Wednesday, 25 April 2012

SUPER human strength - Calisthenics Professionals



Uploaded by on Nov 22, 2011
 
Barstarzz is a team of Calisthenics Professionals giving you the inspiration and tools to build great strength, and a great body anywhere. Videos uploaded every week. To learn more like http://on.fb.me/slsnOT and make sure to subscribe http://bit.ly/vc3uo8

Thursday, 19 April 2012

Age 52, bodyweight 130 lbs. - Miriam squats 200 lbs

Published on Apr 17, 2012 by
Age 52, bodyweight 130 lbs.




Dr. Mercola Interviews Doug McGuff about High Intensity Exercise

Uploaded by on Dec 9, 2011
 
http://fitness.mercola.com/ Natural health physician and Mercola.com founder Dr. Joseph Mercola interviews Doug McGuff, MD to help us understand this highly beneficial form of exercise "High Intensity Exercise".



Mercola Interview with Doug McGuff – 180 Degree Health

Brock


About half way through it now. Amazing. Best thing I’ve listened to in quite some time. I really appreciate Mercola really digging in on the differences between McGuff and Sears/Campbell.

Reply
Matt Stone
Yes, definitely one of the best, if not THE best discussions on the topic of exercise I’ve ever come across. It get really, really good after about the 40-minute mark.

williamc


Body By Science (BBS) is a wonderful book and a much needed response to conventional thinking about fitness. It’s a must read and I can accept basically everything that McGuff is saying in this interview about exercise.

However, BBS is not above criticism… To me the most important line of criticism (although highly speculative, and a line of discussion that I’ve been trying to jump start on the internet for a while) is that McGuff’s point of view may be an example of confirmation bias in that it assumes away the long-term effects of HIIT cardio on pulmonary function.

McGuff looked at exercise and cut through most of the false consciousness about aerobics. He saw no significant adaptations to the heart itself and the vascular system itself beyond what was occurring in the muscles worked and the effect of that work on metabolism. Thus, he made his well-known comment that “Cardio doesn’t even really exist”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiHhc7eLpQY

While exploring this line, influenced by the super-slow, high intensity training protocol, he devised an excellent exercise protocol to work as many muscles as possible to exhaustion in a short period of time with little or no impact on the joints.

But, he doesn’t address the Al Sears “are your lungs dying?” issue at all. HIT resistance training is radically different from PACE/HIIT in that your heart rate doesn’t go to a maximal rate and, perhaps more importantly, your respiration rate doesn’t go to the extremes that it formerly went to in childhood or in HS/College athletics. To me, that’s the big difference between properly done HIIT and HIT resistance, the return to working your lungs to the max. IMO, it’s hard to imagine any way resistance training having the effect on pulmonary function that Sears claims for PACE.

Also, for HIIT, McGuff tends to think about it as if you’re pounding your joints on a treadmill or using typical aerobics machine such as an elliptical trainer. But in my experience, PACE works best when you choose the most whole body, killer exercises you can find e.g. burpees, leg blasters, mountain climbers, hindu squats etc. You’re left similarly spent after less than 20 minutes, which equates to 3 sessions in 1 hour a week. Total. With no drive to the gym.

Now, if I had the chance to try HIT resistance in McGuff’s gym, or Zickerman’s gym (Power of 10), with everything set up for me and good trainers to advise me, I’d probably do it. But attempting to devise a workout for myself at home with dumbbells didn’t turn out that well. And the thought of hitting a regular meathead gym, or even the Y, did not appeal either. Also, with free weights, superslow can be dangerous for some exercises. Would you want to take 10 seconds do to the negative side of a dead lift?

The above argument most definitely does not mean that Sears is right and McGuff is wrong. Perhaps, pulmonary function decline is not affected by exercise at all.

Neesha
For some of us, who have already injured ourselves with conventional weight and calisthenics training (burpees, hindu squats, mountain climbers), yet more calisthenics isn’t the answer. When you’re injury-free, a burpee or a mountain-climber seems like a “natural” yet killer movement, but you can’t predict the repetitive strain from those moves. I trained smart but hard for some time, and was good at these kinds of exercises, and the effects didn’t really show themselves for a few years. If you’re blessed with naturally stronger joints through genetics or history of activity or diet or just plain vigilant mobility work, then great! Me, I’d rather stick a fork in my own eye than rely on burpees and mountain climbers for my exercise protocol. Sustainability is a huge factor in the success of a training program.

williamc
What led me to start researching strength training, HIIT, joint mobility, BBS, PACE, Convict Conditioning, nutrition etc. was exactly the opposite feeling – that nobody needs physical training more than post-menopausal women and the elderly in general.

I was participating in a very ‘internal’ Tai Chi and Qi Gong school which essentially did no jiben gong (fundamental training) at all. The school was great at teaching the deeper aspects of TCC/QG but IMO was wrong-headed in its view of strength and tension. I watched students, many of whom spent 45 minutes a day practicing the internal arts (and much more than that if you count class time) who were essentially too weak to properly do the Tai Chi form. They progressed at a glacial pace from year to year, partly because they were too weak, and partly because they ignored the school’s implicit advice to do the basic standing Qi Gong set. But even the ones who did Qi Gong were often without enough functional strength to easily perform a full squat. Then I realized that my own upper body had atrophied to the point that I had to strain to do 1 or 2 good form push ups (I’m on the wrong side of 60). I started researching and learned about sarcopenia.

Don’t forget, the red line for a deconditioned person might be reached by brisk 100 yard walk when she starts HIIT training. And she might start bench pressing with a tiny weight. PACE (with feedback from the heart monitor), Convict Conditioning (w. gentle 1st. steps to condition the tendons and ligaments) and BBS have the progressive element built in and warn against over-training.
Also, learning and practicing the internal arts is very time-intensive. PACE, CC and BBS all offer methoda that don’t take much time at all.


Dave Asprey - The Bulletproof Executive

Blog | The Bulletproof Executive

Blog | The Bulletproof Executive

iTunes - Podcasts - Upgraded Self Radio by Dave Asprey and Armi Legge

The LLVLC Show (Episode 569): There’s So Much More To Dave Asprey Than His Famous ‘Bulletproof Coffee’ « Jimmy Moore's Livin' La Vida Low Carb Blog



The LLVLC Show (Episode 569): There’s So Much More To Dave Asprey Than His Famous ‘Bulletproof Coffee’ « Jimmy Moore's Livin' La Vida Low Carb Blog

The LLVLC Show (Episode 569): There’s So Much More To Dave Asprey Than His Famous ‘Bulletproof Coffee’



LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE CONDIMENTS MADE WITH STEVIVA

In Episode 569 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we are pleased to welcome one of the most unique health bloggers I’ve ever come across. Much in the same vein as some of my previous podcast guests such as Tim Ferriss, Seth Roberts and Richard Nikoley, self-experimentation is taken to a whole new level with entrepreneur and personal biohacker Dave Asprey from “The Bulletproof Executive.” You’ve probably already heard about Dave but you know him better as the man behind “Bulletproof Coffee” which uses Kerrygold grass-fed butter to create a powerful morning cup of joe. But there’s so much more to this man of mystery than meets the eye.

Dave could have just as easily called his web site “The Counterintuitive Executive” because virtually everything he has seen happening to his own body through $250,000 worth of experiments and tests over a 15-year period have trumped what conventional wisdom says is supposed to happen. He lost over 100 pounds consuming 4500 calories a day and no exercise. He increased his IQ by more than 20 points. He conditioned his body to thrive on less than four hours of sleep at night. He discovered what it takes to be focused and ready for any situation in just one week. All of this sounds like a late-night informercial ad for some new supplement product, but it’s just Dave Aspry sharing what he does best–the lessons he has learned along the way (which includes healthy low-carb Paleo living, by the way!) to help others discover more about themselves as well. He shares about what he has learned in his popular new health podcast entitled Upgraded Self-Radio along with his intelligent co-host Armi Legge. ENJOY this enlightening interview!

