taken from bodybuilding.com
Determination
Determination is the first component of the formula and with good reason. Of all of the four components that make up the formula this is the only one that is more important than the remaining others. If you are not determined enough to make the sacrifices necessary to get in shape, then dear reader nothing is going to happen. You can have all the knowledge that I have as to how to get in superb shape but if you don't apply it, then all you have is wasted knowledge.
You need to want to change your appearance as badly as you would like to breathe if you were drowning. You also will have to believe in yourself and know that you can do it. You must not have any doubt in your mind that it is possible to change. If you have any doubts, believe me, you will fail.
You will also need to have tunnel vision, in other words, look at your goal and no matter how much adversity you encounter, stick to your plan, follow through and get there. It is not an easy path. In a day and age where skepticism and negativity rules, roadblocks will appear (such as people telling you that you will not succeed or putting your program down, etc.). Every time you encounter a negative situation like that, use it to your own advantage.
Use it to fuel your desire to achieve whatever goal you have in mind. Don't let anybody put you down. This is important stuff. This not only applies to changing your appearance; this applies to every aspect of your life. If you want something, and you want it badly enough you will be able to get it no matter what. Set a goal, have a plan and follow through no matter what happens until you reach that goal.
In this report I give you a proven plan to change the way you look, whether the goal is to simply lose a few pounds and firm up or become a bodybuilder I give you the knowledge to get there. All I ask of you is that you use your desire and put the plan to work for you.
Training
Training is the first component inside of the parenthesis of the formula for success. The way you train will ultimately determine the way that you look. This is how you will be able to sculpt your body into a work of art.
Weight training is the number one way to re-sculpt your body. Weight training is by far superior to any other form of exercise because it is the only one that can give shape to your body and increase your metabolism permanently. This alone will kill the root of obesity; a slow metabolism. No ladies, weight training will not make you muscle bound.
For ladies, weight training will provide the firm, cellulite free looking body they are looking for. It will not make them look like Arnold Schwarzenneger because their bodies simply do not produce enough testosterone (male hormone that is responsible for muscle growth) to achieve that look. As far as men are concerned, weight training could either make them look as fit as the guys in Baywatch, as buffed as Arnold or any point in between. It all depends on how far you would like to take it.
Rules For Effective Weight Training:
In order for weight training to be effective the following rules should be followed:
Each session should be short; 40 minutes maximum. The maximum amount of time a weight training session should last is 40 minutes. After 40 minutes the levels of muscle building and fat burning hormones (like growth hormone and testosterone) begin to drop.
Also, the glycogen in your system, which is the fuel that your muscles use to contract, has been depleted. What this means is that training for any more than 40 minutes will actually be a waste of your time since you will no longer have the hormones or the fuel necessary to produce muscle growth.
Continue to train past 40 minutes and you will get impaired recovery which leads to overtraining, a condition where your body does not recover from its weight training sessions and leads to lose of strength and muscle mass.
The rest between sets should be kept to a minimum; 60 seconds or shorter. Keeping your rest time in between sets and exercises to a minimum not only allows you to perform a prodigious amount of work within the 40 minute training window but it also helps improve your cardiovascular system and most importantly maximizes the output of growth hormone, the powerful fat burning, muscle building hormone that we mentioned earlier.
Also, this range promotes a muscle voluminizing effect in which water goes inside the muscle cells (not outside) and makes the muscles look more firm and bigger. Do not confuse this with water retention outside of the muscle cells, which is what makes us look puffy and fat.
The sets of each exercise should be between 8-12 repetitions each. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost, it has been shown that it is within this range that growth hormone output is maximized. As we already know, this is a good thing since this hormone does exactly what we are looking for (it increases muscle and decreases body fat).
Also, since we are performing so many repetitions, you get a great pump (blood rushing into the muscle) which is a good thing since along with the blood are nutrients that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild bigger much faster.
Finally, performing this amount of repetitions reduces the possibility of injury dramatically since you will need to use a weight that you can control in order to perform the prescribed amount of reps.
Training must be progressive. This principle applies more to bodybuilders than to people who are just interested in getting in shape since bodybuilders are the ones interested in gaining enormous amounts of muscle mass. Progression means performing one more repetition than the last time the exercise was performed or a little bit more weight if you are able to do more than 12 repetitions for a particular exercise.
It is important to understand that we will not be able to increase weight or increase the number of repetitions in every single session. However, it is important to know that the overall goal of the bodybuilder is to ensure progression over a period of time because this will ensure the continuous addition of muscle mass.
