a fish oil pill, a protein shake, every thing that they put in their month is being tracked. It that the case, or maybe not?

Hugo: Most people do not, to be honest with you. It takes time for a person to learn that discipline correctly. Because, especially very, very, new people at this will go ahead and not think about a small cracker having anything to impact in their body. Or fruit juices, fruit juices are the biggest culprit and a lot of people drink them, and they’re like “Oh, they’re healthy, I heard it on TV,” but they don’t realize that they’ve just down like 40 grams of sugar, you know? So, to be honest, yeah most of the beginning clients do a lot of under reporting. And conversely, a lot of hard gainers do a lot of over reporting. And the way the over reporting happens is not so much in the journal, but it happens in the way that they talk to you. Like you go ahead and ask them “So how’s your diet,” “Oh man, I eat so much it’s not even funny.” OK, well how about we sit down and start writing everything that you’ve had yesterday and today. And when you come and look at it, it’s like “Oh my God, you’re eating like a little bird really.”

I mean they may just be eating like, I don’t know, what was the case I had that one time? This guy, OK so he had a breakfast of like two eggs and five egg whites, which is good. But, then he had like two toasts, and then that was it. And then like five hours later, he will go ahead and have like some protein pudding, and then like much later it was like six hours   because, I don’t know, he worked long hours of something, and for what ever reason, he wouldn’t take a lot of stuff with him to work, which by the way, a cooler is your best friend, always carry your food.

But that aside, he will come back home and have like some sort of a sandwich. Like a turkey sandwich with like some, a couple slices of like, you know how do you call this; deli turkey, just a couple slices which was probably 10 grams of protein at the most. And then again some bread. And then later on that night he will go ahead and have like a big pasta dinner. And I’m like “OK, that is so much under eating; it’s not even funny.”

As you know, a hard gainer has to eat a lot. And it has to be the proper meals, and they need to have calorically dense foods. Good food, but they have to be calorically dense, and they have to be properly timed, you know. Not letting more than maybe three hours go by without eating. And that sort of thing, and it takes discipline to do that, you know?

So, It’ very, very, important that if you want to achieve results, at the very beginning, you don’t have to keep this all your life because I certainly don’t do it anymore. You need to keep a food journal, and you need to grow an understanding of what’s going into your mouth, and how many nutrients that is. How many carbs, how many proteins, how many fats. And you don’t need a rocket science degree to go ahead and figure this out. I mean you can go on the Internet and find all of the nutrition values. Many books like my Body Re Engineering for instance, will go ahead and have those nutrition values spelled out for them.

But, you need to do the effort, because up until you master the science of nutrition and you understand what you are doing and how many nutrients you are really taking every three hours, you are not going to receive the results that you want. Period. I mean, that is an absolutely true statement. Training and nutrition are like the wheels of a bicycle, they are equally important and you cannot take on out of the equation. They need to go hand in hand.

Marc: Well, you’ve mentioned this a few time, but tell me about your Body Re Engineering System. I mean what is this eBook about, exactly?

Hugo: Well, to be honest with you, this eBook is about all of the training principles and nutrition principles that I have come across during my career as a natural bodybuilder. And basically I cover everything. I cover the mental aspect, I certainly cover the training because I go ahead and give 21 weeks of advance training for those that are more advanced bodybuilders. And I also cover the first four months of like a beginner. So, I can really take a beginner from like day one at the gym, they don’t know what they are doing. There is a routine for them. Once they start following it, it will take them from beginner to intermediate and from intermediate to advanced. So, they can go ahead and do the 21 week Body Re Engineering Imperial Life Program. Of course, like I said, nutrition is the other part of a bicycle because you need two wheels and a bicycle. That is fully covered understanding that there are many different types of bodies out there. There is the ectomorph, which is like the hard gainer. There is the mezomorph which is… really, the mezomorph are typically the guys you see competing at the high, high level shows.

I mean, these are guys that before they even touch the weight, they were already pretty muscular and they were very lean. So, mezomorphs are the minority. But, of course, I cover them too because I’ve seen them and they do exist. If a mezomorph picks up my book, they have the right to know what to do also, even though they are genetically gifted.

Hugo: And then there is the endomorph, of course, which I think is the majority of the people in the United States because most of us can actually gain body fat pretty easily   understanding that there is nutritional advice for each one of those groups, and also, depending upon the goal that they have, whether it is to gain some muscle exclusively without putting any body fat, or losing body fat while retaining or even gaining a little bit of muscle as they are going down. So, in addition to that, I also covered the supplement science and I cover which ones I feel are the most important ones to go ahead and take. And you will be amazed. There’s really not many. Most of the things that I mention are multiple vitamins and some minerals to be quite honest with you.

And, of course, the protein drinks, I already mentioned what capacity I believe in them. And definitely, the essential fats. I’ll even give you a couple of hints. In my opinion, the most useful, advanced, body building supplements to this day are creatine and glutamine, alright?

And if you want to you can read in the book why I say that. But, basically, those two supplements, in my opinion give the natural body builder many of the properties that steroids provide through hormonal means. But, because these are not hormones; the creatine and glutamine are not hormones. As a matter of fact if you break them down, they are both really amino acids. Glutamine is certainly an amino acid and creatine is composed of three amino acids.
These, because they are no hormones, they are not going to go ahead and have the side effects. So, those are it. And of course, I do like the nitric oxide boost from today. There are some better products than others. But, that is about it.

To be honest with you, I mean supplement wise and I think I am going on a tangent, but I’ll keep it going for the information of the listeners out there. Supplement wise, I feel a multiple vitamin and mineral with a good calcium is great. You need also, some chromium picolinate just for the insulin sensitivity. It is important to keep that at a high level; that way your body can assimilate the carbs better and also assimilate the proteins.

