Everyone knows the feeling of walking up to a piece of equipment, or a power rack, and seeing someone using it–  It’s not the end of the world, but in most cases, it’s terribly inconvenient.  In the unwritten rules of gym etiquette, you have the option of asking the person if you can “work in;” that is, perform your exercise while they are resting, then vice versa, and so on.

As part of this unwritten rule, that person has the option to decline you’re ability to work in with him, thus either derailing your workout, or delaying your workout.  It’s generally frowned upon to not let people work in, but there is a case where it’s allowed–

Ronnie Coleman squatting 800 lbs.

I’m not going to try and work in with Ronnie Coleman when I’m squatting less than half than he is.  Likewise, if someone is squatting less than half of what I squat, I decline them working in with me–  The amount of time it would take to load and unload the plates will mess with my rest times.  Unless you’re doing the same weight (or a similar weight), it’s a hassle to work in on some exercises.  Of course, you can always ask, as there’s no harm in asking, but in this situation, I just patiently wait for the power rack to open up.

That’s a situation where it’s acceptable to decline. . .  Is there a situation where it’s never okay to decline, though?  Yes.

A “Selectorized” Weight Stack.

If you’re on a “selectorized” machine doing a single exercise, and you decline someone working in with you. . .  That just means that you woke up that morning deciding to mess with people that day.  (Side note:  If you’re super setting on the same machine, that is the only time it’s acceptable to decline a work in on a selectorized machine.)  There is no reason for you to not allow someone to work in–  The amount of time it takes to change the setting is about 2 seconds, and the amount of time it takes to perform the exercise is well within anyone’s rest target.

While people will try and justify most other situations where you decline someone working in, most of them don’t really apply.  Unless there’s a huge difference in weight lifted, or it’s something plate loaded (Barbells, Plate Loaded Machines), there’s no reason to decline a work in.  (Unless they’re trying to be rude and take your stuff to the other side of the gym.  In that case, decline, and tell them to adhere to “Wheaton’s Law.”)

If you’re not familiar with Wheaton’s Law, it’s important to live by in order to be a great citizen in the gym, and in life.

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Gym Etiquette by DeVinePhysiques
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I love helping people. I always have. That is why I may open my mouth and give unsolicited health and fitness advice occasionally. It is not that I want to come across as being a know-it-all or better than anyone, I simply want to help others with the mass amount of knowledge I have gained over the last few years.

I struggle with the same issues a majority of our society does, I too have a slow metabolism and an endomorphic body type. I am predisposed to gain fat and have a very hard time losing it. I have spent countless hours trying to understand my body and know what I need to do to best work with my body to get the desired results of less fat and more muscle. That is why I want to yell out at people “stop doing more cardio and eating less.” This is the “American” way of losing weight, and you will lose weight this way…but you will lose most of it in the form of muscle loss and you will eventually plateau.

It can be hard for me to watch people make the same mistakes I was making for years, and to make it worse I know they are staving all the time and have no energy. This, in my opinion, is no way to live. What is great is that if you fix the problem and do it right you can eat a great deal of calories (the right amount to sustain your new body) and still lean out.

We have a plethora of blogs on here that give you the information you need to change your body, have more energy, and live a healthier life. I will not go into detail here…I just simply wanted to say: If I step out of line and say something to you related to health or fitness it is because I care about you. I want to help you live a happier healthier life.

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This is a purely informational article, mostly in preparation for our post next week.  Most people are well versed in what we’re going to discuss today, and it’s the method by which we move weight. Everyone knows about “Free Weights,” which are our barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, body weight exercises (Pull Ups) and weighted exercises (Weighted Pull Ups).  What is everything else called!?

Lever (Selectorized) Leg Extension

A “Lever” machine is one where the movement is restricted to a single movement of a lever;  These are what most people refer to when they’re referring to “machines.”  There are two types of lever operated machines–  Selectorized lever machines, and plate loaded lever machines.

Lever (Plate Loaded) High Row

They differ in one giant way–  How the weight is added and / or changed for the exercise.  You select which weight you want to move on a “Selectorized” machine by placing a pin in the hole of your desired resistance on the weight stack.  A plate loaded lever machine, like the name suggests, accepts traditional weight plates to change the resistance / weight moved during the exercise.  Gyms typically opt for selectorized machines over plate loaded machines because they’re more convenient for gym users, regarded as “safer,” and typically take up less space.  If a workout calls for “Plate Loaded Chest Press,” or “Selectorized Chest Press,” these are what they’re talking about.  (Pro tip:  If it only says “machine,” they mean the selectorized version 99% of the time.)

