I hate flashy magic bullets that are all fluff and no substance.

But I was pleasantly surprised when I read about Clay Rogers and his unique approach to cardio. Clay and I both share the same philosophies when it comes to building a lean and muscle celebrity body.

So check out the interview below where I drilled Clay on his approach to cardio and why it’s such a great way to lose weight and even build your six-pack.

1) Thanks for doing this interview Clay, so to start can you briefly tell us a bit about yourself?

Well, the first thing I’m always quick to point out when asked to do that is, “I’m in no way a ‘fitness expert’ or ‘guru’…hell, I’m not even certified in anything fitness-related.”

So, there you go. My life is primarily lived outside the gym.

What I am is basically just a persistent nerd. When I want something, I just don’t give up on it until I’ve got it totally figured out – and getting six-pack lean and proportionally muscular (in the “underwear model” or “Hollywood actor playing a superhero” kind of way) was one of those ideas I got hooked on a long time ago.

As in, years ago.

But despite researching my butt off and perfectly applying every single tactic I could find…from the “basics” to the most “cutting-edge” research available…my results were always dismal. Embarrassingly dismal. Nowhere near what I wanted.

But it’s just not in me to give up on something like that.

So over the years, out of necessity, I ended up stumbling onto and developing all kinds of alternative physique transformation methodologies that DID work when nothing else would. Some are weird, some fly in the face of what most experts would tell you is the “right” thing to do based on all the latest research…

But frankly, I don’t care if something’s “right” or “wrong”.

I just care if it produces results.

A lot of people have asked me for my methods – so I teach them now, usually with astounding results (because I can teach it effectively from the perspective of a “normal” person who struggles to normally see any results at all).

And what I teach flat-out produces results – even if it’s weird at times.

2) So Clay, you have a pretty unique approach to cardio called “Incline Cardio.” Can you give us a brief explanation of what it is?

Most people are under the impression that ALL exercise has to be extremely intense to be effective. That’s what’s preached to us nonstop.

And while I do believe that there are times where extremely high levels of intensity are necessary (muscle growth being one of them), I actually discovered what’s essentially a loophole in the way the body burns off fat…

And the way to exploit it is specifically with extremely low-intensity cardio, performed in a very specific way, for very specific durations of time, at very specific times of day.

That’s what Incline Cardio is.

Rather than focusing on pure calorie loss, Incline Cardio strategically elevates hormone output (the real key to massive fat loss) while directly targeting fat stores for energy and indirectly developing the abs.

All from extremely low-impact walking.

I don’t like to hype things up, or bill them as “magic bullets”. I hate when people do that. But Incline Cardio is honestly as close to a general fitness “magic bullet” as I’ve come across.

3) And what makes incline cardio superior to other forms of cardio like jogging or HIIT?

Now, this is where we need to make an important distinction.

I wouldn’t say it’s superior to all other forms of cardio. It all depends on what your goals are.

My goals right now, personally, are a) building lean muscle tissue, b) getting lean, c) being as healthy as possible, and d) being full of natural energy at all times. Not really “function” or “athleticism” related.

For those four primary goals, in my opinion, Incline Cardio is ideal. And this is for four basic reasons:

1. It has essentially the same hormonal benefits of HIIT (that whole “you burn more fat after you perform it” thing people tout) – one Incline Cardio session is, hormonally-speaking, equivalent to one intense HIIT session

2. But Incline Cardio can be performed up to 6 days a week (something not possible with HIIT without overtraining)

3. Without interfering with weight training (in fact, Incline Cardio will enhance your results from weight training due to its low impact nature and huge hormonal benefits)

4. And, the best part, Incline Cardio can be performed 2x a day…even on that “6 days a week” schedule (if it’s massive, fast results you’re after)… and results will only be enhanced exponentially further doing this.

That just barely scratches the surfaces of its true benefits.

But essentially, it’s a conveniently low-impact way of engineering massive results. I’ve routinely used it both with myself and with hundreds of guys applying my methods to build muscle while losing fat – something most experts will tell you is flat-out impossible for natural genetically-average lifters.

Not to mention:

- It’s equally effective for women as it is for men.

- It’s low impact enough that almost anyone can use it (how helpful is it to people with knee/joint issues to be told to perform HIIT for fat loss?)

I could go on and on here.

Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m putting HIIT down.

HIIT is great!

In fact, it can be strategically used with Incline Cardio to engineer absolutely amazing results extremely quickly. But, in my opinion… for pure fat loss, it is overkill, unnecessary, not as effective, and NOT the only option like so many people paint it out to be.

4) Right, there is so much hype surrounding things like HIIT these days. What made you go back to do such an “old school” form of cardio?

Honestly, I stumbled on Incline Cardio almost completely by accident.

I still was in the “HIIT is the only way to effectively lose fat” and “you can’t lose fat while building muscle” mindset when I stumbled on Incline Cardio. But, basically, I was at a new gym and started seeing absolutely ridiculous results.

I was after muscle growth at the time.

And somehow, without any real changes in my routine, I was not only building more muscle than I’d ever managed to in the past…

But I was dropping body fat like crazy at the same time!

Most people are under the impression that ALL exercise has to be extremely intense to be effective. That’s what’s preached to us nonstop.

It was to the point where the people around me were asking what I was on, in a playful way.

Honestly, I was sort of wondering what I was on, too. I was only at this new gym for about 5 weeks – I was traveling – and when I went back home, the results just flat-out stopped and even moved backwards a bit…despite eating the same diet and following the same workouts.

After a bit of reverse-engineering, I’d discovered what was producing the results.

It was this uphill walk I was doing to get home immediately after my workout. (The gym was at the bottom of a hill, and my house was at the top. Simple enough.)

As soon as I reproduced the same walk exactly the same with a treadmill, the results started right back up again. I’ve since refined it, and even tried doing it with running and sprinting and stair stepping and everything inbetween… but the walking has been, by far, the most effective.

Now I preach the benefits of walking to everyone…

And Incline Cardio specifically for accelerated fat loss and physique maintenance.

5) So how would people combine incline cardio with their normal weight training routine? Would they do after their workout or on their off days?

Ideally they’d do both!

Incline Cardio is most effective when performed immediately after an intense workout – either weight training or HIIT. But it is still highly beneficial performed on its own on “off” days.

But the coolest part is that if you REALLY want to boost results up big-time, you can perform it earlier in the day post-workout AND later in the day on its own (or vice versa). 2x a day.

That’s my recommendation for people who need the fastest results possible.

6) And how many times per week would someone looking to lose weight be able to do incline cardio?

Because it’s so low-impact, you can do it up to 6 days a week…even if you’re following the “accelerated results” 2x-a-day suggestion.

You don’t need to do it that much.

It just depends on what your goals are. Do you want the fastest possible fat loss… just moderate fat loss… or are you just looking to maintain the physique you’ve built with the least amount of effort?

The number of times you perform Incline Cardio in a week – 1x a day 2 days a week all the way up to 2x a day 6 times a week – all depends on what outcome you’re after.

7) You said that incline cardio will help train your abs and build a six pack, how is that?

Ah…

I didn’t talk about this too much in this interview, but this is one of the biggest benefits of Incline Cardio.

What I’ve discovered is that abs are best developed via what I call the “Abdominal Stabilization Principle” – they’re used as stabilizers in your body (to hold your torso upright and stabilize you during, well, just about everything you do), and that’s how they prefer to be developed…

Via stabilization movements.

I don’t recommend sit-ups or crunches. They’re just not that effective, in my opinion – and this is because they don’t adhere to this stabilization principle.

Incline Cardio, on the other hand, perfectly adheres to it.

Due to the exact incline and speed used, your abs essentially take over the entire movement – and get developed exactly the way they prefer to get developed, but almost completely indirectly.

In other words, it’s not only the most effective way to rapidly lose fat…

But it’s also the most effective ab developer as well.