Listen to Dave Asprey share about his many experiments to “upgrade” his body:



  • How he was “kind of an obese kid” and sick growing up





  • He noticed in his mid-20s how he couldn’t concentrate eating low-calorie





  • Why he fired his doctor and then spent $250,000 on various tests on himself





  • He slept less than 4 hours per night for two years straight





  • How he got a six-pack without doing any exercise





  • He attempted a raw vegan diet and “it works for a while”





  • There’s maybe an excess of fiber and the wrong kind of oils with veganism





  • He added back in meat with his raw diet and ate raw beef, chicken, etc.





  • Meat is healthier if it is fresh and raw, but it’s “a lot of work”





  • His current diet is full of a variety of fresh foods





  • Our bodies should run on a diet that helps our “engine” run well





  • Former podcast guest Marshall Deutsch on the “fat nocebo” effect





  • A third of his content is on stress-management and cognitive performance





  • Gut problems can solve themselves when you use a $200 device





  • Train yourself in a month to control your heart rate with M-Wave 2





  • It gives you more alpha brain waves when you breathe correctly





  • How he’d never heard of Paleo or primal when he created his Bulletproof Diet





  • Why the Bulletproof Diet really isn’t Paleo (and yet it is!)





  • The major differences between the Bulletproof Diet and Paleo





  • Why he embraces sugar alcohols and “the flavor sweet”





  • His love for the use of xylitol and erythritol in cooking





  • Raw honey is a great way to get “higher quality sleep in less time”





  • Consume 3-4 teaspoons of raw honey just prior to going to bed





  • If you eat low-carb, this will not kick you out of ketosis





  • How he spent $99 using an at-home sleep machine to monitor his sleep





  • Why raw honey is better for glycogen through the liver than white potato





  • A reader sent him an fascinating book called The Honey Revolution





  • Using raw honey “medicinally” three nights a week for better sleep





  • How he performed getting only five hours of sleep nightly





  • He finished a book and got a promotion at his work during this time





  • Sleeping less “enabled” him to be able to get more done





  • If someone sleeps 9 hours a night then “there’s a problem” going on





  • Sleeping 6 1/2 hours nightly have better longevity than 8 hours a night





  • How his young children were his homemade “alarm” clock to get him up





  • He didn’t walk around “like a zombie” all day although he was tired at times





  • His job performance was good and he found his cortisol levels dropped





  • He consumed a “very high-fat, 4500-calorie diet” and lost 100 pounds





  • How he still only gets an average of five hours of sleep nightly





  • His desire to “put a nail in the calorie thing” with his high-calorie intake





  • Gary Taubes’ book called “bull****” on calories in, calories out





  • Why people still believe in the calorie hypothesis





  • His kids are “so healthy” and enjoy gnawing on a stick of Kerrygold butter





  • His Better Baby Book project set to release





  • The “utter chaos” going on inside of his head before hacking himself





  • The foods that you need to consume to heal and function well





  • How he “put an upgrade” into place with him and his wife to get pregnant





  • The genesis of his Bulletproof Coffee concept





  • His visit to Tibet where they drank fresh yak butter in their hot tea





  • He felt “awesome” consuming that and decided to try it in coffee instead





  • He’s long been a coffee guy but gave it up because he “felt like crap”





  • Modern coffee is produced in such high volume that it contains “toxins”





  • Coffee people know about flavor, but they don’t know about toxins





  • He launched Upgraded Coffee to produce toxin-free coffee





  • The many testimonials of people who consumed Bulletproof Coffee on Twitter





  • A high-fat, caffeinated drink that keeps you satisfied for hours





  • Why Kerrygold grassfed butter and not coconut oil in the Bulletproof Coffee





  • Grassfed, cultured butter gives “a phenomenal effect on your body”





  • Getting butyrate in your body is the key health benefit of the butter





  • The things that are “bordering on magic” with Bulletproof Coffee





  • How he grew a six-pack without exercise because of inhibiting mTOR





  • Your body thinks it is intermittent fasting when drinking Bulletproof Coffee





  • Eliminating mycotoxins is a key part of optimizing your health





  • 91.7% of coffee from South America contains mycotoxins in it





  • How he might have 1000 calories with his Bulletproof Coffee in the morning





  • When he has protein with his Bulletproof Coffee he gets hungrier faster





  • Taking an international flight, he deliberately doesn’t eat on the flight





  • To turn on your prefrontal cortex, you have to eat animal fat and flesh





  • Don’t eat animals that were tortured or fed crap–but eat the meat!





  • Add creatine to your supplements if you are over the age of 30





  • The “Bulletproof Mindware” software that improves your mind





  • If you show your brain how to work better, it will work better to spite you





  • Increasing your creativity and intuition through training your brain





  • His popular “Upgraded Self-Radio” podcast on iTunesThere are four ways you can listen to Episode 569:
    1. Listen at the iTunes page for the podcast:

    2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site for the podcast:

  • Tuesday, 17 April 2012

    Fat Loss and High Intensity Exercise | Critical MAS

    Fat Loss and High Intensity Exercise | Critical MAS
    : by MAS.
    In my last post Fat Loss and the Case For Less Exercise, I explained how I’ve designed my exercise plan to be as minimal as possible to maximize my chances at fat loss without increasing my appetite or risk of injury.
    My HIT workout takes about 15 minutes, which includes light mobility work. The sprint session takes about 10 minutes, where most of the time is spent walking back to the bottom of the hill. The rowing takes less than 5 minutes. Adding everything together I am exercising less than one hour per week.
    To be clear, I am not saying this is the optimal plan for everyone. This is what has worked best for me. When I increase my exercise volume, I also increase appetite and risk of injury. I covered this in detail in the post How Exercise Indirectly Kept Me Fatter.

    On the surface it appears the primary mechanism for fat loss is not burning calories, but increasing muscle gain. Increasing muscle increases metabolism which can result in greater fat loss. Up until I read Body By Science this is was the only fat loss pathway I was aware of when it came to resistance training.

    Body by Science
    Body by Science by Doug McGuff and John Little is by far the best book I’ve read on fitness.

    Forget The Fat Burning Zone, Embrace High Intensity

    The Cult of the Cardio loves to preach that exercising in a range between 60% and 70% of maximum heart rate maximizes fat loss. They call this range the Fat Burning Zone. When we lower our intensity into this range, not only can we exercise longer, but we access fat at a higher percent. Is this a good thing? Body By Science makes the case that it isn’t. Fat loss is not just about calories, it is also about hormones. Watch the two videos below (13 minutes in total) for a primer on High Intensity exercise and fat loss.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzA-E8zb-Ds
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToGt_GYCUmY

    I’m going to list some of the fat loss ideas from Dr. McGuff’s book. I had to read this section three times before I felt I felt I understood it. If my understanding is flawed, please help me out in the comments below.
    • The greatest metabolic effect comes when all muscle fibers are recruited.
    • When we aren’t accessing body fat directly, we get our energy from glycogen stores. Glycogen provides “on-site” energy to the muscular system.
    • Fast twitch muscle fibers have the most glycogen stores.
    • Cardio does not tap the fast twitch muscle fibers. High intensity does.
    • Because cardio does not meaningfully empty glycogen stores, circulating glucose in the blood must be stored as fat. The muscle cell walls lose their sensitivity to insulin. High intensity exercise causes the opposite to happen.
    • Glycogen storage can diminish over time when we do not engage in exercise at high enough level. When those glycogen stores stay full, excess glucose goes to fat storage. This can lead to both muscle atrophy and insulin resistance.
    • High Intensity Exercise activates hormone-sensitive lipase. Low Intensity doesn’t. Lipase permits the mobilization of body fat.
    • Cardio produces more oxidative free radicals and inflammation than High Intensity.
    Body By Science goes into much greater detail. I highly recommend buying that book. You’ll never step on a treadmill ever again and you’ll be leaner for making that decision.

