Why do athletes use Antioxidants for sports and fitness?
Some athletes say that antioxidants
•    help protect the body from free radicals.
What do the advocates say?
Antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E, CoQ10, glutathione, and alpha lipoic acid are important supplements for everyone, but especially for those who exercise on a regular basis. The rational is that exercise is a highly oxidative process and, as a consequence, produces free radicals from aerobic metabolism. Antioxidant compounds help alleviate this process.
There is conflicting evidence whether the best time to supplement with an antioxidant is before or after a workout.

How much is usually taken by athletes?
Most research has demonstrated that strenuous exercise increases production of harmful substances called free radicals, which can damage muscle tissue and result in inflammation and muscle soreness. Exercising in cities or smoggy areas also increases exposure to free radicals. Antioxidants, including vitamin C and vitamin E, neutralize free radicals before they can damage the body, so antioxidants may aid in exercise recovery. Regular exercise increases the efficiency of the antioxidant defense system, potentially reducing the amount of supplemental antioxidants that might otherwise be needed for protection. However, at least theoretically, supplements of antioxidant vitamins may be beneficial for older or untrained people or athletes who are undertaking an especially vigorous training protocol or athletic event.

Placebo-controlled research, some of it double-blind, has shown that taking 400 to 3,000 mg of vitamin C per day for several days before and after intense exercise may reduce pain and speed up muscle strength recovery. However, taking vitamin C only after such exercise was not effective in another double-blind study. While some research has reported that vitamin E supplementation in the amount of 800 to 1,200 IU per day reduces biochemical measures of free-radical activity and muscle damage caused by strenuous exercise, several studies have not found such benefits, and no research has investigated the effect of vitamin E on performance-related measures of strenuous exercise recovery. A combination of 90 mg per day of coenzyme Q10 and a very small amount of vitamin E did not produce any protective effects for marathon runners in one double-blind trial, while in another double-blind trial a combination of 50 mg per day of zinc and 3 mg per day of copper significantly reduced evidence of post-exercise free radical activity.
In most well-controlled studies, exercise performance has not been shown to improve following supplementation with vitamin C, unless a deficiency exists, as might occur in athletes with unhealthy or irrational eating patterns. Similarly, vitamin E has not benefited exercise performance, except possibly at high altitudes.

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Are you trying to be rail-thin? Have you contemplated restricting or binging and purging to accomplish this? If so, then please read on.

Anorexia and Bulimia are the most prevalent of all eating disorders out there today. Anorexia is centered on starving your body of the proper nutrition it needs on a daily basis and whittling away one pound at a time. On the other hand, bulimia is based on consuming extremely large amounts of food in one sitting ( known as a binge) and then purging the food immediately. Purging can be physically throwing up the food, exercising for hours ( also known as exercise bulimia), or even by taking laxatives.

In any case, those that are struggling with either eating disorder generally have many of the same underlying issues in common. Eating disorders play a role in a persons life much like a temporary pain killer. They act as a temporary fix in that they numb the individual at first allowing them to function daily without feeling their true feelings. Feelings such as loneliness, sadness, fear, anxiety, and depression are just a few. With that said, these feelings and emotions don’t just go away forever. In fact, they build up over time and can mount up to be simply unbearable for an individual. That’s when they typically hit rock bottom.

While this can be a hard reality to deal with, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Below are 5 Tips to avoid developing one of these life threatening eating disorders.

1. Find balance in your every day life. This isn’t ever easy to find and maintain I know but at least try! What I mean by this is keep your professional life in check, take care of your body, get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, eat a healthy diet, exercise daily, and also know when it’s time to chill.

2. Perfection simply does not EXIST! Stop trying to be perfect and instead re-focus your energy on what you do like about yourself. Focus on your amazing personality, your killer creativity and your awesome sense of humor. Doing so daily will keep your mind in a positive state.

3. Love your body for what it can do! Take time to thank your body for being able to walk, run, skip, hop, bike, kayak, swim, and the list goes on and on and on. Appreciate your body for what it CAN do for you. Keep your amazing body active everyday.

4. Give your insecurities a voice. Sit down and talk to someone about these insecurities, your lacking self esteem and so forth. Being honest with yourself and with another gives you power and also holds you accountable to another person. This person can be a psychotherapist, a family member, spouse, friend and so on.

5. Love is the ANSWER. Spend quality time with those in your life that love you unconditionally such as your amazing family and true friends. These people are in your life for a reason, allow them to constantly remind you of just how incredible you truly are!

By: Erika Conover

Click here to read how I conquered my eating disorders

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I bet you didn’t know that there is a specific class of vegetables that contain very specific phytonutrients that actually help to fight against abdominal fat.

Let me explain what they are and why…

First of all, if you’ve already grabbed a copy of my new Fat Burning Kitchen Program then you may already know about how certain chemicals in our food supply and our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and certain petrochemicals from household cleaners, cosmetics, etc can act as xenoestrogens.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that you are exposed to that have an estrogenic effect and excess exposure can cause hormone balance disruptions for both men and women. So these can wreak havoc in the body for both guys and gals.

