muscle building most effective weightlifting routines, exercises and diets

Muscle building is not easy. If it was, everyone you know would be 250lbs of pure muscle. Muscle building takes time and effort, and if you aren't willing to dedicate your time and put in extreme amounts of effort, then you are wasting your time. However, if you fully understand the amount of dedication that is needed, then read on and lets get down to business.

Muscle building requires 3 steps. Step 1 and the most important step is the weightlifting, which must be done correctly. This includes your workout routines and programs, as well as the actual exercises that you do. Your workout routine must allow your entire body to get the best workout it can (so that you are not overtraining), and you must do the most effective muscle building exercises. There are tons of different exercises and machines for each muscle group, but there are just 4 that have the greatest effect. These 4 exercises are your "compound" movements. Let me explain.

The most effective muscle building exercises are compound movements. Compound movements are exercises that require your body to use more than one muscle. For example, bicep curls will only require your body to use your biceps. This is known as an isolation exercise. An exercise like the bench press, which mainly requires the use of your chest, but secondarily requires your triceps and shoulders is a compound movement. Including the bench press, there are 4 weightlifting exercises that MUST be included in your workout routines.

The 4 biggest, most effective, muscle building exercises are Squats, Deadlifts, the Bench Press and the Military Press. All 4 are compound movements and all 4 are are extremely important to your workout. The main exercise of your chest workout should be the bench press, the main exercise of your leg workout should be squats, the main exercise of your back workout should be deadlifts and the main exercise of your shoulder workout should be the military press.

Exercises like dumbbell flyes which works the chest, leg extensions which works the legs, lat pulldowns which works the back and lateral raises which works the shoulders are all fine exercises and I do every one of them, however, the "big 4" exercises are the ones that will allow you to gain the most muscle, size and strength. (For more info, go here: workout routines and programs and weight training program)

Muscle building step number 2 is your diet. Diets are just as important as the actual weightlifting, because if you aren't eating to grow, then you will NOT grow. You have to eat big, to lift big, to get big. Say that over and over again to yourself until you fully understand it. Some of the diet basics are eating at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight EVERY DAY whether you worked out that day or not. Protein is the building block of muscle. If you can't get at least 1 gram of protein per pound every day from real food, then use a whey protein supplement like powder and bars. Most people use them, and so do I. Click here for more info on protein supplements. Eating very little (if any) saturated fat is important as well. You want to get big, but you don't want to get fat. Also stay away from the rest of the junk food like cookies, candy, cake, anything high in sugar, soda, fast food, fried food, etc. and make sure you are eating enough calories! You have to eat big to get big, remember? (Click here for more info on how to gain weight)

Muscle building step number 3 is "everything else." This includes overtraining and giving your body enough time to rest and recover from your workouts. Make sure you are not overtraining! Overtraining can be just as bad as not training at all. (Click here to learn more about overtraining) This step also includes motivation and dedication. If you aren't consistent, then you are wasting your time. You must stay dedicated and stay motivated. The results won't come easy, and they won't come very fast either, so stay dedicated, and stay consistent, and do all 3 steps correctly, and the muscle building results WILL come!

From : intense-workout.com

How to lose weight - what works, what doesn't work, and my day in a weight loss chat room

Not too long ago someone emailed me and thanked me for the information on the site about weight loss. They told me that they lost 30 pounds by following the info on the site, which is always nice to hear. They then went on to tell me about a weight loss chat room that they go into every once in a while where the people in there didn't know very much about losing weight. They wanted me to check it out. So, I checked this weight loss chat room out one day and what I saw was pretty bad and actually kind of funny, in pathetic kind of way though. The main subject of this room was of course the almighty question... How do I lose weight? I am going to answer that question for you right now plain and simple and by only using 4 easy words that everyone can understand even if you know nothing about weight loss.

The main thing in this weight loss room that caught my attention was that every once in a while, someone would come in and say that they lost weight. Everyone else in the room would then congratulate them on losing the weight and within the next 5 seconds, EVERYONE in the room would all ask this person one question all at once.... "How did you lose it???" Honestly, I find that question to be extremely funny. I just can't figure out how anyone can ask that question. Someone loses weight and you ask them how they lost that weight? What kind of stupid question is that? To me that question is just as funny as if someone said "I just got a haircut" and someone asks them "Really? How did your hair get cut off?" The obvious answer is "With scissors." And the answer to the question "how did you lose weight" is just as simple and as obvious as that... and that is why I find it so funny.

