Archives for June 2014

Victory or Regret?

Victory or Regret?

Victory or Regret?

Sweat drips down me as if I had just come out of a rainstorm.   I write the last little tick mark on my workout sheet but the sweat blurs the ink into a blob.   I look down at all the ink that is just this gelatinous-looking mess and I start to try to correct all the other marks that got smeared but they get even worse.   I muse to myself how I’m going to have to let the sheet dry out due to the “sweat effect.”

Here I am trying to catch my breath while I dictate this post via a dictation app, as I feel inspired right and it seems easiest.   I try to search for the words of accomplishment that are really coursing through my body and my mind right now.

I came to the gym not really wanting to be here, but I forced the body to move.

I arrived relatively uninspired.

I leave…well…I’m going to leave fully satisfied with the effort I gave today.

When I train…I just get better and better the warmer I get.  The more sweat pours, the more satisfied I am and thus the harder I push beyond what I thought I could do.

What can I say?   I am truly and thoroughly enjoying these new immersion tricep and chest Advanced Growth Series  workouts.   The density blocks that I have undergone and conquered are exactly right up my alley and what I truly enjoy doing.

You know, you really got to find a way to enjoy your workout.  There are plenty of days when you don’t want to go to the gym.   It’s easier to make an excuse:

“Oh it’s raining”

“ Oh it’s snowing”

“I just feel lazy”

“…but a re-run of <insert name of TV show here> is on…”

But, I’m going to tell ya:  you don’t regret the work out that you accomplish.  You don’t regret that workout that you forced yourself to go to and you actually do it.

You regret the workout that you skipped because you were lazy.  That’s the one that we beat ourselves over.

(Side note:  if this isn’t your way of thinking, then may I suggest that you might well not be as dedicated into your training as you think you are, especially if your physique isn’t at least showing some of the changes you want.  You might willfully be deceiving yourself.

It might be time to have a reality check…are you dedicated to your training or are you ho-hum about it?)

LOL...if you think I need to prove what I've written in the blog...this was from my thursday workout.

LOL…If you think I need to prove what I’ve written in the blog…this was from my thursday workout.

Inspiration comes from within and I find it in the gym when I’m sitting here doing my stuff with no one else around to get in my way.  After all these years it just comes naturally.  It’s like a motor reflex.   Many days I force myself against the inertia of laziness and procrastination and train.  As the workout goes on I get more into it and work harder.  As I then work harder, I push it more.  The harder and harder and harder I work out the more sweat I work up, the more I push it and the more satisfaction comes.

Now, we’re not always inspired.   We’re not always gung-ho to go to the gym and train, but like I said, we don’t regret the workout that we accomplished even if it was not the best effort ever.   Even if it was not the most intense workout that we’ve ever accomplished we still went there we did it we did the best we could considering the situation on that particular day in that particular season of life.

The workout we do regret, however…the workout that makes us just beat ourselves up is the workout where we wussed out and didn’t even make the attempt.   We let that old mindset…our old mindset rooted in failure, no ambition, and no desire to really push ourselves.   We let that rule us and that hurts afterward.

And it should!

That’s what we regret.

That’s what we beat ourselves up over.

(Again, if you skip workouts for no good, real, legitimate reason and don’t feel the way I’m describing (even slightly), then it might be time to re-assess yourself.  How dedicated are you to training? How badly do you want that golden physique?)

However, when we overcome that lazy flesh and we’re sitting in the gym after the work out like a victorious warrior…yeah the iron beat us again…yeah it will always beat us, and we’re ok with that.

Yet we report for duty each and every time.

Every time we come into the gym we report for battle and we’re bigger and stronger mentally and physically every single time that we don’t skip this battle.

Gentlemen, do not neglect the battle.   Do not shy away and do not wuss out from the challenge of improving yourself mentally and physically.  Your body will reap the rewards, and your mind will become stronger…just as your body does.

NO REGRETS! Sweat is my fat crying.

NO REGRETS! Sweat is my fat crying.

We don’t regret the work out that we forced ourselves to go to.  We don’t regret that we conquered our flesh and got it done.

But, we do regret the one that we wussed out on.

If you are looking for an outstanding battle plan for attacking your physique goals, check out the AGR Systems that has helped hundreds of men to conquer themselves and achieve their best physiques.

If you are looking for brother-in-arms who have fought the battle, achieved the golden physique, and have maintained it for years, check out our Premiere Coaching Program, where experienced coaches who have successfully underwent their own transformations will help you through the minefields that come up with training and nutrition.

