Alright, I know you may not dig the clothes…but you got to admit, the ladies love the bodies of an Abercrombie model.  The last I checked, girls don’t go crazy over bodybuilders who have calves bigger than their heads.  I prefer the lean muscular look, and most girls do to.  Check out today’s article I found by Keith Lai.  He has a great blog and in this post even gives you some great workouts.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Do You want a body like this?

You know, there’s a reason why you don’t see pictures of pumped up overly muscular men in clothing stores. It’s because the majority of people are turned off by ‘bodybuilder’ type physiques. Sure, we all say ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ to when we see massive men like Ronie Coleman walking around, but that’s the extent of it.

My guess is that only about 10% of the entire population would actually desire to have massive amounts muscle like bodybuilders. They would much rather have the lean and sleek physique of an Abercrombie model. Tell me I’m wrong.

The Abercrombie workout routine

The Abercrombie workout I created has 2 parts:

• Part 1: Lose fat and increase muscle tone without increasing size
• Part 2: Strategic muscle gains with minimal fat gain

Part 1

In part 1, your goal is to diet down until your body fat levels are under 10%.

For this part, you should simply follow a diet plan like I outlined here, or you could give intermittent fasting a shot. Your main focus is to eat in a caloric deficit; all the other little details like macro and micro nutrients are not too important.

During Part 1 of the Abercrombie workout, your goal is not to build muscle size. Instead you’re going to focus on increasing muscle tone without increasing the actual size of your muscles. This will give you hard dense muscles without getting bigger – think Bruce Lee.

However, the key to increasing muscle tone without increasing size is not to lift light weights for high reps. This is one of the biggest myths in the industry, and is really useless for increasing muscle tone.

There are 2 key points to gaining muscle tone without size.

– Lift heavy weights for low reps
– Don’t lift to failure. Stop at 1-2 reps short of failure.

Or Do you want a body like this?

So for example, if you can lift a weight for 7 reps, you should stop at 5. The key here is to do more sets while avoiding fatigue in your muscles.

A sample workout would look something like this:

Monday(chest and back)

For each exercise, choose a weight you can only do for 7 reps max, and only do 5 reps. Do 4 sets per exercise.

– Incline dumbbell press
– Dumbbell row
– Flat dumbbell press
– Weighted chin ups

Wed(shoulder and arms)

For each exercise, choose a weight you can only do for 7 reps max, and only do 5 reps. Do 4 sets per exercise.

– Standing military press
– Barbell curl
– Close grip barbell press

Friday(Legs)

For each exercise, choose a weight you can only do for 7 reps max, and only do 5 reps. Do 4 sets per exercise.

– Front squat
– Reverse dumbbell lunge(5 reps per leg)
– Goblet squat

Part 2

Once you finish the first part, you should already have a pretty good looking body. It might not be super muscular, but you muscles should look tight and dense.

For the second part of the Abercrombie workout, you’re going to focus on building muscle without  putting on massive amounts of fat. To do this, you’re going to focus on higher rep ranges and more volume. You’re also going to have to slightly increase your calories to ensure proper muscle growth.

For your diet, eat at your maintenance level everyday, but on the days you workout, overeat by 300-400 calories. This will allow you gain lean muscle mass without too much fat.

The workout routine for part 2 should focus a lot more on training your muscles to failure. This will give your muscles no choice but to grow.

A sample routine could look somthing like this:

Monday(Chest/shoulder/triceps)

– Flat dumbbell press – 4 sets x 8 reps
– Incline dumbbell fly – 3 sets x 10 reps
– Standing military press – 4 sets x 8 reps
– Dumbbell lateral side raise – 3 sets x 13 reps per arms
– Skullcrushers – 2 sets x 12 reps
– Parallel bar dips – 2 sets x failure

Wed (Back/biceps)

– Weighted chin ups – 4 sets x 8 reps
– Cable rows – 4 sets x 12 reps
– Alternating dumbbell curls – 4 sets x 8 reps per arm
– Barbell curls – 4 sets x 12 reps
– Chin ups – 1 set x failure (with body weight only)

Friday(Legs/calves)

– Back squat – 3 sets x 8 reps
– Reverse dumbbell lunges  – 3 sets x 10 reps per leg
– Seated calf raise – 3 sets x 12 reps
– Standing calf raise – 3 sets x 12 reps

What to do after Part 1 and 2?