You see, despite the hopes and dreams of many lazy people, there is only one way to lose weight. No, that wasn't a typo. You can only lose weight 1 way, by doing 1 thing. Here it comes, get your pads and pens ready and write this one down. Here are those 4 simple words that I mentioned before, here is how weight loss happens.

Drum roll please...

If you want to lose weight, you need to "eat right and workout." There you have it ladies and gentlemen, the 4 simple words. Eat right and workout! That's it! That is ALL that works!! EVERYTHING else is USELESS! If weight loss and losing weight is your goal, then you just need to eat right and workout and THAT'S IT!!!!

When people ask the "how did you lose weight" question, it's like they are expecting to hear something other then "I ate right and worked out," but you will NEVER EVER hear any other answer to that question. I mean honestly, when these people ask that question to someone, do they really expect them to say "Well, I bought one of those electronic ab belts 3 weeks ago and LOOK AT ME NOW!!" Hell no, you will never hear that! Do you think someone is going to answer them with "I went to the supplement store and bought these amazing fat burning pills to help me lose weight and I lost it all in no time. The pills did all the work for me!" You will never hear that either! The only answer that they will ever hear is that this person lost weight by eating right and working out. Do you know why that is the only answer they will ever hear? It's because that is the ONLY thing that works. There are no weight loss secrets, no machines with super powers, and no magical pills, products or supplements.

Another thing that I found so funny in this room was how these people, who all claim they want to lose weight, will try just about anything (no matter how stupid) as long as it doesn't require them to eat 100% correctly, workout correctly and do all of the hard work that is needed in order for weight loss to happen. One of the many stupid conversations that I saw in this weight loss room was something about some type of herbal tea that is supposed to allow your body to burn 4% more calories than it normally does. At this point I had to grab my chair to stop myself from jumping out of my window. Are you kidding me? The person who started this magic tea conversation also mentioned that they had about 60 pounds to lose. If you have 60 pounds to lose and you're wasting your time talking about drinking magic herbal tea because it is supposed to allow you to burn 4% more calories, then you might as well start eating herbal potato chips and herbal Mcdonalds cheese burgers because you are herbally out of your mind.

But wait, there's more! The next wonderful weight loss conversation that started was about how you should drink cold water instead of warm water because the colder water requires your body to warm it up, and this "warming" of the water burns calories, which will of course make you lose weight. I swear I'm not making this up! First of all.. who the hell is drinking warm water in the first place? Secondly, do you honestly think that the calories that "supposedly" get "burned" while your body is "warming" up this water is going to make any difference what so ever in terms of weight loss? OF COURSE NOT! Not one single little bit! This conversation proved 2 things to me. One, that people will try anything to lose weight as long as it doesn't require them to work hard. And two, that I could start the "eating snow diet" and tell people that all they need to do is move somewhere where it snows a lot and just start eating snow 5 times a day, and they will lose weight because their body will be "warming" the snow all day long.

Don't just think I sat there and watched this, I jumped right in to tell them how wrong they were and how they should be focusing on just eating right and working out, not on useless crap like herbal tea and cold water and other little weight loss tips they read about or heard about that won't make one damn difference. The only tip there is when it comes to how to lose weight, and the only tip that will make a difference, is to just eat right and workout. They refused to listen to me though. At one point, I just came out and said these exact words: "Weight loss is SIMPLE" and half the room sounded like they wanted to fight me. They refused to believe that it was simple. Crazy huh? It took me a few minutes, but I figured out why they didn't want to believe me. These people obviously have not lost weight yet. Therefore, they want to believe that weight loss is confusing, hard and impossible. If they believed it was simple, they would hate themselves for not being able to do something that was simple. They'd much rather believe that they can't do something that is extremely complicated. Sometimes I think people would much rather just have a good excuse for not being able to lose weight, than to actually lose it. So, after a few minutes of wasted time arguing, I wished them all good luck with their herbal tea and cold water and left.