Some vitamin C, which has been shown to throw down levels of cortisone. The essential fats, which I already mentioned are crucial. The protein drinks for the convenience. The creatine, glutamine and the nitric oxide boosters, but all of that stuff I take through a product called Super Charge from Labrada Nutrition.

So, it is like, that is all I take. That is my supplement regiment right there. So, as you can see, I am not a huge fan of supplements. OK. And I am sorry for all of the supplement manufacturers out there trying to convince people otherwise. Oh, you need this supplement. You need that supplement. But, the big fact is that what you really need is a solid training and nutrition program and supplements are supplements. They are supplements to an already good training and nutrition program.

On top of that, I also cover rest and recovery in this book. Then of course, I also give a whole bunch of charts that people can go ahead and print out to their liking and take to the gym to go ahead and keep track of their diet and their training and everything else.

Above all, I also have a free forum where people can go in and they will interface with me and who is, my very first training partner and one of the guys that experimented a lot, back in my teenage years, Samuel Santos. He is also there answering questions. And we interact with people every single week; every single day actually of the week. And we answer questions.

So, it is a pretty cool system. That is why I call it a system. It is not just an eBook. There are many aspects to it.

Marc: Well, it sounds like you cover pretty much everything that a person would need if they were going to build muscle, lose fat and you give them all the stuff. It is called the Body Re Engineering System. It’s got your picture on the front. But, is it just for bodybuilders?

Hugo: Absolutely not. Again, let’s keep in mind the semantics here. To me, bodybuilder is anybody who picks up training that does training with weights that does cardiovascular exercise, that follow a diet to go ahead and reengineer their physique. So, is it just or bodybuilders who are entering competition? Absolutely not. This is for anybody. This is for girls. This is for guys. I mean if you are looking to go ahead and gain 50 pounds of muscle, it is going to work for you. If you just want 10 pounds of muscle and lose some body fat, it is for you as well. And I even provide recommendations for people who are just interested in toning and losing some body fat. I just tell them how to adjust the training system and the diet for their more modest goals and that is it.

It is for anyone who wants to go ahead and reengineer their physique to whatever it is that they want to accomplish. That was my goal when I put that eBook together.

Marc: Well, you’ve mentioned this a few times in our interview, but I want to give you a chance if you can further expand on the topic of the cycling principle that you outline in “Body Re Engineering”? What is his cycling principle? You alluded to it at least three times, but what is it exactly?

Hugo: Absolutely. Basically, the routines of my Body Re Engineering program change in an orderly manner that takes the body to the brink of overtraining and then allows it to recover. And thus, overcompensate and grow in response to the weight training stress. These changes are basically what the cycling principle is all about. That is the key to consistent and rapid increases in muscle mass and strength for the bodybuilder. Basically, this principle states that in order for the body to respond optimally, it cannot be training in the same manner because as you know, Marc, if you do that, your body gets used to it.

So, the best way to make the body respond is through the correct variation of exercises. Volume, which is the number of sets times the number of repetitions. Intensity, which really means how heavy the weight is not how hard you are training. And rest periods in between sets, Now the work out parameters are going to be determined by the phase of the program you are in. There are going to be three phases that we will be repeating over and over again.
The first week will be an active recovery phase. Basically, in this phase, you will only train with weights twice a week, on a full body routine before you start the next phase, which will be called the loading phase.

Now, the loading phase, which is three weeks in duration, is going to be a high volume phase where reps are kept at 10 to 15 repetitions and rest in between 90 seconds or less. And between sets, I also like to use a whole bunch of super sets training antagonistic muscle groups such as chest and back; bi’s and tri’s; thighs and hamstrings. And then with the shoulders what I do I just go ahead and train the front deltoid and then the read deltoid. Things like that, OK.

The training volume gradually increases over the course of the three weeks in order to stress the body almost to the point of overtraining as I specified at the beginning of this conversation.

Then, the next three weeks are going to be higher intensity, meaning heavier weights and lower volume, with longer rest periods of rest in between sets. And this phase I call the “growth phase,” since the volume is reduced but the weights are increased in order to let the body catch up and super compensate   meaning, grow in terms of muscle, size and strength.

The reps are like anywhere between five to seven. For some trainees if they see that they work better at six to eight repetitions, go ahead and have it at six to eight repetitions. And again, this is the beauty of me having the forum. If somebody feels that they are not getting great results, then I just troubleshoot their program and immediately find out what’s going on.

And the rest period for this phase is three minutes in between sets for the same exercise. So, it’s not like you are going to be dilly dallying for three minutes after you do your set, you are actually going to be doing another set within 90 seconds, but it’s going to be for an antagonistic muscle group.

The key thing here is to get the body to go through those three phases. And there’s a really good reason for this Marc   and if you allow me to, I will explain you what the logic is behind every single phase.

Marc: Go ahead.

Hugo: The act of recovery phase, OK. The phase where you are just training twice a week has three main functions. First of all, according to leading strength expert Tudor Bompa, which to me is one of the fathers, if not the father, of periodization, you are trying to adapt the anatomy of the body to the upcoming training so that you can create or produce and injury free environment. So essentially, your tendons and ligaments should be strong enough to support the stressful periods that will follow. This is something that a lot of trainees do not do, and as a result they always end up injured. And, me, knock on wood, I don’t have any tears or anything serious that has ever happened to me, thank god, throughout my training. Which is really a miracle, because during my teenage years I was not nearly as educated as I should have been and there were many atrocities I committed at the gym, but “lo and behold” I survived. [laughs]

But anyways… The second point for this phase is that it is a great time to address any sort of strength imbalances that your body might have, and this is the reason why I mostly recommend dumbbell work to be used during the phase.

