Live Large, Episode 16 (Vince Delmonte)

 Here's Vince Delmonte's Live Large, Episode 16. 

NOTE: Live Large is now available as a paid membership.  Just CLICK HERE for more details.

You can check out my review of Vince's programs here:

No-Nonsense Muscle Building Review (beginners)

21 Day Fast Mass Building Review (advanced)

1,000 Rep Muscle Challenge (advanced)

Your Six Pack Quest Review (fat burning)



LL#16 (STILL NEEDS APPROVAL) from VinceDelMonte on Vimeo.

Flavia Del Monte Video Preview

Here's a "sneak peak" at Flavia Del Monte's 5-day workout system.  

You can click here to see my review of her program: Flavia Del Monte Full-Body-Licious Review. 

You can also CLICK HERE if you are interested in a "hard copy" (DVD) version of the workout videos. 

Biggest Loser Winners, Season 11

Who won the Biggest Loser Season 11? 

Tonight was the season finale.

Deni won the take-home prize of $100,000 with a 125 lb weight loss (%48).  This  59-year-old mother of 8 proved it's never too late to change.

Olivia  won the grand prize of $250,000 with a 129 lb weigh loss.  This 35-year-old opera singer has reinvented herself and inspired millions.

Congratulations to all the contestants for their remarkable, inspiring transformations!  

There was also a surprise announcement:  Anna Kournikova will be the new trainer next season.

Live Large, Episode 15 (Vince Delmonte)

Here's Live Large, Episode 15.  A few topics covered are:
*Cardio and fat burning.
*The day of the fitness show.
*Six pack abs--the mentality needed to succeed.

NOTE: Live Large is now available as a paid membership.  Just CLICK HERE for more details.

You can check out my review of Vince's programs here:

No-Nonsense Muscle Building Review (beginners)

21 Day Fast Mass Building Review (advanced)

Your Six Pack Quest Review (fat burning)



LL#15 (Not approved) from VinceDelMonte on Vimeo.

Muscle Vitamin

I usually see a lot of questions on forums regarding bodybuilding vitamins—guys wondering what brand of vitamin they should be taking in order to build muscle.

My regular readers know my recommendation—a generic multivitamin.  

Men who regularly eat red meat should consider avoiding a supplement with iron in it (most "men's formula" type supplements have limited or no iron). 

I know what some of you are thinking: “Bodybuilders need extra vitamins because of all the training we go through.” Maybe so, but I’d like you to consider a few things:

*First and foremost, let’s not forget this thing called FOOD! You should already be getting vitamins and minerals through a nutrient rich diet if you want to build muscle. You’ve completely missed the point if you are dependent on a tablet as your main source of any kind of nutrient.

*Let’s assume you are convinced you need vitamin supplementation beyond a standard multi. You could take two generic multis (one in the morning and one in the evening) and still come out saving money compared to most “bodybuilding vitamins.”

*Another cost-effective strategy (one I use) would be to buy individual vitamins in addition to the generic multi. I usually take a (generic) b-complex vitamin in the afternoon or evening. B vitamins are water soluble, meaning the body can’t store them and extra supplementation won’t hurt.

*A vitamin should have a USP verified mark on the container, stating it is verified for "identity, strength, purity, and quality of dietary supplement finished products" (U.S. Pharmacopeia at www.usp.org/USPVerified). This is enough verification for me.  The generic multivitamins I’ve seen all had this, so why pay extra for a brand name or “bodybuilding vitamin?”

Remember—we should be looking for the most cost-effective way to supplement for a lifetime of lifting. Spend your money wisely. 

Note:  I'd recommend you invest in a high quality program like Muscle Gaining Secrets if you are a beginner who wants to put on muscle.  More advanced trainees would do well to invest in a program like Minimalist Training.

Metabolic Resistance Training (Turbulence Training)

Here's something new from Craig Ballantyne:  Metabolic Resistance Training.  The main idea is higher reps with incomplete recovery.

Note: I'd recommend you check out 24/7 Fat Loss if you want to see the ultimate combination of metabolic resistance training with the perfect diet.

Investment for Health

I've been going to the gym for over 20 years now.  Most of the time I've used a 3 day split, meaning I train three days out of the week. 

I enjoy training.  I enjoy testing myself physically to see how big, strong, or lean I can get. 

But now I'm also seeing all these hours of training as an investment for my health.  I wish more people out there would see it the same way.  Exercise will yield big returns in every aspect of your life--even financially (you may save money in medical bills).

It's just strange where our priorities are.  A guy is "hard working" if he insists on getting to work on time and working overtime to get ahead.  But people who put equal focus into diet and training may be labeled as "fanatics" or "health nuts." 