A few days later I went back in. This time the conversation was about gimmick diets (or fad diets), and I mean EVERY gimmick diet. Everything from the weight watchers diet plan, to atkins, to slimfast, to stuff I could swear these people had to be making up on the spot, like the "cabbage soup diet." This was really the conversation that just made me mad. To me, the worst part was how after someone mentioned one of these diets, everyone else would say something like "yeah, I tried that one, it was ok" or "I tried that one for a while" or something along those lines. This means that basically all of these people have "tried" all of these different diets at some point to lose weight. What I can't understand is how they could just "try" a diet. How can you expect the diet to work if you just "try" it? These people go on one of these diets for a week, come into this stupid chat room or read some stupid magazine or see some stupid commercial for some other diet and they say to themselves, wow this one looks like the best weight loss program of all, I'm going to "try" this one! DEAR GOD HELP ME! You can not "TRY" diets!!! You have to "DO" diets!!! Do it and keep doing it! That's it! And if these people were just "trying" the diets to see which one would better fit their lifestyle or to see which was easier for them, it would be fine. But no, they "try" them to see which one will allow them to lose 20 pounds in a week. They fail to understand that unless they are on the "cut your left leg off diet," these results can NOT happen EVER. Weight loss takes hard work and consistency! Sadly for these people,

The next thing that bothered me was the gimmick weight loss diets themselves. Now, before I go any further, let me just say that if you like these types of diets and they work for you, then please, keep doing it. You should do whatever works for you! Now, getting back to these gimmick diets.. you do NOT need them! They don't do anything special, they just make it seem like they do so they can get your money. None of these types of diets really do anything special at all in terms of losing weight. For example, slimfast. Do you know what slimfast is? It's calories. Sure, its a "delicious shake," but all it really is is just calories. I do not know how many calories are in slimfast, but for this example, lets pretend it has 250 calories. The thing about slimfast is that it is just these calories. There is no weight loss magic in it. You would get the same results by eating 250 calories worth of good food like chicken breasts or tuna fish. The only difference I see between 250 calories worth of slimfast and 250 calories worth of chicken is that you will probably be fuller and feel like you ate more after eating the chicken instead of drinking down a slimfast shake. See my point?

To be honest, I think these gimmick diets are bad for most people. They are confusing. I don't know everything about the weight watchers diet plan, but I know the basic idea is that food counts as points, and each food is worth a certain amount of points and you are allowed to eat a certain amount of points a day. The big sell of this diet is how something like a cookie is this many points, which means you can still eat a cookie as long as you stay within your daily point range. This one is starting to sound like "eating in moderation" and if you read my food cravings article, you most certainly know that I am fully against "moderation."

I mean, if counting weight watchers points and checking your point guide book thing and seeing how many points are in this and seeing if this many points equals this many cookies and points this and points that works for you, then fine with me. But honestly, it is not needed one bit. Weight watchers is just replacing the word calories with the word points. Instead of watching the calories you eat per day, you are now watching the points.

The difference? Watching calories is free, and watching points costs money. Oh, you didn't know? Weight watchers isn't free. You need to pay to sign up for all of the really important weight watchers stuff and point system guides and other junk or else it will never ever work and you will be doomed to never lose weight!!!! Bullshit, just eat right and workout.. point system my ass.

Moving on, another thing that really made my day in this weight loss room was the constant spam. If you don't know what spam is, lets pretend you are in a chatroom and all of a sudden someone comes in and says "Looking to by life insurance? Click here NOW!!!!!!!" and then they leave the room right after, that is spam. It seemed like once every 20 seconds someone new would come in and spam their useless weight loss crap. Sometimes they'd stay for a while and put on a whole act that sadly, only I was able to figure out was a spam act. They'd say "I feel great, just lost 50 pounds!" Then of course, the whole room asked them how, and they say "It was easy since I used herbal-meta-slim-weight-fast-quickfix-watchers-pill" or whatever the name of the useless product or gimmick was and then, magically, this person just happens to have a web site or a phone number or some way for everyone else in the room to buy this product.