And finally, this phase will also act as a great time in which the body will recharge its energy stores and allow for complete physical and mental recuperation.

Now, after this fairly unchallenging phase, it’s kind of like a maintenance sort of phase, recovery, we go to the loading phase. And the purpose for it is to basically stress the body. During the loading phase, the body is stressed with an increasing high volume of work that if you were to keep it for too long you will eventually over train you. Three things happen during this phase: The growth hormone output goes through the roof due to the fact that you’re resting short intervals in between sets and you have high volume. And there are numerous studies that show that this sort of training will go ahead an increase this hormone.

Hypertrophy, which is muscle growth of the cell, occurs by the body increasing the levels of creatine, water and carbohydrates inside the muscle cell, and this phenomenon is called the muscle volumization   for those of you who are new to this. The body’s recovery capabilities will be upgraded during this time in response to the stress imposed by the increasing work volume, coupled with the short rest intervals.

Which leads you then to the next phase, the growth phase, in a perfect sort of metabolic condition, because what’s going to happen is that during the growth phase you will not stress the body anymore with volume, OK, you will stress it with intensity. So, you are going to go ahead and cut back and allow the body to go ahead and catch up. And what it will do with all these extra recovery abilities that it created is to overcompensate.

So the next phase, the growth phase, like I said, the body is not stressed by volume this time the stimuli is heavy weights. This phase if it will be kept for too long, eventually, the body will seize to stop making strength gains and you would also plateau. That’s why you have so many body builders…and you have this everlasting holy war between high intensity training versus high volume training.

Marc: Absolutely.

Hugo: The answer is that you need a little bit of both, OK, and don’t take any of them to the extremes. That is really the answer, OK. It’s as practical as it get. And that’s kind of how I came up with this whole system; I tried to both to the biggest extremes. And I remember a period in my life where I was doing a lot of volume, and I really got over trained. Then I read this awesome article in the magazine saying, “Hey, you know, high intensity training. If you do this… so and so. You know, you are going to grow, et cetera, et cetera.” And then I embarked on it, and “lo and behold,” I started getting huge. And I am like, “This is crazy. OK, well this is what really works!” But then, I figured that after weeks on it to an end, I was not getting anywhere. So, I am like, “Oh man! What now?” Then my nervous system was beat and my joints were hurting, and I am like, “What is going on?” And it was not up until I saw the light  and this took probably like a good year of me trying to find the answers at the supplement shop, unfortunately, so I lost a lot of money in the process.

It was not up until I said, “Oh, to heck with this. I am going to increase the volume again and see what happens.” And I increased the volume and “lo and behold,” I started making gains again. So, I am like, “OK, wait a minute. There has to be some sort of pattern here?” And thank god that god granted me the gift of the pattern recognition, something that made me a pretty good engineer back in the days of my engineering career, when I had one. And then I am like “Wow! Let me go ahead and experiment by oscillating,” and then that’s how I kind of perfected this system.

But in any case, during the growth phase when you stimulate your body, not through volume but through heavy weights, what happens is that not only it gives your body a rest from the volume, but also your testosterone levels go through the roof in response to a longer rest in between sets and the heavier weights. And in this case, hypertrophy occurs by the body increasing the actual diameter of the myofiber, which is the actual fiber of the muscle, through increase protein synthesis.

So basically, protein synthesis   for those of you that are new, it’s basically creating protein strands through DNA and RNA and it takes place in the cytoplasm of the cell, which is more than what most people want to know, but I like to always explain the science behind things. And again, since your body’s recuperation abilities were built up to the maximum by the previous phase which was the loading phase and the volume has gone dramatically, the extra recuperation abilities are used to increase strength and build more muscle mass.

So, the reason the body does this is in order to be prepared for another stressful period like the one I just went through, basically. And this adaptation mechanism is the one that ensures the survival of the species. So, basically, what I am doing here is that I am using the body’s own natural built in abilities and just maximizing them. That’s pretty much it, you know.

Marc: I want this on the record, because I really appreciate both, personally and professionally, you taking the time out of your busy schedule to let me interview you today, and to do just a huge brain dump of information for the listeners. So, I want to thank you, Hugo, for taking the time to do this.

Hugo: Oh man, you are welcome. Again, I really appreciate you having me, and my passion is helping others and just transferring my knowledge to many other people because, man, I remember how lost I was and I am sure you remember how lost you were when we first started.

You know, if we have the knowledge, why not share it with others. - Hugo A. Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE

Hugo A. Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE

Hugo A. Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE. is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory, but also applies it on a daily basis as evidenced by the fact that he’s always in shape and by his awards and high placings at numerous national level bodybuilding competitions.

He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called “The Body Sculpting Bibles” which collectively have sold over a million copies. Hugo is also the author of the very popular “Body Re-Engineering” e-book, which teaches you how to gain lean muscle mass and get lean without drugs, or fancy expensive supplements, using the secrets he devised after many years of weight problems as a child.

