What I’m going to talk about today is a fool-proof 4 step system that will undoubtedly help you put some muscle on your frame, or put more muscle on a frame that has hit a plateau. In fact, these steps can almost be considered “laws” because its the ONLY real way I know of stimulating growth. Every person that I’ve ever known who managed to pack on some muscle has followed these 4 steps whether they were consciously aware of it or not.

[Before we dive in, today is the give away day! Since there were 12 comments on the give away post, I used a random number generator and it spit out the #10. So checking back, it looks like “Suggy” is the lucky individual that holds that position. Apparently he wanted the grips to help with his self pleasuring experience, so congrats dude… may the handgrips help you make sweet sweet love to yourself. Check for my email for further instructions.]

Alright, let’s get on with the steps.

Step 1: Stimulate

Muscles need a reason to grow, plain and simple. So what is the reason? Adaptation to stress. If your biceps are capable of handling 30lbs and you decide to workout with 25lbs dumbbells, then there is no reason for your body to stimulate bicep growth since the stimuli presented is something it can easily handle. Also, you’re wasting your fucking time. The only benefit to that type of workout is that you’ll be burning calories… but why would you insult your strength and undercut your training like that? To me, it makes no sense.

Everything about humans is revolved around the “path of least resistance”. If you can get an certain result with X amount of effort, then why would you bother increasing the amount of effort to 2X? It’s inefficient. This philosophy has kept our species alive for hundreds of thousands of years, so it’s not something we want to change outright.

The paradox here is that the path of least resistance to muscular growth requires a level of resistance that is greater than what you’re accustomed to (that statement is quite the brain fuck eh?). But this doesn’t mean you need to destroy yourself. A lot of people will read what I wrote and think I’m talking about going to failure… I’m not. Well I am, but only sorta.

See, going to failure is a aspect of training you can use, no bout. But it’s a tool, it should NOT be used all the time. A hammer won’t help you if you’re working with screws. ANY training technique will become useless over a period of time because your body, smart as it is, will adapt to it. That’s its job. Ronnie Coleman, the 8 time Mr.Olympia winner made the following statement when it came to training for muscular growth: “Stimulate, don’t annihilate”. Very true.

Step 2: Feed

Stimulating your muscles to grow is one thing, but if they have no resources to repair and rebuild then you’ve done more harm than good. It’s like bulldozing a house then telling the contractor to build a new house that’s bigger, better and stronger with the same demolished materials that lie on the floor. Sounds pretty fucking ridiculous, yet a shit load of people are victim to this metaphor when it comes to building lean and quality muscle. Such loonballs.

If you’re increasing the intensity of your workout every time you hit the gym (if not, you SHOULD be) then you need to increase your clean caloric intake as well. I mean, it only makes sense right? For men, 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight is still a good baseline of what you should be eating, some of you should be eating even more. For women, you guys can eat about 0.65g per lbs without a problem.

The bad type of weight gain (fat) occurs when the amount and type of carbohydrates you eat trump your daily protein amount. You need to realize that protein is like the “last resort” fuel for your body, it’s only used when the body doesn’t have sufficient amount of fats and carbohydrates.

Typically, I believe that no one needs more than 50-70g of CLEAN carbohydrates per day. Rest should be all protein and good heart-healthy fats. But on days you workout… any type of high glycemic supplementation after an intense workout does NOT contribute to your daily 50-70g limit. This is because your glycogen stores are so depleted that taking in high glycemic foods along with protein is actually beneficial since the insulin spike will help shuttle all the protein right into your muscles. This is a very generalized statement but true nonetheless.

Step 3: Recover

We aren’t talking about muscle recovery, that comes later, we are talking about the recovery of your Central Nervous System (CNS). Before your beaten up muscles are allowed to repair themselves and grow bigger and stronger, your CNS needs to fully recover so it can help trigger that process. Again I’m not going into great detail here because it’s beyond the scope of this article to explain exactly how this happens. Just know that after a punishing workout, it takes about 24 hours (sometimes 36) for your CNS to recover, and it’s only AFTER this step that the true magic happens…

Step 4: Grow

Now were talking! All of your hard work and proper eating habits have come down to this final phase. Many people use the term “recovery” as a means of muscular growth. Well it’s not! Once your CNS recovers, your muscles will recover, but what does muscle recovery really lead to? Growth! So that’s why I’ve ordered my steps in this way. The really weird thing is that you don’t have to do jack-shit once you reach step 4. Just keep your eating habits up, take it easy and let your body do it’s thing. Read a book, watch some TV, go talk to people and viola! You’ll grow.

