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14 Signs You’re Doing Too Much Cardio
January 4, 2009
Guess what day it is today? The busiest day in gym history. The first Monday of January! And that means, it’s the season that folks will be hitting the cardio machines hard…
I was on the phone last night with my friend and world-famous trainer Craig Ballantyne and we were commenting on how after our workouts yesterday we noticed that many folks go through some interesting rituals during their workouts.
Craig told me that he just posted a mini article called, “The 7 Signs You Are Doing Too Much Cardio” and I burst out laughing at a few of them. I added 7 of my own. Let us know if we missed any and feel free to ask Craig any questions you might have too. He reads my blog and I’ve asked him to answer questions from you. He’s been writing for Men’s Health for years and a trusted source of information. Here we go…
#1 - You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all the magazines in the gym to find one you haven’t read before.
#2 - You know the other cardio addicts on the machines beside you (that you talk to everyday) better than you know your own friends.
#3 - You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym. (And you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)
#4 - You simply hate doing it and dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.
#5 - The only thing you are losing is precious time - and not belly fat.
#6 - You go to the gym to watch your favorite television shows while doing cardio.
#7 - You’re getting overuse injuries from repetitive motion because you keep doing the same activity over and over again everyday.
Here’s 7 of my own…
#8 - You do cardio with your cell phone.
#9 - You calves are bigger than your biceps.
#10 - You can actually tell the difference between Gatorade and Powerade.
#11 - You asked for a water belt for Christmas.
#12 - You can recognize the members in your gym by the sounds of their breathing.
#13 - Your 8KG iPod is not large enough to store all your workout music.
#14 - You look the exact same as last month.
Both Craig and I would tell you that cardio is not the be all and end all of exercise for fat loss.
I would even say males can get down to 10% body fat and females 16% body fat with nutrition and weights alone. Cardio is not needed until you need to strip the last few pounds off.
Today (Monday) at 12pm EST, Craig is giving away 25 copies of his #1 best-selling book (on Amazon), “Just Say NO to Cardio” and UNLIMITED email support for the first 25 people who get started with his Turbulence Training for Fat Loss System.
On top of him giving away 25 copies of his hard copy book, there are exclusive bonuses for the first 50, 100, and 200 folks who grab a copy.
Whether you need a new program or don’t have a program, you’ll get proven beginner and advanced fat burning workouts, beginner and advanced nutrition programs, the motivation and social support you need to finally stick to your program, and all of the Turbulence Training time saving tips to help you lose fat in just a few minutes per day.
You can even get a free copy of Brad Pilon’s “Eat Stop Eat”, the most controversial (and effective) diet plan since the Atkins diet!
But don’t delay, because I get a few thousand visitors to this blog each day who are looking to lose their belly fat, and they want those bonuses too!
Visit this site to grab the Ultimate Turbulence Training Fat Loss Solution and all of your fast action bonuses: http://www.NoNonsenseFatLoss.com <- Click here
PLUS, if you are one of the first 200 to grab your copy of Turbulence Training for Fat Loss you’ll also get access to an exclusive coaching call to help you lose more fat this year than ever before!
And you’ll get a free 6-month Turbulence Training membership. There are even MORE free early-bird bonuses, but I don’t have time to list them all.
So after you ready this, hurry, hurry,hurry! There’s no time to wait!
Click here to lose your belly fat and get a firm, flat stomach –http://www.NoNonsenseFatLoss.com
Tomorrow I am going to post part 1 of a 2 part interview I did with Craig and he’s going to spill some brand new tips on transforming your body this year.
Don’t get into a fight tonight over gym equipment!
Vince DelMonte
The Biggest Gainer Transformation Challenge
December 28, 2008
Attention: Skinny Guys & Gals
It’s time to kick-off the new year with The Biggest Gainer Transformation Challenge. But this is not like any transformation contest you’ve ever heard of before… If you’re sick and tired of being scrawny and weak and ready to transform your life and be featured in my hard copy book and upcoming movie then this may be the most important letter you ever read from me.
What is The Biggest Gainer: Skinny To Muscular Transformation Challenge?
Unlike my fat loss transformation challenge, this contest will run for 3-6 months. You will be able to submit your after photos and video testimonial (I’ll explain that in a moment). The deadline will be April 1st, May 1st, June 1st or July 1st. I am giving you the freedom to set your own deadline.
Why A Variety Of Deadlines Instead Of The Standard 12-Weeks?
It took me 6-months to transformation my own body from 149 pounds to 190 pounds and I don’t believe 12-weeks is long enough, for everyone, to significantly bulk up and then factor in 1-2 months in for cutting. If six-months sounds like “too long” too commit to then set your deadline at the 12-week or 16-week or 20-week mark. If you need an extra month, you can take it. I’m seeking out the cream of the crop. I’m looking for skinny guys who truly want to change their physiques and change their lives in the next three-to-six-months. Do I still have your attention?