So after you do parts 1 and 2 of the workout, what do you do?

Well the obvious thing to do is to use your newly sexified physique to seduce and take advantage of lonely cougars at bars, but hey, that’s just me.

Oh, you meant with regards to your workout and diet, my mistake. In that case, it depends on your goals. Do you wish to simply maintain what you got? If that’s the case, then you can simply get away with a simple full body workout 2-3x per week to maintain your muscle mass.

Otherwise, you could continuously repeat parts 1 and 2, striving to get stronger each time.

Screw bodybuilders, fitness models FTW

If you walked up to 100 random women on the street and asked them who do they think is more physically attractive: a bodybuilder or an Abercrombie model, I 100% guarantee that the majority will say the Abercrombie model.

If you’re a bodybuilder who’s reading this right now, then I’m guessing you probably hate the Abercrombie workout I laid out and you probably hate me as well.

Source: Fitmole.com

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Lol.  Man, he nailed that post.  I definitely agree with his comments at the end like I was saying.  He workout looks pretty solid.  Remember, stick with one workout plan and finish it through.  STOP jumping around!  Of course learn more and apply principles but don’t complete drop the one you are on.

Well that’s it for today.  Head over to Facebook and drop me a line about this one.  Any comments?

Stan

If you watch the Jersey Shore I’m sure at one point you wanted to know how Pauly D, Ronnie or the Situation got so big. Trust me, it’s not from drinking every night and fist pumping 😉 I have done a lot of research on the Jersey Shore The Situation workout and I found some good stuff.

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Mike The Situation’s Workout

Mike The Situation recommends working out 5-6 days a week with about 3-4 exercises per workout. That’s right. Only 3-4 exercises (say, 3-4 sets of each) is all you need. After all, you don’t build muscle at the gym, but while you’re body is resting.

The Situation: Abs

As for The Situation’s abs (which are really The Situation), he says that abs should be worked out every other day. Your core muscles are the most resilient muscle group in your body (mainly because you use them every day) and so they recover the fastest. However, just because your abs aren’t sore the day after a workout doesn’t mean you should work them again. Give them that extra day off in between for even bigger gains.

He also recommends doing lower back exercises to complement the opposing force of the ab muscles. Working your lower back not only improves your posture and stature, but also tightens your ab muscles by pulling them back for that ripped look.

Cardio for Abs

And if you want to get even more ripped, then The Situation says you should do about a half-hour of cardio 5-6 days a week as well. He’s absolutely right as it won’t matter how hard you hit the gym and those abs unless your burn that layer of fat covering your abs. However, not all of us can spend as much time at the gym as the guys of Jersey Shore. So, try an efficient cardio workout like High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which can burn an incredible number of calories in a workout of 20 minutes or less – and will continue burning calories even after you leave the gym.

Diet for Abs

To get ripped in the first place, Mike The Situation says you will have to diet. That means “no cookies, candies, cakes, snacks, salts, sugar-type stuff. No Coca-Cola. Just water all the time,” says The Sitch. Then once, you’re ripped, he says, you can slowly bring back a little junk food into your diet. So in the mean time, find some healthy alternatives like almonds and veggies (no fattening dips). Experiment. Even if you’re not a health snack kind of person, if you try enough things, you’ll eventually find something you’ll like.

Source: thecelebrityworkout.com

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Now eventhough you see the Jersey Shore partying every night, there’s no doubt that they are doing things right. Personally, I don’t think they are as bad as they show on the series (its a lot of hours compressed into a short time). The Situation has the abs to prove his methods.

I know he uses NoX Edge but I also heard he has been using this for his preworkouts as well ===> Check this out

So what do you think about the Situation diet and workout? Is it as good as the Jason Statham workout?

Go to my Facebook page and chime in.

Stan

Jason Statham is a beast.  The ladies love him…is it because of his ripped muscles?  Probably.  This is part of the reason why I did more research on the Jason Statham workout routine.  Now let me just start off saying from the research, his workouts were not easy, but taking his principles in can most likely help you to build more muscle and get the Hollywood ripped look.

