My coach, Ben Pakulski, introduced me to the Meat & Nuts Breakfast in prep for the 2011 WBFF World Championships & I can testify to increased metal focus, less craving and more focused energy. Not to mention 4% bodyfat.

Why is the rotating meat and nuts combination so effective?

1) The meat allows for a gradual rise in blood sugar.

2) The nuts provide a great dose of healthy smart fats that allow blood sugar to remain stable for a longer period of time.

3) Reduces food sensitivities that are known to increase cortisol in people. It’s very common for individuals to have allergies to beef, eggs, whey, casein, tuna and oatmeal, the typical bodybuilding staples.

In short, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day – what you eat for breakfast determines your entire neurotransmitter production for that day.

Personally, it’s quite funny to see the reaction of my friends when the visit me in the morning and watch me cook some form of meat for breakfast but literally everyone who has made the switch has reported the same benefits of increased energy, more mental focus and fullness.

Multiple studies on employee productivity or on children’s attention patterns have demonstrated that a high-protein diet breakfast not only impacts on the energy and productivity levels of morning till noon but also extends its positive effects into the late afternoon.

 Here is the Meat & Nuts Breakfast over the next five days:

Day 1

1-2 buffalo meat patties
1 handful of macadamia nuts

Day 2

1 large venison steak
1 handful of cashew nuts

Day 3

1-2 lean turkey burgers
1 handful of almonds

Day 4

salmon omelet
1 handful of walnuts

Day 5

2 lean ground beef patties
1 handful of Brazil nuts

Day 6

3 slices of turkey bacon
1 handful of hazelnuts

***COOKING TIP: I usually add some coconut oil, 2 whole organic eggs and a massive handful of spinach and mix all together in a frying pan. It takes less than five minutes to prepare.  Plus, I usually have 5 grams of high quality fish oil to mitigate the insulin response longer.

***The BEST Recipe Resource: The Muscle Cook, Dave Ruel has the best bodybuilding cookbook online and it includes dozens of amazing meals like Sun Dried Tomato Salmon, Salmon Burgers, Turkey Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Buffalo (Bison) Burgers, London Broil, Jamaican Pork and so many more that you use for the rotating meat and nuts breakfast. Just add the nuts to Dave’s recipe and your set. And for this week only, you can buy Dave’s nutrition system, Anabolic Cooking for $40 Off.

What if you’re allergic to nuts?

Charles recommends you add a portion of the following low-glycemic/low-fructose fruits with your breakfast:

Apricots
Avocadoes
Blackberries
Blueberries
Grapefruit
Loganberries
Nectarines
Olives
Papayas
Peaches
Plums
Raspberries
Strawberries

The rule of thumb when eating fruits is to aim for organic, especially for strawberries, as they are one of the most sprayed crops in the world.

What if you’re skinny and trying to build muscle?

If you’re still wear extra small clothes and having a hard time gaining muscle, adding 1-2 cups of carbohydrates to your breakfast will help you gain weight as prescribed in No Nonsense Muscle Building. For anyone looking to lose fat or optimize leanness, the rotating meat and nuts breakfast is a must try dietary strategy.  Also, it’s not critical to rotate around six different meals a week – I usually rotate two different combos a week and every month I switch up the sources to two different combos.

I’ve been preaching the rotating meat and nuts breakfast since Live Large LIVE so for those of you who are “believers”, share how this new dietary strategy made a difference below!

I love hearing your feedback.

Vince Del Monte

Meal 1: The Meat & Nuts Breakfast (Protein + Fats + Veggies) 

8 oz of buffalo patties + 2 whole organic eggs + spinach and tomatoes + 1 oz of mixed nuts.

The logic: The single best dietary tip I learned in 2011 to optimize leanness, energy and concentration is rotating different meats and nuts for breakfast.  This foods combination is excellent for controlling blood sugar levels via the meat and nuts combination. Everyone I’ve spoken to reports improved mental focus and energy instead of the typical high carb breakfast.  Rotate your meats and nuts every few days.  Turkey, chicken, venison, buffalo, ground beef, sirloin or wild game are great. Rotate your nut sources from almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts and brazil nuts.  I add two whole organic eggs and veggies and hot sauce for taste.  This breakfast takes less than five minutes to prepare and has become one of my staples for managing leanness and work productivity.                     

