Archives for August 2014

The Adonis Transformation Contest AT-15 Will Start on September 1, 2014

Would you like to achieve the same success as these previous Adonis Transformation contest winners? You definitely can do it too – at any age!

Would you like to achieve the same success as these previous Adonis Transformation contest winners? You definitely can do it too – at any age!

 

The Adonis Transformation Contest AT-15 Will Start on September 1, 2014

We will accept contest entries starting on September 1, 2014. The deadline for entering your before pictures will be Midnight Eastern Time on September 8, 2014.

The pictures must be taken between between September 1 and September 8, 2014. The newspaper front page picture must be taken during the same photo session.

Before you enter please read the contest instructions:

Click here –> Contest instructions, rules, and regulations <– Click here

Note: The contest dashboard is only open during the

week of September 1-8, 2014

Here are the steps to enter AT-15:

1)      Login to you online Adonis account

2)      Click on the “Tracker” menu

SKITCH A1

 

3)      Click on the “Contest Dashboard” button

SKITCH A2

4)      Click on the green “Join Contest” button

SKITCH A3

 

5)      Drag and Drop your contest pictures

SKITCH-1

 

6)      Scroll down and enter your measurements with the drop down arrows

SKITCH-2

 

7)      Click on the blue “Start Contest” button

SKITCH-3

 

8)      You are successfully entered when you see the green letters that say “Before photos uploaded”

SKITCH-4

 

You will receive a confirmation email after September 8, 2014 if you carefully followed the contest instructions.

If you completed all 8 steps but did not carefully follow the contest instructions you will not receive a confirmation email and you may have to wait to enter the next contest.  Please carefully read the contest instructions before you enter the contest.

Checkout the winners of our previous contests.

GET EXCITED!! The Adonis Golden Ratio 12 week transformation contest is the first step in your Adonis Lifestyle journey!

 

Email me if you have any problems or questions entering the contests:

  Allen.E.Model@gmail.com

Stay Safe & Train Hard!

your brother in Iron,

ALLEN ELLIOTT

  • Adonis/Venus Index Transformation Coach
  • Editor-In-Chief, Adonis Index Blog
  • AI Community/Forum Administrator

My Adonis Index Transformation Story

Would you like some extra help and accountability? Click here to visit the Adonis Premiere Coaching Page 
 “It’s Not a Competition, It’s a lifestyle!” 

Training or Simply Moving?: 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 AGR Pioneer,  Jason Haynes.

When it comes to working out, how do you check the block? Are you training or simply moving?

When it comes to working out, how do you check the block? Are you training or simply moving?

 

                                      Training or Simply Moving?

I know an extremely popular topic for trainers, coaches and just fitness blogs in general goes along the lines of “Are you training or just working out?”  In some ways this is, admittedly, a similar one..to be fair, there is only so much you can say about the topic.

I suppose the motivation for this post is seeing something on a corner of a community where I currently work my day job.  See, I currently work labor/construction (have to provide for my family as soon as we arrived in the US, after all) and the communities I am stationed at are quite rich.  As such, it is not uncommon to see groups of neighbors gathered together for early morning….uh…”exercise time.”

Granted, I don’t stand around and watch these gaggles of what are normally housewives for too long as I have work to do, but it’s not uncommon for me to pass by their general vicinity several times over the course of several hours.  What strikes me as funny is that they are so absorbed in their topics of conversation that they seem oblivious to the fact that they are not only in the same places as they have been for the prior hour or two, but many of them are doing the exact same thing as well.  Things like:  the woman who is stretching her calves on a curb is still standing there “stretching” her calves…same position, same curb, same place in the circle, and SAME CALF!!

They are usually decked out in all their apparrelled glory:  matching jogging clothes with matching shoes and whatever gadgets and gizmos that they want strapped to them.  Now, I have no problem with getting training gear…even to the point of <gasp> matching…but when the gear is only worn and not actually used for the purpose it was intended for…well, then I have to pull a “ridiculous” card on this training foul.

I mean, come on.

TRAIN OR REMAIN THE SAME!

TRAIN OR REMAIN THE SAME!

 

Hey, I am totally for people exercising just to get moving and get outside.  If someone actually does it for health purposes, I am all for it.  Good for you.  If you choose to train with running or whatever and don’t even touch a weight because your are not interested in building muscle, then I will actually support you in your endeavor.

