Wednesday, December 7, 2011

8 week cut workout.

8 week cut workout.

Laree's 8-Week
Trim Down
Drop your calories by 100-200 calories per day by cutting out *one* item of unnecessary or junk food. Then do the following, making your own necessary adjustments that will allow you to continue this routine for two full months.

Every workout:
10-minute cardio warmup
5-minute rotator cuff and knee bend warmup
Crunches 3x15 (slow and focused) supersetted with leg raises 3x15

Then superset everything else in the workout, moving as quickly as you can. By the end of the 8 weeks, this is expected to be non-stop. Grab a gulp of water between supersets and keep going.

MONDAY

Leg curls 5x12
tri-setted with
Leg extensions 5x12 and
Calf raises 5x15

Front squats 5x10, deep as you can go
supersetted with
HyperExtensions 5x15

Incline dumbbell press 4x12
supersetted with
Chins or wide-grip pulldowns 4x12

Dumbbell incline flys 4x12
supersetted with
Seated lat row 4x12

TUESDAY
Split workout am/pm or together as suits your schedule and energy

Cardio Workout
Run 1 fast mile (whatever fast means to you - could be walk/run if you haven't been running lately)

WEIGHTS:
Standing overhead push press/jerk 5x10
supersetted with
Calf raises 5x20

Barbell curls 4x12
tri-setted with
Close-grip bench press 4x12
and
Pulley pushdowns 4x12

Zottman curls 4x12
supersetted with
Dips or bench dips 4x12 or Max

Wrist curls 2x15
supersetted with
Reverse wrist curls 2x15

WEDNESDAY

Deadlifts 5x10, in single stop-reps
supersetted with
HyperExtensions 5x15

Stiff-legged deadlifts 5x15
supersetted with
Leg curls 5x12

Flat dumbbell press 4x12
supersetted with
One-arm dumbbell rows 4x10

Pullovers (DB or bar) 4x15
supersetted with
Close-grip pulldowns 4x12

THURSDAY - Split workout

Cardio Workout
Run 1 fast mile

WEIGHTS:
Repeat Tuesday's workout

FRIDAY

Repeat Monday's workout

SATURDAY

Cardio Workout
Run 1 fast mile

SUNDAY

Rest Day - Take a walk or a bike ride if you want to burn some energy outdoors

That's it. Yes, that does say legs & chest/back three times a week, so don't even write in to ask. The reps are high, the speed is fast, so the weight is light. There aren't a ton of exercises, and yes, I do plan to do this and believe that this much light leg work will trim up the entire body. Let's test it out!

12_Week_Lean_Body_Workouts_Nutrition_Program

Bodybuilding Food Preparation PART 2

Importance of nutrition in exercise, body building.

Lee Labrada Talks About Rest and Overtraining, Part 1

Lee Labrada Discloses the Secret on How to have a Great Workout!

Lee Labrada Talks About The Importance of Workout Intensity for Gaining Muscle

12 Week Lean Body Fitness Trainer Workout Plan

Lee Labrada 12 Week Lean Body Workout & Diet.

Lee Labrada's Lunch Box.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

There She Stands.

There She Stands. Dedicated to all the men and women who served our great country.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Arnold Schwarzenegger motivating interview - The Life of a BodyBuilder

Arnold Schwarzenegger motivating interview - The Life of a BodyBuilder

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Life’s 6 Rules

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Life’s 6 Rules
arnie's 6 tips to a successful life‏.

look, arnie is the best.

nobody disagrees with that.

why is he the best? because he's not
just a bodybuilder, but a massively
successful bodybuilder.




A little known fact about Arnold Schwarzenegger is that, upon arriving in the USA to compete in professional bodybuilding, he professed to coach Joe Weider that he would one day like to move from bodybuidling into acting, then property and finally politics.

While many could have forgiven Weider for not paying too much attention to those pipe dreams, Arnold then went onto accomplish every single one in the exact order he planned to.

Whether you plan to use these 6 rules in your gym training, perhaps for bodybuilding motivation, or maybe to help you focus more at work on getting that promotion you’ve always aimed for, what we would suggest is to actually begin applying them to your overall life.

The impact and sense of freedom it will have on your everyday life is incredibly positive.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Neck Exercises

Neck Exercises
By Lee Hayward

Safety First

When training the neck, it is extremely important to follow good form. Carelessness with neck exercises can be much worse than with other exercises. Use smooth controlled motion at all times, don't jerk or bounce at all.
Before you begin any resistance exercise for the neck always warm up first. Move your neck forward and backward, side to side, and turn your head from left to right. Do 20-30 reps of each movement to warm up.




Manual Resistance
Place the heel of your hand(s) on your forehead. Apply pressure with your hands, and resist with your neck. You can adjust the pressure according to your own strength. Press as hard as you can, as long as you are able to keep your neck still against the resistance.
A more advanced version of this movement is to allow your neck to successfully move back and forth against the resistance, while keeping the resistance as high as possible. You can use this method for training the front, back, and both sides of your neck.