Meal 2: First Pre Workout Meal (Protein + Carbs) 

8 oz of  white fish + 1.5 c ups of quinoa salad (veggies, curry, sun dried tomatoes) + zucchini

The logic: A “pre workout meal” consisting of proteins + carbs does not need to be the meal closest to your workout as many assume. When the fuel is in your muscles, it’s in your muscles. It does not disappear unless you deplete it with activity.  Although I train after my third meal, I have my protein + carbs meal as meal 2, not meal 3.  I rarely ever consume carbs the meal immediately before I train (I’ll explain why below) but instead I consume my carbohydrates 2-4 hours before I train.  This provides more time for my body to completely absorb the nutrients and be available for my workout.

Meal 3: Second Pre Workout Meal (Protein + Veggies) 

4 oz of chicken + 1 cup of egg whites + veggies

The logic: Notice their are no carbs in my pre workout meal. Why? For once, I already consumed them in meal two and by now they are completely absorbed and digested and ready to utilize.   Two, I want high levels of focus, drive and a positive mood and carbs can leave you drowsy and sluggish. Think about the last time you had a huge carb meal before you trained. I bet you were yawning your entire way through the workout.   I find the more focused you are during your workout, the more intensity you can create.

Meal 4: Workout Supplements 

Starting 30 minutes into the workout:

30-60 grams of carb powder + 20 grams of BCAA + 20 grams of Glutamine + 5 grams of creatine + 5 grams of D-Ribose (Sometimes arginine & beta-alanine)

The logic: Liquid carbs provide a fast source of energy and spike insulin to blunt cortisol.  Insulin sensitivity is increased during a workout so we can shuttle nutrients like amino acids and recovery agents to promote muscle growth, energy and recovery.

Immediately after the workout I consume 30-40 grams of protein powder and 1-2 scoops of greens powder.  I never mix my amino acids with protein powder since amino acids are absorbed quicker and I don’t want the aminos to be competing with the protein powder for absorption.  The greens powder combats the acidity produced after a workout and it’s not very practical to eat a huge greens salad on the drive home.

I like rotating my supplements just like I rotate my muscle building foods. The elite line of supplements are Blue Star Nutraceuticals.

First Post Workout Meal (Protein + Carbs + Veggies) 

8 oz of white fish + 2 cups of brown rice + 1 cup of green beans

The logic: I eat a fast-digesting protein always after a workout. Does it make sense to eat a protein source that takes a long time to get into your muscles?  No! I want a fast uptake and protein digested into my system which is why I would never eat a fattier protein like steak, eggs or salmon after a workout.  I normally have sweet potatoes post workout and try not to eat the same carb source more than twice a day but today is an exception.  Slow digesting wild rice for energy and minor insulin spike to move the fish into my muscles.  I don’t go crazy with greens during my first post workout because they can slow digestion and sometimes fill you up too fast preventing you from finishing your protein and carbs.  I always have 5 grams (at least) of high quality fish oils with my post workout meal.  This amount of fat post workout is acceptable. Notice we don’t consume a large amount of fats post workout.

Second Post Workout Meal (Protein + Carbs + Veggies)  

4 oz of chicken + 4 oz of sirloin + 4 oz of mahi mahi (white fish) + 1 cup of brown rice + 1 cup of broccoli

The logic:  Athletes who rotate their protein sources report increased energy levels and lessened requirements for sleep.The problem with consuming the typical “bodybuilder diet” of beef, eggs, diary and protein shakes is that when you consume the same protein foods over and over, you are limited by the weakest amino acid in any one protein.

The brown rice is a complex carbohydrate that contains fiber and other nutrients to slow digestion and these carbs will help restore muscle glycogen that was depleted while you workout .  Carbs create a insulin spike to help move nutrients into the muscle tissue quicker too. The vegetables help slow digestion further and provide a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  I always have at least 5 grams of fish oils in both of my post workout meals to reduce inflammation as well.

