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Holiday Treat Plan: An Interview With Joel Marion
I met Joel Marion for the first time in New York City last November, about this time, for my 29th Birthday.
My first impression of Joel: what a goomba.
Joel is very tall,has a slight side-to-side shuffle, and has one of those laughs that make you laugh even if whatever you’re talking about is not funny. When we went to Las Vegas back in April, I believed we laughed for 5 days straight.
Back in NYC, I think he he introduced himself as, “Hey, I’m Joel Marion, 2001 Body-for-Life Grand Champion for ages 18-25.”
Maybe he didn’t say the ages 18-25 part but he did introduce himself as “I know something that you don’t know” energy about him.
My second impression of Joel: this guy is pretty cocky.
Pretty ignorant and shallow of me eh?
Over the course of the next few hours I came to realize that Joel was anything but an “ordinary guy” — and certainly not cocky but still a bit of a goomba. Over the last few months he quickly became one my best friends and respected colleague with whom I’d exchange ideas daily.
In the months that followed, I watched as Joel became a online fitness celebrity, famous for developing a fat loss system that’s been introduced in his book, Cheat Your Way Thin. Joel has tirelessly researched and experimented with various theories in hopes of turning “good” into “optimal” and there’s no better example of this than his dedication to helping you succeed a better way.
Joel is helping me get my book published and more recently has helped me with my diet the past three weeks since visiting him at his home in Tampa, Florida.
Joel and I in Tampa on October 29th
More accurately, Joel has helped me incorporate overfeed days/cheat days/treat days or whatever you want to call them into my diet (every 5 days for my upcoming goals).
The results? I’ve gone from 203 pounds to 197 pounds – three weeks to the day and I’ve gained two pounds of muscle according to my body fat pincher. Overall, I look bigger than three weeks ago.\
In my girlfriends words when I revealed the goods, “Holy!” (Jaw dropped at the same time).
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A Double Dose Of Metabolism Protection: Strategic Carbohydrate Cycling
Back with another update on on the upcoming new program, Cheat Your Way Thin, and today we’ll be talking about carbohydrate cycling and how you can use this in your nutrition program to keep the hormone leptin (which we discussed yesterday) from dropping too low (resulting in fat storage).
By preventing leptin levels from dropping too low you’ll keep your metabolism soaring which means you’ll be burning fat all day long. Have a close read over the valuable information below because it will show you what “dieting” should really be all about.
NOTE: Please read the comments from the blog post yesterday because the man-of-the-hour, Joel Marion in the flesh took the time to read your questions and give extremely detailed responses. Do not read any further below until you understand how this important hormone – leptin – works. I promise it will be worth your time extremely helpful for your fat loss goals. If you need clarification on anything mentioned don’t hesitate to post below.
Click HERE to read the most important hormone you never heard of. (page opens in new window)
Below in another article from Joel that I have posted with his permission.
A Double Dose Of Metabolism Protection: Strategic Carbohydrate Cycling
Without a doubt the most important thing you can do while attempting to drop body fat is to maintain high levels of leptin day in and day out.
With Cheat Your Way Thin, we accomplish this via two different means:
First, every so often we use strategically timed periods of overfeeding or “cheating” to restore leptin levels to baseline. These full-blown cheat sessions are almost magical when it comes to interrupting the starvation feedback loop, preventing your body from “turning against” your dietary efforts and putting the kibosh on fat loss.
In addition to strategic cheating, we also use strategic carbohydrate cycling throughout the week in order to safeguard against falls in leptin and other fat burning hormones even on “diet” days.
If you paid close attention to yesterday’s article, you remember that leptin and carbohydrate have VERY strong ties. I even shared a study in which leptin levels were maintained during an all out fast (no food whatsoever) by simply maintaining blood glucose and insulin via an IV drip. Wow.
I’ll clean that entire plate on my cheat, I prefer to call “treat” days
When It Comes To Leptin, Carbohydrates Are KING
But, just like with cheating, you can’t just eat a boatload of carbs every day and expect fat to magically melt away. It’s all about strategy.
