Then Vs. Now: Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

June 26, 2015 by Allen Elliott

Today’s post is our latest installment of a new series called the “Coaches Corner.” Our Adonis Transformation Coaches will share their knowledge, experience, and best practices to help ensure your successful transformation. To continue the series, our topic comes from none other than Adonis Legend, Jason Haynes.

AGR System Development: 2007 to 2015

Today’s post was inspired by some guys on the Adonis Forums who were curious as to some of my thoughts on the state of the AGR Systems these days, I began to think back to when I first began AGR…some time around 2007, if my memory serves.

Just the topic of this blog makes me feel like an old-timer…lol.

<in my old raspy “Grandpa” voice>

“You youngsters think it’s so bad now…well, let me tell ya somethin’: When I started on AGR, it was called AI, and we didn’t even have a nutrition calculator…we had to do research and actually work towards finding our caloric intake. We only had three programs…way before the specific categories and paths that you have now. Yep, Eat-Stop-Eat and AI…that’s all we had…and we were grateful, dagnabit!“

Ugh…but old man-reminiscent ranting aside, the above statement is true, nonetheless.

The AGR Systems have come a VERY long way since I started back before Adonis Transformation 1 even saw the light of day.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane:

It’s been several years and millions of brain cells ago, but I do (kind of) remember the initial program: Adonis Index 1.0…yes, 1.0. There were three categories…Build, Burn, and Build and Burn. They were designed to do what they were named. Three RAGE workouts existed.

Adonis Index Origins: How I began my journey into the Adonis Lifestyle.

Adonis Index 1.0 : How I began my journey into the Adonis Lifestyle.

That’s it. No extra workouts, no booster series (much less the advanced booster series), no Category 1,2 and 3. And no nutrition calculator.

Somewhere around AI 2.0 we got a chat forum introduced which was a typical phpBB forum (I guess that’s what it’s called) with bare basics…I honestly don’t remember pictures being posted but I figure we posted pics. I can name maybe 10 other guys on that forum…but there were only 5 or so that were on daily (who were the ones to make big changes, btw, but that’s another story).

AI 3.0 is when big things started to happen, though, and this train really picked up steam. We got introduced to such things like MBF (Muscle Building Foundation), ATX, IXP, the Gauntlet…advanced boosters!! We got one new Rage workout, too.

AI Rage 3.0: The beginnings of something special.

Rage Workout Series circa. 2010: The beginnings of something special.

Anabolic Again was first introduced (not an AI Product, persay, but a great program developed by Brad Pilon).

Honestly, I don’t recall when several things fell into the treasure chest that is now called (or associated with) the Adonis Golden Ratio (AGR)….things like Covert Nutrition, The Anything Goes Diet, Muscle Index, etc.

Even as I’m writing this, I just KNOW I’m forgetting to mention some things…there was just so many things throughout the years.

There were many guidelines to follow as to what to do when, and a pluthera of podcasts to listen to.

Anabolic Again Month Two: This was a Beast of Workout — Most Memorable!

Things I wish we had “Way Back Then”

AGR Nutrition Calculator

The nutrition calculator is a game changer and to the best of my knowledge there is nothing else like it out there. Back in the day, we had to “best guess” our nutrition….take a dozen or so online calculations for our BMR or RMR, average them and then tweak for our personal situation. It was not a small time spent in research, calculation, and tweaking. These nutritional calculators often had a range of up to 1000 calories between the lowest and highest numbers!! Then factor in all the other things (ie: “how does this particular website calculate ‘intense workout?’” some calculators didn’t figure in all the necessary metrics, etc) and we had somewhere to begin…but it often took WEEKS to nail it down.

(Side note: John Barban even told me that I, and others like me, were his guinea pigs in developing the nutrition calculator….which used to, and still does, make me smirk).

Now, we have the Nutrition Calculator. Just plug in a few numbers and get going. And as all the guys doing the AGR systems have the same goals, we don’t have to worry about the logistics behind other calculators/websites. Now, while it is true that there is ALWAYS a period of adjusting to an individual’s needs and situation, it is not NEARLY as long or drawn out as before…and certainly not all the work (on my part) as it used to be.