These estrogenic chemicals that we are exposed to on a daily basis can stimulate your body to store belly fat, along with many other problems.

So here’s where this specific class of vegetables comes in handy…

One of those cool tricks that I teach in my Fat Burning Kitchen program is that cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, etc. contain specific and unique phytonutrients such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that help to fight against these estrogenic compounds…

And by fighting against these belly fat stimulating estrogenic chemicals, this can help you fight against abdominal fat!

So there you go… just another excuse to do what mom always told you and eat more broccoli!

I’ve really learned to like brussells sprouts in the last year too… Melt a little grass-fed cheese on them and some garlic and they’re great!

In case you haven’t picked up your copy yet, I give away at least 12 other specific foods, teas, spices, etc that help to combat the xenoestrogens and can help you to burn abdominal fat faster in my new program…

make sure to grab your copy before the price doubles:

Fat Burning Kitchen Program

Pass this email onto your friends… I bet you’ll shock them with this article about xenoestrogens and how broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts can help to fight the battle against abdominal fat.

Enjoy!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer

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Your eyes meet across a crowded room. You feel it, the other person feels it. But what is “it,” exactly? In other words, what gets sparks flying between two people but not others? That’s a question that continues to boggle the minds of scientists, poets, and real people the world over. But if you want to increase your chances of choosing the right partner ‘til death do you part, modern research does have some answers. Read on to find out which personality types you’re most likely to click with — and stick with — for the long haul.

Putting a little science into the search for Mr. or Ms. Right- Good Morning America

Familiarity breeds…a bond?
While fairytales are full of twosomes from very different walks of life, Cinderella-style stories rarely exist in real life for good reason. People are generally attracted to those who are similar in terms of education, intelligence, religion, and financial status. “Often, ‘like’ attracts ‘like,’ what anthropologists call ‘positive assortive mating’ and ‘fitness matching,’” says Helen Fisher, Ph.D., anthropologist and author of Why We Love. The reason it’s important is pretty obvious: When people don’t see eye-to-eye on many levels, they just simply don’t ‘get’ each other, and that can be tough for any couple to overcome. “I think the most important thing you can ask yourself about a prospective mate is: If this person were not a romantic interest, would they be one of your very best friends?” says Sam Hamburg, Ph.D., a marital therapist and author of Will Our Love Last?

What’s ‘familiar’ about a mate may not always be immediately evident, however. “People may feel chemistry with someone who treats them in a way that’s familiar because it’s a dynamic they know,” says Lisa Firestone, a clinical psychologist and author of Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships. A woman who grew up with an alcoholic father, for example, may end up with a wild-man artist, who’s similarly unpredictable but (hopefully) in more positive ways. So, don’t be surprised if your relationship echoes some dynamic from your past.

Why complementary types connect
She’s super-organized; he’s a constant mess. He’s a quiet couch potato; she’s the life of the party. We’ve all seen couples whose personalities seem light years apart. Is it true that opposites attract? Not exactly. “There’s a lot of chemistry between opposites and the relationship has a lot of passion,” says Firestone. “But eventually they may end up hating each other for the very things that drew them together in the first place.”

A better match, say experts, are people whose personalities are complementary but not complete contradictions. “Sometimes a really high-strung person will calm down around someone who’s laid-back, or maybe the person who has a lot of energy is a motivating influence on the person who’s mellow, and it’s really good for them both,” says Firestone. Likewise, personalities that are too similar can miss out on new experiences. “If two people are very risk-averse, they might never pursue opportunities that they should,” points out Hamburg. “And on the flip side, two people who are high risk-takers might get themselves into trouble. But if you have one who’s more risky and one who’s cautious, then through a dialogue the couple might be able to make better decisions than they would if they were the same.”

Complementary couples do run the risk, though, of falling even deeper into their differences. “When a person dates someone who plays a balancing role, he or she tends to polarize: The quiet person gets quieter, and the talkative person becomes the spokesperson for the relationship,” points out Firestone. “He may start to think that he’s a whole person only when he’s with her, and vice versa. And when people do that, the quality of relating tends to deteriorate.” So, couples should be careful to treat their partner’s strengths not as a crutch, but as an opportunity to watch and learn new habits and skills to move outside their comfort zones on occasion.

The chemistry behind chemistry
Scientific breakthroughs in the areas of genetics, biology, and neurology are also helping experts piece together the mystery of romantic attraction. Fisher, for example, has used her knowledge of body chemistry to come up with a new theory on who’s likely to click with whom—and why.

“Certain genes, hormones and neurotransmitters have been associated with specific personality traits,” she explains. “For instance, testosterone is associated with independence. All of us have these chemicals, but some of us have more activity in one of these chemical systems than another.”