You can also lean against a wall with your head, varying the angle to choose the correct resistance. Use a small pillow to make the exercise more comfortable.

Neck harness

This is a good basic neck exercise. The harness is best used for the
back and the front of the neck. The harness is a webbing or leather cap
that fits snugly on your head, and has a chain on each side hanging down from
the ear region. You load weight plates on the chains, and then move your head
against the resistance created. For this exercise it is a good idea to use
lighter weights and higher reps (i.e. 15+ per set).




You stand with hands on knees to work the back of the neck. Look at the floor with the
weights hanging in front of you. By flexing your neck, you raise your head to look forward,
and then slowly lower your head to complete the rep.

To work the front of the neck you can lye down on a bench with your head and neck out
over the end of the bench. Have a training partner spot you and help you get the harness
and weights in place. Flex your neck forward and try to touch your chin to your
chest and slowly lower your head to complete the rep. You can also hold a weight plate
against your forehead and perform this movement.

Shoulder Shrugs

This exercise is excellent for working the traps and the neck muscles.
It also works the forearms from gripping the weights.




Grip a barbell shoulder width apart. Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the barbell at arms length in front of you.
Keep your arms straight during the entire movement. Sag your shoulders downward as far as you can. You will feel your traps stretch,
hold this position for a second. Shrug your shoulders upward and squeeze your traps at the top. Hold this position for a second. Repeat.
For variety you can do this exercise from a low cable pulley or use a pair of dumbbells instead of a barbell.
Upright Rows
This is a good exercise for working the muscles of your shoulder girdle. Primary muscles are the traps, neck, and the deltoids.
Secondary muscles are the biceps, brachialis, and the forearms.



Grip a barbell a little narrower then shoulder width. Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the barbell
at arms length in front of you.

Keep your elbows above your hands at all times. Pull the barbell directly up from the starting position until the bar is
just below your chin. Hold this position for a second to maximize the peak contraction, then slowly lower to the starting position. Repeat.

This exercise can also be performed using a low cable pulley.

Neck bridge (wrestlers bridge)



This is a controversial exercise that is highly productive when safely performed, yet can be very dangerous if not performed correctly.
This is a very advanced exercise. You need to have very strong neck muscles just to be able to perform this movement.

This exercise should only be used by advanced athletes who need very strong neck muscles; such as boxers, wrestlers, martial artists, etc.
You should get proper instruction from a knowledgeable coach prior to trying to perform a neck bridge.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Train At A REAL GYM For Hardcore Muscle Gains!

Train At A REAL GYM For Hardcore Muscle Gains!
By leehayward On Under Beginner Training Advice, Motivation / Inner Game, Videos

Going to the gym and working out regularly is critical to building a lean muscular physique. But another very important thing to consider is the actual gym and the workout atmosphere that you train at…
Not All Gyms Are Created Equal…
Below is a pic of a good Hardcore Old School Gym. But most gyms today are not really gyms at all. They are more along the lines of “Powder Puff Fitness Centers”.




Classic Hardcore “Old School” Gym!

I can remember a while back a buddy of mine shared a story with me about one of these fancy new “gyms”. He wanted to try it out so he bought a day pass and went in for a workout. The free weight section was pretty shitty to begin with, but they did have the basics.
After a few warm up sets he reached in to his gym bag and took out his container of lifting chalk, chalked up his hands and did a set of deadlifts. As soon as he finished his set one of the employees came over and told him:
“You are not allowed to use chalk in here. If you don’t clean up your mess you’ll have to leave!”
With that my friend said:
“What kind of a gym is this? Everywhere else I train allows lifting chalk???”
The employee told him:
“We are not a ‘GYM’ we are a Fitness Center, and we don’t let people use chalk”
With that my friend packed up his things, walked out the door and never came back!
Lesson Learned…
If you are serious about building a ripped muscular physique, than you need to train in a place that will support your efforts, and not hold you back. Just watch the video presentation that I’ve put together for you below to find out if you are training in the right gym or not…

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Monday, August 29, 2011

Sandbag Training Better Than the Deadlift

Get Big Biceps Fast… Here’s How!

Having big biceps is a great way to improve your image, gain more self-confidence and draw positive attention to yourself. People with well-defined biceps turn heads everywhere they go, and they attract a lot of interest from the opposite sex. They tend to get more dates, go to more parties and feel better about themselves than people with smaller arms. To gain this coveted feature, however, you need to do a little bit of work.
START WITH AN ARM-BUILDING ROUTINE
The exercise routine is the most important part of gaining big biceps. If you want to get big biceps fast, it is essential to work those muscles. Don’t make the mistake of overtraining, however. Your biceps routine should be performed no more than twice a week, giving the muscles time to rest in between. Repeat each exercise eight to twelve times quickly, and perform three sets of each.
The following are the best exercises for building biceps:

* Standing barbell curls



This exercise is the mainstay of any biceps routine. It allows you to lift a lot of weight, and it works the biceps directly. It is the best way to activate many muscle fibers in a short amount of time. To perform the exercise, stand with your feet together and grip the barbell with your hands about shoulder-width apart. Start with your arms straight, and slowly raise the barbell towards your chest, contracting your biceps hard as you reach the top. Next, slowly lower the bar until your arms are fully extended.

