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!
Tuesday 28 July 2009
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).
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