I ran across something that I thought would be of value to you. It is a neat little piece of software called Body Transformation Tracker.

This is a state-of-the-art, but easy to use software program that allows you to track virtually every single aspect of your fitness program in detail…

Easily track diet and nutrition down to the finest detail.

Access full nutritional information for hundreds of foods.

Log all weight training and cardio workouts in detail.

Track muscle gains, fat loss and strength increases.

Create a training journal with a personalized online blog.

Upload progress images to compare from week to week.

And much more!

You can download the executable file from Sean Nalewanyi site. Below you will find the link to the download.

http://www.nalewanyjfitnessdownload.com/fitnesstracker/setup.exe

In order to activate the software you will need an activation code. You can use the following code and it will enable the software for you.

Activation Code: PORNQ-F12-504F5-24E51

I hope you enjoy it!!!!

The fact is that if you want to be big, you have to train big.

You won’t get the job done by entering the gym and just going through the motions.

You have will have to stress your muscles with heavy weights and high intensity exercises if you are really seeking serious results.

Undoubtedly, this is the best way to stimulate muscular growth.

Since muscles grow due to a natural adaptive survival response, you have to give them a good reason to grow or they won’t.

Even though hard and heavy training might be good for your muscles, remember that it can spell trouble for the health of your connective tissue and joints.

Even though your odds are high that you could get injured during intense weight training, you can certainly take specific steps to lessen the chance.

An injury is the worst case scenario, as it will stop you dead in your muscle-building tracks.

Below, I’ve outlined my 5 golden tips for weight training; these will help reduce your odds of injury.

If you can honestly say you follow these 5 tips for weight training, you will lower your odds of injury substantially.

1) Your warm-up must be thorough.

One of the major tips for weight training, warming up is the single best thing you can do to minimize your risk of injury at the gym.

By warming up, you are prepping your mind and body for the hard work to come, by increasing blood flow into the surrounding connective tissue and by lubricating your joints in just 15–20 minutes.

Before getting started at the gym, perform 5 minutes of light cardiovascular exercise before each workout, followed by 4–5 warm-up sets using the first major exercise of your routine.

2) Use proper form.

This is just one of those tips for weight training that you shouldn’t even need to be reminded of.

After all, you need to keep the stress off your joints at all times, and that can only be done by sticking to proper form and technique.

Getting hurt is almost guaranteed if you begin deadlifting or squatting with a rounded back, jerking weights around in a crazy manner, or doing dangerous exercises.

3) You have to train within your limits.

This is one of those tips for weight training you really need to follow.

When you lift, it’s a personal battle, and if you start to compare yourself to others, you will get into big trouble.

The guy next to you and how much he is lifting has nothing to do with your training program.

Don’t pile on the poundages to impress people around your; know your limits, stay within them, and maintain proper form.

4) Know when it’s time to stop.

One of those major tips for weight training that every bodybuilder should adhere to is this one.

No ifs, ands, or buts—once you are at the point where you can’t do another rep using proper form, your set is finished, plain and simple.

Get rid of that weight and rest up for your next set.

Look, if you start using momentum and jerky body motions to get a couple of extra reps, you’ll be on the sidelines before you know it.

5) If you feel aches and pains, don’t ignore them.

One of the top tips for weight training, this will make certain you don’t spend your workout ignoring something serious.

The idea of quitting just seems impossible after working through week after week of a weight training program.

The desire to keep going can make us ignore those obvious injuries and work through the pain instead of healing it.

Most of the time, it only makes things worse.

When you get to the point where you have a feeling that something’s not right, go get the problem checked out and take the time to allow it to get better.

Although it might kill your short-term progress, the long-term effect will be a positive one.

You can learn even more tips for weight training and details about keeping your joints and connective tissues healthy for years to come by visiting Muscle Gain Truth. I’ll teach you the specific way to perform a weightlifting warmup, and will provide you with streaming online videos that demonstrate the proper form for over 100 different weightlifting exercises.

The hanging leg raise is an excellent abdominal exercise. This variation is not only easier on your lower back but helps to remove the hip flexors from the movement, all the while increasing the contraction on the abs.

When you think of back exercises, you think of different types of rows, pulldowns, chin-ups, and deadlifts, right? These are all compound exercises that work multiple muscles. To TRULY isolate your lats, you need this exercise! This is a great one for beginners OR advanced trainers!

There are two main things that hold people “back” when trying to train their back. The first is that they can’t see it when they’re training it. This makes it harder to really focus on and properly work AND, since it’s not a “mirror muscle,” it tends to get lower priority in the overall training workload.

The second thing is that people can’t FEEL the back muscles actually doing the work. And if you can’t feel the back muscles working, chances are, they’re not getting worked very effectively.

Now, you can’t fix the first problem of not being able to see the muscle while training it without having a double mirror setup that allows you to see your back in the mirror. It’s rare you’ll find a gym that has mirrors on two opposing walls – they try to avoid the “funhouse” effect.

So you’ll just have to take it from me that it’s CRITICAL to put a lot of effort into back training – MUCH more so than it is for chest training. Your pecs don’t hold your spine up…

But we CAN address the point about feeling your back working. One of THE most effective exercises I’ve found for really teaching you how to feel your back working is the Stiff-Arm Pushdown.

It’s an isolation exercise (defined as a single-joint exercise, in this case, the shoulder joint) for the latissimus dorsi, a.k.a. the “lats,” which is rare. And even though it IS an isolation exercise for the lats, the long heads of the triceps are involved in the movement as well. The long heads of triceps perform a similar function in bring the arm down towards the waist and can’t be removed from the movement due to their anatomy.

