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What Supplements Should You Take to Help You Achieve Your Health & Fitness Goals?

August 15, 2012 by

Here’s the second part of this month’s UNCENSORED Podcasts Season 2.

The topic?

Supplements.

Here’s what you discovered in the first part (link to the 1st part here):

  • What a supplement is, how the industry got started, and what it has evolved into
  • What is the definition of supplements in various countries and why it matters
  • How important supplements are
  • What’s the lifecycle of a supplement product
  • How the process of putting new supplements on the market works
  • How come government regulators have no control of what’s on the market
  • What ingredients are added into supplements are useless and serve just as marketing

“Will These Supplements Help Me?”

Often times guys on the Internet and in our community ask us “What supplements should I take?” or “Will this supplement help me?”.

Should you take those? Are they worth the money? How will you track the results? Or will you just go by the “feeling”?

The issue is that it’s impossible to answer those type of questions.

If you want an accurate answer that can actually help you (not the generic crap found on the web) with your fitness goals, you need to get clear on what is it you really want and what do you expect out of the supplements.

Another thing that will determine what supplements to use and how much of it we will recommend you taking is your budget, how much money can you spend on supplements? 50 bucks? Or 1000 bucks? That’s a pretty big difference. Somebody who is a sponsored athlete or works in a supplement lab will have different options than a college student.

For example a question “Will this product give me the body I want?”or “Can this product do what I want it to do?” is way better and gets to the point of what you really expect from it.

But even those two questions aren’t perfect, when you start thinking about it, you’ll soon find out that it’s not that easy to figure out the right question (after you listen to the podcast, try to come up with a good one and share it in the community so others can comment on it).

This is just one way of looking at it, another way would be to take a different approach and actually set your goals first and then try to match the right product to that desired outcome.

However, in this case you will find a pretty nasty barrier.

And that’s the fact that supplements contain a lot of ingredient that will have absolutely zero effect on your body.

When you look into each product you will see a bunch of stuff you have never heard about, but almost always there will be one big ingredient that’s usually responsible for all the results. In many cases it will be creatine, or caffeine, depends on the supplement.

Why is that?

Well, the top selling supplements are exactly the same as ten years ago and they will most likely be same as the best selling supplements ten years from now.

There is just a couple of items that are packaged in a thousand different ways.

The product isn’t what’s different, they are roughly the same, it’s the marketing around it that makes all the difference.

Supplement companies fight a difficult challenge and that’s pointing out the ingredient.

Nobody gets excited about plain Creatine monohydrate anymore, simply because it’s been around a while. So, they have to sell some “enhanced version” of creatine to pump up the sales.

It has nothing to do with finding some new amazing and proven ingredient that nobody has ever heard about and adding it to the current product, it’s just a simple desire to sell more products.

Today John Barban and Brad Pilon will reveal more information about the supplement industry and also coach you on how to ask the right question and how to find supplements that will help you with:

a) Building Muscle

b) Losing Fat

c) Improving Health

d) Boosting Energy

In today’s UNCENSORED training, you will also discover:
  • How to approach weight loss supplements and what do they really help with (hint: they are not burning your belly fat)
  • What are the realistic expectations for using the supplements that are on the market
  • What supplements companies are should be trustworthy (bigger or smaller? Why??)
  • How the Natural Standards Database (you have access to it in the immersion account through cockpit) can help you pick supplements
  • Step by step how to intelligently choose and test supplements
  • What side effects really are and how it applies to you when you take supplements (or drugs)
  • Pilon’s sneaky techniques he used to sell supplements in the past

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

Not an Adonis Index IMMERSION client? Click here to find out more… and hear a weird story too

Filed Under: Podcasts, Supplements, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: , , , ,

The “Photo-Shoot Ready” Recipe: Four Key Ingredients Needed to Prepare your Contest Photo Submissions

August 10, 2012 by

The clock is ticking… The deadline for AT8 Contest Photo Submissions is rapidly approaching.

If you’re participating in the 12 week transformation contest, you’re putting the finishing touches on your “Final Look”.

If you’re in the 20 week transformation contest, you’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, stay the course.

For many contestants, this is the first workout program that you’ve followed consistently.  Thank you for your commitment to the Adonis Index Workout Systems and more importantly for your commitment to your own personal goals.

Win or lose, regardless of your contest placement, your transformation is a personal achievement and you should be very proud of your accomplishment.