• Incline dumbbell curls
This exercise is great for biceps because it allows for complete range of motion and stretches your biceps to their maximum ability. While holding a dumbbell in each hand, lie backwards at a 30 degree angle and stretch your arms down and back. Curl your arms upward, turning your hands towards your body and flexing your biceps at the end, then slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
• Single-arm preacher curl
With preacher curls, the biceps are doing all of the work. They are almost impossible to perform wrong, and doing them with one arm allows you to work your biceps separately. This exercise is carried out with a preacher bench, holding a dumbbell in one hand with an underhand grip. The execution involves extending the arm over the bench, lifting the dumbbell to the shoulder, and then lowering the weight back down.



• Hammer curls
Performing hammer curls works the muscles to the side of the biceps, giving the biceps region more overall bulk. It begins with the arms to the side and the palms toward each other. With a dumbbell in each hand, the bodybuilder slowly lifts and lowers the weights, keeping the elbows to the sides the entire time.
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DIET
Without the proper nutrition, you are going to have a hard time increasing the size of your biceps no matter how much you work out. Your muscles need fuel to grow, so you should increase your calorie intake by 700 to 1,000 calories per day. It is also important to consume one to two grams of protein for optimal muscle growth and to include complex carbohydrates so you’ll have the energy you need for your workout. In addition, make sure to eat after you work out as well as before so that your muscles can repair quickly.
TRY THESE TRICKS
When trying to build big biceps, you should do more than just lift weights. For example:
• Exercise other areas of the body, such as the back, to work biceps indirectly
• Perform heavy and fast sets to build mass quickly
• Lose body fat for more muscle definition
• Mix up your routine or use a barbell instead of dumbbells to force your muscles outside their comfort zone
• Gradually reduce your rest time between sets so your muscles will recover more rapidly





Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff Part 4.

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff Part 4.

Hi,

Here is a great way to use your Mily & Egg protein powder by Matt Marshall from

Tried and True Fitness (http://www.triedandtruefitness.com/the-get-big-drink/889/).

When it came to packing on mass and size, the old-timer lifters developed a tried and true solution.

The Get Big Drink.

In the book, The Keys To Progress, author John McCallum shares this proven fix for skinny guys who need to gain weight.



The Original Get Big Drink:


2 quarts of whole milk
2 scoops of protein powder (Milk & Egg Protein)
2 cups of skim milk powder.

Blend.

Then add:

2 eggs.
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
1/2 a brick of chocolate ice cream
1 banana
4 tablespoons of malted milk powder
6 tablespoons of corn syrup.

Mix everything together and keep it in a bowl or jug in the fridge.

Here’s the key: Drink it slowly throughout the day. This mixture contains approximately 3,000 calories and 200 grams of protein.

It makes about 10 cups. So if you drink a cup every couple hours you’ll be providing your body with a steady stream of protein and calories — perfect for gaining weight fast.

These days, we’ve got fancy new protein powders and high priced supplements. I’ve actually seen “special” protein powders selling for over $400 a jug!

But the truth is, when it comes to gaining mass fast the old time Get Big Drink will do you just as well as the new-fangled high priced stuff.

So if you need to pack on some additional mass, you might want to take a page from the old timers playbook and give this Get Big Drink a try.

Of course, you can’t just drink this concoction and sit on your butt. You’ve got to pair it with an old school Tried & True mass building plan.

Get your copy of the Tried & True Fitness Guide To Muscle & Might and discover all sorts of proven, old school training programs.


God bless you all.


Keep hanging and banging.

Leon.

www.leoncruz.com
www.earleeliedermancourse.com
www.muscle4mass.com
www.Hugechesttips.com
www.Hugebicepstips.com
www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=3
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=2
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=1
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=5
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com/
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=37
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=300
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Leon_Cruz
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=9

copyright 2011, Urban Publishing Co.LLC., Inc and

This email is protected by copyright, 2011, with Leon Cruz
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited
without the express written consent of Leon Cruz Enterprises, Inc.
and/or Urban Publishing Co. LLC.


Leon Cruz, Inc.
P.O.Box 70181
Brooklyn New York 11207-0181
1-718-346-4337

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff Part 3

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff Part 3.

Hi,

In this "Secrets to Strength and Size" series, we have discussed some very basic "old school" style of training and supplementing.

We learned that Milk & Egg protein is the food you will need to build your strength and size. You will begin to see that these secrets

aren't secrets at all but information on training that has gotten swept under the rug and forgotten.


*****************************
How did it get so complicated
*****************************

If we look back into muscle building history, you will begin to see how the information for building your body has become complicated

and completly useless. To start with we have the bodybuilding magazines.

