Fitness Facts

With summer just around the corner, many people are looking for effective ways to shed those extra pounds and get in shape for the season. Weight training is a fantastic way to burn fat, build muscle, and achieve the summer abs you've always dreamed of. In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of weight training for fat loss and provide some tips to help you get started. Understanding Fat Burning Before we dive into weight training, it's important to understand how the body burns fat. Fat is stored in adipose tissue throughout the body, and in order to burn...

When you own the gym, you can train alone, but there’s no such thing as training by yourself.  I sold the last of my shares of my gym in Mexico in 2018.  However, I still get requests for stories about owning a gym in Mexico. This offering is not so much a story per se, but more of a brief rant about something many people might not ever consider - training in the gym you own.  While my preference is to train alone, my members made sure didn’t train by myself.  Their advances/ interruptions were innocent enough, sometimes the intent...

Arms, particularly the biceps, are one of those body parts that either grow easily, or are incredibly stubborn and difficult to gain size. Everyone wants big biceps, but not everyone can seem to grow them. The internet is full of all kinds of routines that aim to build a cannon ball biceps and no shortage of people trying to see if they can get their biceps to grow. The problem is, these folks are relying on one of the smallest muscle in the upper arm structure to do all the talking. While the triceps make up about 70% of the...

There are two terms for muscle growth.  One is “hypertrophy.”  Hypertrophy is the enlarging of existing muscle fibers. The other term for muscle growth is “hyperplasia.” Hyperplasia results when satellite cells on the muscle fibers are activated resulting in the growth of new muscle fibers. This could be occurring for a variety of reasons, the least of which being combating physical weakness. The majority of strength increase is the result of hypertrophy. But, before you ever cinch up a lifting belt and wrap your hands around an Olympic bar, there is an undeniable concept you absolutely must understand and accept...

Bodybuilding is brutally hard work. You not only have to follow a very strict diet and make sure you get all your nutrients, in the right combinations, but you also have to take your intensity in the gym up to a level you’ve never reached before. You have to train like a beast - a crazed wild beast. Going to the gym and getting this work done is serious business. But, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. An incredibly simple little thing that’s a whole lot easier than sticking to your diet and working out like...

Cardio sucks. Plain and simple.  No one likes cardio, especially on a diet designed to get you ripped. In a perfect world, you should be able to get ripped by manipulating your diet and training in such a way that you wouldn’t need to do any cardio. But this world is far from perfect, and if your aspirations are aimed at getting ripped enough for the stage, or anywhere close, you’re going to, in addition to starving to death on your diet, find yourself on a stair climber, a treadmill, rower, bike, etc. doing cardio, on top of your diet....

There is no denying the fact that muscles get attention, especially when they’re big and not covered in fat. A well muscled, well conditioned physique is usually the envy of all who view it. It’s hard to disagree that muscles are cool. Of all the muscles getting the attention at the beach or around the pool, there’s actually a preference, particularly among females, for a formidably built chest. Of all the other muscle groups, it’s the chest that stands out and gets the attention. There is even research to suggest that women, when given a choice between a male figure...

Testosterone is one of the most important hormones in the human body. Produced in the testicles by males, testosterone contributes to the growth and development of the secondary sex characteristics in males. Testosterone is also produced in the adrenal glands and ovaries of females, but in much smaller amounts. When the body lacks a sufficient amount of testosterone, a plethora of health issues can ensue. Testosterone therapy aims to reverse and prevent these issues and restore the body’s natural hormonal balance.   The Impact of Low Testosterone Levels   As we age, natural testosterone levels tend to decrease. This can...

He's got Three consecutive Mr. Olympia finished behind one of the greatest bodybuilder in history, eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney. In Arnold's own words, “this guy is an animal.” And he's right. In Rich Gaspari's mind, there's nothing he can't do. Especially when someone tells him so. I first met Rich Gaspari in 1987 before his second assault on his old training partner, Lee Haney, the only man on earth standing between him and the Olympia title – the absolute zenith of any bodybuilder’s life on earth. Of course I knew of Rich; if you were a bodybuilder you knew...

As long as you're alive, aging is inevitable. Some people don't age well and look like a withered piece of rope by the time they're 50, while others age with so much grace that they don't even look like they're aging at all. What's the secret that differentiates the two? Is it just genetics, or is there some surreptitious rout to graceful aging? Well, I'm no expert on aging but I’ve learned enough over the years to know that there are several things that have a significant impact on how well we age: • How you handle stress • Your...

As I write this, the elite Mr. Olympia “club” has only 16 members since it's inception in 1965. Fifty-seven years, 16 champions. Obviously, that means more than few have won multiple times. In fact, as of today (2022), just five Olympians have only one Sandow statue - Chris Dickerson (1982), Sammir Bannout (1983), Dexter Jackson (2008) Shawn Rhoden (2018), and Brandon Curry (2019). The rest: Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane , Lee Haney, Dorain Yates, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath and Big Ramy have won numerous times; Both Haney and Coleman hold the record...

Life is a rollercoaster. It's not lived in a straight and level line like I-70 through Kansas, where you can set the cruise control to 85, take a nap, and wake up in Colorado. One of the many reasons that's still not possible is that, while the line may be straight, the reality of driving a car is that you will encounter potholes, road blocks, construction zones and lunatic drivers paying more attention to texting and eating than the 4,000 pound projectile they're piloting through traffic. Life, like driving a car, brings us adversity, challenges and frequent occasions to work...