Wednesday 16 December 2009
The New World Order
The World has changed. Things that were always obvious, simple and true are now just wrong. In case you missed some of the big ones, here they are:
the sun - which gives life to the entire planet - will kill you with cancers; but it isnt warming the planet
eating eggs - the most nutritious food on earth - will kill you; but estrogen-reinforced gluten and sugar grits topped with lactose is a healthy part of a 'balanced' diet
cholesterol - crucial to life, health and all cellular function of all mammals - will kill you; but alcohol is essential to good health
you must love yourself completely as you are; don't change; irrespective of how dishonest, nasty, vindictive or downright evil you are. Don't change or fix the things you don't like about yourself; take an anti-depressant so you just don't care!
we no longer care that the Church calls us filthy, lowly, guilty sinners; now we know that emitting carbon - like the ocean does... and breathing... and the natural breakdown of all life and waste - makes us all filthy, lowly, guilty sinners
we must be tolerant and accommodating to all people and cultures; including those who want to kill us all because we exist
the free market is evil and dangerous because it helps our corrupt Government caretakers create disingenuous laws under the guise of 'protecting' us when, in fact, they're designed to benefit Companies and harm us. So we need to give more power to our corrupt Government caretakers to make more laws to 'protect' us!
the CODEX agreement will make dangerous vitamin C a restricted, prescription only item; but flouride is added to the water to keep your teeth healthy
Growth Hormone is the only drug too dangerous to prescribe for off-label use such as recovery from injury because it is completely safe and incredibly effective. Cortisone is the best choice for injury recovery because it cripples the immune system, causes strain on the heart, liver and kidneys and degenerates tissue
testosterone - without which we get very, very sick physically, mentally and sexually - is far too dangerous to prescribe for a recognised medical problem; but margarine reinforced with estrogen is 'good for you' because it will lower your cholesterol
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Don't Buy Supplements In Australia
In the US, a 4.5kg box of Dymatize Elite Whey Protein will cost you $61. In Australia, for the same product, you're lucky if you get change from $160! The ever popular NO Xplod costs just $33 in the US - $90 in Aus. Bad Ass Mass: $28 vs $120 here. Etc etc etc.
$30 doesnt buy much these days. Its $30 just for 2 people to go to a movie! But $100 is different. You CAN buy things for $100. And when you spend $100 on something you probably had to consciously give up something else you would've liked.
So when it comes to supplements, spending $30 for a months worth of crazy tasting, crazy looking pre-workout caffeine hits is OK. Its a toy. Its throwaway money for some recreational fun. You are getting your moneys worth even when you are intelligent enough to realise that supplements don't 'do' anything. (NOTE: the hype about supplements growing muscle or burning fat is just an outright ludicrous lie! Saying a supplement will grow your muscles is like saying a tyre will transport you somewhere by itself. Its just silliness. Don't be fooled)!
But in Australia its different. For whatever reason, a $30 supplement will cost $100-$150 here. All of a sudden the value proposition is changed. Its gone from throw-away, recreational money to a serious spend. You wouldn't pay $120 to go to a regular movie in a regular cinema. You wouldnt pay $120 for a regular CD. You wouldn't pay $120 for a regular pasta meal in a pub. So why would you spend $120 on the latest American $30 supplement?
I run a supplement shop and yet I've always maintained that supplements are mostly a total waste of money! I've said 1000 times that supplements DON'T build muscle or burn fat. And they don't! Overseas the use of supplements can make sense - its a bit of fun for play money. You get very little out of the supps but you lose very little money so its OK. But here in Australia its not OK; its not fun and its not play money! Don't waste your money!
POSTSCRIPT: Ironically, the supplements that offer the most value in Australia are almost as cheap here as overseas. Phosphatidylserine, zinc, Vitamin D and C are all between $5 and $45 and will do more for your training and health than any 'hormone booster'!
$30 doesnt buy much these days. Its $30 just for 2 people to go to a movie! But $100 is different. You CAN buy things for $100. And when you spend $100 on something you probably had to consciously give up something else you would've liked.
So when it comes to supplements, spending $30 for a months worth of crazy tasting, crazy looking pre-workout caffeine hits is OK. Its a toy. Its throwaway money for some recreational fun. You are getting your moneys worth even when you are intelligent enough to realise that supplements don't 'do' anything. (NOTE: the hype about supplements growing muscle or burning fat is just an outright ludicrous lie! Saying a supplement will grow your muscles is like saying a tyre will transport you somewhere by itself. Its just silliness. Don't be fooled)!
But in Australia its different. For whatever reason, a $30 supplement will cost $100-$150 here. All of a sudden the value proposition is changed. Its gone from throw-away, recreational money to a serious spend. You wouldn't pay $120 to go to a regular movie in a regular cinema. You wouldnt pay $120 for a regular CD. You wouldn't pay $120 for a regular pasta meal in a pub. So why would you spend $120 on the latest American $30 supplement?
I run a supplement shop and yet I've always maintained that supplements are mostly a total waste of money! I've said 1000 times that supplements DON'T build muscle or burn fat. And they don't! Overseas the use of supplements can make sense - its a bit of fun for play money. You get very little out of the supps but you lose very little money so its OK. But here in Australia its not OK; its not fun and its not play money! Don't waste your money!
POSTSCRIPT: Ironically, the supplements that offer the most value in Australia are almost as cheap here as overseas. Phosphatidylserine, zinc, Vitamin D and C are all between $5 and $45 and will do more for your training and health than any 'hormone booster'!
Anti-Depressants = Pro-Fatteners
With only one exception, every woman who has come into Biologic Labs weighing over 120kg was using anti-depressants (SSRI's, specifically). And EVERY one of those women had gained 20-60kg AFTER starting the anti-depressants. None were using anti-depressants BECAUSE of their weight!
In most cases, the prescribing doctor chastised the ladies for even suggesting the drugs were making them fat! They told the women to not blame the drugs for their own bad eating habits. Yet, in most cases, the women had reduced their previous food intake after seeing the anti-depressant induced weight gain!
So, like alcohol, anti-depressants drug you fat! REALLY fat! For some reason, it is particularly bad in women.
But the very worst news is, once you've gotten fat from anti-depressants, the weight doesn't ever seem to return to 'normal'; even after long-term cessation of the drugs.
Certainly in the short term, our anti-depressant using clients have lost a huge amount of fat and gained a lot of muscle. But they seem to stall out and get 'stuck' at a point that is much fatter and heavier than people who just ate themselves fat. Most notably, anti-depressant users just don't lose much WEIGHT!
I have no idea why anti-depressants so fundamentally wreck human metabolism. But neither do the Psychiatrists who prescribe them nor the drug companies who make them. I have a weak theory that it relates to a disruption in Leptin (the "anti-obesity hormone") function. Leptin 'works' (in simple terms) through brain dopamine receptor activity. An interesting study recently showed that SSRI's cause serotonin to be taken up by dopamine vesicles; theoretically reducing dopamine activity and exacerbating the SSRI induced serotonin/dopamine imbalance.
Dieting with the help of a dopamine agonist (such as bromocriptine or dostinex) is probably the only solution for people who have gotten fat from anti-depressants. (Dopamine agonists help to maintain the effectiveness of any diet for an extended period without continual reductions in calories). Good luck getting your GP to prescribe one. But a good anti-ageing doctor will be more open minded. And I am more than happy to discuss dopamine-agonist use in dieting with anyone (including doctors).
Doctors, Psychiatrists and drug companies flat-out deny that anti-depressants cause weight gain. Well, as a Body Recompositioning Specialist, I'm telling you that they most absolutely certainly DO!!! SSRI's will break your metabolism for life!
In most cases, the prescribing doctor chastised the ladies for even suggesting the drugs were making them fat! They told the women to not blame the drugs for their own bad eating habits. Yet, in most cases, the women had reduced their previous food intake after seeing the anti-depressant induced weight gain!
So, like alcohol, anti-depressants drug you fat! REALLY fat! For some reason, it is particularly bad in women.
But the very worst news is, once you've gotten fat from anti-depressants, the weight doesn't ever seem to return to 'normal'; even after long-term cessation of the drugs.
Certainly in the short term, our anti-depressant using clients have lost a huge amount of fat and gained a lot of muscle. But they seem to stall out and get 'stuck' at a point that is much fatter and heavier than people who just ate themselves fat. Most notably, anti-depressant users just don't lose much WEIGHT!