Why Are You Running A Transformation Challenge?
Let me share three of my personal dreams with you and how you can be apart of my vision and in the process, become the person you’ve always dreamed of becoming.
1. This year I am in the process of publishing The Biggest Gainer: From Skinny-To-Muscular hard copy book for book stores (I am currently seeking out an agent). It will be a revised and condensed version of No Nonsense Muscle Building. I am looking for a small handful of success stories to be featured in my book! That’s right, if you’re one of the top transformations, you’re story could be featured in my book that will be sold in book stores. Imagine being on the cover of a book with me and having your own success story shared with the world? Visualize the Body-For-Life book but exclusively for skinny guys.
2. My ultimate goal is to create a reality based T.V. show called The Biggest Gainer (yes, based on the same concept as The Biggest Loser but for skinny guys and gals). However, to pitch to different T.V. networks, I am going to start on a smaller scale. I would like to create a documentary, loaded with video testimonials, of a small handful (5-10 max) of skinny guys who transformation their body over the next six months.
Each contestant will be required to submit a series of video testimonials and video footage of their transformation (I’ll explain that in a second), over the course the three-to-six-months. At your deadline, you’ll send me your video testimonials and video footage and and I’ll edit it into a documentary called The Biggest Gainer: Skinny-To-Muscular movie. I will use this footage to pitch to the T.V. networks to share my vision. Can you see yourself being apart?
How Many Winners Are You Choosing?
It could be 2 guys or it could be 12 or 22 guys. I am looking for “world-class” transformations that will cause people’s jaws to drop and that will be “book cover” ready. Gaining 15-30 pounds of muscle in the six months will make you a serious contender. Use my transformation pictures as a bench mark to shoot for.
What Do The Biggest Gainers Win?
Here is my vision for the biggest gainers. Imagine right now, waking up one morning just six months from today. You walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth. And you get a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. It didn’t sink in till just this very moment.
You’re actually RIPPED and MUSCULAR! I mean solid muscle cut to perfection. Your 6 pack is finally showing. Your shoulders are popping and your arms are so tight it looks like you’re flexing when you’re not.
You grab your suitcase filled with swim shorts and tank tops and you grab your passport and plane ticket for Cancun, Mexico. You’re about to jump on the plane for an all-inclusive vacation with your muscle building coach, yours truly. You and another 10 guys are going to celebrate a week of fun in the sun with your new bodies.
The best part, Vince is paying for your entire trip because you were one of the dedicated and committed winners of the contest. The voting will take place by a select panel of judges (TBD) and all my customers and subscribers.
When you hit the beach and the pool…. you realize that women are starting at you. It’s like they’re looking at you with that desire you’ve always had for them.
Imagine feeling, for the first time… like the person you always dreamed of becoming. And imagine celebrating your transformation with your coach and the other winners.
That dream is not far off. You can officially start TODAY and take your before photos and email them to vincedelmontefitness@yahoo.ca Read below to be eligible for the all-inclusive vacation
How Many Gainers Win The FREE trip to Mexico?
I am prepared to take a maximum of ten guys. I plan on filming (certain parts 
) of our trip in Cancun and using the footage for marketing purposes to assist in promoting the next contest and the The Biggest Gainer T.V. show so I’ll be awarding the best physical transformations - if you have a “t.v. show” personality then you might have an edge :) Consider your video footage and transformation like an audition for Hollywood!
How Do I Win An All-Inclusive Vacation To Cancun Mexico?
1. You must submit your before photos to vincedelmontefitness@yahoo.ca You must include a casual before picture and a before picture holding a newspaper to verify the date.
2. You must send in your before measurements, weight and body fat percentage. Send in measurements of your neck, shoulders, chest, waist (around belly button), thighs (8 inches up from knee cap) and calves.
3. You must film your transformation and include the following clips:
a) A 60-second interview of why you are entering the contest. Tell us why you hate being skinny and your biggest frustration.
b) A 60-second interview with your best friend, brother, sister, family member, girl friend, teacher or colleague and have them describe your confidence, personality and their opinion of your physique.
c) One clip (1-5 minutes) each month that features a day in the life for yourself. Over the course of the six months you should have a variety of footage that includes shopping at the grocery story; training in the gym; cooking a meal; flexing or showing your progress; comments on your progress; hanging out with a new girlfriend or your friends; interview with a friend and their comments on your progress etc. The more video footage you can use to track your transformation the better. The video footage should be emphasizing your behavior change. I’ll be providing more details on how to do each video at the start of each month.
Can I Enter If I’ve Already Started My Transformation?
Yes, 100%. As long as your pictures are submitted by July 1st, 2009, you are eligible. If you don’t have any video footage, don’t worry, just begin filming now.
Can I Submit Just My Photos Without The Video Testimonial and Video Footage?
Yes, but you will not be eligible for the all-inclusive vacation to Cancun Mexico. I will have separate cash prizes for the top contestants who prefer to just submit before and after photos.
