Hugo Rivera New Site

7-Min Natural Bodybuilding Home Chest Workout Routine

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:22:55 +0000

7-Min Natural Bodybuilding Home Chest Workout Routine

Learn how to train the chest in 7 minutes simply by using a set of dumbbells.

7-Min Natural Bodybuilding Home Chest Workout Routine

Home 7-Min Dumbbell Chest Workout Routine

Dumbbell Flyes on the floor 2 sets of 10-12 reps (no rest)
Dumbbell Bench Press on the floor 2 sets to failure (maximum amount of reps you can do) (no rest)
Push-ups 2 sets to failure (1 min rest and start over)

Chest Workout Notes:
1) Be sure to contract the pecs as you do the movements.

2) Use the same weight for the dumbbell press that you used for the flyes.

3) Train your chest either with shoulders and triceps, or with back, or with arms. For more information on different training splits please take a look below:

Bodybuilding Training Split #1:

Day 1: Chest, Biceps, Triceps

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Back, Shoulders, Abs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

Bodybuilding Training Split #2:

Day 1: Chest, Back, Abs

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

Bodybuilding Training Split #3:

Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Back, Biceps, Abs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

4) You can add weight to this exercise by holding a dumbbell on the free hand.

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For more information on my books and e-book/private forums please visit:
http://www.hugorivera.net/hugo-riveras-best-selling-natural-bodybuilding-fitness-publications.html

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 5 – Reducing The Amount of Meals Per Day to 1 or 2 Is The Best Way To Lose Fat and Get Your Abs

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:27:57 +0000

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 5 - Reducing The Amount of Meals Per Day to 1 or 2 Is The Best Way To Lose Fat and Get Your Abs

As promised here is part 5 of the 5 part article series I put together along with fitness experts Anthony Alayon, CFT and Cecile Bayeul, RN. For parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 click on any of the links below:

Fat Loss Lie #1 - Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Abs

Fat Loss Lie #2 - A Fat Free Diet Will Guarantee Abs

Fat Loss Lie #3 – A Permanent Low Carb Diet Allows You To Eat Anything And Still Lose Fat

Fat Loss Lie #4 – Aerobics Are The Best Exercise For Burning Fat and Getting Your Abs

Here is the fifth installment of the Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies article series:

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 5 - Reducing The Amount of Meals Per Day to 1 or 2 Is The Best Way To Lose Fat and Get Your Abs

The TRUTH: This by far is one, if not the biggest myth, when it comes to instant and permanent fat loss. We cannot count how often people have come to us and asked us: “You must be starving in order to get abs like that and working out for hours every day”. The fact is that STARVATION WILL ENSURE THAT YOU NEVER SEE YOUR ABS! Why is that? Because dramatically reducing your calories way below what your body burns on a daily basis by eating infrequently will stress the body. As a consequence, the body will enter an emergency state where it starts releasing a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal glands that helps the body to preserve as much fat as it can while burning body tissues, such as muscle and even bone mass in order to cover the body’s energy needs!!!

And as you learned in the last article, a pound of muscle burns approximately 50 calories per day. Thus, if you lose ten pounds of muscle due to starving yourself with just 1 or 2 meals a day then you will be burning 500 calories LESS every day. Thus, when you stop the starvation, guess what will happen? You got it…you will balloon up!

The key to losing body fat enough so that you can start to see your abs is to work with the body; not against it. You need to convince the body that it is OK for it to lose the excess fat and leave every other tissue in the body alone. By doing things right, not only should you be able to gain muscle as you lose fat, but also, your metabolism will be increased as opposed to decreased. This is what will ensure PERMANENT FAT LOSS RESULTS!

Eating 2 meals a day, you are breaking these principles and preventing your weight loss goals from becoming a reality. With that being said, I will give you some secret insight into how eating two meals a day will sabotage your weight loss results and continue to cause you to suck at losing weight!

How To Convince The Body To Lose Fat While Increasing the Metabolism

EXACT DIET CALCULATIONS TO GET YOUR ABS

1) First you need to create a SLIGHT caloric deficit. A good start is by first figuring out your macronutrients. The following formulas will help you to know how many grams of carbs, proteins and fats you need in order to start losing fat. Following these formulas will feed your body while creating a slight caloric deficit that will put your body on a fat burning state while at the same time allowing for the building of new muscle that will help to increase your metabolism and tone your body! This is how you GET YOUR ABS!