I’ve got galleries of six packs developed rapidly strictly via Incline Cardio – no direct ab work at all.

Like I mentioned earlier, I hate hype – and I don’t do hype at all. It’s unfair to everyone to paint things out to be something they’re not.

But Incline Cardio is one of the few “jack of all trades” exercises I’ve ever run across. There is absolutely nothing else like it – and I personally swear by it not only for getting results, but for maintaining my sub-10% bodyfat year round with a minimum of effort.

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Be sure to check out Incline Cardio system and leave any questions you have in the comments below.

Do hours of cardio, they said.

Don’t eat carbs it’ll make you fat, they said.

Don’t drink alcohol, they said.

Eat nothing but grilled chicken and salad, they said.

Well you know what I say to all those points – fuck that!

If you want to get in shape for the summer or any occasion, you don’t need to make every moment of it a living hell.

The thing I love about summer is that it motivates people to lose weight and get in shape. It forces a deadline and deadlines are powerful, very powerful.

In fact, the only other time people are so motivated to get in shape is for the New Year.

But if you want to get in shape, you don’t need to do what everyone else is doing.

What if I told you that you could eat massive amounts of carbs and still lose weight?

What if I told you that you don’t need to do any cardio to get lean?

What if I told you that all you need to get in shape is 90 minutes of exercise per week?

What if I told you that you can drink alcohol (and get wasted, if you want) and still burn fat like a machine?

Interested?

This is your rebel guide to getting a summer beach body.

Part 1: The Workout

Like I said, you really only need to workout 90 minutes a week to get a beach body.

So for this workout you will be will be working out 3 times per week, at 30 minutes per workout.

The main goal of this workout is to maintain your muscle mass.

You shouldn’t expect to gain much muscle with this workout unless you’re a complete beginner so please understand that the whole goal is maintenance.

Workout A

• Deadlift – 5 sets x 5 reps
• Weighted pull-ups – 3 sets x 8 reps
• Seated cable row – 2 sets x 6-8 reps
• Hanging Leg raises – 2-3 sets x 15-20 reps

Workout A consists mainly of deadlifts and pull ups.

If you find the conventional deadlift difficult to do, I suggest trying the sumo deadlift (wider stance) first. It’s much easier to do.

As for the pull-ups, if you can do 12 clean reps then start doing them weighted.

Hanging leg raises are pretty self explanatory. Just make sure you’re controlling your body especially on the way down and not swinging around like a damn monkey. If you can’t do hanging leg raises, start by doing lying leg raises.

Workout B

• Incline press – 3 sets x 6-8 reps
• Cable crossovers – 2 sets x 10-12 reps
• Dumbbell/barbell military press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Triceps pushdown – 3 sets x 10-15 reps

I personally do the incline press with dumbbells with the bench set no higher than 30 degrees since it’s safer and I feel greater muscle activation, but feel free to do it with a barbell if you wish.

The triceps pushdown can be done with a rope over whatever ridiculous looking metal bars your gym has. My only bit of advice: go slow and controlled. Direct tricep exercises are not power movements so don’t jerk the weight down.

Pushdowns can really screw up your elbows in the long run if you aren’t controlling the weight. So if you know that you’re not handling the weight with your triceps exclusively, then it’s time to lower the weight.

Workout C

• Back Squat/Front squat/1-legged leg press – 3 sets x 6-8 reps
• Dumbbell snatch – 3 sets x 8-10 reps
• Front lunges – 2 sets x 8-10 reps per leg
• Push-ups & chin-ups – superset 2 total sets to failure
• Hanging leg raise- 2-3 sets x 15-20 reps

If you can’t back squat properly, then trying front squatting.

If you still find it hard to front squat, then do 1-legged leg presses.

1-legged leg presses are basically the same as the regular leg press but you do them one leg at a time, with one leg up on the platform and the other on the ground.

Why do I recommend this? Because 90% of people have the nasty habit of rounding their lower back when doing the conventional leg press which is bad for so many reasons.

By keeping one leg on the ground, it will be virtually impossible to round your lower back. Plus, you won’t have to spend as much time re-racking the weights

The dumbbell snatch (video here) is a slightly more technical exercise but it’s quite easy to learn once you start doing it. Just remember to always keep your core tight.

What if I don’t have access to the gym

I’ll be honest, not having access to the gym and heavy weights isn’t ideal. But not all hope is lost.

The next best thing to do is intense bodyweight workouts. One of my favorite bodyweight programs out there now is Bodyweight Burn. Check it out if you’re lacking in the equipment department.

Part 2: The Diet

Next on the list we have diet.

And this will make or break you.

You can lose weight without exercising, but if your diet isn’t on point, you’re dead.

And when it comes to dieting, especially summer dieting, people tend to do extremely desperate things.

Things like buying fat burners and going to detox diets come to mind but I’ll save that for another article.

Don’t be like other people, follow the tips below, become a dieting rebel and make dieting a breeze:

Set your calorie deficit. Once again, this is the cornerstone of any diet. You must eat less than you burn. A crapshoot formula for calculating your daily intake to lose one pound per week would be: Your bodyweight in pounds times 12 kcals.

And remember, this is just a crapshoot. Your intake may very well vary based on your activity level, age, and other factors. Start off with this formula and if you don’t begin to lose weight, then decrease calories by 100-200 per week.

Get your protein. You should aim for a minimum of 0.8-1 gram/lb of bodyweight here. It honestly doesn’t matter where you get your protein, whether it’s from whey protein powder, meat, tofu, etc… You’re not going to make or break your physique based on the source of protein.

Eat some fat. The whole point of getting a healthy amount of fat in your diet is to keep you satiated and to keep your hormone levels in check. So try to get at minimum 20% of your total calories from fat.

Also keep in mind that fat has 9 calories per gram so you can use the following formula below to get a rough estimate your fat intake:

Daily grams of fat formula  = (Your daily calorie intake * .20) / 9

As for carbs… Getting your carb intake is really simple. After you get your protein and fats, just fill in whatever remaining calories you have with carbs. You should aim to eat whole-food carbs like potatoes, pasta, and bread. But of course, don’t forget to have a cookie every now and then.

No food is off limit. This is the rebel guide to summer fat loss, not some typical “don’t starchy eat carbs and avoid red meat” bullshit.

The probability of you succeeding on your diet in the long run depends on you being happy and satisfied. So if you want some pie then have some pie, maybe a slice or two. Just don’t eat the whole damn thing and make sure you don’t go over your calorie limit.

Avoid elimination-based diets. An elimination based diet is a diet that completely eliminates (or almost completely eliminates) an entire food group. Things like ketogenic diets or vegetarian diets come to mind, eliminating carbs and meat respectively.

People especially tend to go on elimination diets when they’re desperate (e.g., getting in shape for the summer) by completely eliminating foods like sugar from their diet.

And this works, but only in the short-term. But what happens after the summer? Are you really going to stop eating sugar for the rest of your life?

Probably not. Most people who do elimination diets tend fall off the wagon after a couple of months only to binge on said eliminated food and regain all their lost weight.

This is why you should never restrict any food from your diet. There’s really no single food out there that has the ability to single-handedly wreck your body.

Surviving BBQs and parties. Don’t be the weirdo at the party that eats nothing but carrot sticks. If you play your cards right, you can regularly go to social events and indulge without gaining weight.

The secret behind this is to simply save or ‘bank’ your calories for the party so by the time you eat you’ll have (almost) an entire day’s worth of calories to play with.

So let’s say you’re dieting on 1800 calories per day and you have a barbecue at night. During the day you would essentially fast, consuming nothing but water and zero calorie drinks (diet coke is okay).

So by the time you go to the BBQ, you’ll have 1800 calories to work with, which is quite a lot. And if you really get hungry during the day, you can have a couple of pieces of fruit or a protein shake but don’t eat more than a few hundred calories.