Do I Need To Be Using Your Program?
Of course. You can use any of my muscle building building, six-pack, you tube or article programs. As long as the program was authored by me, you are eligible.
How Much Does It Cost To Enter The Transformation?
The cost will be the price of any of my programs if you do not own any. If you already own a copy of one of my programs, then it’s F R E E to enter. But not free to win - the six months will challenge you physically and especially mentally and the cost will be hard work, discipline and consistency.
This is your year to go from skinny-to-muscular and achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of.
Grab your video camera and grab your camera and get started NOW.
Any questions and comments, please post below. This is the first time I am running a contest like this so if you would like to offer any input or suggestions, please do so below.
Vince
How To Fast The Fat
November 12, 2008
There has been a lot of blood stirred up since I posted an interview i did with author, Brad Pilon, as we discussed his “anti diet” program called Eat Stop Eat. I’m sure you’re initial reaction to his program was, “This guy is crazy…”
If you’ve read the book, you’ll discover how brainwashed we’ve become by misinformation and Brad’s ESE book is one of the best nutrition resources I’ve ever read. I read the entire booklet on Sunday afternoon and was fascinated by the science, most of all by the dieting myths he destroyed. If you want to see the book we’re about to discuss
I got a chance to email Brad with some questions I wanted him to touch on before you follow his plan:
Vince: Are you sure fasting will not cause me to lose muscle mass?
A: No, short term flexible intermittent fasting like the kind I recommend in Eat Stop Eat will not cause any muscle loss for two reasons. First the fasts are very short and aren’t long enough cause any muscle loss. Second, I always recommend some form of weight training that will ensure you never lose muscle. As a matter of fact you can build muscle while fasting if you are following a good muscle building program like Vince’s.
Vince: Can you reassure my skinny guys that you can’t lose muscle? I know that people are so afraid to “lose muscle” so share the truth on how to avoid losing muscle.
Brad: Your body burns muscle when you are inactive so if your arm were put in a cast, then you would lose muscle in your arm. Similarly if you were to be in a situation like a famine where you have had so little food for so long you can barely walk or stand, that’s when you start losing muscle because the lack of food has forced you to become inactive.
Its all dependent on your activity levels. So it’s exactly the opposite of what most people think - being active while dieting is how you save your muscle, doing nothing is how you lose muscle.
Vince: Why is fasting such a powerful way to lose body fat?
Brad: When you don’t have any food in your system to burn as fuel then your body shifts to burning fat as its primary fuel source, this is the whole reason your body stores fat in the first place. When you eat your body prefers to burn the fuel you ate first, but if you don’t have any food in your system your body still has to burn something, and it chooses to burn fat first.
Vince: Is this a detox plan or fat loss plan?
Brad: If detox can be taken as a simple statement for helping balance the system and rejuvenate your body, then I would say it does have some benefits like that. However it is first and foremost a plan for losing weight with minimal rules that still allows you to eat all the foods you like without feeling guilty. So I think you can call it a simple effective weight loss program that also promotes overall health benefits.
Vince: What did you talk about on the Mike and Juliet show?
Brad: We covered a lot of topics in a small amount of time. Firstly we talked about the three major misconceptions about short term fasting (that your metabolism will slow down, that you will lose muscle and three that you will go hypoglycemic).
Secondly and probably most importantly, we talked about how dozens of cultures and hundreds of millions of people around the world already do short fasts as part of their culture, and have been doing so for centuries. This is important because it proves that flexible intermittent fasting can be part of a healthy lifestyle.
Vince: How can this help my skinny guys muscle up?
Brad: The Eat Stop Eat style of eating has been scientifically shown to increase growth hormone. And I mean a lot, by the end of a 24 hour fast research shows growth hormone can increase as much as 10 fold! This is the same growth hormone that so many celebrities and bodybuilders are taking to build muscle mass. The only difference is in this case you are using a special eating technique to coax your body into increasing its own growth hormone levels instead of buying it on the black market and injecting it into yourself every week.
Growth Hormone is important for muscle building because along with testosterone it is one of the most potent muscle building hormones in your body. For anyone looking to build muscle, Eat Stop Eat is a great way to spike your own natural growth hormone to get a muscle building effect.
Vince: How can this help me get a six pack faster?
Brad: In order to let your abs show through you must burn all the fat off of your midsection. One of the best ways to boost fat burning is a short term fast. It shifts your metabolism to burning mostly fat. During your fasts your body is burning a very high percentage of fat and one of the places it preferentially burns it from is your belly/stomach area.
Another way Eat Stop Eat can help get your six pack faster is through portion size control. We’ve noticed that after a fast it takes less food to fill you up and feel satisfied, some people even report they have less cravings for sweets and fatty foods. In a sense it trains your body to learn to eat just the right amount of food and no more.
Vince: What are the major health benefits and risks with your program?