I have no idea why anti-depressants so fundamentally wreck human metabolism. But neither do the Psychiatrists who prescribe them nor the drug companies who make them. I have a weak theory that it relates to a disruption in Leptin (the "anti-obesity hormone") function. Leptin 'works' (in simple terms) through brain dopamine receptor activity. An interesting study recently showed that SSRI's cause serotonin to be taken up by dopamine vesicles; theoretically reducing dopamine activity and exacerbating the SSRI induced serotonin/dopamine imbalance.
Dieting with the help of a dopamine agonist (such as bromocriptine or dostinex) is probably the only solution for people who have gotten fat from anti-depressants. (Dopamine agonists help to maintain the effectiveness of any diet for an extended period without continual reductions in calories). Good luck getting your GP to prescribe one. But a good anti-ageing doctor will be more open minded. And I am more than happy to discuss dopamine-agonist use in dieting with anyone (including doctors).
Doctors, Psychiatrists and drug companies flat-out deny that anti-depressants cause weight gain. Well, as a Body Recompositioning Specialist, I'm telling you that they most absolutely certainly DO!!! SSRI's will break your metabolism for life!
Monday 17 August 2009
Biologic Labs training vs Other Training Systems
The fundamental principle underpinning all successful strength training programs is increasing LOAD over time.
Basic gym training/bodybuilding sort of pays lip-service to increasing loads. The generally popularised method is - to state it another way - do several sets with 80% of 1rm (about 8 reps) and build up your reps each week until that weight equals 75% of 1rm (about 12reps). Then increase the weight to 80% of your new 1rm and repeat. Or something in that vein. (NOTE: '1rm' is short for '1 repetition maximum'; or the maximum load that the subject is capable of lifting just one time).
Standard powerlifting cycling is based, typically, on building up LOAD each week from 50% 1rm to 105-110% 1rm over 8-12 weeks. Most basic Olympic Lifting programs are very similar.
Periodisation is (very basically and typically) 8-12 week 'periods' of training within defined ranges of percentages of max load (eg 8 weeks with 50-65% 1rm then 8 weeks with 70-85% 1rm then 8 weeks with 90-100% 1rm). And mostly the loads (or similar measure of training intensity) increase methodically during each 'period'.
The popular "Westside" Powerlifting system is all about regularly encountering 100% 1rm (max effort days) and trying to beat previous 1rm every 2-4weeks.
HST, High Intensity, DogCrapp training etc etc are also based on regularly increasing loads over time.
The consistent principle is that LOADS get pushed up to new max's and then cycled back and built up again. Really, the only substantial arguments among the various systems are over the volume of work and whether to train to failure.
At Biologic Labs, our approach is to build up training loads over 4-8 week cycles. We build up from about 65% 1rm up to a new 1rm over the course of the cycle. Within that basic structure we might pyramid sets up or down at each workout; we might taper volume from high to low as weight increases; we might do overloads with partial reps at every workout; or use any number of different approaches. BUT, the fundamental principle still remains that training loads get heavier at each workout over a training cycle until going for a new 1rm.
Where we mostly differ from the other systems is that we push every weight to absolute failure over a very broad load range (60-100% 1rm). This load range means our reps range from 1 to 50! Yes, we FAIL on 30-50 rep sets; we don't just get a burn and stop when loads are light.
Before every set we do, we use a calculator that predicts our 1rm from the number of reps we achieve with a lesser weight. With this calculator we can target the exact number of reps we need to beat our previous 1rm (or calculated 1rm).
For example, if my 1rm is 100kg and I am about to lift 72.5kg then my calculator tells me 13 reps equates to a 99kg 1rm and 14 reps equates to a 101kg 1rm. So I know I MUST do 14 reps with 72.5 to prevent going backwards on my previous max. And if I can get 17 reps then I've acheived a 105kg 1rm.
We have devised our own, very accurate calculator for doing this but there are many calculators on the web that allow you to calculate your 1rm performance on the basis of doing a certain number of reps with a weight. There is even a conservative 1rm calculator with the iPhone App: Gym Buddy.
In order to consistently beat performances, we use 'effective' form. That is, fast, explosive reps, cheating progressively more and more as absolutely necessary to keep the set going rather than stopping or getting forced reps. In fact, we hate forced reps (ie getting a 'spot')! Our calculator tells us what our 1rm is using the same form. If we get a 'spot' then our calculated 1rm would include getting a spot and that isnt a 1rm!
Because we're trying to beat previous bests on every set of every exercise, we typically train 2-3 days per week only. You can't beat every performance by training every day. And we NEVER do the popular 4 sets of 4 exercises. We can't imagine a program more unsuitable for consistently beating performances and making progress!
So the answer to all training questions is that: WEIGHT TRAINING is about WEIGHT! Its not 'rep training' so don't look at rep ranges to shape your programs.
- Select a group of exercises that cover the major movements (ie leg pushing, back pulling, a row and a chest/shoulder girdle pushing movement).
- Then plan a methodical increase in your training poundages over a period (4-12 weeks) in order to achieve a new 1rm on those exercises
- Each workout, lift the weights you've planned for as many reps as you can get even with deteriorated form (so long as its safe and repeatable; there is no place for throwing weights in a manner thats not progress-able).
Basic gym training/bodybuilding sort of pays lip-service to increasing loads. The generally popularised method is - to state it another way - do several sets with 80% of 1rm (about 8 reps) and build up your reps each week until that weight equals 75% of 1rm (about 12reps). Then increase the weight to 80% of your new 1rm and repeat. Or something in that vein. (NOTE: '1rm' is short for '1 repetition maximum'; or the maximum load that the subject is capable of lifting just one time).
Standard powerlifting cycling is based, typically, on building up LOAD each week from 50% 1rm to 105-110% 1rm over 8-12 weeks. Most basic Olympic Lifting programs are very similar.
Periodisation is (very basically and typically) 8-12 week 'periods' of training within defined ranges of percentages of max load (eg 8 weeks with 50-65% 1rm then 8 weeks with 70-85% 1rm then 8 weeks with 90-100% 1rm). And mostly the loads (or similar measure of training intensity) increase methodically during each 'period'.
The popular "Westside" Powerlifting system is all about regularly encountering 100% 1rm (max effort days) and trying to beat previous 1rm every 2-4weeks.
HST, High Intensity, DogCrapp training etc etc are also based on regularly increasing loads over time.
The consistent principle is that LOADS get pushed up to new max's and then cycled back and built up again. Really, the only substantial arguments among the various systems are over the volume of work and whether to train to failure.
At Biologic Labs, our approach is to build up training loads over 4-8 week cycles. We build up from about 65% 1rm up to a new 1rm over the course of the cycle. Within that basic structure we might pyramid sets up or down at each workout; we might taper volume from high to low as weight increases; we might do overloads with partial reps at every workout; or use any number of different approaches. BUT, the fundamental principle still remains that training loads get heavier at each workout over a training cycle until going for a new 1rm.
Where we mostly differ from the other systems is that we push every weight to absolute failure over a very broad load range (60-100% 1rm). This load range means our reps range from 1 to 50! Yes, we FAIL on 30-50 rep sets; we don't just get a burn and stop when loads are light.
Before every set we do, we use a calculator that predicts our 1rm from the number of reps we achieve with a lesser weight. With this calculator we can target the exact number of reps we need to beat our previous 1rm (or calculated 1rm).
For example, if my 1rm is 100kg and I am about to lift 72.5kg then my calculator tells me 13 reps equates to a 99kg 1rm and 14 reps equates to a 101kg 1rm. So I know I MUST do 14 reps with 72.5 to prevent going backwards on my previous max. And if I can get 17 reps then I've acheived a 105kg 1rm.
We have devised our own, very accurate calculator for doing this but there are many calculators on the web that allow you to calculate your 1rm performance on the basis of doing a certain number of reps with a weight. There is even a conservative 1rm calculator with the iPhone App: Gym Buddy.
In order to consistently beat performances, we use 'effective' form. That is, fast, explosive reps, cheating progressively more and more as absolutely necessary to keep the set going rather than stopping or getting forced reps. In fact, we hate forced reps (ie getting a 'spot')! Our calculator tells us what our 1rm is using the same form. If we get a 'spot' then our calculated 1rm would include getting a spot and that isnt a 1rm!
Because we're trying to beat previous bests on every set of every exercise, we typically train 2-3 days per week only. You can't beat every performance by training every day. And we NEVER do the popular 4 sets of 4 exercises. We can't imagine a program more unsuitable for consistently beating performances and making progress!
So the answer to all training questions is that: WEIGHT TRAINING is about WEIGHT! Its not 'rep training' so don't look at rep ranges to shape your programs.
