August 2011
66 posts
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Take Responsibility
It’s not their fault. It’s your responsibility.
If you’re not moving forward, what’s stopping you is you. That’s very good news, because it means you are in control of your own destiny. If you continue to blame and complain and procrastinate and make excuses, you’ll continue to be disappointed with the way life unfolds. When you’re ready to stop all that, and when you really do, and when you...
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Understanding Calories, Macronutrients, Intake &...
If you haven’t read this already then I highly implore you to read on. I just added this post to my side links for easier access in the future.
If you have read this, well, read it again because I made some minor adjustments to make things easier and it’s worth the overview.
Enjoy.
thespartanwarrior:
How to easily calculate (estimate) your caloric intake:
Your maintenance caloric...
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Creatine: Details and Recommendation
Anyone that has been involved in sports has undoubtedly heard about creatine in some way or another. However, on the other hand, I would be shocked to find if the mass majority of tiness enthusiasts today really knew what creatine was or why everyone, not just those involved in strength training, should be taking it.
Clearly, I back the use of creatine, but before I wield by sword and shield to...
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Men's Body Fat Percentages
Full House = No visible muscle definition. Bodyfat level = over 20%.
Hard = Some muscle separation appears between delts and upper arm. Abs are still not visible. Approx. bodyfat level = 15-19%
Cut = More muscle separation appears particularly in the chest and back, outline of the abs begins to appear slightly. Approx. bodyfat level = 12-14%
Defined = Muscle separations get deeper...
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At some point in your life, you will be in...
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“March to your own beat. Everyone has advice to give, and it’s important to...”
– Alan Aragon, alanaragonblog.com
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Fear Of Criticism
Think for a moment how silly it is to live in fear of criticism. If you’re doing what you know to be right, what possible reason could you have to fear the criticism of others?
Are you concerned that the comments and opinions of others will somehow damage your self-esteem or self-image? Are you afraid of speaking your mind or taking action because you might get your feelings hurt?
If you...
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Reaching For Perfection
The way to achieve excellence and perfection is through experience. And experience is filled with mistakes. If it were not, we would not learn very much from it.
It is admirable to aspire for perfection, but foolish indeed to expect that it will come quickly or without mistakes. It certainly pays to expect the best of yourself. It also pays to be realistic. And patient.
Perfection in any...
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Nutrition Expert Alan Aragon Talks With...
Bob Kupniewski from simplyshredded.com got the chance to ask Alan Aragon a nutrition guru and expert author over here a couple questions regarding his training, diet and supplementation principles
How did you get associated with Bodybuilding?
I’ve admired great physiques for as long as I can remember. I think a great physique is an effective way to gain instant admiration and influence –...
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“One last thing I want to add is that very few people have the genetics and/or...”
– Alan Aragon
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In 2012 All American Chain Restaurants Will List... →
The law requiring nutrition information will go into effect nationwide next year. Many chains are offering more healthful options, but diners often don’t take advantage of the better choices.
Just how many calories in that eggplant parmigiana? In 2012, when restaurant labeling becomes the law of the land as part of healthcare reform legislation, diners will be in for some surprises. The...
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“It’s important to not give in at jealousy. When you see someone doing...”
– Joe Rogan
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ehekic asked: You posted some information last week or so about why lifting heavy is better for losing weight than cardio, but I got lost in the details trying to reiterate it to a friend of mine. Can you summarize why lifting is more effective than cardio, once a controlled diet is introduced? (Assuming it is, and I read it correctly)
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kideffex answered your question: What Would You Like To Know?
After a legs day at the gym i suffer from ‘DOMS’ pretty badly, what can i do to cut down the recovery period?
Take a fish oil supplement. It’s going to reduce the inflammation and help with muscle soreness. Also, get some sort of glucose/fructose in your diet around your workout. Besides those two things the only thing you can...
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Discouragement
Are you discouraged? If you’ve invested enough effort and energy to get to the point where you’re discouraged, you’re well on your way to success. Discouragement is a certain waystation on the road to any worthwhile achievement.
If you know enough to be discouraged, and if you care enough to be discouraged, then you’ve made considerable progress. Learn what the...
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Practice
Whatever you practice, you will become skilled at doing. Winning athletes practice day after day, month after month, to hone their skills. So do the best musicians, actors, salespeople, airline pilots, preachers, photographers, designers — the list goes on and on. What do you practice every day? Do you practice positive, success-oriented skills and actions? Or do you practice such skills as...
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Calculating Calories and Macronutrients Simplified
How to easily calculate (estimate) your caloric intake:
Your maintenance caloric level is 14-16 kcals per lb of body weight
Your fat loss caloric deficit is 11-13 kcals per lb of body weight
Your size gain caloric surplus is anything over maintenance
Keep your focus on getting the majority of calories from protein sources and whole foods to establish a good base of vitamins and minerals in...
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The Dirt on Clean Eating by Alan Aragon →
Introduction
Everyone knows the difference between dirty and clean foods, so I don’t have to explain the obvious…or do I? My favorite response to questions about how to eat clean is, “Wash your food.” The biggest problem with discussing foods in these terms is that there’s no clear definition of clean or dirty. The difference might seem obvious, but a closer look shows that it’s far from...