The upshot? After reviewing the data, Fisher found that based on the activity levels of four key chemicals (serotonin, estrogen, dopamine, and testosterone), people largely fall into one of four “temperaments”: Builder, Negotiator, Explorer, and Director. Here’s a rundown:

The Builder
Chemical in charge: Serotonin (associated with sociability and feelings of calm)
Personality: Calm, managerial, conscientious, home-oriented but social
Best match: The Explorer
Worst match: The Director

The Negotiator
Chemical in charge: Estrogen (associated with intuition and creativity)
Personality: Imaginative, sympathetic, socially skilled, idealistic
Best match: Good with all types!
Worst match: None

The Explorer
Chemical in charge: dopamine (associated with curiosity and spontaneity)
Personality: Risk-taking, spontaneous, curious, adaptable
Best match: The Builder
Worst match: The Director

The Director
Chemical in charge: testosterone (associated with independence and rational thinking)
Personality: focused, inventive, daring, logical, direct
Best match: The Negotiator
Worst match: The Builder

Putting a little science into the search for Mr. or Ms. Right- Good Morning America

While these four temperaments can be used as a guideline to find a compatible match, Fisher cautions that the mystery of romance doesn’t boil down entirely to a few neurotransmitters. “There is magic to love, no question about that,” she says. “But culture and biology play important roles. In short, when you are ready to fall in love and you meet someone who has a complementary chemical profile, you can feel attraction to him or her—which instantly or eventually can turn into deep feelings of romantic love.”

How Much Does Chemistry Count?

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The alkaline-acid diet program can be considered as a versatile diet. It is not just for people who want to lose weight but for everyone who wants to achieve and maintain good health. To know more about the acid-alkaline system, check out http://www.acidakalinediet.com The site offers a free newsletter and an Alkaline Diet Chart which presents a subscribe to their newsletter today and receive updates straight into your email.

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The green-chili cheeseburger of New Mexico is our favorite interpretation of North America’s most famous food. It’s a meat-grinder mashup of culture, creativity, and the American mantra that more is indeed more. After all, as John Eckre, owner and cook at Bobcat Bite in Santa Fe, says, “Even burgers can be continuously improved upon.”

At Eckre’s dusty road side diner (the best food in New Mexico-posole, tamales, Frito pie – comes from diners and gas stations), he adds home-grown peppers and melted Swiss to an already almost perfect burger. Result: the perfect burger.

Green-Chili Cheeseburger:

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The “Ana” Chronicles a 5 part series is ready to film. Our new project is something special, a new challenge, a new adventure, a new amazing opportunity to grow and serve. I have had the honor of traveling all over and meeting extraordinary young friends, some who were trapped in darkness, others who already achieved greatness. Through there stories, their struggles and triumphs the “Ana” Chronicles, script was written. The reason the opportunities opened up for this amazing film series is simple, the world is ready to Dream!

You will follow a beautiful young Ana, as she is trapped in a self-inflicted hell of darkness and lies, caught in the “illusion” of beauty, and image. You feel her pain, you will experience a darkness so many struggle with yet, are only seen as a statistic. However, as Ana struggles she becomes stronger, she starts to unravel the truth, and see through the “illusion”. Once a broken, and trapped girl, Ana grows strong, she chooses to become great, she frees herself and begins to dream. However, through her amazing transformation a unstoppable force breaks through, and Ana’s Journey has only begun. Because, once the “illusion” falls, once the lies bear no weight, her true adventure and journey begins, the “Journey of a Dreamer”.

During this 5 part series we will invite all of you ready to begin a new journey, ready to allow yourself to dream and back you up! We will offer free workbooks, tools, and exercises to enable you to mentally envision your new life. My new book will also, be released during the “Ana” Chronicles. Live events, like have never been seen, experienced or fealt. Taking my love of entertainment, art, music, pyro-technics, and infusing them into a demonstration of the power of dreams.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Let’s say you have found a person you would really like to go out with, and you are ready to ask that person out on a date. You will immediately have the question, “What are we going to do on our date?” This question can be particularly tough on the first date because you are trying to make a good first impression and you may or may not know what your partner likes to do. On subsequent dates things tend to get easier. But there are few things more uncomfortable than the conversation that goes like this:
•    H: “Would you like to go out this weekend?”
•    S: “I would love to!”
•    H: “What would you like to do?”
•    S: “I don’t know, what would you like to do?”
•    H: “I don’t know…”
To avoid this little scene, it is helpful to have something in mind when you call!
The activity you pick for the date plays a big part in the date itself. A great activity that feels comfortable to both people can make for a great date. The activity also determines, for example, how much talking you will have to do. If you choose a movie you won’t have to say anything once the movie starts. That can be a real relief if you find you are both tongue-tied. If you go out to dinner you will have to carry a conversation all night long. That can be tough sometimes, especially on the first date. You can also earn points for the creativity of your date – if you have a really great idea then your partner will be impressed by your ingenuity.