People who use weight training as a means to lose weight and get in shape need to apply the progression principle up until the point that they reach the muscle building goals that they have in mind. Once the person is happy with the amount of muscle that they have gained then instead of concentrating on increasing the amount of weight they should concentrate in decreasing the amount of time in which the training session is completed but using the same amount of weight as before.
This would make the training more aerobic in nature and it will give it a stronger fat burning effect without adding any more muscle mass.
Training must be varied. For the bodybuilder this is very important as this will also ensure continuous gains in strength and muscle mass. Variation does not necessarily means changing all of the exercises in the program. As you will soon see there are only a few exercises we need to be concerned with.
Change could take place in any form. For example, once you notice that you are not gaining strength in your exercises (this typically happens after six sessions of performing the exact same routine for the advanced trainee) you can go ahead and change the order in which the exercises are being performed.
You may want to superset (do one exercise after the other with no rest in between) a couple of the exercises or you may want to substitute the exercise completely for a similar one (i.e.: substitute bench press for dumbbell bench presses) for the next few weeks until your strength gains stop again.
Even if you are like me and you don't like to change the exercises in your program, changing the order in which they are performed, varying the speed at which they are performed or even shortening the amount of rest in between sets for the next six sessions from 60 seconds to 30 can have a big impact in the amount of gains you make. Every time you do something that your body is not used to, it will prompt the body to change (in this case grow).
So bodybuilders, remember; once your strength gains stop, don't be afraid to change your routines. You will be surprised at the amount of muscle mass that you will gain after doing so.
Training must be composed of free weight basic exercises. Only free weights provide the fast results you are looking for. The body is designed to be in a three dimensional universe. Therefore, whenever you use a machine and you limit your body to a two dimensional universe you limit the amount of muscle fibers that are going to do work and therefore you get less results. I am not saying that all machines are bad.
Some machines definitely have a place in our weight-training program. However, our program should be mostly based on barbell, dumbbell and exercises where the body moves through space such as the dip, the pull-up, the squat and the deadlift. The best exercises for each bodypart are the following:
Back:
Wide Grip Pull-ups to front
Wide Grip Pull-ups to Back
Chin-ups with palms facing your body
Chin-ups with a Neutral Grip (Palms facing each other)
Bent Over Rows
Bent Over Rows with inverted grip
T-Bar Rows
Dumbbell Rows
Chest:
Incline Bench Press (and its dumbbell version)
Flat Bench Press (and its dumbbell version)
Chest Dips, Pushups
Decline Bench Presses (and its dumbbell version)
Thighs:
Barbell Squats (and its Dumbbell Version)
Deadlifts
Lunges
Hack Squats
Leg Press
Leg Extensions
Hamstrings:
Stiff Legged Deadlifts (and its Dumbbell Version)
Lying Leg Curls
Standing Leg Curls
Seated Leg Curls
Shoulders:
Behind the Neck Press (and its Dumbbell Version)
Upright Rows
Lateral Raises
Bent Over Lateral Raises
Traps:
Barbell Shrugs to Front
Barbell Shrugs to Back
Dumbbell Shrugs
Upright Rows
Biceps:
Barbell & Dumbbell Curls
Barbell & Dumbbell Preacher Curls
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Curls
Hammer Curls
Triceps:
Barbell & Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extensions
Barbell & Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions
Triceps Pushdown
Triceps Dips
Close Grip Bench Press (and its Dumbbell Version)
Calves:
Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Donkey Calf Raises
Calf Raises on Leg Press Machine
One Legged (or Two Legged) Calf Raises with Dumbbells.
Abdominal:
Sit-ups
Crunches
Leg Raises
Knee-Ins
Leg Raise +Crunch.
A typical workout might look like the following:
Mondays/Thursdays - Chest, Back & Rear Delts
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 8 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Rows - 10 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Flyes - 2 sets of 10 reps
Bent Over Lateral Raises - 3 sets of 15 repetitions
Click here for a printable log of Monday/Thursday.
Tuesdays/Fridays - Shoulders, Arms & Abs
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Upright Rows - 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Curls - 8 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions - 8 sets of 10 reps
Click here for a printable log of Tuesdays/Fridays.
Wednesdays/Saturdays - Quads, Hams & Calves
Dumbbell Squats - 6 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Lunges - 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts - 6 sets of 12 reps
Dumbbell Calf Raises - 7 sets of 20-40 reps
Click here for a printable log of Wednesdays/Saturdays.