Here’s part of an article I found in Askmen.com

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He works out every day but Sunday with Logan Hood, a former Navy SEAL that runs Epoch Training (www.epochtraining.com). Saturdays are reserved for hour long sustained trail runs in the Hollywood Hills while the other 5 days are spent at 87Eleven, a full service action film company and stunt studio located in a converted warehouse near the Los Angeles airport. Hollywood stuntmen own and train at the unique facility. There are trampolines, climbing ropes, heavy bags, barbells, kettlebells, crash pads, and a complex apparatus of pullup bars.

There are only two real rules to the workout
1. No repeats. “I haven’t had one single day in 6 weeks that has been a repeat,” he says. “Every single day has had a different combination of exercises. Obviously, you repeat exercises over the course of 6 weeks, but you’ll never do that workout you did on Thursday the 23rd of August again. It always changes, and that’s what keeps it so interesting.”

2.  Record everything.  Some workouts are timed, but all work is tracked so that intensity can be maximized. Heavy lifts are recorded so that percentages can be calculated and used in other workouts. “All of this is important,” Statham says. “If you want to get faster, stronger, and healthier you have to record and track progress. Making progress is the primary goal of the training I’ve been doing.”

The workout consists of three stages:

Ten-minute warmup: Statham uses a Concept2 Rowing Machine (www.concept2.com) because it’s low-impact and works the cardiovascular system as well as all primary muscle groups. This is the easy part. 

Ten minutes at medium intensity: This works the body and preps it for stage 3. There’s always variety. This portion of the workout consists of either:

1. Heavy lifting using compound movements like the front squat, deadlift, or power clean. Never more than five reps at a time.
2. Short circuits of various exercises with light weights.
3. Various carrying exercises with kettlebells or sandbags.
4. A progression of about 15 kettlebell exercises.
5. Various throws with medicine balls.

Interval training: This is the brutal final stage that “blows every gasket,” says Statham. “You’re crying for air. It redlines the heart into oblivion.” Again, variety is key — either different exercises, or one exercise done according to an interval structure. Here is a list of some of Statham’s exercises. Pick six to make a circuit.

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Stan here, Muscle confusion and HIIT (High Instensity Interval training).  Those are two things that you will see me preaching about all the time.  HIIT is perfect for lean gains.  Muscle confusion (mixing things up) is required if you want to continue to see progress.  Now here’s the Jason Statham diet plan.

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The Eating Plan

2. If it goes down your throat, record it on paper. “This is the bible,” Statham says, holding up a black hardbound journal. He writes down everything he swallows, including water (he tries to drink 1 1/2 gallons a day — that’ll keep you feeling full). “Writing everything down makes it impossible for you to muck it up,” he says.

3. Spread out the calories. Statham has six small meals daily. The foods aren’t surprising — egg whites, vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts, and protein shakes. But the 2,000-calorie limit is gospel.

Statham’s Circuit Picks

Ball Slams
Pick up a 20-pound rubberized medicine ball, raise it above your head, and then smash it down on the floor as hard as you can. Do 20 reps.

Rope Climbs
Do 25-foot climbs using your arms, not your legs. Aim for five reps.

Pullups
Statham jumps from one pullup bar to another above it; it’s called “Dyno.”. But the traditional move still works your shoulders and back. Do 8 reps.

Snappers, or Whip Smashes
Attach 25 feet of heavy-gauge rope to something secure, like a fence or railing. With both hands, lift the rope above your head and use a whip-like motion to smash the rope against the floor. Do 20 reps.

Hanging Knee Raises
Hang from a pullup bar, bend your legs and curl your knees toward your chest, and then lower them. Work up to 20 reps.

Burpees
With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat, thrust your legs back, do a pushup, pull your legs back under, and jump as high as you can out of the squat position. Do 20 reps.

Bear Crawl
Walk on all fours, facedown, across the whole length of a basketball court. Go up and back three times.

Farmer Walk
Hold a heavy kettle bell in each hand, with your arms at your sides. March the length of the gym, and then march back. Do 3 reps.

Front Squats
Hold a barbell in front of your shoulders. Bend at the hips and knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Then push back up. Do 20 reps. Statham can do five at 1.25 times his body weight.

Rope Pulls
Tie 25- or 45-pound weight plates to a 50-foot length of rope. Pull the rope in until the weights reach you. Do 5 reps.

