Male Hormone Tune-Up, Your Diet, Only Cleaner

Food and exercise play a crucial role in the composition of your body. And it isn’t simply about energy in, energy out. It’s about chemicals. The food you eat truly becomes active after it becomes chemical messengers inside your body. Of course, training, especially with weights, activates a whole host of chemical connections that literally transform us. The human body orchestrates these chemicals with elaborate sensors that are nothing short of ingenious. But it’s not foolproof.

Our environment is changing quickly, which can fool our factory equipment. One area that concerns scientists are estrogen mimicking compounds that many believe promote fatness by disrupting the endocrine system responsible for regulating male hormone production. Just maybe, that’s why you have such a hard time figuring out why those last 10 pounds of fat just won't fall off your waistline.

 

Your diet is clean, but maybe it needs to get a bit cleaner?

What can you do?

A report in the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that steering clear of pesticide laden foods for just 5 days can practically eliminate their presence in your body. Yes, many pesticides contain estrogen mimicking compounds.

As, I’ve mentioned before, you could go organic, but before you do, you may want to simply start by focusing on fruits and vegetables that typically retain very low pesticide levels.

This “low pesticide” list includes;

 

Onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mango, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, watermelon, grapefruit and sweet potatoes. Certainly something for everyone’s taste.

What’s on the “bad list”?

Celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, kale and collard greens, potatoes and imported grapes.

 

Note: Yes, it’s a good idea to buy organic on the items above. to avoid pesticide residues.

 

 

 

Disclaimer

Information provided on this blog is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements.

 

Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider.

© 2011 Vince Andrich Real BodyBuilding, Vince Andrich Uncensored, & www.vandrich.com. All Rights Reserved.

Burn Fat, Build Muscle, Live Life, 3-Day/Week Training Routines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is another question I answered over at my blog on muscle and fitness trainer: http://www.muscleandfitnesstrainer.com/home/trainers/vince-andrich/questions/555

"body building questions".

Q: hi am, josian: and i have a question for you: i want to workout 3 times per week like, monday, wednesday and friday? can you show me a 3 day body split that i can do with dumbbells or barbells in those days? and please include in the 3 day body split a forearms, abs and calves workout too! thank you! your friend, josian.

 

A: With 3-days to train, like Monday, Wednesday and Friday, there a several options that will allow you to achieve an excellent physique.  I suggest you begin by doing full body workouts on these 3 training days. Once you do this for several weeks you can split your body into two workouts, and do them on alternate workout days. This allows you to progressively do more work, and also increase the amount of recovery days for maximum gains.

 

Here’s the full body plan.

 

Pick one exercise per major muscle group. The 9 majors are:

Chest, Back, Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Shoulders, Abs, Biceps and Triceps.

Since you asked, we’ll add forearms, making it 10 muscle “groups’.

 

Pick one exercise per muscle group. After a warm up of 12-15 reps, perform 3-work sets per exercise. Rest no more than 60-seconds between sets. Always shoot for weights that allow you to do 6-12 reps. Don’t be afraid to add or remove weight if you don’t hit the target rep range. ONLY counts sets in the target rep range.

 

Sample Exercises are:

 

1-Dumbbell or Barbel Squats

2-Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlifts

3-Dumbbell chest presses

4-One Arm Dumbbell Rows

5-Wide grip barbell upright rows

6-Dumbbell calf raises

7-Seated Bicep Dumbbell curls

8-Overhead Barbell Tricep Press

9-Reverse Dumbbell Curls

10-Flat bench leg lifts (abs)

 

You should always switch the order of the exercises to increase the variation and therefore the stress put on each muscle. If you have a weak bodypart, do it  towards the beginning of the workout, when you’re fresh.

 

It's a good idea to stay on this plan for at least 4-weeks, and up to 8, then we can go to a split routine.

 

On the split you simply put all upper body movements on one day, and all lower body, plus abs on the other. At this point pick two exercises per muscle group and perform 4 work sets per exercise.

 

These two programs should keep you progressing for as long as you want, plus it is ideal for a busy person.

 

Drop me a line and let me know how this works at; vince@vandrich.com

 

 

Disclaimer

Information provided on this blog is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements.

Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider.

© 2011 Vince Andrich Real BodyBuilding, Vince Andrich Uncensored, & www.vandrich.com. All Rights Reserved.

Beyond Built; Arms That Look Impressive Standing Still

 

 

One of the hallmarks of an experienced Physique Athlete is they look great standing still. That’s part of the grand plan; visually arresting in real life, not just if you hit a pose. When your relaxed arms are viewed from the side, (short sleeves or shirtless), this area is the centerpiece of your “still picture show”.