Grams of Carbs per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in pounds – fat weight) x 1

Grams of Protein per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in pounds – fat weight) x 1

Grams of Fats = = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in pounds – fat weight) x 0.216

Note: If you measure your bodyweight in kilos, then your formulas will be:

Grams of Carbs per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in kilos – fat weight) x 2.2

Grams of Protein per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in kilos – fat weight) x 2.2

Grams of Fats = = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in kilos – fat weight) x 0.475

2) Over the weekends increase your calories a bit in order to prevent your body from getting used to the lower calories. You will eat:

Grams of Carbs per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in pounds – fat weight) x 1.7

Grams of Protein per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in pounds – fat weight) x 1.2

Grams of Fats = = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in pounds – fat weight) x 0.266

Note: If you measure your bodyweight in kilos, then your formulas will be:

Grams of Carbs per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in kilos – fat weight) x 3.74

Grams of Protein per day = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in kilos – fat weight) x 2.64

Grams of Fats = = Lean body mass (total bodyweight in kilos – fat weight) x 0.585

Note: In the University of Abs website we have software that will run all of these calculations for you and will even allow you to choose the foods you want to consume at each meal and then tell you how much of these foods you need to consume in order to get the right carbs, proteins and fats per meal.

3) Split all of the nutrients above over 5-6 meals. Thus, if you need to consume 200 grams of protein, 200 grams of carbs and 43 grams of fats per day, then you will consume 40 grams of carbs, 40 grams of proteins and 8-9 grams of fats per meal if you do 5 meals. You will feed yourself every 2-3 hours for the following reasons:

A) To prevent you from getting hungry.

B) To maintain your blood sugar levels stable which in turn will allow you to have more energy throughout the day.

C) To prevent cortisol levels from rising.

D) To allow for better nutrient utilization. Nutrients are better absorbed when consumed evenly throughout the day.

4) Train with weights for no more than 60 minutes 3-5 times a week. As per our last article you now know that you NEED TO WEIGHT TRAIN in order to permanently increase your metabolism, lose body fat, tone your body up and end up seeing your abs. Thus, weight train at least 3 times a week and perform 20-30 minutes of cardio on your days off along with your ab exercises.

Closing Note

If you enjoyed this article click on the LIKE button and share it with your friends on Facebook! Also, if you are completely lost on how to go about getting your abs, I have created a new site along with Anthony and Cecile called The University of Abs. It is ALMOST done and this is the culmination of 2 years of work. We created this site as we felt that the biggest issues people have when it comes to fat loss and getting their abs is not only a complete lack of the right information, but also, a lack of support! With this site, our goal is to not only give you a plan on how to go from A to B but also be there PERSONALLY to provide you with the motivation that you need in order to achieve your goals, and to also connect you with other people who are in the same boat as you are so that you can all motivate each other. This low cost membership site provides:

Customized Diets For Male/Female
Brand New Weekly Workouts
Home Exercise Programs
Personalized Diet Software That Tells You Exactly How Much to Eat of The Foods You Select for Each Meal
Facebook Like Membership Profile and Interaction
Unlimited Photo Uploads
Weekly Video Coaching
Weekly Motivation Calls and Video Chat With Members
Fitness Celebrity Interviews
Support Groups
Monthly Prizes

We will disclose more information as the site nears completion but suffice it to say those of you who are part of my newsletter will get a special invite with an incredibly reduced prize for a year’s membership on the site! I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 4 – Aerobics Are The Best Exercise For Burning Fat and Getting Your Abs

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:34:26 +0000

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 4 – Aerobics Are The Best Exercise For Burning Fat and Getting Your Abs

As promised here is part 4 of the 5 part article series I put together along with fitness experts Anthony Alayon, CFT and Cecile Bayeul, RN. For parts 1, 2 and 3 click on the link below:

Fat Loss Lie #1 - Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Abs

Fat Loss Lie #2 - A Fat Free Diet Will Guarantee Abs

Fat Loss Lie #3 – A Permanent Low Carb Diet Allows You To Eat Anything And Still Lose Fat

Here is the fourth installment of the Ten Biggest Fat Loss Lies article series:

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 4 – Aerobics Are The Best Exercise For Burning Fat and Getting Your Abs

The TRUTH:

It is easy to believe that aerobic exercise is the best exercise for weight loss since after all, ever since the aerobics revolution of the 1980’s that is what we have been led to believe. However, this could not be father away from the truth.

Aerobic exercise burns calories during the duration of the exercise. However it does nothing to shape up your muscles and much less to increase your metabolism permanently. As a matter of fact, if overdone, muscle tissue loss will be the end result. If you only did aerobics for fat loss, you will end up with a smaller but still flabby version of yourself.

In addition, too much aerobic exercise will raise cortisol levels, thus making it harder for you to lose body fat and get those abs that you dream of. And for those who really believe in hours of this type of exercise, I have news for you: If you do too much aerobics then your metabolism slows down in order for the body to try to maintain balance (homeostasis).

So what is the best exercise for weight loss? The answer to this is intense and short weight training sessions combined with some aerobic exercise. Surprised? Don’t be.

Why Weight Training Is The Best Exercise for Fat Loss and For Getting Your Abs?