See Hugo’s ebooks online here:

Body Re-Engineering
www.losefatandgainmuscle.com
A complete guide to bodybuilding supplements and eating to gain lean muscle

Shape Up Now
Click Here to Download Your FREE Copy of Shape Up Now
50 page compendium of quality information on getting in shape

Natural Bodybuilding Champion and Internationally Acclaimed Best Selling Fitness Author Reveals How To Build Solid Lean Muscle Without Drugs

Body Re-Engineering by Hugo Rivera

Body Re-Engineering was designed by a guy who much like the rest of us, was not born with great genetics. He was overweight throughout his childhood and then during his early teen years got afflicted with anorexia as he did not know how to go about losing his extra weight. After that, he spent years studying every article ad book on exercise and nutrition as well testing and documenting what worked and what didn’t. The end result of all this work was not only a championship physique, but also a system that can be used by any regular person to achieve the shape that they are looking for. The system is called Body Re-Engineering as it will literally re-engineer the way you look. Click here to find out more:

www.losefatandgainmuscle.com

Related posts

• Hugo Rivera Interview: Part 1 (1)
• Dave DePew Interviews the NoBull Muscle Guy (0)
• Bodybuilding with Hugo Rivera (3)

In part one you will hear the latest scoop on full body workouts or split routines, or something in between?… Hugo’s reaction to being asked if he’s really all natural… the truth about your genetics and bodybuilding… Hugo’s training frequency… the biggest 5 nutritional blunders almost every bodybuilder is making or has made and more. This interview is packed with valuable info! Read this one in study mode for sure and then watch for part 2 coming soon!

Marc David: Welcome, everyone, to this interview. This is Marc David, and I have a special guest with me. Please welcome Hugo Rivera.  Hugo is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory, but also applies it on a daily basis as evident by the fact that he is always in shape, and by his awards and high placing at numerous national level body building competitions. He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called “Body Sculpting Bibles,” which collectively have sold over a million copies. Hugo is also the author of the very popular Body Re Engineering eBook, which teaches you how to gain lean muscle mass and teaches you how to get lean without drugs or fancy, expensive supplements using the secrets he devised after many years of weight problems as a child.

Hugo, thanks for giving me some of your time today

Hugo Rivera: Thank you so much, Marc. The pleasure is all mine, trust me. I really appreciate this.

Marc: Not a problem. Hey, can you start off and, just for the audience, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hugo: I’ll tell you, I’ve been practicing body building now for almost 20 years, believe it or not. It became a passion of mine since I picked up my first set of 10 pound dumbbells back when I was 14, believe it or not. Actually, my formal education, a lot of people may be surprised by this, but my formal education is in computer engineering. And, by some twists and turns of fate, I ended up becoming a best selling fitness author and doing what I am most passionate about which is helping people to get in shape.

Marc: So, kind of lead me on in that. How did you get started with bodybuilding? And what led you to become a fitness author with a website? I mean, you’re in computers, and all of a sudden now you’re a fitness author. What kind of transition is that?

Hugo: I know. Well, actually I used to be very overweight as I was growing up. So, at an early age, I pretty much experienced the feelings of insecurity that come along with obesity, as well as the scorn and ridicule from some of my peers. You know how kids are. Anyway, since I kept hearing that the reason for my weight problems was food, and that I had to stop eating, I took the advice to heart. Being sick of the way that I looked, I stopped eating pretty much. That resulted in me going anorexic at the age of 13 and losing a total of around 70 pounds, actually, in less than a year. If I recall correctly, it was like in nine months, or some time period like that.

My family, which was very concerned, especially my grandfather who was a medical surgeon. They basically tried to put some effort into trying to stop the anorexic cycle, and they took me to a nutritionist. The nutritionist mentioned one thing to me that changed my outlook on dieting forever. She said, “Hugo, eating food will not make you fat. It is only abusing the quantities of the bad foods that will.”

After I listened to that statement; it just suddenly all kind of clicked. I’m like, oh, I think I took this a little bit too overboard, you know?  So, I started following the diet that she gave me and I started to study at that time the effects of foods on the human physiology.

By the age of 14, my interest in health food affects the shape and the form of your body. That really led to an interest in the area of exercise. Especially when a girl that I really liked at the time told me that I would look good with some muscle in my frame. You know?

When my mom got me my first copy ever of Muscle and Fitness, which was the May 1990 edition, I saw pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Labrada, Lee Haney and other great bodybuilders. I said to myself, man, that’s how I need to look. These guys look awesome, you know?

That led me to become an avid natural bodybuilder. So, after I kept reading countless books, as a matter of fact, I’m in my home office right now and I’m looking at all of them. There’s plenty, and I even have some in storage.

I started getting exposed to absolutely contradicting theories on how to best attain muscle mass and lose body fat. I said, you know what, to heck with this. I’m just going to do what they teach me in school, which is to use a scientific method. I started recording what worked and what didn’t for me and my training partner.

After much trial and error, I started finding principles and patterns of training that worked really good on me, worked really good on my training partner. We started sharing them with other people, and they seemed to work on them too. So, I was like, wow, this is great.

One of the most exciting discoveries of everything I was doing was the fact that there was no necessity to stay at the gym for three to four hours a day like the pioneers of bodybuilding used to do back in the 60s and 70s.

Because I felt that so many people in the industry cared about, not many people actually, cared about conducting personal training in a way that really helped their client, I said to myself, you know what, I’m going to go ahead and create a website.

The opportunity came about when I had my senior project for engineering, which was a requirement to graduate. I said, you know what, I’m going to take the opportunity to learn how to make websites and create one. That’s how my humble website started, believe it or not, you know?

Marc: I actually do believe it. And, you’ve kind of answered this, but this is sort of a general question I think a lot of people get asked, but what would you say, what is it about bodybuilding in general that you love so much?

