Prevent Being Sick

This time of year it's a pain in the ass for the illnesses, colds and flu which are about. If you catch a virus like many do this time of year, not only is it very unpleasant it's also going to make you miss the gym and go backwards. 

Here are 3 things you can do to boost your immune system year round to help decrease the chances of being ill. 

1 - Berries 

You should fruit in the diet, berries are particularly good for multiple reasons with one of the key points being their ability to boost the immune system. With their very high antioxidant levels and rich dose of Vitamin C they are perfect for keeping you healthy. Blueberries, acai berries and goji berries are all great choices.

Pre-Workout Nutrition

I would say between 60-120 minutes before work.

Here's why....

You need the nutrients to get into your system to help energize the body, and to support recovery when needed. For this to happen the food needs time to be partially broken down and of course for this to happen it's important you pick the right food. For instance, white fish over beef steak would be better pre-workout due to the fact its easily broken down.

Hormones

The endocrine system is one of the most powerful things you can learn to drive forward in order to maximize muscle growth. It is responsible for producing more than 20 major hormones and releasing them into the body. 

It can either become your best friend or worst enemy, depending how you treat it when it comes to getting the results you want. 

Here's an example of what I mean:

Testosterone, growth hormone and insulin are all VERY big contributors to positive changes in body composition.

3 Diet Tips

Key principles of nutrition for you to take away and apply immediately.

Top 3 takeaway points for nutrition:

1. Calories

Calories do matter to both your fat loss and muscle mass goals, BUT all calories are NOT created equally. Some sources of calories are far better for you and nutrient dense than others, some digest easier than others and some just aren't any good for you full stop. By understanding this lesson you can manipulate your food sources to accelerate your progress.

Genetics

In short, genetics DO count, they DO make a big difference and anyone who says otherwise isn't been realistic. 

Genetics will dictate:

. Your ability to build muscle

. Your ability to gain strength 

. Your ability to burn fat

. Your structure 

. Your muscle belly fullness 

. Your muscle density

. How "grainy" you get 

But, this is on a sliding scale. It's not a case of "can" or "can't" - it's a case of how far you can go and there are many ways you can maximize your results and go beyond your genetic potential to an extent. 

The point is, even if your genetics aren't the best you can still achieve fantastic results!

Sleeve Busting Triceps

Showing you 3 ways to improve the growth in your triceps.

Triceps are two thirds of the overall size of your upper arm, so the secret to big ass arms is to build an impressive pair of triceps. 

1. Isometrics 

You know how much squeezing the target muscle during the isometric phase of your rep. With triceps this is especially the case because you are able to significantly increase the tension across the back of your arm and get more fibers Firing!!! 

When you do pushdowns try squeezing and holding with your triceps almost locked out (not fully to avoid elbow hyper extension) - you'll instantly notice the difference. This is one of the best tips you'll ever get for packing mass on to your triceps.

The Best Protein

Your best sources of protein are as follows -

. Whole eggs

. Egg whites 

. Chicken breast

. Turkey breast

. Beef steak 

. Buffalo 

. Salmon

. Bass

. Cod

The list goes way beyond this, and there are many similar alternatives of equal quality - for instance, mackerel rather than bass. 

The point I'm really looking at here is that there are MANY protein-rich foods available to you which all have their own merits. 

Rather than focus on which ones are better, focus on which ones are suitable for you at any given moment.

Chest Training Like This

As with any muscle group, there are multiple ways to target it, stimulate it and accelerate growth. It's having a clear understanding of these different ways which enables you to continue development, and ultimately take that muscle to the next level. 

With your chest workout try to start with flies rather than pressing, the emphasis, in this case, was on pre-exhausting the pec muscles without involving the triceps. By the time you come to press, your pecs are already partially fatigued. 

This isn't the only way to train your pecs, though, this is just ONE of MANY ways you can go about it. 

I don't want you to get into the mindset that one thing is necessarily superior over another, instead view each training tool as a means of creating a new stimulus and opportunity for growth. Collectively, they can come together to create a multi-faceted training approach to ensure a muscle group is constantly worked through different mediums which are great for optimizing hypertrophy. 

In relation to training your chest, here are 3 ways you can change up your chest workouts to change the emphasis.

Do You Really Need Carbs?

Carbohydrates are classed as a non-essential macronutrient, unlike fat and protein which are essential to the body. 

But does this mean we don't need them at all, in the real world? 

But the general viewpoint I carry is that it's generally in your interests to keep your carbohydrates as high as you are able to, whilst enabling progress in the right direction. Obviously, this will differ from one individual to the next.

Here's why . . .

New Pics and Potential Body By Ian Logos

Which one(s) do you guys like for a logo? Thanks for the feedback!