Weight training performed in the right manner and for the right short duration is the best exercise for fat loss, since weight training will not only increase your caloric expenditure during exercise, but also increases your metabolism permanently as weight training causes the creation of new muscle tissue; muscle that is metabolically active and that burns calories. A new pound of muscle can burn around 50 calories (+/- 10) depending on your metabolism. So 10 lbs of new muscle will allow you to burn as much as 500 extra calories every day! In addition, it is muscle what gives you a toned and lean looking physique.

And if you are a woman reading this, please do not think that weight training will give you a bulky physique by accident. First of all, for women to lose their femininity they would need to take anabolic steroids (synthetic testosterone) combined with a very heavy weight training program and a bulk up diet in order for them to grow really big muscles. Needless to say, this is not what we are talking about here, and as a matter of fact, I took great care to design a weight training program specifically just for women in order to meet their individual needs.

So when you combine the proper amount of weight training with the right amount of aerobic exercise, you can rest assured that whether you are a male or female, the body of your dreams (along with the abs) will be yours in no time.

Closing Note

Customized Diets For Male/Female
Brand New Weekly Workouts
Home Exercise Programs
Personalized Diet Software That Tells You Exactly How Much to Eat of The Foods You Select for Each Meal
Facebook Like Membership Profile and Interaction
Unlimited Photo Uploads
Weekly Video Coaching
Weekly Motivation Calls and Video Chat With Members
Fitness Celebrity Interviews
Support Groups
Monthly Prizes

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 3 – A Permanent Low Carb Diet Allows You To Eat Anything And Still Lose Fat

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:12:19 +0000

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 3 - A Permanent Low Carb Diet Allows You To Eat Anything And Still Lose Fat

As promised here is part 3 of the 5 part article series I put together along with fitness experts Anthony Alayon, CFT and Cecile Bayeul, RN. For parts 1 & 2 click on the link below:

Fat Loss Lie #1 - Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Abs

Fat Loss Lie #2 - A Fat Free Diet Will Guarantee Abs

Here is the third installment of the Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies article series:

Fat Loss Lie #3 - A Permanent Low Carb Diet Allows You To Eat Anything And Still Lose Fat

The TRUTH: A low carb diet, which is defined as a diet that has less than 50 grams of carbohydrates a day (and is higher in fats and proteins) has been touted as the end all solution to weight loss. Supporters of this diet claim that you can eat anything you want, and as long as you keep the carbs at 50 grams or less you will lose weight.

While initially reducing your carbohydrates this low will have a drastic impact on your weight loss, most of the weight loss will come from water weight. The reason for this is because when you eat a diet with carbohydrates, some of these carbohydrates are stored in the muscle and liver in the form of glycogen (stored carbs). Each gram of glycogen contains with it some water weight. However, this is not the same water that causes a puffy look as the water that causes such look is excess water under the skin. By the way, such excess water is caused by improper dieting.

So when you go on a low carbohydrate diet, as the glycogen gets depleted, all the water weight contained within it is released. Thus, you lose a significant amount of weight, but in reality, you are losing roughly the same amount of fat that you would in a properly designed diet like the one we recommend (which is more of a 40% carbs, 40% proteins and 20% fats diet for the most part).

Long Term Issues of a Permanent Low Carb Diet

In addition, over the long term, these low carb diets cause problems. While initially you can indeed consume a bit more calories than you could on a more balanced diet (this is due to the fact that these diets are very high in protein and protein increases your metabolism), in the absence of carbohydrates your thyroid hormone production (which is a key hormone that regulates your metabolism) starts to dramatically go down. As a result, your metabolism gets crippled, and so does your ability to burn fat.

Also, because you don’t have enough carbohydrates and your glycogen levels are depleted, you will suffer from low energy and your muscles will not look hard and toned. They will instead look soft because there is no glycogen to keep them looking firm; muscles are no different than balloons except that in their case, glycogen, as opposed to air, is what fills them up.

As if that would not be enough bad news, the lack of carbohydrates coupled with the high protein and high fat intake creates an acidic environment in your body that can lead to suppressed immunity and constipation. Also, in the absence of carbohydrates, cortisol rises much easier as well.

Finally, as you can imagine, there is not a lot of variety in a diet made up of proteins and fats. In my personal experience, everyone I have met who has tried a diet of this nature, ends up breaking free from the program one day and gaining much more weight than what was lost.

It should also be noted, that any increase in carbohydrate levels will have a dramatic increase in weight as well since the glycogen stores are depleted and any new glycogen that is stored will result in added weight gain. This plays havoc on a dieter’s psychology and this is another reason why sometimes the dieter that goes off the diet for a day, sees 10 lbs of extra weight the next day, and gets so discouraged that they start eating everything in sight!

I want you to keep in mind that carbs are not the enemy. Having the wrong sort of diet program is. Please remember that while some carbs do promote weight gain in the form of fat, there are other carbs that are designed to give you energy, suppress your appetite and give you a lean appearance while increasing your metabolism.