Notes:
You can substitute the exercises above with any other basic exercise. Just don't add any more sets to the routine.
Note that this routine could be done at home with adjustable dumbbells and a bench.
Only rest 30-60 seconds in between sets.
I like to exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach since that way I burn 300% more bodyfat and increase my growth hormone levels.
Feel free to pair up exercises and superset them. It gives an incredible pump!
Nutrition Overview
Without a good diet, your dreams of achieving your ideal body will never be reached. We'll first discuss some nutrition basics and then we'll discuss the characteristics of a good nutrition program.
Characteristics Of A Good Nutrition Program
It should favor smaller and frequent feedings throughout the day (every two to three hours) instead of two or three large ones. Why? Because when you feed your body several times a day, your metabolism increases. Therefore, you burn more fat.
Frequent feedings are of particular importance since after three to four hours of no food your body switches to a catabolic state (a state in which you lose muscle and gain fat!). The body believes that it is starving and it starts feeding itself on lean muscle tissue and it prepares to store calories as fat. Bad scenario!
"The body believes that it is starving and it starts feeding itself on lean muscle tissue and it prepares to store calories as fat. Bad scenario!"
Every meal should have carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratios. Having a meal that is not balanced (for example, a meal that is all carbohydrates) won't yield the desired results. Every macronutrient has to be present in order for the body to absorb them and use them properly.
Without boring you with the effect of food on the body's biochemistry, let's just say that if you only eat carbohydrates in one meal without anything else, your energy levels will crash in about 30 minutes and your body will be storing whichever of those carbs that were not used for energy into fat.
Conversely, if you only eat protein, you will lack energy since your body will not have a source from where to create it. In addition, the ratios for each particular macronutrient have to be correct in order to get the results you want.
A Good Macronutrient Ratio Is The Following:
45% of your calories should come from Carbohydrates.
35% should come from Protein.
20% should come from Fats.
Again, without getting into the biochemistry, lets say that this ratio creates the best hormonal environment in the body for gaining muscle and loosing fat( ie: Testosterone and growth hormone production increases and insulin is in just the right amounts). It's very important to keep this ratio intact.
Nutrition Basics
There are 3 Macronutrients that the human body needs in order to function properly.
A) Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy. When you ingest carbohydrates your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is very important because:
It grabs the carbohydrates and either stores them in the muscle or stores them as fat.
It grabs the amino acids (protein) and shelters them inside the muscle cell for recovery and repair.
Most people that follow low fat diets but are overweight are in that condition because they are eating an overabundance of carbs. Too many carbohydrates cause a huge release of insulin. When there is too much insulin in the body, your body turns into a fat storing machine. Therefore, it is important that we eat no more carbs than necessary and that we eat the right amount of carbs. An easy way to get in the right ratio of carbohydrates to proteins and determine if you are eating too many carbohydrates is the following:
Multiply the amount of protein (in grams) that you are eating in your present meal by 1.5. This will give you the maximum amount of carbs (in grams) that you can eat in that particular meal.
Conversely, if you don't eat enough carbohydrates, you will feel tired, lethargic, and irritable. To see if you are not eating enough carbohydrates, just multiply the amount of protein that you are eating in your present meal by 1. If the amount of carbohydrates that you are planning to take in is less than the result, then you are not taking enough carbs.
For example, if you are eating 8oz. of chicken this comes out to approximately 45 g of protein.
45 x 1.5 = 67.5 g » Max amount of carbs you can eat in that meal.
45 x 1.0 = 45.0 g » Min amount of carbs you can eat in that meal.
Now that we have talked about the importance of having just the right amount of carbs, let's talk about which are the best sources of carbs. Carbohydrates are divided into complex carbs and simple carbs. The complex carbs give you sustained energy ("timed release") while the simple carbs give you immediate energy. It is recommended that in the morning and after the workout you eat a combination of both complex and simple carbs, while at night you should eat mainly complex carbs. During the day you can eat a combination of both. Below is a list of good sources of carbs:
Carbs For Your Meal Auto-Calculator
How Many Grams Of Protein In Your Meal?: Grams
Press Calculate To View Results Below
Results - Carbs For Your Meal:
Between and grams of carbs.
There are two types:
Complex Carbohydrates:
1) Starchy:
Oatmeal (1 cup dry)
Sweet potatoes (8 oz baked)
Potatoes (8 oz baked)
Rice (1 cup cooked)
Pasta (8oz cooked)
Corn (1 cup canned)
Peas (2 cups cooked).