Brad: Fasting has many health benefits from increasing growth hormone and fat burning to lowering your insulin levels, it also helps to reduce chronic inflammation. In a way it’s a good strategy for giving your system a break and letting it reset and refresh.
I actually went back to university to study the effects of short term intermittent fasting on the human body with a specific eye towards fat loss. I can honestly say when done correctly I can’t really find any risk involved with short term fasting, and there is a host of beneficial effects.
On that note I would like to point out that all the research I reviewed was in healthy people at varying body weights (normal to obese) with normal blood sugar regulation. So I cannot technically recommend this program to diabetics or people with a diagnosed blood sugar problem, in these cases I always recommend you check with your physician or health care provider before starting any new diet or exercise programs. However with that said I have received emails from diabetics who have used Eat Stop Eat with good success.
You’ll really love his program if you hate the “bodybuilding lifestyle” of six small meals every 3 hours. Overall, I think you’ll find his 24 hour fasting method much easier than you think and it might improve your productivity too.
Personally, I probably won’t use Brad’s plan every week because I have a hard enough time gaining muscle weight but I know his plan will be a part of my lifestyle if and when I need to lose any belly fat without having to suffer through it. I think you’ll appreciate Brad’s refreshing take on dieting and weight loss.
Vince
P.S. The whole point of this program is to take the stress of eating and not obsess about the clock every 3 hours so make sure you add this to your arsenal for fat loss:
Why Diets Stop Working
November 11, 2008
Have you ever wondered why diets stop working? Tell me if you’ve ever heard someone talk about their diet going something like this:
“I dieted and dieted and dieted and then all of a sudden I stopped losing weight, my metabolism slowed to a crawl and I actually started getting fatter, so then I started eating again and I all of a sudden I started losing weight again.”
This is a common story from people who follow strict diets, and it fuels the fire about the ‘metabolic damage’ a diet can do. And because of this everybody jumps on the “fix your metabolism” bandwagon, treating your metabolism like it’s a physical thing that can be broken or fixed (like the parts of a car).
This however does not happen because we know from scientific research that weight training while dieting preserves metabolic rate.
I decided to ask my buddy, Brad Pilon, who was recently on the Mike and Juliet show discussing this topic and his new book
Brad went on national television and gave the scientific explanation of this phenomenon - the idea of metabolism slowing down to a point where massive caloric deficit doesn’t cause weight loss - is incorrect.
I decided to call him up because I had some questions of my own:
Vince: So what’s happening here?
Brad: What we have here is a situation where something is obviously happening to affect weight loss progress, but the explanation for why it is happening is wrong. People are under the false assumption about what is really causing their impaired weight loss.
Vince: I know lots of personal trainers who train bodybuilders and fitness models who experience a slow down in their fat loss as they get closer to contest time. From what you’re saying so far it sounds like people must sporadically increase the amount of calories they eat to keep the weight loss progressing because of metabolic slow down, is that right?
Brad: From all my experience and education, the metabolism is not slowing down. These trainers are obviously seeing this happen again and again with their clients so there is definitely something happening that is causing the slow down in weight loss, metabolic slow down is just the most common and in vogue thing to blame it on at the moment, however this is scientifically incorrect.
Vince: So what is going on?
Brad: Whenever faced with a problem like this, I do what any good scientist would do, I investigate it. From my research, I knew that with Eat Stop Eat that metabolic rate wasn’t the culprit here. Your metabolism isn’t slowing down, and it’s not getting damaged, so something else must be going on.
So I dug deep into the research and by deep, I mean I went way back into the research. What I uncovered is probably one of the biggest oversights in weight loss history, one that I think will absolutely revolutionize the way we view weight loss. What I found was a very simple and well researched explanation to this phenomena and it doesn’t include anything nearly as complicated and mysterious as metabolic slow-downs or metabolic damage, or down-regulation of fat-burning enzymes. The real answer has to do with the way your body handles water!
Vince: Water? But aren’t we talking about fat burning?
Brad: Yes, but the huge thing that is being overlooked is water. Let me explain. The largest component of your body is water. Water makes up between 45% and 75% of your body weight, just rough numbers, and the variability between 45% and 75% is primarily due to differences in body fat. Most tissues like muscles, skin, and your organs are all over 70% water, even adipose tissue, which is almost all fat, is still 10% to 14% water in healthy people.
Vince: Does this explain why people can lose body fat without losing weight? Can body water be hiding the changes?
Brad: Yes, that is exactly what it means and that’s worth repeating. The retention of water has been observed to conceal the loss of body fat repeatedly throughout the course of obesity treatment. As you lose fat from your fat cells, the fat being lost is replaced by a water-like fluid. As fat leaves your fat cells, it’s replaced by water.
Remember I told you that a typical person’s adipose is about 10% to 14% water? Well when we’re looking at people who are in a semi-starvation state, it could actually be much, much higher. And remember a strict bodybuilding competitive diet is very similar to the clinical definition of ’semi starvation.