If we go back into modern bodybuilding history, which started around the early 1940's,(note: Physical Culture goes back much further

but modern bodybuilding as we know it today started around the 1940's) you will notice that many of the superstars of that era were

all weight lifters. Keep in mind that out of weight lifting Bodybuilding and power lifting were born. If you read the book

"Muscle town USA" The Manly Culture of York Barbell, you will slowly see how many of the weight lifting stars of the 1930's

developed their bodies by traing the olympic and power lifts. Through this type of training, their bodies developed strength, size and muscle.

Many discarded their weight lifting and focused on muscle development and only used their weight lifting in their bodybuilding routines similar to

the exercises I gave you in issue one of this newsletter"The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff part 1."


***********
Supplements
***********

The history of supplements came much later, around the 1950's. It was during the 1950's when Joe Weider took bodybuilding out of the halls

of weight lifting and cultivated it to what it is today in its various degrees and levels. Many athletes knew that eating a proper

bodybuilding diet combined with good supplements would help them in reaching their goals. Milk & egg protein mixed with cream was a

standard staple in many mass building diets along with multi vitamin-mineral tablets and liver tablets.


********
Steroids
********

Steroids made their way and became widly used by american bodybuilders and strength athletes in the era of the 1960's with dianabol being

the one that started it all.

But if we look back, we can see that building a good body without the use of ergogenic aids of any kind is attainable. Just look at

John Grimek during his hay day. The only things available at that time were your basic supplements mentioned above coupled with ahrd old school style training.


I will have more great information for you that you can begin using in future issues of this e-newsletter.


I developed a newsletter that specializes in real world of muscle and strength training. This is information you will not get in any of those glitsy

newsstand muscle magazines. My goal with my newsletter is to bring you back to the real world and tell you what you need to know

and not what you want to hear about building your body. I also take you by the hand by showing you through DVD instruction on

how its done. You will get a quarterly subscription to "barbells-Dumbbells-Bodyweight" along with a DVD of training instruction.

Go to: www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com. This is a physical newsletter. Nothing to download. You will not be disapointed.


God bless you all.


Keep hanging and banging.

Leon.

www.leoncruz.com
www.earleeliedermancourse.com
www.muscle4mass.com
www.Hugechesttips.com
www.Hugebicepstips.com
www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=3
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=2
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=1
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=5
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com/
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=37
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=300
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Leon_Cruz
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=9

copyright 2011, Urban Publishing Co.LLC., Inc and

This email is protected by copyright, 2011, with Leon Cruz
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited
without the express written consent of Leon Cruz Enterprises, Inc.
and/or Urban Publishing Co. LLC.


Leon Cruz, Inc.
P.O.Box 70181
Brooklyn New York 11207-0181
1-718-346-4337

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff Part 2

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff Part 2

Hi,

In the previous email I sent out I gave you a simple and yet

powerful training program to use for building loads of strength.

Loads of strength equals mucho size (lots of size). Now the

next tip I want to share with you is what kind of protein drink

to make to help you pack on size and strength. I have been

reading and studying how the old school bodybuilders ate and

trained. With all of the great protein powders out there the

one that sticks out as "the one that works" is the classic

Milk & Egg protein powder. This is the protein many of the

great champions drank for power and mass. The best place

to get your Milk & Egg protein powder is at ironmind.com.

They are the ones who sell the best one and its the one

I use. All of their products is top quality. You can trust

them and know that you are getting a great product.

Stay tuned for my next tip on how to use your milk & egg

protein powder along with eating nutrition tips.

God Bless you all.

Keep hanging and banging.

Leon.

www.leoncruz.com
www.earleeliedermancourse.com
www.muscle4mass.com
www.Hugechesttips.com
www.Hugebicepstips.com
www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=3
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=2
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=1
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=5
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com/
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=37
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=300
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Leon_Cruz
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=9

copyright 2011, Urban Publishing Co.LLC., Inc and

This email is protected by copyright, 2011, with Leon Cruz
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited
without the express written consent of Leon Cruz Enterprises, Inc.
and/or Urban Publishing Co. LLC.


Leon Cruz, Inc.
P.O.Box 70181
Brooklyn New York 11207-0181
1-718-346-4337

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff.

The Secret to Strength and Size and other great stuff.

Hi,

I know I haven't emailed you guys in a while. But, I have been
working on some really exciting stuff for all of you on

my mailing list. First off, My physical newsletter will be going
out later this month. For those of you who subscribed

to Barbells-Dumbbells-Bodyweight. You will be getting your issue
with your training video very soon. I love producing

these videos that accompany my newsletter because it is a way to
help all of those who need to see how to use proper

technique when training. Its sort of like having a personal trainer
at hand. The videos also act as a motivator. You can

watch and follow the video as you do your workout. This month will
be shoulder training part two.

If you haven't done so yet, you can subscribe to receive your
newsletter at www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com.