AGR Reloaded: The Complete AGR System at your finger tips!

I also wish we had the “complete system” that is AGR these days…it’s all laid out for you. If you want to do it for yourself, you can do so, but if you want a specific “guided path,” that’s available these days too!

immersion-advanced-growth-shoulder-specialization-part-1

Immersion Content: Advanced Growth Series

Advanced Boosters: Yes, we had them around AI 3.0, but they were in addition to the base program…as in: “do 4 days of AI and then add in 2 days of these boosters.” Nowadays, they are a COMPLETELY different animal altogether: the boosters are complete programs in themselves!! Oh, how I wish I had those “back in the day!”

How Do You Cross A Minefield? Walk Carefully Behind Your Coach!

The Coaching program, which I am privileged to be a part of, is a HUGE thing that lots of guys could have benefited from. I was blessed to have John Barban as my coach (back in the day when there was just a few of us on the system), and I cannot speak enough of the benefits of having a guide to help and encourage a trainee during the process! We even have several coaches, so if one of us has a story or background that clicks with you, you can even request one of us, specifically.

Conclusion:

It has been my privilege to have been around AGR throughout the years…and to see its evolution into what it is now: a Complete System that leaves the guesswork out of it. It’s flexible if you want it to be, but if you want something all ready to be used, there is a roadmap that has been made over the years and with hundreds of men testing it and accomplishing great results.

I do not know what John and the crew have in mind for the next phase of the AGR Evolution, but I do believe that the system will continue to get better and better.

Until next time.

Train hard, train smart.

Jason

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2007-2010

Jason Haynes is one of the oldest members of the AGR community and has been around since he participated in the first and second AGR Transformation Competitions, of which he placed second and first, respectively. Having found a system that he is confident in and that works, he has faithfully stuck by it ever since. Now in his 40’s, Jason enjoys living the life of maintaining his physique easily and with little effort, thanks to the AGR system and tools provided. He is also a coach in the Adonis Premiere Coaching program and desires to help anyone to achieve their fitness goals.

Filed Under: body image, coaches corner, Contest, Fat Loss, Featured Articles Tagged With: adonis golden ratio program, adonis origins, coaching, jason haynes, Then vs now

Precariously Stacked Piles of Pebbles: Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

June 19, 2015 by Allen Elliott

Adonis Legend: Jason Haynes

Precariously Stacked Piles of Pebbles

I know it’s been quite a while since my last blog. I would apologize…and truly I wish I could have kept up, but life got overwhelmingly busy and SOMETHING had to be put aside for a season: and most of my internet-related activities were “that something” that had to be put aside.

While I put a little detail into what happened in my latest quick blog post on the AGR Forums, the gist is that at the height of the “craziness,” I worked 6 days/week, went to school 5 days a week and studied 7 days a week…and all shopping/errands happened Sunday after Church. We also had a newborn in addition to our toddler. No time for TV (we don’t even own one) or even movies on the internet. If we were lucky, I got 30 minutes alone with my wife before we simply passed out from exhaustion only to be awakened shortly afterward by our newborn. More times than not, I literally fell asleep on the floor while singing my oldest daughter to sleep, only to be woken up by her a moment later: “Daddy…sing.”

(Ah, the memories. Colossally exhausting days, to be sure…but a treasure to be remembered, nonetheless. )

And then, the several months of 4-5 hours a day of sleep really caught up with me…and as much as I regretted having to do it, I had to back off on training…then within a short amount of time, “the backing off” turned into a “semi-planned lay-off from training,” because of life constraints. As much as I tried to fight it, and as much as I forced myself to train, my body just couldn’t handle it anymore.

“It’s just for this season,” I told myself.

Now that that season has passed and I am now entering a new season of life, training has been coming to be one of the more prominent thoughts in my mind of “things I want…no, I need to do.” However, as I pursued it, roadblock after roadblock made it very difficult to even get moving into the most basic of training. Simply put, something always happened that threatened to prevent me from training.

Seriously. It was like all the spiritual forces of darkness were trying to make it nigh impossible to simply train.

It would have been all-to-easy to simply roll over and just say “forget it,” but I just wouldn’t let myself quit. I wanted it too badly.