Final Meal of The Day (Fattier Meat + Fats + Veggies)

12 oz steak + 2 cups of green beans + 2 oz of avocado or mixed nuts (not showing)

The logic: 2-3 hours leading up to bed we want insulin levels controlled and a slow and steady release of energy to our muscles while we sleep. This calls for long-lasting and slow-releasing foods like a fattier piece of meat such as a steak or salmon.  Combining nuts or avocado will slow the rise in blood sugar even further and the veggies will add extra fiber to allow for a steady release of nutrients while you sleep.  Unless you train in the evening, avoiding carbs before bed is an excellent method to optimize leanness.

Above is what I would consider a perfect day of execution for my muscle building diet. Portion sizes will change based on my current level of leanness, training intensity and volume. Unless my training time changes, this is how my muscle building foods and muscle building diet looks except I rotate the food sources from day to day. If I’m not growing at the rate I prefer I look at adding 25% more carbs to meal two, the carb powder and first post workout meal.  That will usually kick start some new muscle growth. The beauty of having a muscle building meal plan is the framework it provides. I can add or subtract portion sizes based on whether I’m gaining my 2-4 pounds of muscle each month.

NOTICE: I understand this meal plan might look “impossible” for a normal human to follow but I can reassure you that if you take a One Meal At A Time approach to consuming and preparing your meals, it’s possible. And I understand there are no fancy recipes and this muscle building diet only contains the “bare essentials.”  Stay tuned for next week as I start sharing some delicious muscle building recipes that contain extra super foods and spices to make your cooking super tasty.

Class dismissed. Questions? Comments?  Post below and if that was helpful, hit the LIKE button!  Thank you.

Before customizing your own muscle building diet, your general goal should be to gain a half-pound to two pounds of muscle each week.  That is two to four pounds of muscle each month. To accomplish this weight increase, you will need to gradually consume an extra 500-1000 quality calories a day above your basal metabolic rate and exercise exertion requirements.  These additional calories will promote faster muscle growth.

The average hard-training individual will need to consume at least 10 calories per pound of body weight just to meet their daily basal metabolic requirements.  These same individuals need to take in an additional 7 calories per pound of body weight to meet any daily activity need that requires movement and focused exercise such as weight training and cardio.  For example, an individual who weighs 180 pounds, who is moderately active throughout his regular life, and who weight trains intensely and consistently, will need to consume approximately 3,600 calories to add quality muscle to his body (180lbs x 17 = 3,060).

Many bodybuilders will do well with a macronutrient calorie breakdown of 40 percent complete complex carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fats. Keep in mind, this example is intended to be a guideline because your body has a unique set of dietary responses.  Others may find a different ratio works better for them.  It’s strongly suggested that you use your body and the mirror as your main guidelines – if you’re not pleased with how you feel or what you see in the mirror each week, minor adjustments to your nutrient ratio and serving size are acceptable until you find what works best for your body.

To encourage muscle growth, strength gains, and recovery, you need to ingest sufficient amounts of high-quality protein along with enough complex carbs to fuel heavy, and intense, training sessions. Strive to consume at least 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight and 1.5 to 2.0 grams of carbs per pound of body weight for a baseline.  Pay attention to how your body responds to the ratio of protein and carbs you are eating – depending on your body’s insulin sensitivity, metabolism, and body fat levels, your needs will vary but start with at least 1 gram of protein and 1.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight, and add 25% each week if you’re not growing.  Your dietary fat intake should account for 0.5 grams of fat per pound of body weight.

There are 4 calories in every gram of carbs and protein, and 9 calories in every gram of fat, so an individual who weighs 180 pounds will consume 180 grams of protein per day (180 x 4 = 720 calories), 270 grams of carbs per day (270 x 4 = 1,080 calories) and 90 grams of fat per day (90 x 9 = 810 calories).  In total, that’s 2,610 calories to gain quality muscle mass without unwanted body fat. So, how do we make up the missing 400 calories? (Remember, our daily calorie guideline is body weight multiplied by 17).

The answer:  One “Freebie Meal” a day, which I’ll explain in a moment.

Advanced Muscle Building Diet Rules To Maximize The Muscle-to-Fat Ratio 

• Establish a regular meal cadence by consuming at least five calorie-dense whole-food meals and one muscle shake each day. At first, this might seem like a lot of surplus calories, but this amount is necessary to facilitate muscle growth.