You will not be disappointed. I over deliver and if you are not
happy with your subscription, you have a 90 day money back

gaurentee. If you are not happy I will refund your money back and
you can keep the issues and videos that your have.

Go to www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
THE SECRET TO STRENGTH AND SIZE.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I receive e-mails asking me on the magic exercises that will help
in packing on size.

Well, there are no magic bullets on which exercises produce
strength and size. The exercises that exist are the ones

many great strength and muscle building champions have used for
decades. You may know them.

They are:

1) The Squat

2) The Bench Press

3) The Dead lift

4) The shoulder Press

and you can also toss in the Body weight chin up-Pull up and the
floor push-ups.

There you have it. Work these exercises like Brooks Cubic instructs
in his Dinosaur Training Book;

use the 5 sets of 5 reps for each exercise. Not only will these
movements help you in developing great strength

but also power and muscle size. Later on you can add some bicep
curls and triceps presses to the equation.

But for now those exercises I pointed out are enough to not only
help you build strength and size but also

build big strong arms as well. Give this program A try. Perform
these movements three times a week for six weeks

Then e-mail me back and tell me about your progress. And remember
that If you would like a more detailed out line

or personal help, then go to www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com
and purchase your subscription to our quarterly

newsletter. God bless you all.


Keep hanging and banging.

Leon.

www.leoncruz.com
www.earleeliedermancourse.com
www.muscle4mass.com
www.Hugechesttips.com
www.Hugebicepstips.com
www.barbellsdumbbellsbodyweight.com
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=3
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=2
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=1
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=5
http://leon-cruzmuscleblog.blogspot.com/
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=37
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/?w=300
http://4mass.nononsense.hop.clickbank.net/
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Leon_Cruz
http://www.musclenerdfitness.com/go.php?offer=4mass&pid=9

copyright 2011, Urban Publishing Co.LLC., Inc and

This Blog is protected by copyright, 2011, with Leon Cruz
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited
without the express written consent of Leon Cruz Enterprises, Inc.
and/or Urban Publishing Co. LLC.


Leon Cruz, Inc.
P.O.Box 70181
Brooklyn New York 11207-0181
1-718-346-4337

Friday, May 6, 2011

WHATS THE BEST DIET PLAN: LOW FAT or LOW CARB?

WHATS THE BEST DIET PLAN: LOW FAT or LOW CARB?
By Jeff Anderson


There’s been a lot of debate over the past several years about what works best at burning fat – “low fat” diets or “low carb”.

Well, when you look at how your body developed over thousands of years, we didn’t eat a “grain-based” diet.

We lived on plants, unlucky animals, and nuts.

In other words, proportionately, fats were higher on our intake list than grains were.

In fact, research has shown that reducing the amount of “dry carbs” you consume can have amazing results in returning your figure to its original cave-dwelling splendor.

One earlier study that had subjects follow a low carb or a low fat diet found that the low-fat group lost an average of 14 lbs…

…while the “low carb” group lost an average of 26 lbs!

One reason for this difference and great results is in how you stimulate a specific protein located in your cells’ mitochondria called UCP (or uncoupling protein)

This protein diverts “free energy” to be burned up as fuel rather than be stored away as body fat.

When UCP’s are turned on, there’s an increase in heat production and resting metabolism.

Yes, that means that you can burn fat WHILE YOU’RE DOING NOTHING!

But there are some key factors that go into triggering your body’s UCP for an all day fat burn.

Here are some easy-to-follow tips that will ramp up fat burning fast:
Fats That Trigger Fat Burning
In order for UCP’s to be stimulated, it’s extremely helpful to have availability of fatty acids within your diet.

Research has shown that adding the following fats to your diet, stimulate UCP’s to ramp up their fat burning efforts.

In order of effectiveness are:

1.Palm Oil
2.Olive Oil
3.Omega 3′s
4.Safflower and Sunflower Oils
5.Meat, eggs, and dairy
As you can see, you don’t necessarily need to increase your meat consumption.

I always prescribe 4 “servings” of fats each day to keep UCP levels stimulated.

Caffeine Increases UCP Activity
Your resting metabolic rate can be increased as much as 30% by increasing your body’s levels of norepinephrine.

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant of norepinephrine and can increase fat mobilization and the UCP burning process.

And here’s a bonus…

A cup of coffee is actually LOADED with more antioxidants than blueberries!

Muscle + Brown Fat Tissue = Fat Burning
The type of UCP that’s most useful for fat burning is primarily located in your muscle tissue and to a slightly lesser degree, in your body’s “brown fat tissue”.

This means that by stimulating your muscle tissue through exercise, you also stimulate a metabolic turbo boost through your UCP activity.

If you don’t include some sort of resistance training in your exercise program, think again.

I like bodyweight exercises best for this purpose.

Also, I have a 27-second “weight loss trick” that stimulates UCP activity in brown fat tissue.

Yep…all it takes is 27 seconds!