The key factor here is that your fat is being replaced by water in the areas where there was fat. This effect is hard to detect because this wouldn’t be noticeable using traditional methods of measuring body fat like skin fold calipers. It would take some pretty sophisticated measurement and tools to be able to see through these changes of where that water is being positioned. Again, this isn’t new research. If anything, this was lost research.
Vince: So while other areas of your body are shrinking, the amount of body water that you’re carrying isn’t shrinking?
Brad: Yes. It gets to a point where it starts to hide weight loss even though the body water isn’t going up, you’re body is getting smaller because your burning fat but you will get to a point where you aren’t losing any more water to go along with your fat loss; so your percentage of total body water might actually go up and it localizes itself where your fat used to be. Not a good thing. It also occurs very gradually.
Vince: Is there a scientific name for this phenomenon?
Brad: It’s known as dieter’s edema, or swelling. Dieter’s edema usually starts after the first month of semi-starvation, (and like I said earlier, any strict weight loss diet is similar to semi starvation). At first the swelling is very transient, it comes in later in the day, and it’s gone by the morning. As semi-starvation continues, this edema becomes more apparent and more massive. So the longer you diet, even when your weight loss starts to plateau, you’re still losing fat, but it’s being hidden by this edema (swelling).
Vince: That’s great that we finally have the answers to why this happens and we know it has nothing to do with some metabolic loss slowdown or malfunctioning enzymes, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happens. If you’re someone who is trying to get a six pack and get really lean, how do you prevent this? What are your options?
Brad: Well, first, as I told you, if you’re going to follow a traditional diet which is the same as clinical semi-starvation to get ultra-lean, it looks like you’re going to have to do periodic periods of re-feeding (eating more). Because there’s not a lot of new research on this we really don’t know how long you have to re-feed for, but it seems like the effect is fairly quick. Once you start eating a larger amount of calories, your edema will quickly go away to the point where it looks like you’re starting to lose weight again.
Vince: And what is the option you suggest in your new book?
Brad: I suggest another option in my book, and this option comes from research published as early as 1890.
The research I dug up showed that a full-day fast did not result in edema. That’s right, while semi-starvation causes dieter’s edema, total starvation or fasting, does not.
So you could use the ESE protocol of flexible intermittent fasting and weight training and you would not get dieter’s edema. What you’re essentially doing here is periods of complete starvation (fasting is a better word), which doesn’t cause dieter’s edema, followed by periods of re-feedings. Even if, for some weird, crazy reason, you did get a little bit of edema, it would go away very quickly with this system.
So ESE solved the dieters edema problem even before I knew the problem existed. The Eat Stop Eat lifestyle is meant to be used as an easy and effective weight loss strategy but it ended up fixing this other major problem with dieting too. I guess I kinda lucked out on that one!
Vince: Final comments?
Brad: Do you understand why diuretics, steroids, weight loss supplements, cutting carbs, avoiding creatine monohydrate (before a contest) and caffeine are so popular in the bodybuilding and fitness world?
Vince: Yes and it appears that body water is a poorly understood area of human physiology when it comes down to weight loss or specifically changing the way you look. There’s not much research on it lately, but it’s an area that we know is something we have to pay special attention to when we’re trying to get very lean.
So there you have it. If you’re following a traditional diet, you’re probably gonna need periods of sporadic higher calories if you see a slow down in your weight loss.
If you just ditch the traditional diet, and follow ESE using periods of fasting combined with periods of normal eating you can ensure that you will never suffer from dieter’s edema.
Learn more about Brad’s Eat Stop Eat program
Vince DelMonte
The Master Cleanse aka “Lemonade Diet” Experience
November 8, 2008
if you’ve ever read my Your Six Pack Quest e-book, you know I’m a big believer in detoxing your body and if you think your body is due for a detox or cleanse then this is a very important for you to read.
Specifically, the world famous lemonade diet by the late Stanley Burroughs. In my opinion, all other cleanses are bogus and noneffective and I believe the lemonade diet has earned it’s name, “The Master Cleanse” rightfully so. The current version was published in 1976 and continues to be popular to this day. You can probably find a copy of the 50 page booklet by doing a google search but I would personally recommend reviewing this site before you make your final decision
– http://www.MasterCleansePlan.com
Weight loss WILL occur, but do not equate this with a FAT LOSS PROGRAM. Last year I lost almost 15 pounds in 10 days and this year I lost 8 pounds in 3 days. I took pictures each day and looked identical on day 1 and 2 and seemed to lose some mass on only the 3rd day. The majority of weight I lost was water and glycogen and a bit of fat (I was actually very lean and tight at the end of the 3 days) and I’m sure I lost a bit of muscle but you gain it almost immediately upon returning to the gym.
Again, do not use this as a FAT LOSS DIET. This is not what it is intended for and you will gain back about half of the weight you lose, but it will be in the form of water and glycogen.