This page gives you a catalogue of over 50 dating ideas. Use them as a starting point – let these ideas trigger off other ideas in your own head. Focus on the ones that sound good to you and go from there.

The Big Three

Every one knows about “The Big Three”. These are the normal, safe dates that will cause no waves. They aren’t very creative, but they are universally accepted:
•    A Movie – Inviting someone to a movie is definitely safe. It is probably the #1 first date. You can go to a first-run film or a 99¢ movie. One good way to make it a little interesting is to let your date choose the film, or put a bunch of movie names in a hat and pick one at random when you get together. You might also check out the “Alternative” movie scene, especially if you live in a good-size city. Most cities have a small theater that plays foreign or limited-run films. Local museums may also have off-the-wall films. A museum in our area, for example, plays movies outside in the summer and people bring picnics and blankets to watch the films. They also have an animation festival every year that is lots of fun.
•    A nice dinner – Another classic. As mentioned above, dinner out means that you are going to have to think of something to talk about for an hour or two. Sometimes that can be hard, especially on the first date. One way to lessen that problem is to go on a double date.
•    A Dance or a game – High schools are always having dances and football games, so you can invite your date to one of these. It’s a good, safe bet.

Other Classic Dates

There are several other “classic” dates that you might consider. Most of these are more fun if you invite two or three other couples to go along with you:
•    Bowling
•    Roller skating
•    Ice skating
•    Miniature golf
•    Amusement parks
•    Water parks
•    Concerts
•    Getting ice cream together

Athletic Dates

If you and your date are athletic and/or outdoorsy, an athletic date can be a great way to spend time together. Just be sure to make it a date, not a competition:
•    Hiking and nature walks – Local city, state or national parks almost always have hiking and nature trails. Throw some drinks or a lunch in a backpack and have fun.
•    Bike riding – Find a bike path or trail in your area and go for a ride.
•    Roller blading – Go rent a pair of roller blades together and spend the day at it. If you have never roller bladed before, make sure the first date includes taking a class so you can learn how to stop!
•    Tennis
•    Horse back riding
•    Skiing
•    Water skiing
•    Billiards – It’s hard to say whether or not billiards is a sport, but they do show it on ESPN. It can be a relaxing and friendly way to spend time together.
•    Exercising regularly – If you are both trying to exercise regularly, try getting together a couple of times a week for walking, riding, jogging, etc.

Educational dates

•    Museums – Most cities and towns have museums: art museums, history museums, nature museums, etc. If you and your partner like this sort of thing, a museum can be a great place to go on a date.
•    Historical sites – Historical sites, like museums, can be interesting if you are into that sort of thing. You might be surprised by how many historical attractions there are once you start looking.
•    The Zoo – If your city has a zoo, it can be a fun place to go.
•    Factory tour – There are lots of factories that offer really interesting factory tours. For example, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream offers a great factory tour if you happen to live in Vermont. If you live near Napa Valley in California, most wineries offer really interesting tours. Look in your area and see what you can find, or check out this list of great factory tours.
•    Take a one-day class together – If you can find a one-day class at a local community center or college on something like painting, photography, sailing or dancing, this can be a great date.
•    Walking tours – Large cities usually have self-guided walking tours of the historical areas of the city. Even if you have lived in the city for 15 years, it is amazing what you will learn.
•    Public gardens – If you like flowers and trees, a botanical garden, arboretum or a community garden can be a great place to visit, especially in the spring.

Parties

One way to break the ice with a group of people is to have a small party with a theme at your house. Invite your date as one of the people at the party. As a teenager you will probably have to get your parents involved – if that is comfortable for you it can be fun for your parents too. Most of these ideas work well for parties with 6 to 10 people:
•    Pizza Party – Buy some pre-made pizza crusts, pizza or spaghetti sauce, and toppings (sausage, pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, etc.) Pair people up and let each person create half of a pizza with whatever toppings they like. Cook the pizzas and then share them among the group. You can then all go to an ice cream place for dessert.
•    Pot luck dinner – The idea behind a pot luck dinner is that everyone brings something. As the host of a small party you would want to make the “main dish” and then have people bring other things like salads, side dishes, desserts, etc. You want to be sure to tell everyone exactly what to bring. If you don’t then funny, strange things can happen.
•    Progressive dinner – If you and your friends live close together, then a progressive dinner can be lots of fun. The idea is to go from house to house for each phase of the dinner. At one house you have appetizers, at another the salad, at another the main dish, and so on. You might stop at four to six houses for the full meal. Organizing it can be half the fun.
•    Fondu party – Get a good fondu recipe and have a fondu dinner.
•    Sundae party – Buy several different flavors of ice cream, some toppings (hot fudge, sprinkles, etc.) and let people make their own sundaes. You might use this idea as the dessert for some of the other parties described here.
•    Cook out – Organize a cookout, either in your back yard or at a park. Cook hamburgers and hot dogs, serve chips and potato salad, and make ice cream for dessert if someone has a hand-cranked ice cream churn.
•    Video party – Pick up a video or two and invite some people over. Serve snacks and beverages. Or combine a pizza party or a sundae party with a video party.

