Q) In terms of getting lean, how important is counting calories?
A) I'll get right to the point. A lot of nutritionists still stick exclusively with calories as the one and only factor that determines a person's ability to gain fat or lose fat. They conceptualize or water-down the fat burning process to a simple math equation. I like to kid and say "That's why a lot of math teachers are fat." In other words, while mathematics are clean and concise measuring tools, when it comes to fat loss, they don't always work. Let me explain a bit more.
The 2011 competition season is fast approaching, with the kick-off of the LA Fit Expo, FLEX Pro, and the Arnold Classic. This year promises to be an exciting and unbelievable year filled with hot bodies, hard bodies and great performances! Are you going to be one of them?
Do you compete? Have you considered competing? Bodybuilding competition is at an all time high right now for men and women. It has never been more popular then at this time.In my last article, we touched upon the most common upper body injuries that I see in my practice. In this installment, we'll discuss the most common lower body injuries I see from lifting weights. For the sake of this article, we'll also include the lower back as part of the lower body.
First, let's cover some basic terms:
1-Sprain: Overstretching (partial or micro-tearing) of a ligament (connective tissue connecting bone to bone)
Late one night I was on the phone chatting with Dave Palumbo about everything from ketones to who's the biggest sham trainer in the sport. The conversation was about as fluid as the Mississippi . . . jumping from one topic to another at nearly the speed of light. It also doesn't help that I talk about multiple subjects at one time somehow believing they are all germane and interconnected to each another. Usually, after one of my all-over-the-place conversations, I realize that I'm not even making sense. This night, the back and forth banter turned to Paul DeMayo and I said, "Yea I worked with him too." Dave, and probably many of you out there, didn't even know that Paul was one of my clients. Well, I met Paul back in 1987; he came to visit me at Springfield College where I was studying the "guru" sciences.
On Heavy Muscle Radio last week - the World's Greatest Bodybuilding Radio Show- Dave and I bounced around training styles and what we feel was the ideal approach when prepping for a contest. Bodybuilders usually go a little crazy and alter their training so far away from their "off-season" training that it's sometimes unrecognizable. I think that's a huge mistake. I have always maintained that the training you did to build your body is the same training you need to do as you run up to a show. The hardcore and heavy training while dieting is, in fact, the main stimulus that allows the body to hold onto and keep that metabolic-boosting muscle while you drop calories to get ripped. If you make the mistake and "lighten up" on your workouts, and fall for the trap that more sets and reps will lean you down, often the muscle ends up looking lean, but lacks that crazy dense look.
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