Is THIS Supplement an Effective Replacement for Fruits and Veggies?

To start things off, I am not selling the product in this post, nor am I benefiting from writing this article. I'm simply trying to provide you guys with a little information...

So if you've been following my blog, you know that I am against almost all supplements. To date, the only supplement that I support is Creatine Monohydrate. There are three main reasons for this... you can't possibly get enough Creatine from your daily diet to benefit you, there are no negative side effects, and... it's cheap as hell. Those three reasons are my guiding factors in recommending supplements to my readers and clients.

I'm often approached by friends, clients and colleagues with questions about supplements and/or offers to sell them. I always give frank advice when asked and decline the opportunity to sell, but recently, a friend of mine and licensed Physical Therapist, began endorsing a product called Juice Plus. Like all health related items that I am presented with, I began researching this product before casting judgement one way or the other, and here's what I found...

There are 2 separate products in the Juice Plus line, vegetable, fruit and berry capsules and a plant based complete shake. National Safety Associates (NSA), the owners of Juice Plus, claim that it is the "next best thing to eating fruits and vegetables and that the product is absorbed by the body, reduces oxidative stress, promotes cardiovascular wellness, supports a healthy immune system, and helps protect DNA. These claims have been highly researched and backed up with studies CLICK link here (http://www.teamjp.net/health/exercise2.shtml). With all these claimed benefits, no negative side effects discovered, and a relatively cheap price, I have decided to try it out for myself... just like I am currently doing with Creatine Monohydrate. Afterall, how can I honestly recommend something that I haven't tried out for myself? I'm going to reiterate, just like the Juice Plus owners said, that eating actual fruits and vegetables is always superior to any supplement. However, I will submit to the fact that consuming that large amount of fruits and veggies to meet minimum daily requirements is impossible on some days for a lot of people.

All that said, I am going to start a 6 week trial period and report my progress every couple of weeks. If I find any negative side effects, I'll let ya'll know and shit can my recommendation. If I find none, I just might have to add Juice Plus to my exclusive list of approved supplements.

Product in a Nutshell (VIDEO)  

The Juice Plus Company has also highly marketed their Complete Transformation 6 week program for individuals looking to maintain and/or revitalize their healthy lifestyles.  It provides a DETAILED NUTRITION PLAN and recommendations including water intake, and food servings at no extra cost.

For those of you who don’t want to wait until my post-trial review on this product and need to find a probable system to get back on track for Spring Break, Beach season, your New Years Resolution, or just looking for a fresh start and want to get involved, contact JuicePlusLifestyles@gmail.com for more information on getting you set-up with the Complete Transformation Plan.

I'll let you know how it goes for me!

The ZeroCardio Diet - Part III

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Speed ladder drills have many benefits for mind and body!

In the first two parts of this series, I went over the numerous reasons why, if your goal is athleticism and/or aesthetics, you should stop doing cardio and start lifting weights. In this part, I am going to go into some exercises that you can and should do as part of your ZeroCardio Diet. Just to be clear, this program is meant to harness your athletic prowess as you develop copious amounts of lean, drop dead, mouth-wateringly sexy muscle. So if you want to run marathons or 5Ks or if you just enjoy running to clear your head... DO CARDIO. Just know that cardio WILL destroy your lean muscle gains so for MAXIMUM results, I do not recommend combining weight lifting with cardio.  Once again, cardio is NOT bad for you... it's just not the best for bulking up, trimming down, athleticism, and overall hotness.

When it comes to weight lifting, FORM is paramount...not the amount of weight you push around. Insecure jabronies sacrafice form for weight... don't be a jabroni. Also CrossFit warriors do the same thing. CLICK HERE to read about my OPINION of that "sport." But I digress...

I could go on and on about strength training routines and exercises you could do to BLAST FAT and improve your athleticism and appearance, but I'm not going to do that here. Instead, I invite you to send me an email ( strengthbymatt@gmail.com ) and ask me for a FREE, ZeroCardio strength training regimen. Whatever your goal is, be it body building, athleticism, bulking up, trimming down, or just plain getting a nicer ass! I can create a workout that will help you achieve it. Strength training is nothing without a proper diet though, so you won't be able to just lift right, you'll have to eat right too. I will cover that topic soon too.

Sled pulls are great for your heart and your
muscular development! 