Track weekly, not daily calories. Tracking weekly instead of daily calories removes a lot of the stress of dieting.

Realizing that you need to hit a weekly calorie goal of 140000 calories/week instead of exactly 2000 calories/day removes a lot of the stress from dieting.

It also allows for a lot more freedom, especially if you overeat a bit on one day. In that case, all you need to do is eat less the following day.

Focus on high volume eating. Eat foods like oranges, apples, chicken soup, salads, and anything else that’s high in water, fiber, and low in calories.

Also if you’re in the mood for some pasta, one food that has been gaining in popularity are shirataki noodles, which are essentially zero-calories and taste “almost” like real noodles. These are great if you want to eat a ton of food and still lose weight.

Grow some big fat balls. I’ll be blunt – you’re going to fail. The chances of you actually starting your diet and reaching the finish line without a single screw up are slim to none.

You’re going to have days where you overeat. You’re going to have days where you want to quit. You’re going to have days where you question yourself why the hell you’re even doing this.

And most people quit when they have those days. They go back to their old lifestyle only to repeat the same thing a year later.

It’s like they say – “If it’s easy then everybody would be doing it.”

Dieting is going to be tough so grow a pair of balls. If you already have balls, grow some bigger ones.

And contrary to popular belief, dieting itself isn’t even time-consuming. It’s just incredibly mentally draining. It’s the constant amount of mind-fucking that dieting causes that will screw you over.

The key to dieting success – keep your mind off dieting. Increase your masturbation frequency, find a hobby (stamp collecting, perhaps)…whatever floats your boat.

Part 3: Alcohol

Lastly we have everyone’s favorite topic, booze.

First off, to answer your burning questions:

Can I drink alcohol and still lose weight? Yes

Can I get wasted and still lose weight? Yes

Happy now? You can very well get wasted on a regular basis if you wish and still lose fat.

And just so you know, I’m not encouraging people to get drunk. But if you’re going to get wasted, at least don’t get fat from it.

But first to acknowledge the non-drunks here: If you’re the type of person who just likes to have a beer or two after work or maybe a glass of wine with dinner then just count that towards your total calorie intake for the day. That’s all.

For everyone else wanting to know how they drink their way to leanness, read on.

This is your game plan if you know you’re in for a night of drinking and don’t want to track calories:

Eat plenty of protein. During the day, eat plenty of protein while limiting carbs and fats. Eat foods like protein powder, egg whites, chicken, beef, and low-fat cottage cheese. Get all your carbs from fruits and veggies.

Only use zero calorie mixers. You can drink as much as you want but don’t add any calories on top of the alcohol you’re already consuming. Avoid things like juices, cream, soda, etc…

However feel free to use diet coke (or any diet soda), zero calorie red bull, or any other mixer that has no calories.

Limit your drinking to once or twice per week. Drinking more than this won’t necessarily stall fat loss. But use some common fucking sense. Drinking so much and getting drunk on such a regular basis simply isn’t good for your health.

Don’t eat while drinking. The real reason people get fat isn’t because they drink too much, it’s because they eat too much crap while they drink. It’s not the shots of Grey Goose that make you fat, it’s the chips and 3 a.m. McDonald runs.

Don’t attempt to fight MMA fighters when drunk. Just thought I’d throw this out there. It’s a bad idea, trust me.

Alcohol won’t wreck your fat loss efforts as long as you adhere to the rules above.

But then again, following a set of rules after 8 shots of tequila isn’t the easiest thing in the world.

Closing thoughts

You don’t need cardio to lose weight for the summer.

Detox diets? That’s hilarious.

You simply need is a sound diet plan without any crazy restrictions plus a simple but effective workout plan.

But on top of all this, you need the mindset. You will fail at least once, maybe twice or ten times before you reach your goals.

Stay persistent and you will come out on top.

Are you planning to lose weight for the summer? Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

I have an awesome interview for you guys today.

I recently got a chance to chat with Sol Orwell who runs the website Examine.com, an absolute beast of a supplement website.

And unlike most shady supplement sites, Examine backs all it’s info with scientific papers.

So if you’ve ever wanted to learn about a particular supplement, it’s benefits, and whether or not you should take it, go to Examine (not Wikipedia).

1) The supplement industry is one of the most controversial and shady industries in the world. What can consumers do to avoid being scammed by the “latest and greatest” supplements on the market?

Well, that is part of why we created Examine.com. There is a lot of hyperbole and studies taken out of context that make supplement X seem amazing and the solution you’ve been seeking.

Really, you just need to be cynical. The old truism “if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is” holds here.

2) We all know that the only sustaining a calorie deficit over time is the only way to lose weight. But are there any supplements that are actually proven to expedite weight loss?

It depends on how much you are talking about. Illegal drugs like DNP and clen can strip away a lot of fat, but if you take them incorrectly, they can literally kill you.

There are two common supplements that do help people who are not obese:

- ECA stack, commonly used by bodybuilders. Read more: http://examine.com/supplements/ECA/  For those in the US, ephedrine by itself is not available, but bronkaid is used as a substitute.

- Yohimbine, which is actually useful when you are lean enough and only dealing with stubborn body fat. Yohimbine helps mobilize the fat, and then you must do some light cardio (eg brisk walking) to actually “burn” that fat. Learn more: http://examine.com/supplements/Yohimbine/

For people that are obese and unhealthy, some supplements that are worthwhile for general health can also help reduce bodyfat (they do not help reduce body fat in people already lean). Berberine is a good example of that.

3) What about gaining muscle? Besides anabolic steroids, what are some useful supplements for building muscular size and strength?

The two most proven muscle builders are creatine and beta-alanine. Creatine works because it gives your cells more (immediately available) energy. This lets you do a few more reps.

Beta-alanine has a more cumulative effect, so that taking it repeatedly over time lets you get in more volume, which again, helps you build more muscle.

While not a problem for most people, having adequate protein intake is also important.

Other commonly touted products like glutamine are useless, unless you are in a deficient state (which is very very rare – most common in burn victims).

If you want to build muscle, try taking some cocaine creatine.

4) Increasing testosterone levels seems to be all the rage these days.  What your thoughts on  ”testosterone boosting” supplements? Does it actually help you build muscle and lose fat?

Overhyped.

Testosterone boosters like tribulus (very popular) and others have never even been proven to increase testosterone. Some supplements do increase your libido, which people mistakenly conflate with increasing your testosterone.

That is a false assumption – you can increase your libido without your testosterone level increasing at all.

On the flip side, it is not uncommon for people to be deficient in a critical mineral (zinc or magnesium being two common ones in athletic people, vitamin d in the general population), which can decrease testosterone. Increase the intake of those minerals (via diet or supplementation) will take your testosterone levels back to their proper *baseline*levels.

5) Thoughts on different types of protein? In terms of body composition and overall health, are there any noticeable differences between protein sources – whey, casein, soy, rice, hemp, etc…?

Pretty much a non-issue. Most people who lift weights take enough protein that worrying about complete vs incomplete, leucine content, etc is irrelevant.

Far more important would be to focus on keeping stress levels low, getting adequate sleep, making sure you have enough vitamin d, etc…

6) Let’s talk about multivitamins? If one is consuming a nutritionally dense diet, would you say they still need to take a multivitamin?

The quick and easy answer is that supplementing with a multivitamin is not needed.

They are good if you have a horrible diet, but they lost their benefits if you have a solid diet. I personally do not take it.

7) Are there any essential supplements that you believe the everyday man or woman should take simply for the sake of maintaining good health?

In general:

• ZMA if you are active (if you are deficient in your diet)
• Fish oil, if you do not regularly eat fatty fish
• Vitamin D, if you do not live inside the tropics and get adequate sunlight
• Creatine, if you are a vegetarian

The smart thing to do is to run through your diet and see if you are below 50% of the RDA for anything.