So here’s how we do it.
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The Most Impotant Hormone You’ve Never Heard Of
Today’s info is really going to be a game-changer for you because we’re discussing a hormone that nobody knows about or talks about yet it’s the number one hormone you need to control if you’re going to be successful at losing body fat and getting into your leanest condition ever.
Next week I’m going to telling you about the number one nutrition program this year called Cheat Your Way Thin (Holiday Edition) which will be released next week by fitness author Joel Marion. It’s absolutely necessary that you read this article because it’s critical information that you understand the principle behind the Cheat Your Way Thin program.
I got to hang out with Joel for four days while I was in Tampa Florida visiting him and one of the hot topics of our conversation was accelerating my fat loss goals to get me shredded for my photo shoot next weekend in the Dominican Republic. After a bit of arm-twisting I agreed that I would try out his nutrition program instead of my own.
After you see the pictures next week you can decide for yourself if it works.
For now, with Joel’s permission, I’ve posted a recent article I would like you to read and then post your questions for Joel and I to respond to – I’m sure there will be a lot so we’ll do our best to answer them all.
Lepti-what?!
It’s name is Leptin (derived from the Greek word leptos, meaning “thin”), and it’s without a doubt the most important hormone you probably never heard of.
You see, leptin was only first discovered just over 10 years ago, and as far as weight loss is concerned, that’s extremely recent.
A leptin molecule looks a lot like a mangled telephone cord.
Leptin’s function? To communicate your nutritional status to your body and brain.
Leptin levels are mediated by two things. One is your level of body fat. All else being equal, people with higher levels of body fat will have higher leptin levels than those with lower levels of body fat and vice versa.
Because leptin is secreted by fat cells, it makes sense that under normal conditions there is a direct correlation between leptin levels and the amount of fat you are carrying.
Unfortunately, when you’re attempting to lose fat and begin to restrict calories, conditions are anything but “normal” and the body responds accordingly by lowering leptin levels.
This is because the second mediator of blood leptin levels is your calorie intake. Lower your calorie intake and leptin will fall, independent of body fat.
So, yes, you can be overweight and still suffer from low leptin levels – just go on a diet.
So what happens when leptin levels fall and why the heck does it matter?
Again, under normal conditions leptin levels are normal and the brain gets the signal loud and clear that nutrition intake is adequate. Metabolism is high and the internal environment of the body is one very conducive to fat burning.
A body that knows a little something about fat burning.
Until you start dieting.
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Lean Hybrid Muscle Building Top 5 Questions
Without surprise I have received many engaging questions about the brand new Lean Hybrid Muscle program my fitness friends Mike Westerdal and Elliot Hulse released yesterday, which promises that you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time with their methods.
Until Sunday night they are having a 50% off book launch discount.
http://www.MetabolicResistanceCardio.com <– This is basically my nickname for hybrid training.
As you know, I do not aggressively endorse methods for building muscle and losing fat simultaneously. Instead, I prefer to chase one goal at once but if two reputable coaches I respect are claiming this is possible, it would be ignorant for me to ignore their real world science and results.
I was especially interested in knowing if their “gain muscle and lose fat at the same time methods” could be used in replacement of my post cardio workout and you’ll see specific sample workouts below (question #5) that I’m performing instead of 20-30 minutes of walking on a treadmill etc. Their workouts are far more stimulating and better for overall conditioning which is why I thought you would be interested in having a look today. All the info is at:
http://www.MetabolicResistanceCardio.com
Top 5 Lean Hybrid Muscle Building Questions answered by Mike and Elliot below:
1. Is there really such thing as type III muscle fiber?
Like we mentioned yesterday, a Type III muscle fiber is just a cool name for a hybrid type II muscle fiber that takes on traits of a type I fiber.
It’s nothing new. It’s just something a lot of people haven’t heard about.