This is a Smith Machine.

The Smith Machine is a barbell with a hook & latch safety system built in so that you don’t become pinned while performing “dangerous” exercises without a spotter.  Smith Machine’s should typically be reserved for pushing yourself very hard on the bench press, but is widely used for any workout.  (At my gym, everyone uses it for shrugs and upright rows for some inexplicable reason.)  I’m not here to talk about how you should really stay away from the Smith unless you’re pushing yourself on the bench press (or variants), and how it makes every exercise insanely easier by taking most muscles out of the exercise–  That’s the subject of another post.  If a workout calls for “Smith Machine Squats,” they’re talking about this.  (While some would argue that you could use the Smith to push yourself with Squats, many would disagree.  Ask for a spot.)

“Sled” 45 Degree Leg Press

The sled is a plate loaded system where you load the weight plates onto a sled that moves along a track.  Pretty straight forward–  Typically reserved for leg press type exercises.  If a workout calls for a “Sled Hack Squat,” they’re talking about something like this.

A Cable Cross Station.

This is a cable cross station–  There are many variations of cable sytems and cable machines, but they all share something in common–  They used a “selectorized weight stack” attached to a cable and pulley system, and carabiner secured interchangeable handles.  They offer a lot of versatility when it comes to exercises, angles, and range of motion; but be careful–  Don’t opt for the multiple pulley systems when there’s a single pulley system available to use. Remember back to your middle school physics class–  Each additional pulley adds mechanical advantage and makes the work easier.  This is why I can Triceps Press the stack on a two pulley system, but am only pressing 100 lbs. on a single pulley system.  (Side note:  I know older cable systems were sometimes plate loaded, but I think the most recent evidence of one of those existing was from a picture of Arnold in the early 70s.  For that reason, I make the claim that they’re all selectorized.)

It’s worth noting that all of these have a place in your routine–  Free weights are the best, but machines and sleds have their place as well.

If you learned something today, that’s great, if not–  Good on you for reading through the end and knowing about all of these!  Like I said, this is mostly to make sure everyone knows what we’re talking about for next week’s post.

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Everyone has heard that–  “Be careful!  If you gain too much muscle, when you stop working out it will turn into fat.”

Does anyone out there believe it?  I hope not.  Before we get into where this myth came from (There is a logical explanation for why this exists), let’s look at muscles and body fat.

Muscles are responsible for causing “force and motion,” and taking care of most internal functions.  They’re composed primarily of water, and the fibers are made up of protein filaments.  There are three types of muscles in your body:  Cardiac, Smooth, and Skeletal;  Skeletal muscle being what we’re talking about today.

Body fat, also known as “Adipose Tissue,” is your body’s storage system.  Body fat is made up of fat cells (“Adipocytes”) that act as little compartments to store energy in the form of lipids.  (It’s important to note that lipids include oils, waxes, fat soluble vitamins, but no water.)  As you gain weight, your fat cells fill with lipids, and if you run out of available storage space, your body will create more fat cells.  What is equal parts fascinating and terrifying is that your body can only create new fat cells;  It has no natural way of getting rid of fat cells.  Body fat is found beneath the skin (“Subcutaneous Body Fat”), around your internal organs, in bone marrow, and in breast tissue.  Notice it’s not found within muscles.

So, we now have a slight idea of what muscle is, and what fat is. . .  Now we can address this myth:  “If you stop working out, your muscle will turn to fat.”

That’s impossible.  At the risk of making a religious joke, unless you’re a deity, you cannot turn water into oil.  Also, since these parts of your body are entirely separate, your body can’t simply transport muscle tissue into your fat cells and transform that into oil;  Your body is not capable of such sorcery.

If your body isn’t capable of doing that, though, where did this myth come from?

From health nuts, bodybuilders, and fitness gurus retiring or taking a break.  When you have more muscle than your body naturally wants, it takes a lot of work to maintain that muscle mass.  If you stop weight training, you will slowly begin to lose that muscle–  Your body will catabolize that muscle, breaking the tissue down into amino acids, which will then be used for energy.  This is done for survival purposes.  The human body is an incredibly smart and adaptable machine that will make sure it can survive;  Muscle takes a lot more energy to maintain than fat, and if you don’t give your body a reason to maintain that muscle, it makes better survival sense to hold on to the tissue that doesn’t require as much maintenance.