The only downside is that step4 is HEAVILY reliant on the first 3. You CANNOT and WILL NOT grow unless you stimulate your muscles, feed yourself and allow your CNS to recover. By now, this better be common sense to you.

The Start Of Something “big”

So now you know the exact steps to follow and should have some kind of game plan ready to implement. Just know that these steps are never-ending… it’s like a cycle that repeats itself over and over again, helping your grow bigger and/or stronger each time. Depending on your body’s ability and training experience, this 4 step process can take 1-2 weeks to complete. Now, OBVIOUSLY there is a point where you will reach your human genetic limitation and stop growing because one of these steps will likely end up being your weakest link.

But the fact is that 99% of you will not hit this limitation for a LOOONG time, if ever. So don’t stop pushing yourself and don’t stop beating the SHIT out of your previous workouts. You are working out to IMPROVE yourself, not keep yourself in the same fucking state, so make sure you don’t waste your time. As my favorite saying goes, “if you aren’t growing, you’re dying”.

- FitJerk

FlawlessFitnessBook

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© 2009 – 2012, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.

A healthy sex life is important to everyone, but are you getting the most out of it that you can? If you aren’t practicing exercises that can boost your sex life, then you should be. Certain exercises can help to build up the muscles involved in the act, and can help you to achieve maximum enjoyment.

Being physically fit in general can help you to enjoy sex much more, and even build up stamina [FJ: A few chumps out there definitely need to work on this as far as I’ve heard]. There are some exercises that can help more than others as they work all the major muscle groups involved in sex, and can help to boost your confidence. All of this equals a much more enjoyable sex life for you and your partner!

Work Those Abs with Pilates and Yoga

Working out the abs is not only important to your core, but a huge benefit to your sex life [FJ: Couldn't agree more]. The more flexible and fit you are within your abs, the better your sex life is going to be. The best way to tone the abs is through exercise that focuses on the core, and yoga or Pilates are great ways to achieve this. Not only will you get some excellent ab work, but you will also learn some excellent breathing that can tie into your enjoyment of sex as well. After incorporating Pilates and yoga, you will feel the abs tighten and be able to take on your sex life with a vengeance.

[FJ: For the guys who are reading this for the sole purpose of improving their sex life, go take a few classes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. When you’re wrestling another opponent, also called “rolling”, you get a feel for how the human body moves and this teaches you how to manipulate one's center of gravity which can result in smoother transitions from position to position.

This skill is fucking invaluable in bed. On top of this, a 5 minute rolling session is probably more exhausting than sex itself so that solves the stamina problems for some of you. Just don’t do any homosexual behavior in class please, I do not condone this and it will end up getting you knocked the f*** out. Had to be said.]

Dance It Out for Better Sex

Any form of dance helps to work out the abs, the hips, the legs, and burn calories as you do it. Incorporating dance into your workout routine is an excellent way to tone up, gain some flexibility and stamina, and get yourself in tip top shape for the bedroom! [FJ: Hip-Hop abs doesn’t count!] Not only that, but ladies, if you focus on a more sexually charged type of dance class such as belly dancing, [FJ: Hawt!] you can release your inhibitions and become more confident in the bedroom.

Try out an Urban Striptease class that works in “stripper moves” into an excellent overall workout that even helps you work up some ideas for your more intimate moments. You can get fit and toned, and get more sexually charged with this kind of work out—and have a whole lot of fun in the process!

[FJ: For the straight men who would rather watch belly dancing then attempt it, going to a Salsa dancing class where they partner you with some random cute girl can be quite the asset in your arsenal to attract. And you thought this was just a “sex” article.]

Strength Training Can Help Get You Ready for the Act

The more fit you are, the better you feel, and the more enjoyable your sex life will be. You’ll gain stamina, be able to try out different positions, and gain the confidence to really enjoy your sex life. Strength training is an excellent way to get your hips, abs, buttocks, and legs looking good and feeling toned. Try different machines and exercises to build up the muscle and get you in better shape—all of which will benefit your sex life in the end!

[FJ: There is an abdominal exercise that both men and women should incorporate into their regular ab routine. It’s called “heels to the heaven”. You lie down on your back, keeping your hands palm down. Do a normal leg raise, and once you toes are facing the ceiling, do a pelvic thrust upwards until your shoulders/neck and hands are the only thing touching the floor. Another way to explain this is to “hump the ceiling”. To make it a challenge, wear some ankle weights and you’ll be a pelvic thrusting machine.]

Doing certain exercises such as squats can help to build up the muscles that are used in the act, so that’s an excellent avenue to try out. It’s important to remember that women should incorporate kegel exercises to tighten up the areas that can lose shape after having children. This type of exercise is easy to do and can make sex so much more enjoyable!