You can see exactly how to do it when you watch this short video @ http://secretweightlosstrick.com/weightlosstrick.html

Put these scientific strategies to work for you and watch the pounds practically melt off of you!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Principle #1: Make Tiny Jumps For Big Gains

Principle #1: Make Tiny Jumps For Big Gains
by Matt Marshall on March 21, 2011



Milo and the Bull.
The first principle of Tried & True Fitness is old.
In fact, this principle was developed over 3,000 years ago!
Have you heard the legend of Milo?
As the story goes, Milo of Croton was a six-time Olympic wresting champion way back in ancient Greece.
The legend of Milo and his bull is perhaps one of the most famous weight-training stories of all time.
As legend has it young Milo began training by picking up a newborn calf, placing it on his shoulders and carrying it for one mile. Milo would do this every day. And as the newborn calf gained weight and grew larger, Milo grew bigger and stronger.
Eventually, Milo was carrying a full grown bull on his shoulders for a full mile.
And as a result, Milo had developed incredible strength and power.
This story demonstrates one of the guiding principles of training: The principle of progressive resistance. Adhere to this principle and you can build super-human strength. Add just two pounds to the bar every week and after 12 months you’ll have added 104 pounds to your bench press.
But if you get greedy and try to add 25lbs to your bench press in one jump and your progress will sputter and stall.
The solution: Make tiny jumps. Your body can only build strength and muscle at a certain rate. And if you try to build muscle and strength faster than your body can adapt, you’ll hit the wall.
Milo instinctively knew this.
He didn’t try to carry the newborn calf for one mile on the first day and then immediately jumped to two miles the next day. Nor did he try to carry a newborn calf on the first day and jump to a full-grown cow the next day.
He stuck with the same baby calf, and that baby calf only gained a small amount of weight each day.
Obviously, we don’t lift cows anymore.
We lift barbells, dumbbells and other modern instruments of resistance training. But the same principles still apply.
Milo knew he couldn’t make the jump from baby calf to full-grown cow in a single day, week or even in a month. So why do so many guys think they can make the jump from 185lbs in the bench press to 225lbs in the bench press in a single week?
Let me give you an example:
Say that you are able to bench press 245lbs for five reps. Naturally, because you were able to accomplish all your reps with that weight you would attempt to increase the weight for your next workout.
And here’s where most guys get it wrong: Most guys will slap a pair of 2 ½ pounders on each side of the bar (because that’s the smallest plate their gym has) and try to make a go at it with 250lbs on the bar.
Or, if their gym’s smallest plates are 5 pound plates, they’ll use those and try to make the lift with 255lbs.
Of course, here’s what happens:
A five or 10 pound increase feels noticeably heavier. As soon as you get the bar out of the uprights, you’ll feel the difference.
Your confidence will start to waiver and you might unconsciously make some adjustments (like lowering the bar faster than you usually would, or rebounding the bar harder off your chest than usual) that change the exercise and could ultimately lead to injury.
Because of the jump in weight, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to accomplish all the reps. So while you five reps with 245 pounds, you may only get four reps with 250lbs.
Make the jump to 255lbs and it’s unlikely you’ll even get 4 reps.
You can try week after week but it’s incredibly difficult to make the jump from 4 reps to 5 reps with a heavy weight. (Remember, that’s a 20% increase in production.)
Eventually, staleness will set in, progression will grind to a halt and boredom will set in. This is where most trainers throw in the towel and either switch programs or quit their attempts at getting bigger and stronger all together.
But Milo, and many of the old-time trainers knew better. They took the smallest jumps possible in order to stave off sticking points and make continued progress.
You see, the old-timers would devise ingenious ways to add tiny amounts of weight to the bar.



Over a hundred years ago, when trainers used the old-style globe barbells, they could increase the weight of the barbell by adding more sand to the globes on the end of the barbell.
Which means they could increase the weight on the barbell in very small increments.
Years later, when the modern barbell and weight plate system became popular, the old-timers would manufacture “mini-plates” in small increments to allow them to make smaller jumps.
For example, an old-timer trainer who understood the principle of micro-loading and could bench 245lbs for five reps would progress in the following manner.
Instead of adding 5 or 10 lbs to the bar he would add just 1-2lbs to the bar for his next session. 246 lbs feels exactly the same as 245lbs, so his confidence is high and he’s once again able to complete all the required reps.
So once again he adds a pound to the bar for the next session, and once again he’s able to complete all his reps.
He continues in this method, slowly and methodically, week after week and before you know it he’s added 50lbs to his bench press. 50Lbs added to your bench press will result in bigger and more muscular arms, shoulders and chest muscles. It’s safe to say that most modern day gym goers will NEVER add 50lbs to their bench press over the entire course of their training careers.
Because they’re looking for quick gains. Big jumps. It’s greed, plain and simple.
And the old-timers applied the same principle in the weight room. Nobody gets big and strong overnight. 99.9% of natural, drug-free, non-gifted trainers get strong by making slow and steady gains, week after week, month after month, year after year.
It isn’t sexy and it sure as heck doesn’t sell magazines, but it works.
Micro-Loading Made Easy
I think one of the main reasons most guys don’t know about micro-loading or don’t use this strategy is because most gyms don’t provide micro-plates. So you’ve got to bring your own to the gym with you.
But where to buy micro-plates?
You’ve got a few options:
First, you can buy them online. Here are a couple of websites that sell custom made fractional plates (ie: micro plates).
www.ironwoodyfitness.com
www.fractionalplates.com
Expect to spend well over $50 to get a set of micro-plates from these online retailers.
Or, here’s a tip that will save you a few bucks.
Go to any plumbing supply store or a hardware store and get some large washers.