So what happens while your body is breaking down the muscles?  It’s in a fat sparing mode.  While it’s creating energy from amino acids and dietary intake, it is not oxidizing fat for energy.  So the amount of lean body mass goes down while the amount of fat stays the same–  Thus, you will begin to look fattier.

There’s one more important part to this equation, though.  Think of what is no longer happening to our hypothetical health nut, bodybuilder, or fitness guru.  They’re no longer being active, and the chances are, if they’re giving up that lifestyle (or taking a break from it), they are no longer watching what they eat, or working out.  So what does that do?  It leads to gains in body fat.

So, with our hypothetical person, all of this is going on:  Their body is sparing body fat while eating away muscle for energy, all while the subject is already gaining body fat.

It’s easy to see where the myth comes from, but just remember, it’s just that–  A myth.

The difference.

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Fitness Myths by DeVinePhysiques
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I don’t spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but I know Alissa does, and we often have a big laugh when she’s on the health and / or fitness boards.  The amount of misinformation that gets disseminated there is astounding.  It would take me a few years to refute all of the incorrect “pins,” and that’s time I just don’t have.

I do have time to take care of one right now, though. . .  This is one of the most ridiculous pins I’ve heard, and one of the most absurd claims I’ve ever heard.  I wanted to go over this one in particular because it completely disregards science, and tries to give the middle finger to how our bodies work.

Have you heard the one about how taking Honey and Cinnamon together will make you lose weight?  Here’s the claim:

“Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.”

Pictured: The alleged solution for the obesity epidemic.

This is ridiculous.  First off, there is no food that will “not allow the fat to accumulate” on the body.  Fat doesn’t accumulate–  Fat is stored.  You have an amount of fat cells in your body, and if you gain weight / fat, those fat cells fill with oil.  If you lose weight, those fat cells don’t go away. . .  They simply release and oxidize that oil.  The person that came up with this outrageous claim probably believes that eating fatty foods will lead to fat gain because fat will “accumulate” in your body, but that is a myth as well.

Weight gain and weight loss in normal, healthy individuals is a simple numbers game.  Your body expends a certain amount of energy throughout the day–  If you eat more energy (Fun fact: A calorie is a unit of energy) than you expend, you will gain weight;  If you eat less energy than you expend, you will lose weight.  If we don’t account for body types and depressed metabolisms (from Chronic Dieting), it is that simple.  So the claim that it will reduce weight even when eating a high calorie diet?  Wrong.

Also, “it reduces the weight of even the most obese person.”  What!?  So they’re claiming that this is a thermogenic (fat burning) food?  What’s interesting is that honey is comprised of 100% carbs;  Carbs are the least thermogenic of the macro nutrients.  Ridiculous.  For the record, protein is generally accepted as the most thermogenic food (Though some studies claim fat is); The one consistency to all of these studies is that carbs come in last.

So what will happen if you eat that concoction twice a day?  Nothing.  You will eat honey and cinnamon, which is more calories than you (probably) would have eaten otherwise.  If anything, if you don’t put a lot of cinnamon in this (as cinnamon can help control blood sugar), you will make your body fattier as you may be spiking your blood sugar and forcing an insulin response multiple times per day.  (Honey has a very high glycemic load;  I eat honey only when I want to spike my blood sugar.)

“But Gabriel, how do you explain my mailman’s dog’s best friend who lost weight with this LOL?”  Easy.  They made a lifestyle adjustment separate from the honey cinnamon that helped them to lose weight.  (I crafted that hypothetical rebuttal myself–  I haven’t heard of anyone even doing this.)

If anything claims you will lose weight with no effort, it lies;  If anything claims that it will drastically cut the time it takes to achieve your goals, it’s probably not going to.  If you chase after fad diets and crazy concoctions, the amount of time you spend on all of that could have been used simply changing your lifestyle, and then you would see real results.

It’s worth noting that there are many other (claimed) benefits of a Cinnamon Honey concoction–  I’m not addressing a single one of those. . .  Just the incorrect claim that it can help you lose weight.

