Adonis Index Systems

Muscle building happens at different rates at different times of your life. If you first start working out in your  late teens or early 20's you get a big initial growth burst because of juvenile muscle growth being stacked on top of the beginners burst that everyone gets. Once you reach your mid 20's the fast growth stops and you have to accept that growth takes more time and effort and patience. This is the revelation that our Adonis Index Open Junior category winner David Donoghue has learned during is time with us as an Adonis Index community member and now contest winner. In todays podcast David shares his experiences with muscle building and some of the things he has experimented with and how he got into the phenomenal shape you see him in here. The message is pretty clear. Bulking and cutting simply doesn't work. Spending years and even decades overweight just to build a few pounds of muscle is hardly a good way to go about getting in shape. You could end up spending all of your 20's and 30's as a fat guy telling yourself the lie that you're 'bulking' and one day will cut down. This is a big mistake and many older guys are struggling with this. But David is smart and at only 25 years old he's already got this figured out and will never make the mistake of being trapped in the endless bulking cycle. The first key is giving yourself permission to be light and accepting that your bodyweight can't tell you how good your body looks. Getting to a lean bodyfat level you're happy with should be your first step, then from there spend your time in the gym building muscle. At this point you can be ready to push it hard in the gym, and that is exactly what you need to do to build muscle...you gotta push it HARD during every workout. It's the difference between 'working out' and 'training'. When David started 'training' is when the results really started showing up. John LISTEN:

Your attitude towards yourself and towards others is going to be influenced by the look and shape of your body. You simply cannot separate your self perception from what you see in the mirror on a daily basis. This will color how you view everyone else even if you don't realize it. The only time this will become clear to you is when you finally change your body and start seeing yourself and everyone else through a new set of eyes...and this is exactly what Sean Rafferty did in our last transformation contest when he took 4th place. Sean explains what his perception and judgement of other people in the gym were like before he made his transformation, and then again after he became one of those people he was 'judging'. It's definitely a new perspective and a fairer more accepting perspective, and finally you'll never know what it feels like until you make the change for yourself. We also talk about Sean's challenges with diet throughout the contest, how he found motivation and support to make the change and what he thinks are the keys to sticking it out and making it happen. John LISTEN:  

Making a big time change is really just a collection of little mini-changes over a period of time. On a day to day basis you might not really notice what is happening, and only when you reach the end do you see how far you've really come. Part of making a big change is admitting to yourself where you are right now and deciding that you want to change, and that is exactly what Ben Niemeier did and took 3rd place in the 4th Adonis Index Transformation contest.   In today's podcast, I talk to Ben about his transformation, what it was like to look back and see where he started and his reaction to his new body. Ben also shares how his general disposition has changed and how it's hard to comprehend how life changes when your body changes...it really is a "you'll understand when you get there" situation. Finally we discuss the importance of admitting and accepting where you are right now in order to know how to get to where you want to go. John

In todays podcast we talk to the winner of the 4th Adonis Index transformation contest Dan Blunk. Dan's story of the 12 week contest is much different than past winners as he had many lifestyle obstacles to overcome as well as catching the flu right in the middle of the contest. Flu or not, Dan persevered and pushed through it all and came out as the winner. In this podcast we'll talk about the challenges of working out when you're sick, sticking to a commitment that you've made to yourself and the importance of social support and finding your motivation to move forward. We also talk about the common mistakes guys make of trying to be bigger by overeating and ending up getting fat and in some cases giving up on the idea of ever actually getting in the shape they really want. This may have even crossed your mind, but Dan mentions the feeling of simply giving up on the idea that he could ever get into the shape he's been working for over the past 15 years. John LISTEN:

It's time to announce the winners of the fourth Adonis Index Transformation contest as the first ever Open contest. The competition keeps getting tighter each time as the bar just keeps getting set higher and higher. Contestants were judged on total change in AI, how close they got to their true golden ratio and their final pictures. Finally, if you want to get a hold of the systems that make all of this possible, here's where you need to go: ==> Click here to grab your copy of the Adonis Index Systems Ok lets get to it. Adonis Index Transformation Contest #4 1st Place: Dan Blunk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Place: Leo Bell --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Place: Ben Neimeier --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Place: Sean Rafferty ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th Place: Richard Lane ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th Place: Greg Rojem --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adonis Index Open Contest: Senior Division (40+ years old) 1st Place: Mark Levy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Place: Joe Weaver --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Place: Rich Sigona ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Adonis Index Open: Middle Division (25 - 40 years old) 1st Place: Allen Elliot ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Place: Kidafi Byer ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Place: Andrew Tullio -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adonis Index Open: Junior Division (under 25 years old) 1st Place: David Donoghue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations to all, you did a phenomenal job getting into great shape. I'll be contacting each of you personally as we owe you money and I'd like to do a podcast interview with each of you to share your training and preparation that you went through over the past 12 weeks. This just set the bar even higher for our next competition which starts May 11th. John p.s. If you want to get a hold of the systems that make all of this possible, here's where you need to go: ==> Click here to grab your copy of the Adonis Index Systems