I'm guessing many of my readers are already going to the gym, so good for you--you won't regret it as the years go by.  But I'd encourage any couch potato reading this to consider a lifestyle change.

Enough rambling for now . . .  

Football Training

Some of you are interested in off-season training for football.  I'd recommend Jason Ferruggia's Renegade Football Strength.

Ferruggia always delivers high quality programs which deliver real-world results.  Renegade Football Strength has three, 12-week programs designed for different levels (Rookie, Veteran, and Pro).  It also includes a complimentary one month membership to the Renegade Inner Circle. 

This program is on sale ($39) until May 21st at noon.  Grab it now if you are interested.

480k Squat--Malanichev Andrey

Here's a very impressive lift from Malanichev Andrey.

The Biggest Loser, Season 11, Episode 20

Highlights and a recap of the Biggest Loser, Season 11, Week/Episode 20

Last week's episode left us with the "final four" contestants:

Jay

Irene

Olivia

Hannah

This episode started with some dramatic before/after footage, followed by the “final four” contestants celebrating their achievement. 

The next scenes went into the contestants’ training.  The trainers were able to give a lot of individual time to each contestant—both in physical training and counseling.

Next came a cooking challenge.  The contestants had to make turkey burgers for a group of school kids.  Jay’s “volcano burger” won the prize ($5,000, plus sending two guests to the Biggest Loser resort for a week).   

The last challenge kept the time-honored tradition of Biggest Loser contestants carrying around the weight they lost.  They were assigned to carry golf bags with weighted flags (the weight of the flags corresponding to each week’s weight loss). A flag would be placed in holes of the golf course until the bags were empty and the contestants reached the finish line.  This one proved to be very challenging, with more than one competitor describing it as “excruciating.”  They were competing for a Cybex home gym system (valued at $15,000).   Hannah won the challenge. All four contestants won a Cybex Arc Trainer. 

The next scene was the last chance workout (the “last, last chance workout”).  The contestants were battling to become one of the three finalists for season 11.  The workout footage was mixed with scenes of the way the contestants looked 20 weeks earlier. 

The Weigh In

Olivia and Hannah were the two winners of the weigh-in, locking their positions to be in the final competition for the grand prize.  This is the first time a team of sisters has made it into the final round of the competition.  Irene and Jay fell below the yellow line, meaning a vote will determine which one will have the chance to compete as the third finalist.   

The contestants all enjoyed enthusiastic welcomes when they returned home.   They announced their weight loss to their friends and families and talked about their transformations.  

The final four also received videos documentaries of their transformations, which included interviews taken before the competition. 

It's now up to America to decide whether Jay or Irene goes to the final three.  You can log on to NBC.com to vote (voting is open until 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, May 23rd).  

I don't have recaps for all episodes on this blog.  I just decided to summarize this one while I was watching it.  You can go to the NBC Biggest Loser Website to watch full episodes online.  

Living Large, Episode 14

Here's Vince DelMonte's Living Large, Episode 14.  You may be wondering what happened to previous episodes of his show.  Well, apparently a hater kept flagging his videos as "inappropriate content" and youtube shut them all down.  He's switched over to Vimeo.  

NOTE: Live Large is now available as a paid membership.  Just CLICK HERE for more details.

You can check out my review of Vince's programs here:

No-Nonsense Muscle Building Review

21 Day Fast Mass Building Review


The Secret Is To Take MASSIVE ACTION - LIVE LARGE TV ep 14 from VinceDelMonte on Vimeo.

Dog Squats

Ready for some serious leg training? Try dog squats!


Dog Squats - Watch more Funny Videos

Full-Body-Licious DVD Sale

Flavia Del Monte's Full-Body-Licious DVD's are on sale for the next three days.  This is a "hard copy" version of the videos--a disc you can actually play at home on a DVD player.  Just click here for more details.

You can read my original review of this program here:
Flavia Del Monte Full-Body-Licious Review (this is my review of the digital version).  

Recommended Supplements and Sexual Health

I realized my first two e-reports for subscribers (Fat Burner Reviews and Supplement Reviews) were mostly about supplements I don't recommend.  I have decided to write a third e-report with a slightly different purpose in mind.

I've written a new e-report entitled Supplementation: Building Muscle Without Going Broke.  This one is about using bodybuilding supplements without spending too much money.  I've also written a couple of pages on Supplements for Sexual Health. 

You can get all three of these e-reports free by just subscribing to my blog.  You can use the form on the right or CLICK HERE to subscribe.

Body Weight Training

John Romaniello has done it again:  this time he has created a Bodyweight Edition of Final Phase Fat Loss.  This is a program you can do at home with no weights. 