- FitJerk & Mary Ward

P.S, check out Mary’s site, she blogs about various job issues in the health care field, including how to study to obtain a degree from online Ultrasound Tech schools.

P.P.S – Do you have a hot sexual tip you want to tell the world? How about an exercise that improves enjoyment? Whatever naughty tips you have lingering around in that brain of yours, post it in the comments section below.

FlawlessFitnessBook

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© 2009 – 2012, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.

Bold claim? You better believe it. Most guys (or girls) know that to gain serious mass, taking in a ratio of 1g of protein per lbs of body weight is the MINIMUM that you need. But what they don’t know is that if you eat massive quantities of protein during the day without taking in a decent amount of carbs, you will not gain mass. Or if you do, the process will be tedious and slow. The reason? Gluconeogenesis.

So what is it? Well gluconeogenesis is the process where your body will convert the protein you intake into carbohydrates to meet its needs. You cannot trick the body by eating lots of protein and no carbs… It’s too damn smart. Your body’s PRIMARY source of fuel is carbs and it will do whatever it takes to get some… Get it? And if we scrutinize protein and carbs from a financial stand point (damn economy)… carbs are cheaper. This means that every gram of protein that you take in should do EXACTLY what it’s supposed to — build lean muscle mass without interference.

To guarantee that this happens, make sure your carbohydrate intake is sufficient and gluconeogenesis is something your body never resorts to. Not only will this help your make the most out of the protein  you take in, but I can gain mass much faster from a carb/protein ratio of  1.5:1 Vs. 1:1.  Go figure!

SIMPLE CARBS OR COMPLEX?

Now that you know why carbs are so important, the next question that should jump to your mind is whether to primarily eat simple carbs or complex (low-glycemic) carbs. The answer is not that black and white, but it’s not super complicated either. Say you eat 6 meals a day, out of those 6 meals a MAXIMUM of 2 should include simple carbs, and that’s because they are probably the post-workout protein shake or meal. The rest of the time, stick to stuff like: brown rice, whole wheat grains, oats etc.

The reason being is simple, low glycemic carbs don’t spike your insulin and release the sugar slowly, evenly and constantly throughout your blood stream. This means there is no spike and crash in your energy levels, just a constant stream of juice to keep you going.

And one last thing, if you ARE planning on using simple carbs for your post-workout shake, buy a shit load of maltodextrin. It’s inexpensive, quick digesting and VERY useful. In fact, if I was personally short on cash, I’d pick up 5lbs of maltodextrin over whey protein any day… THAT’S how much of an impact it will have on your results. I can get my protein sources elsewhere, like from fish, chicken, beef, ostrich or turkey.

Hope you had an “AHA” moment in there somewhere. Here’s to being lean, solid and sexy.

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© 2009 – 2012, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.

The really bad memory kind of dumb. Well if you have, then I totally do not have a clue as to what you’re going through. But, with my infinite knowledge, I am here to provide you with some killer brain sharpening tips! Some people will really need to pay attention to this article… Lest they forget by the time they reach the end.

You see, what most people forget is that their brain needs to be put through a workout just like the rest of your muscles, otherwise it will lose its effectiveness. This has been proven time and time again, so today I shall show you some tips that will have you thinking more clearly, effectively and logically… All the while improving memory function to boost it’s performance. Sounds like an upgrade to a PC.

>> Tip 1: Self talk and vocal projection

This is for those of you who always seem to mis-place your keys or remote or other random crap. It’s a simple exercise, but it needs to be done for a few weeks straight until it becomes a habit. Here’s what you do, the next time you put away something important (say, keys)… Verbally talk about the location. Eg. “I’m putting the keys in the book case shelf by the front door”
It has to be specific!

Speaking out loud puts the information in your phonological loop. This means that the last sentence that you spoke usually bounces around over and over again in your head, so that it will be on the tip of your tongue. This also increases your chances of remembering. It’s like when you’re talking to a punk kid… And then you realize they aren’t listening. What do you say? “HEY! Are you listening to what I’m saying?”

Then they’re like “yeah… ” and they repeat the last 5 words you spoke. But it PISSES you off because you KNOW that they weren’t listening. Yeah… That’s the loop working baby! Let’s use it to our advantage this time.

>> Tip 2: Remembering the times when…

Maybe you don’t have trouble finding your keys, but instead you lose track of time pretty easily. So for example, let’s say you put away those keys and you remember where they are, but you don’t remember WHEN  you put them away. What you need to do is notice your surroundings consciously while performing the task of putting something away. So notice the weather outside, notice what you’re wearing, notice any smells etc.