A washer with a 2-inch whole fits on a regular barbell.
You want to find the washers with a hole that’s 2 inches in diameter as these will fit nicely on any normal Olympic barbell.
You should be able to get six of these washers for around $15 bucks or less. Each washer weighs about 0.6 pounds. So two washers (one of each side of the bar) is 1.2 pounds, four washers is 2.4 pounds and six washers is 3.6 pounds.
Which means you could go from 225lbs to 230lbs on the bench press in the following increments:
Session #1: 225 pounds (Two 45-pounds plates on each side, no washers).
Session #2: 226.2 pounds. (Two 45 pound plates on each side, plus one washer per side).
Session #3: 227.4 pounds (Two 45-pound plates on each side, plus two washers per side.)
Session #4: 228.6 pounds (Two 45-pound plates on each side, plus three washers per side.)
Session #5: 230 pounds (Two 45-pound plates on each side, plus 2.5 weight plate per side.)
If you’re having trouble locating these types of washers at the hardware store, or if you just prefer to order online and have it shipped right to your door, here’s a plumbing supply website and the exact part you’ll need to order:
www.mcmaster.com
Part #: 90108A046
NOTE: Mcmaster.com ships these washers in packs of 5, so you’ll have to order two
packs to get six washers and you’ll end up with 4 left over. Ideally, you could split the
cost with a friend, get three packs and you’d only have 3 left over.
You can always give the leftovers away to guys at the gym who ask you why the heck you’re putting those “funny little plates” on the bar and then can’t figure out why their bench presses haven’t increased in months.
To see exactly how fast you can expect to make progress on common exercises, check out chapter 16 of the Tried & True Fitness Guide To Muscle & Might.

www.triedandtruefitness.com

Fat Burning Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Fat Burning
Crispy Chicken Nuggets



This is a very simple recipe that will make any fat loss
meal plan a lot easier to follow!
It’s super easy to prepare. It will take you about 2-3 minutes to prepare and only requires 15 minutes of baking time.
But be careful, just like some of my other recipes, these nuggets are highly addictive, and their flavor will put to shame these greasy disgusting McDonald’s ultra fat nugget!
Here’s the recipe!
Makes 6 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 x 6oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 1/4 cup of wheat germ
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1/4 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- Garlic powder (pinch)
- 1/2 cup water or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large egg white
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or coating lightly with best-quality olive oil.
2. Cut chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, about 1.5 inches square. Set aside.
3. Next, combine all dry ingredients in a large container with a tightly fitting lid. Shake well. This is your coating mixture.
4. Combine water and egg in a medium bowl. Dip each piece in the water/egg-white mixture. Then dip each piece in the coating mixture. Make sure each piece is well coated.
5. Place on the baking sheet. When all of your chicken has been coated and your baking sheet is full, place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden.
Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving – 4 Nuggets)
Calories: 100
Protein: 12g
Carbohydrates: 7g
Fat: 3.5g

Monday, January 24, 2011

Jack LaLanne: A Fitting End At 96

Jack LaLanne: A Fitting End At 96

He Took Exercise Out of Gyms and Into Living Rooms‏

He Took Exercise Out of Gyms and Into Living Rooms‏
By Bill Hinburn
www.superstrengthbooks.com

Fitness guru, Jack LaLanne died yesterday of pneumonia.
He was 96. A self proclaimed sugar addict as a kid, a by chance meeting with legendary health advocate, Paul Bragg, changed his life. Bragg told him, quite bluntly, “You’re a walking garbage can.” This statement evidently struck a nerve in young Jack.

He immediately went home and built a gym in his backyard where he began spending two hours everyday lifting weights and one hour swimming in a pool. Soon, he had neighborhood kids and even local police and firemen, join in with him. In 1936 he opened his first health studio that somewhat revolutionized the gym industry. He insisted on including athletes and women. Back then, coaches frowned on weightlifting.

And women, well, women just didn’t exercise, it wasn’t lady like. My how things have changed, and you can thank Jack for that! And, as one would guess, his studio thrived, so much so, that it grew into a chain across the country. I recall his physique on several magazines and articles relating his feats of strength endurance.