Let me warn you that The Master Cleanse is NOT for the weak of body or mind. It is VERY difficult to follow (the first day is the hardest) and it’s an amazing experience to see how addicted you are to food.
The longer you have been alive and the longer you have exposed yourself to toxins in the air, chemicals in our food, abuse of alcohol, stress etc, the more toxicity in your body and the more qualified you are for a cleanse.
And most importantly, it will make combating fat more difficult, especially the last 10 pounds.
I didn’t experience any severe side effects while on the cleanse but my diet is pretty clean 80-90% of the time and I am fairly careful about what I put in my body. The best benefit for me is my sleep quality while on the cleanse. I woke up 1-2 hours earlier each morning because my body was not busy digesting food so my energy levels, surprisingly, we’re very high for the entire 3 days - I was even tempted to do some brisk walking but exercise should be avoided.
Also, I don’t experience any gas (sorry) for weeks after I am finished the cleanse and when I go back into the gym to train, my body makes very quick gains and I notice my recovery time between workouts to be quicker (probably because my body is absorbing a higher percentage of nutrients).
Consider a cleanse like resetting or refreshing your body back to “normal.” Mentally, craving for bad food choices are gone for awhile and you’ll be extremely motivated to maintain the “cleanliness” inside your body.
Here are some of the benefits you’ll experience:
- Flushes out toxins that have formed in any part of the body.
- Cleanse of your major organs i.e. kidneys, digestive system, liver.
- Eliminates waste in and around your joints and muscles.
- Relieves pressure on your cells, nerves, blood vessels and arteries.
Personally for me, here’s how I benefited:
- Better quality sleep. I actually slept 1-2 hours less each night because of the energy saved from digestion.
- Accelerated muscle gains when you return to the gym.
- Improved alertness and mental clarity.
- No gas for about a month!
- Unhealthy food choices become far less attractive.
Here’s what I lived on for the 7 days last year and 3 days this year:
*Grade B Organic Maple Syrup
*Lemons
*Organic cayenne pepper
*Filtered water
This forms your “lemonade” and you can drink as much of this as you wish all day and all night long.
In the morning you flush your body out by shot gunning a glass of sea salt mixed with water (and then spend about 45 minutes in the washroom which is the worst part). In the evening you drink a laxative tea to avoid constipation because of the lack of fiber.
I would recommend you do The Master Cleanse at least 1 or 2x a year, preferably with the change of seasons. In the end, you’ll read lots of research on how you don’t need to cleanse your body if you get enough fiber, fruits and vegetables (which I doubt you do) and that there is no science that supports “cleansing” your body but no scientific study can dispute your own experience, which I believe is the true test.
I personally feel completely clean and brand new and know of no better way of detoxing my body other than The Master Cleanse 1-2x a year. Forget about all the super expensive pill form detox plans and imitation detox plans. The Master Cleanse is the real deal that has stood the test of time.
Want to join me on the Master Cleanse?
Read more: http://www.MasterCleansePlan.com
Have a great day,
Vince DelMonte
Muscle Building Nutrition from Michael Phelps’
August 26, 2008
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Imagine being able to eat 12,000-calories a day and win 8 Olympic Gold medals and still have a six-pack?
I think the media has blown this out of proportion and I don’t believe he consumes 12,000-calories a day - maybe 6,000 to 8,000 max. But for the sake of entertainment and discussion, let’s entertain a typical day…
Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.
Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.
Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.
Yes, that’s insane!
I personally assign meal plans from 2,000 to 6,000 calories for my skinny guys and I rarely meet anyone who needs more than 4,000-5,000 calories to get super muscular in conjunction with high intensity weight training.
NFL linemen don’t even consume that many calories yet Phelps’ is able to maintain not a single ounce of fat on him.
Some interesting thoughts…
– Phelp’s plan is the equivalent of eating of 25 Big Mac’s each day, yet he is still able to maintain single digit body fat despite the massive amount of unhealthy fats and lack of veggies and fruits in this diet.
Take home lesson:
Perhaps the saying, ‘Your abs are made in the kitchen,’ is not completely true if you can train 5 hours a day and 6 days a week. Unless you can increase your overall training volume then you’ll have to take your diet much more seriously. I am not saying you need to train 30 hours a week but perhaps you could consider more often for starters?
– Many would argue that Phelps’ diet is full of ‘garbage,’ yet he has proven to be one of the most decorated Olympic athletes of all time.
Take home lesson:
If you’re training up to 5 hours a day then you need a muscle building diet with enough calories or else you’ll ‘hit the wall’ and be completely drained the last 2 hours of your workout. (I just hope that all the saturated fat in Mike’s diet does not result in heart disease in the next ten or twenty years… )
As far as building muscles goes, it’s practically impossible to bulk up by resorting on just veggies and fruits (unless you want to live on the toilet) so be prepared to do more cardio training to counteract the excess calories and remember you can only build 3-4 pounds of dry muscle each month and anything else will be fat, so don’t attempt to ‘force feed’ your muscles into growth.