The Stiff-Arm Pushdown is also one of the ONLY back exercises that doesn’t involve the biceps in some way, making it a great teaching tool for helping you feel what it’s like for your back to work without relying on bicep assistance.

How To Do It:
To perform this exercise, all you’ll need is a high pulley and an attachment (bar or rope). Set a moderate weight on the pulley – you won’t use a heavy weight for this exercise as it’s all about feel. If you go too heavy, you’ll have to resort to momentum to move the bar and that will defeat the purpose of the exercise.

Put both hands on the bar (overhand grip) about 6 to 8 inches apart. Take a big step back, bring the bar back with you. Lean forward so your torso is at about a 45 degree angle. You can have your feet set together or be in a lunge position – whichever is most comfortable to you.

Keep your abs tight and an make sure there is an arch in your lower back. In order for your lats to function properly, the lower back MUST be arched. At the start position, your arms are in an overhead position and slightly bent but stiff. The cable weight is pulling up on your arms so your lats are getting stretched.

Now begin the movement, pushing the bar directly down and around in an arc. DO NOT bend your arms!! Keep them locked into that slightly bent position. All the movement should occur at the shoulders.

Push the bar all the way down to your thighs, squeezing your lats hard the whole time. Pause at the bottom then let the cable pull the bar back up, keeping tension in your lats. As you come to the top, dip your upper body down a bit to increase the stretch on the lats.

For breathing with this exercise, you want to take a BIG deep breath at the stretch (top) of the movement. Inflating your lungs maximally at the top will increase the stretch on the lats and help you feel the lats working. As you push the bar down, exhale through pursed lips (like you’re blowing up a balloon). This exercise can also be done one arm at a time with a single cable handle as well.

Go for moderate to higher reps with this exercise – it’s not a power-based exercise but more a “feel” exercise that you need to really keep form tight on. This exercise will give you a strong burning sensation in that lats because they don’t really get any break in the tension throughout the movement.

I like to use this exercise as part of a pre-exhaust style of set, working it immediately before another exercise for the lats such as a variation of chins, rows or pulldowns. Do a set of 8 to 10 reps of the Stiff-Arm Pushdown then go right to the exercise. I can promise…you’ll feel your lats working!

You see, because the Stiff-Arm Pushdown only hits the lats and leaves the biceps untouched, when you move to the other exercise for back (e.g. chins, pulldowns or rows) the lats will already be “pre-exhausted” and the biceps will help keep the movement going, pushing the lats harder. It’s a great technique and very effective if you have trouble feeling your back when you train it.

Conclusion:
Give the Stiff-Arm Pushdown a try in your next back workout. If you’ve never done a true isolation exercise for the back before, it’ll be a nice change of pace and help you get a lot more out of your back training.
For pictures and video of this exercise in action, click the following link: Stiff Arm Pushdown

——————
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the Maximus – Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?cbeads12/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

So you’ve seen one too many Men’s Health fitness models and decided that it was time to start your own quest for a ripped six-pack, eh?

Well being a beginner bodybuilder requires a conscious step back to build the proper foundation to your training program before following the more advanced tricks you’ll find floating around the muscle mags and web. So where does one turn without the steroid-driven wisdom of the super giants of the stage?

Relax. I have got just the advice for you to start packing some serious muscle on your frame…

Beginner Bodybuilding Wake-Up Call #1: Reality Check

First let’s start with a reality check…
Do NOT expect to miraculously start looking ripped after a week. Even with great genetics, you can’t change Mother Nature and your body is only capable of building so much muscle at a time…despite what the supplement ads may say. Bodybuilding, especially beginner bodybuilding, requires time, discipline and consistency.

However, the good news is that the first couple of months will be the most exciting for you because this will be the time when you make the most visual gains to your body. Shoot for .5 to 1 lb of lean muscle growth per week and you’ll be doing just fine.

Beginner Bodybuilding Wake-Up Call #2: Rest, Relax, Recover…and GROW!

Contrary to what most beginner bodybuilders believe, your muscles don’t grow while you’re ripping them apart in the gym.
The muscle fibers you’ve spent so much time pulverizing on the bench only get bigger when you’ve given them time to recover and grow in anticipation for the next “attack”.

Getting plenty of rest and a good 7-8 hours of sleep will help your body make the changes you’re looking for…especially since this is when you have your greatest release of natural growth hormones to help with the bulking up!

Beginner Bodybuilding Wake-Up Call #3: Check Your Ego At The Gym Door

Look, everyone started out somewhere. So don’t feel you have to impress any of the no-necks at your local sweatbox simply because you think they’re constantly watching you and giggling under their breath. They’re not.

But I’ll tell you what IS funny…
Watching beginner bodybuilders (and yes…even so called “experienced” lifters) flopping around like a hooked bass lifting too much weight on the bar and having to “cheat” on correct form to get the weight up. Start at a low enough weight to get a full range of your muscle’s motion and use perfect form. You’ll be rewarded with respect from the other guys around you…and consistent muscle growth the other “fish” won’t see.

Beginner Bodybuilding Wake-Up Call #4: The BASICS Still Work The Best!

Don’t get caught up in trying out some of the complicated exercises you see as filler in some of the muscle mags. Standing on your head while balancing a dumbbell with one hand and a yoga instructor with the other while whistling the them to Rocky isn’t some ancient secret for massive muscle growth. Beginner bodybuilders should stick with basic compound exercises (exercises that use more than one joint movement) to build the most muscle in the least amount of time.