There are Pictures showing him hand-balancing with Les and Pudgy Stockton, Bert Goodrich, Vic Tanny, etc., were common in those days. In addition, he was oft times referred to as the “Endurance King”. I remember a story of how he cranked out over 1,000 dips! In 1957, on the “You Asked For It” television show, at the age of 43, he performed over 1,000 pushups in 23 minutes! At 60 years of age, while handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco! However, my best recollection of him, as a young kid in the 50’s, was his television show. From the 1950’s to the 70’s, I remember the beginning of his show...

You would see his familiar silhouette, in the background, dressed in a dark jump suit, doing, what else, “Jumping Jacks”! With nothing more than a chair and a towel, he would instruct his audience on how to do simple exercises to the rhythm of organ music. Sometimes his wife Elaine and Happy, his ever present K-9 companion, would join in. “Breath in, now breath out”, he would say. Between exercises, he would give advice on what that particular exercise would achieve, diet, tips, etc. He stressed the importance of raw fruits and vegetables while suggesting the use of his “Jack LaLanne Power Juicer”. He would end his show with a song and back to the Jumping Jacks.

To this day, every time I see or do a jumping jack I think of Jack LaLanne, “The Endurance King”, and his TV show. Until the next time, Yours for greater strength, Bill Hinbern P.S. “Inactivity is the killer, and, remember, it’s never too late.” - Jack LaLanne (1914 - 2011)

Super Strength TrainingWebsite: http://www.superstrengthtraining.com

E-mail: info@superstrengthtraining.com Mailing address:Bill HinbernSuper Strength Training32430 Cloverdale St.Farmington, Michigan48336-4008

Jack LaLanne, 96, dies

Jack LaLanne, 96, dies.



LOS ANGELES — Jack LaLanne, the fitness guru who inspired television viewers to trim down, eat well and pump iron for decades before diet and exercise became a national obsession, died Sunday 1-23-2011. He was 96.

LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California's central coast, his longtime agent Rick Hersh said.

LaLanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end, Hersh said.

"I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for," Elaine LaLanne, LaLanne's wife of 51 years and a frequent partner in his television appearances, said in a written statement.

He maintained a youthful physique and joked in 2006 that "I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image."

Former "Price is Right" host Bob Barker credited LaLanne's encouragement with helping him to start exercising often.

"He never lost enthusiasm for life and physical fitness," the 87-year-old Barker told The Associated Press on Sunday. "I saw him in about 2007 and he still looked remarkably good. He still looked like the same enthusiastic guy that he always was."

Television staple
LaLanne (pronounced lah-LAYN') credited a sudden interest in fitness with transforming his life as a teen, and he worked tirelessly over the next eight decades to transform others' lives, too.

"The only way you can hurt the body is not use it," LaLanne said. "Inactivity is the killer and, remember, it's never too late."

His workout show was a television staple from the 1950s to the '70s. LaLanne and his dog Happy encouraged kids to wake their mothers and drag them in front of the television set. He developed exercises that used no special equipment, just a chair and a towel.

He also founded a chain of fitness studios that bore his name and in recent years touted the value of raw fruit and vegetables as he helped market a machine called Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer.

When he turned 43 in 1957, he performed more than 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes on the "You Asked For It" television show. At 60, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco — handcuffed, shackled and towing a boat. Ten years later, he performed a similar feat in Long Beach harbor.

"I never think of my age, never," LaLanne said in 1990. "I could be 20 or 100. I never think about it, I'm just me. Look at Bob Hope, George Burns. They're more productive than they've ever been in their whole lives right now."

Praised by Schwarzenegger
Fellow bodybuilder and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger credited LaLanne with taking exercise out of the gymnasium and into living rooms.

"He laid the groundwork for others to have exercise programs, and now it has bloomed from that black and white program into a very colorful enterprise," Schwarzenegger said in 1990.

In 1936 in his native Oakland, LaLanne opened a health studio that included weight-training for women and athletes. Those were revolutionary notions at the time, because of the theory that weight training made an athlete slow and "muscle bound" and made a woman look masculine.

"You have to understand that it was absolutely forbidden in those days for athletes to use weights," he once said. "It just wasn't done. We had athletes who used to sneak into the studio to work out.

"It was the same with women. Back then, women weren't supposed to use weights. I guess I was a pioneer," LaLanne said.

The son of poor French immigrants, he was born in 1914 and grew up to become a sugar addict, he said.

The turning point occurred one night when he heard a lecture by pioneering nutritionist Paul Bragg, who advocated the benefits of brown rice, whole wheat and a vegetarian diet.

"He got me so enthused," LaLanne said. "After the lecture I went to his dressing room and spent an hour and a half with him. He said, 'Jack, you're a walking garbage can.'"

Soon after, LaLanne constructed a makeshift gym in his back yard. "I had all these firemen and police working out there and I kind of used them as guinea pigs," he said.

He said his own daily routine usually consisted of two hours of weightlifting and an hour in the swimming pool.

"It's a lifestyle, it's something you do the rest of your life," LaLanne said. "How long are you going to keep breathing? How long do you keep eating? You just do it."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Dan and Jon, and a daughter, Yvonne.