- Select a group of exercises that cover the major movements (ie leg pushing, back pulling, a row and a chest/shoulder girdle pushing movement).
- Then plan a methodical increase in your training poundages over a period (4-12 weeks) in order to achieve a new 1rm on those exercises
- Each workout, lift the weights you've planned for as many reps as you can get even with deteriorated form (so long as its safe and repeatable; there is no place for throwing weights in a manner thats not progress-able).
You know more than you think!
Training programs and systems are all either based on science or the unrepeatable, voodoo result of one unusual person. Clearly science is the better way to go. But virtually every scientifically based program gets bogged down justifying itself on the supposed physiological processes occurring inside your body; processes that you will never, ever see, measure, prove or affect; processes that take care of themselves!!!
Understanding how your body works is all very well and good; but its mostly irrelevant to how you should train. Because whatever does or doesnt apparently occur within your body, everybody already knows what outcomes matter and, mostly, how to achieve them. Let me illustrate:
- if you can't lift any more weight by the end of a year of weight training then your training failed outright. You KNOW this! It doesnt matter how many amino-acids, pre and post workout shakes, nitric oxide boosters or testosterone boosters you took; it doesnt matter how good your form was; how big you pumped, how sore you got or how much you sweated. You will look exactly the same because you are exactly the same. If you'd changed you would be able to lift more!
- if you can bench press, squat and deadlift 100kg more at the end of a year of training then you KNOW you will look substantially more muscular than you are now.
- if you were taught bad exercise technique, never take a supplement, train only 1 day per fortnight, don't sweat and don't get a pump and yet somehow you still increase your bench, squat and deadlift by 100kg (in the same bad form) you will still look substantially more muscular than you are now.
So you KNOW that the ONLY thing that actually matters when it comes to weight training is the outcome of lifting more weight! Any counter-argument to that point is only saying that NOT lifting more is a valid alternative and you KNOW that is FALSE!!!
You even KNOW that slow, strict 'form' isnt THAT important; especially because you KNOW you can never make any strength gains lifting super slow and super strict. And you know that your supplements arent going to make you grow. You KNOW its about lifting weight!
So, lets say you find yourself in an East-Asian prison, given a gym and an infinite supply of food and told you would be released as soon as you could bench, squat and deadlift 100kg more than you can now, WOULD YOU TRAIN THE WAY YOU DO NOW?
Nobody I've posed this question to has answered 'yes'. Because everybody knows that their training isnt directed towards what matters: LIFTING HEAVIER WEIGHTS!!!!
So you KNOW what you need to achieve in the gym and you KNOW what you're doing wont achieve that. So what ARE you doing?
If you want to know the solution, just start with what else you KNOW. Ask questions to yourself and work with the answers you KNOW.
- If you want to lift as much as possible, why would you ever do 10 reps and stop if you were capable of more?
- If you want to lift as much as possible, why would you bother with exercises that nobody can lift any weight on? (eg pec deck, leg extensions)
- If you want to be as strong as possible, why aren't you doing heavy deadlifts and squats?
- If you want to be the best you can be, why do you have your mates helping you lift all your weights?
- If you want to look like a healthy, strong, muscle-man or figure-woman, why are you eating like a sparrow and running like a distance runner?
etc etc etc
The point is: trust yourself. You KNOW more than you give yourself credit for and you probably know more about what you need to know than the instructors and scientists that you KNOW are wrong!
Understanding how your body works is all very well and good; but its mostly irrelevant to how you should train. Because whatever does or doesnt apparently occur within your body, everybody already knows what outcomes matter and, mostly, how to achieve them. Let me illustrate:
- if you can't lift any more weight by the end of a year of weight training then your training failed outright. You KNOW this! It doesnt matter how many amino-acids, pre and post workout shakes, nitric oxide boosters or testosterone boosters you took; it doesnt matter how good your form was; how big you pumped, how sore you got or how much you sweated. You will look exactly the same because you are exactly the same. If you'd changed you would be able to lift more!
- if you can bench press, squat and deadlift 100kg more at the end of a year of training then you KNOW you will look substantially more muscular than you are now.
- if you were taught bad exercise technique, never take a supplement, train only 1 day per fortnight, don't sweat and don't get a pump and yet somehow you still increase your bench, squat and deadlift by 100kg (in the same bad form) you will still look substantially more muscular than you are now.
So you KNOW that the ONLY thing that actually matters when it comes to weight training is the outcome of lifting more weight! Any counter-argument to that point is only saying that NOT lifting more is a valid alternative and you KNOW that is FALSE!!!
You even KNOW that slow, strict 'form' isnt THAT important; especially because you KNOW you can never make any strength gains lifting super slow and super strict. And you know that your supplements arent going to make you grow. You KNOW its about lifting weight!
So, lets say you find yourself in an East-Asian prison, given a gym and an infinite supply of food and told you would be released as soon as you could bench, squat and deadlift 100kg more than you can now, WOULD YOU TRAIN THE WAY YOU DO NOW?
Nobody I've posed this question to has answered 'yes'. Because everybody knows that their training isnt directed towards what matters: LIFTING HEAVIER WEIGHTS!!!!
So you KNOW what you need to achieve in the gym and you KNOW what you're doing wont achieve that. So what ARE you doing?
If you want to know the solution, just start with what else you KNOW. Ask questions to yourself and work with the answers you KNOW.
- If you want to lift as much as possible, why would you ever do 10 reps and stop if you were capable of more?
- If you want to lift as much as possible, why would you bother with exercises that nobody can lift any weight on? (eg pec deck, leg extensions)
- If you want to be as strong as possible, why aren't you doing heavy deadlifts and squats?
- If you want to be the best you can be, why do you have your mates helping you lift all your weights?
- If you want to look like a healthy, strong, muscle-man or figure-woman, why are you eating like a sparrow and running like a distance runner?
etc etc etc
The point is: trust yourself. You KNOW more than you give yourself credit for and you probably know more about what you need to know than the instructors and scientists that you KNOW are wrong!
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Helped by What I Didn't Know
Further to my previous post by Skip LaCour, let me relate a story about my early training.
I started training at a World Gym in New Zealand. It wasn't a 'bodybuilders gym'; but it was pretty hardcore. For example, there was a bucket behind the counter for leg days. You were expected to train till you puked!
Everyday there were regular blokes - large blokes, to be sure - squatting 5-6 plates per side of the bar (220-260kg), benching 3-4 plates (140-180kg), Leg Pressing 500-600kg, Shoulder Pressing 50-60kg dumbells and deadlifting 6-7 plates (260-300kg). That was 'normal' in this gym and so everybody just did what was normal.
And being naive New Zealand, people barely knew what steroids were let alone used them! Lifting big was just NORMAL!
Then I moved to Australia and trained at a TINY, council-owned gym in Melbourne. Being Council owned, literally nobody trained there. All I knew was what I'd seen in New Zealand and read in the magazines. And in the magazines all I heard about was everybody doing 800lb deadlifts and squats; and every American teenager seemed to bench press 500lb. And that made sense given what I'd seen in New Zealand!
None of it was true, of course. But I knew no different. I believed it and I believed that I was the one with the problem because I couldnt lift those weights.
So I ate and trained like a madman, fueled with anger about how pathetically weak I was! I couldn't even bench 300lb (at 17years old) when the guys in the magazines did CURLS with 300lb! I SUCKED! So I trained and pushed to MAKE myself able to do what I believed everybody else did!
Then I met a guy a week before a bodybuilding contest. He convinced me to enter looking like I just happened to look from the heavy training I did. I won the teen division and beat the current Australasian Champ easily!
Then at 19 I entered the National Powerlifting Champs, won my division and broke the Australian Teen Deadlift record by 60kg! I pulled 300kg and everybody thought that was phenomenal. I thought it sucked! I still believed everybody except me deadlifted 800lb and any less was rubbish.
Fortunately, I maintained that belief. I didnt lower my standards and stop lifting heavy because most people DON'T do 800lb deadlifts. I saw that everybody COULD do it but was too damned lazy; their expectations of themselves too damned LOW!
Today the situation is more pitiful than ever! I rarely see people lift more than TWO plates per side of a barbell; let alone six! Guys are using more drugs than ever to build naturally-achievable physiques. Natural bodybuilders look like cadavers and then accuse anybody with muscle of being a 'drug-cheat'.
People honestly believe its not POSSIBLE to build muscle just because they failed to do it lifting lighter weights than small girls lift at Biologic Labs! Of course its possible! But you gotta do the right work: big weights = big muscles. Little weights = ... nothing.
