TIME AS YOUR ULTIMATE WEAPON PLUS A FEW THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHILE SHREDDING UP
I have often talked about time and the value of it. Or in some cases, the lack of value most people place on it. Time is often thrown away, spent for nothing in return and rarely thought about. I went down to see Charlie Weingroff (see video below) the other morning and the only time we could both make work with our schedules was 6AM down in Marlboro, about 40 minutes away. I didn’t hesitate to book it because I knew the visit would help me.
One of the worst excuses in the world is that you don’t have time. We all have the same amount of time, we just choose to use it differently. I wrote a few months back about how while I was driving out to my grandmother’s funeral in Pittsburgh, I decided to listen to a time management CD by Dan Kennedy. I realized after listening for the 8+ hours how much I have been slacking off on commanding my time. Some of my friends think I am crazy that I schedule out my weekdays down to the minute, but I get so much more done this way. If you have ever tried calling me unscheduled you now know why I do not pick up. And when I do have a phone appointment, I make sure it has a definite ending time before I get on the phone. Again, respect your time, let other people throw theirs away.
If you want to accomplish great things in life, you need to command your time. I am not sure who it was, maybe one of the Schwab’s off the top of my head, but he was asked for a secret to his success. So he took out a napkin and scribbled something on it, handed it to the inquirer and said, “If you follow the secret on that napkin, it will yield you know less than $25,000 extra in the next year (equivalent to over half a million now days). When the inquirer opened it up, he was disappointed to see that all it said was simply: “Schedule your days out the night before.”
There is nothing sexy about it, nothing magical and all it takes is a little discipline. I can hear people saying now that they don’t have time for this type of thing, see what I’m talking about? People want to be great but they can’t bring themselves to do something as simple as this. What is the purpose of this entire maniacal attitude towards my time? I love the sense of purpose and accomplishment I get during and at the end of each and every day and it allows me to create my ideal life, which means no more working on the weekends since I’ve stopped teaching. This allows Devon and I time to enjoy each other without my being distracted.
Want to get lean? Use your time wisely and wake up early if need be. If you can’t do that, then you don’t really want to be lean, you just like the idea of it. I cannot tell yo how often I have people tell me they want to be lean and in the best shape of their life yet they are the same one and two months later. How come they couldn’t do it but others could? Is it some secret ‘thyroid’ issue? Nope, just a difference in attitude and with that, how they use their time towards their goal. I have a definite deadline of June 1st to be under 10% body fat. I know what I will look like and where I will go from there. Dave Tate once told me that when you are on a mission, set a start and ending date, otherwise there is no urgency. While talking with my boy, the Wolverine, last night, we decided where we are going to be at certain dates throughout the summer. We used to be buddies on the competition trail and now we do it for the love of being awesome and getting in the best shape we can. If you need a contest to get lean and in shape, you are employing backwards thinking. That doesn’t mean I am opposed to competing, it means you need to be clear on what you are doing and why.
Finally, the point you thought I’d never get to. Some dieting advice and tips to look for. I always become ultra aware of these things when on the journey myself and it follows the same patterns almost every time. So, if you are trying to get lean, really lean, look for these things to happen:
• You will start to get lean in certain areas first. Usually the face and cheek and then from there its individual. For me, I have a certain vein that comes out in my right arm and I know I am on the right track. For guys the belly will be one of the last things to go and for the females it will be the glues and thighs.
• Your body temperature will drop. This is normal when you are in the appropriate caloric deficit. Leptin, thyroid, testosterone, IGF-1 and other hormones will crash after just 4 days of a deficit. Your body will literally begin to shut systems down and you will notice body temperature coming down. This is one of many reasons you need re-feeds.
• Getting up in the morning should be much easier and I attribute this to keeping insulin under control on a consistent basis.
• Hunger is constant, but not severe. You will always have the feeling (besides your cheat meals) where you could definitely eat more.
• Urination levels will go up. This is due to two reasons. 1)Less carbohydrate for your water to bind with. We are aiming for lower glycogen levels any way to lose body fat, but look at the name carbo-HYDRATE and you will see that for every one gram of carbs it’ll bind with 3 grams of water. 2) As your body begins to break down and mobilize body fat, it will release the toxins in the fat cells, and thus they will have to be excreted via the urine.
There are many more, but if you are just starting, these will save you some time to know if you are on the right track. By the way, the Wolverine and I will be starting our own Internet radio show unlike everything you have ever heard before. And, if you are interested in the fat loss stuff I spoke of, check out the banner with the link to my fat loss seminar page. Win the day!