Here are a few to get you started:
Curls
Bench Press
Squats
Pull Ups
Chin Ups
There are variations on all of these exercises so feel free to experiment with them as you gain experience. Just be careful not to get too carried away in your beginner bodybuilding workout at first. Start slow and listen to your body and how it’s responding.
In no time, you’ll be the expert everyone else will turn to when their routines stop bringing them the gains they were expecting.

In This 6-Pack Chiseling Article:

* How you can tap into the ab-shredding workouts that will carve out your body like a “300″ movie extra!
* How increasing your growth hormone will help you burn body fat at breakneck speed…for washboard abs that will turn heads at the beach (or at the coliseum)!
* What you can do AFTER your workout that will help you jack up your anabolic juices for a fat melting, muscle building conquest!

The epic war movie “300” jacked up the occupancy rates of every gym across the country as all of us guys dreamed of owning a set of washboard abs (and swords) like the warriors from the film.

Hell, I practically have to snap my fingers in front of my wife’s face to break her out of her trance every time the movie trailer played on our TV! It’s hard to compet with ripped and shredded ancient soldiers!

But there’s some sort of irony that this movie about a Spartan king who leads his army of 300 soldiers into battle against the invading Persian army, shows the defenders as being so big and buff.

You see, the Spartans were Greek and the Greeks are credited with the origin of the word “hormone” (from their word “horman”, meaning “to stir up or excite”), the very thing that they worked so hard to master to become such great athletes and warriors.

So as my own tribute to this killer movie, this article is dedicated to these formidable warriors who have inspired men everywhere to chisel out a “Spartan-like” physique able to fend off attackers anywhere. (Now leave our wives alone!)

Yes…this article is about naturally mastering your body’s growth hormone (GH) levels for more muscle and more fat burning!

In fact, if your goal is to lose fat and build muscle, it’s absolutely critical to pay close attention to your efforts to maximize your production of this powerful chemical in your body.

Released from your pituitary gland, growth hormone production peaks around puberty, and then slowly fades away as we age and plays a key role in the maintenance of muscle, bone mass and the balance of body fat.

This chemical is so powerful that even WITHOUT following an exercise program and healthy diet, it can build muscle and burn fat!

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that a small group of elderly men (aged between 61 and 81) who were given injected GH treatment showed an increase in both muscle and bone mass…AND reduced body fat at the same time.

Now, injected GH therapy does have its down sides so you can put down the phone…your doctor isn’t going to give you a prescription.

Joint and muscle pain can eventually occur from artificial stimulation and once you stop taking it, all benefits go bye-bye.

However, if done correctly, research has shown that naturally stimulating growth hormone can pay off with big dividends in a short period of time.

In fact, one university study from Denmark found that a 9-week program designed to naturally stimulate GH release resulted in strength gains 300% over normal increases!

Adding to that, men following the program increase arm strength by a whopping 37% compared with only 9% by the “control group” who only followed a “non-GH-stimulation” program.

And remember…these GH increases were activated not by injected hormone, but by completely natural means.

Now you can see why my program “Optimum Anabolics” has a primary focus of stimulating natural anabolic hormone output within the body…and why it has proven so effective at building muscle and burning off fat for thousands of men.

Hormone-focused training WORKS!

So to help you get started at mastering your own growth hormone factory, here are some of the key elements you need to apply to your workouts:

Natural Growth Hormone And YOUR Training Program

Exercise intensity is key when it comes to activating a GH response in your body. You want your workouts to be rather fast and furious, keeping total workout time no greater than 60 minutes. After that, you start to see a rapid decline in hormone response in the body.

You have a lot of work to do in just 60 minutes so in order to maximize your time in the gym, stick to “supersets” for your exercises and keep your rest periods to a minimum (about 60-90 seconds between sets). A superset involves going straight from exercise 1 to exercise 2 without resting or with minimal rest in between. Once you’ve completed both exercises, you will take a short break (remember…”short” means just 60-90 seconds!) and go back to exercise 1 again to hit the next superset.

Keep your repetition count high (around 8-12 repetitions per set). This will help activate a lactic acid response in your muscles and lactic acid in turn activates the release of growth hormone. You’re going for the “burn” in this program!

Be sure to pause and squeeze your targeted muscle at the peak contraction point (for bicep curls as an example, this would be in the “up” position).

This will really activate the lactic acid response as well as make sure you’re hitting deep into your muscle fibers.

Once you’re done with your workout, save about 5 minutes at the end for “sprint training”…

Researchers from Loughborough University have shown that a group of athletes who conducted a short series of 30-second sprints reached growth hormone levels 25 TIMES their resting levels approximately 30 minutes after training.

You’re not going to want to miss out on THOSE kinds of results!

So at the end of your workout, do three to six 30-second sprints on your gym’s track or on the road to finish off the day and set yourself up for peak GH output.

Follow this program and YOU will soon be shopping shirtless for a shield and armor at the local blacksmith! (And stay away from my wife!)

Publisher: Fitness Renaissance

The first step in designing a personal nutrition plan for yourself is to calculate how many calories you burn in a day; your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). TDEE is the total number of calories that your body burns up in 24 hours, including all activities. TDEE is also known as your “maintenance level”. Knowing your maintenance level will give you a starting reference point from which to begin your diet. According to exercise physiologists William McArdle and Frank Katch, the average maintenance level for women in the United States is 2000-2100 calories per day and the average for men is 2700-2900 per day. These are only averages; caloric expenditure can vary widely and is much higher for athletes or extremely active individuals. Some triathletes and ultra-endurance athletes may require as many as 6000 calories per day or more just to maintain their weight! Calorie requirements may also vary among otherwise identical individuals due to differences in inherited metabolic rates.