Older females may need calcium (can easily use casein proten for this), and iron is a moderately common deficiency (but best handled by an MD and not supplementation).

8) Most overrated supplement? Most underrated supplement?

Most overrated would be a tie between glutamine (a useless muscle builder) and tribulus (a useless T-booster). Glucosamine is also in the running for joint-health, but we still need to research more.

Most underrated would be berberine. Read about it, it’s quite amazing: http://examine.com/supplements/Berberine/

Be sure to check out Examine for more awesome supplement info!

Lean bulking is like Iron Man armor upgrades – slow and incremental.

So lately I’ve been getting a bunch of emails and they look something like this:

“Hey Keith, what’s the best way for me to gain muscle without fat. I want to pack on the size but I don’t want my six-pack to disappear.”

“Dude I need help gaining muscle but I don’t want to get fat. Is there any way to gain muscle mass without any fat?”

“I’m not really looking to lose weight anymore, but how do you build muscle without getting fat?”

“Neglected and lonely housewife. Looking for company, interested?”

So if you’ve ever wondered what the best way to build muscle with minimal fat is, then this is the article for you.

And my best tip for responding to sex messages on the internet? Don’t respond to sex messages on the internet.

Stay safe.

A note to beginners

If you’re a complete beginner who has never weight trained before, then you have no business reading this article.

Read this article instead.

Beginners can get away with eating more calories since they have never been exposed to weight training, thus any extra calories will primarily be used to build muscle.

Whereas on the other hand, intermediate and advanced trainees need to be more careful. They tend store any excess calories as fat since they’ve already gone through the initial “beginners growth spurt.”

Structuring your diet for maximum muscle and minimal fat

Gaining muscle with minimal fat is a relatively simple process.

You simply need to eat more on your training days, and less on your off days.

That’s all.

By increasing your caloric intake on training days, you’re ensuring that the excess calories are used to build new muscle tissue.

And by eating less on off days (typically at your maintenance level), you’re ensuring that you don’t gain any weight.

Make sense?

Calculating your calories for training and off days

If you already know your maintenance intake then great, use that.

But if you don’t then here is a crap shoot formula that you can use. I call it a crap shoot because there are simply too many variables to say that a formula is 100% accurate.

Formula to estimate maintenance intake: 15 kcals x bodyweight in pounds.

Like I said, the above formula is a crap shoot but it’s a good starting point.

For example, if you’re a stripper, then you’re going to need more calories than some who’s um…not a stripper.

But if you’re sitting at a cubicle for most of the day, then you’re not going to need that many calories

Basically the more active you are, the more calories you need.

For lean bulking, here’s what your calorie intake is going to look like:

Training day intake: maintenance intake + 500 calories

Off day intake: maintenance intake

Why 500 extra calories?

Well yeah if you’re an absolute freak about gaining a tiny bit body fat, you could technically do a 200 calorie surplus and still see results but that’s simply too risky in my opinion.

200 calories isn’t much and it’s just not worth the frustration when you’re 6 weeks, don’t see results, and quit because you were too chicken to bump up your calories. 500 calories is a pretty safe bet for most people.

500 calories may result in a very very tiny amount of fat gain but it’s nothing you can’t burn off in a couple weeks after you’ve gained your newly found sex destroying muscles.

How should you train?

There is no right or wrong way to train, although most people respond best to hitting each muscle twice per week.

This can easily be done with a 4 day upper/lower body split which has been shown to be incredibly effective with people.

Here’s a popular routine by Jason Ferruggia that works wonders.

What’s wrong with traditional bulking?

There are 2 problems with traditional bulking:

1) You get fat as fuck (aka you look like crap)

2) Gaining excess body fat is unhealthy

From a psychological point of view, traditional bulking is 100x easier than losing weight.

You don’t have hunger pangs, you always have energy in the gym, and you can go out to eat stress-free.

This is why people get so excited to bulk. They see it as an excuse to eat whatever they want and rationalize any fat gain with the need to bulk.

Don’t be like most people.

Stay lean and gain muscle.

Patience my friend. Lean bulking takes time. A lot of time.

Remember, the whole point of lean bulking is to gain muscle with minimal fat.

And when you’re not gaining a lot of fat like most people, you’re going to think that you’re not progressing.

If you’re like most intermediate trainers, you shouldn’t expect to gain more than 1 pound of muscle per month.

Sounds pretty shitty, huh?

But what were you expecting?

Everyone has a genetic muscular limit and the more muscle you continue to gain, the slower the gains will come.

And the “1 pound per month” refers to pure 100% lean muscle tissue. If you add 1 pound of muscle, especially if it’s to your arms or shoulders…the differences in your physique are going to be pretty massive.

These are one pound steaks. Imagine these being added to your physique. Oh yeah…

Conclusion

Basically here’s lean bulking in a nutshell:

• Traditional bulking for non-beginners is unnecessary, sloppy, and unhealthy.
• Eat 500 more calories on your training days.
• Eat at maintenance intake on rest days. But remember, you need to factor in activity levels. The more active you are, the more calories you need to eat to compensate for that activity.
• Train each muscle group 2x per week with a well-structured program.
• Don’t expect to gain more than 1 pound of muscle per month.

Have a question? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Throw everything out the window – start off 2013 right!

2013 is here!

And let’s face it –  losing weight is, and always will be the #1 New Year’s resolution.

Over the next few months you will see millions of people try new diets and you will see millions of people fail.

Why do we fail?

It’s not because the diet itself doesn’t work. It’s because most commercial diets out there are unsustainable for everyday life.

Most people go out to eat. They love doughnuts and greasy fried meats. They drink alcohol. They’re surrounded by an endless parade of cheap and tasty fast food options.

Most conventional diets take the extreme route and eliminate all your favorite foods, but to achieve long-term weight loss success, that’s not always the answer.

Cutting out your favorite foods gets you nowhere

If you love doughnuts then why the hell would ever try to go low carb?

It doesn’t make any sense. You’re never going to stop loving doughnuts, so why even try.

The same goes for any other diet.

Almost all commercial diets have you eating a handful of foods while eliminating others.

• The Glycemic Index Diet only lets you eat low GI foods.
• The Paleo diet only lets you eat foods that “cavemen” would eat.
• Detox juicing diets are a big fat scam with no scientific evidence to back it up.
• The Blood-Type diet is just an embarrassing cluster-fuck of misinformation that I won’t even attempt to explain here.

You get my point…

If your diet doesn’t let you eat carbs, are you seriously never going to eat carbs again for the rest of your life.

These types of diets force you to structure your life around your diet. They are unsustainable and shouldn’t be done if you want to live a normal flexible lifestyle.

What most people need to succeed is a “normal life” proof diet – a diet plan where you’re able to eat how you want, when you want without extreme restrictions.

“You must create a calorie deficit to lose weight but eating sugar will make you fat”

Man this pisses me off.

In fact it’s probably the most annoying thing I read in fitness publications.

The writer clearly states that the only way to lose fat is by creating a calorie deficit which is 100% true.

But then the writer ruins their statement by saying how eating any amount of sugar, fat, or [inset bad food here] will make you fat.

So what the person is saying is that you can lose weight as long as you create a calorie deficit but the moment you eat some sugar, you’re going to get fat.

Geez, no wonder people are so confused about nutrition.

What life without some pie?

Always question authority

Just because you hear a doctor or personal trainer tell you about how you should be doing paleo or low carb or whatever…it doesn’t mean they’re right. Ironically, doctors are some of the worst sources for dieting advice.

In fact, any advice given by someone who takes an extreme stance towards any side of nutrition should be avoided altogether.

You can give those diets a shot and if it works for you, then great, keep doing whatever works for you.

But if you fail, convincing yourself that you need to do that specific diet because it’s the “best” is just stupid.