Big meals before bed
Eat big and hit the sack
***First, the links on the right side of the page for the basketball prep camp and the Fall Seminar are now working***
When I design nutrition programs for my clients, about 50% of the time I get a response such as, “What?! That’s too many carbs and calories before bed!”. I then go on to explain my theories and what I have found to be true regarding nutrition.
The last time I competed in a bodybuilding show, I started placing my carbs, around 100-150 grams in my last meal before bed. I would sleep like a baby and feel fully charged in the morning. And I continually got lean, lean enough for a bodybuilding stage and to do pretty damn well.
The media has been saying no carbs before bed for years, but they were wrong. If we wake up and train or wake up and start our day, then hold off on breakfast until we are hungry, then we will be in a constant fat burning state. I am even examining how to make some superior coffee with raw butter and coconut oil to keep me going and satisfied for the first few hours of the day.
Carbs before bed will allow an influx of seratonin and satiety which will enable you to sleep better and more restfully. Also, think about it, by the end of the day, after training and expending energy, your muscles are like vacuums, wanting to refill on glycogen (carb energy). I am a big advocate of intra workout nutrition and I do feel that carbs can be placed in and around the workout, particularly if the workout is at night. If you workout in the morning, then I would normally forgo the carbs. I have always been able to workout on an empty stomach with no ill side effects. And that ‘anabolic window’ you’ve heard so much about is more of a myth. That windown doesn’t close until you ingest the proper nutrients. Again, if you workout, then go all day on lower carbs, the muscles will be primed to for the intake before bed.
I am half way through the carb loading book by Kiefer and I will report back more on what he says. But the carb before bed myth is more of a calorie equation, doctors figuring that most people eat the most at night and most people eat predominantly carbs…so cut them out, cut cals out…
But there is more to the story guys, especially if you are hard training. I will be talking more about peri-workout nutrition later this week. In the mean-time, check out the 5 minute video about salt below..told ya so.
The Human Condition
The human condition is to be lean, muscular, energetic and vibrant. Then why is it that we see so many fat, lethargic and depressed people walking around us every single day? What element could make this happen? Or should I say, a lack of what could make this happen? In my opinion, it’s two fold. First, food: Food is a very potent drug and if you look up the definition of a drug, you will in fact see that it is a drug. And when we manipulate this drug and get ‘the quick fix’, it will compound over time and what you will get is something like this:
This happens when you eat a diet high in insulin spikes, repeatedly and factor that with a lack of movement. Despite this being the norm now, it is not normal! Nothing makes me sadder than when I see people that can’t even walk correctly because they are so fat, that they need a cane or scooter.
Dieting is not hard if you eat what were designed to eat. Wild caught animal sources full of proteins and saturated fats along with some good carbs around areas of intesne physical activity. Don’t settle for fat and sloppy, be the lean machine you are supposed to be. Spread the word-K
PS: FOR ALL MY BASKETBALL FOLLOWERS, HURRY UP, ONLY A FEW DAYS UNTIL IT STARTS….
Basketball Prep Camp from Kyle Newell on Vimeo.
Bulking Up the Right Way
The wrong way to bulk
So picking up on an olive branch of what I was talking about yesterday, there are many perfect on paper nutrition plans that are really anything but. The second most common inquiry that I get on a weekly basis is by guys looking to put on some muscle.
First off, I have noticed that the guys that need to bulk are usually the ones that don’t, you know the skinny guy that just wants abs and the guy that doesn’t need to bulk is usually the one that does: the bodybuilder that packs on 80 pounds of fat in hopes of gaining muscle along with it only to appear on stage at the next show looking exactly the same. See Lee Priest above….
Second, anyone, yes, anyone that is a novice can put on quite a bit of weight quickly. The problem is when the body’s regulatory system hits the brakes because the body doesn’t want to go to far and above its comfort zone. Kind of like when you are losing body fat, it is smooth sailing at first and then you hit rocky waters if you don’t know what you are doing.
So, what I do instead of fighting the body when someone slows down on their bulking phase is I will diet them down for 1-2 weeks, just enough to drop leptin levels and rebuild the appetite, while holding on to a good amount of the weight we already put on. How many calories and how long I have the person cut down is dependent on that individual person, so its impossible to give you exact numbers. I just recently had a client that I used this wave of progression for and he is up 16 lean pounds since May, so 3 months.
A proper understanding of how the body works is hard to find in many coaches out there, so be wary of all or nothing programs and people that tell you to just force the food down when trying to gain weight….
Indiscriminate Carbage Disposal
Not so simple
I was going to make a back porch video for you guys today, but as it is raining here, I will save a few of those for later in the week….today’s topic: carb intake.
I have trained very few athletes that can have indiscriminate carbs throughout the day. The exception would be high school athletes that are trying to gain weight, but just because they can eat carbs at more times throughout the day doesn’t mean they should just be pounding sugar all day.