• Earn your carbs by timing them as follows:  one meal before you train, during your workout, one hour after you train, and four hours after you train.  Only give your body carbs when they are required for intense exercise.

• Rotate your protein sources at each meal to optimize digestion and absorption.  The best sources of protein are bison, buffalo, sirloin, venison, turkey, chicken, white fish, salmon, and whole eggs.  Hydrolyzed protein is your best protein powder supplement.

• Rotating carb sources is not as important as rotating protein sources but I believe your body will be more responsive to variety.  The best sources are potatoes (all colors), yams, white and brown rice, Ezekiel cereal, Ezekiel bread, oatmeal, beans, and small amounts of fruit.  A carb powder like Vitargo or Karbolyn are your best carb powder supplements.  Gatorade is sufficient if the first two options are beyond your budget.

• Eat at least 1 cup of veggies with every meal to optimize digestion and absorption and to control blood sugar levels.

• Rotate your fat sources each day to get a variety of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats into your diet — walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds, all nut butters, coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, and a variety of seeds.

• Sip on 30-50 grams of carb powder, 5-10 grams of glutamine, 5-10 grams of branch chain amino acids, and 3-5 grams of creatine starting 30 minutes into your workout in order to blunt cortisol (a catabolic hormone released in response to stress), and to initiate muscle growth.  I purchase the majority of my mainstay muscle building supplements from Blue Star Nutritionals.

• Drink a top-quality organic greens supplement when you wake up. This will infuse your body with easily-absorbed vitamins, minerals, amino acids, chlorophyll, enzymes, phytonutrients, and alkaline salts that help neutralize acids and ensure your cells are living in an environment in which they can thrive and grow. I recommend Super Greens from Living Fuel or Genesis from Prograde.

Here’s a sample diet for a 200-pound individual who wants to gain quality muscle, and is based on the rules above:

Meal 1 –
3 whole eggs
8 oz of extra lean beef
1 cup of veggies (spinach)
2 ounces of mixed nuts

Notes: This individual can rotate his protein sources by having buffalo, sirloin, turkey, chicken and venison. It’s okay to eat meat with breakfast!

Meal 2 – Pre Workout
2 cups of whole wheat pasta
1 cup of tomato sauce
8 oz of white fish
1 cup of veggies

Note: This individual can rotate his carb sources with yams, Ezekiel cereal, quinoa or rice.  Any coloured vegetables are optimal.  Any white fish option is acceptable because they are low in fat, rich in B vitamins, rich is selenium, a great source of iodine and high in protein.

Meal 3 – Workout Shake – Begin Sipping During Workout
80 grams of carb powder + Glutamine, Creatine, BCAA
15 minutes later – 40 grams of isolate protein

Note: The carb powder can be adjusted based on the intensity of the workout. I pack my Vitargo in my gym bag.  Sometimes on leg or back days I need more.  On a smaller body part day or lower intensity day, I might not have my carb powder at all or I’ll reduce the amount.  Use your “current setting” to dictate the need for carb powder.

Note: If you have a Greens powder, having 1-2 scoops after your workout is excellent for reducing the acidity in your body and shifting your body to a more alkaline state.  

Meal 4 – 1 Hour Post Workout
12 oz of sweet potato
12 oz of chicken
2 cups of veggies

Note: Sometimes I go to a healthy restaurant and get the Mixed Grill dish which comes with a variety of fish, chicken and steak plus brown rice and vegetables.  A variety of protein sources post workout is an amazing option every a SUPER hard workout.

Meal 5 – 4 Hours Post Workout
1 cup of egg whites
8 oz of turkey
1 slice of low-fat cheese
2 cups of broccoli
2 cups of brown rice

Note: Mixing turkey, egg whites, brown rice and veggies into a stir fry is a great dish.  Sometimes I’ll add hot sauce, spices or a salsa for healthy flavour.

Meal 6:
10 oz steak or salmon
2 oz avocado
1 cup of veggies

Note: Unless you’re training late at night, always strive for protein and fats pre bedtime.  This helps elevate growth hormone levels while you sleep and keeps you full with lots of quality nutrients while you sleep and get ready to do it again tomorrow!

