Meth-X : Superior Muscle Regeneration Complex

A Free and Indepth Report On Creatine’s Usage in Sports , Health and Anti Aging.

In this report you will learn: what creatine is and how it works, and what it may do for you. This excellent free report exposes the facts and fiction of creatine, and details it’s effects on the brain, heart, the body’s production of growth hormone, anti-aging effects, fatigue, muscle atrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and much more!

You’ll also learn how to use creatine properly, as well as topics such as purity, safety, and loading are fully explained… And of course, as with all Will Brink’s writing, it’s based on the actual studies with creatine and backed up with scientific references, not conjecture and pseudo science many self proclaimed “experts” rely on.

Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed [BBR], consists of the BBR 630 page e-book, a number of high quality bonuses and 12 months access to the private members area that accompanies the e-book.

The BRR E-book.

At the heart of the BBR system is the BBR e-book. Some 630 pages of quality information that forms a unique and powerful bodybuilding system. The e-book is split up into 5 components which are each covered in depth and allow the user to follow a clear blue print to achieve the lean mass results they are looking for.

The 5 components of the e-book are:

• Nutrition and Muscle Building Diet.
  

• Supplement Reviews & Advice (Over 50 reviews are included).
  

• Training - From beginner to Advanced.
  

• Cardio / HIIT
  

• Motivation and the Mental Edge.
  

The BBR Bonus Material

With the BBR system customers receive 5 additional reports.

The 5 Reports are:

• Individualization Of Mass Gaining Principles by Charles Poliquin B.Sc M. Sc.




• DOMS : Misconceptions of Muscle Soreness by Evan Peck MD




• Periodization: Overcoming Training Plateaus by Evan Peck MD




• Weight Training Injuries : How to Avoid & Treat Them by Evan Peck MD




• Hybrid Training Solutions by Will Brink.
  
  

The BRR Private Members Area

In addition to the quality bonus material BBR customers receive, a large part of the value a customer receives when purchasing BBR is the 12 months access to the BBR private members area.

In the BBR members area, customers have access to a vast number of high quality tools:

Some of these tools include:

• 1 on 1 on access to Will Brink and paid, trained coaches.
  
• A highly organized and moderated private forum.
  
• An online Diet Planner which amongst other functionality, allows users to store their diets, create recipes, view their progress, tally macro nutrients, create meals, provide a visual graph of LBM gained and fat lost, and log every single piece of food the eat with real time analysis. In general keep a tight grip on their muscle building diet.
  
• Exercise Videos: Customers can watch all the exercises from the training section with online videos.
  
• Nutrition Database, allows customers to find out the protein, fat, carb and other values of over 20,000 foods, these can then be implemented as custom foods into the Diet Planner.
  
• Gallery, users can upload photos and get feedback from others.
  
• Pre Made Diets and Workout Charts, customers can download dozens of pre made diets in Excel/PDF format, as well as printable workout charts for all the workouts in the e-book (including charts for Charles Poliquin’s section)
  
• Daily motivation quotes and a weekly bodybuilding video are shown.
  
• Users can chat in real time with the popular chat box.
  
• Resources, such as body fat % calculators, 1 rep max calculator are all included.
  
• Guru Articles, a section with exclusive content from authors such as Will Brink, Tom Venuto, Charles Staley, Milos, John Berardi and others.

“Bodybuilding Revealed” Rating

Click Here For Further Information

“I want to build muscle faster”

This is the main goal of my readers for sure. Probably your training experience is bigger than the usual 2-3 months (My intention is adding an online poll to take a clear picture about my readers profile) Anyway, you already know that muscle growth can be a painfully slow process. High intensity weight training 3-4 times per week, properly eat high quality foods and rest adequately, and still you look the same in the mirror. 99% of my readers are in the same situation.