Methods of determining caloric needs

There are many different formulas you can use to determine your caloric maintenance level by taking into account the factors of age, sex, height, weight, lean body mass, and activity level. Any formula that takes into account your lean body mass (LBM) will give you the most accurate determination of your energy expenditure, but even without LBM you can still get a reasonably close estimate.

The “quick” method (based on total bodyweight)

A fast and easy method to determine calorie needs is to use total current body weight times a multiplier.

Fat loss = 12 – 13 calories per lb. of bodyweight
Maintenance (TDEE) = 15 – 16 calories per lb. of bodyweight
Weight gain: = 18 – 20 calories per lb. of bodyweight

This is a very easy way to estimate caloric needs, but there are obvious drawbacks to this method because it doesn’t take into account activity levels or body composition. Extremely active individuals may require far more calories than this formula indicates. In addition, the more lean body mass one has, the higher the TDEE will be. Because body fatness is not accounted for, this formula may greatly overestimate the caloric needs if someone is extremely overfat. For example, a lightly active 50 year old woman who weighs 235 lbs. and has 34% body fat will not lose weight on 3000 calories per day (255 X 13 as per the “quick” formula for fat loss).

Equations based on BMR.

A much more accurate method for calculating TDEE is to determine basal metabolic rate (BMR) using multiple factors, including height, weight, age and sex, then multiply the BMR by an activity factor to determine TDEE. BMR is the total number of calories your body requires for normal bodily functions (excluding activity factors). This includes keeping your heart beating, inhaling and exhaling air, digesting food, making new blood cells, maintaining your body temperature and every other metabolic process in your body. In other words, your BMR is all the energy used for the basic processes of life itself. BMR usually accounts for about two-thirds of total daily energy expenditure. BMR may vary dramatically from person to person depending on genetic factors. If you know someone who claims they can eat anything they want and never gain an ounce of fat, they have inherited a naturally high BMR. BMR is at it’s lowest when you are sleeping undisturbed and you are not digesting anything. It is very important to note that the higher your lean body mass is, the higher your BMR will be. This is very significant if you want to lose body fat because it means that the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, and it requires a great deal of energy just to sustain it. It is obvious then that one way to increase your BMR is to engage in weight training in order to increase and/or maintain lean body mass. In this manner it could be said that weight training helps you lose body fat, albeit indirectly.

Muscle to Die 4 Recommends: Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
Click here for Tom’s Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program.

The Harris-Benedict formula (BMR based on total body weight)

The Harris Benedict equation is a calorie formula using the factors of height, weight, age, and sex to determine basal metabolic rate (BMR). This makes it more accurate than determining calorie needs based on total bodyweight alone. The only variable it does not take into consideration is lean body mass. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the extremely muscular (will underestimate caloric needs) and the extremely overfat (will overestimate caloric needs).

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) – (6.8 X age in years)
Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) – (4.7 X age in years)

Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.

Example:

You are female
You are 30 yrs old
You are 5′ 6 ” tall (167.6 cm)
You weigh 120 lbs. (54.5 kilos)
Your BMR = 655 + 523 + 302 – 141 = 1339 calories/day

Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate TDEE by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job
Or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Example:

Your BMR is 1339 calories per day
Your activity level is moderately active (work out 3-4 times per week)
Your activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1339 = 2075 calories/day

Katch-McArdle formula (BMR based on lean body weight)

If you have had your body composition tested and you know your lean body mass, then you can get the most accurate BMR estimate of all. This formula from Katch & McArdle takes into account lean mass and therefore is more accurate than a formula based on total body weight. The Harris Benedict equation has separate formulas for men and women because men generally have a higher LBM and this is factored into the men’s formula. Since the Katch-McArdle formula accounts for LBM, this single formula applies equally to both men and women.

BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)

Example:

You are female
You weigh 120 lbs. (54.5 kilos)
Your body fat percentage is 20% (24 lbs. fat, 96 lbs. lean)
Your lean mass is 96 lbs. (43.6 kilos)
Your BMR = 370 + (21.6 X 43.6) = 1312 calories

To determine TDEE from BMR, you simply multiply BMR by the activity multiplier:

Example:

Your BMR is 1312
Your activity level is moderately active (work out 3-4 times per week)
Your activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1312 = 2033 calories

As you can see, the difference in the TDEE as determined by both formulas is statistically insignificant (2075 calories vs. 2033 calories) because the person we used as an example is average in body size and body composition. The primary benefit of factoring lean body mass into the equation is increased accuracy when your body composition leans to either end of the spectrum (very muscular or very obese).

Adjust your caloric intake according to your goal

Once you know your TDEE (maintenance level), the next step is to adjust your calories according to your primary goal. The mathematics of calorie balance are simple: To keep your weight at its current level, you should remain at your daily caloric maintenance level. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit by reducing your calories slightly below your maintenance level (or keeping your calories the same and increasing your activity above your current level). To gain weight you need to increase your calories above your maintenance level. The only difference between weight gain programs and weight loss programs is the total number of calories required.

Negative calorie balance is essential to lose body fat.

Calories not only do count, they are the bottom line when it comes to fat loss. If you are eating more calories than you expend, you simply will not lose fat, no matter what type of foods or food combinations you eat. Some foods do get stored as fat more easily than others, but always bear in mind that too much of anything, even “healthy food,” will get stored as fat. You cannot override the laws of thermodynamics and energy balance. You must be in a calorie deficit to burn fat. This will force your body to use stored body fat to make up for the energy deficit. There are 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. If you create a 3500-calorie deficit in a week through diet, exercise or a combination of both, you will lose one pound. If you create a 7000 calories deficit in a week you will lose two pounds. The calorie deficit can be created through diet, exercise or preferably, with a combination of both. Because we already factored in the exercise deficit by using an activity multiplier, the deficit we are concerned with here is the dietary deficit.

