Monthly Archives: July 2015

Cheat and build muscle

So you’ve read a lot of articles on how to build muscle. But there’s something you just don’t know. There’s something they’re just not telling you. You’ve been lied to.

Everything you have ever read about proper exercise form is wrong. It could be hindering your progress and setting you up for an injury. If you want to build muscle faster and maybe even avoid some injuries along the way, read what I am about to tell you very carefully.

Despite everything you read about the importance of full range of motion, and strict exercise form the reality is that most people. Who are beyond the beginner level, will build muscle faster and more effectively by NOT using text book form. Not using a complete full range of motion on every exercise and by… dare I say it… CHEATING!

Have you thought about picking something up at waist height and lifting it to a shelf at eye height or above? Do you pin your elbows at your side, allowing zero movement in your body, only allowing your forearms to move upward as you hinge at the elbow? That might sound ridiculous? But that’s what you do when your perform a text book barbell curl.

Cheating and using a little momentum is 100% natural to the body. It’s just what you instinctively do when you lift something heavy. What is unnatural is just locking yourself into one rigid position, only allowing movement at one or two joints.

No two people are the same and some have injuries that they have to take into account. For example, I have a bad shoulder that has required surgery in the past. If I do a strict dumbbell curl with a dumbbell I can only use 25’s. Any heavier weight than that causes me a lot of excruciating pain. But if I adjust my body position slightly and lean over at just the right time and slightly swing through the painful portion of the exercise I can use nearly triple the weight without any problems at all.

Before I go off on a tangent, I should explain that everyone reading this who wants to build muscle and hasn’t been training for at least a year or two, should learn text book form first. Unless you know proper form and how to isolate and target the muscle you are training you will never be able to cheat effectively. After many years in the game I can cheat a bent over row with some extra leg drive and hip extension while still targeting my lats and upper back very effectively. A newcomer who tried to emulate my form would only work their biceps and lower backs, and probably get injured in the process. With the amount of weight a strong lifter can use, cheating actually takes stress off the lower back and makes it safer instead of more dangerous.

The same can be said for a barbell curl. When you are using a lot of weight the stress on your lower back with text book form is actually greater than if you used a little body language. However an advanced trainee can cheat and more effectively overload his biceps while sparing his lower back. The beginner, on the other hand would put less stress on his biceps and only work his front delts, traps and lower back. So this would be counterproductive.

You’ve got to put some practice in to make it perfect. After a year loosening up your form and cheating on exercises that safely allow you to do so and you will be pleasantly surprised at much it will aid in your quest to build muscle fast.

Well who said cheaters never win? I hope this article has helped all those who were about to throw in the towel, keep at it.

Jason Ferruggia,
Author, Muscle Gaining Secrets

Muscle Gaining Secrets

Is drinking coffee bad for your health

So you think your morning coffee an OK option on your healthy eating plan? Is drinking coffee really bad for you or is it actually good?

Healthy Caffeine in Coffee?, I get these questions about coffee and health all the time and as a coffee drinker myself, it is smart to take a look at both the good and the bad and learn how to drink coffee safely..

Now, I’m not here to tell you that coffee is good for you. (I’m here to tell you the facts). If I did, I would be telling only the good side of the story and I’m no politician. I am here to give you the good and the bad and tell you how you can incorporate your favorite coffee or tea into your healthy meal plan.

The bad side of Caffeine

Most coffee and tea contains a lot of caffeine. This is usually the primary reason people make coffee their drink of choice in the morning. Caffeine is a drug and comes with a long list of side effects. Have you ever tried not having your coffee in the morning? The headache that comes on when you try and kick this habit can be brutal (just like with any other drug), and creating a dependency and addiction like this is harmful to the body.

Second, coffee is extremely acidic. Our bodies function at optimum levels when they are slightly more alkaline (the opposite of acidic). It is best for us to greatly reduce any foods that will drive our body’s pH to be more acidic and eat more foods that are alkaline (like fruits and veggies). An acidic body pH is like a magnet for all kinds of illnesses. Also, an alkaline body has a much stronger immune system, thus making illness much less likely to occur.

Last but not least, the caffeine in coffee and tea is abuse to your adrenal glands. Your adrenals release your “fight or flight” hormones basically giving you a nice “boost” when needed. Unfortunately, people who drink coffee all day long are consistently beating on their adrenals. This is the equivalent of whipping a tired horse even when he is exhausted. Eventually he will not move at all, the result is adrenal fatigue, leaving you with no energy, think of chronic fatigue.
Research on the effects of caffeine on the adrenal glands

The good side of Caffeine

Coffee tastes so nice and makes me feel great in the morning.

Many studies have shown that drinking coffee can help towards the prevention, and treatment of diseases and illnesses as varied as Alzheimer’s disease, liver disease, skin cancer, diabetes, parkinsons’s disease and many more. Although, I don’t believe coffee is the cure all to these diseases, many ancient cultures did rely on the coffee bean to cure a long list of ailments. But also, small doses of caffeine can increase performance and mental focus.