You need to understand that there is no “best” diet plan. The best diet is the one you can follow.

4-step action plan: Making your diet normal life proof

Here’s a step-by-step action plan that you can start using today to help you create a more diet plan that you actually enjoy doing.

1. Create a calorie deficit – The cornerstone of any diet plan. 12 x bodyweight in pounds is a good starting point.
2. Ignore meal frequency – You can eat 1 meal per day or 5 meals per day, it doesn’t matter.
3. Cover your “bases – ” Eat plenty of fruits, veggies, plus get some protein and healthy fats in your body.
4. That’s it. Focus on the total amount of calories you eat and actually eat the foods you love.

How to free yourself from restrictive dieting forever

If you want a more in-depth explanation on how to free yourself from restrictive dieting check out what John Barban has to say with his Anything Goes Diet System.

John is one of my go-to guys when it comes to dieting and living a super-flexible lifestyle. He really goes in-depth on how to live the flexible dieting lifestyle and how to literally eat anything you want and still lose fat. In fact, I remember John saying he ate a doughnut every single day as he was dieting down. Crazy!

What does your diet currently look like? Is it normal life proof? Let me know in the comments below.

Photo credit neonihil

Every year dozens of new workout and diet programs hit the market.

Most of them are crap.

And people end up buying this crap because of their slick marketing and shiny packaging.

But this article isn’t about deceptive marketing and crap. It’s about all the non-crap (that’s a word…I think).

This article is dedicated to recognizing the Best of 2012 – the people who have created programs that go above and beyond to providing value to change the lives of people.

Below I have listed the top 10 best workout and diet programs of 2012.

Note: If you do decide to purchase through any of the links below, I do earn a small commission. This helps keep FitMole up and running. These are all products that I have read/used and I recommend them because I know they will help you and I trust the people behind them. If you have any questions feel free to email me.

Reveal The Steel

What is it: A complete ’4 Stage’ workout routine and diet plan to burn fat and build muscle.

Who’s it for: Skinny fat individuals, people looking to lose fat while maintaining all their hard earned muscle mass

Why’s it awesome: As you all probably know, the fitness industry is filled with misinformation – shady supplements, photoshopped transformation pics, and a seemingly endless amount of studies ‘proving’ that carbs are good…and bad. Reveal the Steel, written by fitness blogger Clint Nielsen does away with all that. He cuts straight to the point with brutally honest, actionable advice that will help you strip fat, build muscle, and get in the best shape of your life.

How much does it cost: $47 for the 150 pg. book + 18 weeks of programming + printable workout logs + free access to the Members Portal

Check out Reveal The Steel here.

Bodyweight Burn

What is it: A 21 minute fat burning bodyweight workout program. Learn how to achieve maximum leanness without ever stepping foot in the gym.

Who’s it for: People who hate the gym, people who need a break from the gym, people short on time and need to workout, bodyweight enthusiasts looking for a fun new workout

Why’s it awesome: Most of the bodyweight workout programs out there today are nothing more than an endless barrage of push ups…not the most fun or exciting thing to do. And that’s where Adam Steer “The Bodyweight Coach” comes in the save the day. Adam has authored plenty of bodyweight programs before, but Bodyweight Burn might be his best yet. It goes above and beyond the monotonous push up and incorporates kicks, rolls, and even ‘dance like’ moves to help you burn fat and have fun.

How much does it cost: $47 for the Bodyweight Burn workout system + exercise manual + wall charts + instruction videos + much more

Check out Bodyweight Burn here.

Muscle Gaining Secrets 2.0

What is it: An update to one of the best muscle gaining programs around.

Who’s it for: Skinny guys, hardgainers, pretty much anyone looking to pack of slabs of rock hard muscle mass

Why’s it awesome:  Are you skinny and want to get jacked? Then look no further than MGS 2.0, an update to one of the most popular muscle gaining programs of all time. Okay not to sound like a cheesy infomercial but Jason Ferruggia’s MGS 2.0 is seriously one of the best solutions out there for skinny hardgainers. But don’t expect the typical 6 day workout splits that your favorite pro-bodybuilders do. Instead, expect an intelligently programmed routine that has helped hundreds of Ferruggia’s clients transform their physiques and will now help you.

How much does it cost: $39.95 for the MGS 2.0 manual + printable workout sheets + 30 days of free online coaching

Check out Muscle Gaining Secrets 2.0 here.

LGN 365

What is it: A complete body-recomposition course that teaches you the most optimal way to burn fat, build muscle, and maintain those results for the rest of your life.

Who’s it for: Someone who wants the definite guide on body-recomposition, a complete beginner that doesn’t know where to start

Why’s it awesome: LGN stands for Look Great Naked, and one could argue that looking great naked is the main reason we even follow this whole fitness lifestyle thing. LGN365, written by JC Deen provides a highly effective no-BS approach to building your ideal physique. His program will help forge your mindset so you’ll have no choice but to succeed. You’ll also learn the most effective ways to eat and train for fat loss or muscle gain. So wherever you’re at – whether you’re skinny, fat, or anything in between…LGN365 has something for you.

How much does it cost: $85 for the 70+ pg. fitness manual + fat loss manual + hypertrophy manual + macronutrient calculators + recipe book+ detailed exercise demonstration videos + exclusive interviews with industry experts (including Leo Babauta of Zenhabits)

Check out LGN365 here.

Superhero Fat Loss

What is it: A complete workout program to help you build the body of a superhero

Who’s it for: Aspiring vigilantes. People looking to burn fat, increase flexibility, endurance, and athletic performance

Why’s it awesome: Need I say more? This is a workout to help you become a freaking superhero. Just think about it – in a few months time you’ll be conditioned enough to take on a dozen armed men, stop bank robbers, chase down purse snatchers, and dodge bullets (not guaranteed, but your chances of doing so increase). How awesome does that sound? But if crime fighting isn’t your thing, that’s cool. You can always just use Superhero Fat Loss to torch body fat, increase athleticism and endurance, and get in the best fucking shape of your life.

How much does it cost: $39.99 for the Superhero Fat Loss Training Manual + Female Superhero Training + Superhero Exercise Database + Superhero Quick Start Checklist + much more

Check out Superhero Fat Loss here.

Raising the Bar

What is it: Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about pull-up bar exercises

Who’s it for: People who like pull-ups, people who want to become absolute badasses at pull-ups

Why’s it awesome: Pull-ups are awesome. You know what’s even more awesome? One arm pull-ups. You know what’s more awesome than one arm pull-ups? One arm muscle-ups. Raising The Bar, written by bodyweight fanatic Al Kavadlo has created the first ever book that’s solely dedicated to mastering the pull-up and it’s advanced variations. In his book, Al will teach you (no matter what your skill level) how to do your first pull up and work your way up to some of the most badass bodyweight exercises on the planet.

How much does it cost: $39.99 for the 224 pg. book

Check out Raising the Bar here.

Visual Impact Cardio

What is it: A “progressive cardio system” to help you master the “skill” of losing body fat and blast through fat loss plateaus

Who’s it for: Someone looking for a workout to burn massive amounts of calories, someone trying to lose those last 10-20 pounds

Why’s it awesome: Rusty Moore is one of my favorite fitness bloggers on the interwebz. And the thing about Rusty is that he really likes going against mainstream fitness advice, so much so that his new course for 2012, Visual Impact Cardio actually recommends people to do traditional cardio. Gasp! But as Rusty explains in his book, cardio is actually one the most efficient ways to burn the maximum amount of calories. Through a combination of HIIT and steady state cardio, Visual Impact Cardio teaches you how to blast through any fat loss plateau and get as lean as you desire.

How much does it cost: $47 for the 99 pg. Visual Impact Cardio Manual + Printable Workout Journal

Check out Visual Impact Cardio here.

Eat Stop Eat Expanded 5th Edition

What is it: An update to arguably the most popular intermittent fasting book of all time.