At least you are DOING something. Movement is good.  Weights are better, but still…good for you.

Granted, this is just exercising…not training.  Again, if you want to exercise for the reason of simply moving and getting the “ol” heartrate up, then go for it.  I’ll even encourage you.

Don’t expect me to go on a run with you, though.  I am not interested.

See, my time to train is limited and I need to spend it wisely, focused, and staying on target with my goals, which are not the same as yours (in the context of the people who exercise for health/movement purposes only).

This situation, sadly, is not limited to only the housewives running club…which never seems to actually get running….it also happens in the gym, unfortunately.

Warning:  I’m about to go “inhuman mode” on ya.

Someone once called me “inhuman” for my dedication to my training and caloric discipline.  But you know what?  That is what is NEEDED to succeed with transforming your body.

Look,I have under 40 minutes to devote to training each day.  Yes, I could get up earlier, but at this point if the number “4” is in the hours spot of the clock, it just isn’t happening at this point. For some reason, 5AM sounds better to me than ANYTHING beginning with a “4” and then “AM”after it.

Usually I have under 30 minutes to train…sometimes 40, but not often.  I don’t have time to play around and linger.  I need to get to work with the weights.  I am not there to “exercise” or to “move” or whatever…I am there to keep the muscle mass I have and to gain as much more as possible while I still can.  My age is not working in my favor in this equation, so it’s even more imperative to get busy and stay focused.

Put on the game face…get busy.  Time’s ticking.

I see people lollygagging and simply wasting time.  You may think “maybe they are talking between sets,” but I have yet to see a good training program (with the exception of some powerlifting templates) that has 5-10 minute resting periods and, quite frankly, the poundage of the weights they use does not put them in that category…far from it.

Which leads me to conclude that they are simply moving weight to “get moving” and to use their muscles.  You know what?  Good for you, dude!  Good for you, dudette!  At least you are doing something other than nothing.

But as for me:  I need to know that I would be sweating if the air conditioning in the gym wasn’t set at freezing, I need to feel my muscles burn, full well feeling each intended muscle targeted.

I am not there for “health” reasons.  Health improves naturally with a fit body.  Train properly, as with the AGR Systems, and your heart gets a good training session in as well…no need to do cardio if you don’t have the time or desire.

Yes, it’s not easy to make friends at the gym with my training mentality…I simply cannot let myself slide into their ways.  Nothing personal against them…but I have two places of work:  the gym and my job.  I am at neither one with the goal of socializing and making friends…I have a job to do and I will get it done.

Yes, there are are some tips and tricks and mindset things involved in this process as well…and your AGR Premiere Coaches are ready and willing to share those with you to help you get to your goals.  With another AGR Transformation competition coming up within a few weeks, now might be a good time to get started with your transformation.

Many guys don’t get started with their competition until it is officially announced…only to have to deal with traps, pits, problems and other issues that come up naturally during life and training.  By getting started early, you can encounter and adjust to these issues in order to ultimately conquer them.  AGR Premiere Coaching can certainly help you with these things as well as many others, including the accountability that so many of us are needing.

If you have not purchased the AGR systems, why not?  Get it here.

Even top athletes…the best of the best…have coaches to get them to the top of their game.  If even the most elite athletes know the value of a coach, there is certainly something to being coached.   Check out our AGR Coaching program.

Look…guys…ladies…there is a time and place for things.  If achieving your ideal body is something important to you…if reaping the benefits of a healthy and strong body appeals to you, don’t waste your time.  Get the program, get help, get focused, and get busy.

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 | June 2014

ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes | June 2014

 

 

A Standard Diet and Fitness Evolution; Uncensored Podcast

Dieting and Weight Loss as a Concept Abstract

 

A Standard Diet and Fitness Evolution

What are the standard phases of a persons fitness evolution?

What happens to your perception of food?

What about food that becomes fuel instead of pleasure?

What is dosing food all about?

When does meal replacement come into play?

And then what happens with marketing?

When does it become an intellectual pursuit?

What about supplements?

What about the mix of foods you eat?

What about when fat loss is the goal?

What about when muscle building is the goal?

What about vitamins and minerals?

What about macro nutrients; protein, carbohydrates, and fat?

When does science come into play?

What about magazines?

What happens when you get a degree in nutrition?

When did women’s fitness get started and how did it evolve?

How does a fitness trend get started and how does marketing effect it?