Each serving equals approximately 50 grams of carbs.
2) Fibrous:
Broccoli (1 cup raw)
Carrots (1 cup raw)
Cauliflower (1 cup raw)
Green beans (1/2 cup raw)
Lettuce (5 cups raw)
Mushrooms (2 cups raw)
Pepper (1 cup raw)
Spinach (3 cups raw)
Zucchini (1 cup raw)
Each serving equals approximately 6 grams of carbs.
Simple Carbohydrates:
Apples (6 oz)
Bananas (3 oz)
Grapefruit (8 oz)
Grapes (3 oz)
Oranges (6 oz)
Pears (5 oz)
Pineapple (6 oz)
Each serving equals approximately 20 grams of carbs.
B) Protein
Every tissue in your body is made from protein (ie; muscle, hair, skin, nails). Proteins are the building blocks of muscle tissue. Without it, building muscle and burning fat efficiently would be impossible. Its importance is paramount. Protein also helps increase your metabolism every time you eat it by 20%! It also makes the carbs timed released, so you get sustained energy throughout the day.
Everybody that is involved in bodyshaping or bodybuilding should consume at least 1 g per pound of lean body mass. (meaning that if you are 200 lbs. and have 10% body fat, you should consume at least 180 g of protein since your lean body mass = 180 lbs.). Nobody should consume more than 5 g per pound of lean body mass. I don't like to consume any more than 1.5 g per pound of bodyweight on any day since I think more than that is a waste.
Calculate Your Grams Of Protein Per Day
Your Bodyweight In Pounds:
Pounds
Your Bodyfat Percentage:
%
Press Calculate To View Results Below
Results - Protein Per Day:
For a lean bodyweight of pounds, take in
between and grams of protein.
Good Examples Of Protein Are:
Eggs (I use Egg Substitute: 2 cups liquid)
Chicken breast (cooked, skinless and boneless: 8 oz)
Turkey (cooked, skinless and boneless: 8 oz)
Lean (90% lean) red meats (8 oz)
Tuna (6 oz)
Each serving size approximately equals 40 grams of protein.
C) Fats
All the cells in the body have some fat in them. Hormones are manufactured from fats. Also, fats lubricate your joints. So if you eliminate the fat from your diet, then your hormonal production will go down and a whole array of chemical reactions will be interrupted. Your body will then start accumulating more body fat than usual so that it has enough fat to keep on functioning. Since testosterone production is halted, so is muscle building. Therefore, in order to have an efficient metabolism we need fat.
20 to 30 percent of your calories should come from good fats. Any less than 20% and your hormonal production goes down. Any more than 30% and you start accumulating plenty of fat.
An easy way of determining how much fat to have in one meal multiply .26 x (amount of protein in grams) which will give you the minimum amount of fat needed in that meal. .44 x (amount of protein) = maximum amount of fat that can be eaten in that meal. Since all protein sources have some fat in them, the way I get the rest of the essential fatty acids I need in my diet is by adding one tablespoon of flaxseed oil twice a day.
Fat Grams For Your Meal Auto-Calculator
How Many Grams Of Protein In Your Meal?: Grams
Press Calculate To View Results Below
Results - Fat Grams For Your Meal:
Between and grams of fat.
Good Sources Of Fat Are:
Canola Oil: (1 tablespoon)
Natural Peanut Butter (2 tablespoon)
Olive Oil (1 tablespoon)
Flaxseed Oil (1 tablespoon)
Fish Oils (1 tablespoon).
Each serving size contains 14 grams of fat.
D) Water
Although not a macro nutrient, water is by far the most abundant substance in our body. Without water, an organism would not survive very long. Most people that come to me for advice on how to get in shape almost always underestimate the value of water.
Water is good for the following reasons:
Over 65% of your body is composed of water (most of the muscle cell is water).
Water cleanses your body from toxins and pollutants that would get you sick.
Water is needed for all the complex chemical reactions that your body needs to perform on a daily basis. Processes such as energy production, muscle building, and fat burning require water. A lack of water would interrupt all of these processes.
Water helps lubricate the joints.
When the outside temperature is up, water serves as a coolant to bring the body temperature down to where it is supposed to be.
Water helps control your appetite. Sometimes when you feel hungry after a good meal this sensation indicates a lack of water. Drinking water at that time would take the craving away.
Cold water increases your metabolism.