If your goal is stepping on the scales a few short weeks from now with a lot more muscle than you have today, there are two powerful nutrients proven to deliver the results you’re looking for. Their properties to build muscle have been revealed in an exciting study published in the scientific journal Nutrition (volume 17, pages 558-566). Before I show you the results, here’s some vital background info you should know…

Creatine has been a great hit in the gyms. It is probably one of the most effective and most used nutrients available, there are literally hundreds of studies to show that creatine will help you build muscle quicker; get stronger and give your muscles a fuller, more “pumped” look. When you combine it with HMB, a compound found naturally in meat (though you’ll need to eat around six pounds of meat every day to get enough) the results are really more impressive.

HMB is a very powerful anti-catabolic ingredient. What does this mean? Your muscles grow by a circular process of synthesising and breaking down proteins. If you want bigger, stronger muscles, you need to alter this cycle. That means either speeding up synthesis (anabolism) and/or slowing the rate of breakdown (catabolism). Muscle growth is the balance between the amount of protein your body makes and the amount it breaks down. Creatine is highly anabolic, while HMB is a powerful anti-catabolic. That’s why HMB and creatine are the perfect combination for anyone who wants to pack on muscle without gaining fat.

The theory sounds great, doesn’t it? But does it work in practice? The answer is a resounding “yes!” Researchers from Poland’s Institute of Sport and Physical Education have put the creatine/HMB combo to the test. Their exciting results show that creatine and HMB work better together than either nutrient taken alone.

Subjects using HMB, for example, were able to lift a total of 86 pounds more weight (above the placebo group) at the end of the three-week study than they could at the start. Gains were similar (83 pounds) in the group using creatine. However, participants using both creatine and HMB were able to lift a whopping 114 pounds more (above the placebo group) than they could at the start of the study. In other words, the combination of creatine and HMB is over 30% more powerful than HMB alone at increasing strength.

What’s more, not only did test subjects using HMB and creatine get stronger faster, they also found it easier to gain muscle. Participants in the creatine group, for example, gained 2 pounds of lean muscle. However, those using creatine and HMB gained an impressive 3.4 pounds of lean muscle. In fact, the group using creatine and HMB gained three times more muscle than those using HMB alone.

If you want to expand your knowledge about these 2 amazing compounds just lead you to the journal Nutrition (volume 17, pages 558-566 – available from the British Library). But, if you want start right now to immediately pack on muscle, and you want to try the combination of creatine and HMB for yourself, one of the best ways is Nutrabolics Gach with an all-in-one formula, such as, in the precise amounts needed for rapid results.

Back when I was in college, caffeine was by far the most-used performance-enhancing drug. The locker room buzz claimed that it not only made exertion feel easier but also helped ease the aches and pains athletes get after competition. All these years later, a new study indicates that the guys were on to something not yet known by doctors.

Researchers from the University of Georgia recently discovered that caffeine in a dose equivalent to two cups of coffee can cut post-gym muscle pain. Their findings - published in The Journal of Pain - showed that caffeine lowered pain by as much as 48 percent. Caffeine actually proved more effective than the common pain relievers naproxen (Aleve), aspirin, and ibuprofen (Advil).

I’m not telling you to down cup after cup of coffee after a workout. Always use caffeine in moderation. Too much can produce side effects like jitteriness or even heart palpitations. And keep in mind that the University of Georgia study also found that those who drank coffee regularly didn’t get as much pain relief as those who rarely had caffeinated drinks.

If you don’t tolerate caffeine well, here’s an alternative for you - without side effects or the risk of addiction: ribose. Taken before working out, this simple sugar reduces or prevents exercise-induced muscle cramping and soreness.

I recommend a dose of two to five grams of Ribose Powder. Just dissolve the pleasant-tasting powder in water. It has worked wonders for both my training partners and me. You can find it at your local nutrition store.

If you are trying to build more muscle mass taking the proper amounts of high quality protein is as important as any barbell or training partner. Remember that anabolism process follow these
steps

1. Muscular stimulation due high intensity training.
2. Proper nutrition supplying right amounts of quality nutrients.
3. Adequate rest time.

Notice that you grow between workouts. But just as with comedy, action movies or hitting the boss up for a raise, timing is everything.