Who’s it for: Anyone interested in intermittent fasting, anyone who wants to break free from restrictive eating habits

Why’s it awesome: Brad Pilon once again expands on his intermittent fasting classic with brand new info on hunger, dieting, growth hormone, testosterone, and autophagy. Basically, Brad has made a great book even more amazing. This is truly a must read for anyone interested in intermittent fasting.

How much does it cost: $37 ($9.99 for 3 day trial and $27 after) for the 175 pg. book

Check out Eat Stop Eat Expanded 5th Edition here.

Reverse Taper Diet

What is it: A flexible step-by-step dieting system to help you get as lean as your desire without any rebound weight gain

Who’s it for: Anyone looking to lose weight and struggles with traditional diet plans

Why’s it awesome: Most diets follow a forward taper structure, meaning the leaner a person gets, the more they lower calories to ensure continuous weight loss. But the problem with the forward taper structure is that by the end of the diet, you’re at 800 calories per day and ready to pass out. Most diets end with the person going on a binge eating spree and regaining all their weight within a matter of weeks. The reverse taper diet by John Barban and Brad Pilon is designed to avoid all the rebound weight gain and help you lose weight and actually keep it off permanently.

How much does it cost: $39.99 (2 payments) for the Reverse Taper Diet Manual + Reverse Taper Diet Sofware

Check out the Reverse Taper Diet here.

Fix My Shoulder Pain

What is it: A complete shoulder injury system to assess and fix shoulder pain so you suffer in the gym again

Who’s it for: Anyone who doesn’t want to fuck up their shoulders (aka everyone)

Why’s it awesome: Along with lower back injuries, shoulder injuries are one of the most common gym injuries. Shoulder injuries are incredibly common especially with exercises like the bench press, which is like the most popular gym exercise. Ever. A bad shoulder can put you out of the gym for months so it’s incredibly important for you to take care of them. Fix My Shoulder was created by injury specialist Rick Kaselj and with his SR3 Method, Rick will help reshape your painful shoulder into a pain-free shoulder.

How much does it cost: $19.99 for Segment #1 (Quick Start Tour) + Segment #2 (Shoulder Assessment) + Segment #3 (Fixing Your Shoulder)

Check out Fix My Shoulder Pain here.

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And that’s a wrap!

What was your favorite workout or diet from 2012? Let me know in the comments below.

These quotes might range from the genius (“Eat less and move more”) to the stupid (see below).

But today I’m here to put an end to some of the most commonly used health & fitness quotes in the world. These quotes have been perpetuated for years, brainwashing the minds of individuals. It’s time to let the truth reign free.

1. “If it tastes good, spit it out” – Jack LaLanne

So are you telling me I have to spit this out?

I love mangoes. They’re fucking delicious.

I also love steak, sweet potatoes, eggs, and oranges which are all foods most people would agree are “healthy.”

They all taste good. Oops, did I say something wrong?

Is my body going to burst into flames because I ate food that tasted good?

While I respect Jack LaLane for living such an active and fitness oriented lifestyle up until his death, I cringe every time someone uses this quote.

I’m sure LaLanne meant for people to “spit out” more processed foods like chips and cookies, but still…it’s one of the most poorly worded quotes in fitness.

A more accurate quote: “If it tastes rotten, pre-chewed, or poisoned spit it out”

2. “If you’re not, squatting you’re not training”

Who the hell came up with this?

Unless you’re a competitive powerlifter, I don’t understand everyone’s obsession with squats.

Some people seem to have a cult-like mentality with squats, but there are other ways to build up your legs.

Beyond just squats you have: split squats, Bulgarian split squats, leg presses, lunges, and an endless list of single leg exercises.

As humans, squatting up and down is a very natural movement and I believe that everyone should be able to at least squat with their bodyweight, but as for the necessity of super heavy squats – not so much.

A more accurate quote: “If you’re not training your lower body, you’re not training”

3. “An apple per day will keep the doctor away”

Mother…fucker, an apple a day will not keep the doctor away.

The only thing eating an apple gives you is some fiber, Vitamin C, and antioxidants. And don’t get me wrong, these are all good things.

But it’s completely ignorant to believe that eating an apple (or any healthy food for that matter) will prevent you from getting sick, especially if the rest of your diet is bad.

Eating healthy foods like apples could potentially decrease your chances of getting sick, but that’s all it does – decrease the chances.

A more accurate quote: “An apple per day will make your breath smell like apple”

4. “Not all calories are created equal”

A calorie is a unit of energy. It’s a unit of measurement.

Just like 1 pound is 1 pound, no matter what.

This is an undisputed fact. If you can prove me wrong, go ahead. You’ll probably win a Nobel Prize or some shit if you do so.

What people mean to say is “Not all macro-nutrients are created equal.”

By saying this, you’re saying that not all macros (fats/carbs/proteins) are created equal and this is 100% true.

But of course, saying that “not all macros are crated equal” doesn’t sound as sexy and doesn’t sell as well so it will probably never catch on.

A more accurate quote: “All calories are created equal, not all macro-nutrients are created equal”

5. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”

Do I even need to say it?

While the concept of tapering down your calories can definitely work for weight loss and overall health…to tell people that it’s the only way is foolish and ignorant.

Concepts like skipping breakfast and intermittent fasting are foreign to these people who believe this.

Personally I like to skip breakfast, eat lunch like a mouse, and eat dinner like Kobayashi.

A more accurate quote: “Eat however the fuck you want to eat”

6. “Losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise”

When it comes to weight loss, it’s more accurate to say that it’s 95% diet and 5% exercise.

The main purposes of exercising while dieting is twofold – to maintain muscle mass and mental relief.

You should exercise so you don’t lose any of that sexy muscle that shapes your body and because frankly, you’re going to feel like shit if you don’t start moving around.

As for the calorie burn you get from exercising – it’s a bonus.

A person who loses weight on 2000 calories per day almost never does so by eating 3000 calories and burning 1000 calories through exercise. Burning 1000 calories per workout is incredibly hard (see below). It’s much easier to just eat 2000 calories than it is to run 10 additional miles.

A more accurate quote: “Losing weight is 95% diet and 5% exercise”

7. “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet”

Pro-athletes can out-exercise a bad diet.

I was hesitant to put this on the list because for the average person, it’s completely true.

But at the same time, this quote is technically false.

First, let’s define what a “bad diet” is.

For most people, a bad diet is a diet where you eat anywhere from a 500-2000 calorie surplus in crappy foods.

And for these people, burning 500-2000 calories in the subsequent workout is incredibly unrealistic.

But that’s not to say it’s impossible.

Have you seen the way pro athletes train? If you’re a professional football, soccer, basketball, or tennis player the you could probably afford to eat in a 2000 calorie surplus.

These guys train like crazy. They literally burn thousands of calories, day in and day out. But it’s their life…their job.

Pro athletes are dedicated to training for hours per day. As for the common dude who wants to lose 20 pounds, not so much.

So can out-exercise a bad diet? Technically, yes. But the chances of it happening for most people is incredibly low.

A more accurate quote: “You can out-exercise a bad diet, but the chances are well…shit”

8. “Abs are made in the kitchen”

This guy has abs.

Ah yes, the infamous kitchen abs quote. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve heard this.

But here’s the truth – abs are not made in the kitchen, they’re made in the gym…in your workout.

The stuff you do in the kitchen, the foods you eat do one thing and one thing only – help you lose body fat.

Losing body fat doesn’t “make” your abs. Losing body fat helps reveal your abs.

But the stuff you do in the gym – the pull-ups, planks, cable crunches, deadlifts, and hanging leg raises…this is what actually “makes” your abs.

But this guy also has abs.

Ab exercises give your abs definition and density. Without this, you’re just a skinny guy with abs.

Remember the old saying, “A skinny guy with abs is like a fat girl with big tits, it doesn’t count.”