Calorie deficit thresholds: How low is too low?

It is well known that cutting calories too much slows down the metabolic rate, decreases thyroid output and causes loss of lean mass, so the question is how much of a deficit do you need? There is definitely a specific cutoff or threshold where further reductions in calories will have detrimental effects. The most common guideline for calorie deficits for fat loss is to reduce your calories by at least 500, but not more than 1000 below your maintenance level. For some, especially lighter people, 1000 calories may be too much of a deficit. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 per day for men. Even these calorie levels are extremely low. A more individualized way to determine the safe calorie deficit would be to account for one’s bodyweight or TDEE. Reducing calories by 15-20% below TDEE is a good place to start. A larger deficit may be necessary in some cases, but the best approach would be to keep the calorie deficit through diet small while increasing activity level.

Example 1:

Your weight is 120 lbs.
Your TDEE is 2033 calories
Your calorie deficit to lose weight is 500 calories
Your optimal caloric intake for weight loss is 2033 – 500 = 1533 calories

Example 2:
Your calorie deficit to lose weight is 20% of TDEE (.20% X 2033 = 406 calories)
Your optimal caloric intake for weight loss = 1627 calories

Positive calorie balance is essential to gain lean bodyweight

If you want to gain lean bodyweight and become more muscular, you must consume more calories than you burn up in a day. Provided that you are participating in a weight-training program of a sufficient intensity, frequency and volume, the caloric surplus will be used to create new muscle tissue. Once you’ve determined your TDEE, the next step is to increase your calories high enough above your TDEE that you can gain weight. It is a basic law of energy balance that you must be on a positive calorie balance diet to gain muscular bodyweight. A general guideline for a starting point for gaining weight is to add approximately 300-500 calories per day onto your TDEE. An alternate method is to add an additional 15 – 20% onto your TDEE.

Example:

Your weight is 120 lbs.
Your TDEE is 2033 calories
Your additional calorie requirement for weight gain is + 15 – 20% = 305 – 406 calories
Your optimal caloric intake for weight gain is 2033 + 305 – 406 = 2338 – 2439 calories

Adjust your caloric intake gradually

It is not advisable to make any drastic changes to your diet all at once. After calculating your own total daily energy expenditure and adjusting it according to your goal, if the amount is substantially higher or lower than your current intake, then you may need to adjust your calories gradually. For example, if your determine that your optimal caloric intake is 1900 calories per day, but you have only been eating 900 calories per day, your metabolism may be sluggish. An immediate jump to 1900 calories per day might actually cause a fat gain because your body has adapted to a lower caloric intake and the sudden jump up would create a surplus. The best approach would be to gradually increase your calories from 900 to 1900 over a period of a few weeks to allow your metabolism to speed up and acclimatize.

Measure your results and adjust calories accordingly

These calculations for finding your correct caloric intake are quite simplistic and are just estimates to give you a starting point. You will have to monitor your progress closely to make sure that this is the proper level for you. You will know if you’re at the correct level of calories by keeping track of your caloric intake, your bodyweight, and your body fat percentage. You need to observe your bodyweight and body fat percentage to see how you respond. If you don’t see the results you expect, then you can adjust your caloric intake and exercise levels accordingly. The bottom line is that it’s not effective to reduce calories to very low levels in order to lose fat. In fact, the more calories you consume the better, as long as a deficit is created through diet and exercise. The best approach is to reduce calories only slightly and raise your daily calorie expenditure by increasing your frequency, duration and or intensity of exercise.

References:

1. Katch, Frank, Katch, Victor, McArdle, William. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance, 4th edition. Williams & Wilkins, 1996.
2. Whitney, Eleanor, Rolfes, Sharon. Understanding Nutrition, 8th Edition, Wadsworth Publishing, 1999.
3. American College of Sports Medicine. Position Statement on proper and improper weight loss programs. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 15: ix – xiii, 1983.
4. McDonald, Lyle. The Ketogenic Diet. Morris Publishing. 1998

It seems that every time science uncovers some type of association between body fat and anything, opportunistic entrepreneurs are waiting in the shadows to create a product and a marketing campaign around it. They ride the wave into the multi millions, until the buzz dies down or until the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sues and slaps a padlock on their warehouse doors. Then, it’s on to the “next big thing in weight loss,” because they know there will always be a gullible crowd eagerly waiting for the next quick fix. The most recent example is when researchers discovered a correlation between cortisol and abdominal body fat. Cortisol was then blamed as the latest culprit in the obesity problem, and cortisol-suppressing pills were touted as the “miracle solution.”

Big Claims, Little Proof

After a web search on the subject of cortisol, here are some of the claims you may find:

* Stress makes you fat
* Cortisol is what makes you fat
* Cortisol reducing supplements control stress
* Cortisol reducing supplements reduce belly fat
* Cortisol reducing supplements get rid of “stress fat”
* Cortisol reducing supplements balance hormone levels that cause stress
* Cortisol reducing supplements increase muscle growth
* Cortisol supplements suppress appetite
* Cortisol supplements speed up metabolism

The advertising claims include just enough scientific fact to make even the savviest consumers say, “That makes sense, I think I’ll try that.” They also hit home emotionally by focusing on common hot buttons such as stress (who isn’t at least a little stressed in this day and age?) Brilliant marketing. Convincing. Unfortunately, most of the claims being made are completely false, with only a tiny thread of truth woven in.