Filed under: Health, Nutrition, Nutrition Myth by DeVinePhysiques
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We’re sorry about the delay in posts the last two weeks–  We’re really good about keeping to our update schedule, but every so often things get in the way.

That being said, I’ve come up with a new rule:  Unless you’re Ronnie Coleman (Or any other professional bodybuilder that makes their living from bodybuilding and has assistants clean up at the gym after them), you need to rack your weights.  This morning I saw this at the gym:

Casper must be working on his pump.

I’ve seen worse, but that doesn’t make it excusable in the slightest.  I always want to ask people that don’t re rack their weights, “Why not?”  It’s very easy to put something back after you use it, and that just makes for a better environment for everyone.  I’ve seen the frustration on the face of a guy as he searched the gym for the 25 lb. dumbbells, but what shocks me is him leaving them not racked.  What!?  How does that make sense?  It obviously irked you, so why not save someone that hassle?

I won’t ask these people why they choose to make the gym a mess–  Instead, I just assume that they’re lazy, and are afraid of doing extra work.  It’s the same reason why people take weights that I’m using while I’m resting in between squat sets (That are higher up on the power rack) rather than bend down to get their own plates–  Why bend down to grab a 25 lb. plate when you can just take mine?

Another good one is the plate trees that have a spot for every increment of weight–  Yet, somehow, people think the 25s go anywhere, the 5 goes where the 35s go, and the 45s should just be rested against the tree.  That makes sense, right?  Again, there’s a spot for everything, and everyone’s workout would be a lot better if we all re racked the weights right.  (I even go as far as fixing the weights on the squat rack while I’m on it in between sets–  It makes it easier for me while I’m there, and it’s my way of “giving back.”)

A workout should not increase in intensity because you have to clean up after someone else.  Make the decision to suck less–  Rack your weights and do it properly.

Filed under: Gym Etiquette by DeVinePhysiques
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I’m going to start a series of posts about the importance of knowing what you’re doing.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to know what exercise you’re doing, how to do it, why you’re doing it, and what muscles you’re working.

That final point is what we’re going to focus on today;  Knowing what muscles are being worked during an exercise.  In most cases, this seems pretty straightforward, but there are exercises where they obvious answer is. . .  Well, it’s not the right answer.  Here’s an exercise that is often misunderstood:

Pop Quiz: What muscle does this target?

I once overheard a guy telling his friend that this would make his calves “look jacked.”  Here’s the problem:  In a few different places on your body, you have a set of muscles that complete a movement–  Some of those muscles are aesthetic and functional, while some are only functional.  Let’s look at your lower leg for a second.  There are three major muscles (and only four total) in your lower leg:  The Tibialis Anterior (Over your shin), Soleus (Within your calves), and Gastrocnemius (Your calves).  When people are looking for aesthetics with their calves, there’s only one muscle that plays into this:  The Gastrocnemius.  So, why won’t your calves get “jacked” by doing the seated calf raise?  Because that exercise targets your Soleus only.

This isn’t the only situation where there’s a lot of misconceptions about what’s being worked.  I watched a guy doing Hammer Curls, and somebody asked him what he was working.  His response:  “My outer biceps, bro.” Actually, the hammer curl is a grip exercise, targeting your brachioradialis, which is an important muscle and also happens to have the coolest sounding name.

One last example:

I’ve seen entire routines centered around Preacher Curls, and yet, no one knows what they target.

If you think this will make your biceps “jacked,” you would be wrong.  If you think this targets your biceps, you would be wrong.  The preacher curl is like the seated calf raise–  It targets an important muscle that is all about function and not about aesthetics.  It targets your Brachialis, the muscle underneath your biceps.

I’m not telling you to stop doing seated calf raises, hammer curls, or preacher curls–  Every muscle in your body needs to be worked. . .  But, before you start doing exercises, learn about them, and figure out if they actually fit in with your goals.  While working at a sporting goods store, I had someone buy an expensive bench because it had a “Preacher Curl Pad.”  All he wanted to train was biceps.  I told him that he would save a lot of money, and would actually be training what he wanted to train if he went with an EZ bar and plates.  Instead, he was sold on the idea of the preacher curl and spent too much money for a workout that is not nearly as effective for what he wanted.

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Fitness Myths by DeVinePhysiques
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Once upon a time, we discussed HIIT–  High Intensity Interval Training.  We discussed why it’s so great, and different ideas for a HIIT routine.

