meatheadstrength.com

By Jim Wendler

Call it a curse or a gift but when it comes to training, I have a tremendous need to break things down to the basics and cut away all of the fat. I have been doing a lot of research on diet recently and decided to do the same. Like many people, I get confused with the amount of information on diet. The “gurus” seem to make things much more complicated than they need to be. So after reading through a mess of articles and books I’ve come up with a basic nutrition quiz which should help you with your diet.

1. Is candy good for you?
a) Yes
b) No

2. Is fast food good for you?

a) Yes
b) No

3. Should your protein come from chicken, lean beef, lean pork, eggs and protein powder?

a) Yes
b) No

4. Are fruits and vegetables good for you?

a) Yes
b) No

5. Should your carbohydrates come from rice, pasta, fruits, vegetables, oatmeal and potatoes?

a) Yes
b) No

6. If you want to gain weight you should;

a) Eat more calories
b) Eat less calories

7. If you want to lose weight you should;

a) Eat more calories
b) Eat less calories

Tips and Tricks

1. All of these diet gurus are missing the boat with diets and helping athletes. Since most athletes do not eat 6 perfect meals a day, how do they expect them to drastically change their diets right away? Start out by eating one or two good meals a day and (maybe) one protein drink per day and progress from there. You wouldn’t throw a beginner into an advanced training routine; diet should be no different.
2. On gaining weight; try increasing your calories by a small amount and let your stomach and body get used to the increase. Don’t try to go from 2,000 calories/day to 10,000.
3. On losing weight; decrease portion size and take it slowly.
4. Use your fist as a guide; your portions should be the size of your fist.

We all know what to eat but often choose not to eat good, healthy foods. I am certainly not perfect, but you cannot tell me that diet is that complicated. Everyone knew the answers to the questions listed above. So the next time someone ask about diet and all of its wonders, ask them the seven questions and they will realize that it’s not about knowing what to eat (we all do) it’s really about the discipline to do it correctly.

Here is an example of a lower body training day for some female members

Box Squat w/ Chains    heavyx4×3

A1) Rack Pulls above knee 5×8

A2) Step ups                             5×8/8

Conditioning Complex 5 rounds 30 sec on 30 sec off

B1) KB Swings x amap

B2) weighted planks x amap

B3) GHR x amap

video of the squat training below

squat 115+80

squat 135+80

squat 145+80

Meathead S&C member John “The Beast” Erxleben had a great meet today. He totaled 1655 with a 600 squat, 430 bench, and 625 deadlift.  Pics and videos are below.

Ironhouse 625 lbs Deadlift

Ironhouse 585 lbs Squat

Ironhouse 600 lbs Squat

Ironhouse 430 lbs Bench

Having a certain level of body leanness is important to most athletes and weekend warriors alike. Depending on what type of metabolism you have dictates what type of dieting method your body needs to gain optimal results. Using a low carbohydrate method will allow you to manipulate your body’s endocrine system to better utilize fat as a source of fuel for your body.

This is a very easy book for someone to read without any background or current knowledge on the subject of a low carb diet. The layout and flow of the book keeps you moving along without needing to jump around to remember what you have read before. The introduction helps you understand who this diet will best serve and give you some insight on the history of low carb diets. The meat of the book is the combination of the following two chapters where it outlines how to customize your very low carb diet and what training and cardio work best in conjunction with the diet. The diet will consist of consuming very high amounts of lean protein  with moderate healthy fat consumption. It is all based off on your how much lean body mass you have. Then your current level of bodyfat leanness dictates what kind of “refeed” meals you have and how often. The subsequent chapters following will give you some good tips about how to be successful on the diet by providing a shopping list, supplementation, protein and fat tables, and additional resources.

The author Shelby Starnes is a national level body builder, powerlifter, nutritionist, and trainer. He is apart of the Elite FTS Q & A staff (www.elitefts.com) and co-owner of Troponin Nutrition (www.tropininnutrition.com). His new ebook is being sold at Elite FTS for $9.95 is a great investment for someone looking to loose some bodyfat. Click the link below to order the book.

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=114&m=PD&pid=3371

I am traveling out to New Jersey April 8 – 11th to learn and train with strength coach Zach Even-esh who is the owner of the Undergound Strength Gym.

Make sure you check out his website at http://zacheven-esh.com/blog/

“No man has the right to be an amatuer in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” -Socrates

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. – Theodore Roosevelt

Make sure you check out my facebook page for training videos just search meathead strength & conditioning, Inc

“To become who no one else is…you must work like no one else does”. – author unknown