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I was interviewed recently by Truly Huge and thought I would share it here with everyone. Q: What got you started with weight training? JF: I was a painfully skinny kid and always hated that. It tortured me and really affected my self confidence. My cousin was dating a pro wrestler who was absolutely enormous and he was the one who got me really into it. I wanted to be just like him so I started hitting the iron. Unfortunately I was doing a lot of the wrong things and wasted a lot of years… continue reading.

There is an old idea that still permeates mixed martial arts circles and that is the idea that strength work is not necessary or should, at best, be a secondary consideration. Many combat coaches and athletes spend hours and hours a week on conditioning. Often times this is all they will do, neglecting any kind of strength work whatsoever. I understand that conditioning is the most important quality for a combat athlete to develop but you have to realize that improving your strength is vitally important as well. Statistics have shown that at lower… continue reading.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in Central Park at the Men’s Fitness Ultimate Athlete event. While it was a great event for a great cause and I met a lot of great people I was reminded of the importance of leading by example. My good friend, Sean Hyson of Men’s Fitness, who was looking as jacked as ever, jumped into the competition to show that he can not only talk the talk but walk the walk. I was really impressed by Sean’s willingness to get his hands dirty while he was working and put his money where his mouth… continue reading.

By John Alvino I’d be a very rich man if I had a dollar for ever time that someone told me, “My upper abs are getting lean but I still have this pouch of fat on my lower abs.” Unfortunately, this “upper then lower” fat loss progression is typical for the majority of people. This “lower ab bulge” happens for three totally different reasons. If you are going to achieve flat lower abs, all three reasons must be addressed. The first reason the lower abs are not flat is simply due to excess body fat. Most… continue reading.

From Paleo Cookbooks Ingredients ½ butternut pumpkin, seeded and sliced 4 red onions, peeled and sliced 4tbs rosemary leaves, chopped 4tbs olive oil Instructions Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180o Celsius/350o Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place pumpkin, onion and rosemary leaves on the baking tray and coat with olive oil. Place tray in the oven and bake for 15-20minutes or until pumpkin has cooked and onions have browned. Serve. For over 300 more great paleo recipes check out… continue reading.

First off, I want to say congratulations to my buddy and fellow vegetarian Mac Danzig for his outstanding performance Saturday night at the UFC pay per view. Big things ahead for this guy. Secondly, I wanted to thank everyone for all the positive feedback so far on Fit to Fight and to share the latest review with those of you who haven’t gotten your copy yet. Click HERE to read it. continue reading.

Question: What is more important for a fighter to focus on; strength or conditioning? Answer: Neither is more important than the other. It really depends on what the particular fighter needs to work on and what his major weakness is at the time. If he is inhumanly strong yet completely gassed after a minute, then max strength work will be a complete waste of time and he should focus most of his time on conditioning. The reverse, obviously holds true for someone who is in great conditioning yet weaker than tissue paper. Determine your weakness and what is… continue reading.

By Dave “The Muscle Cook” Ruel Makes 4 Servings Ingredients * – 1 Tbsp olive oil * – 1 chopped onion * – 2 egg whites * – 1/4 cup oat bran * – 1/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato * – 1 teaspoon oregano * – 1/2 teaspoon sea salt * – 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper * – 1 lb / 455 g ground bison Directions * 1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Cook the onion until soft and… continue reading.

Along with my friend Sean Hyson of Men’s Fitness, I had lunch on Saturday with Mac Danzig, the winner of last seasons Ultimate Fighter and future UFC champion. Upon meeting Mac for the first time one of the things you notice immediately is that he is incredibly polite and respectful; nothing like the image that they created for him through the magic of editing on The Ultimate Fighter. The second thing you notice is that his hands are incredibly huge compared to the rest of his body and that you probably wouldn’t want to get hit by one of them. continue reading.

Last night I was at the gym doing deadlifts. I had planned on doing two sets but I went a little heavier than I should have on my first set. As I stripped a plate off each side to prepare for my back off set I felt a twinge in my back while bending over. I stood up and tried to stretch out but it didn’t help much. “Whatever,” I thought. I have had this happen a hundred times and have always plowed through it. I put the plates back and tightened up the collars. When I finished writing in… continue reading.

Makes 3 Servings (3 Burgers) Ingredients • 1 pound ground turkey • ¼ cup minced onion • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce • 2 tablespoons minced green bell pepper • 1 tablespoon soy sauce • 1 tablespoon water • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger • Salt and pepper • 2 cloves garlic, crushed Directions 1. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl. 2. With clean hands, squeeze it together until it’s very well combined. 3. continue reading.

Today’s post is stolen from my good friend Keith Scott I agree 100% with what he said and wanted to share it with you in case you have been living under a rock and haven’t started taking fish oil yet. ******* The INCREDIBLE Benefits of Fish Oil By Keith Scott If you don’t supplement with fish oil then you are missing out on one of the best researched, most effective and important supplements on the market. Before I start with the benefits, a quick explanation of what fish oil is might help to start this… continue reading.

Question: I’ve read that stretching before your workout lowers your power for about 15mins after the stretch, which is the bulk of the lifting session. Is that true? If so, should I be stretching at all before my workouts? Thanks! -SSgt Carol L. Miller Jr. Answer: Carol, it is debatable how long this negative effect lasts. I don’t recommend stretching statically before training unless you absolutely need to in order for you to get into certain positions. This means that if you have chronically tight hips and can’t squat properly without hitting a few… continue reading.

“I have been trying to gain muscle all my life. It is probably one of the hardest things I or, for that matter, anyone has tried to do naturally. It’s frustrating, time consuming, and with so many people telling you so many different things downright impossible to know what is the most effective way to build muscle without the harmful use of steroids. However, I have come across a program called Muscle Gaining Secrets that truly is geared toward the hard-gainer, the guy that is dedicated and has tried everything he can to build muscle with… continue reading.

What is it about the owners of public gyms that makes them think that people want to listen to… TECHNO when they train? How does techno equal training music? I don’t get it. Am I the only who is bewildered by this phenomenon? Who gets fired up to lift heavy weights to this crap? Isn’t this what guidos in wife beaters pump their fists to in clubs at 4am? Or did that fad die in the 90’s? I don’t know, but I do that Eminem was right when he said (in Without Me) “Nobody listen to techno!” So public gym… continue reading.