Anabolism factors are very important but timing is important as well. For example, timing your protein intake,before and after your workouts, heavily impacts your muscle building goals.

If you want to optimize your growth try to follow these guidelines, specially at crucial moments:

• Breakfast time. Due your body has experience 8 long hours of fast. You need fast absorving protein as whey protein powder or just egg whites.
  
  
• 2 Hours before training use chicken breasts or whey concentrate protein.
  
  
• Just after the workout use a mix of fast carbohidrates, isolated whey protein powder plus l-glutamine and creatine. If you prefer a predesign drink, I personally use Nutrabolics Anabolic Window.
  
  
  
• Before going to bed use a slow absorving high quality protein source as cottage cheese of micellar casein protein. It would be useful adding some essential fatty acids to slow down the absortion rate. My personal choice is CytoSport Muscle Milk.
  

Adhere to these protein intake timing and your muscle gain goals will be achieved.

by William D. Brink

When people hear the term Unified Theory, some times called the Grand Unified Theory, or even “Theory of Everything,” they probably think of it in terms of physics, where a Unified Theory, or single theory capable of defining the nature of the interrelationships among nuclear, electromagnetic, and gravitational forces, would reconcile seemingly incompatible aspects of various field theories to create a single comprehensive set of equations.

Such a theory could potentially unlock all the secrets of nature and the universe itself, or as theoretical physicist Michio Katu, puts it “an equation an inch long that would allow us to read the mind of God.” That’s how important unified theories can be. However, unified theories don’t have to deal with such heady topics as physics or the nature of the universe itself, but can be applied to far more mundane topics, in this case nutrition.

Regardless of the topic, a unified theory, as sated above, seeks to explain seemingly incompatible aspects of various theories. In this article I attempt to unify seemingly incompatible or opposing views regarding nutrition, namely, what is probably the longest running debate in the nutritional sciences: calories vs. macro nutrients.

One school, I would say the ‘old school’ of nutrition, maintains weight loss or weight gain is all about calories, and “a calorie is a calorie,” no matter the source (e.g., carbs, fats, or proteins). They base their position on various lines of evidence to come to that conclusion.

The other school, I would call more the ‘new school’ of thought on the issue, would state that gaining or losing weight is really about where the calories come from (e.g., carbs, fats, and proteins), and that dictates weight loss or weight gain. Meaning, they feel, the “calorie is a calorie” mantra of the old school is wrong. They too come to this conclusion using various lines of evidence.

This has been an ongoing debate between people in the field of nutrition, biology, physiology, and many other disciplines, for decades. The result of which has led to conflicting advice and a great deal of confusion by the general public, not to mention many medical professionals and other groups.

Before I go any further, two key points that are essential to understand about any unified theory:

A good unified theory is simple, concise, and understandable even to lay people. However, underneath, or behind that theory, is often a great deal of information that can take up many volumes of books. So, for me to outline all the information I have used to come to these conclusions, would take a large book, if not several and is far beyond the scope of this article.

A unified theory is often proposed by some theorist before it can even be proven or fully supported by physical evidence. Over time, different lines of evidence, whether it be mathematical, physical, etc., supports the theory and thus solidifies that theory as being correct, or continued lines of evidence shows the theory needs to be revised or is simply incorrect. I feel there is now more than enough evidence at this point to give a unified theory of nutrition and continuing lines of evidence will continue (with some possible revisions) to solidify the theory as fact.

“A calorie is a calorie”

The old school of nutrition, which often includes most nutritionists, is a calorie is a calorie when it comes to gaining or losing weight. That weight loss or weight gain is strictly a matter of “calories in, calories out.” Translated, if you “burn” more calories than you take in, you will lose weight regardless of the calorie source and if you eat more calories than you burn off each day, you will gain weight, regardless of the calorie source.