Weighted Stepups
Hold a kettle bell or dumbbell in each hand, step up onto a bench, and then step down. Do 20 reps.

Compound movements
Statham does bench presses, squats, or deadlifts with with about 75 percent of his one-rep max, and never incorporates them into a circuit. “My workout always changes. That keeps it interesting.”

Source: askmen.com

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Now if you want to get whipped in to Hollywood shape, then I would definitely recommend trying out this Jason Statham workout and diet.  Many of the movements listed are both compound and full body workout moves which can really help a hardgainer.

Here’s the Kettlebell Workout that I recommend you use

Tell me you thoughts about this article over on my Facebook page.  I really want to hear what you have to say.

Stan

You read in all the magazines conflicting guidelines for what to eat post-workout, well I found a great article that breaks down for you what a guy looking to gain muscle mass should eat. For a hardgainer a post-workout meal can be you most important of the day to pack on the pounds. Here’s parts of a great article by John Blackwood at Weight Gainer Network.
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The very first thing that you’ll want to consider is the calorie and macronutrient make-up of that post workout meal. This refers to how much energy you’re supplying your body and what mix of nutrients.

This is going to vary slightly depending on your current body weight, how quickly you want to build muscle, how high your daily calorie intake is, and how long your workout session is.

The longer the workout, the faster you want to gain weight, and the higher your daily calorie requirement is, the more food you’ll want to consume.

For most guys who are training intensely, anywhere from 400-600 calories tends to work well. Keep in mind that about an hour after your post-workout meal, you’ll want to follow it with another solid meal to really consolidate the nutritional process during this post-workout period.

For the first post-workout meal, you want to aim for high protein, high carb selections. Avoid fat at all costs. Fat during this time is only going to slow the delivery of the nutrients into the muscle cells and is certainly not what you want.

On average you should be taking anywhere from 30-50 grams of protein and then the remainder should come from carbs. This will work out to around 50-100 grams depending on your total calorie requirement of that meal.
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Stan here, for the first meal I typically have a good post-workout shake within 15 minutes of my workout. Then about an hour after I have a full meal. The shake allows me to absorb the nutrients fast.

If you aren’t used to eating this much after a workout, have a minimum the shake, and then work in the second meal slowly. Your body will adapt and finally will start craving it.

Back to the article.
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Smart Post Workout Food Choices

Looking at the food choices that should make up your post-workout meal, choose a fast digesting protein along with a fast digesting carb.

While the goal throughout the day is to keep blood sugar levels stable, immediately after your workout you actually want to spike your blood sugar levels up.

Why?

Simply because by doing so, you’ll create a high release of the hormone insulin, which will drive both the amino acids and glucose straight into the muscle cells. This is an ideal situation for muscle growth.

So smart food choices would include whey isolate protein powder, white fish, or egg whites for protein. Smart carb choices would include foods such as white bread, white bagels, sugary cereals, dextrose, or maltodextrin.

Some people often use fruit for their post-workout meal and while this will contain some simple sugars, it also contains fructose which won’t go into the muscle cells. So all in all it’s not most ideal. The best case scenario is 100% pure glucose since that is what will re-saturate muscle glycogen levels the fastest.

Most guys do find that using a protein/carb shake works slightly better for their post-workout meal as opposed to whole food sources, so they’ll choose to combine whey protein powder with a powdered form of carb such as dextrose, waxy maize, or maltodextrin. If you can’t get a hold of those, Gatorade powder will also work great.
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Like I said, try out a good protein powder. This is my favorite protein powder.
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Post-Workout Meal Timing
Now we must talk about timing. Some guys do get very caught up in thinking that if they don’t consume their post-workout shake within 2 seconds of being out of the gym, they’re going to really hinder their results.

While timing is definitely important, there’s no need to take it to this extreme. Generally speaking, the sooner you can get that shake in the better. But, if you need to have a quick 5-minute shower first, that’s fine.

As long as you get your post-workout meal in within 15-30 minutes, you’ll be on top of the game. Don’t stress yourself out over this as that stress is likely to cause more harm than the delayed interval of the meal.

Source
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This was definitely a great article and I always follow these guidelines. As a hardgainer who was struggling to gain weight, just following these tips alone helped me start adding weight. If you have additional tips feel free to leave me a comment on my Facebook page.

Stan