Note:  This is a very similar meal plan to the one I followed to bulk up from 214 pounds to 227 pounds (after eight years of training), and on days I could not adhere to the diet plan above, I would substitute one of the meals with a “freebie meal” which is basically anything you wish…even if it’s a ham- burger and fries.  A “freebie meal” will make it easier to comply with the rest of the diet, and make it more likely that you will hit your goal calories each day.

Lastly, always keep a daily food log to track the calories you consume in the form of proteins, carbs, and fats. By logging your food intake, you provide yourself an accurate snapshot and ongoing reference guide for your nutrition.  Think of it as a map.  This map will become invaluable when analyzing your trek towards your end destination.  Since you can see everything laid out before you, you can easily see where you made a wrong turn if you’re not on track or, where you made a right turn if you’re right on pace for your goal.  As the famous business quote goes, “What gets measured, gets managed.”  Attempting to build muscle without a “roadmap” is like trying to save a thousand dollars without looking at your bank statements!

Class is out. Leave your questions and comments below.

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If you’ve got a mouth and a stomach, you probably love to eat. Heck, we all do! It’s one of life’s pleasures. That’s why losing weight is so tough. We’re face to face with a primal urge and we’re trying to resist it.

To make things worse, eating and cooking for fat loss isn’t easy. If you follow the typical mainstream advice, it’s bland and uninspiring and it seems to suck the joy out of life. No wonder it’s so difficult to lose weight!

Thank God for my good friends Dave Ruel and Karine Losier! They love to eat too, and they know fat loss recipes should never taste like cardboard.

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If it’s been said before, it’s been said 937 times – if you want to succeed, you are going to have to take chances.

Take the turtle for example. Poor creature moves as fast as a stone. If he wanted, he could stay inside his shell all day and relax. But it knows it’s missing out on the action; so the turtle sticks its head out and does something about it.

When we stay complacent with our lives, or pass up on opportunities we are interested in, we are the ones relaxing inside the shell. We are missing out on the action. But if you stick your neck out of the shell, there are so many possibilities waiting for you.

Memorize this:

“Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.”

- James Bryant Conant

10 Strange Reasons I’m Competing On Stage…

1. I believe I only make progress in life when I stick my neck out. Not just my neck but I’ll be sticking out every body part for the world to either critique or applaud.  Contrary to what you might think, it’s not normal for the majority of physique athletes to prance around the stage in virtually no clothing while a panel of judges scores you on your overall marketability, physique, stage presence, level of confidence, overall health, symmetry, colour, choice of clothing and probably a few more things I’m missing.  So by getting up on stage – believe me when I say I’m OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE.  Now the key is to become a different character and put on a show so that on lookers have no idea I’m actually nervous inside!

2. I don’t believe in competing unless I know I can or will look better than my last show. To me, competing over and over while bringing the same physique to the stage is like running  a 5km road race in the same finishing time.  Where is the improvement?  I compete to take my body to new heights and to win.  I don’t treat a physique competition like a recreational activity or hobby.  It’s a sport and I treat it like a full time professional athlete.

3. I want to win my Pro Fitness Model Status so I can compete against the best of the best August 27th at the World WBFF Championships in Toronto, Ontario.  I believe I need to get first place this weekend (and you never know who’s going to show up at these shows… guys come out of the wood works!) and in physique competitions anything can happen!  A lot of people ask me who I look up to and their is a small handful of physique athletes I’ve grown to know personally, whom I consider friends and guys who keep me focused on my goals because their bodies are so inspirational.  Who are they?  ”Six Pack” Artus Shakur, Rob Riches and Obi Obadike.  These guys are all first class gentleman and I would be honoured and humbled to be on the same stage with all of them one day!  I could name off a series of other guys who are truly in a class of their own and would be honoured to compete against them but I don’t want them to know I’m spying on them too I am a true competitor so would love to see how I fair against the best of the best.  If you think you have a body that can compete with the best fitness model physiques in the world, check out http://www.wbffshows.com for more info.  This is the organization that has impressed me the most, does the most for the athletes, hosts in great venues, gives away decent prizes and attracts the highest caliber of athlete.