God gave every healthy male who bothers to lift weights a 140kg bench and 220kg deadlift. Thats EASY and anything less is embarrassing! Similarly, small girls (50-60kg) should easily expect a 50-60kg bench and 120-140kg deadlift. If you don't believe you can lift such weights then you just answered why you are failing in the gym!
I started training at a World Gym in New Zealand. It wasn't a 'bodybuilders gym'; but it was pretty hardcore. For example, there was a bucket behind the counter for leg days. You were expected to train till you puked!
Everyday there were regular blokes - large blokes, to be sure - squatting 5-6 plates per side of the bar (220-260kg), benching 3-4 plates (140-180kg), Leg Pressing 500-600kg, Shoulder Pressing 50-60kg dumbells and deadlifting 6-7 plates (260-300kg). That was 'normal' in this gym and so everybody just did what was normal.
And being naive New Zealand, people barely knew what steroids were let alone used them! Lifting big was just NORMAL!
Then I moved to Australia and trained at a TINY, council-owned gym in Melbourne. Being Council owned, literally nobody trained there. All I knew was what I'd seen in New Zealand and read in the magazines. And in the magazines all I heard about was everybody doing 800lb deadlifts and squats; and every American teenager seemed to bench press 500lb. And that made sense given what I'd seen in New Zealand!
None of it was true, of course. But I knew no different. I believed it and I believed that I was the one with the problem because I couldnt lift those weights.
So I ate and trained like a madman, fueled with anger about how pathetically weak I was! I couldn't even bench 300lb (at 17years old) when the guys in the magazines did CURLS with 300lb! I SUCKED! So I trained and pushed to MAKE myself able to do what I believed everybody else did!
Then I met a guy a week before a bodybuilding contest. He convinced me to enter looking like I just happened to look from the heavy training I did. I won the teen division and beat the current Australasian Champ easily!
Then at 19 I entered the National Powerlifting Champs, won my division and broke the Australian Teen Deadlift record by 60kg! I pulled 300kg and everybody thought that was phenomenal. I thought it sucked! I still believed everybody except me deadlifted 800lb and any less was rubbish.
Fortunately, I maintained that belief. I didnt lower my standards and stop lifting heavy because most people DON'T do 800lb deadlifts. I saw that everybody COULD do it but was too damned lazy; their expectations of themselves too damned LOW!
Today the situation is more pitiful than ever! I rarely see people lift more than TWO plates per side of a barbell; let alone six! Guys are using more drugs than ever to build naturally-achievable physiques. Natural bodybuilders look like cadavers and then accuse anybody with muscle of being a 'drug-cheat'.
People honestly believe its not POSSIBLE to build muscle just because they failed to do it lifting lighter weights than small girls lift at Biologic Labs! Of course its possible! But you gotta do the right work: big weights = big muscles. Little weights = ... nothing.
God gave every healthy male who bothers to lift weights a 140kg bench and 220kg deadlift. Thats EASY and anything less is embarrassing! Similarly, small girls (50-60kg) should easily expect a 50-60kg bench and 120-140kg deadlift. If you don't believe you can lift such weights then you just answered why you are failing in the gym!
Skip LaCour Talks Truth!
I was just received an email with the following Forum Post from "Natural" Pro Bodybuilder, Skip LaCour. He is 100% on the money in his assessment of the biggest problem I see in ALL training: woefully low expectations and perceptions about what is achievable.
Hello, Men.
It's Skip La Cour with another important message as your strive to MASTER your bodybuilding and training efforts.
This one is about the bodybuilding internet message boards and, more importantly, who you choose to spend your time with in life.
I sometimes read the bodybuilding message boards—and I really get a kick out of them. But, I can only take them in small doses—extremely small doses! I'm always amused by how consumed some of the boys and men who post their thoughts and opinions are about who, in THEIR opinion, do and do not use steroids and other drugs to build their physiques.
You may be familiar with the scenario I referring to: Someone's picture will be posted and, if the guy has anything close to a decent amount of muscle or relatively low body fat level, he is immediately branded as a steroid (or other physique-enhancing drug) USER, LIAR, and CHEATER!
If anyone has the balls to believe that the person in the picture has earned that body without the help of drugs, he is immediately and savagely RIDICULED by the masses!
Look, if you want to get the very most out of bodybuilding and training efforts, you need to LIMIT YOUR TIME on the bodybuilding internet message boards! Although these message boards can be very entertaining and gathering there with people who share your interest can sometimes fuel your passion for bodybuilding and training, I believe REGULAR visits will HARM you in the long run.
Why?
The EXPECTATIONS and STANDARDS of the masses are FAR TOO LOW and will eventually negatively affect you in ways you might not even be aware of.
If you are struggling with your bodybuilding and training efforts, you'll begin to believe that your experience is “normal.”
If you are doing an average of job of building your physique, you might become convinced you are doing well.
And, if you have the drive, ability, and genetics to create an outstanding body, you might start believing that you've “maxed out” as to what you can accomplish far too early in the process.
Studies have shown in many social experiments in other areas of life just how powerful and influential “group thinking” can be on a person. It's been said that YOUR expectations, standards, and quality of life are MOLDED and INFLUENCED by the expectations, standards, and quality of life of the FIVE PEOPLE you spend the most time with.
The best thing you can do for yourself is completely avoid group thinking.
If everyone on the bodybuilding message boards was forced to post pictures of their own physiques; the length of time they have accumulated of DEDICATED training (not half-assed teenager habits), and a mental toughness profile (Let's face the facts: Some of us are TALKERS and some of us are DOERS), I'm sure their mere written words would NOT have any influence at all.
Now, I'm not saying everyone can be a champion bodybuilder. But, who cares about that anyway? Wouldn't you be happy if you could pack-on 10 pounds of rock-hard muscle mass and dump 10 pounds of body fat within the next couple of years?
Do you really think you need steroids and other drugs to do that? Really? The 20 pound “swing” would make you look amazing!
That's “do-able,” don't you think?
Those people who succeed with their bodybuilding and training efforts THINK much differently than the masses. They have the tremendous ability to think for themselves; carve out their own direction; create outrageous standards for themselves on their own; and most importantly, work towards those extremely high standards that they've create without being influenced by what other people think of them or their goals.
You want to consciously and wisely CHOOSE who you spend your time with' You want to consciously and wisely CHOOSE whose expectations, standards, and quality of life you expose yourself to.
If you want to become a winner, then you must surround yourself ONLY with winners.
Hello, Men.
It's Skip La Cour with another important message as your strive to MASTER your bodybuilding and training efforts.
This one is about the bodybuilding internet message boards and, more importantly, who you choose to spend your time with in life.
I sometimes read the bodybuilding message boards—and I really get a kick out of them. But, I can only take them in small doses—extremely small doses! I'm always amused by how consumed some of the boys and men who post their thoughts and opinions are about who, in THEIR opinion, do and do not use steroids and other drugs to build their physiques.
You may be familiar with the scenario I referring to: Someone's picture will be posted and, if the guy has anything close to a decent amount of muscle or relatively low body fat level, he is immediately branded as a steroid (or other physique-enhancing drug) USER, LIAR, and CHEATER!
If anyone has the balls to believe that the person in the picture has earned that body without the help of drugs, he is immediately and savagely RIDICULED by the masses!
Look, if you want to get the very most out of bodybuilding and training efforts, you need to LIMIT YOUR TIME on the bodybuilding internet message boards! Although these message boards can be very entertaining and gathering there with people who share your interest can sometimes fuel your passion for bodybuilding and training, I believe REGULAR visits will HARM you in the long run.
Why?
The EXPECTATIONS and STANDARDS of the masses are FAR TOO LOW and will eventually negatively affect you in ways you might not even be aware of.
If you are struggling with your bodybuilding and training efforts, you'll begin to believe that your experience is “normal.”
If you are doing an average of job of building your physique, you might become convinced you are doing well.
And, if you have the drive, ability, and genetics to create an outstanding body, you might start believing that you've “maxed out” as to what you can accomplish far too early in the process.
Studies have shown in many social experiments in other areas of life just how powerful and influential “group thinking” can be on a person. It's been said that YOUR expectations, standards, and quality of life are MOLDED and INFLUENCED by the expectations, standards, and quality of life of the FIVE PEOPLE you spend the most time with.
The best thing you can do for yourself is completely avoid group thinking.