Since then we have learned a lot more, and have discovered a fantastic HIIT routine that I would call a definite a** kicker;  I would also call it the most effective cardio I’ve done.  For the record, we did not come up with this. . .  This is actually recommended by Lyle McDonald as part of his “Stubborn Fat Protocol.”   There’s is an accompanying  supplement stack that you take with his program, and while it’s ridiculously effective for fat loss, it’s not necessary, nor recommended in some cases–  We will mention it in this post, though.  Anyway. . .  The workout requires you to go to the gym first thing in the morning, without eating, and to get on a treadmill:

You start with a brief warmup–  We go to a gym that requires a lot of walking to get to, so that’s considered part of the warm up.  We continue with 3 minutes of walking on the treadmill at a speed of 4.  (15 min / mi pace)  Officially, the warm up is to be 3 – 5 minutes.

Your first round of HIIT:  You have to sprint as hard as you can in order for this to be as effective as possible.  You go 30 seconds of sprinting, and 30 seconds of walking or complete rest.  (After two or three intervals, I start jumping on and off the treadmill for my breaks, but slowing down the treadmill so your rest periods consist of walking is just fine as well.)  It’s worth noting that by “Sprinting,” I mean going at a pace that is hard to sprint continuously for 30 seconds.

If I could keep that up, I would be running a 4:17 mile, which is insane for me.

Be careful, though. . .  Most treadmills can’t handle certain speeds, so if you’re a fan of pushing yourself, or are really fast, you’ll probably need to do this workout outside in order for it to be most effective.  Otherwise. . .

I have discovered that Precor Treadmills break every time you go at a 4:17 (14) or better pace. . . So I save that sprint for the very end.

After you finish you first round of HIIT, you sit down.  You can also stretch, and get water, but make sure you sit down and rest for 5 minutes.

Now comes the steady state.  Go to your favorite cardio machine  (We’re a fan of the elliptical, but you can also use the stairmaster or treadmill), and go moderate intensity for 25 – 40 minutes.  When you’re through there, you rest again for five minutes.

And then the second round of HIIT, which is a strange thing–  At this point my legs are so tired from the first round that they don’t want to go again, but they’re so warm, and I feel so good that they will just fly.  Either way, you do between 5 and 10 minutes of HIIT this second time–  Whatever you are physically capable of.  I have trouble finishing 6 minutes, so I usually stick with that.

When you’re through, do whatever you need to do to cool down and hope your stomach isn’t turning too much.  Wait an hour and then have a small protein meal (Whatever that means to you–  The point is no carbs and little to no fat. . .  We opt for a scoop of protein powder with 1/2C almond milk);  Wait two hours after that and eat as you normally would.

And that’s it!  Anyone can do that and you will see fantastic results!

There is also the supplement stack that is only recommended if you’ve lost a significant amount of body fat, or if you already have a decently low body fat percentage.  This should be taken 30 – 45 minutes before your workout, and never done more than 3 times per week (Though we stick to 2):

200mg Caffeine;  2g Vitamin C;  2 – 3g L-Tyrosine;  and 0.2mg / kg bodyweight of Yohimbine HCl.

So why this stack?  To avoid an overly scientific answer, the Caffeine and Vitamin C boost your metabolism;  The L-Tyrosine improves fat mobilization / lipolysis;  And Yohimbine also helps with fat mobilization  and lipolysis, but has the added bonus of targeting alpha receptors in stubborn fat areas of the body. (Hence the name of Lyle McDonald’s program, and why the supplement stack is really only recommended for those who are trying to cut down even more.)

Supplements or not, this is a fantastic option for cardio!

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Health by DeVinePhysiques
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The post about our HIIT cardio routine will come next week. . .  For now, we had to debunk an article!

On Facebook, people post a lot of links to articles and tips for health, “weight loss,” and nutrition;  Often times there are quality articles out there, but it seems like almost as often, there are articles posted that are misleading, incorrect, or have their hearts in the right place but don’t understand science.

Case in point, this article.

Now, I admire that they’re trying to give lifestyle advice to people seeking it, but there are a lot of tidbits of information here that are just plain wrong–  You can’t completely fault them, though.  A lot of what they write are recycled health and nutrition myths that almost everyone believes.  (Before I was enlightened, I believed them too.  Honest mistake!)