4. I want to hit 4.5% body fat. I have not been in “contest shape” (5-7% body fat range) since June 2008 when I competed last.  I guess you could say I got the competition bug and after watching one of my training partners, Artus Shakur, compete last September and earn his Pro Status, I told myself, “I can do this too and I’m going to give this a serious shot.”  I also brought a coach into the picture, an IFBB PRO BODYBUILDER who was a huge investment and has dialed my body in perfectly.  I’ve learned so much by working with a coach instead of doing it on my own this time.  I can’t image preparing for a show on my own ever again.  I can’t wait to see how he gets me dry to the bone by Saturday!

5. One of my life-time achievement goals is to land a cover on either Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Status, REPS, Inside Fitness, Muscle & Fitness or any other fitness mag.  It’s easy to get featured inside the magazine but it’s completely different to land a cover.  The fitness industry is similar to all organizations and it’s often not “How you look but who you know!”  Competing at the big shows, meeting the organizations, athletes, photographers and inside contacts can go a long way and speed things alone.  Just like any business, people want to do business with their friends and people they know so you got to become friends and meet the people that can pull the trigger for you.  The day after the show I’ll be shooting with Jason “The King Of Covers” Ellis, GW “The Edge” Burns and Leigh “Style” Hagan.  Three big name guys that I want to make very easy to photograph me.

6.  I’m the only guy on the Internet who believes you can BLOW BEYOND YOUR GENETIC POTENTIAL so better believe that I’m going to live up to that message and disprove any monkey who says otherwise. It’s not just a cute saying to sell more of my programs – it’s something I truly believe and by taking my body to new levels I’m living proof (even after I’ve been training for almost 10 years in the gym now) that you can shatter and shred your goals from limb to limb.   I am the face of my mantra: LIVE LARGE.  I would never tell you to LIVE LARGE if I didn’t live out the message myself.

7. My beautiful wife, Flavia, has never seen me on stage prancing around and squeezing my glutes in front of a huge crowd. My wife keeps saying, “Any guy can get a six pack Vinny… I want to see you get a eight pack!”  She’s not kidding and believes in me that much.  I won’t let her down.    I have to give her this pleasure at least once in her life to drool all over a shredded eight pack!  She’s also never seen me shredded and diced so this will be a super fun experience!  She’s seen me “lean” but she’s never seen veins coming out of my chest, lower abdomen and I’m even starting to get lines on my glutes!  I really want to make her proud.

8. I’ll be in the best shape of my life by April 16th! Not a bad way to start the year eh? The 2011 Fitness Atlantic Championships are being held early in the year so I‘m going to be sitting at sub 5% body fat by mid April. I plan on doing another show, April 30th in Quebec and will be competing with a few of my training partners.  And meet organizer, Brian Cannone who’s an amazing guy, has brought in P90X creator Tony Horton to the event so I’m really hoping I can meet him (I look up to Tony for all he’s done and how he looks at 52 years of age) and shoot some vids with him.

9. I successfully bulked up my body to almost 230 lbs in November and December of 2010 and it’s time to reveal the freak and show the world what I really look like after all the water and fat is stripped off my body. Every athlete knows whether they bring their best or not and I can say I’ve never brought my absolute best to the stage.  This April 16th, I’m going to show the world what a real man looks like and reveal the freak, the savage beast, the ultimate warrior, an untamed barbarian… the heart throb Vinny D is going to show the world what it means to LIVE LARGE!  My goal is to come in under 5% body fat which will be a life time achieve accomplishment for me.  In the picture on this page I’m 199 lbs and 6.4%  I’m training like a wild pitbull right now to get the last few grams (not pounds) of fat off.  Oh yeah, their is NO SUCH THING as stubborn fat.  Fat is fat.  If you’re not lean, you simply have MORE fat to lose.

10.  This year I’m working on my hardcopy book deal and want to be the model for the exercises! Yes, majorly exciting stuff and I want to be the model for the book that will perform the exercise shot list.  This means I want to bring my best physique to the shoot and ensure I’m happy with the pictures for a long time to come.  Transformation pictures are powerful and can be used to market yourself for a lifetime.  I’ll never become that guy who uses the same “after” pictures from ten years ago! Heck, they are still using Arnold’s pics to sell magazines and his pics were taken 30+ years ago!