Remember before when I said the only way to lose weight was to eat right and workout and that this was the only answer anyone would ever give you if you asked them how they lost weight? Well, let me add a second half to that. If anyone EVER tells you they lost weight some other way or even just says that another way of losing weight exists, then they are lying and trying to get you to buy something. Remember that.

You know what though? In the end, weight loss IS simple! There is nothing to it actually, just learn what you need to do and then just keep doing it. Here's how.... Your weight works like this. There is a certain number of calories that you need to eat a day in order for your body to maintain its current weight. If you eat about 500 calories less than this maintaining number, then you will lose weight. Combine this with making sure the calories you do take in come from only good foods, combine this with drinking lots of water and getting enough sleep, and combine this with working out correctly, and weight loss happens. How do you like that? You didn't have to spend any money and there were no fancy gimmicks. What I just described works. It ALWAYS works! If it doesn't work, then you are NOT human! How's that for a guarantee? So if you do it and it doesn't seem to be working, then guess what? You were NOT doing it right! It's just that simple. I know I just gave a very broad description, but the whole weight loss diet and workout is described in way better detail on other parts of this site. EVERYTHING you need in order to lose weight is here for you, free. Check out the weight loss page for the full diet and workout information here: weight loss

Weight loss isn't rocket science. It isn't confusing and it isn't complicated. It is simple, whether you refuse to beleive it or not. Just eat right and workout, and that's it. Oh, and one more thing... please never invite me to any more weight loss chat rooms!! LOL

From : intense-workout.com

fast weight loss - can you really lose weight fast

I get emails all the time from people about fast weight loss. Is it possible? Can it be done? If so, how??? They tell me their story and then say something like, "I just want to lose weight fast. I'll do WHATEVER I have to do! What's the fastest way?" Or my favorite, when I get emails from the people I REALLY can't stand. The people who need to lose weight fast because of some type of event that is coming up very soon. Like I get this one all the time. "Hey, I have a wedding to go to in 3 weeks and I need to lose like 25 pounds fast, what can I do?" They really expect me to write back with the answer they are hoping for. I also love the ones that I get a few weeks before summer starts. "Summer is coming up next week and I need to lose 80 million pounds! What should I do?" Ok, 80 million is an exaggeration, but you get my point. Granted, no one wants to workout and eat right and get their results slowly, but is fast weight loss really possible? Is there a diet and/or workout you can do or a pill you can take or a machine you can use that will make the pounds come off faster? I'm going to crush a lot of people's hopes and dreams here, but the answer is NO. ...And here's why.

First off, the right amount of weight that the average person should hope and try to lose a week when eating and working out correctly is something like 1 or 2 pounds a week. That is a good, healthy, safe, smart, effective amount to lose. That right there is fast weight loss. So if you are losing weight at that speed, then hang on tight, because you are going the maximum weight loss speed limit! Yup, 1 or 2 pounds lost a week. Not as fast as most people would hope for, but sadly, that's just the way it is. You just can't lose weight fast, or at least, as fast as many people would like to. Aside from all of the obvious health risks and possible negatives of losing any more than that a week, losing anymore than 1 or 2 pounds a week means you are losing muscle, not fat. As you can guess, that's not good.

The next question someone might have now is about all of those pills and products that promise fast weight loss. And they back up their claims too. They show before and after pictures of people who lost a lot of a weight in a very short amount of time. They have pictures!!!! They can't be lying!!!! These are good people! They only want to help people lose weight fast!! They would never lie just to get our money right?!?!?!?!? WRONG! Before and after pictures are the biggest bunch of bullshit there is. Before and after pictures are so faked that I am having trouble typing this just laughing at the thought of them being actual truthful pictures showing the great results someone got with whatever useless fast weight loss crap they are trying to sell you. Aside from the obvious easy ways of faking them such as putting the head on another body (it's been done) or showing real before and after pictures, except that they were taken 5 years apart instead of 6 weeks apart like they claim (it's been done too), another wonderful faking method is used that some people don't think of. They take a person with an already great body (who got that way by working out correctly and eating right for years) and call that the "after picture." They then get this same person to gain weight. Once they gain enough, they take a picture and call it the "before picture." Yes ladies and gentleman, fast weight loss at it's best!