Train Hard, Train Smart,

Jason

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010

 Jason Haynes is one of the oldest members of the AGR community and has been around since he participated in the first and second AGR Transformation Competitions, of which he placed second and first, respectively.  Having found a system that he is confident in and that works, he has faithfully stuck by it ever since.  Now in his 40’s, Jason enjoys living the life of maintaining his physique easily and with little effort, thanks to the AGR system and tools provided.  He is also a coach in the Adonis Premiere Coaching program and desires to help anyone to achieve their fitness goals.
ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes: May 2014

ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes: May 2014

Can You Be Addicted to Food? Uncensored Podcast

How can we overcome being addicted to food?

How can we overcome being addicted to food?

 

Can you be addicted to food?

What about marketing and engineered foods?

How can we overcome being addicted to food?

How can we diet while addicted to food?

What part of the brain is effected?

Can you quit cold turkey?

What about sensationalized foods?

How can we avoid this problem when we need to diet?

Are certain food toxic?

Is there a toxic calorie level?

How do you make a diet fit for you?

How stressful is the style of eating to you?

What about “junk food”?

What is the best diet for you?

Can you pick and choose from various diets?

How can you pick a style of eating for yourself?

Can someone do a free for all diet?

What about diet when you are traveling?

How do we fit in intermittent fasting or Eat Stop Eat?

How do we make a diet fit for ourselves?

Can we eat without a plan?

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about food addictions and finding the right diet for you:

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

(If you are using Adonis Index Mobile, go to the left menu -> My products -> right menu -> Uncensored Season 3 -> enjoy, you can assign star to add it into Favorites for easier access next time, if you don’t have access to Uncensored Podcasts you can purchase Immersion Package inside the App Shop)

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Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

Today’s post is our latest installment of a new series called the “Coaches Corner.”  Our Adonis Transformation Coaches will share their knowledge, experience, and best practices to help ensure your successful transformation.  To continue the series, our topic  comes from none other than Adonis Legend and AGR Pioneer, Jason Haynes.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

 

It never fails to happen at least once a week at work.  I thank God nowadays for my attitude when it happens, as I am a LOT better now than I used to be.  The scenario varies slightly from week to week, but it goes something like this (and this is a specific example that really happened) :

Co-worker walks up to me to show me something on his cell phone…it’s a comic strip of two guys.  One is buff and ripped and busting tail doing a workout.  He is shown in obvious exertion and strain.  The other guy is fat and eating a box of some kind of donuts (I would guess jelly filled) and he is wearing a totally satisfied and tranquil expression.  The “punchline” to this comic, as shown in the last panel of the strip, is the donut-eating character looking smug saying “who looks happier?”

Now, the man who showed me this cartoon is overweight and obviously out of shape.  He’s a great guy and I consider him a good friend, but facts are facts.  I look over to him after reading the comic and he has this kind of smug look (strangely the same look as the comic character), and I reply:  “the guy lifting weights is way happier.”

I hand his phone back to him and my friend nods and wordlessly walks away.  Guess I didn’t play into his game, so I suppose that I was no fun.

This was the best answer I could have given, in my opinion.  Sure, my ego kicks in after some retrospective time and I think better retorts that “should” have followed my initial one.  Thing like:  “And who do you think is happier when he looks into a mirror while shirtless?  And which one avoids the mirror like the plague?  Or pool parties or beaches, for that matter?”

Perhaps that would have been taken personally, so like I said, I am thankful to God that I handle things differently nowadays.

Anyway, this week I had a pair of happenings, this time both with women I work with.  I’ve had several instances like this with both of them in the past, but again with slightly different topics although they all revolve around my lifestyle of training at the gym during my lunch break.   Yes, it’s true that I <gasp!!> don’t go to lunch with any of my co-workers because I choose to train during lunch break and then scarf down a quick egg and cheese sandwich before getting back to work.

It is, of course, nothing personal against them but personally I like having full run of the gym (no one but me is there during lunchtime), and I would prefer to go home to my beautiful wife and daughter after work instead of going to the gym at its busiest hours.

Anyway, so I’m walking down the stairs and another co-worker sees me on the first floor as I approach the bottom.  She stops and takes a long pause as I finish descending.  When I am at the bottom of the stairs, this simple scene unfolds:

“Oh, off to exercise again?”

“Yup.”

We head out the double doors at my work and just before we go separate ways, she adds:

“Well, you go exercise, and I am doing my exercise of walking to lunch.  See, I exercise too.”

(Which, in my opinion, is akin to telling a holocaust survivor that you understand the depths of horrors of what he has been through because you know a person of Israeli descent…as if that is common ground and puts you on equal footing with them.)