Wish me luck and if you live in the Connecticut area, here is the event information to get yourself some tickets and to see me BRING IT!   I’ll be on stage at 12pm for the pre judging and 6pm for the finals.  Click here to come and watch.

=========
Comments? Questions?  Anything you want to know about my show prep?  Let me know and I’ll do some more blog posts this week.

For now, i want to hook you up with a 50% off discount for a program called STAGE READY NUTRITION & TRAINING and in it you’ll discover the “back stage secrets” that the most successful fitness, bikini, model and bodybuilding competitors use to dominate their competitions and land on famous fitness magazines…

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Click here to learn more about the SOLUTION to the three biggest nutrition mistakes you absolutely must avoid

By Vince Del Monte

If You’re Not As Ripped & Muscular As You Want To Be, You’ve Come To The Right Spot.

Click the graphic above to read this report.

The name of this special report is called 7 Ways To Instantly Maximize Your Muscle. No doubt, that’s a bold title – but when you give these steps an honest effort, the results will blow you away.

I thought of naming the report, “How to DOUBLE or TRIPLE your muscle and strength”– but I figured that would have made you really skeptical.

So the promise of this report is to MAXIMIZE YOUR MUSCLE and depending on how new or familiar you are to building muscle that might mean an additional 10 pounds, 20 pounds or even 30 plus pounds of muscle mass. Those numbers are not far fetched either.

And this report is on the house!  Pretty sweet considering I spent over $50,000 on my University education and thousands of hours in the gym with clients to figure out what works and what does not.

You’ll find this info very  helpful so download it while it’s still free and as always, I really appreciate your feedback on the info.

Vince Del Monte

By Vince Del Monte

Note: These tips are for people who are never going to use a meal plan or count calories and simply want to wing their muscle building nutrition.  However, for some beginners, this strategy can and does work for a period of time.

The strategies below will absolutely help you build muscle mass but it’s a shot gun approach.  This means that if you gain too much fat after incorporating some of my methods below, it’ll be hard to determine where you went overboard.

Two-weeks before the World Fitness Model Championships, June 2008.

For the best results, maintain a food diary that will turn into a road map so if in two weeks you are gaining more fat, look back on your daily intake and see where you made a wrong turn. Or if you make the best muscle building gains of your life you can look back and find out how to duplicate your success again in the future.

If you’re not tracking anything than you’re you’re essentially trying to make money without viewing your bank statements.  You really have no idea how much is going out or coming it and at the end of the month if you saved any  money – consider yourself lucky.

Again, the methods below are for guys who want to gain weight fast and not overly concerned with gaining some fat.  The tips below are not a scientific or strategic approach to building muscle but you may find a few “saviors” below that help you keep the scale rising upward and keep you on the track to fast mass.

With that word of caution, enjoy the non conventional bulk up nutrition tips below and let me know which one you’re going to try.

• Don’t overeat for longer than two-weeks at a time unless a) You want to turn into a fat lardo or b) You are 5-10% body fat and extremely on the thin side.

• During your bulking periods, hitting your goal calories for 3 or 4 days out of the week is not going to cut it.  You need toconsistently overeat during your two-week mini bulk up cycles as taught in 21-Day Fast Mass Building.  Anybody can overeat for three or four days at a time – keeping this up for up to two weeks is your first goal before reassessing your physique.

• You need to pack more calories per bite.  Think about ways to add more calories to the foods you’re eating.  Consider pouring olive oil all over your eggs.  Eat a 1/2 cup of mixed nuts while you’re waiting for your food to cook. Make sure your nuts are salted so you’ll eat more. Stick two slices of bread in your mouth instead of just one.  Starting adding an avocado with each meal.  Be creative and look for solutions and they’ll appear to you.

• Stop eating “diet foods.”  Instead of chicken, eat beef.  Instead of tuna and white fish, eat salmon.  Instead of egg whites, eat whole eggs.  Instead of fruit in your weight gainer, add oatmeal.  ”Diet foods” will not bulk you up unless your full time job is eating.