    When I embraced High Intensity in late 2010, my volume of exercise dropped. Because my intensity increased, the result was precisely what Dr. McGuff said in the videos above, I got leaner. In my next post, I will conclude my thoughts on exercise and fat loss with an idea on where we should be directing our resources to maximize fat loss potential.



    Sunday, 8 April 2012

    What is forefoot running?





    Uploaded by on Apr 15, 2009
     
    Newton Running founder Danny Abshire demonstrates the finer points of forefoot running: proper athletic position; finding your sweet spot; the difference between walking stride, jogging stride, efficiency running and spiriting; and using the "Land, Lever, Lift" technique to perfect your form.

    Tips on how to run more efficiently and injury free. Why are some of the top runners in the world wearing Newton Running Shoes? An educational video on running form and forefoot running. Forefoot running gives you more speed and less running injuries. Check it out, and you'll see why top Ironman triathletes Michellie Jones and Craig Alexander wear Newton.

    Category:

    Tags:

    How Exercise Indirectly Kept Me Fatter | Critical MAS

    How Exercise Indirectly Kept Me Fatter | Critical MAS

    In the previous post Walking Didn’t Lean Me Out, I explained how my getting lean was a result of diet alone and that exercise played no role in my losing 20 pounds of fat. The fat loss came from a change in nutrient composition and nutrient timing. In this post, I will explain how I exercised from college until recently indirectly kept me fatter.

    Before I go into my own story, I want to highlight two articles from opposite ends of the spectrum. The first is Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin by John Cloud, which was published in Time Magazine in 2009 and “Exercise Won’t Make You Thin” (Why Time Magazine Owes the Fitness Industry a Big Fat Apology) by Tom Venuto. I think there is valuable insight in both articles. My experience falls somewhere in between and doesn’t line up directly with either article.

    Exercise holds benefit outside fat loss. So don’t think I’m advising not to exercise. I’m just questioning how valuable its role is in a fat loss program. My belief is the typical overweight person got that way not from a lack of movement or character flaw, but from a nutrient or hormonal disregulation that caused their appetite to increase and their body to store fat and conserve energy. Increasing movement doesn’t fix nutrient deficiencies. Adding a caloric deficit and extra energy demands to an already unhealthy body might not be the wisest approach to permanent fat loss. But I’m getting ahead of myself. In my next post, I will cover how my current exercise program maximizes fat loss potential with minimal increase in appetite.

    Cardio Days

    In 1989, I was relatively thin. Not as lean as I am now, but close to my ideal weight. I had yet to start strength training and was very much a Stick Boy. That year I trained for my first marathon. I ran all spring, summer and into the fall. When I wasn’t running, I was resting and eating.


    Columbus Marathon 1992 – I’m the Stick Boy in the green shorts.
    The exercise volume I was doing was stressful to my body and my body responded by increasing my appetite and moving less during my non-running period. John Cloud’s article refers to this as the Compensation Problem. It is also covered extensively in Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. The year before my leg was in a cast and I had minimal movement. My weight was constant between the cast year and the marathon year.

    When winter came to Columbus in 1989, I stopped running. My appetite went down, but not initially and not back to a pre-running baseline. I gained fat that winter and into spring. When spring arrived, my activity level would increase and I might lose a few pounds, but I never got leaner than where I started. Then winter would come again, my activity would level would drop and weight gain would occur.

    By the time I graduated from college, I had ran 2 marathons (both under 4 hours), loaded trucks at UPS and ran my own lawn care business, yet I was still carrying extra weight despite my young age and high activity level. I valued health and I wanted a greater level of fitness. Where was the problem? Personal trainers would point to my winter inactivity as the culprit and that is exactly what I did. I blamed winter and upon graduation, I moved to Florida and eventually California.

    Strength Days

    I eventually experienced too much pain running and switched my exercise over to just weight training. The more I lifted weights, the more hungry I got. This was cool though, because now I was trying to get huge. Feeding muscle growth, yeah buddy! As long as I was lifting weights, I could eat as much as my appetite wanted and I wouldn’t gain fat. In fact, after several weeks of continuous lifting, I’d start leaning out. Not a lot, but a little. No cardio necessary.

    There was only one problem. It was next to impossible to go more than 2 months without some injury. My joints ached, my back hurt, my neck was stiff, I tore a finger muscle and even had wrist surgery. During my recovery periods, I could never down regulate my appetite. Even though my muscles were resting in a recliner, my stomach still thought I was pumping iron. I always gained fat during my recovery periods.


    Exercising beyond my ability to recover resulted in a wrist surgery. During recovery, my appetite did not return to baseline.

    The Appetite Disconnect

    Why did my appetite stay elevated during periods of rest and recovery? My first thought is the body is trying to protect the host. Inflicting a high volume of exercise is energy demanding. The body’s goal is not to be shredded by Spring Break, but to survive future threats. One of those threats might be another season of training with even higher energy demands.

    Then there is ghrelin. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone, which is made in the stomach. The more we expend energy, the stronger the ghrelin signal. That makes sense. Higher activity will often result in more habitual eating patterns at higher caloric levels. Our excessive exercise trains ghrelin to respond more aggressively. When we are sidelined, these signals don’t suddenly stop. This is one reason why Intermittent Fasting can be so effective for fat loss. It trains the hunger hormone ghrelin to quieten itself during fasting periods.

    Putting It All Together

    Although in the short term, it appeared at times that exercise helped me get leaner, when looked at over a longer time frame it didn’t. Exercise increased my appetite and as long as I kept exercising my weight was in check. However, whenever volume increased past my body’s ability to recover, I was sidelined. During the periods of being sidelined, my appetite always exceeded activity and fat gain occurred.

    Unfortunately, we are bombarded with messages from young mesomorphic trainers that we need to exercise more to lose weight. If you are otherwise extremely healthy and you have superior recoverability skills, they may be right. The rest of us need to be smarter if we are going to leverage exercise in a way that maximizes fat loss potential while minimizing appetite and injuries. Understanding this concept was the genesis of the Minimal Effort Approach. That will be the topic of my next post.

    Kettlebell Complex for Fat Loss and Conditioning: The Flynn...




    Uploaded by on Mar 27, 2011
    http://www.chroniclesofstrength.com

    Here is a sample complex from my eBook entitled.

    The Power of Complexes: Metabolic Conditioning for Superior Athleticism

    This kettlebell complex offers "layers", and with each additional layer you add in one to two new exercises.

    Perform only one rep of each exercise at a time, but cycle through each layer at least five times; totally five reps each exercise each set.

    WHen performed for multiple sets, this complex is a real smoker, and men will find that 2 x 16kg or 2 x 20kg kettlebells are more than enough to get the job done! For ladies, opt for 2 x 8kg or 2 x 12kg bells to start.

    Minimize rest between sets as much as possible, but always maintain good and manage fatigue as best as possible.