In order to know how much water your body needs a day, just multiply your lean body weight by .66. This would indicate how many ounces of water you need in a day.
Calculate Your Needed Water Intake Per Day
Your Bodyweight In Pounds:
Pounds
Your Bodyfat Percentage:
%
Press Calculate To View Results Below
Results - Water Per Day:
For a lean bodyweight of pounds, take in
around ounces of water per day.
A sample of what I eat on a daily basis is presented below:
Meal # Food Serving Size Calories Carbs Pro Fat
Meal 1 (Post Workout Meal)
Oatmeal 1/2 cup dry 150 27 5 3
Banana 1 banana 105 26 1.3 -
Skim Milk 8 ounces 90 13 9 -
Whey Protein 2 scoops 240 8 44 3
Flaxseed 0il 1 tablespoon 115 - - 14
Sub-Totals: 700 74 59.3 20
Meal # Food Serving Size Calories Carbs Pro Fat
Meal 2
Brown Rice 1/2 cup 92 20 3 -
Corn 1/2 cup 68 17 - -
Chicken Breast 6 ounces 180 1 33 4.5
Sub-Totals 340 38 36 4.5
Meal # Food Serving Size Calories Carbs Pro Fat
Meal 3
Brown Rice 1/2 cup 92 20 3 -
Green Beans 1/2 cup 20 4 - -
Chicken Breast 6 ounces 180 1 33 4.5
Sub-Totals 292 25 37 4.5
Meal # Food Serving Size Calories Carbs Pro Fat
Meal 4
Skim Milk 8 ounces 90 13 9 -
Banana 1 banana 105 26 1.3 -
Flaxseed Oil 1 tablespoon 115 - - 14
Whey Protein 1 scoop 120 4 22 1.5
Sub-Totals: 430 43 32.3 15.5
Meal # Food Serving Size Calories Carbs Pro Fat
Meal 5
Brown Rice 1/2 cup 92 20 3 -
Green Beans 1/2 cup 20 4 1 -
Chicken Breast 6 ounces 180 1 33 4.5
Sub-Totals: 292 25 37 4.5
Daily Totals ---------------- ---------------- 2264 222 229.6 50.5
Note: I eat this way from Monday to Saturday. Sundays are my free day and I eat whatever I want.
Supplements
Usually people think that supplements are the most important part of a weight loss or bodybuilding program. The real truth is that supplements are supplements. Supplements do not make up for improper training, or lack thereof, and a crapy diet. Supplements only work when your diet and your training program are already perfect.
Nutritional supplements are good because they prevent us from getting any nutritional deficiencies. The increased activity levels from your new exercise program will make your body have greater demands for vitamins and minerals which will increase the probability of you suffering a deficiency if you don't have adequate supplementation.
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We cannot rely solely on foods nowadays to provide us with all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs because the processing of foods before they get to the supermarket and the cooking, air and light havealready robbed your foods of most of the vitamins that they have to offer. If you are deficient in one or more nutrients your body may not be able to build muscle and burn fat properly.
Another reason why I think that supplements are an important addition to our already good training and nutrition program is because some supplements allow us to go beyond our normal performance levels by up regulating the normal amounts of a nutrient in a cell.
Now that we know why supplements are a good addition to our training and nutrition program, lets go and see which supplements I think are an important addition to our daily diet.
There are two main categories of supplements:
Category 1: Essential Supplements
These are supplements that have to be taken on a daily basis in order to prevent us from getting any vitamin or mineral deficiencies that might affect our performance and muscle/fat burning abilities. The following supplements fall in this category:
A Potent Multiple Vitamin and Mineral Formula: Necessary to support daily bodily functions.
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Chromium Picolinate: Mineral that enhances the effects of insulin, the hormone that pushes amino acids (protein) and carbohydrates into the muscle cell. This is one of the most anabolic hormones in the body. This is the hormone that determines if the food that you eat is going to be used for muscle production, energy production or fat production. When insulin is secreted in moderate levels it aids in muscle and energy production. In excessive levels it only promotes fat storage.
Chromium Picolinate is good because it upgrades insulin's capability of muscle and energy production. The end result is that chromium helps us gain muscle and lose fat faster. Chromium does this by keeping our blood sugar levels stable, preventing insulin levels from going high enough to begin promoting fat storage. Again, chromium only works if we follow a proper diet. Don't expect to take chromium, be able to pig out and still lose fat.