If everyone on the bodybuilding message boards was forced to post pictures of their own physiques; the length of time they have accumulated of DEDICATED training (not half-assed teenager habits), and a mental toughness profile (Let's face the facts: Some of us are TALKERS and some of us are DOERS), I'm sure their mere written words would NOT have any influence at all.
Now, I'm not saying everyone can be a champion bodybuilder. But, who cares about that anyway? Wouldn't you be happy if you could pack-on 10 pounds of rock-hard muscle mass and dump 10 pounds of body fat within the next couple of years?
Do you really think you need steroids and other drugs to do that? Really? The 20 pound “swing” would make you look amazing!
That's “do-able,” don't you think?
Those people who succeed with their bodybuilding and training efforts THINK much differently than the masses. They have the tremendous ability to think for themselves; carve out their own direction; create outrageous standards for themselves on their own; and most importantly, work towards those extremely high standards that they've create without being influenced by what other people think of them or their goals.
You want to consciously and wisely CHOOSE who you spend your time with' You want to consciously and wisely CHOOSE whose expectations, standards, and quality of life you expose yourself to.
If you want to become a winner, then you must surround yourself ONLY with winners.
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Alcohol: Amazing Body DEcompositioning Fuel
Nothing - NOTHING - can make you gain fat and lose muscle faster than alcohol! It is the ultimate body DEcompositioning DRUG!
Alcohol will, without exaggeration, strip muscle faster and greater than CHEMOTHERAPY! Our clients typically lose their most recent 1-3 MONTHS worth of training and diet progress with just 1-4 serves of alcohol! And we''ve seen entire YEARS worth of muscle gain lost in a couple of consecutive ''big weekends''.
We always know when our clients have had a drink because there is NOTHING else they could have done to lose so much muscle AND gain so much fat in a short period. And its the muscle loss thats the giveaway. Cheating on a diet might make you gain fat; but you won't lose muscle. Missing training slows muscle gains; but rarely results in muscle loss. Even a month off training doesn't usually result in significant muscle loss in our clients. One drink does!
The only clients who 'get away with it' are the one who have a glass of wine (or more) every week. They just never get anywhere at all. They stay fat and don't gain strength.
Most trainers have no idea how bad alcohol is because they just never bother to measure themselves; certainly they don't measure actual lean-mass and fat-mass every 7-14 days like we do at Biologic Labs! They train by ''feel'' and change their diet based on their emotional response to what they see in the mirror. 2-3kg of muscle swapped for 2-3kg of fat doesn't show up on the scales (you WEIGH the same; but your composition is totally different) nor does it look THAT significant in the mirror (you look fatter but you haven't altered your entire shape). But it takes a hell of a lot of work to build and not a lot of booze to lose!
The fact that alcohol is a DRUG is the fact that seems to escape most people. They think the calories and sugars are the issue when drugs like alcohol work at a higher level! Calories have nothing to do with it! Amphetamines don''t cause weight loss because they''re low in calories! You lose weight because amphetamines are DRUGS. They are a drug like alcohol!
Generally, upon finding out the fat gain and muscle loss of a few drinks clients will give a limp, impotent whine of "thats just not possible". Its the same whimper you hear when a person receives their credit card statement after an overseas holiday! But, like a credit card statement, how you feel about it really doesnt enter the equation. It is what it is! You''ve done what you''ve done! The only difference is, Biologic Labs seems to be the only place people get a Statement of Body Composition change!
JUST one glass of alcohol can''t be THAT bad in the same way as just one cyanide capsule or just one drop of AIDS infected blood ''can''t be THAT bad''. Uh... it CAN!!! Just because you could tolerate much more doesn''t mean nothing is going on inside you! Similarly, getting hit by just one car or one bullet IS a lot better than getting hit by 10. But you''d still be better off not being hit altogether!
But what about the positive, healthy effects of alcohol? Lets get real here: NOBODY drinks alcohol because they''re after a health benefit! If you want healthy anti-oxidants, eat some broccoli! Unlike Alcohol, Broccoli doesn't cost Australia $15 BILLION per year in health damages and 51% of broccoli consumption isn't at levels that risk short-term harm! You want Resveratrol? Get some grapeseed extract!
Unfortunately we live in a totally alcoholic society! If you want proof, just look at the recent push for the "10-day challenge": that is, 10 days without alcohol. Most people laugh about what a genuine struggle it is for them. But if someone told you they couldn''t go without a hit of heroin for 10 days, you''d call them a junkie! Australians are shocking alcoholics! So just like crack-heads in a crack-house think crack cocaine is ''normal'', so too Australians think alcohol is OK! But like crack, Alcohol is NOT OK for you!
So lets be clear: in a week of eating as badly as you possibly could, you won''t be able to deposit the fat you can gain in just one night with alcohol! And in a week of chemotherapy or high dose cortisone, you couldn''t lose the muscle you can in just one night with alcohol.
If you drink regularly you won''t continually lose muscle and gain fat, obviously. But you will be the fattest, weakest, muscleless version of yourself you could be. All your exercise and diet will just be fighting a losing battle against the fat-steroids you insist on drinking!
Scream what you want about ''lifestyle'' and being ''social''; justify your alcoholism to yourself anyway you want! But drinking alcohol is still drugging yourself FAT! I''m not judging it. I''m just reporting it. Alcohol is YOUR choice!
Alcohol will, without exaggeration, strip muscle faster and greater than CHEMOTHERAPY! Our clients typically lose their most recent 1-3 MONTHS worth of training and diet progress with just 1-4 serves of alcohol! And we''ve seen entire YEARS worth of muscle gain lost in a couple of consecutive ''big weekends''.
We always know when our clients have had a drink because there is NOTHING else they could have done to lose so much muscle AND gain so much fat in a short period. And its the muscle loss thats the giveaway. Cheating on a diet might make you gain fat; but you won't lose muscle. Missing training slows muscle gains; but rarely results in muscle loss. Even a month off training doesn't usually result in significant muscle loss in our clients. One drink does!
The only clients who 'get away with it' are the one who have a glass of wine (or more) every week. They just never get anywhere at all. They stay fat and don't gain strength.
Most trainers have no idea how bad alcohol is because they just never bother to measure themselves; certainly they don't measure actual lean-mass and fat-mass every 7-14 days like we do at Biologic Labs! They train by ''feel'' and change their diet based on their emotional response to what they see in the mirror. 2-3kg of muscle swapped for 2-3kg of fat doesn't show up on the scales (you WEIGH the same; but your composition is totally different) nor does it look THAT significant in the mirror (you look fatter but you haven't altered your entire shape). But it takes a hell of a lot of work to build and not a lot of booze to lose!
The fact that alcohol is a DRUG is the fact that seems to escape most people. They think the calories and sugars are the issue when drugs like alcohol work at a higher level! Calories have nothing to do with it! Amphetamines don''t cause weight loss because they''re low in calories! You lose weight because amphetamines are DRUGS. They are a drug like alcohol!
Generally, upon finding out the fat gain and muscle loss of a few drinks clients will give a limp, impotent whine of "thats just not possible". Its the same whimper you hear when a person receives their credit card statement after an overseas holiday! But, like a credit card statement, how you feel about it really doesnt enter the equation. It is what it is! You''ve done what you''ve done! The only difference is, Biologic Labs seems to be the only place people get a Statement of Body Composition change!
JUST one glass of alcohol can''t be THAT bad in the same way as just one cyanide capsule or just one drop of AIDS infected blood ''can''t be THAT bad''. Uh... it CAN!!! Just because you could tolerate much more doesn''t mean nothing is going on inside you! Similarly, getting hit by just one car or one bullet IS a lot better than getting hit by 10. But you''d still be better off not being hit altogether!
But what about the positive, healthy effects of alcohol? Lets get real here: NOBODY drinks alcohol because they''re after a health benefit! If you want healthy anti-oxidants, eat some broccoli! Unlike Alcohol, Broccoli doesn't cost Australia $15 BILLION per year in health damages and 51% of broccoli consumption isn't at levels that risk short-term harm! You want Resveratrol? Get some grapeseed extract!
Unfortunately we live in a totally alcoholic society! If you want proof, just look at the recent push for the "10-day challenge": that is, 10 days without alcohol. Most people laugh about what a genuine struggle it is for them. But if someone told you they couldn''t go without a hit of heroin for 10 days, you''d call them a junkie! Australians are shocking alcoholics! So just like crack-heads in a crack-house think crack cocaine is ''normal'', so too Australians think alcohol is OK! But like crack, Alcohol is NOT OK for you!
