Today I have a quick interview I did with Shelby Starnes (pictured to the left) on the topic of carb cycling. JF: Shelby, most people would agree that carb consumption is necessary for muscle growth and optimal performance. So some people think, “Well, if that’s the case, why not just go high carbs all the time?” Can you briefly explain the benefits of high carbs and then why you can’t go high carb all the time? SS: A high carb intake will secrete a lot of insulin, which is a hormone that can… continue reading.

Now that we know how many carbs you need to consume each day let’s get into the exact carb cycling breakdown. The only thing that won’t really change on any of the days is protein. Protein should remain constant at right around one gram per pound of bodyweight per day on average. There’s really no need for most people to go much higher than this unless your carbs are extremely low. Then you might go as high as 1.5 grams per pound. But to keep things simple we’ll leave it at a gram per pound for everyone… continue reading.

The first time I experimented with carb cycling was some time back in the early 90’s, largely influenced by the work of Michael Zumpano and the late Dan Duchaine. I was blown away by how incredibly well this worked so I immediately enlisted a few more test subjects to try it out on. Again, the results were awesome. My brother, our friend Todd and I all got in the best shape we’d ever been in to date. After that I had some clients try it and the results were the same. Being like a lot of people I was in… continue reading.

If the deadlift is the best muscle building exercise on the planet why do many successful strength and conditioning coaches not use the movement with their athletes? The reason is simple; the deadlift takes too much out of you and is very hard to recover from. When you have an athlete who also needs to be implementing speed work, conditioning and sport specific drills on a regular basis you can’t afford to compromise his recovery ability to such an extreme level. A hard deadlift session will usually leave him slower, less explosive and with a general, overall feeling of fatigue… continue reading.

Remember the movie, Face Off, where someone removed Nicolas Cage’s face and switched it with John Travolta’s? Well, if you only knew me outside of the gym and then walked in when I was training you would probably swear that had to have happened. The guy who is almost always laughing, cracking jokes and quoting Seinfeld is long gone. I’m angry, laser focused and don’t really see the humor in much. Not because I’m not enjoying myself or because I want to be a dick to those around me, but because I’m very serious about my training and really enjoy… continue reading.

Guest post by Grant Douglas from Australia, taken from the Renegade Strength Club. My girlfriend and myself had been planning a holiday in the US for the end of 2010 to spend Christmas/New Years in New York and then move on to Washington D.C., Colorado and Vegas. I have been following Jason’s writing/programs now for about 3 years and once we had decided we were going to be in New York for 10 days, there was no way I was going to miss the chance to make the pilgrimage and train at Renegade Gym in New Jersey. The original… continue reading.

Kyle Matthews knows a thing or two about hard work and dedication. He won the first ever Muscle Gaining Secrets transformation contest a few years back, then repeated his performance when we had another transformation contest for members of the Renegade Inner Circle last year. To do that twice is pretty impressive. Especially considering the fact that between the two contests he suffered three freak injuries that set him back considerably (all of which we didn’t have the time to cover in this interview). Today Kyle’s going to share some of his experiences and explain how he… continue reading.

Salad 2 eggs, boiled, cut into quarters 1 chicken breast, steamed and shredded 2 cups rocket leaves 1 carrot, diced ½ green capsicum, diced Almond sauce 1 small white onion, grated 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1tbs oil ¼ cup almond butter ¼ cup coconut cream 1tbs soy sauce (optional) Chilli flakes Instructions To make the almond sauce, start by placing the oil into a fry pan. Fry onion and garlic on low heat for 5 minutes or until slightly browned. Add almond… continue reading.

In case you missed them here’s a quick list of the most popular (along with some of my personal favorite) posts from 2010: Please leave a comment on as many of them as you like. I always read each and every comment you post and always appreciate the feedback. You Must Have the Wrong Guy- Unlike Bruce Banner, people seem to like me when I’m angry. I kicked 2010 off with this little rant that a lot of people seemed to enjoy. Simplify Your Program to Amplify Your Results– Too many people add too many ingredients and end… continue reading.

With the Renegade Army growing bigger and stronger throughout every week of 2010 I was able to reach and help more people than ever before. That’s what I got into this business for so to be able to do it on such a grand scale brings me a great deal of satisfaction. When I first started Renegade Strength & Conditioning in a tiny, underground gym in Jersey seventeen years ago I never would have imagined that we’d one day be worldwide with over 100,000 rebellious, badasses following the Renegade Method. Thank you all for that. It humbles me beyond… continue reading.

Choose Your Goals and Train Accordingly I like kettlebell snatches. Only I don’t do too many of them because my workouts already include a lot of overhead work in the form of handstands, presses, barbell snatches, carries, chins, etc. When I throw in too many kettlebell snatches on top of all that my injured, surgically repaired shoulder gets a little flared up. So I’d rather jump rope, push the prowler or run hills like I have since ’84 when Walter Payton inspired me to start doing so. That’s not to say that I won’t do a… continue reading.

Even though my last post ended up being one of the most popular of 2010, and the majority of readers got it, there still seems to be many unanswered questions regarding the topic of conditioning in many people’s minds. Hopefully I can clear those up today. How Important is Conditioning? Conditioning is extremely important. Like Vince Lombardi said, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” It can literally be the difference between winning and losing. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should train for conditioning in the weight room. If you’re an athlete how much… continue reading.

How do you start your day each morning? Do you angrily smash the alarm clock and roll out of bed exhausted, dreading another day doing what you hate? Or do you spring up fresh and well rested because you went to sleep before 11pm like you know you should, and get excited to tackle another day doing what you love? What about your workout regimen? Do you do focus on big compound lifts, bodyweight exercises, strongman training or do you take the easy way out? Do you keep a detailed log book and track your progress week after… continue reading.

I just wanted to take a quick minute to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and sincerely thank you all very much. Thank you for visiting the site on a regular basis and supporting what I do. It’s because of you guys that I get to do what I love every day. Immersing myself in physical culture and helping people are my biggest passions in life. And to be able to combine the two and make a living doing it is truly a dream come true. Over the last year this here blog has grown to be one of the most… continue reading.

Here’s a delicious, healthy, raw dessert from our brand new plant based recipe guide that some of you may want to try out for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This couldn’t be any simpler to make and won’t take you more than five minutes. Ingredients •    2 bananas •    ½ cup dates •    ¼ cup carob or cocoa powder •    2 tbsp coconut oil Directions Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Let chill in refrigerator for 60 minutes before serving. If you wanted… continue reading.