That is the reason why in our upcoming University of Abs, the nutrition we prescribe is a non-restrictive, enjoyable and varied program proven to work by science and balanced enough to where you can easily follow it for the rest of your life! After all, only a program that you can follow for the rest of your life can give you the permanent results that you are looking for.

Closing Note

Customized Diets For Male/Female
Brand New Weekly Workouts
Home Exercise Programs
Personalized Diet Software That Tells You Exactly How Much to Eat of The Foods You Select for Each Meal
Facebook Like Membership Profile and Interaction
Unlimited Photo Uploads
Weekly Video Coaching
Weekly Motivation Calls and Video Chat With Members
Fitness Celebrity Interviews
Support Groups
Monthly Prizes

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 2 – A Fat Free Diet Will Guarantee Abs

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:10:54 +0000

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 2 - A Fat Free Diet Will Guarantee Fat Loss

As promised here is part 2 of the 5 part article series I put together along with fitness experts Anthony Alayon, CFT and Cecile Bayeul, RN. For part 1 click on the link below:

Fat Loss Lie #1 - Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Abs

Here is the second installment of the Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies article series:

Fat Loss Lie #2 - A Fat Free Diet Will Guarantee Fat Loss

The TRUTH: Are fats the reason why people in America are overweight? Arguably the most discussed topic when it comes to dieting and weight loss is the intake of fats. Anytime the word fats are mentioned, people automatically think that they are bad for you and must be avoided at all times in order to achieve weight loss and increase your levels of fitness. The truth is that not all fats are evil and the body needs the right fats in order to not only lose fat but also have optimal health! As a matter of fact, if you eliminate all fats from your diet, not only your hormonal production will take a dive and you will have low energy and even difficulty thinking, but this diet will prevent you from losing fat since it puts your body in an emergency state that makes it preserve fat as opposed to burning it!

With that said, let’s debunk some common myths about fats, and then we will cover which ones are the fats to consume and the ones to avoid like a plague.

Myths about Fats Debunked!

Fats Myth # 1: All Fats Are Bad For You

Many people think that no matter what type of fat you eat, it can cause you to gain weight and increase the chances of having health problems. The truth is that not all fats are bad for you and some fats have numerous health benefits such as helping you to decrease body fat, have higher energy levels, better joint health, better brain function, immunity, etc. Fact is that the right fats are ESSENTIAL TO LIFE!

Fats Myth # 2: If You Eat Fat, You Will Gain Fat

This has been the stereotype given to fats for many years now. People always seem to look at nutrition labels and will stay away from anything that has a high fat content. The truth is that if you eat the right fats, you will find yourself losing weight and decreasing body fat if you are following the right type of diet.

Fats Myth # 3: Eating Fats Will Increase the Risk of Bad Health

This is without a doubt true if you are eating the wrong kinds of fats. An over consumption of saturated fats will cause you to gain weight and increase the risk of having health problems in the future, but other fats that we will discuss a a little later in this section will better your health!

Fats Myth # 4: All Fats Are the Same

As we have mentioned briefly in the above statements, not all fats are the same. People often stereotype fats this way and are robbing themselves of several health benefits. We all used to be victims of this myth at one point or the other until we discovered the truth about fats.

Fat Myth #5: In Order to Decrease Body Fat You Must Stay Away From Fats

This is arguable the biggest mistake made by people who are attempting to lose fat other than the fact that they think less food isalways better. I have heard a countless number of times how people say they will not eat this food or will not eat at all as there are too many grams of fat in a particular food. They may be right if the fats they are talking about are saturated (or worst, man made; such as trans fats). However, as long as the fats you consume are the right ones, such as mono and polyunsaturated fats, and as long as you are not over consuming them (more about in a minute), you will experience many benefits that can enable you to live a healthier lifestyle and lose fat fast while keeping muscle!

Different Kinds of Fat

Indeed, there are two kinds of fats:

1) Bad fats like saturated fats that are high in cholesterol and partially hydrogenated oils.

2) And the good fats like fish oils which are high in the omega 3, 6, and 9.

Your body needs all of these good fats in order to function properly. For example, they are used for proper brain function, for better thinking ability, proper functioning of the heart, joint health, and they even play a huge role in our production of necessary hormones (including the muscle building/fat loss ones like testosterone and growth hormone).

Without the good fats, the body simply does not work properly, fat loss stops and a variety of health problems can arise from not taking them.

How Much Fats Do You Need For Better Health and Fat Loss?

I like to add 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil per meal in your vegetables.

Do not add oil to a meal if you are eating a fish like salmon which is rich in good fats.

If you do not like olive oil or salmon, eat your grilled meats and your natural vegetables but do not forget to add another source of good fats. What you can do in this case is to consume 15-20 grams of almonds, walnuts or cashews twice a day with any of your meals. You can also add 2 teaspoons of fish oils or flaxseed oil to your protein shakes.