"People notice the fruit of our actions more-so than our words." - Jason Haynes

“People notice the fruit of our actions more-so than our words.” – Jason Haynes

 

The other one from this week was with a different woman.  I had a run in with her previously when she told me that I don’t need to exercise because I “am in good shape,” to which I said “how do you think I stay this way?”

Anyway, I was walking to the parking lot and we were going the same direction so she started talking about how she knows she should exercise but she is lazy.  Yes, she said that word, which kind of surprised me.  At least she is honest about it.

I simply told her “That’s ok, there is nothing morally wrong with that…you just don’t want it badly enough to take action.  There is nothing inherently wrong with that.”  (Yes, my blog about “Wishing vs. Wanting” was ringing in my ears at this point.  Ha!)

Now, if you have read to this point you may well be wondering:  “What in the world is Jason rambling about?  Is there a point to this?”

And rightly so, I must say, so let me get to the point:

See, simply having a lifestyle of training says a lot to people even without us saying a word to them about it.  We don’t have to stand on a soapbox and preach to the masses about their need to embrace the concepts of responsible nutrition and consistent exercise.  We don’t have to quote studies and journals or anything.

People notice the fruit of our actions more-so than our words.  As with many things in life, our actions and our lives speak louder than any words we may have to say…ESPECIALLY if our lives (and thus, in the context of this post,  physiques) are a physical representation of what we preach!

If you have the lifestyle of training and nutrition, but WITHOUT the physique to back it up (or at least an appreciative amount of work showing in your physique), you are simply pretending to be something that you are not.

Sorry, but it’s true.

Sure, you may have the head knowledge, but you lack the experiential knowledge and understanding that only comes with having done (or in the process of doing) it!

Preaching one thing but not doing it is hypocrisy, whether from a spiritual standpoint or a physical one.

Practice what you preach, fellas…and preach only what you practice, if it is beneficial and works.

And if you would like a road map to achieving the goal of an outstanding physique, check out the Adonis Golden Ratio System.  It’s worked for hundreds of men of all ages and physical conditions.

If you are looking for additional accountability, assistance, and coaching from guys who actually have been in your shoes (undergoing their own transformations and maintaining their results over the course of several years), then check out our Premiere Coaching Program.

Lots of guys still talk about “living the lifestyle,” but in fact are only deceiving themselves and others.  Don’t be one of them.

 Train Hard, Train Smart.

Jason

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010

Jason Haynes is one of the oldest members of the AGR community and has been around since he participated in the first and second AGR Transformation Competitions, of which he placed second and first, respectively.  Having found a system that he is confident in and that works, he has faithfully stuck by it ever since.  Now in his 40’s, Jason enjoys living the life of maintaining his physique easily and with little effort, thanks to the AGR system and tools provided.  He is also a coach in the Adonis Premiere Coaching program and desires to help anyone to achieve their fitness goals.

ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes: May 2014

ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes: May 2014

 

Change or Remain the Same: Interview w/ AT-12 Winner Richard Geary

Here’s the latest post with one of the winners from the 12th Adonis Golden Ratio Transformation Contest.

Richard is definitely “A man on a mission.” With an active lifestyle involving work, family, and coaching it’s needless to say that his time is very valuable to him.

However, Richard explains how his workouts were driving him insane!

Scroll down to read  about how the Adonis Golden Ratio system helped Richard get his “Workout Sanity” back, but first, check out his  AT12 Pictures:

Richard Geary - AT 12 - 8th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Richard Geary – AT12 – 8th Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

Richard Geary - AT12 - 8th Place - Transformation Image

Richard Geary – AT12 – 8th Place – Transformation Image

 

Richard Geary - 8th Place - Side Before/After Photos

Richard Geary – 8th Place – Side Before/After Photos

 

Richard Geary - 8th Place - Back Before/After Photos

Richard Geary – 8th Place – Back Before/After Photos

 

Richard’s Transformation Essay:

I bought the Adonis Golden Ratio (AGR) system looking for a program that “fit” into my lifestyle.  I consider myself a family man,  having been married for 16 years with 3 children. I also coach multiple  traveling sport teams in addition to the “occupational travel” for my sales job.
I like to work out, but have been stuck in a “rut” doing the same things and expecting my body to change.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
So I guess you could say I was going insane when I bought the program. What I found with the AGR system is that it delivered above and beyond my expectations. This system allows me to be able to get in and out of the gym quickly and efficiently.
I can access all the content from my smartphone which is ideal for how mobile I am. The nutrition program has guided me to what my body needs to stay lean.  No doubt, the diet is the most important part of the program.  It takes discipline and persistence.
The workouts started out very challenging with a bunch of exercises I had never done before. I was skeptical at first, but was able to maintain size even though I lost inches in my waist.
I am still working toward my ideal Adonis Golden Ratio measurements, but I believe I will achieve that goal soon. With multiple programs to give variety, along with a final phase program, you have given me the tools I need to FINALLY succeed.
Thanks for making a great program!