Cortisol is a very important hormone that you must understand if you want to get maximum results from your training and nutrition programs, but if you don’t educate yourself, you may become one of the millions of victims to fall for this latest fad. The answers to the frequently asked questions in this article will arm you with the science-based facts, while helping you steer clear of the hype-based scams.

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is a hormone produced by your adrenal glands. It falls into a category of hormones known as “glucocorticoids”, referring to their ability to increase blood glucose levels. Cortisol is the primary glucocorticoid.

Why does your body produce cortisol?

Cortisol is a stress hormone. Your body produces cortisol in response to stress, physical, mental or emotional. This can include extremely low calorie diets, intense training, high volume training, lack of quality sleep as well as common daily stresses such as job pressures, fights with your spouse or being caught in a traffic jam. Trauma, injury and surgery are also major stressors to the body (Note: much of the research done on cortisol and stress has been done on recovering patients, and such findings may not carry over to healthy, athletic populations).

What does cortisol do?

Cortisol is part of the fight or flight response. Faced with a “life or death” situation, cortisol increases the flow of glucose (as well as protein and fat) out of your tissues and into the bloodstream in order to increase energy and physical readiness to handle the stressful situation or threat.

How do you know whether your cortisol levels are high?

You can get your cortisol levels tested if you choose to. The most common method of testing is a blood test (blood cortisol levels). Saliva and 24 hour urine tests are also available.

What is a normal level of cortisol?

Cortisol levels are higher in adults than children and levels fluctuate throughout each 24 hour period, so tests must account for the time of day. Cortisol concentrations are highest in the early morning around 6 – 8 a.m. and they are also elevated after exercise (a normal part of your body’s response to exercise). The lowest levels are usually around midnight. According to the Medline Encyclopedia, normal levels of cortisol in the bloodstream at 8:00 a.m. are 6-23 mcg/dl.

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Should you get your cortisol levels tested?

For serious competitive athletes, it may be worth the time, expense and inconvenience to have cortisol tests done on a regular basis. Some strength and conditioning coaches insist on it. For the average trainee, as long as you are aware of the factors that produce excessive cortisol and take steps to keep it in the normal, healthy range, then testing is probably not necessary.

Is cortisol related to abdominal obesity?

Yes. There is a link between high cortisol levels and storage of body fat, particularly “visceral” abdominal body fat (also known as intra-abdominal fat). Visceral fat is stored deeper in the abdominal cavity and around the internal organs, whereas “regular” fat is stored below the skin (known as subcutaneous fat). Visceral fat is particularly unhealthy because it is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.

Does Cortisol Make you fat?

No, cortisol is not “the thing” that makes you fat. In fact, one of the effects of cortisol is to increase the breakdown of stored adipose tissue into glycerol and fatty acids where it can enter the bloodstream and then be used as energy. High levels of cortisol are merely one contributing factor to storage of abdominal fat, not the primary cause. An excess of calories from too much food and not enough exercise is what makes you fat.

If cortisol is related to abdominal obesity, then will taking a cortisol suppressing pill get rid of abdominal (belly) fat?

No. Just because there is an association between high cortisol levels and abdominal body fat doesn’t mean that a taking a cortisol-suppressing pill will remove abdominal body fat. The studies which showed a relationship between cortisol and body fat did not test whether suppressing cortisol removes fat that is already deposited on your body.

Does stress make you fat?

No. If it did, then everyone who is stressed would be gaining fat. Many people lose weight while under stress. In some studies, test subjects with the highest cortisol levels lost the most weight. Stress, by itself, does not increase body fat. However, if stress stimulates appetite and leads to overeating, then the excess calories from “stress eating” can make you fatter.

Is cortisol is bad for you?

Cortisol is not “bad for you,” it is a hormone that is essential for life as part of our natural stress response. There are many hormones in our bodies, which in the proper amounts, maintain good health, but in excess or in deficiency, have negative effects or even contribute to health problems or diseases. Cortisol is no different. For example, Cushing’s syndrome is a disease of high cortisol levels, while Addison’s is a disease of low cortisol levels. You want to maintain a healthy, normal level of cortisol, not suppress your cortisol to nothing or allow it to remain elevated.

Chronically elevated cortisol levels may have a variety of negative effects. Cortisol is catabolic and elevated cortisol levels can cause the loss of muscle tissue by facilitating the process of converting lean tissue into glucose. An excess of cortisol can also lead to a decrease in insulin sensitivity, increased insulin resistance, reduced kidney function, hypertension, suppressed immune function, reduced growth hormone levels, and reduced connective tissue strength. Chronically elevated levels of cortisol can also decrease strength and performance in athletes.

Can suppressing cortisol improve your muscle growth and strength?

High cortisol levels can increase muscle protein breakdown and inhibit protein synthesis (building up muscle proteins), so a chronically elevated cortisol level is clearly counterproductive to building muscle. Bringing elevated cortisol levels back to normal may improve recovery, strength, hypertrophy and performance. However, there is no scientific evidence that reducing your cortisol levels below normal will have any effect on
increasing strength or muscle growth.

Should you take a cortisol-suppressing supplement to help you lose weight?

In my opinion, no, absolutely not. Cortisol suppressing supplements are not a valid solution for losing weight. The FTC has filed lawsuits against the makers of Cortislim and Cortistress, charging them with making false and unsubstantiated claims that their products can cause weight loss. Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection says, “The defendant’s claims fly in the face of reality. No pill can replace a healthy program of diet and exercise.” Reducing excessively high cortisol levels through supplement use may prove beneficial in some ways for hard training athletes. However, pills do not make you lose fat. Body fat is lost by creating a caloric deficit through exercise and nutrition.