Hugo: I think it is the fact that bodybuilding can instill in you an amount of discipline that can be applied to all other aspects of your life and does make you very successful. In addition, I love the fact that bodybuilding allows you to completely take control of your image, and achieve a sculpted look that enables you to feel better about yourself and thus be more confident. Confidence, of course, is going to help you in achieving any goal that you have set for yourself, also, in your relationship and your career as well. I have had clients come to me and tell me, man, I went to my boss and had the guts to ask for a raise. I had other people tell me, man, I feel so good about myself that I was able to go ahead and start dating and do this, and do that, I found my soul mate, I got married, all sorts of stories, you know?

It’s like, wow, that’s amazing. And of course, in addition, the health benefits derived from practicing bodybuilding, such as higher energy level, low blood pressure, good cholesterol, a better love life, just to name a few. It all makes it worth it. And of course, who cannot enjoy the feeling of a good pump at the gym? You know?

Marc: True. Now, I’ve got to say, I’ve seen some of your pictures, obviously, on your website, and I’ve seen photos. It’s always of you, just a ripped Hugo. Now, you sort of touched on this before, but were you overweight in any capacity?

Hugo: Oh, man, absolutely. When I was 12 years old, I think the peak of my waistline was around 45 or 46 inches.

Marc: Huge.

Hugo: Huge waistline. I mean, I was overweight by around, if I had to put my finger on it, probably 60 pounds overweight. Yeah. I don’t come from a family of skinny people. Everybody in my family is pretty much overweight. Except for my father, actually, who adopted the fitness lifestyle pretty much around the same time that I started. But, everybody else pretty much has a slow metabolism. Yeah, I was very overweight.

Marc: Cool. That just puts a little bit in perspective. We get a lot of skinny guys who gain muscle who can’t ever gain weight. I think it is just important to put it into perspective that there are a lot of overweight people, no matter where you are, that you can definitely change what you look like and achieve that. Me, where I came from, I was skinny as a kid. I could never put on any weight, and yet I was able to do so now. You’re coming from the reverse. You were overweight as a child, and here you are, a huge natural bodybuilder.

So I think that puts a good balance into perspective.

Hugo: I think, Marc, one of the key things to note over here is that when we use the term “bodybuilding,” we’re not referring to bodybuilding shows like standing at the Olympia or the Arnold Classic. To me, bodybuilding is the activity of using weight training, cardiovascular exercise, proper nutrition and supplementation, and rest to go ahead and achieve cosmetic effects in your body. As opposed to competitive bodybuilding, there’s really no off season for  how should I say this  life time bodybuilding, as I call it. This is more of a lifestyle that you just learn. You go ahead and change your physique in any way or form that you like.

Hey, some people may just want to gain 20 pounds of muscle and get really nice and lean. Some other people may want 100. It doesn’t matter. Regardless, if you go to the gym, pick up the weights and do your cardio, your diet, you’re a bodybuilder, whether you like it or not.

Marc: I absolutely agree with that terminology. This might be more of a typical question. I’m not sure where you’re going to take this one, but do you have a favorite body part to work out? A lot of people want to know, what do these guys love to do? Me, I’ve been bodybuilding for over 17 years, so I definitely have to say that I have my favorite or my least. I’m curious as to if you have any favorites.

Hugo: Absolutely. My favorite is my legs, and I’ll tell you why. My legs are the least genetically gifted area of my body. As a result, it is the biggest challenge for me to go ahead and make them grow and sculpt them in the way that I want. Because I am stubborn, and I like challenges, and I like to face them head on, I love leg training. I love getting under the squat bar and just repping it out. I’m talking about high repetition leg training, too. Sometimes I may just go ahead and do 15, 20 repetitions. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve gotten the endurance to even do a hundred repetition set.  Again this is very, very highly advanced bodybuilding training, so if you’re a newbie at this, I’m not endorsing this one bit.

But, I am just saying that techniques like this, as you get more and more advanced in the iron game, are techniques that can be used to spark some new growth into a stubborn area. My legs are, for sure, the most stubborn area of my body. So, leg training is, by far, my favorite days of the week, to be honest with you.

Marc: Now, this is a little bit controversial, this next question. I’m just looking for your preference. Maybe you like both. Take this wherever you want, but do you prefer full body workouts or split routines?

Hugo: Actually, I think they both have their place in a training program. Full body workouts, in my opinion, are best for two things. For people that are just starting out in bodybuilding because it allows them to kind of wake up every single muscle immediately. I don’t think any new bodybuilder has any business using a split training routine, in my opinion. I think a full body routine does a much better job at just activating the whole muscular system all at once. Doing it two or three times a week is the best way for a beginner to go ahead and start gaining some really good muscle on their frame in a very safe manner.

As you get more advanced, I think it is wiser to go ahead and split up your body in two days. You can do chest, back, bi’s and tri’s in one workout, and then shoulders and legs in another workout, and leave a day of rest in between. Then two more days, and rest over the weekends.

Then the final step would be the three day split routine, which is better geared for much more advanced bodybuilders. There’s many ways to split it up, but my preference is chest, back, and abs one day, then legs, and then shoulders and arms.

These days, actually, the way that I do it is I do shoulders and arms on day one, then legs, and then I do my chest and back. Because my chest and back are like the strongest areas in my body, therefore, I leave them for the third day of the rotation. Then I take a day off, and I start over again. So, that’s how I’m splitting it up these days.

Now, having said that, an advanced bodybuilder still benefits from full body workouts doing what I call the active recovery phases. These are phases that you have to take after six to eight weeks of hard training at the gym. Instead of taking a week off, what I do is that I do a week where I do a couple of full body workouts, one on Monday and one on Thursday, or one on Monday and Friday, whatever. It doesn’t matter.

Then on the days in between I’ll do some light cardiovascular activity. These allow the body to go ahead and recover from the beating of the previous weeks of hard training. So, to this day I still use my full body workouts every six to eight weeks.