    For more great fat burning and muscle building kettlebell complexes check out my Metabolic Conditioning eBook @ http://www.chroniclesofstrength.com

    Category:

    Saturday, 7 April 2012

    Does Exercise Make You Fat? The Surprising Answer from Fat-Burning Man.


    Uploaded by on Dec 10, 2011
     
    Is exercise making you fat? Can you get ripped in minutes of exercise a week? Abel James from FatBurningMan.com explains the strange answer. Subscribe and get more cool free stuff at http://FatBurningMan.com

    The Secret to Getting Ripped with Just Minutes of Exercise A Week

    Yes, despite what conventional wisdom tells you, it is possible to get ripped with just minutes of exercise a week.

    Why Grinding on a Treadmill Does NOT Burn Off Body Fat

    Many people exercise constantly, experience cravings as a result, eat a ton, and never lose weight.

    "Burning off" calories through low-intensity cardio is not the best way to burn fat because the actual caloric burn of aerobic exercise is minimal.

    To put it into perspective, an hour on the treadmill burns off approximately one Starbucks muffin.

    Why You Can't Get Ripped While Training For A Marathon

    When it comes to getting lean and fit, your body responds to quality over quantity. Overtraining reduces your body's ability to burn fat and catabolizes muscle. This applies to both frequency and duration of exercise. Growth hormone and testosterone begin to decrease and muscle wasting increases after just 60 minutes of training.

    Effective exercise does not mean subjecting your body to punishment. Sure, with enormous amounts of volume and intensity you could burn off a fair amount of calories through grit and sheer force of will. If your only goal is to lose weight (and aren't worried about sacrificing muscle) you could potentially eat crappy food and run a half marathon every day. I did once, and I became skinny (and meek -- see below)... But it's not particularly good for you, sustainable, or necessary.


    Low-Intensity Vs. High Intensity Exercise in Pictures

    In one of my many experiments guinea-pigging on myself, I wanted to see how my body responded to different levels and types of training. After finishing in the top 3% of runners in my second marathon in 2 months, I decided to switch to shorter distances and prioritize sprints (and finished in the top 4% of the 10k a few weeks later). I assumed that since I was exercising more (running 50 miles a week versus less than 10) with a very solid finish time, my body would be optimized when I was in tip-top marathon shape.

    The results are far more interesting.

    Not only did my muscles get bigger and more defined after replacing long runs with high intensity exercise, but my body also looked and felt much healthier. I reduced bodyfat and increased lean muscle by 10 pounds. The pictures don't show the extent to which my body regained healthy color and a more masculine shape. Even my face changed... from being Sam-the-Eagle-from-Sesame-Street-skinny to a healthy "normal." All from exercising less.
    So What Happened Here?

    Have you ever noticed that endurance athletes are rail-thin, pale, and look a little unhealthy? But what about athletes that are required to perform short bursts of maximum output, like sprinters? They are jacked!

    This is what happens when you run too much: your body does not know you are running a marathon or have just been run over by a truck. Your body simply knows it is experiencing significant trauma. So your hormones go wacky, your fight/flight response is heightened, and your body pumps you full of stress hormones. For long-term training, fat loss, and health, this is all bad news.

    Because it's always trying to recover from what you just did to it and protecting itself from whatever might happen next, your befuddled body never has a chance to heal. As a result, your body gleefully eats away at your muscle.

    While endurance training sends a signal to become more energy efficient and use more fat as fuel, high intensity training sends the muscles an adaptive signal to become bigger and stronger and more efficient using glucose for fuel. With high amounts of endurance training you are at a higher risk of fat storage due to starvation response and associated metabolic slowdown when not replenishing enough calories after a long run (not to mention fat gain after overdoing it with post-exercise binges -- try to not eat an entire pie after a marathon -- I dare you).

    If you want to build muscle and get huge results in the shortest amount of time, don't run marathons. Run sprints.
    How to Build Muscle Instead of Burn It

    When I went from exercising many hours a week to just minutes, I got ripped. But How?

    Exercise is only beneficial up to a point, after which you start wasting muscle instead of building it, retaining fat instead of burning it, and increasing the release of stress hormones that throw your metabolism out of whack.

    The truth is that you don't need to grind it out on the Stairmaster or powerlift all day to achieve spectacular results. Simply following the right diet will achieve 80% of your results ! But HOW you spend that 20% that makes up your training can be the difference between a six-pack and a spare tire.

    http://FatBurningMan.com

    Eat Less, Move mo........wha? Wait a minute

    Kindke's Health Notes: Eat Less, Move mo........wha? Wait a minute

    Thursday, 29 March 2012

    Eat less, Move more, pretty much everyone on the blogosphere is now almost universally agreed that to lose weight, you need to control calories in, calories out.

    Horizone BBC had this episode a few weeks ago about exercise, in it, they show that the benefits of exercise can be achieved with as little as 3 minutes per week. What did they do? They had a guy pedal on the stationary cycle at pretty much maximum intensity for 20 seconds, let him rest a few minutes, then repeat, for a total of 1 minute spent exercising. Its referred to as HIIT in the gym goers world ( probably because you feel like youve been HIIT in the head after doing it ).

    HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training.

    Just do this 3 times per week, and you get all the benefits of savy gym rat.

    What benefits are we talking about? Weight loss? Well no. In the show they actually perform another experiment where the reporter runs around for a few minutes and becomes completely out of breath, he is then told that he was burning on average, 16 calories per minute. Thats not even a teaspoon of sugar!

    Later on in the show, we learn that the reporter's 3 minutes per week exercise did actually help him in some way, he scored slightly better in a OGTT. Thats it! Thats the REAL benefit of exercise, improved glucose tolerance. Was this exercise strategy enough to cross the lactate threshold to breed new mitochondria?

    No Idea.

    Anyway, I came across this video today, and at 3:12 the speaker mentions how running a marathon only burns 2600 calories. If your a well trained athlete, you can expect to complete a marathon in 2hours 30minutes, burning 17.3 calories per minute. On the other hand, if your just an average joe, you can expect to crawl across the line after about 4hours 30minutes. How many calories per minute is that? Depressingly less!

    At this point I was reminded of something I saw in the comments section of this post, by blogblog, he says...

    every exercise physiologist knows that exercise is completely useless for weight loss. If exercise was effective for weight loss there would be no humans because our ancestors would have starved to death a couple of million years ago. We lose 80% of our energy intake as heat. So wearing fewer clothes is a vastly more effective way to lose weight than exercise.

    It appears he is right. Oh, And lets now forget how the worlds only known fat loss drug works, it doesnt mind control you and make you hit the bench press and squat rack, No. All it does is increase thermogenesis.

    Eat Less Move More? Its half wrong already!. Just gotta work on that other half now.

    High-intensity aerobic interval trai... [Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI

    High-intensity aerobic interval trai... [Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI

    Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2008 Dec;33(6):1112-23.

    High-intensity aerobic interval training increases fat and carbohydrate metabolic capacities in human skeletal muscle.

    Source

    Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada. perryc@uoguelph.ca

    Abstract

    High-intensity aerobic interval training (HIIT) is a compromise between time-consuming moderate-intensity training and sprint-interval training requiring all-out efforts. However, there are few data regarding the ability of HIIT to increase the capacities of fat and carbohydrate oxidation in skeletal muscle. Using untrained recreationally active individuals, we investigated skeletal muscle and whole-body metabolic adaptations that occurred following 6 weeks of HIIT (~1 h of 10 x 4 min intervals at ~90% of peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak), separated by 2 min rest, 3 d.week-1). A VO2 peak test, a test to exhaustion (TE) at 90% of pre-training VO2 peak, and a 1 h cycle at 60% of pre-training VO2 peak were performed pre- and post-HIIT. Muscle biopsies were sampled during the TE at rest, after 5 min, and at exhaustion. Training power output increased by 21%, and VO2 peak increased by 9% following HIIT. Muscle adaptations at rest included the following: (i) increased cytochrome c oxidase IV content (18%) and maximal activities of the mitochondrial enzymes citrate synthase (26%), beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (29%), aspartate-amino transferase (26%), and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH; 21%); (ii) increased FAT/CD36, FABPpm, GLUT 4, and MCT 1 and 4 transport proteins (14%-30%); and (iii) increased glycogen content (59%).