>> Tip 3: Puzzles & Games

Some people like puzzles and some don’t. If you don’t… Find some games that are puzzle bound. I don’t care if they are video games or board games, as long as they require you to use your head, you’ll go far. Doing puzzles is like putting your head through an intense workout… If you stop doing it, you’ll go soft. Personally, I’m a champ at Tetris, Checkers & Connect 4, and as for puzzle “video games”, here are my top picks:

Mercury Meltdown (PSP)

Exit (PSP)

Bejeweled (Multi Platform)

LocoRoco (PSP)

Lumines 2 (PSP)

Brain Age (DS)

I love these for the simple fact that they are on hand-held platforms. And because I am one busy mofo, and don’t have time to sit on a couch and play puzzle games. You might tho.

>> Tip 4: Physical Fitness

Like this wasn’t obvious. Studies show that keeping physically fit actually helps you expand your brain’s memory while keeping it more alert. The reason? Simple… When you workout you take in mass amounts of oxygen, and oxygen = good for brain. If you want access to the ultimate No-Bs fitness guide, make sure you check out my [Flawless Fitness Book].

>> Tip 5: Visualization

Many competitive athletes use visualization techniques to not only help them prepare for the task at hand, but to ENHANCE their performance. Studies show that when you really visualize a physical skill, the same muscle fibres fire as if you were actually performing the skill.

The reason? When you’re that concentrated with your eyes closed, you practically convince your brain that what you’re visualizing is actually real… it can’t tell the difference. So why don’t others use it? Who said visualization was only for sports? Try using it in your daily activities and see what happens.

>> Tip 6: Meditation

I hesitate when mentioning that word because people instantly think they need to get half naked and sit under a huge waterfall under the mountains. NO! Don’t do any fruity shit with this… But effective meditation techniques clear your mind and relieve stress which in turn lets you perform mental tasks at greater efficiency.

Here’s what I do. I sit down in a quiet environment and make sure Im seated up right and comfortable. Then I just close my eyes and focus on one thing and one thing only… my breathing. I think about nothing else, I just focus on the oxygen going into my lungs and how awesome and refreshing it feels. Try it… think about nothing. In today’s crazy world, its actually harder than you think!

So there you have it, 6 tips that will keep you relatively smart. Another thing to note is that nutrition plays a key role. Eat your veggies while having balanced and consistent meals through out the day. Those are the basics that will keep you going. If you want to know some of my top meal portioning techniques that keep you mentally alert and sky rocket your metabolic rate at the same time, make sure to check out Flawless Fitness. And no… I don’t tell you to take mass quantities of “Ginko Biloba”.

Cheers.

To Being Fit & Sexy 4 Life

- FJ

FlawlessFitnessBook.com

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© 2009 – 2012, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.

Lifting weights will NOT make you huge naturally… women have too much estrogen in their bodies to allow such rapid and massive muscle growth. If you care… the only real way for women to get ‘big’ is by injecting testosterone and taking drugs that inhibit estrogen levels at the same time.

But I doubt any of you are considering this option anytime soon…

So WHY should you work on having some muscle tone with weight training? Because muscles increase your metabolic rate… even at rest! And we all know what a high metabolic rate leads to… fat loss.

Ok now how do we go about doing this? Will weight lifting help build muscle? Yes… but if you want proper efficiency then you need to make sure you are lifting PROPERLY.

Let’s take the bicep curl as an example. You grab a dumbbell, lift it and then lower it. What part of this movement actually helps you BUILD muscle?

If you guessed the lifting part, then you my friend… are WRONG! Lifting a weight makes your muscles CONTRACT. It’s like taking a rubber band and wadding it up. But it’s the LOWERING of the weight (Eccentric motion) where your muscles undergo enough stress to cause micro tears in your muscle fibres. Think of taking the same rubber band, and now stretching it out while using a xacto knife and making small cuts in the rubber band… but not so many that the rubber band snaps.

Why is this a GOOD thing? Because when your muscles are damaged, they get repaired… but not just back to their original condition. They come back slightly bigger and stronger than before. Scientifically you can go into much greater depth about this topic but I am not here to bore you with science, I am here to tell you about what works and how it works in a straight forward manner.

So there you have it… a crucial tip that will help you get the most out of your weight training workouts. If you want to know more ways on how to increase muscle mass while sky-rocketing your metabolic rate at the same time, then you need to check out my book HERE.

Oh, and here is one last secret… and this is a biggie!

If you combine all my techniques together, it will have a synergistic effect on your body. Once this happens, watch out! Your energy and fat burning levels will be unstoppable!

Until next time…

FJ

FlawlessFitnessBook

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© 2008 – 2012, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.