So, I hope that answers your question.

Marc: It absolutely does. This one, I know you’ve been asked this. I can’t imagine anybody who’s built up as much muscle mass as you not getting people giving you the quizzical eye and like, “What’s going on?” I’m not asking you to submit to a drug test, but I really want to know, how do you respond to questions that you aren’t natural? People must ask you if you’re taking something.

Hugo: As a matter of fact, not only do they ask me, but after my first competition, my trainer was accused by people. I say my trainer because I used a coach to help me with the aspects of competitive bodybuilding. That’s like a completely different ball game. But, he was actually accused by many other people saying, “Man, what do you give this guy?” I basically showed up at my first competition. It was a statewide level show, and I won the whole thing unanimously. I was drug tested, by the way. It was funny because the drug test unfortunately was not a urinalysis. It was a polygraph. Unless they did urinalysis on me, I couldn’t prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was completely clean.

But, the guy didn’t believe me. He kept asking me the question over and over again. He’s like, “Are you aware that it’s really unethical to join a natural show if you’re not natural?”

I’m like, “I am fully aware. Drug test me. Blood work me. Whatever you want. I don’t care.”

But yes, I am asked that question, very much so. I take it as a compliment, to be honest with you. Believe it or not, I don’t see myself as that big. If you were to see a current IFPB pro these days, you’ll see a huge difference between the way that I look and the way that they look.

But, at any rate, compared to the average person, I guess I am bigger than normal. Yes, I take that as a compliment. All I have to say to that is the following.

I’ve been training for so many years, with such consistency and such Spartan efforts, both at the gym and at the kitchen with my diet, that it’s inevitable that you go ahead and grow muscle after just continuously doing that. Especially once you learn how to do it properly, and you implement the training program that will go ahead and really maximize your genetics.

You just never know how big you can get. You really don’t, because I remember, to this day, the first day of me at the gym. I asked the gym owner, “Hey, how can I get big calves?” Because my calves were horribly, horribly skinny. You could never tell by looking at them today, but anyways.

I asked the question, and he said, “You know, it’s genetic. You don’t have great genetics. I don’t think you’ll be able to build any physique that will win you any shows. I’m sorry.”

I was so pissed. I went to the bookstore, and I got myself a copy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. I read where he talked about how he had little calves and how he worked them every day. Lo and behold, that’s exactly what I did at the time, not knowing any better. I guess it was my persistence and my determination to prove this guy wrong, but, man, the calves grew. They developed.

What I’m trying to say by this is don’t let anybody tell you what your ultimate potential is. You just don’t know. You’ve got to go ahead and test yourself, and put yourself in the gym day in and day out.

Follow the nutrition. Your nutrition is key. If you start skipping meals, and you start drinking and lowering your testosterone levels, and you start not sleeping  guess what? You’re not going to make any gains. You really are not.

Bodybuilding, anyone can benefit from it. I’m not saying that everyone can go ahead and win big, national level contests. That’s a different story. But, I am saying that everyone can go ahead and gain muscle and build a physique that they can be proud of, and show it off at the beach.

I guarantee you, that most people have way more potential than they give their credit for. I guarantee you.

Marc: I think it’s only fair that I lead into the next question, because you really have touched on it. But, I do get this one a lot myself, and people come up and they want some type of definitive answer. It’s how much of a factor is genetics?

Hugo: I think it all depends on how we look at it. If we’re talking about a factor in terms of competitive bodybuilding   I’ll say this a lot  because genetics will only allow you to get so far. If you do not have a super symmetrical physique, super pleasing lines, everything just matches, killer definition, huge size on top of that, chances are genetics will get you at the end, and you’ll only be able to get so far. In my opinion, competitively speaking, I think my genetics have taken me as far as possible. I’ve been top ranked at national level shows. At the Team Universe, which was my second show, I took fourth.

However, if I worked hard enough, I guess I could go ahead and win a pro card as a welterweight. But, then that’s it for me. I don’t have the genetics to compete with the big boys that are up here on the magazines.

Steroids or not, to be honest with you. Because a lot of those guys, I’ve seen pictures of them before they even started bodybuilding. Some of those guys, it’s almost like they were born with muscle. It’s like, wow! They have genetics that the more they eat, the more muscle they gain and the more fat they lose.

I’ve literally seen guys like this. As a matter of fact, one of my best friends is a specimen like that. He doesn’t compete, oddly enough. But, believe it or not, he’s 6′1″, steroid free, 240 pounds, and five percent body fat, year round.

Marc: I think it’s important to say this, and let me put words in your mouth, but what you’re basically saying is you really haven’t let your genetics be a limiting factor in what you were able to achieve. You just went for it, and that was the end of that.

Hugo: Exactly. Because here’s where I’m going to go next  only for competitive bodybuilding is genetics a limiting factor. Yes, eventually you will be able to go as far as genetics will allow you. Now, for changing your physique just for you, not for a judge to go ahead and tell you, “Oh, you’re perfect,” or, “You need more definition in your hamstrings.” Just for you, I don’t believe that genetics can go ahead and stop you. Unless you have unreasonable goals of having a 22 inch arm, if you’re only 5′5″, like I am, then you will be fine. You will be able to achieve the physique that you want.
But, let’s be honest. Most guys, all they want is some decent size and some great definition. Anybody, and I swear to you, anybody that is a healthy human being can go ahead and accomplish that. It’s just a matter of training properly and dieting.