All of your valiant efforts over this contest period stem from the synergistic combination of proper nutrition, strength training, and cardio.

One way to celebrate this achievement is by capturing some stunning images of your new & improved physique.

There are several tweaks or methods one can apply to enhance their overall appearance.

To keep things simple, yet effective I’ve chosen to focus on the top four ingredients of any “successful” fitness photo-shoot. So before you step in front of the camera, you can assure yourself that on command, you will be “Photo-Shoot Ready”.

The “Photo-Shoot” Ready Recipe: Four Key Ingredients to Prepare for your Contest Photo Submissions

 

1.    Conditioning: Shirt-On vs Shirt-Off? What’s the Difference?

 When it comes to conditioning, there are two different worlds we live in.

There is the “Shirt-On” world where most people reside and then there is the “Shirt-Off” world which is displayed on many a beach or magazine cover.

Neither world is bad but there are rules for living in both.

A person who has good conditioning will possess these three  features:  separation in the muscle groups, striations, and vascularity.  Unfortunately, in “Shirt-On” world it is is very difficult to tell the conditioning of a person because clothes cover the body.

A man who looks muscular “Shirt-On”  may not have the same conditioning as a man who  “Shirt-Off”  is ripped but not as impressive  in the same outfit.

In regards to this contest you will be judged by the rules & standards of  “Shirt-Off” world where conditioning is paramount.

As you’ve followed the AI programs, you have heard of the the term “Golden Ratio” or your body’s ideal  shoulder-to-waist (AI) ratio.  This transformation contest measures your starting and final AI-ratio to evaluate your progress over the 12 or 20 week period.

Nevertheless, here are a few suggestions to enhance your conditioning for your Contest Photos:

1. Mild Water Depletion: Sometimes your body retains water on the outer layer of your skin which can impact your conditioning. To help rid the body of excess water eat  foods such as asparagus and oatmeal or drink a low sugar green tea beverage 2-3 days prior to your photo-shoot for best results.

Additionally, take photos of yourself  in this state early in the morning as opposed to later in the day.

2. Fasted State: Intermittent fasting  has also been known to enhance conditioning.

Your skin is tighter  and muscle appear more defined as your body’s fat burning hormones are elevated.

To capture yourself  in the fasted state take photos first thing in the morning upon waking up.  If your following the “Eat Stop Eat” or the “The Reverse Taper Diet” regimen try planning your photo-shoot about 6-8 hours into your fasted state.

3. Carb-Loaded:  The “Carb-Loaded” state is the direct opposite  of being fasted.

However, they both create two very aesthetic looks which are ideal for a photo-shoot.  In the carb-loaded state you body resembles more of a full-muscular look which also helps to tighten your skin and improve vascularity.

To achieve the “carb-loaded” effect choose between one or two  of the following foods: honey (2 tablespoons), dark chocolate (4-6 squares), a peach (medium-size), or banana (medium-size) about 15-30 min prior to your photo-shoot and get your body pumped up with some simple exercises (i.e. push-ups, resistance band curls, etc.)

You still have a few days to experiment with what technique works best for you.  So take several photos in the various states and see which one’s turn out best.

2.    Posing: If you got it, make sure you show it…Properly!

Posing is the art of positioning your body in a specific way to present the best visual effect.

How you pose is very important.

In traditional bodybuilding competitions if a judge cannot see a certain part of your body they cannot judge it. Or even worse they will assume this area is under-developed.  We all have strengths and weaknesses in certain parts of our body.

Some muscles respond better to the training than others.

Posing is also a way to creatively display the parts of your body that are most flattering to your physique.

Practice, Practice, Practice! In front of a Mirror is preferred… Here is a “quick refresher” video of  the standard front, back and side shots that mimic your ‘before’ pictures and are required for the contest.

Remember “Pose Like the Pros!”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH POSING TUTORIAL VIDEO

3.    Tanning: The Icing or Glaze on the Cake

The use of tanners and oils will also  improve your final look.  It has been observed that the darker your skin, the more definition can be seen.

This is most evident in bodybuilding competitions when two competitors of different ethnic backgrounds appear equally dark but are of different skin tone.

You may already tan regularly but if you don’t, there are some “sun-less” alternatives to enhance definition  for example, body oils, spray tans, sunless tanners, etc.  It’s always best to begin with a moderate amount and increase from there.