    Major adaptations during exercise included the following: (i) reduced glycogenolysis, lactate accumulation, and substrate phosphorylation (0-5 min of TE); (ii) unchanged PDH activation (carbohydrate oxidation; 0-5 min of TE); (iii) ~2-fold greater time during the TE; and (iv) increased fat oxidation at 60% of pre-training VO2 peak. This study demonstrated that 18 h of repeated high-intensity exercise sessions over 6 weeks (3 d.week-1) is a powerful method to increase whole-body and skeletal muscle capacities to oxidize fat and carbohydrate in previously untrained individuals.

    Gaining Muscle while Dropping Body Fat & Carbohydrate Cycling

    The BodyEvolution Report: Gaining Muscle while Dropping Body Fat & Carbohydrate Cycling

    Thursday, 22 March 2012

    Gaining Muscle while Dropping Body Fat & Carbohydrate Cycling


    Muscle growth/increasing LBM is done by stimulating the body with the appropriate stimulus. Increasing load on the muscle forces growth due the body needing to adapt to be able to handle the volume of work.

    The next part of that is to ensure protein synthesis is greater than protein breakdown. Consuming adequate protein and resistance training stimulates protein synthesis. http://jap.physiology.org/content/106/6/2026.full.
    FYI resistance training stimulates protein synthesis for 24 hours REGARDLESS of being in a FED or Fasted state. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21289204

    Meaning nutrient timing is irrelevant unless you have multiple glycogen depleting sessions for the same group of muscles in the one day and have limited time to get nutrients in before the next session. Carbohydrates for replenishment of glycogen can be consumed over a 24hr period to achieve full levels.

    When a subject exercises, muscle glycogen declines and is slowly restored over the following 24 h if carbohydrate intake is normal. Not to mention Glycogen also starts to be replenished even without the presence of carbohydrates http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/705238?dopt=Abstract
    Therefore, when two exercise sessions of 1 h is separated by 2 h, the second bout of exercise is undertaken with low muscle glycogen at its start, whereas muscle glycogen is restored before each exercise bout when the exercise is separated by 24 h. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/10/3228S.full

    Also carbohydrate type is irrelevant on either performance or replenishment. http://www.jissn.com/content/8/1/15

    Consuming adequate protein in time of CALORIE DEFICITS limits any LMB losses http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19927027 and ensuring the calorie deficit is not excessive LBM gains can be made http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21558571

    Protein synthesis is stimulated at a great rate with the ingestion of >1.5g/kg and REGARDLESS of frequency makes NO difference in the protein retention. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/10/3228S.full

    There are many different pathways/methods go into increasing LBM and decreasing BF, but on the basis it is being in a calorie deficit will induce BF decreases (due to the BF being the primary source of STORED ENERGY) and ensuring protein synthesis is greater than protein breakdown (via adequate protein and performing resistance training).

    Now being in a calorie SURPLUS will allow for muscle gain at optimum/fast rates. Also the amount of BF will also play a part in how fast an increase in LBM can occur.

    An individual with a higher BF will have the ability to gain LBM at a fast rate due to of course a higher amount of STORED ENERGY.  That should seem quite common sense. For a leaner individual of course it is the harder/close to impossible to drop BF and increase LBM, and at that it is a SLOW rate. Mainly due to hormonal functions, but that is beyond the realms of this essay.

    There are macronutirent and calorie cycling methods that can be used to maximize LBM gains while dieting and for the most part unless you are a competitive NATURAL bodybuilder and have hormonal imbalances there is no real need to even focus on that but for completeness I will go into some protocols for carbohydrate cycling.

    Carbohydrate loading/cycling

    The process of carbohydrate loading/cycling when dieting (dropping body fat while attempting to gain/maintain muscle or enhance exercise performance) has been the subject of many different protocols over the years.

    The primary purpose of carbohydrate loading/cycling is to A) refill muscle glycogen and B) manipulate hormonal function (Thyroid,Leptin and Insulin).

    PLEASE NOTE – Depending on the individual’s bodyfat levels, goal (desired body fat& overall composition), hormonal function, general day-to-day activity and training volume, carbohydrate cycling/loading may or may not be required/beneficial. Each case should be looked at on it’s own merits.

    While long-term macronutrient, calorie intake and training stimulus determine body composition, it can be a little deep than that. Hormonal function and exercise performance also play a part in body composition, be it indirectly (stimulus load/volume ability – exercise performance) or directly (BMR and overall EE – hormonal function).

    The two main carbohydrate loading/cycling protocols are the A) higher carbohydrate intake on training days (with lower fats and at maintenance calories or just above) and lower carbohydrate intake on non training days (with higher fats and in a calorie deficit) or B) 4 or 5 days of low carbohydrate intake followed be 3 or 2 of higher carbohydrate intake.

    I could go quite in-depth on protocol’s pros and cons but IMO the only real thing that matters is what suits the individuals schedule and what ultimately allows for the best long term dietary adherence.

    Martin Berkhan’s protocol (training days cycling) - http://www.leangains.com/2010/03/intermittent-fasting-set-point-and.html

    Lyle McDonald’s protocol (back to back day loading) - http://www.simplyshredded.com/research-review-an-in-depth-look-into-carbing-up-on-the-cyclical-ketogenic-diet-with-lyle-mcdonald.html

    I normally suggest a 4 or 5-day of low carbohydrate intake (while in a calorie deficit) followed by 3 or 2 days of carbohydrate loading (eating at maintenance or slightly above 5-10%). So the net result at the end of the cycle is still a calorie deficit, all be it small. I also find that the easiest way to adhere to the calorie requirements for the long term and also allowing for some added flexibility during the more social parts of the week (the weekend).

    Even thought muscle glycogen is restored and can be restored in 1 day (with the right carbohydrate intake), other mechanisms like hormonal function have more of a positive reaction for the length of time with increased carbohydrate consumption not simply total amount consumed.

    Expanding on exercise performance point. The existing exercise performance data (all be it done on endurance cardiovascular exercise) is mixed. Studies have suggested that once adaptations to the utilization of fat for fuel (5 days), a shorter carbohydrate load (1 day) still may not be enough to improve exercise performance. For a more in-depth look, check out this article by Lyle McDonald - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/cyclical-ketogenic-diets-and-endurance-performance-qa.html

    So with that in mind, from a performance point of view, maybe a more regular and more moderate cycling period may be of some benefit.

    The key point being the amount of carbohydrates to be consumed, the length of time with increased consumption, the amount being used during exercise and the amount we can store that ultimately lead manipulating intake to maximize muscle gain or at least maintaining muscle while dropping body fat.

    Technical Shit

    Carbohydrate amount does not equal the amount of glycogen. They have separate units of measure are not of equal quantities/units of measure. 5.5 grams of carbohydrates = 1 millimole (mmol) of glycogen.

    Trained individuals have higher glycogen storage abilities both due to dietary carbohydrate intake and larger/active muscle tissues.  They (athletes) have glycogen levels at 110-130 mmol/kg.