Everyone you follow and read are on the same journey, some are further ahead than you are and some you can see are where you one were.

We all just keep learning as we go.

 

Listen to what John and Brad have to say about their evolution in diet and fitness:

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)

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

 

AT14 12-Week Transformation Winners Announced

The AT14 results are in and the transformations our guys made are simply amazing! This was the largest contest we’ve had yet… The competition was fierce and the contestants were judged in a total of five equally weighted categories:

1- Weight Loss (LBS) – 20%

2-  Adonis Golden Ratio (AGR)  Transformation Change -20%

3-  Final AGR Score- 20%

4- Muscularity- 20%

5- Aesthetics/Photogenic Quality – 20%

Congratulations to everyone who entered and completed their transformation goals!

Here are the winners:

 

Ryan Law [ShadowTiger] – 1st Place

Ryan Law 1st Place - Front Before/After Photos

Ryan Law 1st Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

Michael De Oliveira [Mike]- 2nd Place

Mike De Oliveira 2nd Place - Front Before/After Photos

Mike De Oliveira 2nd Place – Front Before/After Photos

Adam G. [driftbouncer] – 3rd Place

Adam G. 3rd Place - Front Before/After Photos

Adam G. 3rd Place – Front Before/After Photos

Jim Ferneyhough [Jimmysnsd]- 4th Place

Jim Ferneyhough 4th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Jim Ferneyhough 4th Place – Front Before/After Photos

Des Connelly [dconnelly]- 5th Place

Des Connelly 5th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Des Connelly 5th Place – Front Before/After Photos

C. Doyle [ColinD]- 6th Place

C Doyle 6th Place - Front Before/After Photos

C Doyle 6th Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

 Kenneth Wooden [kmwooden]- 7th Place

Kenneth Wooden 7th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Kenneth Wooden 7th Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

 Ream Kidane [Reamerton]- 8th Place

Ream Kidane 8th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Ream Kidane 8th Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

Brad V.[BradnMI]- 9th Place

Brad V. 9th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Brad V. 9th Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

Luke Milligan [milliganluke3]- 10th Place

 

Luke Milligan 10th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Luke Milligan 10th Place – Front Before/After Photos

 

If you are wondering about what program(s) they used then check out the Adonis Index systems that all of them followed. You can also look forward to their interviews coming up later this month. Again congratulations to everyone, outstanding job.

 

Distractions: 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 AGR Pioneer,  Jason Haynes.

 

DISTRACTIONS

For the past 10 years or so all of my gym experiences been either at home gym or at small hole-in-the-wall dungeons during off hours when not many people go there.    I don’t know but I like to train solo with not many people with his minimal distractions as possible (sidenote:   if you’re ever gonna play music for a visitor to your country just because it’s in the native language of the person that doesn’t mean it’s a good choice for listing music.   I had someone once play “I’m a big big girl” while I was deadlifting!  I mean, I was on that last grinding rep when the song came on.  I just felt my testosterone flee from me and I dropped the weight).

Anyway, coming back to the US has been a trip in so many ways and certainly the gym is among one of the most interesting ones.  In my previous blog I talked about just the over abundance of highly caloric and tasty foods that you can find readily in this place, but today I’m gonna focus on the gym itself.

So here I am in Southern California.  There is a wide array of gyms and plenty of choices…most of them are open at good hours.   The place I go to is pretty much ok… it’s cheap, serves my purposes, the weight of the dumbbells go high enough, and there’s a wide assortment of machines.  So, that’s good.  At the time I go there (at about 5:30 in the morning) only a few guys are in the weight section…and these are the guys who are there are to work out.

Or are they?  A few…yes,but the others…I am not so sure. (Another blog post, maybe).

 

iStock_000028970566Small

“It’s been a process of learning NOT to be distracted by what I see around me.” – Jason Haynes

Anyway, the first time that I stepped into that place to work out was just a shock.  As I said in the beginning of this blog…the last 10 years was simple and effective.  Nothing but weights and the occasional TV in front of the treadmills.  So…I walked in the gym, and I I just stood there staring at what was nearly unbelievable to me.  I felt like I was in a panorama of big flat/plasma screen TVs…each one tuned into a different station.  I hadn’t even begun to lift a weight yet and there I was transfixed on over a dozen screens.

