R.I.P.P.E.D Weight Training Blog

One of the main things you need to strive for whenyou are at the gym is proportionality. Many times I will see guys walking around with a chest and arms that are huge, but they wear sweat pants because they don’t want you to see how they ignore their leg workouts. Give me a break with that stuff; you need to work out so your body is a matching set.

There are questions about the best way to accomplish this goal. Nearly everyone you see has some part that is out of proportion. Even some of the top dogs in the business have aspects that are slightly out of proportion. The trick to getting your body into top shape is staying with a strategic steady schedule. It’s not really a trick, but more like common sense, but you wouldn’t think so if you look around the gym.

There are a few different ways to accomplish this goal, but I think that I have found the best way. Dividing your time between your different parts is a must. When I am talking about ‘different parts’ I am meaning one day you concentrate on chest, one day legs, etc. Rotation of exercise is also key factor to keeping your body guessing at what is coming up next. For example, if you are doing bicep exercises you don’t want to do hammer curls day after day and think that your biceps are going to have the best shape ever!

You have to mix it up in various fashions. To start with, staying with the same example, hammer curls are a compound exercise, involving many more muscles than just the bicep. So, you want to do some isolation exercises to shock the muscle; jump on the preacher curls, or crank up the weight or turn your sets upside down. There are lots of ways to get that shock to your system that is going to promote maximum growth and sculpt the muscle the way you want it to be. Of course, I go into this in much more detail in my RIPPED Weight Training book.

That sort of shock to your muscles promotes better development of the muscles, but an even bigger part of the proportionality is making sure your body parts match. Do you have one bicep bigger than the other? Do you have the toothpick legs? Be honest with yourself. If you think other people are so struck with your arms that they don’t notice your legs (or your long sweat pants in the middle of summer) you are wrong. The greatest structures on earth have the best foundations. Your legs are your foundation; you need to make them strong and solid, like the base of a pyramid.

Give yourself an honest assessment and have a friend critique you. Tell them to be brutally honest and then don’t get all defensive. At least don’t let them know you are unhappy about what they say. They are doing you a favor, so be a man about it and thank them.

The thing I am really trying to emphasize here is that you are making the best you; if you are doing the right things at the gym. If you are not doing the right things, hey, if you are satisfied with looking out of balance, maybe you should find another discipline than bodybuilding. This sport is about building the perfect body. Don’t get me wrong, all bodies aren’t going to look the same. Your perfect body won’t look exactly like anyone else’s, but it will be the right one for you, if you pay attention to your proportions and make them right.

Proportionality is one of the pillars of the ripped system because I think it is a foundation of bodybuilding. Next time you are in the gym take a look around and I am sure you will agree; the best physiques are proportional.

(c) Copyright 2007 by Steve Gwillim

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 I read the RIPPED Weight Training e-book and all I can say is WOW! I thought this was going to be another one of those “all-hype, no information” type of book, but that wasn’t the case at all. Steve’s e-book contained a lot of information I never heard before, along with a clear-cut method of applying the knowledge. Combined with the concise workout routines on the website, this makes a dynamite contribution to my quest for a R.I.P.P.E.D. physique.

        There are many books out there on the internet and in my local bookstore, but I have to say the information contained in the RIPPED Weight Training e-book has an in-your-face, here are the facts approach that is refreshing. It doesn’t try to tell you that you’re going to gain 20 pounds of muscle and cut your fat percentage to 10% overnight or anything like that; it’s the real deal.

 Steve’s take-no-prisoners attitude has me in the gym working harder probably than ever before in my life, but I am finally getting the results I’ve always wanted. There is no magic pill or supplement that can replace getting in the gym and moving iron. The secret here is making the best use of your time by having the right mind-set and the right exercises to do. RIPPED Weight Training combines that with the right diet and cardio program; it is a total package. I have to say I am totally happy with the results I am getting.Steve has a unique way of expressing himself, and the points he makes are like nothing I’ve ever read before. His no-nonsense approach combined with a touch of humor made reading the book and getting into the guts of bodybuilding a snap. The testimonials on the web site  show the results from his methods are real, and that has me hitting the gym with a new intensity. I know that I can get the body I want from using this cutting-edge information.

Thanks Steve for showing me the most effective way to fast results!

Dan Fellowes Sydney

Loss fat and gain muscle. www.BodyPerformanceTV.com www.SteveTurano.com

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Everybody wants to get bigger and leaner at the same time. This can be a challenging task as usually one must sacrifice either definition or gains in muscle.