But my all time favorite lose weight fast bullshit is still to come. This next one always puts a smile on my face, and if you look close enough, you will see it too. There are commercials on TV for all kinds of gimmick weight loss diets and pills and products that all promise fast weight loss. First they bullshit to you... whoops, sorry... I meant "tell you the amazing features of their product" and then show you people, actual people, who used this product or diet and were able lose weight fast. Sometimes they just show their "real" before and after pictures, but sometimes they have the actual people standing there talking. They show you a before picture while this person talks over it and says "I hated my body. I tried everything but nothing ever worked... UNTIL NOW!!!! I lost 50 pounds using ::insert useless crap here:: in just 4 WEEKS and look at me now!!" As funny as it already is, that isn't even the half of it yet. Here comes the real best part. At this point in the commercial, if you put on your glasses, walk all the way up to your TV, bend down, and put your face 2 inches from the screen.... if you look close enough, in small tiny letters that you can just barely read, you will see writing that says something like: "These results are not typical." Excuse me for a second... HAHAHAHAHA!!!

I'm laughing just remembering these fast weight loss commercials. I swear I am not making this up. Most weight loss commercials do this. Sometimes it says "These results are not typical" or sometimes it might say "Just like every body is different, so are their results. You may not get these results." or it will just say something that basically means "The person we are showing you right now who says they lost 50 pounds in 4 weeks is a lying idiot. We are lying to you. We want your money, so we made up all of this stuff so you buy our useless lose weight fast product. Don't expect to get results ANYTHING even close to these that we are showing you. We only show you them so you think you will get these results, even though you really won't. We are assholes. But who cares, because we got your money. We laugh at you because you think fast weight loss is possible. Now that we have this statement on the commercial somewhere, you can't use the product, see no fast results, and then try to sue us for false advertising. Sucks for you don't it? Thanks for your money, maybe we will all buy a new car with it. See ya later."

Wow, I wonder why they make this part of the commercial so hard to see? This just helps prove the fact more and more. Fast weight loss doesn't exist, unless of course your idea of fast weight loss is losing 1 or 2 pounds a week. There is no machine, no special type of cardio, no special diet, no special workout, no special pill, no special anything, that will allow you to lose weight fast safely and healthily. If these people who want such fast results so badly got off their asses and put half their effort that they put into finding a fast "quick fix" and put it into actually working hard, they probably would have lost the weight by now. I've said it once and I'll say it a million times, just eat right and workout correctly. Do it and keep doing it. It won't happen fast, but it will happen. Be consistent. Never stop. Work hard and stay dedicated. Don't be satisfied until you get EXACTLY what you want. And like magic... weight loss happens.

From : intense-workout.com

ab lounge review - is this machine really an effective exercise for your abs?

Hello person who is interested in the ab lounge. What you are about to read is my review and opinion of this abdominal machine, as well as a tiny little secret that they don't want you to know about. This review will contain every single thing you need to know about the ab lounge and abdominal exercises and machines in general, and by the end you will without a shadow of a doubt know whether or not you should buy it. You know what, I don't feel as though I've gotten your attention yet. Hmmm... let's see... I know...

The ab lounge commercial is complete and utter bullshit.

Do I have your attention now?

Fantastic.

Let's keep going then.

So I've been seeing this commercial for this ab lounge machine a lot lately. The whole commercial is a giant lie. Actually it's a series of lies formed together to create one giant lie. Sadly this lie is causing people to waste their money. This is something I don't like. See, in 1998 I bought this contraption called the "Ab Rocker." I was clueless and stupid. It took about a week for me to realize what a total waste of money it was and how it was doing nothing different for my abs than plain old crunches. The ab lounge is today's ab rocker. I want to prevent you from being clueless and stupid.

Before I go any further, I want to state that I have had people e-mail me and tell me that due to their back problems they can't perform basic ab exercises like crunches. They go on to say that laughably fancy abdominal machines such as the ab lounge are useful to them because of their back problems. I don't have back problems. I am not a back specialist. Therefore, I cannot refute these statements. It is possible that machines such as the ab lounge are better for people who have bad backs and can't do exercises like crunches. If you have a bad back and think this may help you work your abs while lessening the stress on your back, then by all means go for it. Get your 2,000 easy payments of a billion dollars ready and place your order now.

