Should You Eat the Same Thing Every Day?

I tend to eat the same thing every day throughout the week, for several reasons. First, for convenience. I have devised a daily 6 meal plan based on my caloric needs and macronutrient splits. If I change something, it means I have to go back to the drawing table (TheDailyPlate) and recalculate everything. That's a lot of work.

Secondly, I am a creature of habit, and when it comes to food, I rarely get sick of anything. If an eating plan works, I stick to it and don’t crave variation.

Lastly, I don’t enjoy cooking. I have zero patience. My 6 Monday-through-Friday meals are easy enough: Protein (eggs, chicken, beef, fish, and whey) veggies, oatmeal, etc.

However, I am more flexible when it comes to the weekends because my schedule isn't as rigid in terms of gym and work. On Saturdays, for example, I allow myself to eat whatever it is I am craving, whether it be a bowl of All Bran cereal or Top Ramen noodles.

But is eating the same thing every day a good thing? Mehdi, the author and founder of StrongLifts.com, agrees.

"The more variety you build into your diet, the less you stick to it. Eating the same every day is more effective. It also teaches you food is fuel in the first place, not pleasure," he writes in his post How to Lose Fat Fast. "Select several healthy and balanced meals you like. Eat them every day. Change the meals when you get bored of them. Not fun, but effective. Think results."

Mehdi also adheres to a 90/10 or 80/20 rule: He eats clean 6 for days, but allows for 2-3 junk meals on Sunday.

The Right Carbs at the Right Time

There are two types of carbohydrates in this world--and both have different impacts on your body, which is why differentiating between the two is important. First there are simple carbohydrates, such as table sugar, which digest quickly and give your body that energy rush--and the crash thereafter. Then there are complex carbohydrates, including starchy and fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which your body digests more slowly than simple carbs.

No one should completely ban carbs from their diet, especially complex carbs like veggies and oatmeal, which have been shown to lower fat and cholesterol absorption, moderate blood sugar and reduce the risk of colon cancer and heart disease. But eat too many bowls of pasta and you're likely to gain fat. Knowing which carbs to eat when can help you keep your weight in check--and build muscle.

Low-glycemic carbs (milk sugar, brown rice, oatmeal, vegetables), for example, provide sustained energy levels. This makes them an ideal component in pre-workout meals or snacks, since consuming low-GI carbs prevents premature lowering of blood sugar levels and ward off fatigue.

High-glycemic carbs (refined sugar, honey, white rice, bread and pasta), on the other hand, are absorbed quickly. They are best consumed after intense workouts, when your muscle glycogen stores are depleted and your body is pretty lousy at processing low-GI carbs.

Meanwhile, the amount of carbs you should consume depends on your fitness goals; that is, whether you need to gain, maintain, or lose weight.

"People are kidding themselves about how many carbs they need," Charles Poliquin tells T-Nation. "40 to 50 grams per day of good carbs is plenty for most of the population ... Nutrient timing makes a difference, too. A lean 200-pound man can keep his leanness eating 250 grams of carbs a day, if 200 of them are taken post-workout and the other 50 grams spread throughout the day in low-glycemic carbs."

Some of Poliquin's favorite post-workout food include figs (they're full of minerals) and sweet potatoes. But he suggests getting lean before eating carbs. "The leaner you are," Poliquin adds, "the more carbs you can eat."

Overtraining Can Thwart Muscle Growth

You know that pumped up feeling you get after a heavy lifting session? It's not the result of muscle growth but of the increased blood flow going to the exercised muscle. Muscle grows during your rest period, not during your training session, hence the importance of sleep in relation to muscle growth. But muscle growth can still be thwarted despite getting enough sleep--if you overtrain.

When you lift heavy weights, you create very small tears in the muscle fibers. The muscle tissue then repairs itself by forming scar tissue over the small tears. Eating the right nutrients and getting enough sleep allows the muscle tissue to begin repairing itself. But if the muscle tissue is broken down again before it's had the chance repair itself, you and your muscle become the victims of overtraining.

Generally, it is recommended you take somewhere between 48 to 72 hours to recover from a total body strength-training workout. Of course, many factors come into play, including fitness level, age, and workout intensity. Only you know your body best. You probably won’t lose muscle if you overtrain, but you probably won’t grow your muscles either.

Check out Jen Heath's 7 Factors of Overtraining: How to Balance the Extreme Body if you think you might be a victim of overtraining. She offers some great tips about getting back on track.

ZMA, Sleep and Muscle Growth

One of the most important training tools in your weight training arsenal is one you probably pay the least attention to: Sleep. Here's why.

When you lift heavy weights, you're creating microscopic tears in the muscle fibers--but don’t worry, that's a good thing. The muscle tissue then repairs itself by forming scar tissue over the small tears. It's what's referred to as muscular hypertrophy.

Eating the right nutrients, like protein, is important for your body to repair muscle tissue. But more importantly, your body needs to rest for an extended period of time to start repairing its muscle tissue. That's why sleep is vital to muscle growth. If you're not getting enough sleep, your body isn't getting adequate time to completely repair your muscles.