This long held and accepted view of nutrition is based on the fact that protein and carbs contain approx 4 calories per gram and fat approximately 9 calories per gram and the source of those calories matters not. They base this on the many studies that finds if one reduces calories by X number each day, weight loss is the result and so it goes if you add X number of calories above what you use each day for gaining weight.

However, the “calories in calories out” mantra fails to take into account modern research that finds that fats, carbs, and proteins have very different effects on the metabolism via countless pathways, such as their effects on hormones (e.g., insulin, leptin, glucagon, etc), effects on hunger and appetite, thermic effects (heat production), effects on uncoupling proteins (UCPs), and 1000 other effects that could be mentioned.

Even worse, this school of thought fails to take into account the fact that even within a macro nutrient, they too can have different effects on metabolism. This school of thought ignores the ever mounting volume of studies that have found diets with different macro nutrient ratios with identical calorie intakes have different effects on body composition, cholesterol levels, oxidative stress, etc.

Translated, not only is the mantra “a calorie us a calorie” proven to be false, “all fats are created equal” or “protein is protein” is also incorrect. For example, we now know different fats (e.g. fish oils vs. saturated fats) have vastly different effects on metabolism and health in general, as we now know different carbohydrates have their own effects (e.g. high GI vs. low GI), as we know different proteins can have unique effects.

The “calories don’t matter” school of thought

This school of thought will typically tell you that if you eat large amounts of some particular macro nutrient in their magic ratios, calories don’t matter. For example, followers of ketogenic style diets that consist of high fat intakes and very low carbohydrate intakes (i.e., Atkins, etc.) often maintain calories don’t matter in such a diet.

Others maintain if you eat very high protein intakes with very low fat and carbohydrate intakes, calories don’t matter. Like the old school, this school fails to take into account the effects such diets have on various pathways and ignore the simple realities of human physiology, not to mention the laws of thermodynamics!

The reality is, although it’s clear different macro nutrients in different amounts and ratios have different effects on weight loss, fat loss, and other metabolic effects, calories do matter. They always have and they always will. The data, and real world experience of millions of dieters, is quite clear on that reality.

The truth behind such diets is that they are often quite good at suppressing appetite and thus the person simply ends up eating fewer calories and losing weight. Also, the weight loss from such diets is often from water vs. fat, at least in the first few weeks. That’s not to say people can’t experience meaningful weight loss with some of these diets, but the effect comes from a reduction in calories vs. any magical effects often claimed by proponents of such diets.

Weight loss vs. fat loss!

This is where we get into the crux of the true debate and why the two schools of thought are not actually as far apart from one another as they appear to the untrained eye. What has become abundantly clear from the studies performed and real world evidence is that to lose weight we need to use more calories than we take in (via reducing calorie intake and or increasing exercise), but we know different diets have different effects on the metabolism, appetite, body composition, and other physiological variables…

Brink’s Unified Theory of Nutrition

…Thus, this reality has led me to Brink’s Unified Theory of Nutrition which states:

“Total calories dictates how much weight a person gains or loses;
macro nutrient ratios dictates what a person gains or loses”

This seemingly simple statement allows people to understand the differences between the two schools of thought. For example, studies often find that two groups of people put on the same calorie intakes but very different ratios of carbs, fats, and proteins will lose different amounts of bodyfat and or lean body mass (i.e., muscle, bone, etc.).

Some studies find for example people on a higher protein lower carb diet lose approximately the same amount of weight as another group on a high carb lower protein diet, but the group on the higher protein diet lost more actual fat and less lean body mass (muscle). Or, some studies using the same calorie intakes but different macro nutrient intakes often find the higher protein diet may lose less actual weight than the higher carb lower protein diets, but the actual fat loss is higher in the higher protein low carb diets. This effect has also been seen in some studies that compared high fat/low carb vs. high carb/low fat diets. The effect is usually amplified if exercise is involved as one might expect.

Of course these effects are not found universally in all studies that examine the issue, but the bulk of the data is clear: diets containing different macro nutrient ratios do have different effects on human physiology even when calorie intakes are identical (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11).