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Vanadyl Sulphate: Mineral that enhances carbohydrate metabolism by pushing more than normal amounts of carbohydrates into the muscle cell. From vanadyl use you can expect to gain up to five pounds of lean body mass from increased glycogen (carbohydrate) storage in the muscle cell. Vanadyl makes your muscles feel pumped all the time, especially during a workout.
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Vitamin C: Vitamin that acts as an antioxidant and if taken an hour before a workout (1000mg dose) significantly reduces muscle soreness and speeds recovery after a workout. Vitamin C may also improve your immune system.
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Meal Replacement Powders Containing Whey Protein or Whey Protein Powders: Because of hectic schedules it is impossible to eat the six perfectly balanced meals that are required to get in shape a day. Therefore, these supplements can be used as "fast food". They are easy to prepare and the formulas that are available on the market today are as good as a milkshake from any fast food chain.
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Omega 3 Fatty Acids: If you follow a very strict diet like myself and you have a bodyfat percentage below 10%, you'll find that you'll begin to start having trouble losing bodyfat and keeping your strength up. The reason for this is because it is really easy to incur a fat deficiency when you get to this level.
In order to have your body operate efficiently again, just add 10 capsules of 1000mg of Omega 3 Fatty Acids a day and this will take care of the problem. These fats also have an anti-catabolic effect (protects muscle from breaking down) and enhance the body's ability to burn fat.
They help with testosterone production and also lower cholesterol. As if that would not be enough, they also have antioxidant properties and protect the heart. As you can see, they are really a great supplement to add on a daily basis. You can also get these oils in the form of flaxseed oil.
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Category 2: Performance Enhancing Supplements
These are supplements that enhance the body's performance by upgrading its ability to recover, burn fat and build muscle.
Creatine: Nutrient that enhances the ability of the body to hold water inside the muscle cell (not outside where it would make you look bloated) thereby increasing your body's ability to lift heavier weights and recover faster between sets and training sessions. It also increases your definition and your pumps when you go to the gym. There is some research that indicates that it may also help you burn fat.
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HMB: Amino Acid Metabolite that helps you build muscle and lose fat by decreasing the amount of catabolism (muscle destroying activities) in the body.
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Glycerol: Nutrient that grabs all the water surrounding the muscle cell and pushes it in them, thereby increasing the size of the muscle cell and increasing definition.
Caffeine/Ephedrine/Aspirin Stack: This is the most popular fat burning stack on the market. It is highly effective at suppressing the appetite and increasing your metabolism. People that are allergic to Aspirin, like myself, should only use the Caffeine and the Ephedrine part.
The drawback to this product is that at the beginning it causes you to get nervous and jittery. Also, the body gets used to it fairly quickly so I always recommend people to take it five days a week and rest during the weekend. Another thing is to start with a very low dosage of the product and then gradually build up in order to minimize the side effects.
Personally, I don't use this stack because of the way it makes me feel. What I do is that I have some caffeine and L-Tyrosine in the morning on an empty stomach with 16 oz of water 30 minutes before I go to the gym. This not only makes me feel more alert but also greatly enhances my fat burning ability.
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Glutamine: The most abundant amino acid in the muscle cell. Glutamine produces a strong anti-catabolic effect (muscle preserving) in the body and there is research that indicates that it also helps strengthen the immune system and helps increase growth hormone levels.
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Below is my daily supplements program:
Multi Vitamin/Mineral Complex taken twice daily with breakfast and lunch.
1 gram vitamin C taken with breakfast, lunch and dinner.
200mcg of Chromium Picolinate taken at breakfast and dinner.
1 Tablespoon of flaxseed oil taken twice a day (1 with my oatmeal & 1 with a protein shake).
Whey Protein Powder for use in the Protein shakes.
5 grams of creatine taken after the workout (5 grams at breakfast on non workout days; on Sundays).
Rest & Recovery
I'll make this topic really simple. You need 7 - 9 hours of sleep each night in order for your body to run efficiently. Deprive your body of sleep and you'll have lousy fat loss. As a bonus, you also get muscle loss which lowers your metabolism.
The reason for this is because without enough sleep the body stops producing anabolic hormones (Muscle Producing/Fat Burning Hormones; e.g. Testosterone and Growth hormone) and starts increasing the production of catabolic hormones (Muscle Destroying/Fat Depositing Hormones e.g. Cortisol). Also, you will lack the energy and focus to get through your workouts.
To top it off, there is research that indicates that a lack of sleep creates cravings and binges. If you don't think that you have enough time to sleep, then turn off the TV and make the time!