    Fat oxidization increases at rest and during aerobic exercise at muscle glycogen levels of 70 mmol/kg (or 12 grams carbohydrates/kg). Levels below 40 mmol/kg = 7 grams of carbohydrates/kg impairs exercise performance and increases the potential for protein to be used as fuel.

    Glycogen super-compensation can increase levels to 175 mmol/kg if glycogen is depleted to a great amount (which is around 25-30 mmol/kg). Total exhaustion during exercise occurs when levels drop to 15-25 mmol/kg and the enzymes for super-compensation are also impaired at that level (below 25 mmol/kg).

    At 70% 1RM, glycogen is depleted at approx. 1.3 mmol/kg/repetition. Basically for every 2 sets of 10 reps, you will use 5.5 grams of carbohydrates as fuel. Endurance athletes will use more during a training session compared to a weight lifter.

    Moderate resistance training volume best [Journal Strength Cond Res. 2005] - PubMed - NCBI

    Moderate resistance training volume prod... [J Strength Cond Res. 2005] - PubMed - NCBI

    J Strength Cond Res. 2005 Aug;19(3):689-97.

    Moderate resistance training volume produces more favorable strength gains than high or low volumes during a short-term training cycle.

    Source

    Spanish Olympic Committee, Madrid, Spain. jjgbadi@arrakis.es

    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 3 resistance training volumes on maximal strength in the snatch (Sn), clean & jerk (C&J), and squat (Sq) exercises during a 10-week training period. Fifty-one experienced (>3 years), trained junior lifters were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: a low-volume group (LVG, n = 16), a moderate-volume group (MVG, n = 17), and a high-volume group (HVG, n = 18). All subjects trained 4-5 days a week with a periodized routine using the same exercises and relative intensities but a different total number of sets and repetitions at each relative load: LVG (1,923 repetitions), MVG (2,481 repetitions), and HVG (3,030 repetitions). The training was periodized from moderate intensity (60- 80% of 1 repetition maximum [1RM]) and high number of repetitions per set (2-6) to high intensity (90-100% of 1RM) and low number of repetitions per set (1-3). During the training period, the MVG showed a significant increase for the Sn, C&J, and Sq exercises (6.1, 3.7, and 4.2%, respectively, p < 0.01), whereas in the LVG and HVG, the increase took place only with the C&J exercise (3.7 and 3%, respectively, p < 0.05) and the Sq exercise (4.6%, p < 0.05, and 4.8%, p < 0.01, respectively). The increase in the Sn exercise for the MVG was significantly higher than in the LVG (p = 0.015). Calculation of effect sizes showed higher strength gains in the MVG than in the HVG or LVG. There were no significant differences between the LVG and HVG training volume-induced strength gains.

    The present results indicate that junior experienced lifters can optimize performance by exercising with only 85% or less of the maximal volume that they can tolerate. These observations may have important practical relevance for the optimal design of strength training programs for resistance-trained athletes, since we have shown that performing at a moderate volume is more effective and efficient than performing at a higher volume.

    J Strength Cond Res. 2006 Feb;20(1):73-81.
     
     

    Moderate volume of high relative training intensity produces greater strength gains compared with low and high volumes in competitive weightlifters.

    Source

    Spanish Olympic Committee, Madrid, Spain. jjbadi@arrakis.es

    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of 3 volumes of heavy resistance, average relative training intensity (expressed as a percentage of 1 repetition maximum that represented the absolute kilograms lifted divided by the number of repetitions performed) programs on maximal strength (1RM) in Snatch (Sn), Clean & Jerk (C&J), and Squat (Sq). Twenty-nine experienced (>3 years), trained junior weightlifters were randomly assigned into 1 of 3 groups: low-intensity group (LIG; n = 12), moderate-intensity group (MIG; n = 9), and high-intensity group (HIG; n = 8). All subjects trained for 10 weeks, 4-5 days a week, in a periodized routine using the same exercises and training volume (expressed as total number of repetitions performed at intensities equal to or greater than 60% of 1RM), but different programmed total repetitions at intensities of >90-100% of 1RM for the entire 10-week period: LIG (46 repetitions), MIG (93 repetitions), and HIG (184 repetitions). During the training period, MIG and LIG showed a significant increase (p < 0.01-0.05) for C&J (10.5% and 3% for MIG and LIG, respectively) and Sq (9.5% and 5.3% for MIG and LIG, respectively), whereas in HIG the increase took place only in Sq (6.9%, p < 0.05). A calculation of effect sizes revealed greater strength gains in the MIG than in HIG or LIG. There were no significant differences between LIG and HIG training volume-induced strength gains. All the subjects in HIG were unable to fully accomplish the repetitions programmed at relative intensities greater than 90% of 1RM.

    The present results indicate that short-term resistance training using moderate volumes of high relative intensity tended to produce higher enhancements in weightlifting performance compared with low and high volumes of high relative training intensities of equal total volume in experienced, trained young weightlifters. Therefore, for the present population of weightlifters, it may be beneficial to use the MIG training protocol to improve the weightlifting program at least in a short-term (10 weeks) cycle of training.

    Early-phase resistance training strength... [J Strength Cond Res. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

    Early-phase resistance training strength... [J Strength Cond Res. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI
    J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Feb;24(2):502-6.

    Early-phase resistance training strength gains in novice lifters are enhanced by doing static stretching.

    Source

    Exercise and Sport Science Department, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Laie, Hawaii, USA.

    Abstract

    This study investigated differences in lower-body strength improvements when using standard progressive resistance training (WT) vs. the same progressive resistance training combined with static stretching exercises (WT + ST). Thirty-two college students (16 women and 16 men) were pair matched according to sex and knee extension 1 repetition maximum (1RM). One person from each pair was randomly assigned to WT and the other to WT + ST. WT did 3 sets of 6 repetitions of knee extension, knee flexion, and leg press 3 days per week for 8 weeks with weekly increases in the weight lifted. The WT + ST group performed the same lifting program as the WT group along with static stretching exercises designed to stretch the hip, thigh, and calf muscle groups. Stretching exercise sessions were done twice a week for 30 minutes during the 8-week period.

    WT significantly (p < 0.05) improved their knee flexion, knee extension, and leg press 1RM by 12, 14, and 9%, respectively. WT + ST, on the other hand, significantly (p < 0.05) improved their knee flexion, knee extension, and leg press 1RM by 16, 27, and 31, respectively. In addition, the WT + ST group had significantly greater knee extension and leg press gains (p < 0.05) than the WT group.

    Based on results of this study, it is recommended that to maximize strength gains in the early phase of training, novice lifters should include static stretching exercises to their resistance training programs.

    Friday, 6 April 2012

    ira's abs - abs pictures

    abs pictures « ira's abs

    I Have Reached Another Birthday


    Ira after 1000 non-stop crunches—4/5/2012

    Today I am 71 years old and have been writing for this web site for exactly three years.

    Although the age number sounds ancient and a tiny bit terrifying, I am thrilled beyond anything you can imagine that I have survived and lived well and happily for one more year. I remain grateful for so many parts of my life, and I am constantly reminded by less fortunate friends—and strangers read about in newspapers and seen on TV—how really crappy life CAN be and actually is for vast numbers of humans. Of course I have setbacks and disappointments, struggles, anxieties and fears, but they are in the past. I am looking forward.

    The Buddhists say Life is Suffering. M.Scott Peck (who lived and worked just a few miles from me) says in his book,The Road Less Traveled (10 million sold), that Life is difficult. It is filled with problems and pain. It takes discipline to deal with them. It is only because of the problems that we grow mentally and physically. Many people attempt to avoid problems and suffering instead of dealing with them.