Or, as the authors of one recent study that looked at the issue concluded:

“Diets with identical energy contents can have different effects on leptin concentrations, energy expenditure, voluntary food intake, and nitrogen balance, suggesting that the physiologic adaptations to energy restriction can be modified by dietary composition.”(12)

The point being, there are many studies confirming that the actual ratio of carbs, fats, and proteins in a given diet can effect what is actually lost (i.e., fat, muscle, bone, and water) and that total calories has the greatest effect on how much total weight is lost. Are you starting to see how my unified theory of nutrition combines the “calorie is a calorie” school with the “calories don’t matter” school to help people make decisions about nutrition?

Knowing this, it becomes much easier for people to understand the seemingly conflicting diet and nutrition advice out there (of course this does not account for the down right unscientific and dangerous nutrition advice people are subjected to via bad books, TV, the ‘net, and well meaning friends, but that’s another article altogether).

Knowing the above information and keeping the Unified Theory of Nutrition in mind, leads us to some important and potentially useful conclusions:

An optimal diet designed to make a person lose fat and retain as much LBM as possible is not the same as a diet simply designed to lose weight.

A nutrition program designed to create fat loss is not simply a reduced calorie version of a nutrition program designed to gain weight, and visa versa.

Diets need to be designed with fat loss, NOT just weight loss, as the goal, but total calories can’t be ignored.

This is why the diets I design for people-or write about-for gaining or losing weight are not simply higher or lower calorie versions of the same diet. In short: diets plans I design for gaining LBM start with total calories and build macro nutrient ratios into the number of calories required. However, diets designed for fat loss (vs. weight loss!) start with the correct macro nutrient ratios that depend on variables such as amount of LBM the person carries vs. bodyfat percent , activity levels, etc., and figure out calories based on the proper macro nutrient ratios to achieve fat loss with a minimum loss of LBM. The actual ratio of macro nutrients can be quite different for both diets and even for individuals.

Diets that give the same macro nutrient ratio to all people (e.g., 40/30/30, or 70,30,10, etc.) regardless of total calories, goals, activity levels, etc., will always be less than optimal. Optimal macro nutrient ratios can change with total calories and other variables.

Perhaps most important, the unified theory explains why the focus on weight loss vs. fat loss by the vast majority of people, including most medical professionals, and the media, will always fail in the long run to deliver the results people want.

Finally, the Universal Theory makes it clear that the optimal diet for losing fat, or gaining muscle, or what ever the goal, must account not only for total calories, but macro nutrient ratios that optimize metabolic effects and answer the questions: what effects will this diet have on appetite? What effects will this diet have on metabolic rate? What effects will this diet have on my lean body mass (LBM)? What effects will this diet have on hormones; both hormones that may improve or impede my goals? What effects will this diet have on (fill in the blank)?

Simply asking, “how much weight will I lose?” is the wrong question which will lead to the wrong answer. To get the optimal effects from your next diet, whether looking to gain weight or lose it, you must ask the right questions to get meaningful answers.

Asking the right questions will also help you avoid the pitfalls of unscientific poorly thought out diets which make promises they can’t keep and go against what we know about human physiology and the very laws of physics!

If you want to know my thoughts on the best way to set up a diet to gain weight in the form of muscle while minimizing bodyfat, consider purchasing Body Building Revealed from

www.MuscleBuildingNutrition.com

There are of course many additional questions that can be asked and points that can be raised as it applies to the above, but those are some of the key issues that come to mind. Bottom line here is, if the diet you are following to either gain or loss weight does not address those issues and or questions, then you can count on being among the millions of disappointed people who don’t receive the optimal results they had hoped for and have made yet another nutrition “guru” laugh all the way to the bank at your expense.

Any diet that claims calories don’t matter, forget it. Any diet that tells you they have a magic ratio of foods, ignore it. Any diet that tells you any one food source is evil, it’s a scam. Any diet that tells you it will work for all people all the time no matter the circumstances, throw it out or give it to someone you don’t like!