I recommend that you try as hard as possible to get your good fats from these natural sources. If you have issues consuming your good fats from food, I definitely recommend an Essential Fatty Acids supplement like EFA Lean which contains a variety of good fats. I suggest a dose of 3 capsules in 2 of your fat free meals.

How Much Fats Do You Need On A Daily Basis?

For optimal fat loss and maximum energy and health you should consume between 20-30% of your daily total caloric intake in good fats. For a 2500 calorie diet that comes out to between 55-83 grams of good fats.

Note: the way it is calculated is by doing the following: (2500 x .20)/9 for 20% and (2500 x .30)/9 for the 30% number. Remember that each gram of fat equals 9 calories.

For a 1500 calorie diet that comes out to between 33-50 grams of good fats.

Closing Note

Customized Diets For Male/Female
Brand New Weekly Workouts
Home Exercise Programs
Personalized Diet Software That Tells You Exactly How Much to Eat of The Foods You Select for Each Meal
Facebook Like Membership Profile and Interaction
Unlimited Photo Uploads
Weekly Video Coaching
Weekly Motivation Calls and Video Chat With Members
Fitness Celebrity Interviews
Support Groups
Monthly Prizes

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 1 – Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Getting Abs

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:52:22 +0000

Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies, Part 1 - Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Getting Abs

For the next few days I will share with you some articles that focus on fat loss. There are two reasons for this:

1) With Summer around the corner most people shift their focus to losing fat.

2) Based on the emails that I get I see there is A LOT of confusion regarding the subject on how to get abs. The bottom line is that getting your abs is a function of lowering your body fat levels enough in order to display these muscles. NO EXERCISE will burn the fat on top of your abs. Dieting combined with the proper exercise program is the one that takes care of that.

With that said, in the next few days I will cover the five biggest fat loss lies. I co-wrote these articles with fitness experts Anthony Alayon, CFT and Cecile Bayeul, RN.

Without much further ado, here is the first installment of the Five Biggest Fat Loss Lies article:

Fat Loss Lie #1 - Simply Lowering Calories Leads to Fat Loss

The TRUTH: If you want to lose weight, you are told that in order to do so, you have to consume fewer calories than what your body burns on a given day. While this is true, simply reducing your caloric intake below what you burn on a given day will not guarantee you the results you are looking for!

Losing Body Fat vs. Losing Weight

When we talk about losing weight, in reality we are talking about losing body fat and maybe some excess water weight (and this kind of weight goes away within a few days after you start a proper program). Examples of weight that we don’t want to lose are muscle and even bone weight. However, if you don’t know what you are doing, these last two tissues will actually account for a large portion of your weight loss, and thus, your results will be undesirable; your metabolism (ability to burn calories on a daily basis) will be crippled and you will have no muscle tone to make you look firm.

The reason for this is because muscle is what gives shape to your body, and furthermore, it plays a huge role in the amount of calories that your body burns on any given day. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue and it requires calories in order to continue to exist. Therefore, if you lose muscle, not only do you lose body shape, but also your body’s metabolism (ability to burn calories) is dramatically reduced as well! Unfortunately, many of the fad diets today result in exactly what I just described. This is the reason why once people get frustrated with the program, and they abandon it, new fat weight gets added in a fast and furious manner.

Cortisol

Cortisol is a stress hormone secreted by the adrenal glands during periods of physical and emotional stress. Cortisol is a hormone that when secreted in excess, preserves body fat, stores water weight and burns muscle tissue for energy.

Dieting is a physical stress and if you do it in excess and incorrectly, you will increase cortisol levels dramatically and thus end up preserving body fat and losing muscle instead. This is yet another reason why you need to incorporate the right diet into your program.

Going more than 3 hours without food is a sure fire way to increase your cortisol levels and also lower your blood sugar, which in turn will give you low energy, food cravings, less muscle tissue and reduced fat loss due to the cortisol increase. Therefore, it is imperative that you graze throughout the day and that you have a small meal every 3 hours in order to keep your metabolism going.

Macronutrient Management

Once that caloric deficit is created, then you need to establish macronutrient management. Macronutrients are:

Carbohydrates: foods that give you energy like rice, potatoes, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables,

Proteins: foods like eggs, chicken, turkey that give you the building blocks for your body tissues such as muscles, bones, hair, skin and nails.

Fats: yes, you heard right, fats, as the right fats like extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, and fish oils support hormonal production, thus aiding with health, energy production and even fat loss!.

In order to lose just body fat, first we need to create a slight caloric deficit by adding some physical activity and also by controlling our food portions. There is no need to starve, as if you do so, cortisol will rear its ugly head.

Taking the right amount of macronutrients, in the right quantities and at the right times is crucial to achieving the best results! Why? Because when you combine the macronutrients properly, you stimulate the release of fat burning hormones that will not only help you to lose fat, but also give you more energy and protect muscle tissue from being burned as well as preventing cortisol from rising! In addition, these hormones will suppress your appetite and accelerate your metabolism so that your fat can become extinct in no time!