To gain muscle a person has to consume more protein, carbs, fats, nutrients, and vitamins than they need to get bigger. Less overall calories if they wish to get leaner.

This of course is the main reason bodybuilders tend to “Bulk Up” in the off season. This means the individual will eat loads of calories in the hopes of gaining more muscle mass. The extra muscle gain is achievable but the individual also will experience a significant gain in of fat in the process, often times more than the muscle gains.

After the “Bulking Up” period the individual will usually want to “rip up” for summer or for a contest. Then they usually have to subject themselves to a rigorous training and restrictive diet for 3-6 months to get there body fat levels where their muscles are clearly defined.

The continual up and down Yo-Yo in weight gain plays havoc with the physical body not too mention the psyche of the individual. This generally accepted practice in bodybuilding has also led to the widespread use of drugs used by many athletes to bulk up or to get ripped.

This abuse of drugs has led to the overall malfunction of the bodybuilding community both mentally, physically and psychologically. Certainly not the ideals for which bodybuilding has been founded upon which are good healthy food, rigorous training of the mind and body, and an overall expression of health and vitality.

Fortunately, there is a better way to gain muscle and to lose body fat at the same time. It’s called the “Cycle Diet” and it is fast becoming the most popular way to stay lean year round while continually gaining muscle. Let’s examine first how the cycle diet works and then how you can incorporate it into your training routine.

Every bodybuilder who maintains there body fat levels below 7 percent knows as soon as they start eating the first few days of high calories their body explodes with new growth before any body fat gains occur.

The reason for this is the body is in a super-compensation state and initially stores the extra calories as glycogen in organs such as the liver as well as intramuscularly. Fats are also stored intramuscularly as well as protein is utilized for the growth and repair of muscles.

This super compensatory state only lasts for maybe 24 hours before the body starts to shuttle the extra calories into fat cells. But before that occurs there is a window of explosive growth available waiting to be tapped into and here is how you can do it.
The entire process was initially developed and coined the Cycle Diet by legendary trainer Scott Abel.

This protocol allows you to build muscle while losing body fat as well as keeping your body free of toxic buildup. Here is how it works.

First, you need to get your body fat levels below 7 percent for the maximum benefit of the protocol. The cool thing is once you get down to this level you can maintain this body fat level year round.

Second you need to get training a minimum of 5 days per week. In other words you need to be an intermediate or advanced trainee capable of handling significant volume and intensity in your training.

Third you need to keep your calorie intake about 500-1000 calories below expenditure daily.

Now for the first 3 days of your training you will keep your caloric intake in the calculated range on all training days. On your first rest day which usually will occur on the 4th day you will perform one of the juice fasts for the whole day.

Consume as much juice as you like on the fast day and be sure to take some fiber to help remove accumulated mucoid plaque in the digestive tract. There are many herbs that can aid in the process as well.

Keep in mind that only natural juices, preferably organic are used on the juice fast day free of sugars, additives, preservatives, sweeteners or anything else.

On the 5th and 6th days of the week you will resume your training and diet schedule, with the concurrent calorie deficit. On the 7th day which should be an off day from training as well, “EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT”.

That’s right all the things that you would like load up on them. It’s a good idea to schedule social occasions or interactions on that day, so you can eat Grandma’s apple pie, or have some pizza and ice cream with the guys during the big game. However you want to schedule the day be sure to consume as many calories as you can.

Keep in mind that you start in the morning of your rest day and you stop in the evening. So you keep the time frame down to about 18 hours to ensure no fat will be gained.

It is a good idea to start with fats in the morning first so that you don’t experience to much digestive discomfort. It’s also a good idea to double or triple your enzyme intake for the high calorie day as well as on the juice fast day for maximum absorption of nutrients.

Because of the short time frame of high calorie consumption as well as the caloric deficient state, combined with the rigorous training schedule it’s pretty much impossible for your body to add body fat. The cascade of anabolic hormones during the brief high calorie intake will be used to fill up energy stores and build more muscle. This is the ideal condition for growth of muscle tissues to occur.

You will need to fine tune the process over time but it’s pretty simple once you get the routine down. Best of all you don’t have to restrict calories for long periods of time. Once every week you get a break and the juice fast day helps clear out any plaque built up form the high calorie day.

Most athletes find the cycle diet much easier and more a more fun way to stay in shape all year. Not only that you can building mass while staying lean year round.

Mike Selcsum
http://www.articlesbase.com/muscle-building-articles/discover-the-pros-diet-plan-to-gain-muscle-and-lose-body-fat-61997.html

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