Should you take a cortisol-suppressing supplement to help control your stress levels?

There are quite a few supplements, mostly herbs, which are reputed to have “calming,” “relaxing,” “tranquilizing,” “stress-relieving” or “anti-anxiety” effects. These include Magnolia bark, kava kava, valerian, L-theanine and too many others to mention. However, very few studies exist which have directly tested the effects of these herbs on cortisol levels. Although some people may find value in these types of products, the ideal solution is to reduce the stress or change your perception of the stress to lessen its physical effects. Treating symptoms does not remove causes. It can be dangerous to “band-aid” the effects of stress while the stress remains in place.

What should you do if you have a lot of stress in your life?

It makes sense to take steps to reduce stress in your life and lessen the impact of stressors that cannot be avoided. Trying to avoid stress completely is not possible, nor is it desirable. Stress is an important part of life because you can’t achieve positive adaptations and growth without stress to trigger them. It’s continuous stress that you want to avoid. It’s okay to expose yourself to stress, provided there is a sufficient period of rest afterwards so you can fully recover.

One of the best ways to keep cortisol in the normal range is to reduce stress and allow time for recovery and renewal. There are effective and natural means of reducing stress that don’t cost a penny, including getting out in nature, deep breathing, enhancing sleep quality, relaxation exercises, meditation and visualization-guided imagery. It’s important to develop a calm mind and sense of tranquility.

What’s in those cortisol pills anyway?

The ingredients can vary in type and quantity from one brand to the next. Some ingredients are included in the formulations to have a relaxing or stress reducing effect, some are included to reduce cortisol levels, while others are aimed at insulin and blood sugar stabilization. Cortislim, for example, contains Magnolia bark, beta sitosoterol, theanine, green tea extract, bitter orange peel extract (source of synephrine), banaba leaf extract, vanadium, vitamin C, calcium and Chromium.

Other ingredients that are often used in the various product formulations include Epidemium, phytosterols, tyrosine, Branched chain amino acids, ginseng, ashwaganda, astragalus, kava kava, St. John’s wort, Melatonin, SAM-e, Valerian, Gingko Biloba, Phosphatidyl Serine (PS), Acetyl L-carnitine and Glutamine. Reviewing all of these is beyond the scope of this article.

If you decide to take a cortisol suppressing supplement what should you look for? Before you even think about supplements (or drugs), keep in mind that unnatural suppression of cortisol may not be wise or necessary, especially if you haven’t used all the natural cortisol and stress management strategies at your disposal first. Once your nutrition, training and recovery bases are covered, there is some solid research showing that certain supplements may be beneficial, especially for athletes engaged in extremely hard training.

Carbohydrate consumed with lean protein immediately after training has a cortisol suppressing effect. High glycemic index (GI) carbs in particular, cause an insulin spike, which not only helps restore muscle glycogen, stimulates protein synthesis and kick starts the recovery process, it also helps lower the exercise-induced rise in cortisol. The research supporting this practice is substantial. (This should serve as a warning to people on low carb diets that are so strict that they don’t even allow small amounts of carbs after workouts). Rather than solid food, many athletes prefer a liquid “meal” using a commercial post workout drink containing whey protein and maltodextrin plus dextrose or glucose (fast acting protein and high GI carbs) because the rapid absorption time may speed recovery.

Vitamin C, known mainly for cold or flu protection and antioxidant properties, may decrease cortisol levels. A study by Marsit, et al showed a reduction in cortisol levels in elite weightlifters taking 1000 mg. of vitamin C per day. Other studies have reported similar findings.

Phosphatidyl serine (PS) is a phospholipid, which appears to have cortisol suppressing properties. Studies by Fahey and Monteleone have shown that daily doses of 800 mg can reduce cortisol. These studies did not conclude that PS would help you lose weight or gain more muscle.

Glutamine is an amino acid, which in some studies, has been shown to decrease cortisol and prevent a decrease in protein synthesis. Many strength athletes swear by glutamine for improved recovery, but the research is still not conclusive about efficacy or dosages for athletes or bodybuilders. Much of the research on Glutamine was performed on patients recovering from surgery, burns or traumas (severe stresses to the body).

Acetyl-L Carnitine (ALC) has been studied in Alzheimers patients as a method of improving cognitive function. One study showed that long term use of Acetyl L Carnitine lowered cortisol in the Alzheimers patients. Research on rats and mice has shown that ALC increases luteinizing hormone, which may in turn elevate testosterone. Whether these findings carry over to healthy athletes has yet to be proven, but some coaches and athletes believe that ALC lowers cortisol and elevates testosterone.

It’s important to note that the research on some of these substances is often conflicting and inconclusive. It’s also important to note that many of the cortisol suppressing supplements which are marketed to athletes or to people seeking weight loss do not contain doses anywhere near the amounts that were used in the research. (Yet another way that
supplement companies deceive consumers).

How can you lower your cortisol levels naturally?

You can lower cortisol naturally. In fact, if you are overtrained, unnatural cortisol suppression may be nothing more than a “band aid,” and continued overtraining can lead to adrenal exhaustion, which could take months to remedy. Sometimes the best thing you can do is take a rest or decrease your training volume and intensity rather than artificially attempt to suppress cortisol. Symptoms of overtraining include elevated resting pulse, sleep disturbances, fatigue, decreased strength and decreased performance.

* Avoid very low calorie diets, especially for prolonged periods of time. Low calorie dieting is a major stress to the body. Low calorie diets increase cortisol while decreasing testosterone.