However, if you are planning on buying the ab lounge because:
A) You think it is a more effective exercise than other ab exercises
B) You think it will get rid of your stomach fat
C) You think it will make you lose weight

Then my friend, you would be wasting your money. Despite it's bullshit commercial, the ab lounge doesn't do any of these things.

If anything, it's a less effective ab exercise than crunches. The same way the barbell bench press would be more effective than a bench press machine, crunches are likely a better ab exercise than the ab lounge. At best, they are equal. At worst, crunches are better. Machines (for all muscles) do part of the work for you. They keep the weight (in this case, your body) stable. Exercises not done on machines recruit the use of stabilizer muscles to keep the weight in place. The more muscles used, the greater the results. So, there goes bullshit claim #1.

The ab lounge will also NOT get rid of the fat on your stomach. No ab exercise will. It's scientifically impossible to directly target the fat of a specific body part. It's a common workout myth known as "spot reduction." The same is true for every muscle, not just abs. Back exercises don't burn back fat, leg exercises don't burn leg fat, and ab exercises don't burn ab fat. Exercises work muscles. A proper diet gets rid of fat. There goes bullshit claim #2.

If you've ever seen this stupid ab lounge commercial, you've seen the part where they show some lady or some guy wearing their old fat pants with them saying how using the ab lounge caused them to lose a trillion pounds in just 2 weeks. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but it's pretty close. Anyway, if you can force yourself to look away from their funny looking fat person pants and focus your eyes on the bottom of your television screen, you'll see a message that goes a little something like:

" *We are lying to you. This guy and this lady actually ate a diet low enough in calories so that they would lose weight. They also did cardio on a regular basis. The ab lounge had nothing to do with their weight loss results. We just try to make it look like it did so, ya know, we can steal your money." And there goes bullshit claim #3.

Again, that's an exaggeration. But again, it's not that far off. The next time you see this commercial be sure read the fine print. If anything, you'll get a good laugh.

I gotta say, the one thing I do like about this thing is how it's called the ab lounge. It's like... forget about working out on the floor or a weight bench like a normal person... just sit back and relax on our ultra comfortable lounge. I want to invent a machine called the Ab Hammock. "Now you can workout while relaxing at a BBQ in your backyard!" Then maybe the Ab Bed. "Its like sleeping only it's working your abs!!!!!" It's all gimmicky marketing stuff. Gimmicky marketing stuff is another way of saying useless waste of money. So in that aspect, the ab lounge finally succeeds.

Anyway, let me end this review already. If you just want to have another ab exercise to do and have extra money to spend, go for it. It's fine as an additional $175.00 ab exercise. If you have a bad back and think this may be better for it than crunches, go for it. If you're looking for an extra place to lounge in your living room, go for it. If you are none of these things, keep your wallet in your pocket. Stick to basic ab exercises like crunches and leg raises. Add in a proper diet plan and a proper workout routine for the rest of your body and you will have perfect slim sexy swimsuit washboard six pack abs in no time... for free.

From : intense-workout.com

food cravings - how to stop them!

A popular question that I hear is about how to stop giving in to food cravings. How to stop eating your favorite junk food. Maybe it’s chocolate or ice-cream or candy of some kind, or maybe it’s cookies and cake, or potato chips or fast food, or something you just love to eat, but need to stop eating because it is junk food. Whether you are trying to lose weight or gain weight, no matter what your goals are, everyone likes some kind of junk food and needs to stop eating it now. But, some people just can't stop. They just can't "get rid of the cravings" for these foods, and just can't stop giving in to their food cravings.

Before I go any further, let me be honest. I am going to get mean in this article. I am sure I will offend a whole bunch of people. My goal of this article is to get my point of view across, a point of view that I feel very strongly about, and I am sure a lot of people will disagree with it, but oh well. I want to get my point of view across in the exact way that I have it in my head, so I will NOT sweeten it up so that I don't hurt people's feelings or make them angry with me. I want to get my point across in such a way that it motivates everyone reading this article. So, if you have a problem with that, stop reading. If you don't, then here goes...