A more accurate quote: “Abs are made in the gym, they’re revealed in the kitchen”

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Do you have any common health & fitness quotes that you can’t stand? Let me know in the comments below.

Photo credit: mhaithaca

1) So for those that don’t know, can you give us a super quick rundown of what intermittent fasting is and what your approach (Eat Stop Eat) is all about?

Intermittent fasting is really nothing more than learning to take periodic, planned breaks from eating. Eat Stop Eat is a system of Intermittent fasting where those breaks are 24 hours long, and are taken once or twice a week…

2) We know intermittent fasting is very effective for weight loss, but what about muscle building? Are there any benefits to fasting and building muscle?

I think so.

Calories are permissive to the muscle building process, but not the driving force, especially if you are not undergoing juvenile growth. Meaning there is an amount of caloric energy that is needed for muscle growth (I have no idea what this amount is), but it is not a driver, meaning you can’t just add more calories and get more muscle (Otherwise, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic, we’d have a bodybuilder epidemic.)

So truthfully, we don’t really have an exact number for how many calories you need to build muscle.

This is where IF can come into play… you can slightly overeat in the name of building muscle, while throwing in the occasional 24 hour fast to help alleviated some of the body fat build up that occurs during bulking.

3) I know you’re super flexible with your diet, but what does a sample day of eating look like for you when you’re not fasting?

I’m usually up by around 7 ish. Kids are out of the house an off to school/preschool by 9. I’ll have my first coffee between 9:30 and 10 AM.

If I’m working out it normally happens around 10 or 11 AM.

Then I’ll have lunch around 12 or 1 pm. (Usually coffee number two happens around lunch time)… I pick the kids up from school at around 3. We’ll usually snack from 3 to 4 (This is really just whatever is around the house, apple slices yogurt, apple sauce…you name it). Dinner at 5 or 6 pm for the kids…we may eat with them, or my wife and I may eat later at 7′ish. Kids are in bed by 8 (hopefully)…I have a Guinness, maybe some snacks, then bed by 11… wash and repeat.

It’s really just eating when hungry.

We have ‘date night’ every Thursday night so on Thursday I’ll almost always have steak at my favorite restaurant. And at least once on the weekend (maybe twice) we’ll have pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

I have creatine, protein powder and a pre-workout supplement in my house – I’ll use them when I feel lazy and can’t be bothered to cook for myself, or go grocery shopping.

Realistically I probably have some form of chocolate every day, probably ice-cream once or twice a week, alcohol probably 2-3 times a week. Red meat once or twice a week… It’s really nothing fancy nor outrageous.

After almost 7 years of fasting once or twice a week I know when I’m hungry vs when I want food. I know the amount that is dieting, the amount that is neutral and the amount that is overdoing it. I adjust as needed.

4) What’s your take on fasted training, yay or nay? And do you believe that there’s any benefits to taking BCAA pre-workout like so many gurus say?

I used to like fasted training, but now I tend to view my fasts as recovery time. I like training legs on an empty stomach, but not necessarily ‘fasted’.

Actually when I think about it I usually like training on a fairly empty stomach, but I don’t go out of my way to be fasted.

I think the massive benefit of recotmmending pre-workout BCAA is the money you can make recommending pre-workout BCAAs. Truthfully It’s not like they’re going to hurt your training or your weight loss.

And, I understand the rational, but to me it’s the equivalent to waking up in the middle of the night to have a protein shake…sure it makes sense on paper…but really…chances of 7 grams of BCAA or a 2 AM shake are not what’s holding you back from making progress.

5) What would you say is the #1 benefit of Eat Stop Eat as opposed to more conventional ways of eating?

Flexibility. Hands down.

People like to look past the flexibility, looking for complicated hormonal pathways or metabolic loopholes to say it is the major benefit, but really, learning to go without food, and being flexible with your diet is the biggest benefit in my opinion.

6) 2012 is arguably the biggest year so far for IF, with the BBC documentary and more major news outlets like Huffington Post covering it. But IF still hasn’t really hit the mainstream. Do you ever see IF becoming “6 meals per day” popular?

It will become Atkins big, and it will suffer the same fate.

People will take it to extremes and become zealots, then it will be labeled it as dangerous. This seems to be the fate of all good ideas or theories in health and nutrition.

The best way to get attention is to rally against something that gets too popular. See Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, CrossFit and Paleo as examples

7) Awesome thanks for taking the time to do this Brad. So before you go, what’s next for Brad Pilon, do you have anything exciting coming up?

More updates to Eat Stop Eat, How Much Protein and possibly a rewrite of Anabolic Again. My goal is to keep these as cutting edge as possible.

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For more info on Brad Pilon:

Brad’s blog: BradPilon.com

Brad’s books: Eat Stop Eat, How Much Protein, Anabolic Again

Note: This guide is intended for the absolute beginner who has never touched a weight before or the person who has been fucking around the gym for the past 5 years and hasn’t seen any progress at all.  

1) Find your motivation (Why do you want this?)

The first step of achieving any goal is to ask yourself “why?”

Why do you want to gain muscle? Why do you want to transform your body?

Do you want to eventually compete in bodybuilding?

Did you get bullied as a kid and want to be more intimidating?

Do you want to impress women and get laid more? <—– 90% of male population

So whatever your reason, just make sure that you understand why you’re doing this. Dig deep.

Peel back the onion layers and reveal the root cause of why you’re putting in all this hard work. And every time you feel like quitting, remind yourself of why you’re doing this.

2) Reprogram your mindset, set realistic expectations

• Gain 50 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks…
• Our proprietary blend of armadillo milk and cow liver extract is guaranteed to increase muscle mass by 116%…
• Scientists have recently discovered an ancient muscle building trick used by the Aztecs, just pay $97 to learn all about it….
• Learn how to get jacked without spending any time in the gym…

You see, extravagant ”too good to be true” claims are typically just that, too good to be true.

They sound sexy, and prey on the minds of the uneducated and the sad thing is that it works. People believe in these shady marketing tactics and wonder why they aren’t seeing results after dropping $100 on that new “revolutionary” supplement.

If you want to have success with building muscle, you need to reprogram your mindset.

You need to understand that:

• There are no quick fixes
• If proper training and nutrition is taken care of, a beginner can expect to gain about 20-30 pounds in their first year of training. That might not sound like a lot but trust me, it is. If you need a visual, just think of a 20 pound steak being spread all over your body.
• Unless it involves sticking a needle in your body, most muscle building supplements are bullshit. Anything that claims to be “revolutionary” usually is not and anything that markets itself to be the reason you’re not gaining muscle should be ignored entirely.

Stick with the basics – train hard, eat well, and get enough rest. Never try to cheat the system, you’ll just set yourself up for disappointment.

3) Take a before picture, and take progress pics every 2 weeks

The scale measures your weight, that’s all.

It doesn’t measure your body fat or lean muscle mass, it measures everything in your body. So if you got boob implants, the scale would effectively go up.

Also the scale is heavily influenced by water weight which constantly changes depending on the types of food you eat. High carb foods and excess sodium tend to make people hold more water.

Instead of using the scale to track how your body looks, simply take pictures instead.

Take a picture at the start of your journey and every 2 weeks, take another picture. Every 2 weeks, you should see some improvements in your physique. And by the end of your muscle building journey, you should have a pretty badass collection of photos to show off.

Taking pictures is one of the best ways to measure progress.

4) Use this workout program

If you’re like most beginner trying to gain muscle, you probably got all your initial information from sources like bodybuilding magazines and  over-the-top sources like celebrities or athletes claiming to train 2 hours per day every day.

If you got your info from these sources, you need to realize that these people you listen to are not beginners, and while their routines may get results…they’re probably not optimal.

The typical “bodybuilding” routine has you annihilating each muscle group once per week with a barrage of sets and reps and then using the rest of the week to recover.