The main concern people have with the ZeroCardio program is that they think that cardio is the only way to improve your CARDIOvascular system. But that thought is simply wrong. Among other things, sprints, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). and super setting your lifts will improve your cardiovascular health. You won't be able to run a mile very fast, nor will you be able to mindlessly watch TV or read a book while doing them, but that dosen't mean your cardiovascular system is unhealthy. The aforementioned exercises create lean, sexy fast twitch muscle fibers while still giving your heart a workout and improving your overall cardiovascular health. I recommend including at least 1 day a week of interval training or sprints in addition to weight lifting. These exercises will not diminish the gains you see from weight lifting, they will actually improve them. Sprints especially are very efficient in burning through your bodies glycogen (carb) stores. When sprinting you use glycogen almost exclusively as an energy source. The faster you blast through that, faster you begin burning through your glycerol (fat) stores. You DO NEED CARBS in your diet though in order to fuel your muscles so that you can have a good strong workout.

My whole goal of creating the Strength By Matt brand is not to rid the world of treadmills and elliptical machines. My goal is to make this world a better place by helping individuals become stronger versions of themselves in the most EFFICIENT manner possible. As you become physically and mentally stronger, not only will your life improve, but so will the lives of those around you and in turn, the world will be a little bit better of place. If you feel the strongest version of yourself is a marathon runner, then the Strength By Matt resistance training program is not for you. Just tune out articles like these and read my posts on nutrition, supplements, mental health, and the like. I really do welcome your feedback and your points of view so keep it coming!

And as always... all of this is just advice.. you can do whatever the HELL you wanna do!

The Zero Cardio Diet - Part II

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As people progress in age past their 20's, and in some cases in their late 20's, they begin to lose a percentage of muscle mass every year. This percentage increases with age. Now here's the kicker: Strength training combats this genetic decline... cardio accelerates it. You see, in order to continue to increase muscle mass as you age, you must create lean, fast twitch muscle fibers. Cardio tends to atrophy (eliminate) fast twitch muscle fibers in favor of less toned, weaker slow twitch fibers. What's that you say? You don't care about your muscle composition because all you want in life is to be skinny? Well, cardio dosen't help that either!

Women who lift trim down instead of bulking up!

Lean, fast twitch muscle fibers require more calories to function then their slow twitch counterparts. So when you run or bike for miles and burn all those calories in the short term, you are actually making it harder for your body to burn calories in the long run. If, instead of running for an hour you chose to lift weights, you would create lean muscle in your body, and as a result every activity you do would require more calories. In other words, lean muscle will increase your basal metabolic rate! This lean muscle also appears to be more firm and more aesthetically pleasing. And you will be able to maintain this appearance into your old age. You simply cannot get this benefit from cardio. 

Most of us find ourselves in this
position for extended periods of time
every day, which is horrible for our
posture! 

Now let's talk about posture, which also tends to degenerate with age. Most of our lives today are anterior centric, or "forward leaning." From driving your car, to sitting at your computer, you spend a large part of your day hunched over with your shoulders rolled forward and your head sticking out forward like a chicken pecking for food. When you bike or run, you force your body to do the same thing only under a greater amount of stress! Just look at the next runner you see in your neighborhood if you want proof. This is horrible for your structural integrity, and for your overall appearance. Strength training, however, can correct this. I'll do a post soon about all the life benefits of good posture, but for now, just take my word for it... good posture is critical for long-term quality of life.

Next topic... let's address the concern that most women bring up to me... 

A lot of females believe that if they strength train they will bulk up like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is simply impossible. Men have a much higher ability to gain mass and muscle due to their testosterone levels being far higher than those of women. Those "freak" female body builders are almost all on steroids. Women will actually appear thinner, and more trimmed down when they follow a lifting program. If you think you're different, you're not! Lifting weight burns both the fat surrounding your muscles and the fat within your muscles (and yes, there is fat within your muscles in the same way that there is fat in the middle of a nice juicy steak). This results in a trimmed down, toned appearance. Without the use of supplements like steroids and testosterone boosters, women cannot physically bulk up to "disgusting proportions". As long as females follow a healthy, calorie-conscious diet in conjunction with a proper lifting program, they will trim down, tone up and look sexier than they could ever look by doing mass amounts of cardio.

Biking, a form of cardio, is ineffective.

So cut the crap cardio and start getting more bang for your buck... lift weights! 