• Start incorporating pre workout and workout and post workout drinks into your game plan.  Drink simple carbs like Gatorade (although this contains high-fructose corn syrup so don’t go crazy with it) during your workouts and after.  Start eating handfuls of raisins, rice cakes and white bagels post workout to spike your insulin and move your

• Have ONE freebie meal a day.  If you know you’re going to have it then you’ll be more compliant with following the rest of your clean bulking meals.  Go out for dinner with your wife.  Eat a meal with your buddies.  Eat whatever you want. You’re bulking so don’t freak out.  If you’re only bulking two-weeks at a time before reassessing your physique, minimal damage will occur and it’ll keep your daily meal plan exciting and rewarding.  Just be sure to not screw up the rest of your meals that day.  ONE freebie meal a day, not two or three.

• After every meal, slam back 1 scoop of Iso-Smooth protein powder.  Often times you always have room for a little bit more and saving that extra room for protein and water should be simple enough.  If you did this three times a day then you’ll get an extra 300-400 calories a day coming from good quality protein.

• Always have a box of protein bars in your cupboards or in your car.  Although, protein bars have many shortcoming in terms of health, they are “tier-2″ options to prevent missing your meals and calories.  VPX’s Zero Impact bars are an excellent high protein meal with lots of natural carbs and fats inside them.  These are the same ones I eat.

• Start cooking hard boiled eggs.  It takes about 12 minutes to cook a dozen of them each morning and easily portable.  You get about 72 grams of protein for only three to four dollars unless you’re buying organic eggs.  Not a bad deal for easy muscle.

• Always keep a bag of mixed nuts and sunflower seeds on hand. Adding some M&M’s to the mix can add some really easy calories.  Fill them up in 1/2 or 1 cup amounts and you’ll gain weight for sure.

• Eat this one hour after you workout:  2 large bananas.  1 cup of Vector cereal. 1 container of cottage cheese.  Deadly post workout mass building meal.  Easy to consume too.

• Do your best to consume greens with each meal to improve digestion and absorption to ensure your nutrients end up bulking up your muscles and not your waistline.  Do I have to tell you to drink 4 liters of water a day?  Come on, that’s bodybuilding 101 stuff.

Conclusion

Now, if you’re an advanced bodybuilder you know that you wouldn’t even consider some of these strategies above.  This info is a “lazy man’s” nutrition guide to building muscle.

Notice that I didn’t give you an excuse to eat crap at McDonald’s or any fast food dump? t’s not necessary if you utilize the tips above, drop your cardio to no more than three sessions a week and lift intensely.

I’ll caution you again – don’t throw the entire kitchen sink at your body (i.e. don’t implement all the strategies above at once) or else you’ll have a major problem with digestion and absorption and spend the rest of your day in the bathroom.

And most importantly, to pack on muscle you’re going to need to eat somewhere around 17-20 x your bodyweight in calories.  There’s no getting around that.   Okay, let me know which tip you’re going to incorporate IF you’re not following a specific meal plan.

Get Your Questions Answered…
And Of Course: The Blog Contest Winners!

In the last 48-hours we have had over ONE THOUSAND & TWO HUNDRED inspiring replies that come in before we shut it down Saturday at midnight. We can’t tell you how amazed and PUMPED we were to see your express your enthusiasm and dedication towards your muscle-building goals in 2011.

And believe it or not, we both went through every single response with our ladies alongside us (and several strong cups of coffee) we did our best to select our favorites. Whether you were selected or not I trust that you found our blog contest helpful in verbalizing your goals publically and zeroing in on what you really want to achieve with your transforming your body in 2011. Here are the winners in no particular order (If you don’t see your name – remember that we only had 20 free copies to distribute to over 1,200 applicants) and we want to thank you for participating and wish you a big congrats as well!

- Sam Ballard - Travis Smith - LaMont Chambers - Kevin Charles - Catherine Martino - Nicholas Moore - Phrank Booth - Pete Walsh - Inga MarÌa - Ryan Black - Charles Mclaughlin - Eddys Velasquez - Phil a.k.a D_Lifter - Daniel Torn - Joseph Jarmamillo - Maia Gage - Steven James - David Rios - Darren Spencer - Danny Mora