It was so distracting.  I think my 45 minute workout must have taken about an hour and a half because all I did was get constantly distracted.   One TV station had Big Ten football, on another one is the all sports station, yet another one had UFC fighting (oh wait no that’s every day..but on that particular day they were doing prop airplanes flying through a slalom course of probably hundred foot tall pylons.  Up until that point, I thought that stuff was only in video games).

It was reedicyoulous!

If my memory serves right:  six TVs along the cardio stations, three other TVs along the left side, there’s at least four along the right side and then there’s two or three along the other side of this building.  Each one is turned to a different station, granting a great opportunity for…say it with me..

Distractions.

"Each of the coaches there has worked hard, achieved the golden ratio, and maintained it.  We have some insight and tricks than can help you stay focused and get on track, if necessary." - Jason Haynes

“Each of the coaches there has worked hard, achieved the golden ratio, and maintained it. We have some insight and tricks than can help you stay focused and get on track, if necessary.” – Jason Haynes

It’s been a month since I’ve been going here to the gym (in fact I just renewed my monthly dues this today).   It’s been a process of learning NOT to be distracted by what I see around me. I think it was pretty easy to learn it, actually, as I have had many years of no distractions and have adapted that mindset.  I don’t know if I would have adjusted as easy if I had not had all those years behind me.

I have to tune out because I only have 30 minutes to get my training done so I pretty much ignore what’s going on around me. Yes, I am still cordial an courteous and everything else according to social convention, but I just can’t allow distractions to interfere.

Man, that UFC program that always plays at my training time REALLY challenges my focus, though.

I have to keep a mental countdown in my head every time of every second.  I don’t rely on stopwatches anything like that but the risk is always there:   a distraction.   Distractions that come in many shapes and forms….it could be people, things people do,  it could be TV sets, it can be people doing weird exercises (don’t let maybe that’ll be my next blog post).

Most of us who have normal jobs and families and commitments…our time in the gym is precious and cannot be divided amongst other things around us when we’re there.  We are there for one reason:   to train, to push our muscles, to push our limits of strength and to attain that coveted golden physique.

Distractions are everywhere…inside AND outside the gym.  Each set of potential distractions carries it’s own challenges and solutions.  If you would like help to work through your distractions and challenges, check out the AGR Premiere Coaching program.  Each of the coaches there has worked hard, achieved the golden ratio, and maintained it.  We have some insight and tricks than can help you stay focused and get on track, if necessary.

Train hard,  train smart.

Jason

When Abundance Abounds…Shred Season Begins

Today’s post is two-fold.  It is both a reflection of the Summer Season,with the conclusion of contest AT-14. Also, returning to the regular line-up,  the latest installment of the new “Coaches Corner” with Jason Haynes.

 

Shred Season: The Final Countdown of AT14

Shred Season: The Final Countdown of AT14

Enter the Shredder: Final Countdown of AT14

In the last remaining days of AT14 it’s imperative that you maintain your pursuit towards that  “Golden” transformation.   Many will be making there final preparations this weekend or have already done so.

Contest Photo Submissions for AT14 will be due no later than Monday August 11th at midnight Eastern Standard Time.  AT14 is trending to be our largest competition to date based on the number of contest entries.

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

The time of this particular contest in conjunction with the summer months have been unofficially proclaimed to be the “Shred Season.”  Many people begin to shred not only their clothes, but their diets in order to hit the beach looking there very best.

Win or lose, remember that your transformation is a personal achievement and you should be very proud of your accomplishment.

In a previous post, I discussed the Four Key Ingredient necessary in order to become “Photo-Shoot Ready” on command.  Those ingredients are:

1. Conditioning

2. Posing

3. Tanning

4. Photography/Lighting

Keeping these concepts in mind will help you capture some amazing images of your new & improved physique.

In conclusion, to all my brothers in Iron, I hope your enjoying living the Adonis Lifestyle and to those contestants in AT14, come August 11th, I look forward to congratulating you on your transformation!

If you have any questions on the contest email me at:

ALLEN.E.MODEL@GMAIL.COM

Abundance Abounds

To continue the series, our topic  comes from none other than Adonis Transformation Coach and AGR Pioneer, Jason Haynes.

First, let me apologize for my absence and lack of blogs these days.  We have re-located internationally and as many of you may realize, that is NO small task…and with everything that it includes, some things naturally get put off until a later time.

But, I’m back and while FAR from settled in, 75% of all the major things have been handled and thus more time is available for writing.