Making Changes

Many people are ready to make changes all of the time, unnecessarily which ultimately does one of 2 things:

1. Makes the plan unmeasurable because you haven't had time to see what does and doesn't work 

2. Leads you down a path which leads to stagnation with nowhere to go 

On top of that, you'll also be left very frustrated and fed up. 

So what is the key to making the correct changes at the right time? 

Stats 

What do your stats say? Have you lost weight this week and have you been 100% committed to the plan? If there has been no weight loss and you've been consistent, then maybe try another 2-4 days and see if there's any movement before making changes. This is a GRADUAL process remember.

How To Refeed by Neil Hill

For some it might be too soon to talk about refeeding having just had Christmas and New Years, but it's a very relevant topic which I want to discuss with you today. 

Refeeding is often misunderstood and other times mis-used. 

What is a refeed? 

It's a deliberately planned high calorie day, where often extra calories come from carbohydrates to "spike" your thyroid output which will as a result speed up your metabolism. 

When should I use a refeed? 

This will depend on multiple things including your calorie intake, your body fat levels, your gender, your pre-disposition to holding/burning fat and timescales in relation to your goal. 

Arguably, the leaner you are the more frequently you should refeed. This is because refeeds by nature will induce an aggressive insulin response, therefore you need to have the insulin sensitivity to cope with it - if you're lean the chances are you will. Also, as your leptin levels drop they make fat loss more difficult. They are more likely to drastically drop if you're lean and in a calorie deficit. This points towards the fact that the leaner you are, the more important it is to have a refeed more often. 

However, even if you are building muscle in a calorie surplus sometimes there is a case for a refeed for a different reason. Those again who are lean, will find this helps create a larger calorie surplus and adds additional fuel for big workouts i.e. leg day.

Prototype of Body By Ian Logo

Give me some feedback about the logo. Remember, this is a prototype not the final design.

8 Tips On Building Guns

1. Biomechanics 

When you do curls for biceps or pushdowns for triceps the only joint which should be moving is your elbow. Unfortunately, many people involve their shoulder joint a lot to generate more force, allowing them to use more weight. DO NOT do this, moving more weight in the wrong way won't equate to more growth. You want to focus on keeping the target muscle under as much tension as possible! Remember this. 

2. Disadvantage to advantage 

When you train biceps or triceps, by altering the angle of attack you can move from a mechanically weak point to a stronger point as the muscle fatigues. For instance, if you are doing triceps pushdowns you can start off by standing close to the machine with your hands closely gripped together. Then reach failure, step back slightly and take a neutral grip. Then potentially do another drop set, stepping back further. Each time you move in this instance the angle makes it easier, so you've changed the point of attack to allow for continued tension on the muscle.

Review: Hungry For Change DVD

This was very good documentary on nutrition. There was things I knew about and things that I was surprise to hear about. This featured many experts in the health, wellness and nutrition fields plus, people who beat their setbacks for a comeback. Here are some notes I wrote down besides my review.

Update 12/27/15

Happy Holidays to everybody!!! I hope everybody enjoyed their Christmas. I enjoyed my Christmas with friends and family. I liked my gifts that I got and I hope everybody liked what they got.

Update with my Health, I'm waiting for my results for the kidney stone. My flare up is gone. My health is back to normal. Still doing my light treatment. I'm feeling great. I have my time when I'm a little tired but I've been on point with great energy.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all.

Red Meat In The Morning?

Yes, red meat in the morning will help you burn fat and increase energy levels. A proper high protein meal will help set your neurotransmitters for the day improving energy levels, focus and concentration. Having quality protein within 30 minutes of waking is essential to avoid falling into a catabolic state.

Review of Kai Greene's BELIEVE Event

Most of the bodybuilding world knows Kai Greene as a 2x Arnold Classic Champion and 3x Mr. Olympia runner up but no one knows what he had to go through to become a champion. Many are not aware of the turbulent journey that Kai Greene had to experience to become the champion he is today.

Update 12/19/15

Hey everyone, it has been interesting six weeks for me. I'm thinking doing an update bi-weekly to let you know what's going on. Well, lets start with on November 11th, I had to go to the ER because I had a severe pain in my kidney. No pain like I ever experienced. After my urinalysis, my white blood cell count was great, kidney and liver functioning fine but there was blood in my urine. A kidney stone emerged. The average stone is three mm and of course mine is way bigger. Mine happens to be seven mm. Double the size. Of course, it's so big that I can't pass it but haven't had pain ever since the first day. I couldn't train and do other things because I was worried about the pain moving and ripping me up inside. As well, this happens a few weeks before my birthday. I got some medicine for the stone to help me out yet another surprise came about.