Vegetarians with Muscles?

Just nuts baby!










When most people think of vegetarians, they don't envision the epitome of health. I have to admit that until recently, I was one of those people. Every vegetarian that I had ever been exposed to was sickly and overly thin. They always seemed to be stricken with strange aliments (iwanttoeatmoreasitis).

Eating organic fruits and vegetables, grass fed, free range animals has certainly gained favor in recent years. Not without reason, I'm sure. I am by no means an expert in food quality, but it stands to reason that, if making more food in less time earns more profit for food companies, the nutrient content of our mass produced foods is going to suffer.

Another nutrition strategy that is growing in favor is vegetarianism. Whether it be for the aforementioned reasons or because people are dissatisfied with the treatment of animals in the process, it seems there is a ground swell in the fitness industry of muscle men, fitness gurus and celebrity trainers adopting a vegetarian lifestyle.

You guys may or may not know that I have been in the training business for 20 years. At one point I weighed 260 lbs and wore a size 62 jacket! Let me just say that I ate my share of food with parents. Along with copious amount of dead animals, I consumed enough protein powder to cement a city block. Why? More protein = more muscles. Right? Not so fast.

According to Brad Pilon, author of How Much Protein, any amount of protein above 120 grams a day will not result in any additional muscle gain (and this is in men who are using steroids!). The first time I read Brad's research I was shocked. You mean I don't need to eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight or choke down 3 protein shakes a day to build and preserve muscle? Cool.

I recently visited Jon Hinds. Jon is 46 years old, ridiculously strong and totally chiseled. Jon went fully vegan a few years ago and swears that he has never felt better. He has not lost any muscle and doesn't look anything like the other vegetarians I met in the past. He sent me a few creative vegetarian menus that actually look pretty tasty. The main protein sources are beans, almond milk, certain grains and etc.

I am going to give it a try? I'm not sure I can give up meat at this point, but eating foods that are not as processed, not as expensive, more nutrient dense, better for the environment and that don't have faces may not be too bad after all.

I'll keep you posted.

Since water is good for herbivores and carnivores alike....

What Happens in Madison........

Actually, nothing happened in Madison because I was in bed every night by 10:00. Eight hour days of non-stop exercise will definitely keep you out of trouble.

Thanks to our awesome crew, I am nearly caught up on my work after a week out of town. I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to leave for a week and return to find our business growing and thriving in my absence (I actually think NPPT does better without me!).

Joe and I had great time in Madison at Monkey Bar Gym. A week's worth of learning, training and relaxing are just what the doctor ordered. Jon and Jessica are fantastic trainers and even better people. Their passion for fitness is unrivaled and it certainly shows in their teaching style. They both stayed late after 8 hour teaching days to answer questions and go over specific concerns with the attendees.

What did we learn? While we didn't learn any new concepts (we are already familiar with Jon and his programs), we did pick up a few new coaching cues and some different variations of exercises. After nearly 20 years in the business, those nuggets of info are invaluable. Those of you that train with us will have the privilege of testing all of the new variations. Lucky!

Jon and Jessica are headed to the ATL for some brainstorming about their new licensing project. I am looking forward to having them visit and the possibility of helping grow their unique brand/concept.

RM

Off to Madison

It's 4:45 am in the ATL and I'm preparing to leave this morning for Madison WI. I am heading to Monkey Bar Gym for a week of new ideas, tough workouts and cool weather.

I'd have to say that traveling to other facilities to experience what they have to offer is an important factor in our success at NPPT. There is always something to learn from everyone. Learning is an essential ingredient of any successful business. As soon as you close your mind to the possibility of another reality, you are closing yourself off to other greater opportunities that lie waiting for you.

It goes both ways as I have begun to grow my consulting business as of late. Apparently, if you have been in business for 17 years, people want to know how you have done it. Recently I had the pleasure of hosting Mark Avens of Integrative Golf Fitness to discuss strategies for opening his golf training facility in Ponte Vedra FL. Mark is a great guy and I have no doubt that he will be extremely successful.

For now teacher must become student (cheesy Kung Fu reference). I can't wait to share how it went with you next week!

Train hard!

RM

The Guadalajaran Diet

For just two easy payments of $19.95 you will receive one serving of my secret formula within 4-6 weeks. Mix with 6 oz of untreated river water for maximum results.

Forget about the Adkins, South beach, Blood Type, Zone, Weight Watchers and Etc diets. I have discovered the hands down best, most effective weight loss plan to date. All it takes is one microscopic parasite and you are well on your way to a leaner, albeit not healthier you.

I picked up some type of bug 1 month ago. It started with a slight fever and nausea for a few days. What seemed like a typical 24 hour flu turned into 4 weeks of upset stomach, nausea, bloating and all of the other fun things that come with a bad stomach.

One of the side effects was obviously loss of appetite. Eating a banana made me feel like I had just eaten a 24 oz porter house. As a result, I lost 11 lbs in under 4 weeks! Amazingly, I have weighed the same for nearly 10 years regardless of the emphasis of my exercise program. I didn't really want to lose any weight, but my little visitor didn't leave me any choice.