* Use stress reduction techniques (stress, anger, anxiety, and fear can raise cortisol)

* Avoid continuous stress. Stress is an important part of growth. It’s when you remain under constant stress without periods of recovery that you begin breaking down.

* Avoid overtraining by keeping workouts intense, but brief (cortisol rises sharply after 45-60 min of strength training)

* Avoid overtraining by matching your intensity, volume and duration to your recovery ability. Decrease your training frequency, and or take a layoff if necessary.

* Suppress cortisol and maximize recovery after workouts with proper nutrition: Consume a carb-protein meal or drink immediately after your workout.

* Get plenty of quality sleep (sleep deprivation, as a stressor, can raise cortisol).

* Avoid or minimize use of stimulants; caffeine, ephedrine, synephrine, etc.

* Limit alcohol (large doses of alcohol elevate cortisol).

* Stay well hydrated (at least one study has suggested that dehydration may raise cortisol).

How do you spot a weight loss pill scam?

The cortisol pill is just one in a long string of bogus weight loss products, and it won’t be the last! Why? Because weight loss supplements are big business! Eight or nine figure fortunes have been made from the sales of a single product, which was later proven to be a total farce.

How do you protect yourself? Do your homework! Don’t take anything unless you know exactly what’s in the product, why it’s in the product and how much is in the product. Review the scientific research. Don’t buy a weight loss product just because a radio personality says it works! Don’t jump on the phone with your credit card in hand after watching a thirty-minute infomercial! In this day and age, you have to be smarter than that!

Conclusions

Excessive cortisol is not good. But cortisol is not inherently bad; it’s a vitally important hormone and part of your body’s natural stress response. Cortisol does not make you fat. Stress does not make you fat. Stress may lead to increased appetite… Increased appetite may lead to eating too much… Eating too much makes you gain fat. Make sense?

Cortisol suppressing agents may have some practical uses. But rather than thinking of cortisol supplements as a weight loss miracle (which they most surely are not), get yourself on a solid exercise and nutrition program and seek natural ways enhance recovery and reduce stress. By doing this first, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you’re losing fat and gaining muscle and there isn’t even a need to take a supplement at all.

Who doesn’t want BIGGER BICEPS, right?

And you know that BARBELL CURLS are a powerful mass-builder for your arms, don’t you?

Well you know I’m a stickler for the big no-no’s I see everyone doing in the gym with their curls…

…not using a full range of motion

…flopping their body all over the place to cheat the bar up

…too much reliance on the “EZ Curl Bar”

But here’s a neat little trick that you may find brings you a better “peak contraction” to really burn those bicep fibers…

Quick Bodybuilding Tip: Bicep Burner Thumb Trick!

First, you’ll use this “technique” with a STRAIGHT BAR only (forget the EZ Curl bar)!

The whole foundation of this is to get maximum “supination” which is necessary to complete the range of motion for your curls.

This is easy to do with dumbbells because you can twist the weights at the top of the curl.

You see, the further you can bring your pinky pointing in toward your working shoulder, the better contraction you’ll get in the peak bicep contraction.

You don’t get this supination very much with the big mass-building BARBELL CURL though because you can’t really “twist” your wrists to get your pinkies in the

right position.

But this will help…

Instead of wrapping your thumb around the straight bar, use a “thumbless grip” where your thumb is on the same side as your fingers!

You’ll find that at the “top” position, your pinkies are now slightly higher than they would be if you had your thumb wrapped around the bar.

This will help you get better supination and a better peak contraction!

PLUS, it forces you to use your forearm muscles more as you have to grip the bar harder in order to keep it in your hands.

Just a nice little “bonus”!

Give this puppy a try on your next “Arms Day” and see how it works for you!

Protein supplements are a staple in any bodybuilder’s supplement arsenal. Depending upon who you listen to, you’ll get different answers for “how much protein” you should consume in order to build muscle.

Bodybuilding magazines and supplement manufacturers tell you you should consume at least “2 grams of protein per pound of body weight” because you need all that protein to recover from your workouts and increase muscle mass.

But are they blowing these dosages way out of proportion?

I mean, supplement companies who promote massive dosages (I’ve seen up to 5g/lb of body weight!) couldn’t POSSIBLY be trying to get you to consume more of their product so you’ll go and buy another tub, right?

Fact is, I’ve caught a LOT of hell over the years from so called “experts” for my statements in my Optimum Anabolics program where I’ve said that the body CAN’T use more than 20-30g per meal.

Well a recent study looked at just how much protein is “enough” and how much is “too much”.

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Protein Study: How Much Protein Should You Consume?

A group of highly trained athletes consumed one of five different doses following a bout of resistance exercise.

* Og: The “control” group
* 5g
* 10g
* 20g
* or 40g

Following exercise, ALL groups increased muscle-protein synthesis, but the 20g dose produced nearly DOUBLE the amount of muscle-protein synthesis than the control group! The 40g dose was even higher, but not by all that much. Therefore, it appears that even after resistance training, your body can only USE so much protein (somewhere between 20g and 40g) and then the rest gets burned up as fuel.

Even in Optimum Anabolics, I recommend way less protein than most people take in (1.17g/lb of LEAN body weight) with about 25% of your daily protein requirement taken IMMEDIATELY after training.

By not consuming “too much” protein, your body can focus on burning FAT for fuel instead of the excess protein which is why OA is considered more of a “build and burn” bodybuilding program.

So stop overdosing on protein, will you? Consume about 20g in 5 meals throughout the day and add a separate 30-40g serving immediately after your workouts to ensure full muscle-protein synthesis when you need it the most.