 

For arms that hang great, it’s critical that you fully develop the lateral + medial heads of your triceps, and the brachialis. These tricep muscle strands run along the outer region of the back of your arm while the brachialis is the golf-ball-shaped muscle you see between the triceps and biceps, which are visibly prominent when viewed from the side.

While it is impossible to totally isolate an individual muscle "strand", we can pick exercises that cause these specific areas to contract more forcefully and enhance their development.

 

For the lateral head of the triceps a medium grip on regular tricep pulley pushdowns or EZ bar tricep extensions either seated or lying on an exercise bench are among the most effective. The medial head of the triceps, is also hit with the movements above, but many trainees opt for a rope on pulley pushdowns. This is so they can bend their wrists, pointing their index finger down and away from their body in the contracted position. The rope pushdowns are shown here, the straight pulley pushdowns are here and the EZ bar tricep extensions are here.

For the brachialis any normal bicep exercise with a reverse grip (plams down, a.k.a. pronated) places more stress on this muscle. In addition, dumbbell curls done "hammer" style also load the brachialis extremely well. Hammer dumbbell curls are done with your thumbs up, with the weights coming to your chest area at the top contracted position.  The hammer curls are shown here and the reverse curls are here.

Remember, to do between 6-12 reps on all work sets, and do at least 4 work sets per exercise to get the physique improvements you're seeking.

 

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Disclaimer

Information provided on this blog is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements.

Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider.

© 2011 Vince Andrich Real BodyBuilding, Vince Andrich Uncensored, & www.vandrich.com. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Muscle, physique training, vandrich, Vince Andrich, Weight-Training, Arm Development

It IS About Hormones, But Not hCG, For Losing Stubborn Bodyfat That Is

 

Another day, another miracle diet, another hoax. These mythical Unicorns don’t fool those of you who’ve found the “secret” to improving your body-composition is really no secret at all. You’re part of the few that have come to realize that weight-training, cardio, nutrition and smart supplementation, as practiced by Physique Athletes, is the fastest ticket to the body you want. Nevertheless, the seductive marketing tactics used by those selling miracle diets affect many, and eventually these folks finally ask someone, like you, that knows better.

Then you burst their bubble.

 

This time, the Unicorn is the hCG Diet, which is so ridiculous, I never felt the need to bother. I changed my mind. This will be quick, I promise.

 

hCG Diet Hoax

In 1954, British physician A.T.W. Simeons described a new method for dieting. He combined a severe calorie restricted diet (500 kcal per day) with daily injections of hCG, a hormone produced in women during pregnancy. Dr. Simeons claimed the patient should not lose more weight during a 4-to-6 weeks' diet than without hCG, but the injections should facilitate to maintain the diet and to lose body weight at specific parts of the body (e.g. hip, belly, thigh). In over 50-years, there is still no scientific research that backs up these “spot reducing” claims but some people did manage to get through the semi-starvation diet. Here’s the scam, as pointed out by my good friend DrProfAndro below, who has a great blog Suppversity (click here).

 

“I personally think its a way Dr's make money by fooling lazy people into the believe they were injecting them some magic serum... what happens is that the people experience a huge placebo effect and thus stick to their ridicolous 500kcal diet (because they believe they cannot be hungry on HCG) and lose a hell lot of weight, but the rebound will come ... I mean you would have to administer the HCG way beyond the diet period, if that whole thing should work, after all when you stop the HCG when you resume your usual diet your hormones will plummet at the same moment, when your kcal intake rises < YOYO effect, here I come ;-)”

I totally agree. But, do our natural hormones effect fat loss and muscle gain? You bet. Which brings me back to another reason more people are adopting the “secrets” used by Physique Athletes to get their best body.

The Physique Athlete, Hormone Advantage

Numerous studies in men and women of all ages has shown that simply by putting more time into your weight-training program, thus more volume, dramatically improves your natural fat burning and muscle building hormones. These naturally produced hormones; increased testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1, plus decreased levels of cortisol are critical to both men and women for improving body composition. This is why the weight-training methods used by Physique Athletes, which focuses on the volume of work they do, often cycling periods of low to very high, is the miracle most people want. And you don’t need to follow, or rather should never use a semi-starvation plan for this to work. You can find that "secret" in a program I’ve outlined click here.


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Disclaimer

Information provided on this blog is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements.Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider.© 2011 Vince Andrich Real BodyBuilding, Vince Andrich Uncensored, & www.vandrich.com. All Rights Reserved.

Modified Circuit Training, Cleansing Your Metabolism––Really

The big trend these days is the sale of “Body Cleansing” products and modified fasting programs that claim to to increase your metabolism. I’ve seen these types of programs emerge again about every ten-years. In fact, as a teen in the late ‘70’s, when I was just beginning to explore health food stores, I even did one or two fasting programs. These fasts were not of the intermittent type, which has proven to be useful (click here) for progressively changing your body composition. The longer fasts,  multiple days up to 14, are nothing but extremely low energy diets, which wreck, not improve your metabolism.