As I have mentioned before (like a gazillion times), fat loss is really a simple mathematical equation. You must burn more calories than you take in. There is no magic to specific macro nutrient ratios. I consumed mostly bread and ginger ale for 4 weeks and still lost more body fat than I have in years. I did maintain my weight training throughout, but my overall conditioning obviously did suffer a bit.

While I certainly don't advocate drinking orange juice from a Guadalajaran street vendor, my weight loss is a perfect example of the importance of calorie reduction for fat loss. Weight loss- Simple, but not easy.

How about some props for your coach? I will stop at nothing for our clients and their quest for greater fitness, including exposing myself to deadly parasites for experimental purposes. I'm that committed!

BTW, I feel 100% better and I am on my way back to my normal weight.

Meanwhile, this may be my opportunity to buy some of those skinny jeans to go with my Father's Day gift- Duude.



RM

Homemade Sled

I had a request from a reader to show pics of my homemade sled. It is made out of an old tire, some large washers and an eye blot. Easy! Just drill a large hole through the tire, push the eye bolt through and place the large washer and nut on the inside of the tire...you're in business.














The next Billy Mays
















It is the perfect size for adding weight plates.














The eye bolt allows you to attach nearly anything to the tire and it slides great on the blacktop. Yesterday, we used a belt and did some resisted sprints, which worked well. Here are a few pulling exercises using the row grips and a short chain. Brad needs more weight!





Rick Mayo

Halfway There

I was just thinking about the fact that we are already halfway through 2008. No way! It has been a great, but fast year so far. Rather than recreate the wheel, here is a great article by Alwyn Cosgrove:

"What gets measured, gets managed"
Peter Drucker
Management Theorist,
Author of 31 books.

----

In an ongoing series to motivate everyone to take action -- here we are again...

Today marks the halfway point of the year. Sorry - I'm not joking!

The entire first half of 2009 has already passed- there are now only six months to 2010.

How are those New Year's Resolutions looking now?

Are you on track with those New Years Resolutions? Are you on track with your goals?

If you wanted to lose 20lbs this year - are you down 10lbs already?
If your goal was to do 250 workouts - have you completed 125 ?
If you wanted to make $10,000 more this year -- are you on track?

It's amazing how time passes so quickly.

Don't waste a single second.

If your goal is fat loss - start today
If your goal is muscle building - start today
If your goal is (insert anything here) - start TODAY !

If you're just a little behind -- adjust your plan - make up for it! Make a half New Years Resolution!


50% of this year is gone forever. Will you make changes TODAY or will another 25% pass, then another 50% -- and before you know it -- it's 2010.....

I meet a lot of people in my job, and get a lot of questions via email. I'll talk to guys who track every single macronutrient that passes their lips, and have tried just about every program out there. When I ask them how things are going -- they'll tell me that it's great, or that the program is working well.

But rarely do they quantify anything. How many pounds of muscle gained? How much of a strength increase have you seen in real terms?

Very few people actually measure and take stock of their efforts. If you are following a plan to lose fat - are you actually losing fat? And I mean at a rate that is acceptable for your efforts? Or are you blindly following a plan that doesn't work, and essentially ignoring that?

I know where my progress towards my goals stand because I measure it.

When I was in the hospital for a stem cell transplant - the medical team took measurements of temperature, blood pressure and blood samples every 4 hours. They measured and tracked how things were going.


When we implement a marketing campaign at the gym -- we track the results. We know for example how many direct mail pieces we send out, the cost of each mailing, how many inquiries we get, how many appointments are made, and how many people join the gym as a result. We know exactly how effective the plan is, and whether the return we are seeing is worth the investment. We can see that for $X invested, we receive a return of $Y.


We need to know where our membership stands - how many inquiries, how many new members, renewals etc and when our busiest times are - everything is measured and tracked so we can continue to grow and serve our members.

If you remember "SMART" goal setting -- one of the keys is 'M' - Measurable. Measure your results. Are you on track or does your program need adjusting?


An easy goal for fitness enthusiasts is just to commit to working out X times this year. My goal was to do a minimum of 250 training sessions in 2009. As of yesterday morning I finished session 136.

Now -as we enter the second half of 2009, it's time to take stock of your efforts. Has your current return been worth the investment? Do you need to adjust and try something different? Or just plain work harder?


Again -- 50% of this year is gone forever. Will you make changes TODAY or will another six months pass, then another six -- and before you know it -- it's Summer 2010.....

Don't waste a single second. Start TODAY.

Where will you be at the 75% point - October 1st ? That's 13 weeks away. Will you be 13 weeks leaner - down 13, or even 26lbs of fat? Will your business demonstrate 13 weeks further growth - will you be 13 weeks closer to your goals?

The time will pass anyway....

Well put Mr Cosgrove

Happens in Three's

Weird week. Half of our clients are out this week and next on vacation so I've got time to ponder all things (fitness or not). RIP Micheal, Farrah and Billy.

Voted top MJ song by NPPT clients. I'm a Billie Jean guy myself.



What teenage boy didn't have this poster is his room? If you didn't, I'll bet you still play Dungeons and Dragons (in your parent's basement).


















It's amazing how many products Mr Mays represented








Today I'll be working on making a homemade sled out of an old tire. Good fun!

RM