Charitable dates

On a charitable date, you and your partner go volunteer to do something together. Here are some ideas:
•    Habitat for humanity – Work one day building a house with habitat for humanity.
•    Charity walks/runs/bike rides – lots of charities have charity walks or rides. You and your date can collect money together and then go on the walk together. Pick a cause you both believe in.
•    Volunteer activities – The two of you might volunteer at a fund raising event, a blood drive, etc.

Other Ideas

“Non-traditional” or “casual” dates can take some of the pressure off of going out. A casual date won’t necessarily feel like a “real date”, so it is more relaxed. When you ask someone to a movie, everyone knows it is a DATE. That can create pressure. But if you ask someone to go shopping with you it might be a lot more comfortable. If someone is unsure how they feel about you, then a casual date (especially if it occurs during the day rather than at night) is easier to accept. There will be a lot less tension.
•    Day trips – Pick a place an hour or two away and make a day of it. The place might be another city, a historic site, a mountain trail or a nice beach. Be sure you get home on time. My wife and I have made day trips to Washington DC, historic towns, beaches, etc. when we were dating. Planning the trip can be as much fun as the trip itself.
•    Shopping together – Let’s say you are looking for a gift for someone like your mother or father. Take your date along with you to the mall and look for the gift together.
•    Picnic – Plan a picnic at a local park or natural area. Invite some friends along if you want a little less intimacy.
•    Ball game – Get a group together and go to a professional baseball/football/hockey/basketball game. Eat lunch or dinner at the game. This can be a little expensive if you aren’t careful, so plan ahead. Or try going to a minor league game rather than a big league game. Not only is it cheaper, but you can get a lot closer to the players and the field.
•    Star gazing – Get a book on constellations (or invite a friend with a telescope) and watch the stars. This can be especially fun during a meteor shower.
•    Do something neither of you have done before – find an activity neither of you have tried but that you have both thought would be interesting. Figuring out the thing to do that you have in common can be as much fun as the thing itself.
•    Walk on the beach – If you live near the ocean or a large lake, taking a walk on the beach or the shoreline at sunset of in the moonlight can be very romantic. It can also be a lot more contemplative and peaceful.
•    Visit a park. You can swing together or ride down the slide. If you go in the evening it will be less crowded.
•    Cheer on a mutual friend – If the two of you have a mutual friend who is playing in a game or a concert at school, attend the performance together to cheer your friend on.
•    Go to church together – If you are both religious, take your date to your church and then go to your date’s church the next week.
•    Go to a club event – If one of you is in a club, the other can tag along to see what it is like, make new friends and participate in club activities.
•    Try something spontaneous – Pick a nearby town neither of you have been to before and go explore it to see what you find. Or put a bunch of restaurant names in a hat and pick one. Spontaneous dates are probably not good for the first date, but can be fun if you have been going out for awhile.
•    Poetry reading, book reading – lots of time local authors will have poetry or book-reading sessions at local bookstores. If you like that sort of thing find one in your area.
•    Boat ride – Lots of municipal lakes have boat rentals (canoes, paddle boats, fishing boats, sail boats). Take a picnic lunch, rent a boat and see where you end up.
•    Take photographs together – Get a couple of disposable cameras and go some place to take pictures. Then once the pictures are developed compare how different they are!
•    Look up special events in the paper – The Saturday or Sunday paper in your area will have a list of special events for the weekend. You can find some really interesting things to try that way.
•    Have a dance – Usually you think of “going to the dance” at School, but what about having your own dance? Get a group of friends together, pick the music and dance.
•    Get a guide book for your city – Go to the library or a bookstore and get a tour book for your city. You will be amazed at all the attractions that are hidden nearby. A guide book may also contain self-guided walking tours that are fun. Or get a guide book for a nearby city and make a day trip there.
•    Berry picking – In the spring or summer go strawberry/blueberry/blackberry picking if available in your area. Apple picking in the fall is another option.
•    Flea market – Go explore a local flea market one Saturday.
Have Fun!

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The secret to getting super lean – I’m talking about being RIPPED, not just “average body fat” – is all about mastering the art of “peaking.” Most people do not have a clue about what it takes to reach the type of low body fat levels that reveal ripped six-pack abs, muscle striations, vascularity and extreme muscular definition, so they go about it completely the wrong way.

The Low Body Fat Secret Of Bodybuilders And Fitness Models
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com

Here’s a case in point: One of my newsletter subscribers recently sent me this question:

Tom, on your www.burnthefat.com website, you wrote:

‘Who better to model than bodybuilders and fitness competitors? No athletes in the world get as lean as quickly as bodybuilders and fitness competitors. The transformations they undergo in 12 weeks prior to competition would boggle your mind! Only ultra-endurance athletes come close in terms of low body fat levels, but endurance athletes like triathaletes and marathoners often get lean at the expense of chewing up all their muscle. Some of them are nothing but skin and bone.’