Try to get 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep every night. Prioritize your sleep as you would your training. And if you have trouble falling asleep, strength training guru Charles Poliquin suggests taking ZMA supplements.

"About 54-75 percent of the American population is deficient in magnesium. The percentages for zinc are somewhat greater. I've found that both zinc and magnesium are deficient in 100 percent of the athletes who come into my clinic," Poliquin notes. "When I gave ZMA to my athletes, virtually all of them reported better quality of sleep, an essential factor in maximizing recovery."

According to Poliquin, you can expect results to be the greatest after 6 weeks of use.

Couple Caffeine and Carnitine to Melt Fat

The enzymes of fat metabolism are located in structures within the muscle cells called mitochondria. When fats are transported into the mitochondria, they are broken down to generate energy.

High-volume training can increase both the amount and size of mitochondria, and more mitochondria means more fat metabolism, more ATP, and more energy. But is there a way to facilitate the transport of fat to the mitochondria? There is, at least according to Jim Stoppani.

"Fat needs carnitine to help it get into the mitochondria," Stoppani tells Muscle and Fitness Hers. "Preworkout is one of the best times to take carnitine, as research shows it can increase fat-burning during exercise by almost 25 percent."

Caffeine, meanwhile, prompts more fat to leave the fat cells so carnitine can take it away to be burned. Stoppani explains. "When caffeine binds to these fat-cell receptors, it allows fat to leave the cells and get burned. Thus, taking caffeine with carnitine enhances the overall fat-burning effect."

Stoppani reccomends taking 1–3 grams of carnitine (it commonly comes in the form of L-carnitine) with 200–400 mg of caffeine in the form of caffeine anhydrous before your workout. According to Stoppani, you'll get better results caffeine anhydrous (dry) than from a cup of java.

Here's the link to L-Carnitine Information and Product Listing on BodyBuilding.com. And for more on the benefits of caffeine, check out Dr. Jose Antonio’s article "Caffeine – The Forgotten Ergogenic Aid."

Source

Interval Training: The Benefits of HIIT

You train hard, you eat clean ... but you still have a few fat pounds you just can't shake. Should you accept your fat, er, fate, and accept that you will never be lean because you're genetically predisposed not to be?

"Regardless of your gender, where you find these pounds, or how long you've had them, they can be gotten rid of!" Dr. Clay Hyght writes in Shredded at Last: Getting Rid of Stubborn Fat. "My first question to you is, 'Are you doing some interval training?' If not, then either you don't know its benefits (because you live under a rock), or you aren't really serious about getting lean. As for frequency, I typically recommend doing three High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions per week on non-consecutive days."

Your cardio needs to be hardcore, Hyght warns. "To really maximize your time and enhance your fat loss, your cardio needs to be tough. Tough enough that you're dreading the last few minutes and looking forward to taking off your sweat soaked T-shirt and undies when you get to the locker room."

After warming up for up for 3 to 5 minutes, Hyght recommends going all out for 30 seconds, followed by going at a normal pace for 60 seconds. Repeat 12 of these intervals, followed by a 3 to 5 minute cool down. All in all, this HIIT cardio workout this will take 20 minutes.

To see results, Hyght recommends doing 3 HIIT cardio three times per week for about 20 minutes. If you don’t want to give up your steady state cardio, Hyght suggests 30-minute sessions 3 times per week, preferably after your weight lifting workout.

Source

The Anabolic Diet: Eat Fat to Lose Fat

Professional natural bodybuilder and certified personal trainer Jen Heath discusses the benefits of the Anabolic Diet on FigureAthlete.com—and she delivers quite the sales pitch. If you haven’t heard of it, the Anabolic Diet is a high protein, high-fat and low-carb diet aimed at changing your body's metabolism from a "sugar burner" to a "fat burner."

It sounds like the induction phase of the Atkins Diet, but there's a big difference: The Anabolic Diet features a two-day carb-loading phase meant to drive nutrients to your muscles and refill glycogen stores.

"The more carbs you eat, the more insulin you'll produce. It's a true recipe for fat storage," Heath explains in The Anabolic Diet: It's a Lifestyle. "Why allow the body to preserve every last bit of fat you ingest by eating virtually none?"

During the low-carb phase of the Anabolic Diet, you’ll eat less than 30 grams of carbohydrates a day while consuming protein and fat in abundance. The ideal approach is to follow the low-carb phase from Monday through Friday, saving the high-carb phase for the weekend.

But remember, low-carb doesn't mean low in nutrients. "You shouldn't forget to eat your green veggies!" Heath warns. "Most green veggie carbs like broccoli are very high in fiber. Fiber is 'free' and need not be counted because it has no impact on blood sugar levels of any significance." Aim for at least 25 grams of fiber per day.

"The great thing about the high-carb phase (weekends) is your body will continue burning fat even while you're consuming liberal amounts of carbohydrates," Heath explains. "Ingested carbohydrates will all go to your depleted muscular glycogen stores and your body will continue burning the fat."