    Somehow I have been able to be disciplined enough to wend my way through and around my problems. I have arrived at an age, when many of my contemporaries are resting and waiting for their end, even if their days are filled with minimal stress and many happy moments with family and friends. Some are unhealthy. Some are overweight. Some are flabby. I am not like that. I don’t know why. Clearly I have my neuroses, am obsessive about some things and driven to carry out others.

    Most fortunately, my genes, my attitude, my diet and now my physical activities have brought me to this wonderful, but totally ridiculous, place, where I care about six-packs, tennis swings and low cholesterol. I want to be fully alive, and good health is the highest priority. I have been sick and confined to hospitals. But without health, you just can’t do many of life’s activities. If these words help guide you to a fuller, lengthier and satisfied life, I would love to hear about it. But I also do what I do for myself. I don’t know how I became who I am. But here I am, making the most of a blessed journey.

    I hope you have enjoyed this day, my birthday. I just learned today that April 5th is also the birthday of Colin Powell, Booker T. Washington, Thomas Hobbes Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy and Melvyn Douglas.

    sylvester stallone training 62 years 2009





    How to Get Ripped Like Jason Statham

    How to Get Ripped Like Jason Statham

    Submitted by on October 20, 2009 No Comment

    Jason Statham is perhaps the most popular British action star today. People love him for his style of mixing extreme action with a touch of humor. There is almost no melodrama in his movies just non-stop action complimented with sly humor.


    Jason Statham


    Jason Statham’s first gained notice in the movie Snatch with Brad Pitt. He gave an amazing performance in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. But people never realized how ripped and in shape he was until the Transporter movies, after which people have been curious about the workout regimen he used to get his body in such an astounding shape.


    It has come to be known that Mr. Statham does out intense workouts in short bursts. His workout schedule involves exercising for 6 days a week for about 30-40 minutes a day. But the duration increases when he prepares for a role in a movie. To get a body like Jason Statham, one has to push their body to the limit and also be ready mentally for the exhaustive workout regime. Training is similar to that of a Navy Seal and so one should be prepared to feel to get the desired results.


    Jason Statham’s Workout Routine


    Jason begins his workout with a simple and easy ten minute warm-up which includes riding a bike, jogging, rowing, stretching, etc.


    Jason Statham


    After this he switches to ten minutes of moderate-intensity training where he performs a combination of exercises which he never repeats again.

    When he performs this part of the workout, he switches the order of the workouts. Mentioned below are his moderate-intensity workouts:

    • Combination of light weight, high rep exercises

      Combination of heavy weight, low rep exercises with compound   movements like Bench Press, Squats, and Dead-Lifts

    • Different medicine ball throwing exercises like aggressively lifting the ball and throwing it on the ground.

    • Different kinds of kettle bell exercises like swinging the arms with the kettle bells, lifting them over the head, etc.

    Finally he enters the third and most intense part the workout, high-intensity interval training. He performs six exercises that workout the whole body and repeating them five times. Just like before he always switches the exercises so as to keep things new and different. But what is so grueling is the fact that he only rest for about 10 seconds between each exercise to keep his blood flowing and the heart pumping.

    Some of his high-intensity interval training exercises are mentioned below:

    • Pull-ups and Pushups

      Rope Climbs

    • Bear Crawl

    • Farmer Walk

    • Front Squats

    • Weighted Step-Ups

    • Hanging Knee Raises

    One has figure out his own training routine as long as the combination of them works out the whole body. However this part of the exercise routine left Jason gasping for air and completely fatigued, which is what anybody who is trying to attempt this workout should expect. But one thing is sure that the results are visible very soon.


    Jason Statham’s Diet


    Jason Statham follows a very healthy diet which compliments his workouts. He eats six small meals a day which totals to around 2000 calories along with plenty of water. His diet mainly includes healthy vegetables, lean meats such as chicken and turkey, fish, egg-whites, nuts, fresh fruit, yogurt, and a couple of protein shakes.


    Jason Statham


    Things that he excludes from his diet are bread, pasta, refined sugar or flour. He also strictly abstains from alcohol.


    That concludes the ultimate Jason Statham workout and diet. But it should be clearly understood that this workout is not at all for beginners. This is an intense workout that completely exhausting.

    Statham is an ex-professional diver and active martial artist and has always been in pretty good shape and can so he can handle a workout like this. So one should take it easy and push their body as far as it goes without going overboard and get seriously injured.

    Jason Statham’s Workout Routine - detail

    Jason Statham’s Workout Routine « ira's abs

    Jason Statham’s Workout Routine

    After admiring his physique, I bumped into this Men’s Health article about how Jason lost 17 pounds in six weeks and how he grew all his muscles. It’s an eye opener to someone like me who loves sugar and spends 30 minutes doing only abs exercises. Jason’s entire routine takes just 35 minutes. But he does it six days a week, and the pictures show he is doing something very right. I love his comment in the article: If Statham’s workout is your model, you should understand that, at times during our talk, he referred to it as horrible, nauseating, bastard, murder, nightmare, and priceless, preceding each description with the word “f–king.”



    Jason's muscles pop in Transporter 3
    Statham’s Secrets of Superlean

    Actor Jason Statham took on a brutal new training regimen and dropped 17 pounds in 6 weeks. So, what are you waiting for?

    “He’s a bit lardy, isn’t he?” Jason Statham says in his gritty British voice, chuckling. He’s referring to the man in two pictures he’s holding, a pair of classic “before” shots, one from the front, one from the back. Indeed, the man in the photos has some extra dough, and not the green kind. There’s muscle there for sure, but no definition at all. Jason Statham isn’t ripping on just anyone: He’s the guy in the photos.

    Jason Statham’s weight gain came the same way it does for most of us: a few too many beers and a couple of extra servings, compounded over time. Work out hard and you’ll crave calories as fuel at the same time you loathe the millstone they can form around your middle.
    “I never gave a f–k about a calorie,” Statham says. “An apple? It’s good for me. I’d have five. Bananas? Eat the bunch.”

    Statham was staying active at work, filming the shoot-’em-up War, in which he has his first fight scenes with a worthy adversary — Jet Li. But the pounds crept onto his torso and hung there like the remembrance of meals past.

    Now Jason Statham brushes aside the ugly photos on the coffee table in his living room and gives me a dose of his current reality: He lifts up his shirt. He’s shredded — rumble-strip abs, cords in his chest, veins in his arms.

    “That’s 17 pounds in 6 weeks, mate,” he says, and then plops down on his sofa again. “And that’s working out 6 days a week for, at most, about 35 minutes a day. I’ve never, ever gotten results like this before.”

    That’s a bold statement from a man who used to be on the British Olympic diving team and lists mixed martial arts (that’s UFC-style fighting) as a hobby. In fact, he sounds like an infomercial. So what’s the secret?

    Prepare to sweat. And hurt. And, well, eat. But only enough to stoke your fire, not smother it.



    Jason in jail in Death Race

    The Workout
     If Statham’s workout is your model, you should understand that, at times during our talk, he referred to it as horrible, nauseating, bastard, murder, nightmare, and priceless, preceding each description with the word “f–king.”

    What follows are his general guidelines and some sample exercises. For a typical week’s complete workout, go here.

    He works out every day but Sunday with Logan Hood, a former Navy SEAL that runs Epoch Training (www.epochtraining.com). Saturdays are reserved for hour long sustained trail runs in the Hollywood Hills while the other 5 days are spent at 87Eleven, a full service action film company and stunt studio located in a converted warehouse near the Los Angeles airport. Hollywood stuntmen own and train at the unique facility. There are trampolines, climbing ropes, heavy bags, barbells, kettlebells, crash pads, and a complex apparatus of pullup bars.
    There are only two real rules to the workout.