– Phelps is ULTRA skinny and your classic hard gainer so he has a super charged metabolism which allows him to consume about 6x more (2,000-calories a day) than the average man. So how the heck is he an alien-human-fish instead of a fat whale?
Take home lesson:
It’s all about about energy in versus energy out. If his weight is staying constant, which it is, then he’s obviously burning the same amount that he is taking in.
You’re probably wondering, what’s going to happen now that the Olympics are over… I don’t think he’ll have a problem of maintaining his weight because his metabolism is so high and he still needs to be in the water several hours a day.
Don’t worry, I’m like you and if I tried to follow a muscle building diet like Mike then I would end up in the hospital too. I don’t mean to sound like Dr. Phil but as you can see it all comes down to what comes in and what goes out. If you want to lose fat then you need to move more and eat less.
If you want to gain weight then you need to move less and eat more. It’s that simple.
Check out this link if If you are looking for a more sensible approach to body building nutrition without eating 12,000 calories a day.
Click here to get your own ‘world class Olympic body’br
– a href=”http://www.vincedelmontefitness.com”http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com /a
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If you’re looking for a more sensible way of leaning down without training 5 hours a day and six days a week then I get started with my No Nonsense Fat Loss program at a href=”http://www.yoursixpackquest.com”http://www.YourSixPackQuest.com/a
Train hard and train even smarter.
Vince DelMonte
84-Day Healthy Meal Plans
July 18, 2008
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As much as I love reading magazines like Men’s Fitness, Men’s Health, Maximum Fitness and Reps… I discovered that they might be leading you astray (unintentionally) when it comes to nutrition and finding a healthy meal plan.
This email will speak to you (bluntly) if you live by a ‘But I eat healthy,’ mentality, and I’ll share more reasons why you’ll never see your gym efforts transfer to time invested instead of time spent.
Let’s see if you and I think alike and if you see the same problem with these ‘health facts’ and ‘nutrition tips’ that make up a good percentage of the magazine content.
* A McDonald’s large chocolate shake has 1,160 calories and and 168 grams of sugar so make your own home made smoothie instead.
* Eat more Vitamin E from sunflower seeds and almonds because it will help you combat free radicals and live longer.
* Eat more salmon instead of white tuna because it has less mercury, keeps you full longer and has the same amount of protein.
* Eat ‘this’ instead of ‘that’
* Drink 4-7 cups of red wine each week to decrease your chance of diabetes by 48%.
* Kick your liquid sugar habit by cutting out milk, alcohol, juices and sodas and replace it with green tea and water.
* When you’re craving sugar, go for a handful of berries and melons that will not affect your six pack like muffins and doughnuts.
None of this information is wrong, and if you’re a complete beginner then you might be able to knock off 10-20 pounds by just applying this new knowledge.
But, do you see the main problem?
* How do you know if you’ve over consumed?
* How do you know if you’ve under consumed?
* How do you know exactly how much to consume?
* What do you do at the end of the week when you’ve applied this advice and still weigh the same? What do you change?
* How can I help you change anything if I don’t see what you are currently putting in your mouth and in what amounts?
* What do you take out and how much do you take out if you jump on the scale and have gained more fat than muscle?
* How do you know if you should buy 12 apples or 6 apples or if you should buy 2 loaves of bread or 1 loaf of bread?
Do you see how you’re setting yourself up for failure if you are just guessing and relying on a ‘But I don’t eat bad food’ mentality?
These are just a few problems with ‘winging’ your nutrition and not having a specific meal plan designed to your specific goal.
That’s why in almost 2 years I’ve never sent you an email with a bag full of ‘tips’ and ‘tricks.’ I always redirect you back to my website to get a complete plan you follow each and every day - because this is the only way I can TRULY help you.
Click here to invest into your own 84-day healthy meal plans
The next component is figuring out how many calories you should start with. Included in my No Nonsense Muscle Building program, you get a customized Metabolic Calculator that will ask you some personal information and give you four options:
* Do you want to bulk up progressively?
* Do you want to bulk up aggressively?
* Do you want to maintain?
* Do you want to cut?
Plug your info into a formula and you’ll be told which meal plan to begin with. I will note that these meal plans may appear ‘intense’ and you will have to increase the ‘intensity’ of the plan over time - just like your training.
Your ultimate goal is to follow your plan at least 90% of the time which might take you a few months to build up to and incorporate into your lifestyle.
But at least now you have a benchmark and standard to aim for each day. If you only hit 2 of your 5 meals then it’s no surprise that you are weaker in the gym today, and sore.
If you had 3 cups of pasta instead of 1 cup then it’s no surprise that you have not lost any weight this week.
Grab your 84-day healthy meal plans and get a complete set of meal plans, veggie meal plans and cheap meal plans that range from 2,000 calories to 6,000 calories.