A simple way to start managing your macronutrients is to make sure that you have an equal amount of carbs and proteins in each meal with a little bit of essential fats. You can use the size of your palm as a measure for the size of your protein serving while you can use your clenched fist as a measure of the amount of carbs to have in each meal. Add to each meal some vegetables and a teaspoon of essential fats and this alone will get you started on the path to incinerating the extra body fat!

Putting It All Together and Creating Your Balanced Fat Loss Diet

What is a balanced fat loss diet you may ask? One that consists of 5-6 small meals a day consisting of 40% carbs, 40% proteins and 20% fats.

A normal man needs 2000 to 2500 calories a day. Thus, at 40% Carbs/40% Proteins/20% Fats he will need around 200-250 grams of carbs, 200-250 grams of protein and 45-55 grams of good fats per day divided over 5-6 meals. (Note: 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories, 1 gram of protein = 4 calories and 1 gram of fat = 9 calories).

A normal woman with average activity who is weight training and looking for fat loss needs 1200 to 1500 calories per day. That comes out to 120-150 grams of carbs, 120-150 grams of protein and 26-33 grams of good fats per day divided over 5-6 meals.

This will give you a great start on setting up a diet that will get you on your way to losing fat!

Closing Note

Customized Diets For Male/Female
Brand New Weekly Workouts
Home Exercise Programs
Personalized Diet Software That Tells You Exactly How Much to Eat of The Foods You Select for Each Meal
Facebook Like Membership Profile and Interaction
Unlimited Photo Uploads
Weekly Video Coaching
Weekly Motivation Calls and Video Chat With Members
Fitness Celebrity Interviews
Support Groups
Monthly Prizes

The Passing of a Bodybuilding Icon: Robert Kennedy (1938-2012)

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:21:32 +0000

The Passing of a Bodybuilding Icon: Robert Kennedy (1938-2012)

I am sad to inform that today a bodybuilding icon has passed away. Robert Kennedy, founder of Robert Kennedy publishing, passed away on April 12 after losing his battle to lung cancer.

I remember growing up reading his Muscle Mag International magazine (especially the issues that he dedicated to Arnold) as well as the extensive series of books that he co-authored with Dennis Weis, like Mass, Reps!, Raw Muscle!, Cuts! and Anabolic Muscle Mass, just to name a few. These books helped me tremendously as I was finding out the right way to gain muscle! I still have these books to this date, by the way!

Little did I know that many years later, one day, this same man would extend me and my co-author of The Body Sculpting Bibles (James Villepigue) the honor of writing a preface for the books, and also promoting them on his publications! This is at a time when I was just starting my career as a fitness author. Furthermore, he also shared my story on how I used to be overweight and then used bodybuilding to get in shape via his Muscle Mag Publication. I also got the opportunity to submit various articles to some of his other magazines as well.

Bob’s passion was bodybuilding and he touched the lives of millions in a positive manner. I could not say enough good things about Bob.

Thank you Bob for all you did for me and for many others.

God Speed and my condolences to his lovely family.

Check out the story of Bob’s life here: Robert Kennedy’s Life

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Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on April 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:16:23 +0000

Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on April 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle

I get published on various bodybuilding magazines every month and thanks to technology, some of these magazines now also have an online presence. Thus, every time I get published I will share my article with all of you.

This time I will be sharing my article for the April 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle Magazine, which is one of my favorite publications. By the way, Natural Muscle is the first magazine that published one of my articles, thanks to the owner, Debbie Baigrie, who incidentally just turned 50 and is the cover girl of her own magazine…go Debbie!

My article is on page 12. Also, if you are looking for an awesome Shoulder Workout, check out the one that natural female bodybuilding champion Cecile Bayeul shared on page 44. Great routine for both guys and girls alike!

Click on the image below to access the magazine. Click on the LIKE button if you enjoy the articles

7-Min Natural Bodybuilding Home Calves Workout Routine

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:52:30 +0000

7-Min Natural Bodybuilding Home Calves Workout Routine

Learn how to train the calves in 7 minutes simply using a raised surface like some stairs in the comfort of your home.

7-Min Natural Bodybuilding Home Calves Workout Routine

One Legged Calf Raises 6 sets of Maximum Amount of Reps (alternate back and forth with no rest in between)

Calves Workout Notes:
1) Stretch calves all the way down and make sure you get a hard contraction at the top.

2) Remember, do not allow any rest in between. You will do one set for the left leg, one set for the right leg, and back to the left leg. You will continue this back to back format until all 6 sets are done.

3) Train your calves on Leg days along with your quadriceps and your hamstrings. For more information on different training splits please take a look below:

Bodybuilding Training Split #1:

Day 1: Chest, Biceps, Triceps

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Back, Shoulders, Abs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

Bodybuilding Training Split #2:

Day 1: Chest, Back, Abs

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

Bodybuilding Training Split #3:

Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Back, Biceps, Abs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

4) You can add weight to this exercise by holding a dumbbell on the free hand.