SHUT UP!!!! Who the hell are you to whine to me? Shut up already!! Sure, I can completely understand if your problems with getting the results you want are from the wrong information about your workout or diet. I've been there before. I used to do the wrong stuff. But after I finally learned the right stuff, I made this website so others don't have that problem. I want to save you time, money and effort by giving you free truthful information about how to get the results you want. But, this isn't about your diet or workout. This isn't about you wasting money on some useless ab workout product or stupid weight loss product or other useless supplements and gimmicks that weren't working for you. This is about food cravings. Don't whine to me. I've heard it before...

"It's so hard, I'm around this type of food all the time, the cravings just won't go away, I have a sweet tooth, I just have to give in to the cravings."

Stop it, you're boring me.

Don't give me your little stories. Like how you are around this type of food all the time. Do you think you are the only one, buddy? Everyone I know and am related to eats junk food all day long. This crappy food is everywhere I look. I am no different than you, except, I don't give in. Do I have super human powers? No. Do I not give in because my arms are bigger than yours? No. Do I not give in because I can bench press more than you? No. Do I not give in because my body fat is lower than yours? No. Do I not give in because I am physically better or physically stronger than you? No. I don't give in because I am mentally stronger than you. That's all it is really, mental. And for you to give in and me not to give in, we can only assume that I am mentally stronger than you. How does that make you feel? I don't know a damn thing about you, but I know that mentally, I can do something that you cannot. It sure makes me feel good though. That fact motivates me even more. So, thanks for being so mentally weak. It will make me work that much harder during my next workout. Thanks a lot.

Sorry, did I hurt your feelings yet? I didn't mean to, I'm just stating the truth. It's not my fault if the truth hurts. You understand now that this is all mental, right? You understand that it's all a matter of mental strength and will power, don’t you? Good. Here's what you do. Next time your little food cravings start coming out, think about this. Look at the food and think, "What do I want more… the 5 seconds of enjoyment that I will have while I chew this food, or the enjoyment of the fact that 24 hours of everyday, 7 days of every week, I will have the body that I want to have." That is what it comes down to really, and let me tell you... no food tastes as good as that feeling feels.

And you other people, you bullshitters. The ones that give me that idiotic speech about how "every food is ok if eaten in moderation." And how "no one should deny themselves anything." These are the same people who probably believe in having "Cheat days." Cheat days are the 1 day of the week where some people allow themselves to cheat a little from their diet and give into their food cravings, in moderation of course, kind of like a reward for the good work they did all week. Ya know what... BULLSHIT! The hell with you and your cheat days. Your reward for sticking to your diet all week is 1 day of cheating? What kind of complete crap is this? Your reward for sticking to your diet all week is RESULTS! Remember them? They’re the reason that you are on this diet and working out in the first place. To get results!!! Not to have a cheat day at the end of the week.

Every food is ok as long as it's eaten in moderation. One candy bar won't hurt. One cookie won't hurt. One piece of junk food won't hurt. Oh, is that so? Will it help? No, it will not help. It is doing nothing good for you in any way possible. Therefore, it serves no purpose. You are giving into your cravings for 5 seconds of chewing enjoyment, and nothing more.

If anything, it does more bad than good. Do you know what giving into your food cravings "in moderation" does to most people? It makes them feel guilty. It makes them crave that food even more. It keeps the cravings alive and strong. Stop giving in to your cravings and the cravings will go away. Simple as that.

What are you thinking now? Who am I? Like I never cheat or give into my cravings a little? NO! I don't! Not at all, not a little, not in moderation, not anything. The thought of eating some type of junk food doesn't even enter my mind anymore. I don't need those 5 seconds. I am stronger than that. Call it will power, or call it mental strength. My goal is to get results. My road to getting those results doesn't have to have 5 seconds of chewing pleasure. I eat for purpose, not pleasure. Food is not a hobby. Food is something your body needs to survive, and in the case of working out and getting results, food is something your body needs so that you can get those results. Food is nothing more than that. So, I give my body only what it needs to make these results happen. Does my body need the 5 seconds it takes for me to chew a piece of chocolate? No. Does my mind need it? NO! My mind is way too strong to need it, and that feels much better than any piece of chocolate would ever taste, and I love knowing that.