The Zero Cardio Diet - Part I

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You will only bulk up by lifting if that's your goal.
When it comes to bulking vs.  toning, it's all about what you
eat, not what you lift!

The key to losing weight and getting the lean shapely figure you're looking for is to burn more calories than you take in. To do this, most people think they have to run, bike, swim, hop on the eliptical machine or stair stepper, or row a 10k. WRONG! Cardio is not the answer! The answer is found in resistance training aka weight lifting aka pumping iron aka getting your swoll on. 'Merica.

The amount of calories you burn during a workout is determined by your heartbeat. Essentially, the harder your heart works, the more calories you burn. So here's the conundrum with devoting time to cardio in an effort to burn calories as you stive to achieve your aesthetic goals. As you get better at cardio, your entire cardiovascular system improves (hence the name cardio!) which means it requires less effort for your heart to pump oxygen throughout your body. Consequently, you burn less calories. To overcome that you must increase the duration or intensity of your cardio sessions. Ain't nobody got time for that! Additionally, your body begins to convert your lean, sexy fast twitch muscles into slow twitch muscles in order to adapt to the increased amount of cardio you've been doing. Lean muscle is made primarily of fast twitch fibers and is imperative to achieving the shape and pleasing aesthetic appearance that most people desire (if you show me someone who dosen't desire this, I'll show you a liar). More muscle on the body equals more calories burned in both the resting and active state. Why? Simply put, more muscle fibers are recruited and required during each and every activity that you perform. This means that people with more muscle burn more calories while walking, working, eating, watching tv, working out, and even sleeping than people with less muscle burn. 

To achieve the shape you desire for your body, you must change your body's composition. In other words, you must get rid of fat while simultaneously adding muscle. Cardio will drive you to lose some fat, but it does not allow you to gain muscle. The average overweight woman is pear shaped with more fat in the lower half of their body while the average overweight man tends to be apple shaped with more fat in their mid-section. Doing cardio then would drive these people to become smaller pears and smaller apples because they would lose some fat without adding muscle. Your goal however, should not be to look like pear or apple of any size. It should be to change your body's composition in your upper and lower half and in your core (abs and lower back). This goal can only be accomplished through strength training! 

I'll leave you with this final piece... I dare you to take the Strength By Matt challenge:
       

A not-so-uncommon sight in the cardio room.

Next time you're at the gym look in the cardio section and I'll bet you'll see a dozen or so people who look unhappy, are not losing weight, and are using cardio as an excuse to watch television. This form of exercise will closely resemble the time they spend on their couch! Next, look into the weight room and I'll bet you'll see a group of lean, toned, sexy individuals with great posture and a confident aura. Now answer this question... which group would you rather be a part of?

As always, I'm only giving you advice and inviting you to try something new as you strive to become a stronger version of yourself. You can do whatever the hell you want to do! 

The Zero Cardio Diet - Intro.

I have received a lot of questions from people on how to lose weight, gain weight, build muscles mass, tone legs and booty, etc. In every case I give very sound advice and in some cases, I write entire workouts for my clients. None of my advice or workouts ever include a ton of cardio. To many of you reading this, it is obvious why a cardio-free regimen would work for someone whose goal is to gain weight, but you can't wrap your head around how someone can possibly lose weight without running their asses off... literally.

Think about this... back in 1977 a book was published entitled The Complete Book of Running by Jim Fixx. This book quickly became the best selling non-fiction book in history at the time and single handedly began the cardio craze. Personal Trainers, dietitians, and physicians from that point forward began preaching, and prescribing cardio heavy workouts to lose weight and get healthy. Treadmill sales soared and continue to increase and American's are lighter and healthier now than ever before. Wait a minute... American's are actually fatter and more disease ridden than ever before. What??? But that dosen't make sense!!

In this new, multi-part series, I am going to explain exactly why you should AVOID cardio to lose weight and shape your body into the figure you desire. 

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Do THIS to Cure a Hangover

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Relax your hangover away. You earned it baby!

The skin is your body's largest organ, and one of it's main jobs is to excrete toxins from the body. It does this through sweat, and the sauna is a great way to get a sweat on. I first became interested in saunas when I was playing football in college in Connecticut. Practices were extremely cold towards the end of the season, so to warm back up, I made it a habbit of going in the sauna until I got the feeling back in my fingers and toes. Perhaps to further justify this practice of going in the sauna, I researched the health benefits and I was pleased to find that there were many. My reasoning for going into the sauna was no longer solely because I was a wimp who hated the cold New England winters.