Don’t let anybody fool you. It’s not easy. It’s not a walk in the park, but it can be done. Anybody can do it, provided they have the right determination to go through what they need to go through in order to accomplish those goals.
The short answer to the question, how much of a factor is genetics? None at all, if you’re not planning on competing. No limiting factor whatsoever. As a matter of fact, even if you want to win a bodybuilding show, I can tell you this.

At most local contests, like non national level contests, just local NPC shows, if you go shredded enough, you’ll win. It’s a matter of conditioning. It’s only as you go up in the ranks, like national level shows and stuff, that genetics will limit you.

My message to everyone out there is that if they want to look a specific way, go for it and do not let anyone, and I mean anyone, tell you that you cannot do it   because I certainly heard from countless people that I couldn’t do it. I’ve gone way farther than I ever thought I would go. So, that’s my message to everyone.

Marc: Speaking of training, I think a lot of people are going to be interested in how many days a week do you train? Because looking at your pictures and going along with the stereotypes, maybe something my mom would say is, “Oh, that guy? He must spend at least two hours in the gym, maybe three, and he’s got to be in there six days a week.” Is that true or not?

Hugo: No, not at all. While it is true that I may train up to six days a week   these days, I train more like five   I’m only in the gym for like 45 minutes at a time. If I didn’t have to do cardio in the morning three to four days a week, then it would be even less. Basically, what I do is that I’m doing cardio every other day. So, what that means is that some weeks it’ll be three days. Some other weeks it’ll be four days. I do that typically first thing in the morning when I wake up. If I feel industrious, some days I may go ahead and slip some extra cardio sessions in just because I love the feeling that it gives me first thing in the morning. Then later on at night, I’ll go to the gym, and I’ll get my 45 minutes of training in. It never goes past an hour. If the gym is super crowded, that may slow me down a little bit.

Now, weight training wise, I don’t spend more than four and a half to five hours a week. That’s it. That’s all I’ve needed. It’s the quality of the work, not the quantity, especially not the quantity of time. There are so many guys that I see that go to the gym, and they’re like, “Oh man, I trained so hard. I trained two hours today.”

You go ahead and see their training, it’s more like they train for a total of five minutes when you go ahead and cut down all of the talking and socializing that they’re doing at the gym. You know what I mean?

Marc: Absolutely. Now, you’ve touched on nutrition being important, and I know that you’ve trained hundreds of people and you’ve written books, and you answer all these emails. But, I’m just kind of curious what you might think are the top five nutritional blunders that you wish you could tell people to avoid right from day one. You’ve touched on nutrition as so important. If you just had to pick five things, maybe more than five, maybe less, what would you say, don’t make these mistakes when it comes to your nutrition?

Hugo: Well, let’s talk about that. Number one, unless you are like the absolute worst of hard gainers and your metabolism is such that it requires you to fuel it with 6000 calories, thinking that you need to eat everything in sight in order to get big is the first problem. A lot of people think, “Well, I’m just getting big so I’m going to eat whatever. I’m just going to shove as much food as humanly possible down my digestive tract.”

That doesn’t work, because what it does for the most of us is that it’s just going to make us gain way more fat than muscle tissue. So, number one, I’d say, if you want to gain some muscle, or bulk up as we call it, do so in a controlled, scientific manner. Just calculate a slightly higher caloric intake than what you burn per day and then use the appropriate amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to go ahead and compose that caloric intake.

I’m just going to give something rough. Assuming that most of the people listening to this are endomorphs, which is a person that naturally gets body fat if they eat too much, then I would say 45% of the calories coming from carbs, 35% from proteins, and 20% from fats, good fats. If the people are more of the hard gainer type, then I would say lets start with a baseline diet of 50% carbs, and then 30% proteins, and 20% fats.

What I like to always do is I like to give clients a solution to work. They eat for five days around five to 600 calories above the calories that they burn per day, and then for two days I lower it to maintenance, just to give the digestive system a little bit of a break and also to lose a little bit of body fat. Believe it or not, if you go ahead and have two days where you just have your maintenance amount, it’s not so much body fat but extra water retention, you go ahead and you lose it during those two days. It’s amazing the effect that it has on your physique. It’s almost like, wow, you get definition like all of the sudden.

So, five days high, two days low. The main message to take here is that gaining muscle is not a matter of just going to your favorite fast food joint or having a pint of ice cream every single night or some of the crazy things that sometimes I hear at the gym that people do, just in the name of bulking up. To me, that’s just an excuse for laziness because when you look at all of these people, they all have 40 inch plus waists. It’s like, “Wow, what are you doing.” Eventually you are going to have to dial down the body fat if you want to go ahead and look good.

Especially when one is a natural body builder because you’d better not get fat like that because coming down is going to put your muscle mass at risk of being burned away, if you have to lose so much weight. So, it’s not a situation you want to be in.

Blunder number two, I would say, is thinking that you have to eliminate all of the carbohydrates in order to get lean. Guess what? Carbohydrates, believe it or not, are anabolic. They help up keep muscle mass in us, and also they give us energy, they fuel us. So, therefore, the way to really lose some body fat while keeping the muscle is to reverse what I said. Instead of having five days high and two days low, you have five days low and two days high. In this case, the two days of higher calories is going to refill your glycogen tanks, your glycogen sources such as your muscles and your liver.

In addition, it’s going to spike up your metabolism, which is great, because you don’t want to get into that situation where your metabolism is downwards, OK? Because when that happens, you stop losing any body fat at all. Again, the key is to do things scientifically and in a controlled manner. You don’t need much more than a 500 calorie deficit on the days that you are taking lower calories and these calories will come down mainly from carbohydrates and from fats. But, again, you don’t want to go ahead and eliminate all of the carbohydrates.