Like I said, I eat for purpose, not pleasure. That statement sums up everything that I think about "cheat days" and "food cravings" and "everything is ok if it's eaten in moderation." So don't whine to me about how hard it is for you. Do you think I will feel bad for you? I won't. You are not special. It is exactly as hard for you as it is for me and EVERYONE else. What's the difference? I have what it takes mentally. Ya know what else? You have it too. You just need to learn to use it. And, hopefully… this article has helped bring it out.

From : intense-workout.com

The truth about ab workouts, infomercials and getting perfect abs...

WARNING: What you are about to read is what the people from the ab infomercials don't want you to read. What you are about to read is all 100% true! What you are about to read is the truth about ab workouts and how to get "the perfect abs you've always dreamed of." Enjoy...

I have realized that on average, at least once a day I see one of those infomercials about ab workouts. You know them, the ones that have a bunch of guys/girls with pretty good bodies all standing around talking about ab workouts and how great this product is. Maybe they will use it to show how it works, maybe there will be a diagram drawn to show what part of the ab muscles it works, maybe there will be a big speech about why it is better than ANY of the other abdominal machines and abdominal exercises, and better than anything you can possibly do for your abs. Personally, I love the names. The "Ab Doer," the "Ab Dolly," the "Ab Swing," etc., but my question is, why don't they just name it the "Ab machine that will totally waste all of your money and do absolutely nothing for you, except help us people in this stupid, bad acted, infomercial make money."

The truth is, no matter what Chuck Norris or whatever other idiot in the commercial says, it is all a big lie. The truth is, EVERY one of the ab machines you see in EVERY one of these infomercials is 100% useless. The truth is, the ab dolly, the ab doer, the ab slide, the ab lounge, etc. are all a big useless waste of money, and one big lie! The truth is everyone in these infomercials with the perfect 6 packs and flat stomachs all got that way WITHOUT using the dumb abdominal product they are advertising. There is only 1, I repeat, there is only ONE way to get a stomach like that and it has nothing to do with any kind of "magic" ab workouts or abdominal exercises. It's the huge secret that everyone in those commercials don't want you to know because if everyone knew this secret, these infomercial idiots would all have no jobs. So... the BIG secret is...

You have to have a low body fat. It's as simple as that.

You don't have to spend $19.95 to swing in the "Ab Chair" for 8 minutes a day, you don't spend $29.95 to ride the "Ab Dolly" for 3 minutes a day. All you have to do is have a low body fat; not do some kind of magic ab workouts. The brutal truth is we all have perfect abs. The 2000 pound guy who has to be lifted out of his house by a truck because he's so fat, has perfect abs. I have perfect abs, you have perfect abs. EVERYONE has perfect abs. The problem is most people just can't see them. Why? Because their fat body is too high. Eat a perfect diet, and do cardio, and your body fat will get lower, and your abs will be able to be seen. Sure, doing abdominal exercises and working out your abs is good, this helps strengthen and build your ab muscles, but that won't do much for you if you can't see them because there is a layer of fat covering them!

Everyone in these ab infomercials swear that the ab workouts they are advertising are "the best!" They swear that their stupid useless abdominal product is the best, fastest, and most effective way to get the "perfect abs you've always dreamed of." The truth is, you can get those perfect abs by doing 5 minutes of plain old crunches 2 days a week. Hell, that's what I do! My ab workouts consist of a few different types of basic abdominal exercises like crunches (weighted) and leg raises 2 times a week. No machines, no 8 minute abs video tapes, nothing. Just me and the floor. The workout usually lasts about 5-15 minutes. It's the diet and the cardio that give you the low body fat that allows your abs to be visible. Not the Ab doer dolly lounge swing fling thing useless piece of crap blah blah blah! You get my point.

So, the next time you see one of these infomercials, be happy. Feel good about yourself. Why? Because you know the truth. You know the big secret, you know that somewhere out there is someone who is ordering this stupid product right now... and you're not! Be happy that you know what you really have to do to get the perfect abs you've always dreamed of... and lucky you... you even got to save your $19.95!

- If you want to measure your body fat percentage, use body fat calipers which you can buy right here: Body Fat Calipers

From : intense-workout.com