For those who haven’t been following along, I destroyed my right shoulder in September of 2007. My rotator cuff and labrum were both torn and surgery was required. Of course, being the meathead I am I plowed through for another 12 months, during which time I trained with the likes of Dave Tate, Matt Rhodes, Smitty from the Diesel Crew, Craig Ballantyne, John Alvino and some other strong dudes, whose names you may recognize and some others you wouldn’t. As a man, I am required to go balls to the wall when training with others who may be as… continue reading.

Ralph DeVito is the definition of dedication. The picture above was taken when Ralph started with us earlier this year. He was 47 years old and decided it was time to get in great shape. He had trained before in the past but this time was different. Like my friend, Mark Crook, who I’ve written about in the past, he became obsessed this time around. He wanted to do everything in his power to achieve his goals as fast as possible. He did everything I told him and asked all the right questions. He ordered every supplement I recommended, got… continue reading.

To burn fat without losing muscle there are two options when it comes to cardio and they’re at extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. You can either do very high intensity cardio (sprint). Or you can very low intensity cardio (walk). It’s the midrange stuff that presents a problem for most people. When you hop on a machine and go at it with moderate-high intensity for 30-40 minutes you will get all of the negative effects associated with cardio (increased cortisol, muscle loss, overuse injuries, decreased power output- meaning you’ll be less explosive, etc.). continue reading.

By Eric Cressey I’ve loved reading Jason’s stuff ever since we first connected back around 2003 because his roots – like mine – are in training athletes.  Getting guys bigger and leaner was always great, but at the end of the day, it was about improving performance and keeping guys on the field, ice, or court. That’s not to say that athletes can’t have their cake and eat it, too, though. In other words, gaining muscle mass, dropping body fat, improving performance, and staying healthy aren’t mutually exclusive goals.  We do it every single winter when dozens… continue reading.

Question: Jay, I know we have touched on this in the past (the optimal way to lose fat, while holding onto as much muscle as possible). However, lately I have had a chance to look at some different fat loss programs and wanted to get your feedback. From past forum discussions in the past it seems like the main components of a solid program for fat loss while maintaining muscle are: 1. Diet 2. Conditioning Short intense -(Hill Sprints, Jump Rope) and Walking in the morning 3. Lifting heavy with basic compound… continue reading.

By Dave Ruel, “The Muscle Cook” Makes 1 Serving (6 pancakes) Ingredients * – 1/4 cup oatmeal * – 6 egg whites * – 1 tbsp ground flax * – 1/2 tbsp cinnamon * – 1/4 teaspoon of Baking Soda * – 1 teaspoon of Splenda Directions * 1. First heat a frying pan until hot and then reduce to medium temperature. * 2. After mixing together all the ingredients in a blender, spray some pam (or other cooking spray), drop by spoonful onto the plan, flipping… continue reading.

By Tom Venuto “How can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?” That’s right up there with “How do I get six pack abs” as one of the most frequently asked fitness questions of all time. The problem is, when you ask it, you get all kinds of conflicting answers – even from experts who are supposed to know these things. So what’s the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously? Short answer: Yes it’s possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Long answer: It’s difficult… continue reading.

By Nick Nilsson Overtraining is NOT evil. In fact, overtraining can be exactly what you need to achieve continuous and rapid results in your training and breakthrough muscle-building plateaus! So first, what IS overtraining? Overtraining is, most simply, training too much. Your body is unable to recover from the volume or frequency of training and begins to break down. You not only lose motivation to train, you become more susceptible to injury and illness, and you may even start to go backwards in your training, getting smaller and weaker on almost a daily basis. So how can overtraining possibly be… continue reading.

I’ve been a little short on time the last week, working on some new projects so today’s post is taken from a question in the Renegade Inner Circle… Question: I’m curious about peoples thoughts on the whole idea of beginner gains, I noticed a lot of places on the net, say that if a beginner starts working out that they can gain 20 pounds pretty easily. What if your workouts and nutrition sucked when you were a beginner, and you never gained those 20 pounds? Is that window gone for when you get your shit in order? Jay I’ve… continue reading.

What a difference five years makes. I go out to bars about three times per year instead of three times per week. I hate staying up late and drinking these days, preferring instead to stay home, read a book and be in bed by 10:30. I’ll hardly touch a piece of food that isn’t organic or 100% natural. I’ve gotten rid of my microwave and toxic pots, pans and food storage containers. I only drink the purest water I can out of Sigg bottles, and even have a filter on my shower head. I threw out all my regular… continue reading.

Once you’ve been training more than a few years the need to deload on a somewhat regular basis becomes more and more prevalent. How often you do so depends on your training age, strength levels and injury history. Countless  successful lifters have had great results by training hard for three weeks and deloading on the fourth week. It’s a pretty widely accepted formula and has been proven time and time again. So there’s really no need to try and reinvent the wheel. Three weeks hard, one week deload is my standard go-to-recommendation. There are other options, however, and if you… continue reading.

Guest Post by Scott Sonnon of Tactfit Commando We’ve known for years that muscle tissue is highly active metabolically, and it helps us burn more calories during the day. So more muscle equals better fat burn, right? Unfortunately that’s only partly true — and not to the extent we once believed. A pound of muscle is now thought to burn an extra 6 calories per hour (as opposed to the 25 or more per hour we once believed). You’d have to pack on an awful lot of beef to make much difference. But that’s only one side of the… continue reading.

Aside from proper nutrition, there’s nothing more effective than hill sprints for fat loss. And if you’re not doing them you’re missing out on huge benefits. Don’t waste your time on cardio machines. They suck. Get outside and find a hill instead. If you are new to sprinting you need to take it easy when getting started. I mean reeeeaaaally easy. If the last time you ran a sprint was the week before senior prom you need to be very cautious or you’ll probably get hurt. Hill sprints place your body in a safer position than flat ground sprints because… continue reading.

Since there was quite a bit of interest in and positive feedback  on Chad’s fat loss system I decided to get him to write a quick article for us today on the top 5 fat loss myths. Check it out… Fat Loss Myth #1: Low intensity cardio is great for burning fat and boosting endurance. Jogging for an hour is a complete waste of time. So is any form of cardio that forces you to do the same repetitive movement over and over. When your muscles have to continuously contract for 30, 45, or 60… continue reading.

Jason Ferruggia: What are your top  fat burning nutrition tips? Chad Waterbury: The first step is to feed your body more nutrients and fewer calories. There’s really no way to get around the fact that burning fat requires you to give your body fewer calories than it needs. But where people really mess up is with their food choices. Most guys don’t get enough of certain key nutrients to feed their anabolic hormones even when they’re eating to bulk. So when they drastically cut calories their metabolism shuts down because they’re getting even fewer nutrients than… continue reading.