On to the title of this post... the #HangoverCure! When you go into a sauna your heart rate increases to that of a brisk walk as your sweat glands kick into actions. Sweating then mobilizes toxins (alcohol is a toxin, believe it or not!) that are stored in your fat cell and enhances their elimination. So why not just exercise to to start sweating? Well, after a heavy night of drinking it isn't good for your heart to raise your heart rate as high as jogging or high intensity training would raise it. So when you're feeling hungover, just relax, sit in the sauna, and sweat your toxins out. From personal experience, this is the best cure for a hangover. Of course, detox is one part of the puzzle, the other piece is re-hydration. So drink plenty of water! Especially in the sauna. Bring a bottle with you and down the whole thing either in the sauna or right after you get out, before starting your next 15 minute cycle. Let your body tell you when you are fully detoxed and your hangover is cured. I suggest spending less time detoxing if you are new to the whole sauna thing. Like everything fitness related, you should build up to it over time as opposed to just jumping in head first. 

If you're really looking to detox your body for the long haul, not just for one day to kick your hangover's ass, you're going to want to read this paragraph. Several researchers have looked at the effect of sauna on the body's toxic burden. the best studied is the Hubbard Sauna Detoxification Program. This protocol involves daily exercise followed by sitting in a sauna for 2.5 to 5 hours a day, with breaks for cooling down and rehydrating. Participants in this program also take niacin to stimulate circulation and fat mobilization, as well as multivitamins and polyunsaturated oils. 

Bring in a bottle of water with you and don't stay in longer than
15 minutes continuously.

Try out the sauna next time you're hungover and let me know what you think. Feel free to leave any other proven hangover cures that you've had success with in the comments below. 

Again, this is all just advice... you can do whatever the hell you want to do!

Free Weights vs. Machines, Which is Better?

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Many people wonder whether they should use free weights or machines during their lifting programs. If you ask one person they'll tell you free weights, but if you ask another person they'll give you a great argument for using machines. So which one do I recommend?

This machine forces isolation of your bicep muscles but takes
the place of your stabilizers.

Answer: It depends on what your goals are.

I personally use free weights as I do mainly Olympic lifts during my workouts, but I'm not going to sit here and say that it's my way or the highway. My goals for lifting are to increase functionality and athleticism. If your goals are different, I wouldn't put you on the same lifting program as me. If, for example, you are into bodybuilding, I would definitely incorporate more machine weights into your program. Why? Because machine weights are great for forming and shaping individual muscles. They isolate the targeted muscle very well, which is very important if your goal is to simply look good and symmetrical for aesthetic purposes. So, if this is your goal (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!) then use machine weights all you want. You WILL have success.

The squat is an excellent example of an exercise that
strengthens your prime movers as well as your stabilizers
and core.

Now, if your goal is gain increase your athleticism and strength, machine weights are not the way to go. Football players and all other athletes... I'm talking to you, regardless of what you think your goals are. You see, machine weights train your neuromuscular system to move and use your muscles without recruiting your stabilizers. This makes you extremely vulnerable to injuries. If your muscles are trained to work without using stabilizers, they might be big and strong looking, but they're one wrong move, one quick jerk away from popping. Additionally, while your muscles get big and strong and are able to lift heavier weights, your joints and stabilizers remain weak and unable to handle the same amount of weight as your muscles. I'm convinced that this is why I suffered so many injuries throughout my life in football, baseball, and wrestling. I was a machine weight whore for many years. It wasn't until I started using free weights nearly exclusively that I went from getting injured multiple times a season, to almost never getting hurt despite the size and skill level of my competition increasing. If your goal is athleticism and functionality, you want to stick to lifts that simulate natural movements. These lifts recruit the same stabilizers that you are apt to use both while playing sports, and in every day life. In almost no real-life situation will you have a machine available to take the place of your stabilizing muscles as you try to pick something up or move around.

As always...this is just advice! You can do whatever you want. You know yourself and your body better than anyone else, so if in your experience you've had success with machine weights and have correlated that success with athletic prowess, then by all means keep using them. I'm just giving you another way to look at things and inviting you to try something new.

If you want me to hook you up with a lifting program, send an email to strengthbymatt@gmail.com and I'll hook you up!