 

On the pure product side, Body Cleansing supplements are designed to “clean out any blockages in your intestines and colon”. For the most part, this is just another, more devious way to market fiber. But it gets worse, in addition to boosting your metabolism, the marketing claims most everything in the Body Cleansing category, are wild to downright fraudulent and include; warding off other health risks such as obesity, hypertension, heart disease and cancer.

 

While I’m sure that many of these cleansing programs or modified fasts will go a long way towards replacing junk food in your diet, they don’t put anything of value back in. So besides possibly adding fiber or gut health ingredients to your diet, let me repeat myself; these programs are nothing but extremely low energy diets, which wreck, not improve your metabolism.

 

What will work to improve your metabolism, or specifically, how your body stores energy, is to perform circuit training with weights. This is not the garden variety where you jump from exercise to exercise, but rather a modified version I’ve used for years to jump start my program, speed fat loss, and beat the boredom. Here’s how.

 

Pick one exercise per major muscle group. The 9 majors are:

Chest, Back, Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Shoulders, Abs, Biceps and Triceps.

 

Perform 2-4 sets per exercise, before moving to the next exercise. The goal is to rest very little between sets, maybe 10-20 seconds. As an example, for chest you might do dumbbell presses performed like this; grab a weight you can do for about 12 reps, rest for 10-20 seconds and repeat for as many reps as possible. You can repeat up to 4 times, but in the beginning two-sets per exercise is plenty.

 

Ideally, you will hit each major muscle group in each workout, which is done only 3-days per week. You need to take at least one day of rest from the weights after each training day to recover. If doing a full body workout is too much, simply split your body into two workouts and do these on alternate days, for 4 days of circuit-training per week.

 

This training method taxes your muscles ability to store energy (glucose a.k.a. carbs), which then tells your body to preferentially use the carbs you eat for brain, liver and muscle function. This essentially leaves much less, if any of the carbohydrate you eat to be stored as bodyfat. The net effect on your metabolism from the weight-training, plus essentially “draining” your energy reserves in muscle, is the real way to improve your metabolism, without wrecking it.

 

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Disclaimer

Information provided on this blog is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements.

Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider.

© 2011 Vince Andrich Real BodyBuilding, Vince Andrich Uncensored, & www.vandrich.com. All Rights Reserved.

 

Guts, The Determination To Do It Right.

 

Albert Einstein famously stated; "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler". Realizing that Einstein was pretty bright, I've used this thinking to advise clients on a wide range of topics. These can be as diverse as coaching individuals through a physique transformation, to developing business strategies for many of your favorite sports nutrition, supplement and fitness companies. While many supplement firms are pleased with the results we achieve by simplifying their business, that advice often falls on deaf ears when it comes to product development. I feel this happens because it takes a lot more guts to build a product with fewer ingredients and in doses that work, than it is to put a laundry list of inadequate ingredients/doses together in hopes that consumers will think they're getting something remarkable. In some cases, they're right, but only until another company pulls the same stunt and steals the same unsuspecting customers, until the cycle repeats. The lesson is this; if you don't have the patience to build a product that is your best work, you won't be around long enough for it to matter anyway. The same is true for your own personal program, which means when you're faced with choosing a nutrition/supplement product to enhance your own program, less is more. Think about, the company trying to hide product effectiveness in a cloud of ingredients you've never heard of, probably doesn't have the guts to do it right.

 

 

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Disclaimer

Information provided on this blog is solely for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing of any medications or supplements.

Please consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet or exercise program, before taking any medications or receiving treatment, particularly if you are currently under medical care. Make sure you carefully read all product labeling and packaging prior to use. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, do not take any supplements without first consulting and obtaining the approval of your healthcare provider.

© 2011 Vince Andrich Real BodyBuilding, Vince Andrich Uncensored, & www.vandrich.com. All Rights Reserved.

Make a Move, Hit The Exit When Muscle Energy Falls

In the early years of my training, I kept great records in journals. My notes included nutrition, cardio, supplements and of course every weight training detail. What I learned was that each muscle group had a decent range of energy substrates they could store, which was dependent on my current nutrient intake and training schedule.

A key learning is that when glycogen levels are fit to full, I could perform around 16-sets per muscle group before my pump faded. This meant the stored energy in muscles trained had gone to very low levels, and that the necessary waste products had congested the crime scene so that getting more of a pump was impossible. This is time to move on to another muscle group or simply exit the front door. I also noticed if my carb intake was reduced that about 12-sets brought me to a max pump, and I headed out.

Nothing scientific but it's easy to see that when energy substrates fall off, so will performance and your ability to get just a bit tighter pump. Now you know when to move on, or move out in the gym.