The majority of your weekend carbs should come from healthy whole foods such as fruits, oatmeal, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. Your macronutrient split during the high-carb phase is about 45-60 percent carbohydrates, 10-15 percent protein, and 30-40 percent fat. The amount of carbs you eat over the weekend depends on how much exercise you do and how many calories you eat during the low-carb phase.

Heath says the mirror is your best tool for gauging your carb consumption. "When you first begin eating carbs your muscles and veins will begin to fill out and you'll look more muscular and more lean," she explains. "You'll eventually reach a point where your definition will begin to smooth out. This is a sign that your muscles are full of glycogen and that would be a good time to stop the carb load."

And if you’re working out hard at the gym Monday through Friday, take note: High volume workouts at the end of the week, when your carb stores are practically depleted, will be hard!

This diet sounds like a hardcore version of Joel Marion’s Cheat to Lose Diet. But it's probably not for everyone. The only person who knows what will work best for you is you. But don't be afraid to experiment--and don't hesitate to drop or change a diet that isn't working for you. I can tell in less than a week if I am responding well to a new eating plan.

For more, check out Dr. Mauro DiPasquale's official site. You can download lists of food you can eat during the low-carb phase and more.

Which Protein Supplements Are Best?

If you’re like me, you’re constantly on the hunt for the best protein powder; best in terms of quality and taste. Female athletic training and strength coach John Paul Catanzaro has some good tips about choosing a protein powder, as well as suggested brands.

Here are Catanzaro’s 4 protein supplement tips:

1. Cycle your supplements so that your body does not get used to them, thereby decreasing their effect.


2. For variety sakes alone, it breaks the monotony and allows you to try different brands.
   
3. Take advantage of the unique qualities offered by various brands. Switch the powders you use on a frequent basis to not develop any food intolerances or even worse allergies.


4. A blend that combines various protein sources (i.e. casein, egg, whey, and even beef if you can find it) is your best bet.

Catanzaro recommends MD+ Myosin Protein Complex, Beverly International Muscle Provider, Biotest Low-Carb GROW!, and Dorian Yates Approved ProPeptide.

He also has a "bedtime concoction" consisting of 1 scoop of vanilla flavored Xtreme Formulations Ultra Peptide added to a mixture of ricotta (whey) and cottage (casein) cheese. Whey gets into your system fast while casein is a slow releasing protein, so this combination provides both an anabolic and anticatabolic effect during sleep.

Myosin Protein Lo Carb Solutions!, which you can get from BodyBuilding.com, is also an effective protein mix that combines both fast and slow proteins. And it’s actually specifically designed for the sleep cycle and nighttime nutrition.

Lift Heavy to Stimulate Muscle Growth

Dr. Bill Kraemer, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, recently reported on a study that found women tend to lift half--or even less--of what they could lift in the gym. The result improved slight but not much for women who worked with personal trainers. So ask yourself this: Are you maximizing your efforts in the weight room?

The most effective way to stimulate muscle growth is to lift heavy. As a rule of thumb, use a weight load that will fatigue your muscles in about 8 to 10 reps. If you're looking to increase strength and power, go for a 4 to 6 rep range. And when using a lower the rep range with the heavier weights, remember to increase your rest time between sets as well.

But exactly what weight will stimulate muscle fibers and make your muscles grow? Lifting too much weight without enough reps, or too light a weight with too many reps, will get you nowhere.

In the April 2006 issue of Muscle & Fitness, Mark Casselman wrote that maximal hypertrophy occurs with loads from 80 to 95 percent of your one-rep max, which is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single repetition of a given exercise.

You can determine what weight you should be lifting by first establishing your 1 rep max. If you don’t have a spotter to help you find out your magic number (and don't ever attempt to try without a spotter), you can use a number of formulas out there to guesstimate your 1RM. Here's an example:



Based on this formula, if I can bench press 65 pounds for 10 reps, my estimated one rep max for this exercise would be 87 pounds. It's not an ironclad number, but it's a good ballpark figure if that's all you have to go by. The poundage can then be changed as needed to perform the number of reps called for by your training protocol. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, this translates into a weight you can lift anywhere from 6-12 times to muscle failure. After doing my own math, I am off about 5 pounds, but I'm lifting pretty close to what I should be lifting--at least when it comes to the bench press.

But weight training requires a mix of moderate to heavy training, so even if you find the weight and perfect rep range, it's important to use periodization in your resistance training program by alternating the cycles of weight lifted with total repetitions. Include training sessions with lighter weights for higher reps, moderate weight for moderate reps, and heavy weights for lower reps to maximize muscle fiber growth.

Quad Dominance and Neck Pain in Women

Most of us know that women have about 40 to 60 percent the upper body strength of men, while pound per pound, their lower body strength is much closer.