You can always check out the "original" Final Phase Fat Loss if you'd rather use a gym/weights. 

Sweet Drinks, Liquid Calories and Weight Loss

Public Health Advertisement 

It's fairly common for people to ask my advice about weight loss, getting in shape, etc.

Want to hear my first piece of advice to those who want to shed some pounds?  Here it is: start by cutting out all liquid calories except for lowfat or skim milk.  Stick with water, coffee (without sugar), sugar-free drinks and milk (lowfat or skim). 

The amount of sugar we drink has been one of the most overlooked negative aspects of the American diet.  A can of soda per day, for example, can add 15 lb in a single year.

One problem with sugary drinks is the "sneaky" nature of these calories:  you don't realize just how many you are consuming, and neither does your body.  "Real" food will cause a hormonal response--hormones like leptin will send signals to your brain, telling you that you are full.  But sugary drinks don't trigger the body's natural feedback systems.   The end result is an excess of "empty" calories ("empty," meaning calories with no nutritional value). 

One study found cutting liquid calories to be a more effective strategy than reducing solid calorie intake. 

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine how changes in beverage consumption affect weight change among adults.

Design: This was a prospective study of 810 adults participating in the PREMIER trial, an 18-mo randomized, controlled, behavioral intervention trial. Measurements (weight, height, and 24-h dietary recall) were made at baseline, 6 mo, and 18 mo.

Results: Baseline mean intake of liquid calories was 356 kcal/d (19% of total energy intake). After potential confounders and intervention assignment were controlled for, a reduction in liquid calorie intake of 100 kcal/d was associated with a weight loss of 0.25 kg (95% CI: 0.11, 0.39; P < 0.001) at 6 mo and of 0.24 kg (95% CI: 0.06, 0.41; P = 0.008) at 18 mo. A reduction in liquid calorie intake had a stronger effect than did a reduction in solid calorie intake on weight loss. Of the individual beverages, only intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was significantly associated with weight change. A reduction in SSB intake of 1 serving/d was associated with a weight loss of 0.49 kg (95% CI: 0.11, 0.82; P = 0.006) at 6 mo and of 0.65 kg (95% CI: 0.22, 1.09; P = 0.003) at 18 mo.

Conclusions: These data support recommendations to limit liquid calorie intake among adults and to reduce SSB consumption as a means to accomplish weight loss or avoid excess weight gain.

Quoted from: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Reduction in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight loss (emphasis mine).

I'm not saying you can't have a soft drink ever again--that's not practical.  But you can look at sweetened drinks the same way you'd look at cake or ice cream: something to occasionally indulge in, but not something to be consumed daily.   

Remember:  Diet is going to count for at least 85-90% of your results when it comes to weight loss/fat loss.   Don't mess up all your hard work in the gym buy drinking a bunch of junk.

Training Journal: Minimalist Training and the Three Day Split

I haven't updated you on my training journal for a few days, so here goes:

I'm still doing the 70's Strength and Mass routine from Minimalist Training.  I'm still loving the simplicity of this routine. 

I'm doing this routine on a three-day split, meaning I train 3x a week.  I've always been partial to this split--I agree with this quote from Ferruggia:

You can train four days per week if you want to but I find that most people don't need to and will get better results with just three days. Also, as an advanced lifter it's very difficult to squat and deadlift in the same week, every week. Your lower back usually ends up taking too much of a beating (Minimalist Training, page 57).

I've already explained what an advanced upper/lower body split would look like, but I'll explain it one more time:

Week 1:
Monday: Upper
Wednesday: Lower
Friday: Upper

Week 2:
Monday: Lower
Wednesday: Upper
Friday: Lower

Somtimes you do squat and deadlift on the same week, but only every other week--the squat and deadlift workouts are spaced out nicely.

Flavia Del Monte Interview

Flavia Del Monte

Flavia Del Monte (creator of Full-Body-Licious) has graciously agreed to be interviewed here at Strongandfit.net. Here goes:

First I'd like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview.

No problem at all, thank you for your interest in FULL-BODY-LICIOUS.

What inspired you to create the FULL-BODY-LICIOUS program?

Truth be told, female fans of my husband, Vince Del Monte, filled my facebook inbox with influential recommendations for me to write a female fitness program. After some thought, I decided to discover the very best way for a female to make the fastest, safest and most effective body transformation for not only myself but for the females who inspired me to do so.

I absolutely loved the discovery I had made and couldn’t wait for females to transform their lives. I don’t believe that looks are everything...not even close, but I know that being a confident female is a desire for every women and by gaining confidence through our appearance, so many other areas of our lives will transform for the greater good.