While these routines can be effective, they’re not very optimal for beginners. For the best results, beginners should go on a routine that trains each muscle more than once per week.

This is usually best done with a full body training split which has you training the entire body multiple times per week.

So here’s the workout done on alternating days:

Day 1

• Dumbbell or barbell bench press – 3 sets x 5 reps, rest 2 min between sets
• 1-arm dumbbell row – 3 sets x 5 reps per arm, rest 2 min between sets
• Parallel bar dips – 3 sets x 10-12 reps, rest 60 seconds between sets
• Chin ups – 3 sets x 10-12 reps, rest 60 seconds between sets
• Barbell squat – 3 sets x 5 reps, rest 2 min between sets
• Reverse dumbbell lunge – 3 sets x 8 reps per leg, rest 2 min between sets

Day 2

• Deadlift – 3 sets x 5 reps , rest 2 min between sets
• Dumbbell lunges – 2 sets x 8 reps, rest 2 min between sets
• Lower back extension – 3 sets x 10-12 reps, rest 60-90 seconds between sets
• Seated dumbbell shoulder press – 3 sets x 8 reps, rest 90 seconds between sets
• Lat pull-down (palms facing forward) – 3 sets x 10-12 reps, rest 60-90 seconds between sets

Day 3

• Dumbbell or barbell bench press – 3 sets x 5 reps, rest 2 min between sets
• 1-arm dumbbell row – 3 sets x 5 reps per arm, rest 2 min between sets
• Push ups – 3 sets x 10-12 reps, rest 60 seconds between sets
• Chin ups – 3 sets x 10-12 reps, rest 60 seconds between sets
• Barbell squat – 3 sets x 5 reps, rest 2 min between sets
• Reverse dumbbell lunge – 3 sets x 8 reps per leg, rest 2 min between sets

5) Rest and don’t overdo it on your off-days

You’re training 3 times per week. Do you understand? I said 3, not 4, not 5, not 3.5.

Don’t be like most guys who try to squeeze in a an extra gym session because you think it’ll help. Trying to do more will just impact recovery, making your next gym session feel like shit. Remember, you’re a beginner so you need to rest. The time you rest is the time you grow.

If you’re training with the right amount of intensity and as long as you’re not trying to cheat the workout by doing less sets or reps than specified,  then you should be begging for those rest days.

Structure your rest days so you’re not doing anything that’s terribly high intensity. You can do some light walking, foam rolling, stretching, etc… just don’t overdo it.

6) Determine your calorie needs

The only time I endorse eating a shit ton of food is when a complete newbie is trying to gain muscle.

Complete beginners can handle the surplus of calories because let’s face it, they’ve never eaten so much food nor trained so hard in their entire life so the extra food will truly have a magical effect on their body.

But will you get fat from eating so many calories?

Yes I’m not going to lie, you might gain a few pounds of fat, but that’s nothing compared to the amount of muscle you will gain. And once you’ve gained enough muscle, you can easily lose the fat in a matter of weeks.

To calculate daily calorie intake:

Your bodyweight in pounds multiplied by 16-18.

Most guys will be fine with using 18 as a starting point unless they literally don’t move on their off-days.

But also remember – if you’re super active on your off-days (e.g. you walk around the office or campus a lot) you might need to use a number even higher than 18. In these cases, just throw in an extra 200-300 calories on those specific days to make up for whatever calories burned. 

7) Determining your macros

After calculating your calorie intake, the next step would be to calculate your macros (aka your proteins, carbs, and fats).

First off we have protein. Protein is necessary to build muscle and at a minimum, aim to consume 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. There’s no problem with eating more protein but 0.8 grams per pound of BW should be the minimum.

Next we have carbs which can vary widely between individuals and because of this large variance, I don’t want to give an exact number. Some people do better on lower carb diets, some do better on higher carb diets. My only suggestion is to not attempt a zero carb diet.

Carbs will help replenish glycogen stores and having more glycogen will help you train with more intensity. So play around with your carb intake and see which one makes you feel the best.

And lastly we have fats. Once again, fat intake can vary widely, but for the most part people should keep it around at least 20% of their diet so they don’t screw up their hormones.

Random thoughts

If you do 90% of what I say in the above 7 steps, then I guarantee you’ll have success with gaining muscle. And with that said, here some concluding thoughts I have on the muscle building:

- Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. You’ve heard it all before but without adequate sleep you’ll risk limiting your muscle growth and a lack of sleep almost always translates to shitty training sessions.

- Don’t be fooled by supplement marketing. Supplements are one of the most controversial and shady markets around. There is very little legal control as to what you can put on the label, so supplement companies are known to stretch the truth, a lot. When building muscle stick with the basics – a multivitamin, fish oil (6-10 grams per day), creatine monohydrate, and whey protein.

- Fill the majority of your diet with nutrient dense foods. Eat foods like fruits, veggies, oatmeal, fatty meats, fish, whole eggs, and nuts…you know typical health food stuff.

- Don’t be afraid to eat your favorite foods. Even though your diet should mainly consist of nutrient dense foods, there’s no reason why you can’t have some ice cream every night. As long as the majority of your calories are coming from whole nutrient dense foods, then feel free to throw in a doughnut, some french fries, or whatever you fancy.

- Pre-workout nutrition isn’t necessary. It’s entirely okay to train fasted, but if you find yourself low on energy, then try a cup of coffee or something with caffeine before you workout.

- Enjoy the process. When it comes to building muscle, I would say the training is harder than the diet, so be sure to bring your A-game to the gym. Eating is relatively easy. You almost never go hungry since you’re in a caloric surplus but the important thing is to just be consistent.

Be sure to drop any comments or thoughts you have in the section below.

Photo credits: bouche, brtsergio

Muscles are like lizard tails – they can come back if you lose them.

People worry about the weirdest and most irrelevant things when dieting. When you’re dieting, your #1 goal is to lose weight (fat specifically), nothing more, nothing less. You should only be worried about how you’re going to create a calorie deficit for the day.

However minds begin to wonder, goals get distorted, and people begin coming up with these crazy “what if” scenarios.

“What if I eat less and my metabolism slows down?” – Nothing to worry about, covered that here.

“What if I lose weight but regain it all back?” – Then you’re not a very long-term minded person, are you?

“What if I go on a diet, become insanely sexy, and end up causing head-turning car collisions which in turn gets me arrested because of said sexiness and I get a life sentence in a maximum security prison?” – Completely legitimate concern, but that’s just a risk you have to be willing to take.

“What if I lose all my hard-earned muscle while dieting?” – Read the rest of the article.

Muscle loss while dieting is nothing to worry about

I completely understand people’s fear of losing muscle while dieting but the truth is that it’s nothing to worry about.

You see, muscle loss is transient. It’s not permanent. 

So even if you do somehow manage to lose 5 pounds of muscle while dieting, whether it’s due to an illness, extremely low protein intake or lack of resistance training…you’re guaranteed regain that loss once you begin eating normal and resume resistance training.

This is all thanks to muscle memory, which unlike muscle confusion, is a real thing.

Why the hell are you worried about muscle loss?

As long as you’re getting an adequate amount of protein…

As long as you’re consistently weight training while on your diet…

As long as you don’t go on any crazy crash diets….

You’re probably not going to lose any muscle mass. And even if you do manage to lose some… the amount will be minuscule.

Focus on losing body fat, because that’s the hard part. Worrying about muscle loss is just counter-productive.

Once you’re at your desired level of leanness, gaining back any lost muscle will be a relatively easy thing to do.

It’s the mindset of “Oh I should eat more food because I’ll lose muscle” that’s hurting your progress. The only thing eating more food will do is make you fat.

Saying that you should eat more while dieting is just a lame cop out for those who don’t have the discipline of consistently eating less.

Photo Credit - Nuno R.