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Success Is Tedious
Success is often tedious. When we see success in others, it looks exciting and fun. We see someone who is successful in business living in a magnificent house, driving a shiny new car and taking exotic vacations. We see a successful athlete being cheered by the crowd after a winning performance on the playing field. We usually see only the results of success in others.
What we often fail to see...
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How to Estimate Maintenance Caloric Intake
This post comes from this article on Lyle McDonald’s website www.bodyrecomposition.com and is my “go to” source to site when calculating someone’s maintenance caloric intake or their optimal caloric deficit for fat loss.
I realize a lot of you won’t read this article, but just know that you’re only hurting your chances of getting into the best shape of your...
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the-mountain-man answered your question: Questions?
How much water should we be aiming for daily? If you’ve written about this before any chance you can link me?
Great question, Maroun.
There is a lot of information out there on water consumption and trying to find the right answer to this will leave someone’s head spinning. Through a lot of study, testing my own water consumption and...
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thatweirdwhiteguy answered your question: Questions?
What’s an effective lower ab workout?
A caloric deficit.
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mrcardenas answered your question: Questions?
I started working out to build muscle, but not eating meat has made that difficult, what’s the best way to reintroduce myself to meat?
Shake hands with a cow.
or
Put it in your mouth.
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you-will-someday answered your question: Questions?
Can you point me to a good beginner weight lifting program? One with sample routines and stuff.
Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
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kennyvu answered your question: Questions?
whats the fastest way to burn fat and gain more muscle mass?
Can’t do both at the same time.
Burn Fat = Caloric Deficit
How you achieve your deficit is up to you. You can do cardio, weight train and/or eat less.
Gain Muscle = Caloric Surplus
Eat more.
Lift heavy.
The fat loss is going to give the appearance of muscle gain because...
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Good vs. Bad: Carbohydrates
A carbohydrate is really just a CH20 molecule ( talking about a general, unaltered monosaccharide). The Molecule is not a sentient being, and cannot be “good” or “bad”. But, I guess if you’re a diabetic then too much sugar could be bad for YOU. Then again, that’s not the carbohydrate’s fault.
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If you want to gain weight or lose weight - eat whatever you want, but count your calories. If you want to be the mayor of healthyville while gaining or losing weight - eat “clean” while counting your calories.
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Pre, During, & Postworkout Nutrition
By Alan Aragon
Hierarchy of Importance When speaking of nutrition for improving body composition or training performance, it’s crucial to realize there’s an underlying hierarchy of importance. At the top of the hierarchy is total amount of the macronutrients by the end of the day. Distantly below that is the precise timing of those nutrients. With very few exceptions, athletes and...
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Recipe For Greatness
Take something ordinary, add some focus, commitment and effort, and you have greatness. Greatness arises out of the common and the ordinary. The raw material of greatness is nothing special. A magnificent mansion is made out of ordinary wood, bricks and nails. A literary masterpiece is printed on ordinary paper. A beautiful symphony is performed with ordinary musical instruments.
Greatness...
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Nothing in this world worth having comes easy.
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Keep Going
On the other side of the challenge there is a great reward. Keep going.
When you’ve made the effort and cannot yet see the result, keep going. The very next step could be the one that brings you across the finish line.
When you become weary, remind yourself why you started in the first place. Connect with your true purpose, and feel the energy begin to flow through you again.
Smile and...
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The LeanGains FAQ
Check out the original FAQ posted here by Sol Orwell.
A phrase coined by Martin Berkhan, LeanGains is a diet/workout methodology based on intermittent fasting (IF) and lifting heavy weights. It is meant to be a way of body recomposition - losing fat and gaining muscle/strength at the same time.
What is Intermittent Fasting (IF)?
IF is essentially a self-contained cut-bulking cycle. You eat for...
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Comfortable Doubts
Have your doubts become too comfortable? It’s easier to doubt than it is to do. When you doubt that you can accomplish something, the doubt gives you a nice, comfortable place to hide, a reason for not making the effort.
Yet if you keep piling up one doubt on top of another, soon there’s no room left for your dreams, your goals, your ambitions. When you seek refuge in the comfort of...
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When I Cook, My Goals Are To:
1. Reduce calories without reducing the volume of food. This means you can get satiated with fewer calories.
2. Replace most sugary or starchy carbs with complex or high fiber carbs. Likewise, replace bad fats with good fats whenever possible.
3. Increase the protein and fiber count. Protein and fiber rate the highest on the satiety Index, which basically means they get you full fast and keep...
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Cardio does not fix a bad diet.
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The Richness Of Life
In the end, it requires just as much effort to live poorly as it does to live richly. And filling your life with richness is a whole lot more fun. As long as you’re going to put in the time and effort to go through the day, doesn’t it make sense to get the very most you can from it?
Most of your perceived limitations are not really limitations at all. They’re simply boundaries...
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Correlation does not imply causation. →
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The Diet Soda Myths
Anyone who tells you that diet soda is bad for you because it will keep you from your fitness and nutrition goals has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
Yes, it is true, diet sodas may increase your sweet cravings in the same way that chewing sugar free gum with artificial sweeteners does, but it has no chemicals or ingredients that make you gain weight in any way. The majority...