So lets be clear: in a week of eating as badly as you possibly could, you won''t be able to deposit the fat you can gain in just one night with alcohol! And in a week of chemotherapy or high dose cortisone, you couldn''t lose the muscle you can in just one night with alcohol.
If you drink regularly you won''t continually lose muscle and gain fat, obviously. But you will be the fattest, weakest, muscleless version of yourself you could be. All your exercise and diet will just be fighting a losing battle against the fat-steroids you insist on drinking!
Scream what you want about ''lifestyle'' and being ''social''; justify your alcoholism to yourself anyway you want! But drinking alcohol is still drugging yourself FAT! I''m not judging it. I''m just reporting it. Alcohol is YOUR choice!
Saturday 18 July 2009
BCAA BS
BCAA's - or 'Branch Chain Amino Acids' - are the hot-ticket supplement of the moment. Apparently you need your BCAA's post-workout for 'recovery' and 'anti-catabolism' and blah blah blah. Basically BCAA's do all the usual ambiguous rubbish supplement peddlers always claim.
The funny thing about BCAA's and Glutamine is that their popularity in natural bodybuilders has been stolen from the most hardcore of hardcore drug-abusing bodybuilders! A certain well-known 'nutritionist' to the pro-bodybuilders revitalised the popularity of post-workout, high-dose amino-acids in concert with high dose INSULIN, IGF and PGF. The Naturals ignored the small matter of injecting Insulin, GH, Testosterone, IGF and PGF, but stuck with the aminos; like the amino acids are the relevant factor in the equation! (uh, they aren't)!
The main point everyone seems to ignore is that BCAA's make up about 25% of virtually every complete protein (eggs, animals and protein powders etc). The smallest Biologic Labs client has at least 150g of complete protein per day; or 150,000mg of amino acids in supplement-marketing speak. Our larger guys top out over 500g - sorry, 500,000mg - of protein (amino acids) per day! Which means our clients have 37,500 - 125,000mg/day of BCAA's from FOOD. Hows that for a concept? Nutrition coming from FOOD!
Adding 5,000-10,000mg of BCAA's couldnt be a bigger waste of time, money or effort! Either you are getting PLENTY of BCAA's or your diet is so woefully inadequate that that you aren't going to be growing any muscle anyway!
The funny thing about BCAA's and Glutamine is that their popularity in natural bodybuilders has been stolen from the most hardcore of hardcore drug-abusing bodybuilders! A certain well-known 'nutritionist' to the pro-bodybuilders revitalised the popularity of post-workout, high-dose amino-acids in concert with high dose INSULIN, IGF and PGF. The Naturals ignored the small matter of injecting Insulin, GH, Testosterone, IGF and PGF, but stuck with the aminos; like the amino acids are the relevant factor in the equation! (uh, they aren't)!
The main point everyone seems to ignore is that BCAA's make up about 25% of virtually every complete protein (eggs, animals and protein powders etc). The smallest Biologic Labs client has at least 150g of complete protein per day; or 150,000mg of amino acids in supplement-marketing speak. Our larger guys top out over 500g - sorry, 500,000mg - of protein (amino acids) per day! Which means our clients have 37,500 - 125,000mg/day of BCAA's from FOOD. Hows that for a concept? Nutrition coming from FOOD!
Adding 5,000-10,000mg of BCAA's couldnt be a bigger waste of time, money or effort! Either you are getting PLENTY of BCAA's or your diet is so woefully inadequate that that you aren't going to be growing any muscle anyway!
Wednesday 1 July 2009
Tragic Testosterone; Happy Ending
Since Biologic Labs started offering Hormone Balancing services, I've noticed that LESS THAN 10% OF MALES HAVE HAD TESTOSTERONE ABOVE THE BOTTOM OF THE 'NORMAL' RANGE!!! (ie 'normal' range is 11 to 40; 90% of male patients were between 8 and 11)!
Worse still, I've only seen 1 client with IGF levels (the reference for Growth Hormone (GH) production) close to the middle of the range. Everyone else has been at the very, very bottom of the range! (note: range varies according to age)
Even more interesting is that virtually all of these low-testosterone men aren't what you might expect. They aren't meek and weak. Virtually all of them are very successful in their careers, have great relationships with their partners, are intelligent, motivated and otherwise healthy. And most are getting excellent results - or have achieved quite exceptional results - in training, fat loss and muscle growth. If anything, they prove that hard weight-training and intelligently structured nutrition are far more important for developing a lean, muscular physique than taking supplements/drugs and/or whingeing about your "genetic" limitations!
The problems we see with moderately low testosterone (ie 8-13) are:
HEAVY distribution of fat around the belly
very slow fat loss below 15% bodyfat
very slow muscle/strength gain above a 180kg deadlift
slow recovery from training and often severe muscle soreness (DOMS)
bodyfat that will not shift below 12%, irrespective of training and diet, without muscle loss
inability to grow muscle beyond a 200-220kg deadlift without also gaining fat
joint and muscle pains/injuries are common and take a long time to heal
massive muscle loss and fat gain during periods of relative stress
VERY sensitive to carbohydrate intake (fat gain and lethargy with minimal dietary carb % increases)
With low LOW testosterone (ie 3-8) we see a compounding of the above factors/symtoms plus the expected complaints of non-existant libido, lethargy, depression etc etc.
Now, to most people, none of this will seem very bad. A 220kg deadlift and 12% bodyfat adds up to a respectable physique! And drinking alcohol - in moderation, even once per week - is FAR worse than low testosterone in terms of making 12% fat and a 220kg all but an impossibility! And a properly healthy body with NORMAL testosterone is happier, healthier and capable of doing far more, far more easily, without the injuries, pain and reduced quality of life that low testosterone causes. Not to mention, low testosterone WILL lead to a gradual decrease in every aspect of your health over time.
By medically 'supplementing' Testosterone into the middle of the normal range (22-30), all users find the above symptoms disappear within 2 weeks. Fat comes off the belly without any additional effort or change in program or diet. Strength gains accelerate upwards, muscle mass replaces fat, joint/muscle pains disappear, libido and sexual function restore, depression disappears etc etc. GH added to the plan improves the fat loss still further. And at the end of a 'course', the body is left in a stronger, healthier state than previously. A state that can then be maintained even with the original low testosterone.
If you want to know more or are interested in how you fare, please contact me at Biologic Labs. The blood test is 100% covered by Medicare and a comprehensive consultation with our Doctor is just $80 (after a $60 Medicare rebate).
Worse still, I've only seen 1 client with IGF levels (the reference for Growth Hormone (GH) production) close to the middle of the range. Everyone else has been at the very, very bottom of the range! (note: range varies according to age)
Even more interesting is that virtually all of these low-testosterone men aren't what you might expect. They aren't meek and weak. Virtually all of them are very successful in their careers, have great relationships with their partners, are intelligent, motivated and otherwise healthy. And most are getting excellent results - or have achieved quite exceptional results - in training, fat loss and muscle growth. If anything, they prove that hard weight-training and intelligently structured nutrition are far more important for developing a lean, muscular physique than taking supplements/drugs and/or whingeing about your "genetic" limitations!
The problems we see with moderately low testosterone (ie 8-13) are:
With low LOW testosterone (ie 3-8) we see a compounding of the above factors/symtoms plus the expected complaints of non-existant libido, lethargy, depression etc etc.
Now, to most people, none of this will seem very bad. A 220kg deadlift and 12% bodyfat adds up to a respectable physique! And drinking alcohol - in moderation, even once per week - is FAR worse than low testosterone in terms of making 12% fat and a 220kg all but an impossibility! And a properly healthy body with NORMAL testosterone is happier, healthier and capable of doing far more, far more easily, without the injuries, pain and reduced quality of life that low testosterone causes. Not to mention, low testosterone WILL lead to a gradual decrease in every aspect of your health over time.
By medically 'supplementing' Testosterone into the middle of the normal range (22-30), all users find the above symptoms disappear within 2 weeks. Fat comes off the belly without any additional effort or change in program or diet. Strength gains accelerate upwards, muscle mass replaces fat, joint/muscle pains disappear, libido and sexual function restore, depression disappears etc etc. GH added to the plan improves the fat loss still further. And at the end of a 'course', the body is left in a stronger, healthier state than previously. A state that can then be maintained even with the original low testosterone.
If you want to know more or are interested in how you fare, please contact me at Biologic Labs. The blood test is 100% covered by Medicare and a comprehensive consultation with our Doctor is just $80 (after a $60 Medicare rebate).
Tuesday 23 June 2009
'Huge' stupidity risks going Supernova!