“There seems to be a contradiction unless I’m missing something. Why do bodybuilders and fitness competitors have to go through a 12 week ‘transformation’ prior to every event instead of staying ‘lean and mean’ all the time? If they practice the secrets exposed in your book, they should be staying in shape all the time instead of having to work at losing fat prior to every competitive event, correct?”

There is a logical explanation for why bodybuilders and other physique athletes (fitness and figure competitors), don’t remain completely ripped all year round, and it’s the very reason they are able to get so ripped on the day of a contest…

You can’t hold a peak forever or it’s not a “peak”, right? What is the definition of a peak? It’s a high point surrounded by two lower points isn’t it?

Therefore, any shape you can stay in all year round is NOT your “peak” condition.

The intelligent approach to nutrition and training (which almost all bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors use), is to train and diet in a seasonal or cyclical fashion and build up to a peak, then ease off to a maintenance or growth phase.

I am NOT talking about bulking up and getting fat and out of shape every year, then dieting it all off every year. What I’m talking about is going from good shape to great (peak) shape, then easing back off to good shape…. but never getting “out of shape.” Makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

Here’s an example: I have no intentions whatsoever of walking around 365 days a year at 4% body fat like I appear in the photo on my website. Off-season, when I’m not competing, my body fat is usually between 8 – 10%. Mind you, that’s very lean and still single digit body fat.

I don’t stray too far from competition shape, but I don’t maintain contest shape all the time. It takes me 12-14 weeks or so to gradually drop from 9.5% to 3.5%-4.0% body fat to “peak” for competition with NO loss of lean body mass…using the same techniques I reveal in my e-book.

It would be almost impossible to maintain 4% body fat, and even if I could, why would I want to? For the few weeks prior to competition I’m so depleted, ripped, and even “drawn” in the face, that complete strangers walk up and offer to feed me.

Okay, so I’m just kidding about that, but let’s just say being “being ripped to shreds” isn’t a desirable condition to maintain because it takes such a monumental effort to stay there. It’s probably not even healthy to try forcing yourself to hold extreme low body fat. Unless you’re a natural “ectomorph” (skinny, fast metabolism body type), your body will fight you. Not only that, anabolic hormones may drop and sometimes your immune system is affected as well. It’s just not “normal” to walk around all the time with literally no subcutaneous body fat.

Instead of attempting to hold the peak, I cycle back into a less demanding off-season program and avoid creeping beyond 9.9% body fat. Some years I’ve stayed leaner – like 6-7%, (which takes effort), especially when I knew I would be photographed, but I don’t let my body fat go over 10%.

This practice isn’t just restricted to bodybuilders. Athletes in all sports use periodization to build themselves up to their best shape for competition. Is a pro football player in the same condition in March-April as he is in August-September? Not a chance. Many show up fat and out of shape (relatively speaking) for training camp, others just need fine tuning, but none are in peak form… that’s why they have training camp!!!

There’s another reason you wouldn’t want to maintain a “ripped to shreds” physique all year round – you’d have to be dieting (calorie restricted) all the time. And this is one of the reasons that 95% of people can’t lose weight and keep it off –they are CHRONIC dieters… always on some type of diet. Know anyone like that?

You can’t stay on restricted low calories indefinitely. Sooner or later your metabolism slows down and you plateau as your body adapts to the chronically lowered food intake. But if you diet for fat loss and push incredibly hard for 3 months, then ease off for a while and eat a little more (healthy food, not “pigging out”), your metabolic rate is re-stimulated. In a few weeks or months, you can return to another fat loss phase and reach an even lower body fat level, until you finally reach the point that’s your happy maintenance level for life – a level that is healthy and realistic – as well as visually appealing.

Bodybuilders have discovered a methodology for losing fat that’s so effective, it puts them in complete control of their body composition. They’ve mastered this area of their lives and will never have to worry about it again. If they ever “slip” and fall off the wagon like all humans do at times … no problem! They know how to get back into shape fast.

Bodybuilders have the tools and knowledge to hold a low body fat all year round (such as 9% for men, or about 15% for women), and then at a whim, to reach a temporary “peak” of extremely low body fat for the purpose of competition. Maybe most important of all, they have the power and control to slowly ease back from peak shape into maintenance, and not balloon up and yo-yo like most conventional dieters!

What if you had the power to stay lean all year round, and then get super lean when summer rolled around, or when you took your vacation to the Caribbean, or when your wedding date was coming up? Wouldn’t you like to be in control of your body like that? Isn’t that the same thing that bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors do, only on a more practical, real-world level?