Your Final Contest Photos are a composite of: Conditioning, Posing, Tanning, and Lighting. Capture your physique at its best!

4.    Photography & Lighting: Almost Live

Since this is an Online and not a “Live” competition your photos will be all the judges have to grade you on.

While a professional photo-shoot is not mandatory,  it’s very important to  select an area whether indoor or outdoor with ample amount of lighting.

If you decide to use extra lighting, the best results were achieved  from past contestants when the lighting was balanced on either side and were pointed upwards at a 45-degree angle.

A solid black or white backdrop is preferred for indoor photos to help eliminate distractions and keep the focus on your physique.

Feel free to be fun and creative in your outdoor poses.  The bottom line is  that you’ve worked hard on your physique and you want the camera to tell the “whole” story.

In conclusion, remember these Four Key Ingredients in order to become “Photo-Shoot Ready” on Command:

  1. Conditioning
  2. Posing
  3. Tanning
  4. Photography/Lighting

Very Respectfully,

Allen Elliott

Filed Under: body image, Contest, Goals, health, Identity, Sage Advice, Transformation Tagged With: , ,

Why Weight Lifting Is Just Like Playing Music

August 6, 2012 by

Today we have an interview with Johannes Platz who placed 6th in the Open Level 1 category in our latest Adonis Index Contest.

Check out his pictures:

Johannes is Ripped!

Johannes is a musician which requires him to sit for long hours on end during performances and rehearsals.  He was never physically active growing up and combined with his work as a musician he began to experience  issues with back pain which prompted him to pursue more of a fitness lifestyle, specifically weight lifting.

However, Johannes journey into fitness was not without some setback and disappointment.

At first he went to a therapist, who got him to do some basic bodyweight exercises and later on prescribed a weight lifting program consisting of a few exercises of 3 sets with 15 reps.

After six months he saw some decent results.

It wasn’t exactly a complex fitness program, but at least he began to exercise regularly and was able to eliminate his back pain.

Be Aware of Goal Hijacking

When Johannes relocated to to Switzerland; he was away from his therapist and began to seek out a new fitness routine.

He jumped on a few weight lifting programs and got into a decent shape, but he fell victim to the conventional “eat bit to be big” approach.

After a while he realized two things:

  1. He never wanted to be huge like bodybuilders
  2. He gained muscle, but he became “pudgy” in the process

That’s what we call goal hijacking – you have a goal (getting in shape in this case) and you start moving in a right direction, but you fall off track on your way there (ex.: by aiming for the bodybuilder type of look).

The whole purpose of the programs Johannes tried was to get bigger by  gaining a ton of muscle – you know those claims like “gain 30 pounds of muscle over summer” programs.

Even though it worked to a certain degree, he had to prepare and eat meals up to six times a day, which is pretty time consuming, considering the fact he didn’t like the way he looked.

It wasn’t until one day when he discovered new role modes of an ideal shape from images of guys like Taylor Lautner and Ryan Gosling.  From that point, he realized that this is the body shape he wanted to achieve.

Through a few referrals he found Eat Stop Eat, the Anything Goes Diet and lastly the Adonis Index.

He  immediately started following the nutrition advice and doing the workouts.

Eat Stop Eat helped him understand that it’s okay to skip meals and he found it very freeing. Anything Goes Diet was a relief as well because somebody finally told him that he doesn’t have to worry about the food he puts in his mouth, and that there is no evidence of high caloric diet supporting muscle growth.

It even got him into cooking, which is something he never did before!

And once he saw Andrew Peter’s pictures he decided to  jump in and participate in one of the contests and take his physique to the next level.

Tips from Johannes: 

  • If you aren’t exercising. start weight lifting ASAP
  • There are a lot of fitness programs, but none of them are as flexible and simple to follow as Adonis Index (plus this one actually works)
  • Take before and after pictures to really see what amazing progress you have done
  • The little bit of bodyfat you drop can make a huge difference in pictures
  • People start noticing that you are in shape roughly at AI 1.5
  • Don’t compare yourself to others, it’s just your progress, everyone is different from genetic potential standpoint
  • Competitors are often times very genetically gifted and in some cases on drugs, so don’t take their bodies as your ideals
  • There is always someone who looks better than you
  • Be consistent with your effort in the gym
  • Stay in your calorie budget
  • Don’t be afraid of cooking the food yourself

Links from the interview:

Read Johannes’s experience with Adonis Index in his own words:

I found the adonisindex site a while ago, but didn’t buy the program until last summer. Before that I had a long journey going through different fitness programs, but I think I finally found what works best for me (…yours J).