Why is it that so many people going to the gym fear that they are going to INSTANTLY go from being fat, useless, unathletic slobs to HUGE World Champion Bodybuilders?
No other activity invokes such an utterly absurd expectation of overachievement. Nobody getting driving lessons fears they might become an F1 champion. Nobody opening a bank account demands assurance that they won't become richer than Warren Buffet. Nobody buying a spatula worries they will become a foul mouthed chef with several successful cooking shows on TV.
So what is it about weight training that useless, undisciplined people think they might ACCIDENTALLY outperform passionate, driven people who devote their lives to excellence?
And why is it that the MORE fat, useless and unathletic a person is, the more they believe they have this awful mutant Bodybuilder gene? Successful bodybuilders mostly looked like bodybuilders before they even started training. Yet its the fattest, laziest, most non-bodybuilder-esque people who are the most scared of coming to look like a bodybuilder. Its as though the less proof they have that they will ever have a remotely attractive body, the more they think they will accidentally become an awe-inspiring specimen of human muscularity!
The notion is so offensively moronic when you consider that no other activity in the world requires such 24/7, 365 days-per-year attention as bodybuilding! Building a body to the limits of human potential requires discipline beyond 'turning up' to the gym; it requires an everyday, all-day obsession with performance nutrition and an intensity of effort in the gym that is hardly seen anywhere. And lets not forget that the very best bodies are mostly loaded with illegal drugs too! None of this is any secret.
Which begs the question: why on earth do fat, lazy, alcoholic, slobs think they might ACCIDENTALLY do better at bodybuilding/sculpting than committed trainers? Do they have any idea how arrogant and offensive that question is? Its like a high school dropout telling an engineer he could build a better bridge because he owns a photo-album of bridges!
So, if you know a person who doesn't train because they don't want to get huge: slap them. HARD! If you know someone who doesn't increase the weights they lift when they train because they don't want to get 'too huge': slap them. HARD! If you are someone who worries that you might become too muscularly huge: slap yourself: HARD! REPEATEDLY! Any person who thinks they might become too huge should be more worried about their monolithic stupidity going supernova and destroying the universe. You WON'T accidentally get huge from lifting as much as you possibly can!
No other activity invokes such an utterly absurd expectation of overachievement. Nobody getting driving lessons fears they might become an F1 champion. Nobody opening a bank account demands assurance that they won't become richer than Warren Buffet. Nobody buying a spatula worries they will become a foul mouthed chef with several successful cooking shows on TV.
So what is it about weight training that useless, undisciplined people think they might ACCIDENTALLY outperform passionate, driven people who devote their lives to excellence?
And why is it that the MORE fat, useless and unathletic a person is, the more they believe they have this awful mutant Bodybuilder gene? Successful bodybuilders mostly looked like bodybuilders before they even started training. Yet its the fattest, laziest, most non-bodybuilder-esque people who are the most scared of coming to look like a bodybuilder. Its as though the less proof they have that they will ever have a remotely attractive body, the more they think they will accidentally become an awe-inspiring specimen of human muscularity!
The notion is so offensively moronic when you consider that no other activity in the world requires such 24/7, 365 days-per-year attention as bodybuilding! Building a body to the limits of human potential requires discipline beyond 'turning up' to the gym; it requires an everyday, all-day obsession with performance nutrition and an intensity of effort in the gym that is hardly seen anywhere. And lets not forget that the very best bodies are mostly loaded with illegal drugs too! None of this is any secret.
Which begs the question: why on earth do fat, lazy, alcoholic, slobs think they might ACCIDENTALLY do better at bodybuilding/sculpting than committed trainers? Do they have any idea how arrogant and offensive that question is? Its like a high school dropout telling an engineer he could build a better bridge because he owns a photo-album of bridges!
So, if you know a person who doesn't train because they don't want to get huge: slap them. HARD! If you know someone who doesn't increase the weights they lift when they train because they don't want to get 'too huge': slap them. HARD! If you are someone who worries that you might become too muscularly huge: slap yourself: HARD! REPEATEDLY! Any person who thinks they might become too huge should be more worried about their monolithic stupidity going supernova and destroying the universe. You WON'T accidentally get huge from lifting as much as you possibly can!
Thursday 4 June 2009
Swiss Ball Stupidity
I just received this picture of a guy busting his ass to push out a 60kg squat on a swiss ball! Its a pretty impressive feat. But what I find more striking is just how un-lean and un-muscled both the squatter and his trainer are!
Developing the ability to squat 60kg on a Swiss Ball would take quite some time and effort - probably more time and effort than developing a nicely lean and muscular body by doing real squats. And for all of that time and effort taken to squat on a swiss ball, you'd still find that you couldn't actually do a normal squat with anything approaching a heavy weight! You would have neither the core strength nor the leg and back strength to do it! Nor would you have any sort of athletic looking physique to show for all your effort.
Which begs the question: why on earth would anyone waste their time???
I do squats to build my leg muscles. I have a squatted a validated 300kg, well below parallel, in competition. And I have the reasonably muscular legs to show for it.
I can't balance on a ball. And I don't care! The reason I can't balance on a ball is not that I have a weak 'core'. My 300kg squat gives me a stronger 'core', and legs, and back than any idiot who can balance on a ball! I can't balance on a ball simply because I haven't practiced balancing on a ball!!! Its a skill I just don't see the need for; especially when it doesn't help my physique in any way, shape or form!
The best way to build your squat is: do squats! If you need to build your leg strength: do squats! If you want a the best physique you can possibly have: do squats! If your 'core strength' happens to be the limiting factor on your squat: do squats!
The only time you should EVER do squats on a ball is when, for some reason, you need the ability to squat on a ball! Like, if you want to join the elephants at the circus. Otherwise, like the t-shirt says: shut up and squat!
Thursday 16 April 2009
Eat Normal to be Normal... and Die!
The majority of people who come to Biologic Labs are 'normal' people following 'normal' diets.
By 'normal', obviously, I mean that they are fat. SERIOUSLY fat! Walking-disease-factory FAT! What? You think thats harsh? Here are the stats:
Almost 2/3rds of Australians were overweight or obese in 2000 and its predicted to be 75% by 2020 (source: AIHW). 'Normal' or 'average', statistically, means FAT and getting FATTER! NON-overweight people are now a minority group!!!
1/2 of all Aussie men will die of heart disease and 1/3rd of Aussie women. Heart disease is the leading cause of death and a function of poor nutrition and inactivity; ie a 'normal' lifestyle and 'normal' eating (source: AIHW).
Diabetes is a disease where the body can no longer metabolise carbohydrates properly. Its a dietary disease! 15% of Australians (3.1M) are estimated to now have diabetes or pre-diabetes and thats expected to DOUBLE in the next 20years (source: Diabetes Australia)
Cancer is the 2nd biggest killer in Aus. The International Agency Research in Cancer says: “....80-90% of human cancer is determined environmentally & therefore avoidable”. That is: cancer is effectively a 'normal' lifestyle disease.
The reason so many people are fat, dying of heart disease, cancer and diabetes is because of their diet. Nobody got fat without food! And given that the greater majority of our society - 'normal' people - are fat or obese, clearly it is 'normal' eating that makes you FAT and diseased!
Biologic Labs produce very specific diets (specific quantities of specific foods to eat every meal, everyday) to achieve specific outcomes. EVERYBODY who follows our diets gains muscle and typically loses fat at the same time (when that is the objective and assuming they follow our workout plans as intended too).
Yet, after using our diets to fix their fat, diseased bodies, many of our clients yearn to return to 'normal' eating. They long for the temporarily-soothing taste of the malnourishing foods that made them fat and diseased before. Like any crack addict they get giddy with excitement over the prospect of destroying months worth of their hard work for a few hours of inebriation. If nutritious food could be likened to perfect, generous, loving parents, then some clients are like recalcitrant teens on their way to a criminal record: they just can't wait to 'flip the bird' at those who raised them and run off to ruin their lives!
And just like crack addicts and rebelling teens, people who eat 'normal' are eventually going to find themselves in a very nasty state in hospital... or the morgue!
But obviously, my attitude to this isnt 'normal'. And yet, strangely, the only sense of emptiness I feel about not being 'normal' is that space where my fat belly probably should be... and maybe that space where the cancer and clogged arteries should be. But I can live with that!