“Hi. Here is my problem: whatever I eat and whatever I do I can’t seem to gain any weight. People tell me my metabolism must be going too fast. I have even taken some weight-gaining tablets and drinks, but they don’t help. I have just started some body building, which might help, but I doubt it.

To give you an idea of my body frame I’m a male, 22, 5′10″, and weigh only 125 pounds. I really hate this problem of being underweight! So my questions are:

1. Is my metabolism going too fast?
2. If it is, when will it slow down?
3. Do you have any advice that will help me gain at least ten pounds?

David, Dallas”

You will agree with me, David, that yours is a problem two-thirds of North Americans would love to “suffer”. I know that this idea doesn’t much comfort. I’ve read about the fast metabolism theme for years, and I have been able to discover this concept it’s absolutely nonsense! Yes you have read well this concept it’s totally CRAP. The reason is simple; You can research hundreds of medical studies and find out that differences in basal metabolic rate (a measure of the rate at which the body burns energy while at rest) per unit of body weight among healthy individuals of the same sex are relatively minor. If you find perceivable differences, those are generally accounted for by some disorder like hyperthyroidism. If you have any suspicions in this regard, see a doctor.

If hyperthyroidism it’s not the cause of your low body weight, you may have poor eating habits or an excessively frantic lifestyle (stress tends to increase the metabolic rate and body secretes more cortisol in stressing situations) I’ve heard other explanations for chronic thinness, but they all sound pretty dubious. For instance, one of my closest friends, who is a doctor once told me that body weight is related to the length of your small intestine, the longer it is, supposedly, the more food you absorb.

Maybe we must apply the occam’s razor here. Occam’s razor is a principle attributed William of Ockham, a 14th-century English logician. Occam’s razor states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible. In short, when given two equally valid explanations for a phenomenon, one should embrace the less complicated formulation.

Maybe the people who have a hard time gaining weight (what we refer to as ectomorphs) simply have fewer muscle and fat cells to absorb the extra bulk than more athletic types. Fortunately, tests have shown that high intensity weight training can add new muscle cells, a process called hyperplasia. This is a lot more work than simply strengthening existing muscle cells, admittedly, but you can take some comfort in the fact that the new muscle cells stay with you all your life, even if you knock off weight training later on.

What you need is a systematic weight gain program: eating (lots of carbohydrates, a fair amount of protein, no junk) plus weight lifting, with an emphasis on upper body exercises (six to eight repetitions per exercise with heavy weights. Increase the weight as soon as you can do more than eight reps).

Patience and perseverance is advised!

This article has been written to help someone who is new to the weightlifting world. I focused on some basic tenets that I thought should form the basis of any serious attempt at bodybuilding.

Protein

There is always a lot of detailed talk about protein; whether it should be whey or soy, how many grams per pound of bodyweight, how much the body can process, etc. The bottom line is that the best kind of protein depends on what your goals are. If you are trying to put on weight then the best kind of protein is found in whole foods, steaks, eggs, chicken etc. Protein supplements should be taken as supplements and not as the primary source of protein because, unless you are talking about weight-gainer formulations, the shakes lack sufficient calories. For a novice trying to put on weight, I suggest you eat a great deal of normal foods but that you mix your protein sources at each meal such as steak, eggs and milk or chicken and milk, etc. Drinking a protein shake with a normal meal is a good idea to help improve the amino acid profile of the over-all meal.

If you are attempting to reduce fat and increase your lean body mass then a protein supplement becomes more important because you are concerned only with protein intake and not caloric intake. Protein has 4 calories per gram so a decent shake will have under 200 calories providing you are drinking a pure protein blend with no carbohydrates. I think that when you are dieting you will find that a much higher percentage of your protein intake comes from supplements as opposed to whole foods. There are a few reasons that this happens; first of all it is easy to count calories and grams of protein using shakes as opposed to trying to weigh out each meal. Secondly, protein shakes are convenient and keep you out of the kitchen where the temptation of food lies. Lastly, a protein supplement is going to be a more efficient source of ideal proteins because the bio-availability (a fancy word for how much useful protein a food has) is higher then that of cooked meat.