Error #1:  Fat is the only result of excessive calories.  Let’s start with their explanation of what a calorie is.  They very correctly state that it’s a unit of energy, but then they go on to say that if your body doesn’t use it for energy, it will store it as fat.  What about eating an excess of calories after hypertrophy (weight training to failure) training?  The result of that “unused energy” is muscle tissue.  Perhaps they’ll argue that you’re “using” that energy, but if the author tried to claim this, then they would not be able to claim their “Calorie neutral” stance.  What’s that?

Error #2:  “Practice being ‘calorie neutral. . .'”  They explain that this means you should burn the calories you consume before eating more.  Their logic states that, they’re pretty sure your 400 calories breakfast will be burned off by the time you eat again.  What if you eat a lot of fat, which takes hours to completely metabolize?  I know I’m being picky here, but seriously, a beginner error (that I even I made) is treating all calories equal, when you must take macro nutrients into account–  All calories are different.  (To relate to the muscle building rhetorical claim from error #1, if you’re “calorie neutral,” then you can’t eat enough to gain muscle, ever.)

Error #3:  Nutrient timing is too real!  Be afraid of dinner!  Wrong.  A common beginner error is to believe that you shouldn’t eat after 6 or 7 PM, and more importantly, you shouldn’t eat carbs.  This is an old wives tale, and I really wish this thinking would go away.  To quote the article:  “Now, if you eat a 1,000 calorie dinner, I can guarantee you that, unless you will be sprinting for the next 2 hours afterwards, you’ll store these calories as fat to be used later. It doesn’t matter if you eat carbohydrates, fat, or protein, if you’re body doesn’t use it, it’ll store it as fat.”  At the end of the day, the only way you’ll store those calories as fat is if you ate above your TDEE  (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) throughout the day.  If your TDEE is 2000 calories, and you end the day at 1600 calories, with 1000 of those eaten during dinner, the result is the same as if you ate 4 meals at 400 calories each–  You will lose weight as you will be in a caloric deficit.

Notice I said “weight” and not “fat.”  They also incorrectly state that the macros don’t matter for fat storage (and thus, body composition).  Well, it does if you’re eating above or below your TDEE.  Fat and Protein won’t directly contribute to fat gain, whereas carbs can have a direct effect on your Adipose Body Mass / ABM  (read: Body Fat).  Again–  Not all calories are created equal.  Graduate past this!

On top of all of that, I would argue, as would others, that you should only eat carbs at night.  Thus far I have seen fantastic results by isolating carbohydrate intake to late in the day, after weight training.

Error #4:  Eating breakfast kick starts your metabolism!  This is something that, I’m pretty sure at one point we advocated, but is now in the myth column as far as nutritional research is concerned.  Your body does not need you to “kick start” your metabolism by eating–  If you’re healthy and have a healthy metabolism, your body will burn calories just as it should regardless.  Admittedly, they claim in the article that you’ll burn them at a “normal” rate instead of an accelerated rate, however, the amount of calories you would burn by “kick starting” your metabolism are negligible.  (Also, there are great benefits to skipping breakfast)  If there’s any adjustment to be made to breakfast, it’s to avoid carbs at all costs.  Carbs in the morning can trigger an insulin response, which can promote fat storage and can start the blood sugar roller coaster early.  (We reiterate this in the next point.)

Error #5:  If you skip breakfast, you’ll be so ravenous that you will eat junk food!  Well, that really boils down to self control, and whether or not you have it.  It’s also worth noting that if you eat your carbs for breakfast, you will have a carbocrash earlier, which could lead to making you ravenous.  Instead, if you use Intermittent Fasting to push your breakfast later, or stick to low to no carbs, you won’t run into that problem.

No hunger, and no carbocrash if you control your carbs. (Image stolen from getslimshop.com)

At the end of the day, if this advice is helping you to lose weight, keep on keeping on–  Just understand that the advice given in this article is flawed, and eventually, your goals will likely need to expand outside of the myths.

