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Bodybuilding Revealed By Will Brink If you don't already have this book, now's a great time to grab it! Here's what it' all about: Everything you could need to know about diet, training and motivation, not to mention over 50 independent fully researched bodybuilding supplement reviews. Access to Will's Private Members Forum with over 300 brand name supplements, in-depth responses to your questions on everything to do with Bodybuilding from me and my paid trained advisors. The Online Diet Planner. Far better than the ones you see for $9.99 a month, it allows you to even plot your lean body mass and fat loss with graphs, create meals and recipes, monitor all your food, it's the ultimate tool for keeping your diet on track and keeping full records of everything your eating. Pre-Made Diets - Just download any of our dozens of pre-made diets, all include pre and post workout nutrition Online exercise database, nutrition database, online video database, extensive guru articles section, online supplement resellers ratings, and much more. For the sheer volume of bodybuilding information you get with this package, it's a steal and well worth every penny. Check it out now! http://www.fitstep.com/goto/muscle-building-nutrition.htm

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Protein Part 1: I Didn't Realize How Important Protein Was For Fat Loss Until I Discovered Something That Blew My Mind... Protein Part 2: How to Maximize The Results You Get From Your Protein Powder. Timing Is Everything! Protein Part 3: The Best Protein Powder and How To Get It Dirt Cheap!

Protein Part 1

I Didn't Realize How Important Protein Was For Fat Loss Until I Discovered Something That Blew My Mind...

The year was 1992. I had just finished a long cycle of weight gain whereupon I had moved my bodyweight up from about 150 pounds to about 215 pounds. And let me just tell you, it wasn't all muscle!

I hadn't been all that careful about my diet previously but I thought I knew pretty well what I was doing. It was time to lose some of that fat.

The first thing I did was make the biggest mistake a dieter can make: in my focus of trying to eat only low fat foods, I unwittingly and drastically reduced the amount of protein that I was eating.

The result? I lost weight and plenty of it. The problem was, I lost mostly muscle! I was smaller, weaker, lighter and nearly as fat as I was before. Not quite the results I was looking for.

In retrospect, I know exactly what I did wrong and it's something I'll never do again.

I FORGOT ABOUT PROTEIN!

Protein is an extremely important nutrient whether your goal is to lose fat, gain muscle or just tone yourself up. It is the main structural nutrient in your body, making up the bulk of your muscles and organs. Protein is essential for proper hormone function and immune system health. Most importantly, for our purposes, protein is used for building and repairing muscle tissue.

When you are trying to lose fat, you reduce your calories. Unfortunately, your body views fat stores as more precious than your muscle tissue and will tend to eat up muscle tissue before it goes to fat for energy. This physiological adaptation used to protect our ancestors from famine but works against us now.

This is very unfortunate because muscle tissue is a great calorie-burner. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even when you're doing absolutely nothing! Protecting your muscle tissue makes fat loss so much easier, it will amaze you. Not only that, it will help you keep that fat off permanently!

What can you do to protect your muscle tissue?

The first thing you can do is exercise. Exercise, especially resistance training, provides a stimulus for your body that sends it a signal saying "keep this muscle, you're going to need it."

The second thing you can do is provide your body with enough protein. This can be in the form of food or supplements.

Good food sources of protein include chicken, fish, eggs, lean meats, legumes (beans), soy, and dairy products. Protein supplements are derived from food sources but are concentrated for convenience and effectiveness.

How much protein do you need?

The standard recommendation for athletes is between 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (or 0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound of bodyweight per day), though some research indicates a ratio as high as 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.9 grams per pound) is beneficial. This means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should try to eat between 75 and 105 grams and up to around 135 grams of protein per day.

Essentially, you should experiment with your protein intake to find out what works best for you. As far as importance in your supplement program goes, I would rank protein as next in importance to a good multi-vitamin.

When I made my first grand attempt at fat loss, I made the mistake of neglecting protein and it cost me. Don't make the same mistake I did!

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Protein Part 2

How to Maximize The Results You Get From Your Protein Powder. Timing Is Everything!

Whether it be for fat loss or muscle gain, I always recommend taking a good protein supplement. The reason for this is simple: it is a convenient way to get high-quality protein without excess calories.

Be aware, however, that in no way am I advocating that you live on protein powder (like the dangerous Liquid Protein diets that used to be popular) alone. The key point to understand here is that a protein supplement is exactly what the name suggests: a supplement. It should be taken in addition to a nutritious diet in order to achieve a certain purpose, in this case increased protein intake.