The first time I was searching the web for muscle building I found…Continue reading here

Listen to the interview here, and please “like” it when you’re done:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Filed Under: Contest, Podcasts, Stories, Transformation Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Illusion of Size – Mens Gymnastics

August 3, 2012 by

The olympics are on right now, I don’t watch, but I hear people talking about how ‘big’ and ‘muscular’ the mens gymnasts are. So I looked up the height and weight of some of the gymnasts in the current olympic games. Not surprisingly most of them are well below what is considered average height for a man in north america.

Lean defined muscle always looks bigger and better than overall size and bulk

For comparison, the average height of a man in north america is 5’10. The average height of the mens gymnastics competitors I looked up with closer to 5’5. In north america 5’5 is a short man, no other way to say it. The mens gymnasts are also very light compared to average even tho they exhibit significant muscular development. Their bodyweights are in in the 120-140lbs range. Again this is very light compared to an average man.

When viewed in isolation away from their coaches or other ‘normal’ sized people, these gymnasts seem like hulking huge muscular men. Then you see them standing next to a coach or some other average sized person and realize how short and small they really are.

And this is the illusion of size. Being lean and muscular can make you look significantly heavier and bigger than you really are. This is also a demonstration of what we call ‘shirt off’ big vs ‘shirt on’ big. Certainly none of these athletes would seem ‘big’ in regular clothes as they wouldn’t take up much space at all and would be wearing size small clothes across the board (if not smaller). But take their shirts off and it’s and entirely different story – layers of thick well developed lean muscle is standard issue on a mens gymnast.

I’m not going to comment on how they built such bodies and whether or not drug use is involved or how many hours of training is involved, the point of this post is simply to bring to your attention the illusion of size and remind you that the leaner you are the bigger you look (no matter how tall or short you are).

Lean, defined muscles always, always trumps overall size.

John

Filed Under: body image Tagged With: , ,

All About Supplements Part 1

August 1, 2012 by

Getting in shape and staying in shape can be viewed as having a two pronged approach.

What should you take?

1. Diet

2. Workouts

However if you’ve got the budget it can also have a third prong – Supplements

In the order of importance I would say diet and exercise are 1 and 1A. You can certainly get in great shape without every using a supplement, but if budget allows there are some interesting supplements that can likely help you along the way.

To be clear, they are called ‘supplements’ for a reason…and that is because they’re not meant to replace diet, or replace exercise, but only to supplement the work you are already doing in the kitchen and the gym.

So what is a supplement anyway? Do you even know? The definition of a supplement changes from country to country as does the requirement for scientific proof of the efficacy and safety. The concept of ‘supplement’ is a legal definition based on the governing bodies of your given region. A supplement can be legal for sale in one country and illegal in the very next country over (United States vs Canada for example).

The legal definition and status of a supplement can change throughout it’s lifecycle as well. In some cases a supplement can be in a grey area where it does not have government approval for sale, but it’s not quite illegal yet either. In these cases the supplement in question is being sold while it’s legal definition is ‘pending approval’. In some cases a product can be determined a drug and thus illegal for sale as a supplement.

If you’ve been a regular consumer of sports/bodybuilding supplements over the past decade then it’s likely you have taken a product that has been re-categorized as a drug and thus illegal. In some sense you could even say that you’ve been taking a ‘banned’ substance that would definitely have you failing a drug test in any organized sport!

Supplement manufacturers move fast getting new products onto the market. So fast that in some cases regulatory bodies cannot keep up with the pre-market regulatory review process to determine if a product is safe and effective for sale. Some products can gain a significant market share while regulators scramble to figure out what is being sold and if it should be classified as a supplement or drug.

This is a dynamic struggle between supplement manufacturers and regulators, and it’s been going on since supplements hit the market. As long as supplement manufacturers can find new ingredients and new derivatives if existing ingredients there will always be this grey area between what is known and studied, and what is new and not fully understood yet.

In this first part we discuss the definition of what a supplement is, how the industry got started, and what it has evolved into.

John

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

Not an Adonis Index IMMERSION client? Click here to find out more… and hear a weird story too

Filed Under: Supplements, Uncensored Podcasts S02 Tagged With: ,
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