Early adaptors of this theory included Dr. Len Schwartz who in 1995 coined the phrase “Long Strength”. Dr. Schwartz describes Long strength as “the ability to exert significant strength for an extended period of time.”
John Parrillo-the second proponent of long strength-began having his bodybuilders doing really high intensity cardio. He claimed that doing this actually altered the muscle composition. He called this form a resistance training the “100 rep extended set,” saying that it helped the body to construct more mitochondria-the muscles’ “cellular blast furnaces.” He also says that this increases muscular growth by developing the circulatory pathways that provide nourishment to the muscles.
Ori Hofmekler is the third early adopter of the long strength concept. Ori developed a weight training system that he called, “Controlled Fatigue Training.” According to Ori, this type of training was specifically designed to develop these super hybrid muscles-ones that were capable of generating and sustaining strength for extended periods.
2. Why do we want a type 3 super muscle?
Reviewing what we talked about yesterday we know that Type 1 fibers have a higher mitochondrial density than type 2 thus they are more fuel efficient. Simply put, they burn fat for energy better than the type 2 fibers.
Type 2 fibers usually have a thicker diameter… they are bigger fibers. When they begin adopting the behavior of type 1 fibers by gradually increasing their mitochondrial density they ultimately become even BIGGER in size as well a better at burning fat for energy.
So if you want muscles that are BIGGER, STRONGER, have more ENDURANCE, and are better at FAT BURNING than you’ll want to develop these muscles.
3. How do we get them?
By combining cardio and resistance activities it causes the composition of muscles to transform from predominately type II or type IIb into Type III. By doing this, we are able to push “beyond our genetic limits,” much like the ancient Spartans, Gladiators and Vikings did.
Having more mitochondria in the muscle cells means that more nutrients can be processed, giving the muscles the ability to work considerably harder for longer periods. They’re also able to grow larger and are able to resist getting tired for longer periods.
Knowing this, we can see that the goal of cardio combined with resistance—sometimes known as hybrid cardio is to push our muscles to undergo a reconfiguration and increase the number of mitochondria in the cells.
4. Should I eat for size or fat loss during this program?
The answer to that is…it depends. Sometimes you’ll eat more calories and sometimes you’ll eat less. However nutrient timing is just one aspect of gaining muscle and burning fat.
Nutrition would be such an easy topic to practice and discuss if human beings were as simple as a mathematical equation.
You know… 10 – 3 = 7
But when it comes to the dynamic hormonal and nervous system fluctuations present in the human body… often times
10 – 3 = 478!!
With such various reactions to a broad spectrum of stimuli, the simple notion that calories in vs. calories out determines your fat loss or muscle building results, is a completely ineffective means for determining fitness results.
For example, when exposed to the harsh and threatening demands of prison life, many inmates continue to build thick, lean muscles despite the lack of access to high quality foods, proteins and supplements.
This is due to the highly anabolic state that their bodies are able to maintain when in such a testosterone driven environment. Also, have you ever met a fat person that barely eats? They consume very little calories yet they are obese! This is also due to a hormonal response. It also destroys the notion that lower calories equal less body fat.
Fat loss and muscle building are the result of several lifestyle and nutrition modifications, none more important than the other. All of our daily choices have an impact on our fitness results, not simply how much food we eat.
5. Can I continue my current workout and add Resistance Cardio at the end of my workouts for 20-30 minutes?
Yes that’s a great idea. That’s a hybrid workout in itself. Continue to train with weights for strength, muscle growth and toning. Than instead of doing 30-minutes of traditional cardio on a treadmill or stationary bike add some resistance cardio to your workout to start developing the Type III muscle fiber.
To do hybrid cardio all you need to is combine aerobic and anaerobic (resistance) activities. You can do this by adding dumbbells to your cardio workout.
If you want to go jogging, try wearing a weight vest while doing it. If you want to do something low impact, pick up some kettlebells or dumbbells and walk up a flights of stairs. Interval hybrid cardio using your bodyweight is another good option.