Green tea is a great drink with a long list of benefits. Green tea is a wonderful source of antioxidants which are important in cancer prevention. Green tea has even been found to raise the body’s metabolism and aid in fat burning. However its effects are really minor when compared to the effects of sound nutrition and a good exercise plan. Now that I’ve said that, don’t think you can eat junk food and just wash it down with green tea!

What is a coffee and tea drinker to do?

1. Limit your coffee and tea intake to 2 – 8 oz cups per day. Not 2 of each, 2 in total. Any more than that is considered as a addict.

2. If you are currently dependent on a lot of caffeine each day, replace at least 1 of the cups of coffee with green tea instead. Green tea is lower in caffeine than coffee, and will help combat the ugly detox symptoms.

3. Do not jack up your coffee with sugar, milk, syrup and whip cream . Use stevia or xylitol to sweeten and avoid all the empty, harmful calories. A teaspoon of half and half won’t hurt either. Please do not use any of those flavored creamers. They are closer to a students chemistry experiment than they are to real food.

4. Make sure that your food choices are healthy. Avoiding other acidic foods like sugar, artificial sweeteners and processed foods will lighten the acid load on the body.

5. Make sure the coffee you drink is organic. Conventional coffee is contaminated with pesticides and various chemicals and should be avoided.

There is no need to pass on your morning coffee but it is important to drink the right types of coffee, without the added unhealthy extras and, as with most things, in moderation.

Lose weight without getting hungry

“I really need to lose weight but I hate feeling hungry nearly all the time,” I suppose this has to be one of the most common statements, made by people who follow many of the so called fad diets. If your diet leaves your stomach rumbling every hour on the hour, your body is telling you it’s time to make a change. I used to believe losing weight meant starving yourself. It took me a a very long time to accept the fact that I could actually eat heartily and still drop a few pounds in weight.

The times I spent starving myself in the name of losing weight were miserable. When I did manage to shed a few pounds, I would sadly put it all back on, in a matter of weeks. Sometimes I’d even gain a few extra pounds. Now that’s what I call depressing!

What I learned through many years of research (trial and error) is that when you follow a healthy eating plan, you can eat until you’re full, and still see amazing weight loss results.

What Are Healthy Foods?

Healthy foods are not created in factory’s where food is processed to death. If the food is dried, dehydrated, canned, frozen or filled with ingredients you can’t pronounce. I suggest that you stay away from it. Some good examples of healthy foods include fresh fish, naturally raised meats, legumes, seeds, organic poultry, organic eggs, raw nuts, along with fresh fruit and vegetables.

There’s nothing more miserable than having to deal with hunger pangs all day. If your meals aren’t satisfying your nutritional needs, this is exactly what’s going to happen. Here are some tricks to make your meals more filling:

Add a source of good quality protein and a source healthy fat (yes, fat) to each of your meals. Doing this should make your meals more appetizing and curbs the hunger. Sources of healthy protein include natural meats, organic whole eggs, organic poultry and fish. Sources of healthy fat include avocados, fish, beans, raw nuts, coconut oil and olive oil.

Fill your plate with veggies. They help to divide your plate into three sections, and fill the larger section with veggies. Leave the other two sections for meat and other foods. Veggies are full of fiber, so they expand in the stomach, digest more slowly so keeping you full longer. Try eating green leafs such as cabbage, spinach, broccoli which are rich in magnesium. (at least 57% of the US population does not meet the US RDA for dietary intake of magnesium)

Drink a glass of bottled water before each meal and throughout the day. This will help you feel full faster and reduce hunger.

Examples of Healthy, Filling Meals and Snacks

At Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1/3 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon and a small pear.

Snack: 1 medium apple, 1 cup of cucumber slices and 1 oz of raw nuts.

For Lunch: 4 oz ground turkey, 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice, 8 oz carrot sticks, and a small green salad with vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Snack: 2 tablespoons of almond butter, 2 slices of rye crisp bread and 8 oz of celery sticks.

For Dinner: 5 oz boiled halibut steak, 1/2 cup of green beans sauteed in garlic, small baked sweet potato and a small green salad with apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing.

Diet plans that leave you hungry all the time (or even some of the time) are useless, why are you making life so miserable. Why not ditch the diet altogether and eat healthy instead? If you do it this way, you can eat delicious, filling foods and still lose weight.

Why not check out Mike Geary’s Fat Burning Kitchen Program for more great advice and recipes.

Natalie Jill Interview Video

Fitness instructor Natalie Jill talks about how she became a fitness expert, why being FUNCTIONALLY FIT is paramount to her. She specialize’s in healthy lifestyles, weight loss, functional body weight training and gluten free nutrition. In this video Natalie also discusses the importance of being GLUTEN FREE as well as eating an UNPROCESSED food diet.

Learn more about Natalies range of fitness programs here