Today’s post is two-fold.  It is both a reflection of the Summer Season,with the conclusion of contest AT-14. Also, returning to the regular line-up,  the latest installment of the new “Coaches Corner” with Jason Haynes.

Shred Season: The Final Countdown of AT14

Enter the Shredder: Final Countdown of AT14

In the last remaining days of AT14 it’s imperative that you maintain your pursuit towards that  “Golden” transformation.   Many will be making there final preparations this weekend or have already done so.

Contest Photo Submissions for AT14 will be due no later than Monday August 11th at midnight Eastern Standard Time.  AT14 is trending to be our largest competition to date based on the number of contest entries.

For many contestants, this is the first workout program that you’ve followed consistently.  Thank you for your commitment to the Adonis Golden Ratio Program and more importantly for your commitment to your own personal goals.

The time of this particular contest in conjunction with the summer months have been unofficially proclaimed to be the “Shred Season.”  Many people begin to shred not only their clothes, but their diets in order to hit the beach looking there very best.

Win or lose, remember that your transformation is a personal achievement and you should be very proud of your accomplishment.

In a previous post, I discussed the Four Key Ingredient necessary in order to become “Photo-Shoot Ready” on command.  Those ingredients are:

1. Conditioning

2. Posing

3. Tanning

4. Photography/Lighting

Keeping these concepts in mind will help you capture some amazing images of your new & improved physique.

In conclusion, to all my brothers in Iron, I hope your enjoying living the Adonis Lifestyle and to those contestants in AT14, come August 11th, I look forward to congratulating you on your transformation!

If you have any questions on the contest email me at:

ALLEN.E.MODEL@GMAIL.COM

Abundance Abounds

To continue the series, our topic  comes from none other than Adonis Transformation Coach and AGR Pioneer, Jason Haynes.

First, let me apologize for my absence and lack of blogs these days.  We have re-located internationally and as many of you may realize, that is NO small task…and with everything that it includes, some things naturally get put off until a later time.

But, I’m back and while FAR from settled in, 75% of all the major things have been handled and thus more time is available for writing.

So the last few weeks have been a hectic mess as we settle into life in the US after moving from Asia where I had lived for the previous ten years.  While there were a myriad of challenges and hurdles to overcome while living in Asia, abundance and ease of accessibility to food was NOT among them.

Indeed, in terms of food, nutrition, and drinks, we led a rather simple life simply because of what was available to us.  We ate lots of oatmeal (with protein powder thrown in), eggs, rice, noodles, pork , yogurt and vegetables.  We ix-nayed on the high calorie cakes and comfort foods simply because they were not easily accessible and, quite frankly, most of them didn’t appeal to me (or taste that good…I mean, no offense if you like them, but shrimp flavored potato chips simply have never “done” it for me…and the bakery cakes were simply too spongey).

So, because of these reasons, getting lean and staying that way was quite simple…I would almost say it was easy.  With the exception of a bi-weekly trip into downtown where we would indulge in a stuffed-crust pizza, everything was pretty standard in our household, meal-wise.

Weekly we would buy enough “fresh” meat from the market (or wet market), some frozen dumplings, and some other staples.  We’d buy fresh eggs almost every 3 days (we would go through 24 of them in about that amount of time), and fruit and vegetables daily.

Yes, we lived in the boondocks, BTW.

So when I used to hear John Barban or Brad Pilon talking about just how abundant and ultra-convenient food is here in the US and Canada, I could totally see and understand it although the true depth of that truth was impossible to grasp.

That is, until I got back home.

I have only been here about 28 days, but I can totally see what they saw…and what many of you ( and now me, too) have to deal with in terms of struggles with the super abundance and ultra convenience of the modern world.

I mean…wow.  Walking into a 7-11 for the first time in 10 years was a jaw-drawing experience.  I just went in for a coffee…a simple cup of unsweetened black Joe…and I froze in my tracks as there were what seemed like a dozen choices….and some of them seem downright odd (I mean:  I truly enjoy blueberries, and indeed they are probably my favorite fruit, but…blueberry coffee??  Really?).  The next sight I saw was what appeared to be a 20 ounce Red Bull, but I could NOT have seen that right…I mean..sheesh.

Walking to the cooler, I was greeted by a 4-pack of pre-made Muscle Milk in small, individual serving bottles. If I remember right, it was $7 for 2 bottles.  I remember doing the math at that time…to buy the pre-made stuff once a day every day would cost 3-5x more than just buying a 5lb bottle and mixing it yourself, depending where you bought your 5lb bottle, of course.

But hey, if you can afford it and want to throw money away…it is crazy convenient.

And that is just talking about convenience…but what about abundance???

Wow.

I could go on and on about just how ABUNDANT calories are here…and high calories at that!  With the amount of choices and the accessibility to food, it is no WONDER there is an obesity epidemic.

Don’t get me wrong…there are MANY wonderful and healthy food choices available.   Personally, I have taken a liking to something suggested to me on the Adonis Forums:  greek yogurt mixed with a certain brand of chunky applesauce and some cinnamon.   Same amount of protein as a standard 30g scoop of protein, basically, with minimal caloric differences.  I’ve also re-discovered old favorites I have not eaten for YEARS such as cottage cheese.

“Abundance Abounds in our Western Culture… Second only to Convenience.” – Jason Haynes

But I must, as I assume everyone struggles with, not allow the abundance and convenience of what is available to me to cause me to stray off target with my nutrition.  Yes, I have some leeway and also some “tricks” that any and every AGR client is encouraged to follow, but it is SO easy to fall into the caloric pit that access to tasty food can trap even the most diligent and strong-willed golden physique maintainer can fall into.

It is something we all must learn “on the fly.”  We also must learn to adapt as needed. We must not allow the abundance and convenience of the foods that are so tempting to overindulge in lure us away from our path of achieving and/or maintaining that golden physique.

All of this is pretty much standard fare for those guys who hang around the Adonis Forums for long enough.  Lots of tips and tricks are freely shared there as well. If you are an AGR client, I highly recommend you go and check it out.  If a forum search does not produce the results you are looking for, then post a topic.

Similarly, if you are looking for a dedicated coach to help you design your training and nutrition needs….someone who has done it successfully for himself and maintained his success, then check out the AGR Premiere Coaching program.

Train Hard, train smart.

Jason