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Natural Bodybuilding Workouts for Summer – Get Abs for the Summer Using These Natural Bodybuilding Workouts

admin — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:13:56 +0000

In this natural bodybuilding workouts article, I share how you can get abs using these natural bodybuilding workouts for Summer.

So you want to get in shape for the Summer and get your abs but you have no clue what natural bodybuilding workouts you need to use in order to accomplish that. If this is your situation then you have come to the right place.

How Much Time Will Your Summer Natural Bodybuilding Workouts Take?

How long do your summer natural bodybuilding workouts need to be in order to get in shape for summer and get your abs? Unless you are a competitive bodybuilder who needs to perform several sessions of 45 minutes of exercise a day (some sessions of cardio and some of weights) to achieve the results needed for a competition physique, the most you will need to be in the gym for your summer bodybuilding workouts is 4 weight training sessions of 60 minutes with 2-3 cardiovascular training sessions of 20-40 minutes.

Why Not 2 Hours At The Gym?

Because after 45 minutes to 1 hour of training the muscle building/fat burning hormones of most people begin to deplete while cortisol levels (fat storing/muscle burning hormone) increase.

This routine is designed to be performed in the comfort of your home assuming that you have the following equipment:

Adjustable dumbbells.
Adjustable bench with a good leg extension/leg curl attachment.
Pulley that can be attached at the end of the bench to perform pull-downs or pull-up bar.
Determination to get things done.

If you have all that, then let’s begin.

Types of Training

We will use two types of training in order to re-sculpt our physique and get those abs in mint shape:

Anaerobic work: Weight training is the number 1 way to re-sculpt your body. No ladies, weight training won’t make you muscle bound as you girls do not produce enough testosterone to allow for such a thing to happen. Why is weight training so important? Weight training is far superior to any other type of exercise because it increases your metabolism (which in turn helps you burn fat) and gives shape to your body.
Aerobic work Walking, stationary bike or doing an elliptical machine in your Fat Burning Zone (which is (220 – Age) * .75 = Fat Burning Heart Rate) is a good way to accelerate the fat burning process, as long as it is not overdone, and as long as it is only used in addition to a good weight-training program. Cardiovascular exercise should never be used as a substitute for weight training because aerobics cannot create muscle tone.

Calculate Your Heart Rate!

Take 220 and minus your age which is accurate to approximately +15 Beats Per Minute. You then take that number and multiply it by .75 – .85, which will give you your percentages of 75% — 85% of your Maximum Heart Rate.

(220-Age) x .75 = beats per minute (lower range)

(220-Age) x .85 = beats per minute (upper range)

This is the Target Range or Zone that you want to stay in when doing any type of cardiovascular (aerobic) activity. When in this range your body is getting an optimum workout with maximum benefit, and it stays in a Fat Burning mode.

Weight Training Workout

Below is a description of the weight training part of the routine. You will alternate between Workout (A) and (B) every time that weight training day comes around.

You can do Workout (A) on Monday and Thursday.

Workout (A) – Monday/Thursday
Superset:
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Wide Grip Pull-downs to Front (or Wide Grip Pull-ups to Front)

Superset:
Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
Reverse Close Grip Pull-downs (or Reverse Grip Chin-ups)

Superset:
Incline Flyes
One Arm Dumbbell Rows

Superset:
One Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises
Two Legged Dumbbell Calf Raises

You can do Workout (B) on Tuesday and Friday.

Workout (B) – Tuesday/Friday
Superset:
Dumbbell Curls
Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions

Superset:
Incline Curls
Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions

Superset:
Bent Over Lateral Raises
Upright Rows

Superset:
DB Squats
Lying Leg Curls

Superset:
Lunges
Leg Extensions

Abdominal Workout
Crunches (preferably performed on an Exercise Ball)
Lying Leg Raises

Notes on Sets and Reps

This program varies the number of sets and repetitions on a bi-weekly basis in order to keep the body guessing and bodybuilding results coming.

For weeks 1-2 perform 12-15 repetitions per set and 2 sets per exercise.
For weeks 3-4 perform 10-12 repetitions per set and 3 sets per exercise.
For weeks 5-6 perform 8-10 repetitions per set and 4 sets per exercise.

Training Notes

Do not rest more than 1 minute in between supersets. As a matter of fact, try to lower the rest down to 30-45 seconds in between. This not only allows for a better pump and an even better cardiovascular workout, but it also builds endurance and will not affect the strength once your body adjusts since you are supersetting antagonistic muscle groups.
As you will later see, the Abdominal Workout is to be performed before the cardiovascular workout. Abdominals should be treated as any other muscle, so use the same set and repetition scheme described above.
Put your ego aside and ensure perfect form in all exercises feeling the muscle contract and stretch.
Take your sets to the point where performing another repetition with good form becomes impossible.
If you are a guy that is interested in gaining some muscle with this routine, do not fall for the myth that supersetting is only for getting ripped and that no muscle can be built while doing it. This is not true as most of my mass has been built through supersetting. In addition, great bodybuilders like Dave Draper and Arnold Schwarzenegger also built their physiques with plenty of supersets.