But when it comes to the lower body, did you know most women are quad dominant? That means women tend to recruit their quadriceps before their hamstrings. To correct the strength imbalance in the lower body, female athletic training and strength coach John Paul Catanzaro suggests including hip extension with pulls, Romanian deadlifts and reverse hypers for strength and activation into your workouts.

It's important for women to address this imbalanace because it can lead to damaged ligaments that hold their knees together, resulting in knee injuries. And according to strength and conditioning specialist Lou Schuler, the problem worsens with time because women recruit their stronger muscles—the quads—first, which in turn makes them stronger. And that can lead to a literal pain in the neck.

That's because the quadriceps muscles, which are much stronger in mature women in relation to the hamstring muscles, are connected to the rectus abdominis, otherwise known as the six-pack muscle. "When your quads are too strong, and your [abs] are overworked, the muscles on the front of your body tighten," Schuler explains in The New Rules of Lifting for Women. "Tight muscles on the front will stretch out the connective tissues on the back, making them longer and comparatively weaker."

The stretched out connective tissues causes the head to tilt forward. "Picture an old lady with a dowager’s hump," Schuler warns. "That’s the worst-case scenario of quad dominance."

Schuler also warns against over-emphasizing ab exercise, especially crunches, which he describes as "a useless exercise." Instead, Schuler suggests women focus more on twisting exercises like the horizontal cable wood chop. "If you’re a typical woman, your front body muscles are already stronger than they should be."

Match Your Diet to Your Body Type

I’ve talked about macronutrient splits in my diet. I tend to do well on a high protein, high fat diet—and that’s because of my body type, or somatotype. I am an endo/mesomorph, meaning I have characteristics of endomorph and mesomorph body types: I hold water and need to monitor my carb intake. So my macronutrient split is roughly 35-40 percent protein, 35 percent fat and 25-30 percent carbohydrate.

But my macronutrient split may not be the most beneficial for you. In order to know, you need to figure out what your body type is. Here are the types, according to Sean Sullivan's Dieting & Training by Body Type - The Basics:

Endomorph: Usually puts on muscle easily and retains it for long periods of time, but typically stores larger amounts of body fat. In restricted caloric conditions, they can retain muscle better. The problem for endomorphs is having trouble taking off the last little bit of fat. Endomorphs almost always have sensitivity to carbohydrates, although this does diminish with the addition of more muscle and proper dieting.

Mesomorph: Normally maintains a muscular build with little body fat. Generally gains muscle easily, retains muscle well, and has a fast metabolism. Can eat almost anything and still lose fat and gain muscle. It is not uncommon to see a mesomorph diet only four to six weeks in preparation for a competition. It is estimated that pure mesomorphs make up only about 1-2% of the population.

Ectomorph: Has smaller muscularity and little body fat. Has trouble filling out and often looks ripped, but with little sweep to the muscle. Has a bony structure and exhibits little muscularity. Ectomorphs are not ideally suited for bodybuilding, but there are a number of highly successful ectomorphs in competition. Ectomorphs may build some muscle density, but they will still appear long and lanky. On the positive side, ectomorphs can take in a large amount of carbohydrates and still have low insulin sensitivity, unless they create sensitivity themselves through a prolonged poor diet.

According to John Berardi's How To Eat Right For Your Body Type, whether you’re an ecto, meso, or endomorph determines some key hormonal and sympathetic nervous system characteristics. Ectos, according to Berardi, do best on high carb diets with moderate protein intake and lower fat in the diet, while mesos do best on a zone-style diet of a balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Endos, he notes, do best on a high fat and protein diet with limited carbohydrates.

If you’re still not sure where you stand, remember this as a general rule of thumbs: Carbohydrates and fats don’t play well together. So if you have a high tolerance for carbs and do well on a high-carb diet, keep your fat intake low. But if you’re an endomorph, like me, you’re probably sensitive to carbohydrates. That means a diet higher in protein and fat, but lower in carbs.

Can Fruit Make You Fat?

If you look at most physique athletes’ diets (like figure competitor Gina Aliotti, whose meal plan I outlined in my July 14 post), fruit rarely makes the list, especially those on the fast track to fat loss. The real enemy, however, here isn’t fruit, but fructose.

"If you have a lot of fructose in your diet, it only has one place to go: your liver. If your liver glycogen levels are full, which is the case all times of the day except before you eat breakfast, then that fructose is turned into fat," Cassandra Forsythe explains on FigureAthlete.com. “Since your liver doesn't want to store this new fat, it ships it to other parts of your body; places you don't want it, like your belly and butt."

So if you are trying to lose those last pesky pounds and reduce your levels of body fat, should you ban fruit from the menu? Not completely, but you can make some wiser choices when striving for five.

"Fruit is beneficial for you because it's the best natural source of antioxidants that help you fight free-radicals, a major cause of aging and muscle damage. It's also an important source of fiber," said Forsythe. "Your best bet is to choose fruits that are low in fructose, and only eat the higher fructose fruits in the morning, when your liver glycogen levels are low."