"Muscle building" marketing tends to speak about 'genetic potential' and ways to overcome this potential (which if you stop and think about it is impossible). It's also largely irrelevant because it's not your genetic potential that limits you but rather your lifestyle potential. Lifestyle factors are almost always the rate limiting step to your ability to grow bigger muscles and get really lean. The confusion for most men comes when they set their body image ideal goal/target based on a model, athlete, celebrity or bodybuilding who is living a much different life than they. You simply cannot know what the lifestyle of your model image really is...you'll never know how much rest, stress, drugs, supplements, and training they really do unless you lived with them. This is another reason why you cannot compare yourself to anyone else besides you. In today's podcast we talk about the blurry line between genetic and lifestyle potential and why the images of most athletes, celebrities, and fitness and bodybuilding models must be taken with a grain of salt because of the unknown lifestyle factors that come into play. You likely have the same 'genetic' potential as all of your image model ideals, but you probably don't have the same 'lifestyle' potential. Note: Posing tutorial video will be up wed next week. John LISTEN:

Believe it or not we still don't really know how muscles grow. The scientific literature provides multiple lines of evidence that all contribute to our understanding but we still don't have definite cause and effect proof of the exact reason of how we grow and why that grow is limited.   We know that you have to do some sort of resistance training on an regular basis to stimulate muscle growth, and we know that age, intensity and diet (to some degree) have an influence. And finally we know there is a big difference in the amount of muscle you can grow when using anabolic steroids. Given all of these facts we are proposing a new theory that chronic inflammation is the rate limiting step in muscle growth. Brad Pilon has recently put together a body of research that supports the inflammation theory of muscle growth and it explains why: Bulking up to gain muscle might actually have the reverse effect and ruin your chance to build muscle. This also explains why guys on steroids can have success 'bulking up' on massive calories and gain muscle, while a non-user will just create massive inflammation and thus destroy any chance of muscle growth. The chronic north american lifestyle disorders may all be contributing to a lack of progress in your muscle gaining efforts. The best way to gain muscle is to stay lean year round and avoid overeating or any fat gain. This is definitely an eye opener, but if you stop and really listen to what is being said in today's podcast most of the points likely fit with what you've observed in yourself and in other people around the gym. You can also watch a presentation on the inflammation theory of muscle growth at this website: Inflammation Theory of Muscle Growth John LISTEN:

Creating your best looking physique requires two things: 1) Low bodyfat  &  2) Well Developed Muscles   Lower bodyfat levels are a matter of diet and to some degree genetics, but todays post is about the second issue, developing muscle. The muscle size that you can eventually develop is based on many factors including: Genetic starting point - Somatotype Durability - How resistant you are to injury Emotional Disposition - How easily you become stressed and anxious Mental Focus - How much and how long you can focus on your workouts and your intensity level in the gym Available Time - How much time you have available to dedicate to training Rest and Recuperation - The time and ability you have to rest, recover from your workouts and unwind from the other stresses in your life Other Lifestyle Factors - There are a number of other factors that get in the way of your training including work responsibilities, traveling, family responsibilities, school, social events etc. In today's podcast we'll discuss the rate limiting steps that are determining how big you can grow your muscles. In most cases the amount of muscle you can ever develop is not limited by your genetics but rather by your lifestyle. John LISTEN:

Most men want bigger muscles...it's the reason most of us go to the gym, it's the reason men continue to experiment with new workout protocols, new supplements and even drugs...bigger muscles. A quick glance around any gym will reveal men with vastly different sizes of muscles. So what makes one guy that much different than the other in a given group? The factors that contribute to the muscle size of any given person you might come across include: Genetics # of years weight training Type of program followed Intensity of training The age you started weight training Supplements Drugs Money - how much supplements or drugs you can afford Time - The amount of time you can spend working out Stress - How much stress you are under in the other areas of your life All of these factors contribute to the amount of muscle any given person has, and this is also why you can't really compare yourself to anyone else. This is all part of understanding muscle growth and what to expect. At this point you might have noticed that I haven't said anything about 'building muscle' but only muscle 'growth'. That is because it's incorrect to use the word 'build' to refer to muscle. Or at the very least, the word 'build' makes us think of muscle growth in the wrong terms, and as long as we think in terms of muscle 'building' we will always be susceptible to marketing scams about muscle growth. The first step to really understanding how to create bigger muscles is to first start thinking about muscle growth as it truly is, and that is hypertrophy, not 'building'. DEFINITION: Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. The definition of the word "build" can mean many things, but none of it's meanings are the same as the word 'hypertrophy'. Hypertrophy can most closely be related to the concept of filling up a water balloon and perhaps making a slightly bigger balloon to fill. Making this distinction in the way you think of muscle growth is a key step to developing the body you want and namely, bigger muscles. In todays podcast we discuss how to correctly think about muscle growth and how this fundamental shift in the way you think and speak about muscle growth will change the way you view working out for both muscle size and definition. John LISTEN:

Staying consistent and having support are the two biggest keys to making big time changes in weight loss and muscle building. The consistency of your workout and your ability to stay injury free are the two biggest factors on the training side of the equation that will add up to long term success. Consistency and social support on the diet side of the equation are the two biggest factors to dropping weight and getting lean. You can find many online communities that seem to be on target with your goals, but as you get further into them the support you hoped for might not be there. Finding the right community (online or off) could be the difference between getting to your goals and falling off the wagon for good. Sometimes it just takes a few words of encouragement and a friendly kick in the butt from a supportive group to keep you on track towards your goals. In todays podcast we interview Wes Granger who has dropped a lot of weight, and got into great shape. Wes talks about how he finally got his body to change and how he did it. John LISTEN:

In this new world of blogs, and the interwebs, and instant access to 'info' there is no shortage of misinformation. This misinformation includes marketers and commentators with little or no qualifications to report on the topics that they're reporting on as well as readers and consumers going to websites such as pubmed and looking through the various abstracts assuming the information there is enough to make an informed decision about what to do with either their diet or workout. In both cases you can end up being mislead or misleading yourself. And this is to say nothing about lay people who go to pubmed, find an abstract and then re-post it on a forum and declare they have the answer to some muscle building or fat loss question. So in an effort to put this in some sort of perspective I interviewed Bryan Chung who has his Phd in research methodology. We try to get to bottom of how to read a research paper and how to tell if a paper is of high quality or not, and finally what the average person can or should do about deciphering research claims in this misinformation age. Bryan is a plastic surgery resident and a Phd in research methodology. He critiques research papers on his blog at www.evidencebasedfitness.blogspot.com So if you have a research paper in diet or fitness and you want to get an expert opinion on the quality of the paper then you can send it to Bryan at his blog and maybe he'll give it a once over in a future post. READ: Download the Transcript: Reading Research Papers LISTEN:

We're in the 3 week of the fourth Adonis Index transformation contest and motivation to push through the full 12 week run is a big factor in winning and making a big change. Andrew has built an impressive amount of muscle over the past year and especially during the last transformation contest. Each day you need to find your motivation and find what works for you. Along the way some people will support you and some people won't. It's up to you to find your motivation on a daily basis and keep pushing through no matter what obstacles life throws at you. In todays podcast we talk to Andrew Scott who placed in the money in our last contest as he built an impressive amount of muscle. Andrew talks about going through two contests now and the fact that if you stick to your guns you'll eventually get to where you want to go. Above all you gotta do it for you, and not for anyone else. John READ: Download the Transcript --> Finding Your Motivation Interview Andrew Scott LISTEN:

There are many diet books, and workout programs you can find online, in magazines and at the book store. Many of the books on nutrition are very compelling to read and quite convincing. But just because a book sounds convincing that doesn't make it factually correct. The issue arises when people view a book or magazine the same as a piece of peer reviewed research. But the fact is that books and magazines do not go through a rigorous peer review process. Even if a book has research cited in the reference section it still hasn't gone through the peer review process the way a scientific paper has. Scientific papers go through a review process where experts in a given field review and critique research before it can be published. If the paper isn't up to standard it may not be published. But a book can be full of incorrect information and easily be published. And that is the big difference between real science and someone who writes a book that is supposed to seem like science. In today's podcast Dr. Geoff Dover explains the peer review process for you and why it makes a big difference between scientific papers, magazines and books. John READ: Download the transcript here: Peer Review Process with Geoff Dover LISTEN:

There is a fine line between 'good' shape and 'great' shape. And getting into great shape is what most people want to do when they set out to make a change in their body. But do you really know what it takes to get into great shape? There is something we've come to call 'shirt on big' and 'shirt off big' Andrew Tullio is a perfect example of someone who was already in 'good' shape, and went the distance to get into 'great' shape. Most guys make the mistake of assuming they need to get bigger and heavier to be more impressive looking. But this only works when you have your shirt on. If you saw most 'big guys' with their shirt off you'd find out they have at least 20-30 pounds of fat to lose. The reality is they're only big because they're carrying extra fat that is making the shirt stretch a bit more around their arms and shoulders. But to truly be in great shape you need to shed the fat so your muscle can show through. This is what we call 'shirt off big'...when your shirt comes off and you've got a full set of 6-pack abs and sharp defined muscles, division from your chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps, and all throughout your back muscles. To achieve this kind of look you will likely need to be much lighter than you ever expected. Most of us have a distorted conception of how much we 'should' or will weigh when we're ripped. And this is the illusion of looking bigger as we get lighter. The leaner you get the bigger your muscles start to look, and this is the whole point of the Adonis Index ratio and 'shirt off big'. In todays podcast Andrew Tullio walks us through his experience getting 6-pack ripped, and 'shirt off big'. He reveals his total surprise at the bodyweight he had to be to get to this weight and what it was like going through his transformation. John READ: Read the transcript here: The Last 10 Pounds: Interview Andrew Tullio LISTEN:

The 4th Adonis Index Transformation Contest (AT4) starts Wednesday Jan 19th 2011, ends April 13th 2011 midnight EST. How to Enter the Transformation Contest: PICTURES: Required Before Pictures with your shirt off from waist up: Front - Facing Camera arms at your side Side - Turn 90 degrees from the camera arms at your side Back - Facing away from the camera Newspaper - Take another "front' picture holding the current days newspaper in your hand Newspaper close up - Take a close up of the front page of the newspaper with the date clearly visible MEASUREMENTS: Shoulders Waist Weight Height Create a folder on your computer and store all of this information in it as your "BEFORE" folder. Name each picture file as follows: firstname_lastname_before_pose...Example: JohnBarbanBeforeBACK. This makes it much easier for me to find the files when you send them in April. To enter the competition simply take the required pictures and measurements as outlined above and store them on your computer as your 'before' file. On April 13th take the same pictures as your 'After" file. Emailing me both files along with a 250 word essay about your transformation experience before midnight April 13th 2011 counts as your official entry. So for now you just need to take your official before pictures and measurements and store them on your computer this Wednesday. Prize money for AT4 is as follows: 1st place - $500 2nd place - $350 3rd place - $250 4-6 place - $200 Adonis Index Open Competition Categories Junior (under 25 years old the date of the contest) Middle (25 years old to 39 years old) Senior (40+) Each category will be judged on final AI look alone (not a transformation). The pictures for this competition must be take on April 13th and submitted via email to me before midnight EST April 13th 2011. You're also required to submit the following measurements: Shoulders Waist Weight Height Proof of age is required with a digital photo of a piece of photo ID. Drivers license or passport is acceptable. Take a close up photo of either of these pieces of ID and include this picture in your contest picture submission file. Standard poses will be required and a list of poses with examples and a tutorial on how to pose will be provided over the course of the next 12 weeks for you to become familiar with the poses and practice. Judging criteria will be based on the following: Adonis Index Ratio - How close you are to the calculated ideal numbers for your height Muscularity - Muscle size and shape Condition - Visible definition of the muscle groups Prize money for each category is as follows: 1st - $500 Second- $350 Third- $250 Adonis & Venus Summit - April 15th-17th Las Vegas The first Adonis & Venus Summit will be held two days following the end of the Transformation and Open contest. This is an informal gathering in Las Vegas for whoever wants to attend. Both the Adonis and Venus communities are encouraged to join us (Brad P Brad H and I) in Las Vegas to relax, talk shop and meet some of your fellow community members. More details on the summit will be coming in the next 4-6 weeks. John