I do not endorse a particular brand of protein powder, but my recommendation is that you find one that you enjoy drinking. I used to buy economy protein blends online (you know, 44 pounds for 200 bucks) and they tasted so vile it was a punishment to choke them down. So I would drink a few shakes then just stop and the protein would end up being useless. Now I buy expensive pre-mixed protein drinks (Isopure if anyone cares) that I think taste great. Not only do I not have to mix anything up but the drinks are delicious and nutrition; well, they are convenient and taste OK.

The Workout

I am not some legendary Russian strength coach, I do not have the secret keys to unlock the ultimate training routine. I do, however, understand the basic processes by which muscle growth is stimulated. The keys to progress are as follows: overload, variation, and recuperation.

The overload principle is the training philosophy espoused by many systems, I mean training until muscle failure on almost every set. I am not going to go into much depth on this issue because Anabolic Extreme has already addressed the training system we use. I am also not interested in getting into much debate over the proper training methodology. I am, however, going to say that unless you are training to complete muscle failure (and central nervous system failure if you like) you are not going to continue to progress.

Variation is important because muscle growth is an adaptive response. The “failure” of the muscle is ultimately responsible for hypertrophy. Practically this means that the workout you use today is not the workout you should be using in 6 weeks. By changing not only your exercises but also your rep range and rest period between sets you will continue to keep the body “guessing”, which amounts to gains in the gym.

Recuperation

Recuperation is essential, muscle is not built in the gym under the heavy load of the iron. Growth occurs with adequate food intake and rest. The period immediately following your workout is the most crucial feeding time and I recommend a meal within 20 minutes of leaving the gym. This meal should consist of 40-60 grams of whey protein, creatine, glutamine, and some simple carbohydrates (I use sports drinks like Gatorade). Two hours later, I recommend a full meal of “real” food. In the period right after exercise the body is primed to absorb nutrients which is why the first post-workout meal consists of easily digested proteins and insulin-spiking sugars. The body needs a constant supply of amino acids which is why frequent meals are important.

The second component of recuperation is sleep. If you are actively weight-training then you need at least 8 hours of sleep but more is better. The dilemma with sleep is that, unless you are very talented, you cannot eat and sleep at the same time. Some people advocate waking up in the middle of the night to eat and I think this will work for some people (keep a shake by the bed). However many people cannot wake up, chug a shake, and go back to sleep. Therefore, I think that the meal immediately before bed is crucial. I recommend a meal that consists of a variety of proteins including caseinete (which is slowly processed and rich in anti-catabolic amino acids). Cottage cheese is an ideal pre-sleep meal. Some authors, like the late Paul Borreson, advocate eating a meal that contains a lot of fat right before bed. Their rationale is based on the fact that fat slows gastric emptying which means the meal takes longer to digest and results in a steady release of vital nutrients. Well, the problem with this theory is that most of the absorption occurs in the intestinal tract and it takes hours for a meal to move through said tracts. I think that a pre-sleep meal should be high in protein with as few calories as possible unless weight gaining is your goal in which case eat whatever you want!

A quick word on fiber is in order here. If you are following a low-carbohydrate diet then you need to be taking a fiber supplement. In the next few weeks I will release an article all about the topic of fiber because, frankly, I am terrified of colon cancer. I have a friend whose friend won the Teenage Mr. Florida but then was diagnosed with colitis. Anyway, I will save my paranoid ranting for later. Let me just say that I recommend ample fiber supplementation to anyone who does not want to have to carry around their waste in a bag!


Hopefully I have given a few more clarifications to the otherwise confusing world of beginning weight-lifting. I think that people get so caught up in the details that they forget the most crucial simple components of success. I mentioned before the people who are obsessed with the perfect supplementation regime but forget to sleep enough or eat enough whole foods. At its heart, weight lifting is a fundamentally simple process, as an ex-girlfriend of mine once said “all you do is pick up heavy things and then put them back down, you don’t even move them anywhere!” I guess you see why things didn’t work out. My hope is that this series of articles will be sufficient to dispel some of the confusion and, because my suggestions are simple, you can actually follow them for more then a week.