Forsythe suggests avoiding these fruit (outside of an occasional breakfast): Apples, bananas, cherries (1 Cup), grapes (1 Cup), mango, melon (2 wedges), oranges, pears, pineapple (2 rings), and watermelon (1 large slice).

These fruits, however, contain less than 4 grams of fructose per serving and can be eaten with less restriction: Apricots, blackberries (1/2 cup), figs, grapefruit (1/2 medium), papaya, peaches, plums, raspberries (1/2 cup), and strawberries (1/2 cup).

If you are consuming a lot of fruit throughout the day, consider replacing them with vegetables. Every fruit has a vegetable counterpart that is just as healthy--if not more. For more info, check out Forsythe's The Low Fructose Diet.

How to Lose Fat and Gain Muscle

A lot of people ask me about diet, specifically how supplements like protein, creatine and BCAAs fit in. Charles Poliquin summarizes it pretty well in a Q&A on T-Nation's Question of Strength: October. Here’s what he had to say when asked if there’s a way to retain muscle while following a fat loss program:

"Not only can you retain muscle while losing fat, but as I talked about in the previous question, you can gain muscle. In fact, you should gain muscle if you know how to train and eat properly!

"One thing to remember: If you're on a fat loss diet, you must be consuming a lot of good dietary fats. A lot of guys who don't retain muscle when dieting are basically eating too lean--egg whites and chicken breasts all day long. You need to add quality fats, and I'm not talking about a burger from McDonalds.

"Dr. Mauro DiPasquale taught me a long time ago that when you go low carb to lose body fat, you still need to take in a lot of dietary fat or you won't have any success. We're talking about smart fats here like omega-3s, which can battle inflammation. You have to realize that our DNA has only evolved about .02 percent in the last forty thousand years, and the meat our caveman ancestors ate had much more omega-3 than the meat we eat now.

"Back to your question. One of the most important supplements to take when on a calorie restricted diet is BCAAs. You need about 50 grams a day. Take it between meals …

"BCAAs have a host of research-supported benefits including preventing catabolism, stimulating anabolism, lowering DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and providing endurance, energy, and an increased rate of recovery. Military personnel in many countries now receive BCAA solutions to prevent mental fatigue during maneuvers. Using a large amount of aminos is also very anabolic! My athletes take a ton."

Killer Strength, Cardio and Ab Circuit

Thursday’s Strength/Cardio/Ab Circuit:

Warm Up:
2 minutes jumping jacks
40 BW squats
40 mountain climbers
Complete only once

Circuit 1
Ladder push-ups:
Do a pushup, partner does a pushup, do 2, partner does 2, do 3, partner does 3, do 4, partner does 4, do 5, partner does 5. You've now each done 15 pushups.
5 X suicide runs
50 side-to-sides for abs
Rest 30 seconds, repeat

Circuit 2
15 DB split squats RIGHT leg, hold on last rep and perform 15 tricep extensions
15 DB split squats LEFT leg, hold on last rep and perform 15 curls
2 minutes high knees
50 bicycles for abs
Rest 30 seconds, repeat

Circuit 3
25 DB sumo squats, hold on last rep and do 25 calf raises
50 kneeling kickbacks each side
2 minutes jumping jacks
40 v-ups for abs
Rest 30 seconds, repeat

Circuit 4
20 single-leg DB RDL LEFT leg, hold on last rep and do 20 rows
20 single-leg DB RDL RIGHT leg, hold on last rep and do 20 rear dealt flyes
5 X suicide runs
30 swimmers for back
Rest 30 seconds, repeat

Circuit 5
20 squats with front DB swing each side
30 seconds squat hold
2 minutes leg combo (jumping jacks, scissors, jump lunges, jump squats)
25 side plank pulses each side
Rest 30 seconds, repeat

Cardio or Weights First?

When's the best time to do get your cardio in: before or after your strength training session? This debate has been brewing for some time, and there has never been a clear consensus. But Dr. William Kraemer revisited the issue and gave some interesting new insight into the cardio vs. weights debate.

"What's been coming out in the literature now is that the imprint that's left by the last exercise form that you choose--whether it be strength training, endurance running or intervals--is what the body is going to be affected the most by," Kraemer explained while giving his research tip on the Performance Nutrition Show. "If you're going to exercise all at one time, you need to properly pair things up."

According to Kraemer, there is now evidence that suggests that you can nullify your anabolic processes by following it with a catabolic or aerobic type of stimulus. When you do a strength training routine, for example, you signal a process in which information from genes is used to make proteins to begin building muscle that was recruited. But switching from strength training to a high intensity interval session creates a catabolic effect that opposes the signals in the muscle fibers that were stimulated anabolically.

"If you're interested in optimizing the anabolism of the tissue … you want to do the strength training session second and it's probably good to pair it with a low level cardio before. And if you have to do a high level cardio, do a light weight training session first followed by your high intensity cardio," Kraemer suggests.