Start with one and progress your way up if you want more mass and size, or work your way down if you want to turn your zero-pack into a two-pack, then four-pack then six-pack.
The Metabolic Calculator will tell you where to start, and the best part, as I mentioned in my last post, is that you will have these healthy meal plans for LIFE!
Print them off, bind them and put your plan in the kitchen, and get started.
But let me say, these plans are not perfect. You WILL see foods you do not have in your country, or foods you do not like, or that are too expensive. Follow what you can and tweak what you must - you can have a say too
Don’t be a robot or slave to the plan. If you hate beef then just eat the same amount in chicken or fish. No big deal.
Get Your Healthy Meal Plans, Cheap Meal Plans and Veggie Meal Plans and start Day 1 this coming Monday.
Do it today so you have the weekend to review them, shop and prepare. I am off to the beach right now to rent sea doos! I’ll let you know how that goes next week.
Have a great weekend,
Vince DelMonte
84-Day Healthy Meal Plans
July 18, 2008
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Since it’s been more than two weeks since I competed on stage I’ve stopped following my meal plan to the letter and all I have to say is this:
‘I have NO IDEA how you could possibly think that you can get ripped and muscular without following a meal plan!’
No offense, but whether you’re trying to gain muscle mass or lose your stubborn love handles, consider both these goals a LOST CAUSE if you’re just guessing and ‘eating healthy.’
Stop confusing yourself and listen to me VERY clearly.
‘You WILL NOT stop struggling with your physique and will not gain the respect you want UNTIL you start following a meal plan designed around your specific goal.’
Did you get that?
Here are 5 reasons you MUST have a healthy meal plan (or I have to question how serious you are):
1. You know exactly WHAT TIME to eat.
During my contest prep I knew I had to consume a meal at 6am, 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm every day, and the rest of my day was structured around these times - not the other way around. You can ask my friends to confirm that we would be on the phone around 11:45 am and knowing that I needed to consume my meal in 15 minutes I would politely say, ‘Hey, I got to go cook my next meal… I’ll call you in an hour.’
2. You know exactly what to SHOP for.
While I was at the cottage with my parents last week I had to battle the temptation of cookies lying around, ice cream in the freezer, Frosted Flakes for breakfast, and muffins for snacks. At my home in Hamilton, I don’t have those battles or slip-ups because that food is not allowed in my house, period.
3. You know exactly how MUCH to eat.
If my meal plan says 1 slice of bread for breakfast and I have 2 or 3 then at the
end of the week when I step on the scale and have not lost my 1-2 pounds of fat I have to admit I didn’t follow my plan and it’s MY fault.
4. You WILL get all your veggies.
If your meal plan says 1/2 cup of mushrooms, 1 tomato, 1/2 cup of onions and 1 clove
of garlic with your eggs in the morning then you can experience how your body recovers quicker, sleeps better and does not get tired at 3pm in the afternoon every day. Experiencing this will be far more powerful than hearing or talking about it.
5. My pre contest diet was 2,600 calories until the last few weeks, so let’s say I slipped up and had an extra slice of bread, which is around 150 calories. Now I know that I need to burn an extra 150 calories during my workout, which means an extra 20 minutes of running that night.
Do you see how crazy this can appear? Do you see why you or some of your friends will go through your entire life with a ‘decent body’ but you will never get your dream physique?
Do you like how hard I am on you today? I just can’t stand when people say, ‘But I eat healthy…’ and can’t figure out why they are not gaining muscle or losing fat.
Do you know that you could eat chicken breast and broccoli all day and still get fat if you consume too much of it?
Click here to get your own 84-day healthy meal plans included in my No Nonsense Muscle Building program.
They range from 2,000 calories and go all the way up to 6,000 calories so you are in complete control of how much muscle you gain.
I have have a set of Cheap meal plans and Veggie meal plans if this helps your situation.
You even get my Metabolic Calculator that will tell you how many calories you should be starting off with - and the calories are hormonally balanced perfectly.
Make your life easy and stop guessing
http://www.vincedelmontefitness.com
By the way, if you were to get one of these meal plans customized from Empowered Nutrition Systems (the company that makes these for me), they’d cost you $235.00 for an entire set.
And no one has these meal plans ANYWHERE. I know this because…well… plans like these are not cheap to have made. I’m able to offer them because, well, the guy who owns the nutrition company, Patrick McGuire, is a personal hometown friend.
Aside from building a quick and easy 2-3 lbs of clean, lean muscle weight in the next 4 weeks, not next 4 months, you will have these meal plans as a resource forever.
You can print them off, bind them and set them up in your kitchen as a TREMENDOUS starting point to move you closer to your goals and get the respect you deserve for your hard efforts in the gym.
Get Your 84-Day ‘Secret Weapon’ Healthy Meal Plans
Enjoy the rest of your day,
Vince DelMonte