    1. No repeats. “I haven’t had one single day in 6 weeks that has been a repeat,” he says. “Every single day has had a different combination of exercises. Obviously, you repeat exercises over the course of 6 weeks, but you’ll never do that workout you did on Thursday the 23rd of August again. It always changes, and that’s what keeps it so interesting.”



    2. Record everything. Some workouts are timed, but all work is tracked so that intensity can be maximized. Heavy lifts are recorded so that percentages can be calculated and used in other workouts. “All of this is important,” Statham says. “If you want to get faster, stronger, and healthier you have to record and track progress. Making progress is the primary goal of the training I’ve been doing.”



    he's the man with the abs

    The workout consists of three stages.

    Ten-minute warmup: Statham uses a Concept2 Rowing Machine (www.concept2.com)because it’s low-impact and works the cardiovascular system as well as all primary muscle groups. This is the easy part.

    Ten minutes at medium intensity: This works the body and preps it for stage 3. There’s always variety. This portion of the workout consists of either:

    1. Heavy lifting using compound movements like the front squat, deadlift, or power clean. Never more than five reps at a time.
    2. Short circuits of various exercises with light weights.
    3. Various carrying exercises with kettlebells or sandbags.
    4. A progression of about 15 kettlebell exercises.
    5. Various throws with medicine balls.

    Interval training: This is the brutal final stage that “blows every gasket,” says Statham. “You’re crying for air. It redlines the heart into oblivion.” Again, variety is key — either different exercises, or one exercise done according to an interval structure. Here is a list of some of Statham’s exercises. Pick six to make a circuit.

    Note: You may not have access to the equipment needed to do some of these. The point is to find a balance of total- body work, so you can pick six basic exercises you can do at home and go full-out. Statham does one six-exercise circuit five times. Rest for as long as you need between exercises. And know your limits.

    The Eating Plan

    Statham credits intelligent eating for his rapid weight loss. And he’s not starving: He downs 2,000 calories a day. For Statham the eating plan depends on the following execution, which he’s religious about (ahem, except for one night of beers a few weeks in).

    1. No refined sugar or flour at all, ever. Bread and pasta are out, as are sweets of any kind. No fruit juices. No booze. “That’s the hardest part right there,” he says. His dessert every night is plain yogurt with fresh fruit.

    2. If it goes down your throat, record it on paper. “This is the bible,” Statham says, holding up a black hardbound journal. He writes down everything he swallows, including water (he tries to drink 1 1/2 gallons a day — that’ll keep you feeling full). “Writing everything down makes it impossible for you to muck it up,” he says.

    3. Spread out the calories. Statham has six small meals daily. The foods aren’t surprising — egg whites, vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts, and protein shakes. But the 2,000-calorie limit is gospel.

    Statham’s Circuit Picks:

    Ball Slams
    Pick up a 20-pound rubberized medicine ball, raise it above your head, and then smash it down on the floor as hard as you can. Do 20 reps.

    Rope Climbs
    Do 25-foot climbs using your arms, not your legs. Aim for five reps.

    Pullups
    Statham jumps from one pullup bar to another above it; it’s called “Dyno.”. But the traditional move still works your shoulders and back. Do 8 reps.

    Snappers, or Whip Smashes
    Attach 25 feet of heavy-gauge rope to something secure, like a fence or railing. With both hands, lift the rope above your head and use a whip-like motion to smash the rope against the floor. Do 20 reps.

    Hanging Knee Raises
    Hang from a pullup bar, bend your legs and curl your knees toward your chest, and then lower them. Work up to 20 reps.

    Burpees
    With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat, thrust your legs back, do a pushup, pull your legs back under, and jump as high as you can out of the squat position. Do 20 reps.

    Bear Crawl
    Walk on all fours, facedown, across the whole length of a basketball court. Go up and back three times.

    Farmer Walk
    Hold a heavy kettle bell in each hand, with your arms at your sides. March the length of the gym, and then march back. Do 3 reps.

    Front Squats
    Hold a barbell in front of your shoulders. Bend at the hips and knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Then push back up. Do 20 reps. Statham can do five at 1.25 times his body weight.

    Rope Pulls
    Tie 25- or 45-pound weight plates to a 50-foot length of rope. Pull the rope in until the weights reach you. Do 5 reps.

    Weighted Stepups
    Hold a kettle bell or dumbbell in each hand, step up onto a bench, and then step down. Do 20 reps.

    Compound movements
    Statham does bench presses, squats, or deadlifts with with about 75 percent of his one-rep max, and never incorporates them into a circuit. “My workout always changes. That keeps it interesting.”

    There is a video here demonstrating some of these exercises.

    Jason Statham Workout

    Jason Statham has a body the media loves to broadcast. Neither was he born with such a physique, nor does he spend the whole day on the treadmill or in gyms exercising heavily. Instead, he uses athletic workouts to keep his body in shape. This technique allows movement of the whole body while using different training systems.
    Jason also uses different equipment and goes to extreme workout levels that many people cannot even afford to handle. He combines his high intensity training with regular intervals to achieve desired results.
    Jason’s workouts consist mostly of big movements such as deadlifts, push-ups, pull-ups and squats. It helps him more than just gaining huge bicep curls. On a single day, he does push-resistance exercises such as bench dips and push-ups.
    “I’ll jump rope, then do squat thrusts, burpees [squat thrusts in which you leap instead of standing up], star jumps [from a crouch, jump up and spread your arms and legs into a star, and come back down into a crouch], pushups, tuck jumps [jump, lift legs, tuck], step-ups”, says Jason explaining why he uses polymetrics.

    An Example of Jason’s Weekly Workout Plan

    Jason Statham and his trainer, Logan Wood, follow a structured workout plan. Let’s have a look at this plan.
    Day 1
    Day 1 starts with one repetition maximum (RM) of the heaviest weight one can carry. Then proceed with dead lifts and rowing and a pyramid circuit of pushup, ring pullups and body-weight squat to strengthen muscles.
    Day 2
    The second day consists of functional circuit. It includes full body muscles exercises with circuit workout such as kettleball, pull-ups, push-ups and front squats.
    Day 3
    Jason uses a rower with six intervals of approx. 500 meters.
    Jason Statham Workout
    Day 4
    Front squats for strengthening body and muscles.
    Day 5
    It includes cumulative movements to improve metabolic activity such as rowing, crawling and crab walk.
    Day 6
    He does anything he enjoys the most. Usually he goes for a mountain trail run.
    Day 7
    Rest!

    Jason’s Strict Diet Plan

    “I never gave a f–k about a calorie,” Statham says. “An apple? It’s good for me. I’d have five. Bananas? Eat the bunch.”
    Jason follows a very strict diet plan; he consumes 2,000 calories per day. Yes! You read it right, it is just 2,000 calories. He consumes six meals per day which include veggies, egg white, fish, protein shakes and raw fruit excluding sugar, flour, pasta and bread. Moreover, he drinks a lot of water approx. 1.5 gallon.

    Attaining a body like Jason Statham is not easy. The reason is he follows a structured routine and diet which speaks for itself.

    Explaining his strict workout regime and diet plan that helped him to dropped 17 pounds in 6 weeks Jason says,
    “That’s 17 pounds in 6 weeks, mate,” he continues with “And that’s working out 6 days a week for, at most, about 35 minutes a day. I’ve never, ever gotten results like this before.”