Another idea is to set up a circuit of pull-ups, squats, box jumps and push-ups. Alternate exercises every 20-30 seconds and keep moving. Keep going for 20-minutes. I guarantee you a bodyweight circuit like this will be faster, burn more calories and keep you more entertained. You can mix things up even more by holding each position for five to ten seconds—up for pull-ups and push-ups, down for lunges and squats.
Once the bodyweight cardio exercises aren’t challenging enough you can try a few of these sample Metabolic Resistance Cardio workouts to do at the end of your normal workouts. They are all full body workouts, so feel free to rotate through them, it doesn’t matter which one you pick.
Remember your muscles will already be somewhat fatigued from the weight training session you just performed so you’ll want to use a much lighter weight when doing this kind of resistance cardio after a weight training session.
These hybrid “resistance cardio” workouts can be done with 2 20 lb dumbbells or with a barbell at the gym at the end of your workouts.
No rest between exercises, Take 3-5 mins rest after the circuit and complete 3-5 rounds.
1a. Barbell Back Squats x 5
1b. DB overhead Walking Lunges x 20 steps
1c. Chin Ups x 10
1d. Jumping Burpees x 10
OR
a. DB squat / push press x 20
b. DB lunges x 10 ea.
c. DB renegade rows x 10 ea.
d. Jumping Burpees x 10
OR
a. DB overhead walking lunges x 30 yds.
b. DB Squats x 20
c. Skip Rope x 100
d. Sit Ups x 15
OR
a. BW Squat Jumps x 15
b. DB step ups x 10 ea
c. Explosive Push Ups x 15
d. Knees to Bows (if chin up bar is present) x 10
OR
a. Bear Crawls x 30 yds.
b. Sprint x 30 yds back
c. DB burpee presses
d. repeat 5 times
Here’s one you can do with Kettlebells.
KB Snatches: 5 reps per arm
KB Clean & Press: 5 reps per arm
KB Lunges: 5 reps per leg
KB Squats: 10 reps
KB One Armed Rows: 10 reps per arm
KB Two Handed Swings: 20 reps
END OF INTERVIEW
If you’ve been doing traditional low-intensity cardio post workout for more than a few months I’m going to challenge you to mix things up and incorporate some Metabolic Resistance Cardio post workout which will not only increase your shape but contribute to better fat burning and muscle gains. You’ll also notice that you develop a more vascular and ripped looked like a MMA fighter with this training.
Click the link below to get their 50% off special before the price doubles Sunday night:
http://www.MetabolicResistanceCardio.com
Have a great weekend.
Vince
Gain Muscle and Lose Fat with “Type III Muscle Fibers”
Never heard of the “Type III Muscle Fiber?”
Don’t worry, I’ll explain that in a moment and how some proven research supports the concept of developing a “Type III Super Fiber” to aid you in gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.
I’ve learned a lot from those $120 University text books but when it comes to cutting edge training information they’re often the last to get the “update”.
To be honest with you, this isn’t something you’re going to be reading or hearing a lot about unless you’re connected with some high level strength & conditioning coaches.
To save you from brushing the dust off your old physiology text books lets quickly review what we know about the different muscle fiber types.
1. To keep things simple there are two main types of muscle fibers. Type I and Type II which are composed of Type IIa and Type IIb.
Type I muscle fibers are slow-twitch which means they contract slowly making them great for endurance. These muscles are suited to aerobic activities like long distance running since they don’t fatigue as easy.
Type II muscle fibers are fast-twitch. They contract quicker, but they get tired a lot faster. Sprinters and power athletes usually have a lot of type II muscle fibers.
2. Unfortunately, genetics determine exactly what types of fibers make up your muscle composition. You can’t change the percentages you were born with….
….However what you can do is “reconfigure” muscle fibers to take on different characteristics, somewhat “tricking” your genetics. This is not an overnight procedure and focuses on specific training methods that selectively recruit both types of muscle fibers in the same workout or activity.