So the last few weeks have been a hectic mess as we settle into life in the US after moving from Asia where I had lived for the previous ten years.  While there were a myriad of challenges and hurdles to overcome while living in Asia, abundance and ease of accessibility to food was NOT among them.

Indeed, in terms of food, nutrition, and drinks, we led a rather simple life simply because of what was available to us.  We ate lots of oatmeal (with protein powder thrown in), eggs, rice, noodles, pork , yogurt and vegetables.  We ix-nayed on the high calorie cakes and comfort foods simply because they were not easily accessible and, quite frankly, most of them didn’t appeal to me (or taste that good…I mean, no offense if you like them, but shrimp flavored potato chips simply have never “done” it for me…and the bakery cakes were simply too spongey).

So, because of these reasons, getting lean and staying that way was quite simple…I would almost say it was easy.  With the exception of a bi-weekly trip into downtown where we would indulge in a stuffed-crust pizza, everything was pretty standard in our household, meal-wise.

Weekly we would buy enough “fresh” meat from the market (or wet market), some frozen dumplings, and some other staples.  We’d buy fresh eggs almost every 3 days (we would go through 24 of them in about that amount of time), and fruit and vegetables daily.

Yes, we lived in the boondocks, BTW.

So when I used to hear John Barban or Brad Pilon talking about just how abundant and ultra-convenient food is here in the US and Canada, I could totally see and understand it although the true depth of that truth was impossible to grasp.

That is, until I got back home.

I have only been here about 28 days, but I can totally see what they saw…and what many of you ( and now me, too) have to deal with in terms of struggles with the super abundance and ultra convenience of the modern world.

I mean…wow.  Walking into a 7-11 for the first time in 10 years was a jaw-drawing experience.  I just went in for a coffee…a simple cup of unsweetened black Joe…and I froze in my tracks as there were what seemed like a dozen choices….and some of them seem downright odd (I mean:  I truly enjoy blueberries, and indeed they are probably my favorite fruit, but…blueberry coffee??  Really?).  The next sight I saw was what appeared to be a 20 ounce Red Bull, but I could NOT have seen that right…I mean..sheesh.

Walking to the cooler, I was greeted by a 4-pack of pre-made Muscle Milk in small, individual serving bottles. If I remember right, it was $7 for 2 bottles.  I remember doing the math at that time…to buy the pre-made stuff once a day every day would cost 3-5x more than just buying a 5lb bottle and mixing it yourself, depending where you bought your 5lb bottle, of course.

But hey, if you can afford it and want to throw money away…it is crazy convenient.

And that is just talking about convenience…but what about abundance???

Wow.

I could go on and on about just how ABUNDANT calories are here…and high calories at that!  With the amount of choices and the accessibility to food, it is no WONDER there is an obesity epidemic.

Don’t get me wrong…there are MANY wonderful and healthy food choices available.   Personally, I have taken a liking to something suggested to me on the Adonis Forums:  greek yogurt mixed with a certain brand of chunky applesauce and some cinnamon.   Same amount of protein as a standard 30g scoop of protein, basically, with minimal caloric differences.  I’ve also re-discovered old favorites I have not eaten for YEARS such as cottage cheese.

shred season-2

“Abundance Abounds in our Western Culture… Second only to Convenience.” – Jason Haynes

 

But I must, as I assume everyone struggles with, not allow the abundance and convenience of what is available to me to cause me to stray off target with my nutrition.  Yes, I have some leeway and also some “tricks” that any and every AGR client is encouraged to follow, but it is SO easy to fall into the caloric pit that access to tasty food can trap even the most diligent and strong-willed golden physique maintainer can fall into.

It is something we all must learn “on the fly.”  We also must learn to adapt as needed. We must not allow the abundance and convenience of the foods that are so tempting to overindulge in lure us away from our path of achieving and/or maintaining that golden physique.

All of this is pretty much standard fare for those guys who hang around the Adonis Forums for long enough.  Lots of tips and tricks are freely shared there as well. If you are an AGR client, I highly recommend you go and check it out.  If a forum search does not produce the results you are looking for, then post a topic.

Similarly, if you are looking for a dedicated coach to help you design your training and nutrition needs….someone who has done it successfully for himself and maintained his success, then check out the AGR Premiere Coaching program.

Train Hard, train smart.

Jason

 

Support