If your goal is to gain lean muscle mass, do you still need to do cardio at all? Yes, but Kraemer recommends using an amino acid supplement and carbohydrates to stimulate anabolic properties, since protein can stave off loss of lean muscle tissue. "If you do a lot of high intensity training, your type-I fibers don’t get smaller, but they don’t get any bigger either," Kraemer warns.

Meal Planning with Gina Aliotti

In an interview with Chris Shugart on FigureAthlete.com figure competitor Gina Aliotti describes what she eats to stay in contest shape.

Here's an example of her daily meal plan:

Meal 1: Oats with one scoop Metabolic Drive
Meal 2: 2 scoops Metabolic Drive, nuts
Meal 3: 4-5 oz lean protein, veggies, 5 oz sweet potato or yam
Meal 4: Oats, 4-5 oz lean protein, veggies
Meal 5: Lots of green veggies, 4-5 oz lean protein
Meal 6: Same as meal 4
Meal 7: 1 scoop Metabolic Drive, peanut butter

Aliotti is also a big fan of supplements: She takes two HOT-ROX Extreme first thing in the morning, two Flameout capsules, one yohimbe, and one Se7en. She repeats the same stack at lunch and before bed, takes three ZMA capsules, two Flameout capsules, and one yohimbe. She also drinks one Spike during her workout.

I like the fact that she leaves a lot of room for vegetables, my favorite food!

I’ve never been a proponent of energy/fat loss supplements because I just don’t think they work. I prefer good old caffeine instead. For more on the benefits of caffeine, check out Dr. Jose Antonio’s article "Caffeine – The Forgotten Ergogenic Aid."

Build Lower Body Endurance

Need to build endurance in your lower body? Try a wall squat. Stand with your back against a wall, with your feet shoulder-width apart in front of you. Slide down until your thighs are parallel to the floor and hold this position. Start by doing two sets of 20 seconds each, and try holding longer and performing more sets as you become stronger.


To make the exercise more challenging, try holding the squat at different angles to work the lower body in different ways. You can also add intensity by holding dumbbells or squeezing a ball between your knees.

It Boils Down to Nutrition

Ask any gymgoer about their training regimen, and they’re likely to break it down to a science: Days per week, body splits, rep schemes, rest periods, etc. But ask the same gymgoer how many calories he or she eats in a day, or about their macronutrient splits, and you’ll likely get a, "huh?"

Yet, your physical appearance has a lot more to do with diet than training. In fact, a lean and athletic physique is built on 80 percent nutrition, 10 percent training and 10 percent genetics.

That most people focus most of their energy on training, which only equates to about 10 percent, explains why there are so many tub-o-lards in the weight room. These gymgoers complain about not losing weight despite working out daily. They are victims of their own mismanaged diets.

To see your hard work at the gym pay off, adopt a clean eating way of life. Spread your daily caloric intake into three small meals and two or three snacks, and ideally eat every three to four hours. Make sure each feeding includes a protein--because you don't want to eat a complex carbohydrate alone; eating protein with carbs helps offset unstable blood and insulin levels by prolonging digestion and slowing the release of sugar into the bloodstream. If you're new to this concept, read Tosca Reno's The Eat Clean Diet, which breaks it down to basics according to your weight-loss goals.

Your macronutrient split, meanwhile, is the ratio of carbohydrates, fat and protein in your diet. My split, for example, is roughly 35 percent protein, 35 percent fat and 30 percent carbohydrate. The DailyPlate.com is a great site that breaks down your calories and macronutrient ratios.

And if you want to get really serious about your diet, check out Charles Poliquin's "Top 10 Carb Intake Rules For Optimal Body Composition." I say serious because Poliquin suggests eliminating all grains and fructose, which is where most people draw the line. My bible is Jonny Bowden's 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. If a food's not in there, I don't eat it (with the exception of my weekly cheat meal).

You can also check out John Berardi's hardcore "Lean Eatin’: Choosing the Right Foods to Get Lean and Mean" on BodyBuilding.com to learn how to choose the right foods to get "lean and mean."

The Bottom Line: If a lean and athletic physique is built on 80 percent nutrition, educate yourself about what, how much and when to eat and you'll see your training pay off.

GO3 Like Beckham

David Beckham has partnered with the British company GO3 to promote a line of omega-3 fish-oil capsules. The line includes GO3 Juniors, a chewable, strawberry-flavored version for kids. But I hope you jumped on the omega-3 bandwagon before Beckham did!

There are a host of benefits to consuming healthy fats like omega-3 supplements. The fish oil pills are believed to fight inflammation, lower blood pressure and reduce clotting. In addition, DHA, a form of omega-3s that makes up 25 percent of your body’s brain fat, also manages the production and flow of serotonin.

And did you know omega-3s can also help you stay trim? Douglas Bibus, PhD, an omega-3 researcher and scientist at the University of Minnesota’s Academic Health Center, told Health .com that omega-3s may help by stabilizing moods swings, reducing those bring-on-the-brownies moments that sabotage weight-loss efforts. Bibus suggests taking a high-quality supplement for 30 days, and increasing the dosage until you notice a difference.