Introducing The Type III Muscle Fiber…
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4 Key Points To Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time
On Monday we started a series on how to build muscle and lose fat at the same time and I asked for your response and I would like to thank you for your valued feedback.
Today I’m going to share some key points you must understand:
Key Point #1: Building Muscle and Losing Fat At The Same Time Is The Exception and Not The Rule
I believe it’s far easier to focus on building ten pounds of muscle in one training phase and then losing ten pounds of fat in the next training phase. You always get better results separating your goals into different phases, and chasing one goal at once.
Anybody who gains ten pounds of muscle and loses ten pounds of fat at the same time is very lucky and either got extremely lucky, is a complete beginner, has incredible genetics or took a recent visit to a pharmaceutical lab (if you know what I mean).
Key Point #2: Building Muscle and Losing Fat Have Opposing Caloric Demands On Your Body
To pack on slabs of new muscle tissue, your body demands energy. Simply put, your muscles grow on calories so they need to be overfeed. The opposite applies for fat loss, you need to be underfeed which means you take in less energy than you expend.
If you’re goal is to build muscle than your body will command around 20-25 calories per pound of bodyweight during a overfeeding phase. If your goal is to lose fat then you should underfeed your body with 10-13 calories per pound of bodyweight.
So a 200 pound male would need about 4000-5000 calories to grow muscle and only 2000-2600 calories to lose fat. Can you see how building muscle and losing fat at the same time becomes a challenge?
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Build Muscle & Lose Fat At The Same Time?
Today is going to be different – you’re going to help my girlfriend, Flavia, and I.
Flavia is in a wedding taking place in the Dominican Republic in two weeks and I’ll be accompanying her as her bodyguard, I mean boyfriend.
If you’ve ever been invited to a pool party, beach or hot vacation then you naturally do a quick mental assessment:
Is my body beach worthy?
Even though I think my girlfriend is a knock out, she would tell you that she would like to be tighter and more ripped.
I’m not complaining.
I would tell her I want to be bigger and more shredded.
She’s not complaining.
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Beware of the FAKE BLOGS and Acai Berry Scams
It takes a lot to upset me but today my blood is boiling… I swear I’m going to find out who these fake bloggers are, visit their home and wait in their driveway with a 9 iron. Want to come with?
I would never resort to violence… but that’s what I feel like doing when I just found these fake blog sites are using my after pictures to sell their Acai Berry weight loss miracle supplement.
What REALLY got me mad was that their ads (they usually say “1 Rule To A Flat Stomach – Obey” are running EVERYWHERE, even on porn sites and I was notified by a reader that they saw my FRIGGIN after pic on a PORN SITE, linking to a FAKE BLOG that eventually promoted the Acai Berry – which is just glorified and expensive fruit juice you don’t need to waste your money on.
Stay with me…cause I’m
typing fast right now.
These fake blogs are not selling just weight loss, they are selling anything that can be sold in a bottle/pill. They have infiltrated the entire Internet with Resveratrol products, Colon Cleanse products, Wrinkle “Cures”, Men’s muscle building supplements and more. If you ever land on a fake blog site, get off FAST.
If you see ANY ads that look like this…
1 Rule of a Flat Stomach – Obey
or
3 Rules of a Flat Stomach – You Must Obey
or
New Jersey Mom Got Skinny by Following 1 Rule
or
Chicago Mom Lost 52 lbs following 2 Rules
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How To Build Muscle Using 1 and 1/2 Technique
I filmed this last November in New Jersey with “six pack abs expert” Arnel Ricafranca.
Very short and sweet video sharing an advanced muscle building tip using the 1 and 1/2 technique to build muscle.
Easy to learn.
Difficult to implement.
Perfect to bring up a lagging body part.
Let me know if this was new or not and what kind of videos you want to see more of:
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5-Ways I Beat Vegas & Came Home More Ripped
How I Beat Las Vegas (actually I slapped it in the face)
1. Be FLEXIBLE.
Normally I would train on Thursday but I made it a OFF day because of the 14-hour travel day and I KNEW I would have no interest in training as soon as I land and have friends texting my phone to meet up.