I promote different programs here on Strongandfit.net. But yours is one of the first I’ve reviewed designed specifically for women. What do you believe women should do differently than men when it comes to training?

Let me say that I have trained like a male for seven years and have seen significant changes. It wasn’t until I discovered the FORCE formula, that I began to realize women can lose fat and shape their muscles faster when training for fat loss rather than muscle building.

By using combination movements vs. isolation exercises; involving the FULL body in a workout to target fat loss; and relying on very little rest between exercises; keeps the body in a fat burning zone for not only the workout, but for hours following.

Now, if a male’s goal is for fat loss, than he could train this way too...but most men are looking to add size, and that is definitely what most women are fearful of doing.

In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes women make when they are trying to transform their bodies?

I think what most women don’t realize, and what I hadn’t realized until recently, is that fat is what is preventing us from seeing the definition that we are trying to uncover using bulking methods of training. It isn’t until we strip the body of fat, that we will begin to see our muscle that we are building or maintaining, with keeping weights in our program. So by incorporating fat burning techniques with muscle building exercises, we begin to uncover the beautiful feminine figure we all desire.

Bottom line: Women just don’t work hard enough to strip the fat off their bodies...I was guilty of it too.

I know training and developing this program was a rigorous process. What did you learn that surprised you?

What I was surprised to discover is that while I was training to lose fat, I began to shape every muscle in my body faster than with body building techniques using heavy weights and isolation movements. By keeping moderate weights in the workout and continuing to challenge myself by adding more weight or reps, I began to see my body composition transform in ways I had only dreamed of.

What kind of feedback are you getting from women who are using your program?

Most women are saying that FULL-BODY-LICIOUS is kicking their butts. LOL. They are all clear on the fact that this program is not easy. But the women are seeing results...2 pounds a week seems to be the average and the women say they love the workouts and love the uniqueness of the exercises!

What’s next for you on your personal and professional journey?

Education, Education, Education. I love to learn and I believe the more you learn, the more you grow. I want to become more knowledgable in the vegetarian lifestyle so I can answer the numerous questions on vegetarian diets and I’d love to make a recipe book in the near future.

Personally, I’d love to take cooking lessons so I can put videos on You Tube and learn Spanish, Italian, French and become fluent in Romanian (the native tongue of my family).

Thanks again!

Great questions Kevin, thank you so much!
Flavia Del Monte RN, CPT, Certified Nutritionist

NOTE:
CLICK HERE if you'd like to check out Flavia's Program for women. 
You can see my review of Flavia's program here: Flavia Del Monte Full-Body-Licious Review

World Record 1015 lb Deadlift: Benedikt Magnusson

Ready to watch something truly awesome?  Here's Benedikt Magnusson's 1015 lb deadlift, recently done at the Ronnie Coleman Classic.  He makes it look easy!



Another angle:

Dumbbell Split Squat

The dumbbell split squat is a good way to add variation to your leg training.  One advantage to this is you can do it without a barbell (or squat rack) and with relatively light weight (compared to regular squatting).  The routine I'm doing now (from Minimalist Training) has regular (barbell) squat as the main exercise, followed by split squat. 

One Arm Incline Dumbbell Press

This is a variation of the incline dumbbell press using only one arm.

You could try this if you want add some variety to your training.  Little variations can help keep you from getting bored. 

The first time I ever tried this one was when I used the Triple Threat Muscle program. 

Broccoli, Bodybuilding, and Testosterone

Broccoli has been a staple in bodybuilding diets for a long time.  Some of the reasons are obvious: it's a fibrous, vitamin-packed, lowcarb vegetable, making it ideal for fat loss. 

But I also kept reading about it being good for testosterone levels.  As you can imagine, this is another perk for those of us wanting to build muscle and lose fat. 

I was a little surprised when someone (a nurse) mentioned that broccoli is a good source of estrogen--not exactly what I expected to hear.  I figured this had something to do with hormone balance, so I did a little bit of research.  Here's what I found out:

Broccoli is loaded with phytochemicals known as indoles (an indole called diindolylmethane is the one I see brought up most often).  This chemical basically helps decrease the "bad" estrogen by helping the body convert it to a "safer" form (remember--both men and women have both estrogen and testosterone).  This has some very desirable benefits, such as more free testosterone (for men) and protection against breast cancer (for women).

Cooking broccoli is quite simple:  put some in a microwave-safe container, add a little water, and cook it for a couple of minutes.  The water will steam it and soften it up a bit. 

Think about adding this food as a regular part of your diet--there are too many health benefits to ignore.