I’ve just found these tips to dramatically improve your biceps.

1. I find that the best rep range for biceps is 10-12, but it needs to be a hard 10-12. You have to be digging deep and wondering if you’re going to make it through the set once you get to reps seven, eight and nine. Occasionally, I train heavier and complete just six reps with a partner. This is to focus on strength and to force the muscle to respond. You definitely get out of it what you put into it, so if you put in submaximal effort, you won’t be building the guns you seek.

2. I keep my biceps routine fresh by changing it every 4-6 weeks. Any fewer than four weeks and you’re not going to be sure that it’s working, and any longer than that and the routine starts to get stale. You have to give a workout time to produce results.

3. I’m a free-weight guy, but cables do have value. I incorporate training with cables into my biceps routine for a different feel and stimulus. Some people think that cables can’t make you grow, but with the right weight and proper form, cables can be very productive. A good combination of both is the best approach.

4. The biggest mistake I see people make when working biceps is they give their lower back and front delts a workout by swinging the weight. I don’t mind incorporating a slight degree of cheating because I think it can be great for busting plateaus, but the first focus should be on choosing the right weight to complete the desired number of reps with strict form. The more weight you move, the more stress that’s put on the muscle, resulting in more growth. But you have to use a weight you can lift. Remember also that cheating increase injury.

5. I use volume training every couple of weeks to mix things up. I’ll do 10 sets of 10 reps with one heavy exercise (like barbell curls) and finish off with 2-3 sets of a lighter cable or dumbbell movement. This is an advanced technique that requires you to have a solid foundation. I incorporate volume training into my workout for four weeks, about every eight weeks.

The 5% System, devised by Muscle & Fitness science editor Jim Stoppiani, is designed to help you gain both strength and size. The 5% System is best used with basic compound exercises, such as the bench press (flat, incline or decline as well as dumbbell versions), squat, leg press, shoulder press (barbell or dumbbell), seated row and pulldown. Stoppiani also suggests that you perform no more than 2-3 exercises per muscle group and rest for 5-7 days between workouts [e.g. Train the whole body over 3 days (Mon, Wed, Fri) and then again the week after].

Workout 1 / Week 1
Pick a weight that allows you to do four sets of six reps (but no more than six) with 2-3 minutes of rest between sets. So, let’s say you can shoulder-press 100 pounds for four sets of six reps.

Workout 2 / Week 2
Increase the weight by 5% and reduce the reps by one per set. You’d lift 105 pounds for four sets of five reps.

Workout 3 / Week 3
Increase the weight by 5% again (10% more than the original weight) and decrease the reps by one per set. During this session, you’d lift 110 pounds for four sets of four reps.

Workout 4 / Week 4
After your two up workouts, it’s time for the down. Reduce the weight by approximately 5% and increase the reps by two per set. So, in our example, you’d press 105 pounds for four sets of six reps.

Workout 5 / Week 5
Again, bump up the weight by 5% and reduce reps to a total of four sets of five, lifting 110 pounds.

Workout 6 / Week 6
Repeat the 5% increase and one-rep decrease, lifting 115 pounds for four sets of four reps.

Workout 7 / Week 7
The final workout drops the weight by 5% and bumps up the reps by two. This brings you to 110 pounds for four sets of six reps, or 10% more than you lifted just six workouts before.

Because your strength varies naturally, if you miss the rep targets for one workout, don’t repeat it. Instead, next time, proceed with the planned 5% change in weight and aim for the targeted number of reps.

The reason it works is due to the two-steps-up/one-step-down progression, Stoppiani explains. Forcing your muscles to adapt to heavier weight during the two step ups causes biochemical and structural changes within the muscle fibres that increase both strength and size.

Source: Muscle & Fitness magazine