I had to adjust my training week to make this happen but it worked out perfectly knowing that I would train Friday morning and Saturday morning.
2. Prepare to SACRIFICE.
You can’t have it all. Stay up late, eat like a King, enjoy some “beverages”, train and come back just as ripped as I left – not going to happen. So instead of doing the club’s in the evening I suggested we hit a show for a change. This resulted in saving some money, not waking up with blood shot eyes, going to bed at a reasonable time, and being able to train at 7am the next morning before our 9am meeting. I did this Friday and Saturday morning – yes, in Vegas! I know – I’m different 
3. Set Yourself Up For Accountability.
My favorite part about Vegas is the FOOD – it’s a bodybuilders heaven with all the world-class restaurants and service so when our table was ordering appetizers I knew I needed to announce to my friends BEFORE the weekend got started that “I’m dieting” right now. If I reached for the bread basket my buddy would say, “Aren’t you dieting?” That’s called setting yourself up for accountability. I hate letting myself down so this works for me 80% of the time (No, I’m not perfect).
4. Plan A Fast Day.
Whether I’m cutting or bulking I have been scheduling a 24-hour fast day once every two weeks to re-set my metabolism, break craving and naturally cleanse. My only personal tweak is that I have a whey-isolate protein shake (Precision) with 10 grams of BCAA’s (from Blue Star Nutrition) in the morning before I start.
I find it easier to use a “all-or-nothing” approach, especially when I’m in the airport and the majority of my fast days happen in the airport since I travel 2-3x a month. I ended up spending $24 on WATER by the end of my 12-hour travel day but came home leaner and tighter and totally on track to my photo shoot in 4 weeks. I will say – AIRPORT FOOD PRICES ARE A SIN!
5. Keep A Bigger Perspective.
I know people will say, “Come on Vince… this is extreme!” Extreme results require extreme measures. Vegas isn’t going anywhere and right now “going crazy” isn’t one of my priorities so I had to make Vegas work into MY priorities instead of letting my circumstances win over my priorities. I had to also remind myself that I was NOT on vacation. This was business and just because business took place in “temptation-island” doesn’t mean you get an excuse to give in. Sure, your out-of-shape friends won’t give a rip but how will YOU feel about your decisions?
Let me tell you, the more you give in, the easier it becomes to give in next time. Next weekend I’m off to Orlando for 8-days so this past weekend was a good mental-prep.
How Do You Stay Focused?
One thing: You’ve truly got to be IN LOVE with the bodybuilding lifestyle. 100% commitment is required. Divorce or “taking some time apart” is NEVER an option if you truly want to get the most out of your body. You genuinely enjoy eating healthy, pushing your body, talking fitness, reading about fitness and sharing your passion with others. It needs to become NATURAL which is why you always hear, “It’s a lifestyle.”
Will You Be In Tampa Florida This January?
Did you pick up your ticket for the ground-breaking event that myself and 14 other famous fitness authors and coaches have joined forces on? A 3-day weekend called Transformation Domination LIVE. It’s being hosted by my good friend and fellow fitness author Joel Marion.
It takes place in Tampa Florida this January 16-18th and will be an unforgettable experience for all of those who join us, but I need to let you know there are now less than 24 hours left to save $145.49 on the cost of the weekend with the “Buy One, Get One Half Off” special discount ending tonight.
If you haven’t visited the site to check out the speaker line-up and all the cool things we have planned for you, you owe it to yourself to at least check it out!
http://tinyurl.com/yhtpndc <——- Click HERE
Vince
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Sean (90)
mike (63)
Mr WordPress (49)
John (45)
Joel Marion (33)
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A world famous fitness coach and author, Vince DelMonte is known as the top "Skinny Guy" expert and has helped more skinny guys and girls defeat their muscle unfriendly genes without drugs and supplements.