Editor’s Note:

Hey Richard,

I enjoyed hearing that in your active lifestyle, you still placed a priority on working out.  Glad to know that you stayed the course and hung on long enough to overcome the frustrations of not seeing results until you were able to discover AGR. You provided some very valuable feedback on how you have made the AGR system “fit” into your lifestyle and were happy to hear you’ve had such a positive experience.  Enjoy the journey and keep pushing towards your “Golden” A.I. measurements.  Congratulations on your transformation! 

your brother in Iron,

Allen Elliott | Adonis Transformation Coach

What Can You Do vs. What Will You Do for Fat Loss; Uncensored Podcast

What CAN you do versus what WILL you do for Fat Loss?

What CAN you do versus what WILL you do for Fat Loss?

 

There may be 1000 solutions but you can only do one of them.

What is the most efficient way for YOU?

There are infinite suggestions and solutions to fat loss.

Why is collecting solutions is not THE solution?

Why is the application more important than the theory?

Why does a diet fail the application?

What makes a diet click for you?

What makes everyone successful regardless of diet or workout?

How do you find the one you will stick with?

What do all the successful programs have in common?

What gets you results?

What makes it sustainable for you?

What is the measurement of what works?

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about what works for Fat Loss:

IMMERSION Clients May Login and Download Podcast Here

(If you are using Adonis Index Mobile, go to the left menu -> My products -> right menu -> Uncensored Season 3 -> enjoy, you can assign star to add it into Favorites for easier access next time, if you don’t have access to Uncensored Podcasts you can purchase Immersion Package inside the App Shop)

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Re-Birth: Interview w/ AT-12 Winner Tyson Harker

Here’s the latest post with one of the winners from the 12th Adonis Golden Ratio Transformation Contest.

Along contest AT-12 life threw a very interesting curve ball at Tyson.  As he was striving for the birth/transformation of his  “brand-new physique” he was also accompanied with a new addition to the family.  Nevertheless, Tyson continued the challenge and overcame the countless sleepless nights and many other “time-consuming” activities that come with raising a “new-born.”  He not only successfully completed the 12 week challenge, he actually saw some dramatic results!

Scroll down to read  Tyson’s transformation essay in his own words, but first, check out his  AT12 Pictures:

Tyson Harker - AT 12-  9th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Tyson Harker – AT 12 – 9th Place – Front Before/After Photos

Tyson Harker - - AT12 - 9th Place - Transformation Image

Tyson Harker – AT12 – 9th Place – Transformation Image

Tyson Harker -  AT12 - 9th Place - Side Before/After Photos

Tyson Harker – AT12 – 9th Place – Side Before/After Photos

Tyson Harker - AT12 - 9th Place - Back Before/After Photos

Tyson Harker – AT12 – 9th Place – Back Before/After Photos

 

Tyson’s Transformation Essay:

This contest  proved to be a very interesting 12 weeks in my life. My wife and I welcomed a new member into our family in July and we were still in the throws of sleeplessness during the beginning of AT12.? There were times I questioned why I started a contest under such duress but I never skipped a workout and continued to push through the tiredness. Eventually the nights got better and my workouts got stronger.? My workouts consisted of Adonis Golden Ratio (AGR) Category 3 training with AGR Category 1 nutrition guidelines. It was a mix that I felt proved to be quite successful. After all AGR is all about adaption right?

I followed the Reverse Taper Diet (RTD) throughout the course of the contest and was amazing at the simplicity of it and its overall effectiveness.? A big take-away I learned was to eat for the week and not the day. I feel like this was my biggest catalyst for success as I was able to plan my weekends for social events and times with my family knowing that during the week I could be strict with my diet. When I did this, the weight and inches fell off.

I look in the mirror and for the first time in years of training, I can actually see a difference. My shoulders are wider, my waist is smaller and I feel I actually look “good”. The biggest pay-off has been in the way my clothes fit. There is just something “rewarding”  about putting on a pair of pants that doesn’t quite fit like they used to.

 

Editor’s Note:

Hey Tyson,

Major kudos to you for completing contest AT-12. Also, congratulations on the new addition to your family. You had plenty of reasons to “bow out” with all do reason.  But you chose to stay the course. Another great example of one’s will and desire to improve.  It reminds me of a quote, “Change is inevitable, progress is optional.”  Thanks for raising the bar one step higher in the “AGR community” and being an “excuse-eliminator.”

your brother in Iron,

Allen Elliott | Adonis Transformation Coach
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