Protein powders and protein bars can also be used as meal replacements on occasion, especially when you are on the go. They are far more nutritious than a fast food meal and more convenient.

The most popular and highest quality protein powder is whey protein. Whey is very digestable and is used efficiently in the body.

You can maximize the effects you get from your protein supplement simply by knowing exactly when to take it. Here is a list of the when, why and how of effective protein supplementation, ranked in order of importance.

1. Immediately After A Workout

If you only take protein once per day, this is the absolute best time to take it. Immediately after you finish your workout, your body needs raw materials to rebuild and recover with. If you don't supply the raw materials through eating, your body will break down muscle from elsewhere in your body in order to rebuild the damaged areas. This is very counterproductive as you can well imagine.

By taking in some protein (20 to 30 grams or so) within minutes after exercise, you provide your body with the raw materials it needs to recover without breaking down it's own muscle tissue.

2. An Hour After A Workout

About an hour following a workout, your body has settled down from the excitement and is ready to really start rebuilding. The protein that you took in immediately following the workout has been metabolized and your body is looking for more. Another protein shake at this time is a good way to help speed recovery. Try to take in another 20 to 30 grams about an hour after working out.

3. First Thing In The Morning

Immediately upon waking, or as soon after that as you can manage, take a scoop of protein powder. Your body has just been through an (approximately) 8 hour fast and is hungry for nutrients. Feed your body!

Protein powder is more quickly assimilated than solid food and gets into your muscles faster. This protein shot gives your metabolism a boost, which can help with fat loss. Be sure to follow it with a good breakfast, of course.

4. Last Thing At Night

Prepare your body for the long overnight fast by giving it a little something to work with. A good combination for this purpose is to mix a scoop of whey protein in with a small glass of milk.

Whey is what's known as a "fast" protein, meaning that it's digested quickly, while milk protein (casein) is what's known as a "slow" protein, meaning it's digested relatively slowly. At night, you want your protein to be metabolized slowly so that your body gets a more even supply over the course of the night. By mixing "fast" and "slow" proteins, you get the benefits of the higher-quality whey with the slower digestion time of the milk.

5. In-between Meals

A quick protein shake can be a great snack in between meals. It helps keep your body supplied with protein all day long. This is especially useful if you tend to have long periods of time in-between meals. It could mean the difference between losing muscle and building or keeping muscle!

6. With Meals

Taking a protein supplement with meals is a handy way to increase the protein content of a meal. This is perfect for when you ake
a meal that is somewhat low in protein.

7. In The Middle Of The Night

This is a trick that bodybuilders sometimes use in order to keep their muscles supplied with protein throughout the night. Keep a pre-mixed protein shake right beside your bed. Although some trainers have been known to set alarms to wake up to drink it, I prefer to have it there waiting just in case I wake up, but I don't try to wake up on purpose. If I don't wake up, it's right there ready for me to drink first thing in the morning! This strategy is more targeted for muscle growth rather than fat loss.

WARNING!

Never drink a protein supplement immediately before working out!

Some people do this thinking that it will give them an energy boost or give them a head-start for post-workout recovery. Basically, all it does is sit in their stomach and bloat them up. Valuable blood that should be going to working muscles gets sent to the digestive system to try and digest it. The same warning goes for taking protein during a workout. Don't do it!

By following these protein-intake recommendations, you will increase the effectiveness of your supplementation. Even if you choose to take advantage of only one or two of these timing techniques, you will certainly see an improvement in your recovery ability.

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Protein Part 3:

The Best Protein Powder and How To Get It Dirt Cheap!

Without a doubt, whey protein is king when it comes to protein quality and digestability. Ironically, whey used to be considered a useless by-product of cheesemaking and was just dumped into ponds as waste!

There are two main classifications of whey protein, which are essentially based on how processed the whey is. The two forms are whey isolate and concentrate. The major difference between the two is that whey isolate is more processed and is thus a purer source of whey. Whey concentrate is still a very high quality protein however.

If you have the money to spend, whey isolate is the higher quality protein. If you're looking to get the most protein bang for your buck, I'm going to let you in on a little secret:

Whey concentrate is very nearly as good as isolate and is a whole lot cheaper!