So even if you have no competitive aspirations whatsoever, don’t you agree that there’s something of value everyone could learn from physique athletes? Don’t model yourself after the huge crowd of losers who gobble diet pills, buy exercise gimmicks and suffer through starvation diets like automatons, only to gain back everything they lost! Instead, learn from the leanest athletes on Earth – natural bodybuilders and fitness competitors…

These physique athletes get as ripped as they want to be, exactly when they want to, simply by manipulating their diets in a cyclical fashion between pre-contest “cutting” programs and off season “maintenance” or “muscle growth” programs. Even if you have no desire to ever compete, try this seasonal “peaking” approach yourself and you’ll see that it can work as well for you as it does for elite bodybuilders.

If you’re interested in learning even more secrets of bodybuilders and fitness models, visit the Burn The Fat website at: www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT) and a certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS). Tom is the author of the #1 best-selling e-book, “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using the secrets of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn body fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com.

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Once upon a time, in a small house far away, there lived a beautiful little girl named Adriana. Her parents had given her the name Adriana for it meant happiness in Italian, and the name suited her very well. She seemed to bring joy into every life she touched, and besides being beautiful, Adriana was a very gifted and talented little girl. She could sing, act, draw, and write, but her greatest talent was dancing. When others saw her dancing, they became mesmerized, for no one had ever seen anything so beautiful.

One day, an evil wicked old witch was walking by Adriana’s small house, and saw her dancing on the front lawn. The witch had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life, and instantly became angry and jealous that little girl could possess more beauty than the witch could ever dream of. Out of her anger and hate, the wicked witch cast the most evil and cruel of all spells upon Adriana. Before her fortieth birthday, her mind and soul would be trapped inside a body that could no longer walk, talk, and especially dance. The spell was so strong that no prince, no knight in shining armor, fairy dusty, or magic wand could ever break it.

Satisfied with herself, the witch walked away, leaving little Adriana completely oblivious to the curse that was set upon her.

As time went on, and Adriana grew from a beautiful little girl into an even prettier woman, she noticed something was amiss. Each year her balance gradually became worse, and eventually it forced her to depend on others’ help to even stand. The dancing that had once been so precious to her, was forced to come to a stop all together.

Despite her struggles, Adriana still remained a happy person. You could usually find her smiling and laughing with others, and she continued to bring joy into every persons life she knew. However, when alone, sometimes Adriana looked sad and lonely, and a tear would often run down her cheek. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was so very scared. And more then anything in the world, Adriana missed her dancing. She wished with all her heart that some way, some how, she would get better. Yet it seemed to everyone that nothing could save Adriana. No matter what she tried, or how much she wanted to get better, all that seemed to happen was that she would get worse. Nobody understood how, or why, this beautiful woman who was so wonderful in every way could deserve such a curse.

It was now a few months before Adriana’s fortieth birthday, and she was at her worse. She was now confined to a wheel chair, and her communication skills were limited. The worst fears her parents and loved ones could possibly ever imagine were being realize; there was no hope for Adriana. It was now almost for certain she would remain this was for the rest of her life. Tears slipped from her mothers eyes as she saw her daughters reflection in the mirror and she couldn’t recognize her anymore. Although Adriana remained beautiful, that was something she would never lose, she was just not the same person anymore. Every parents worst fear is that they will have to bury their children. Her mother just prayed that this fear would not come true.

That day, Adriana and her mother decided to go for a walk in the park. After they had gotten her settled into her wheelchair, her mother began to push her around the paths, pointing out the beautiful flowers, and the wonderful skies. Adriana would simply smile and nod. At the end of the path, they had noticed a women standing in front of them. She was dressed in white and blue, and in her hands were red rose petals. She came and stood in front of Adriana and her mother, smiled, and scattered the rose petals unto Adriana’s lap. The women told Adriana that she a miracle would occur, and to not be frightened by what would soon happen. She then turned around and disappeared right before there eyes.

Although the encounter was strange, something in the woman’s voice comforted Adriana’s mother and she wouldn’t let herself worry. Turning around, her mother walked back along the path, and brought Adriana home. She settled Adriana into her room for the rest of the night, turned out the light, and left.

The next morning, her father brought Adriana’s food in for her breakfast meal, and was shocked to see her sitting up in bed, smiling. After saying good morning to her father, he couldn’t believe it, and ran out of the room to tell her mother. Adriana’s mother was also surprised. She remembered the women at the park, and wondered if this was the miracle that would occur. Her mother felt that this was more then enough answer to her prayers and she was so excited that her daughter was able to communicate with them again.. However, this was not the miracle. Each day, Adriana grew stronger and stronger, until she could actually stand by herself. Her parents were so happy that they could hardly speak.

Time went on Adriana continued to grow stronger, but there were changes to her as well. Each week it seemed, Adriana’s stomach would get bigger and bigger. She ate more, slept more, and did things that Adriana’s mother did when she was pregnant with her. It didn’t take much for others to see that Adriana truly was pregnant. Everyone was happy for her, and they all knew that this baby was truly a miracle.