The Two Ideal Times For Aerobics

Another important point is that in order for aerobic exercise to be an optimally effective fat burner it needs to be performed at the appropriate times. There are two ideal times that aerobic exercise is most effective for burning fat.

The ideal time is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach after drinking 16 to 24 ounces of water in order to prevent dehydration.

When performed at this time Swedish studies suggest that you can burn up to 300 percent more body fat than at any other time in the day because your body does not have any glycogen (stored carbohydrates) in the system to burn. Therefore, it has to go directly into the fat stores in order to get the energy necessary to complete the activity.

The other time that aerobic exercise is effective would be immediately after a weight training session as your glycogen stores have already been depleted. Because of this, once you start doing your cardio, you will start burning fat as soon as you elevate your heart rate since it is the only fuel that will be available.

When aerobic exercise is not performed first thing in the morning or right after the weight training workout, make sure that you wait three hours after your last meal so that you have some depletion of your carbohydrate stores. Otherwise it would take your body approximately 20 to 30 minutes to start burning fat because that is how long it takes the body to deplete its glycogen stores and switch to a fat burning environment.

How Much Cardio?

For this program, the most you will be doing is three sessions lasting between 20 to 40 minutes each at the most. For Weeks 1 & 2, 20 minutes of aerobic exercise per session should be performed. For Weeks 3 & 4, perform 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, and for Weeks 5 & 6, perform 40 minutes. You can perform these sessions on Wednesday, Saturday and for the quickest results an optional one on Sunday as well.

What Type of Cardio?

Good forms of aerobic exercise include:

Riding a stationary bike.
Fast walking (this can be done on a treadmill).
Climbing on a stair stepper.
Swimming
Using an elliptical fitness rider or rowing machine.
Using any good cardio tapes or even jumping rope.
Or any other form of cardiovascular activity that raises your heartbeat to the fat burning zone.

Note: If you choose fast walking as your cardiovascular activity, ensure that you move your arms in order to get an enhanced aerobic effect.
Bodybuilding Nutrition For A Lean Summer

Keep in mind that without a good diet, your chances of achieving your bodybuilding goals and getting your abs are slim and next to none. Therefore, make sure that you put an equal amount of emphasis in your nutrition program as you do in your training.

A great bodybuilding diet, is a diet that contains all of the macronutrients listed below in the right quantities and ratios:

Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy, and on a bodybuilding diet they should come mainly from complex slow releasing sources such as oatmeal, grits, brown rice, sweat potatoes in combination with fibrous sources such as green beans and broccoli. Approximately 40% of your calories should come from carbohydrates.

Proteins, the building blocks for all tissues in the body, should come from chicken, turkey, tuna, and lean red meats. Approximately 40% of your calories should come from proteins.

Fats, which are used by the body to manufacture hormones, lubricate the joints, brain function and other essential items, should mainly come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources. Canned extra virgin olive oil and flax seed oil should be the main sources of these. Approximately 20% of your calories should come from fats.

This sort of balanced approach to dieting seems to work best for the purposes of losing body fat while gaining some muscle. Depending on whether you want to mainly gain muscle and bulk up or mainly lose body fat, you will simply adjust your calories upwards or downwards accordingly.

For more information on this topic, please take a look at the following articles:

Sample Bodybuilding Diets for a Lean Summer Body

Choose a sample bodybuilding diet below based on what your goals are and level of experience:

Beginner’s Bodybuilding Diet: This diet program helps a beginning bodybuilder ease into a bodybuilding diet by incorporating small changes into his/her current dietary program.
Sample Fat Burning Bodybuilding Diet: This sample basic bodybuilding diet is the next step following a beginner’s diet and is designed to make you lose fat while gaining some muscle. Great for both mean and women.
Bulking Up/Exclusive Muscle Gain Diet: If you are naturally skinny and are looking to put on some muscle weight, then this is the diet for you.

Final Thoughts

After six weeks of following this program in conjunction with a sensible diet program (such as this Sample Fat Burning Bodybuilding Diet) you should be in considerably better shape. Note that the program changes every two weeks in order to prevent the body from adjusting to it providing you with the fastest results possible.

If you train at a commercial gym and have access to a more varied selection of exercises, then feel free to cycle the exercises as you wish in order for a more varied stimulus to the muscle in addition to prevent boredom.

Once you go through the full six weeks, just start over with week 1. Since you will grow stronger over these six weeks, once you start the program again, your weights should be heavier than the ones you used before when performing 12-15 reps.

If all you want is to firm up and lose fat, this routine will do the trick. Try it out and that lean summer body will be yours in no time.

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