I would compare it to driving a sports car. Imagine whey protein as the Ferrari of protein. It is a top-quality protein and a top-quality car. If you put a manual transmission into that Ferrari, you are going to get more performance out of it. This is what happens with whey isolate as compared to whey concentrate. Whey concentrate is your basic Ferrari, while whey isolate is your souped-up Ferrari.

My favorite protein supplement, which I always recommend to clients and friends, is the EAS brand whey concentrate protein powder called "Simply Protein."

EAS is a very high-quality, well-known brand name and is a pioneer in scientific supplement development. They know their stuff!

But here's the best part...

I know an online store where you can get this protein powder at a fraction of the price you would pay at a regular retail store. Let me throw some numbers at you.

For 2 pounds of whey isolate you will generally pay anywhere between $29.95 and $39.95.

For 10 pounds of EAS whey concentrate at the online store I will tell you about, you will pay only $49.95 (as of June 13, 2007). For this exact same brand at a retail supplement store, you will most likely pay around 35 to 40 dollars for only a 5 pound tub of it.

When you break down the numbers, it looks something like this:

Whey Isolate: $15 to $20 per pound
EAS Whey Concentrate Retail: $7 to $8 per pound
EAS Whey Concentrate Online Store: $5 per pound

I've been using and researching protein supplements for the past 12 years and I have yet to find a better deal on this high a quality of protein.

Use this link and go get some today!

Click here

p.s. the best part is they only charge a flat rate of $5.95 for shipping regardless of the size of your order. You could order 40 pounds of protein and still only pay $5.95 for shipping! (Actually, if you ordered over $200.00 worth, your shipping would be free!)

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Secret Training Tip #240 - Waist Your Breath - Breathing For A Thinner Waist This is a great technique for tightening up the waist by teaching your abdominal muscles how to truly stay tight! All you need is the floor and the ability to do a basic crunch.

The crunch exercise is the backbone of abdominal training. It develops the muscles of the abs to help you build that much-desired six-pack. But did you know that there is a way to do crunches that can actually decrease the size of your waist?

The key to this technique is the top position of the crunch where your abdominals are contracted as hard as they are able to.

When you're in this top position, I want you to breathe in and out slowly a few times. Try to relax every other muscle except the abs. This breathing in and out will intensify the contraction (as you will find out very rapidly).

Here's how it works:

The muscles of the abdomen are arranged in layers around your midsection, similar in concept to the rings in a tree. While you are contracting the rectus abdominus (the top-most front layer of your abs, also known as your six-pack) continuously, the deeper abdominal muscle fibers are relaxing and contracting each time you breathe.

Each time the deep fibers relax, your rectus abdominus (because it is contracting so hard) will squeeze them in a little more, making your waist-area a little smaller and tighter.

The reason this works to decrease the size of your waist is simple. Usually, most people's abdominal muscles just kind of sit there. They don't stay tight, therefore your midsection tends to slouch forward and outward.

This technique teaches your abdominals to maintain a degree of tightness and tone in them even when you are relaxed. This keeps your abs in, leading to a visually smaller waist.

For more information on how to properly execute the Abdominal Crunch, go to

http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Crunches.htm

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Resistance Training With Your Dog - How Is It Possible To Resistance Train With Your Dog? Read this entertaining excerpt from the E-Book "Do It With Your Dog!" You'll find exactly what it takes to do resistance training with your canine companion.

You may be wondering, "How can I possibly do resistance training with my dog?" Well, here are a few exercises you can do with the aid of your faithful furry companion.

(F.Y.I. - This section is written tongue-in-cheek - there is plenty of serious exercise advice to be found in the e-book).

1. Leg raises - if you have a male dog, he's probably already shown you how to do this one.

2. Abdominal crunches with a paw on your forehead - laying down on the floor and grunting in pain can cause your dog to do it's own investigation to find out if you're all right. The scratch marks across your forehead are simply a byproduct of that concern.

3. Deadlifts - if your dog has any inkling that you're taking him to the vet or someplace else he doesn't want to go and you've had to scrape him up off the floor to get him in the car, you've just done a deadlift.

4. Pull-ups - this involves pulling up furniture, rugs, carpets, clothes, etc. to pick up all the fur that gets into the strangest of places.

5. Pushdowns - one for the overly-enthusiastic dinnertime beggar.

6. Lunges - when you're trying to grab her for a bath.

One final word of advice when doing resistance training with your dog is never yell out "Spot me!" if your dog is not housetrained. It's a mistake you'll make only once.

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