Filed under: Fitness Myths, Health, Nutrition by DeVinePhysiques
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Testosterone is a hormone that all bodybuilders strive to elevate, and keep elevated.  Testosterone is 100% necessary to build and maintain muscle mass, whereas it’s counterpart Estrogen can, and will, prevent the development of muscle mass.  In the broadest terms possible, hormonally, men are dominated by Testosterone, and women are dominated by Estrogen.  There are plenty of other hormones, and there are actually two different measures of testosterone levels, but for the sake of this article, we’re only going to talk about them in broad terms.  So, we want to build muscle;  This means that we need to get our Testosterone levels higher. . .  But how do you do this naturally?  Well, here are 9 of the most effective (and 1 that’s fun but not very effective) natural methods for boosting testosterone levels:

1)  Do compound lifts.  In my current workout plan, I don’t have a “leg day,” because I start every workout with either Deadlifts, Squats, or a variant.  Studies have shown that compound movements, such as Deads, Squats, Bench Press, Military Press, Pull Ups, and others, dramatically increase testosterone levels when done with a weight that keeps you in the 5 rep area.  This is why Deadlifts are regularly done in a 1X5 fashion, and Squats in the 3X5 or 5X5.

2)  Supplement with Zinc.  A Zinc deficiency can hinder Testosterone Production, and Zinc is also capable of converting Estrogen into Testosterone.  The best way to ensure healthy Zinc levels is through diet and supplementation of Zinc, specifically ZMA.  ZMA is a fantastic Zinc supplement that is also chock full of Magnesium and B6, and I take it nightly.  (It’s worth noting that ZMA is claimed to be a sleep aid, as well.  See #5)  Great places to get it from food:  Shellfish, poultry, and most nuts and seeds.

3)  Get your Vitamin D.  Whether through fun in the sun or supplements, make sure you get plenty of Vitamin D.  Again, RDI is 400 – 800 IU, but levels necessary to dramatically increase testosterone levels are closer to 3,000 IU.  In addition to helping regulate testosterone levels, Vitamin D can also reduce the concentration of the “Aromatase” enzyme.

4)  Limit (or eliminate) alcohol consumption.  We’ve mentioned what happens internally when you drink alcohol, but alcohol consumption directly affects testosterone levels by halting testosterone production, depleting Zinc levels, and making it difficult for your body to breakdown estrogen in the liver.

5)  Lose body fat.  Body fat contains an enzyme called “Aromatase” that is known to convert testosterone into estrogen.  The higher your body fat percentage, the higher concentration of this enzyme, thus, a higher estrogen level.

6)  Rest harder than you train on a daily basis.  A study by the University of Chicago showed that men who got little sleep had significantly lower testosterone levels than those who got 6 – 8 hours;  A separate study showed that testosterone levels could drop as much as 40% with lack of sleep.   Your body produced most of your daily testosterone while you sleep, which is why it’s imperative you get adequate rest–  Couple that with the fact that sleep time is when your muscles rebuild and grow shows just how important daily rest is.

7)  Stop stressing out!  Stress releases the “stress hormone” cortisol, which can shut down testosterone production, and is proven to store fat.  This can lead to a vicious cycle since (As we saw in #4) body fat can lead to lower testosterone levels and higher estrogen levels.  So try and relax more often, or consider a cortisol blocker, such as. . .

8)  Supplement with Vitamin C.  Our Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin C is only 75 mg, which is enough to function, but Vitamin C in high doses can help you in many ways:  Vitamin C in the 1,000 to 2,000 mg range can be an effective cortisol blocker;  and Vitamin C in the 1,000 to 2,000 range can also reduce the concentration of the enzyme, “Aromatase.”

9)  Talk to women.  Studies have shown that a five minute conversation with an “attractive female” can affect testosterone levels–  Not as much as anything else on this list, but it’s still worth mentioning!

10)  Become aroused as often as possible.  Yes, it may seem strange, but sexual arousal heightens testosterone levels immensely.  One study even found that watching just four minutes of erotica enhances performance on a 3 rep squat.  (Powerlifting, basically.)  Even better, it was previously believed that achieving sexual climax would adversely affect testosterone levels, however, emerging studies are showing this may not be the case  (Or if it is, it’s a negligible amount).  Have an issue with this?  Increasing testosterone levels naturally (Through the steps on this page) will lead to an increase in libido which will increase chances of arousal, thus, boosting testosterone!

We hope these all help you!  Think of it like this:  There’s a faucet that’s always running–  One knob controls testosterone, and the other estrogen–  Only one side can be opened at once. . .  Which do you want flowing?

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Health by DeVinePhysiques
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