Nine months later, on the day before Adriana’s fortieth birthday, she gave birth to a little baby boy. When he was first born his cries had shattered the evil spell into a million little pieces, and all of the strength Adriana had lost was brought back to her. No longer would she be crippled, or trapped inside her own body. She could do all the things she used to do, and she could even dance. Adriana had never been so happy in her entire life.

While holding the baby in her arms, Adriana’s mother asked her what the baby’s name would be. Smiling with such joy and happiness, Adriana already knew… Miracle.

By: Annonymous

Author’s comments about this article:

This was a story that I wrote for my creative writing class. It was the most personal thing I have ever written because the story is about my aunt who had Multiple Sclerosis. Feel free to criticize and tell me how i can make it better. Thanks!

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Brighter than any star,
Its presence is always near,
Yet stretches far,
Warmer than a hot summer’s air,
Its heat gives warmth and shows it cares,
Tougher than a raging horse,
Its mighty strength pushes away hatred with no remorse,
Everlasting and universal,
Scattered yet united,
Untouchable yet flowing,
With wings it soars to touch our hearts,
To heal and patch up the broken parts,
Sweet and gentle like a dove,
Yes indeed it is the power of Love

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I received an email from former Elite International model, Nicole Clark the other day. She shared with me her amazing new project and documentary, “Cover Girl Culture“. I am highly recomending you take a look at Nicole’s site and view the film’s trailers. I also encourage you to take a stand and share this with others. Nicole’s work struck a chord with me, because her terminology she uses and how she views the overall picture of “body image” is so similar to my views and ideas. Im gonna keep this short, because I hope you visit her site and see for yourself. Also, share some thoughts from other friends who are backing this project. I will say, the reason the “illusion” of the perfect body, and the cause of so many eating disorders, depression, and obesity are starting to shift and be exposed is because of one reason, “The world is ready to dream again”! Let the mojo flow and the human spirit take flight to new heights!

What is the Cover Girl Culture?

Cover Girl Culture: Awakening the Media Generation is a feature length documentary. From posing in pages of magazines to exposing magazines comes documentary filmmaker Nicole Clark. A former Elite International fashion model turned champion for young girls and their self-esteem, Nicole gets in the face of the media and advertisers calling for responsible media for our youth! We must act now to save an endangered species – empowered young women and girls!

Cover Girl Culture explores how the worlds of fashion, modeling, advertising and celebrity impact our teens and young women. Who sets today’s standards for beauty and how are these standards affecting individuals and society? Who is responsible? Are there ways this can be changed? If so, who can/will change it?

Shocking interviews with fashion editors from major NY magazines. Intimate interviews with top agents, designers, models, advertisers and many more. An important issue addressed is the sexualization of young girls in the media/advertising. Most importantly it focuses on SOLUTIONS. (this film took 4 yrs to complete)

Who is Nicole Clark?

Nicole Clark is a former Elite International Model, author and film maker who has been writing and creating material to empower children and teens for several years. She is the Director of Cover Girl Culture, Cover Girl Culture: Awakening the Media Generation, a feature length documentary film that explores how the worlds of fashion, modeling, advertising and celebrity are impacting the lives and damaging the self-esteeming of teens and young women.

Nicole also is the author of two acclaimed children’s books that teach emotional intelligence “The Oceans of Emotions” and “Adventures In Dreamtime
“. (Chosen by Mental Health Resources). She is currently in production on her second documentary, “Taking ME out of Media”, which follows three average American teenage girls through self-esteem workshops and body image classes to see what it takes to help them unplug from the media bombardment (the pressure to be skinny and sexy at 12) and plug into something greater – themselves.

Advocates

Ally Sheedy

‘I met Nicole when we were both at the Women’s International Film Festival. I am thrilled with her work on this documentary and came on board as an associate producer. I am also working on her next documentary, ‘Taking Me out of Media’.

I feel CGC is a very important and educational film. I have a 14 year old daughter and am concerned about the effects of the images in the media on her developing sense of herself. Being an actress, I have been in the eye of the storm on this issue dealing with the pressures to conform to these images. I have spent a lot of my life trying to look like the impossible images put out there in order to work in Hollywood. And then in fighting against these same dictates because they are so harmful to the girls in the audiences as well as to my own sense of ethics and self-esteem.

I identify with Nicole because she has also been an “insider” in the modeling world and has also rejected furthering these images. I believe CGC can teach young women to take a more objective look at what they are being taught to think about themselves by the media and, perhaps for the first time, to question it’.

Mariel Hemingway

“Cover Girl Culture is a hugely important piece for young girls everywhere. It addresses the very core of most women’s obsession. It helps us understand why it is so imperative to guide our girls towards a healthy appreciation for the unique and beautiful aspects of themselves as individuals, not as cookie-cutter cut outs of someone they are not and never should be. Believing in yourself for a young girl has a profound impact on their future.
This documentary helps girls know they are not alone in their feelings of inadequacy based on the media’s focus and most importantly that they are beautiful because they are uniquely themselves”.

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