If you're not into supplements, you can get your omega-3s from cold-water ocean fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring, as well as lake trout. They're also plentiful in flax, walnuts, spinach, arugula, avocados and some soy products like edamame. Eggland’s Best also sells eggs that contain high levels of omega-3s.

The Basics: Compound Sets

Compound sets, also known as push/pull, are a great tool to achieve balance in your physique because they work opposing muscle groups.

To complete a compound set, choose a push movement--the bench press, for example--and a pull movement, such as a seated row. Perform one set of bench presses, immediately followed by a set of seated rows without resting in-between.

Working opposing muscle groups back-to-back improves balance, strength and coordination!

Refrain from Grain

Have you hit a plateau in your weight-loss goal no matter how you slice and dice your calories and how intensely you exercise? It might not be how much you’re eating but what you’re eating.

Oxygen writer and physique model Dr. Chris Lydon, suggests chronic, low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance may the culprit.

"The highly pro-inflammatory fatty acid profiles found in most grains, combined with toxic compounds known as anti-nutrients that are especially prevalent in wheat, have some experts convinced that grain consumption is largely responsible for the North American obesity pandemic," Lydon explains.

Charles Poliquin, one of the world’s most successful strength coaches, suggests eliminating grains completely in "Top 10 Carb Intake Rules For Optimal Body Composition."

"Wheat influences blood sugar levels the same way as plain table sugar," Poliquin writes. "Besides raising insulin levels in the body and their rapid carb intake, grains also release cortisol."

But not all carbs are created equal. According to Poliquin, your main source of carbs should be fibrous ones, which moderate insulin response, making them ideal fat loss. Fibrous carbs include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and peppers.

And many nutritionists agree. Grains, for example, are absent from Jonny Bowden’s The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. "If you ate a great balance of foods from the 150 that make up the list of the healthiest foods on the planet, and you never touched a grain for the rest of your life, you wouldn’t be missing anything nutritionally," Bowden writes. "The same cannot be said of the fruits, vegetables, eggs, oils, spices, meat, fish, and poultry."

Bowden adds that oatmeal, a minimally processed grain, is one that’s truly worth eating. Not convinced? Try eliminating grains from your diet for one week and see for yourself.

This Week's Leg Workout

Warm-up: 5-10 minutes on stationary bike

Tri-Set (use dumbbells to intensify):
Walking lunges (length of gym)
Step-ups
Standing calf raise

Tri-Set
Single-leg squat press
Hack squat
Sitting calf raise

Compound Set
Romanian deadlift
Back squat

Cool down: 5-10 minutes on stationary bike

Runnin' in the Sun

Living in South Florida means flip flops, tank tops and outdoor runs all year long. And turns out that's a good thing in my--or anyone's--battle against fat.

According to a study published in the journal Obesity, men who exercised in direct sunlight lost 20 percent more body fat than their indoor counterparts. Researchers believe running in the sun increased the production leptin, a protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism.

So hit the road rather than the treadmill for your next run. Just make sure to slather on sunscreen so you get the ultimate FAT burn and not the ultimate SUN burn. And stay hydrated!

Eggs: The Whole Story

We’ve been fed the steady oatmeal + egg whites breakfast mantra for so long that coming out in favor of whole eggs—yes, that includes the yolks—seems like an insurmountable task. But listen up: Not only are whole eggs a perfect protein, they are a good source of antioxidants.

Whole eggs got a bad rap (and wrongly so) because they are high in cholesterol, but did you know eating whole eggs does not increase levels of LDL cholesterol? And according to the Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating, "No research has ever shown that people who eat more eggs have more heart attacks than people who eat few eggs."

According to a study published in Nutrition and Metabolism, eggs "make a significant contribution to the anti-inflammatory effects of CRD (carbohydrate reduced diet), possibly due to the presence of cholesterol, which increases HDL-C and to the antioxidant lutein, which modulates certain inflammatory responses." Whole eggs also increased the levels of adiponectin, an important marker of blood sugar control.

Whole eggs are also one of the best sources of choline, which is essential for cardiovascular and brain function.

So make sure to include whole eggs in your diet, especially if you’re on a long-term low-car, high-protein diet. It is, however, possible to develop an allergy to eggs. If that’s the case, try capping your whole egg consumption to two a day.

The Basics: Setting Goals Through Periodization

There's always someone, somewhere expressing the importance of goal setting. And they're right—especially when it comes to training.

According to basketball coach Rick Pitino, the only men's coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four, goals are more than hastily made New Year's resolutions: "They are tangible action items to be written down and followed. The list is the roadmap you pore over before you start out on your trip."

Most of us have goals. We want to drop some body fat, put on lean muscle, get stronger, lose those last 10 vanity pounds… But how do you "roadmap" a goal? By breaking down your goal into components, or attainable short-term goals, and writing them down. This becomes your plan, one that you follow every day, every week and every month. It’s discipline through organization.