Food is a drug in every definition I know of drug and carbs are the precursor to a very powerful drug: insulin.
So, here are a few ways I use carbs when designing a program for a client:
1)Around the workout, even if they are trying to lose fat. By workout, I mean a muscle building workout, not a fat loss workout. I like to place a complex carb in the pre-workout shake a long with some protein and fat. I want a steady supply of energy for the workout.
2)Simple carbs with protein immediately after the workout. This allows for anabolism by spiking insulin and driving the amino acids into the muscles. Think honey, waxy maize, white rice, etc.
3)I would use carbs the same way with an athlete in season in regards to their game. There is something to placing simple carbs after a workout in that it will reduce soreness, so in that regard, depending on the profile of the person, I may even have them sipping on a concoction during the game or workout.
If you eat carbs at every meal, when you clearly don’t need them at every meal, you are gonna have insulin control problems and a lot of unwanted body fat. Think of your glycogen stores as a fuel tank, you want to fill it up but no more. More means more body fat.
I can tweak this even for those looking to gain size. But remember, if you are designing nutrition programs, take into consideration what the client or athlete is more likely to follow through with….
Most effective Supplements
I often get asked about my supplements, what I take, etc. Check out the video below and you will see first hand. But remember, if you aren’t doing all the other stuff right, no supplement on earth will correct the imbalances you are creating by cheating yourself of sleep, hydration, nutrition, etc.
My Daily Diet
Right now, I am trying to gain some size in anticipation of my upcoming bodybuilding show this Spring. When I say size, I don’t mean getting fat, although I am developing a little double chin right now:). Quite a few people have been emailing me about what I eat on a daily basis. Here is a typical list from a day for me right now:
-8 oz grass fed beef, coffee, 1 cup raw milk, almonds
-8 oz ground cage free turkey or cage free chicken, 1 avocado
-6 cage free whole eggs
-1 piece of fruit
-1 shake or 2 cups raw milk
-dinner: usually chicken or salmon-8 oz, sweet potato and green
I have almond butter or natty peanut butter when I feel the need or when I am still hungry. I will be hitting my supplements up tomorrow, stay tuned, but in the meant time, check the video out below….
DEDICATION
Looks tasty!
Not really sure why the heck this popped in my head last night while Devon was watching Jersey Shore and I was reading “Crush It” by Gary Vanyerchuk. I have some athletes that Crush It when it comes to sticking with their nutrition plan and others that fall short. Two of my guys which will you will see in an upcoming newsletter (Mark the Shark and Kevin Bonilla) are up 26 pounds and 24 pounds respectively while getting much faster, stronger and more explosive. I want to rip my hair out with some of my athletes though because they just won’t eat enough. So back to my thought last night: When I was going back for my teaching certificate at Kean University, I was still actively competing. Although it was only the Fall and the competition wasn’t until the Spring, I was very regimented in what I ate because I knew I had to fight tooth and nail for that one more pound of muscle, no matter what it took. So one day, between classes, I am sitting in my old Jeep Cherokee eating my chicken and rice. I look down when I am half way through and realize that mixed in with the rice there were dead moth maggots (from the boiling). (By the way, they look exactly like rice before you judge me). I had to make a decision: either ditch the meal or eat it. Again, although this is gross and funny at the same time, I wanted to be a champion and nothing would stop me. I ate the meal. Now, compare this with some younger guys attitudes of whining, too tough to do, not enough time and so on. How bad do you want to be a champion?
Also, I am psyched to be going to another one of Smitty’s upcoming seminars. I plan on having an interview with him either that day or prior to it. We have both been extremely busy and have not been able to connect yet. Anway, I love his way of thinking and creativity. Check out his Accelerated Muscular Developent here: AMD
If you consider yourself a student, consider Smitty a sensai. Win the weekend-K
RIPPED VAN WINKLE, PART TWO
I am really enjoying training my men’s groups just as much as I am enjoying training my athletes. One of the main characters in the men’s groups is Mark Sopko, aka “Ripped Van Winkle”. The guy looks like he is 20 years younger since he started training with me 6 weeks ago. There was a lot of interest the last time I gave an update on Ripped, so it was only natural to post part 2. Check out the pics from the beginning, 3 weeks in and 6 weeks in:
Mark on the 1st day.
3 weeks in...
Ripped Van Winkle 6 weeks in...
Ripped is absolutely crushing his workouts. I had one of my clients ask him the other day ask him what he was doing to get there and the answer was simple: “I am following what Kyle is telling me to do.” Ripped is the perfect example of what consistency and committment to a goal will do to a man. I am proud he is part of the team at Newell Strength. Drop a commnet letting him know you are supporting his efforts. FEED THE MACHINE!