By the same token, you don’t want to eliminate all of the fats, which leads us to blunder number three: Thinking that eating fat makes you fat. That is so far from the truth, it is not even funny. Let me tell you, especially for the natural body builder, fats are so anabolic that it’s not even funny. Fats like flax seed oil, for instance, and fish oils have so many other properties. They not only prevent you from gaining some body fat if your caloric intake is slightly higher than what you burned, but they also preserve muscle tissue, they also are involved in the creation of anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormones.

As a matter of fact, if you eliminate all of the fats from your diet, if you go way below 20% total from the calories that you’re taking in, you’re going to kill, you’re going to absolutely kill your hormonal output. Believe me, I’ve tested all of this. I’ve tested this for many, many years and I’ve done every test you can imagine, and if you kill the fat from your diet, you’re going to lose the energy, you’re going to lose the sex drive, you’re going to lose the pump. There are so many functions that fat has that it’s undeliverable.

Now, the thing is that you can not go ahead and go to your favorite burger joint and load up on fats over there, once again, I’m talking about essential fatty acids that are found in flax seed oil, in fish oils, in extra virgin olive oil, and even some encapsulated products. If you really don’t like to go ahead and drink these fats, there are products out there that are really good like Labrada EFA Lean Gold comes to mind, because they have all sorts of fats. They have from the flax seed, some flower, they have the CLA, they have the GLA, they have some of the other healthy fats. I mean, it’s amazing.

My preference really is to go ahead and also take them in the form of those caps, and I also take them in the form of flax seed oil, with my protein shakes. You don’t even taste it. You hardly even taste that thing, and the results are so numerous, it’s not even funny.

Now, I alluded to protein shakes and this leads me to nutritional blunder number four: Thinking that protein shakes are more important than food. Unfortunately, this is a trap under which most teenagers fall. I remember me being one of those.

Marc: I put myself in that category as well.

Hugo: I think all of us. But, a lot of manufacturers are very unscrupulous, and they’ll lead you to believe that these protein shakes have things that food can not go ahead and give you. I’m here to tell you this: I take protein shakes out of convenience. I don’t like to be eating six times a day, you know, real meals. I’ve done it for competition, it wasn’t my preference, to be honest with you. What I like to do now, is I have three to four meals a day that are real meals, and then the rest are just in the form of a Lean Body MRP or a Pro V60, which is a protein shake, and that’s about it. There is nothing in these protein shakes that food can not go ahead and give you. A chicken breast, a turkey breast, an egg white, these are all very solid forms of protein. Let me tell you something, if you try to create a diet that is based on protein shakes, meaning that you’re eating protein shakes and protein bars all day long and maybe one meal a day, your results are not going to be optimal. Why? Because your system is designed for real food. Protein shakes are just supplements, which are additions to an already good diet.

So, make sure that you have your breakfast, your lunch, and your dinner, and then in between you can go ahead and have your protein shakes. Don’t make the mistake of thinking, “Oh my god, branded eggs, I just read this awesome interview about this body builder, and he’s taking these, and that’s the reason he won that show, blah, blah, blah.” I hate to say this, but it’s all marketing, OK? Nine times out of ten, the people interviewed are not even using the protein tub. So, I hate to break the news, but that’s the truth.

And yeah, like I said the same thing with protein bars. Base you diet on real wholesome foods, OK. Your protein sources should come from chicken, turkey, lean red meat, egg white, all right, fish, like tilapia, like mahi, like tuna, like salmon, which is also a great source of essential fatty acids.

Your carbs should come from slow release sources for the most of us, which is oat meal, brown rice, you can go ahead and have some sweet potatoes, some baked potatoes, some grapes, some cream of rice for after the workouts is awesome.

And for fats, like I mentioned before, some extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, and fish oils they are all great sources of fat. The fish oils I don’t even supplement. If I want fish oils, I just eat my salmon and I get fish oil from there.

Continued in Part 2

Hugo A. Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE

Hugo A. Rivera, CFT, SPN, BSCE. is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, multi certified personal trainer, industry consultant and fitness expert who not only knows training and nutrition theory, but also applies it on a daily basis as evidenced by the fact that he’s always in shape and by his awards and high placings at numerous national level bodybuilding competitions.

He is also an internationally known best selling fitness author with a very successful franchise of books called “The Body Sculpting Bibles” which collectively have sold over a million copies. Hugo is also the author of the very popular “Body Re-Engineering” e-book, which teaches you how to gain lean muscle mass and get lean without drugs, or fancy expensive supplements, using the secrets he devised after many years of weight problems as a child.

See Hugo’s ebooks online here:

Body Re-Engineering
www.losefatandgainmuscle.com
A complete guide to bodybuilding supplements and eating to gain lean muscle

Shape Up Now
Click Here to Download Your FREE Copy of Shape Up Now
50 page compendium of quality information on getting in shape

Natural Bodybuilding Champion and Internationally Acclaimed Best Selling Fitness Author Reveals How To Build Solid Lean Muscle Without Drugs

Body Re-Engineering by Hugo Rivera

Body Re-Engineering was designed by a guy who much like the rest of us, was not born with great genetics. He was overweight throughout his childhood and then during his early teen years got afflicted with anorexia as he did not know how to go about losing his extra weight. After that, he spent years studying every article ad book on exercise and nutrition as well testing and documenting what worked and what didn’t. The end result of all this work was not only a championship physique, but also a system that can be used by any regular person to achieve the shape that they are looking for. The system is called Body Re-Engineering as it will literally re-engineer the way you look. Click here to find out more:

www.losefatandgainmuscle.com

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