In the gym, periodization is your roadmap. Periodization is a long-term program in which you vary your training at scheduled time intervals to improve strength, endurance and performance. Why not try breaking your training into microcycles (seven days), mesocycles (eight weeks) and macrocycles (six months)? Each cycle should progress towards your end goal.

If you need more motivation, read Charles Poliquin’s "Goal Setting for Strength," which lists six steps to help you chart your path to building strength successfully.

Remember, if you follow your roadmap, you will achieve your goal.

Bodyweight Before External Load

If your leg development has stalled, check out Alwyn Cosgrove’s "The Best Exercise You're Not Doing," which was featured in Men’s Health Magazine.

"Despite the plethora of gym equipment available, some of the greatest exercises remain the ones you can do with just your body weight," writes Cosgrove. "While you may not be the strongest guy in the gym, you can still turn heads by banging out a set of single-leg squats … Master this one leg workout and you'll see gains in strength, speed, and balance."

Cosgrove also praises bodyweight before external resistance in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Program Design: A Unified Theory of Fitness Programming" on T-Nation.

"You have no freaking business using a load if you can't stabilize, control, and move efficiently using only your bodyweight," he stresses. "Unless you can perform 20 pushups in good from, get your ass off the bench press … The same rule applies to the single leg squat. If you can't perform 8-10 good reps, then why are you using two legs to squat with external load?"

The best exercises Cosgrove claims you’re not doing are partial squats, Bulgarian split squats, high steps, negative squats, and single leg squats. I am a big fan of both bodyweight and single leg exercises, but there’s a couple here I haven’t tried, including single-leg partial and negative squats. I will definitely incorporate these into my total body workout.

Source

Starting a Full-Body Workout

Strength and conditioning coach Chad Waterbury makes a really convincing argument for total-body training in "The 3-Day-Per-Week, Full-Body Workout Plan" published on T-Nation. If there’s one thing no one in the weight training world seems to agree on it’s "the perfect split"—and there’s a good reason. First and foremost, there is no perfect split. And secondly, what works for you might not work for me.

But does a non-physique athlete like me really benefit from a run-of-the-mill muscle group split? Not according to Waterbury. "The single biggest mistake trainees have made in their quest for the ultimate physique is in periodization parameters," writes Waterbury. "Our bodies are designed for one sole purpose: adaptation. If you forget that, then you can forget about ever creating the physique of a Greek God.

"Every single time I hit the gym, I perform a total-body workout with most of the following guidelines. I doubt that will ever change," Waterbury explains. "In fact, that’s how I added almost 100 pounds of muscle to my frame. I don’t know why I ever wandered, so I’m here to keep you from running astray."

Waterbury stresses that variance is the key to consistent hypertrophy success. His workout plan consists of six compound, multi-joint exercises per session, two to four sets per muscle groups and between 5 to 18 reps per exercise.

The article also includes a periodization plan and suggested exercises. It’s well worth reading if you’re thinking about switching to a total body workout.

How to Cheat on Your Diet Strategically

I was listening to an old podcast (September '07) of the Performance and Nutrition Show and heard Dr. Jose Antonio and Juan Carlos Santana interviewing The Cheat to Lose author Joel Marion. And I was surprised at how NOT gimmicky this plan is. It’s a diet that many physique athletes follow: A cheat day once a week. Actually, in Marion’s plan, carbohydrates are deliberately added each day, leading up to the cheat day.

According to the book, adding a cheat day a week raises levels of the hormone leptin and revs up metabolism. So you’re basically tricking your body into thinking you're not dieting. I recommend listening to the podcast if this is something you want to know more about.

The book, meanwhile, has a three-phase program that includes priming, core, and maintenance, an 18-minute "fat-melting" cardio workout, 12 weeks of daily menu plans, recipes, and tips for staying on track.

Shannon Clark also wrote a great article about cheat days, or "refeeds," on BodyBuilding.com.

"Leptin's main function in the body is to play a significant role in regulating both hunger, food intake and energy expenditure," Clark writes in "The Power of a Refeed and Leptin." "As leptin levels fall, the greater your cravings become for all those wonderful foods that you used to eat when you weren't dieting."

Clark suggests refeeds have 20-50 percent more calories than required for maintenance for 12 hours to two days. She also cautions against increasing workout volume on your refeed day, which would defeat the purpose of this process.

But the most important thing to remember is cheat days work--provided you stick to the diet during the six other days of the week!

Charles Poliquin's Tip of the Day

Step-Up, Toes Up
Most people cheat when doing step-ups by leaning forward too much and pushing off on the bottom leg. When you push off the floor leg, the leg on top of the block or bench isn't doing much work. Here's a trick to keep from cheating: curl up the toes of the foot that's on the floor and keep them curled up during the movement. This keeps you from being able to push off from the bottom leg so easily.

As for bench or step height, you can go very high. The highest you can go is when the bench is so tall you're up on your toes. It's called the triple-jumper's step-up and it involves the VMO and hamstrings more. It's basically just a super high step-up. The key is that your knee shouldn't buckle in as you step up.

Source: T-Nation