By 'normal', obviously, I mean that they are fat. SERIOUSLY fat! Walking-disease-factory FAT! What? You think thats harsh? Here are the stats:
The reason so many people are fat, dying of heart disease, cancer and diabetes is because of their diet. Nobody got fat without food! And given that the greater majority of our society - 'normal' people - are fat or obese, clearly it is 'normal' eating that makes you FAT and diseased!
Biologic Labs produce very specific diets (specific quantities of specific foods to eat every meal, everyday) to achieve specific outcomes. EVERYBODY who follows our diets gains muscle and typically loses fat at the same time (when that is the objective and assuming they follow our workout plans as intended too).
Yet, after using our diets to fix their fat, diseased bodies, many of our clients yearn to return to 'normal' eating. They long for the temporarily-soothing taste of the malnourishing foods that made them fat and diseased before. Like any crack addict they get giddy with excitement over the prospect of destroying months worth of their hard work for a few hours of inebriation. If nutritious food could be likened to perfect, generous, loving parents, then some clients are like recalcitrant teens on their way to a criminal record: they just can't wait to 'flip the bird' at those who raised them and run off to ruin their lives!
And just like crack addicts and rebelling teens, people who eat 'normal' are eventually going to find themselves in a very nasty state in hospital... or the morgue!
But obviously, my attitude to this isnt 'normal'. And yet, strangely, the only sense of emptiness I feel about not being 'normal' is that space where my fat belly probably should be... and maybe that space where the cancer and clogged arteries should be. But I can live with that!
Tuesday 7 April 2009
Proof Red Meat KILLS!!!
According to a study in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, Red Meat may make you die!
And this was a HUGE study: half a million 50-71 year olds around the USA! So you know its conclusive: red meat is poisonous, cancer-growing, genocidal evilness that must be BANNED!!!
And don't think you can get away with ANY kind of red meat. Because the study grouped all types of red meat into one equal group. So you thought that protein rich, no-fat, grilled kangaroo fillet was a healthy choice? WRONG! Its RED! Its a killer! It is, according to the study, EXACTLY the same as pork, bacon, meatlovers pizza, hotdogs and burgers!
Thats how arrogant and stupid you are! You thought a 250g, lean fillet of organic meat was somehow different to an American, 8-foot, Jumbo Bacon Pizza with triple cheese, and so much preservative even locusts couldnt eat it? You idiot. Now you're gonna die!
And its finally proven by these genius scientists; they've got conclusive proof that a steak will kill you! Because, clearly, all people who eat red meat don't discriminate between Premium Eye Fillet and pizza, hotdogs, burgers, bacon and roast pork. We just face-slam all of it just like the aging Americans we all want to be. But that would be missing the point. See Pizza and burgers and hotdogs are fine... except for the red meat parts!
Scientists keep reminding us that there is no proof that the American diet of a million calories per day of plastic-coated-sugar will kill you. But they have just discovered the red meat inside your deep-fried sugar roll will!
Monday 6 April 2009
Cholesterol Confusion
The message is crystal clear: cholesterol is evil stuff that will kill you... well, the "bad" cholesterol will kill you... or at least, eating cholesterol will kill you... well, not really; but maybe; but more specifically fat will raise your "bad" cholesterol and kill you... or at least eating "bad" fats will raise your "bad" cholesterol and kill you... but you still shouldn't eat cholesterol... not that it matters... but you shouldn't 'cos its just bad... unless you eat "good" fats... or green, leafy veggies which raise your good cholesterol which makes you live... or something like that. OK, the message isnt really clear at all.
Well, if you were confused before, it gets worse than that.
First up, cholesterol is cholesterol. There are no good or bad versions. There is just cholesterol.
The job of cholesterol is, in ridiculously oversimplified terms, to hold together every cell in the body of every mammal. It does other stuff too - repairs cells, forms into hormones etc. But the cell integrity thing is the big one. So rather than being a purely bad, evil thing, its kinda, like, well, actually a bit important. At least, it is important if, for example, things like LIVING are important to you.
Now, because cholesterol is kinda critical to the structure and function of every cell in your body, sometimes when your body is broken it tends to produce more cholesterol to repair the broken bits. Now, dumb as I am, this even makes sense to me: body makes more of the stuff that fixes cells when cells are broken. That would explain why after the age of 65, life expectancy is PROPORTIONAL to cholesterol levels.
Understanding this you wouldn't then be surprised to find that often when doctors examine sick people they see more cholesterol in their blood; especially in people who stuff themselves senseless with non-nutritious food while living a life that ensures their muscular systems don't actually need any food. Of course, doctors decided to see it the other way: sick = cholesterol therefore cholesterol = sick therefore get rid of the cholesterol and you get rid of the sickness. Not unsurprisingly, this strategy hasnt worked at all: cholesterol lowering medications have failed to avert death by comparison to not taking the medication!
Interestingly, new research has found that muscle growth occurs in proportion to a weight-trainers cholesterol levels and/or intake. Makes sense: more repair stuff = more muscle growth!
As to the good and bad 'stuff' they keep referring to, thats not the cholesterol at all. Rather the good and bad stuff is referring to 'lipoproteins' that carry both cholesterol and fat through your blood. There are VERY basically 2 'types' of these carrier proteins (called lipoproteins): High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL). The general rule of thumb is that HDL (so-called "good") carries fat and cholesterol OUT of the tissues for breakdown and excretion. The LDL (so-called "bad") carries fat and cholesterol INTO the tissues.
So as you'd expect, getting fat - which tends to result from too much crap food and regular alcohol - tends to also result in more LDL (to carry all that fat and crap INTO tissues) and, sometimes, less HDL (no need to carry fat out of the tissues when there is already plenty floating around)! But the issue here is that you are getting SICK! You are killing yourself! No wonder you have more cholesterol; your body is trying to repair the damage you are doing!
Getting lean will probably reverse all the get-fat behaviour; UNLESS you get lean by abusing your body with over-exercising and malnutrition! Remember, cholesterol is the bodies major 'fix it' stuff. So you might actually produce MORE cholesterol when you try to kill yourself with a retarded diet - eg you mostly starve except for the occasional hit of high-carb, low-nutrition, conveniently packaged supermarket plastic food (including the stuff supermarkets try to pass off as 'fruit' and 'veggies'). People would do well to realise that 'Weight-loss' isn't synonymous with 'healthy'. Thats why weight-loss also happens to most dying people!
The point is that having high cholesterol is a sign that something is probably wrong. But the PROBLEM isnt the cholesterol! Lowering your cholesterol is like unplugging the temperature gauge in your car when it says the engine is overheating: the engine is still going to blow up!
Friday 6 March 2009
THE EVOLUTION OF GYMS
Years ago we had gyms; a place people went to ‘work out’. But that was when ‘working out’ was more about the ‘working’ and less about the going ‘out’.
Gyms were then watered down into ‘Fitness Centres’ in an attempt to appeal to a more mainstream audience. Seems that the majority of civilians feel that ‘training’ for a good body is too hard and too intimidating. ‘Fitness Centres’ mislead people with the deception that fluffing around with light weights would lead to the invisible, ambiguous result that is ‘fitness’.
As the ‘Fitness Industry’ intensified its milking of civilian wallets it realised that ‘Fitness’ was still too loftier an expectation for most people. So ‘Wellness Centres’ were born: a place to go when even ‘health’ is beyond you. A place where any able-bodied person can engage in all the useless rehabilitation a LOT of money can buy. From Pilates to swiss-balls to Yoga to strolling in the park with your ‘Personal Trainer’; if it’s normally prescribed to cripples, you can buy it for a premium at a ‘Wellness Centre’.
And that’s where we are at. It is almost impossible to find a decent gym these days. If the equipment isn’t completely inadequate the staff will harass you into being too uncomfortable to train properly anyway. If you are female then the abuse and bigotry is voracious (you’re supposed to be in the aerobics room, doncha-know)! And WATCH OUT if you try Deadlifting! Every douche-bag in the building suddenly becomes a extroverted pop-chiropractic expert with a deep concern for your spinal safety.
So what do you do? Unfortunately, you suffer in your jocks! It is what it is and the only places making enough money to survive are the big, mainstream chains. Hopefully one day, someone will realise that its futile trying to compete against the big chains for the mainstream public who don’t want to use a gym anyway. And that same person might realise that a properly-done, niche gym for people who actually WANT to train would be a very viable business. Don’t hold your breath though.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Gyms should be like a prison shower: friendly is fine; but you really just want everyone to leave you alone so you can do your thing and leave. And if there is an instructor around then, like the prison shower, a big cock that leaves you alone is infinitely preferable to a skinny one that keeps popping up where he’s not wanted!
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