(Now, bear in mind that before all these changes happened, my style of living was “Make a radical change quickly and completely…deal with the issues as they arise,” however, these days my choices impact more people than just my wife and I…and carry a wider scope to what and who else is impacted.

Sound familiar to anyone out there? )

These days, I liken a busy life like a well-stacked pile of pebbles.

As we juggle busy lives full of family, work, service and good works, we learn that sometimes even the smallest additional pebble hastily added to our stack causes the entire pile to crumble. We have to sometimes add the pebble gingerly, watching it carefully and adjusting it as necessary until it sits properly and does not cause the stack to topple. Then, we can try to add the next pebble.

(Or maybe you prefer a “Jenga” illustration…moving something from the lower “tiers” to a higher level all the while balancing the stack lest it crumble into a heap…or something like that. Either way, it’s the same principle.)

So…what’s the point, Jason?

While I fear many guys will use what I am about to say as an excuse to not get their lazy butts off the couch or to not pry the controller from their tendon-locked-fingers, lots of us actually do have legitimate reasons for not training. When we take away the “time wasters” some of us actually STILL have major challenges to deal with then it comes to consistently training and getting our diets in check.

In short, our pile of pebbles is stacked precariously as it is, and another few pebbles added hastily and simultaneously will most likely topple the stack…so the solution is to add one pebble at a time. Add each pebble cautiously and “feel it out” before adding another pebble. Make sure that the pile is secure before seeing how to add yet a new pebble.

If you are delaying doing a training program because you don’t have 5 days a week to train, try a 4 day a week program like the AGR systems. If you don’t think you can do 4 days a week, do it for three days a week. Heck, if you can only manage one day a week, do it…it’s better than nothing and as you adjust to it, you might find that you are able to manage another day…then another day…

If you are delaying a diet because too much is going on to focus on it…start simply. Maybe intermittent fasting (like Eat-Stop-Eat) is something you would be interested in…or maybe as simply as drinking a few glasses of water before each meal would help curb your appetite.

Taking things slower and more methodically can indeed be implemented in a long-term strategy to attaining our goals and sustaining them.

And if you have tried to figure it out, or don’t know where to begin in figuring it out, our coaches (of whom yours truly is one) have experience helping hundreds of men (and women) “work around” their life constraints and to achieve great results. Sometimes it DOES take an outside view to get a straight path and to help us to stay on it.

Until next time.

Train hard, train smart.

Jason

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010

Filed Under: body image, Contest, Fat Loss, Featured Articles Tagged With: adonis golden ratio program, coaching, common, common sense, thought process

Clear Out Your Cupboards and Go “All In”

December 19, 2014 by Allen Elliott

Today’s post is the latest installment of the Golden Eye for the Adonis Series.

Here is another guest post from Eric Weinbrenner. Better know by his True Insider Handle, “eweinbrenner.”

EWeinbrenner: True Insider and One of our Top Bloggers in the Community

Clear Out Your Cupboards and Go “All In”

The real secret to getting in great shape is much less complicated than most believe: Clearly define your goal and go all in.

Have you ever watched Extreme Weight Loss on ABC? The TV show chronicles a year in the life of a person who is struggling with obesity and hopes to transform their bodies and experience a new way of life.

While the people involved in the transformation are different individuals, and the actual challenges they face may vary; there is one underlying concept present in every episode: in order to have a successful transformation, the participants must remove the “distractions” from their lives and focus on their ultimate goal of losing weight.

In nearly all cases, the “distraction” is one (or all) of the following–a limiting belief (“I can’t do this” or “I don’t deserve this”), a bad habit (overeating/eating junk food), or a tendency to hold on to the “comfortable” life they have been living–despite that state of misery it may have placed them in.

Typically, limiting belief systems and the self-sabotaging that occurs when one struggles to choose transformation over comfort are more difficult to uncover; eating too much junk food, on the other hand, is more obvious and often the first issue dealt with.

In almost every episode of Extreme Weight Loss I have seen, and in almost every weight loss article I have read, one of the first steps is always “go into your kitchen and throw out all of the junk food in your cupboards.”

Why is this advice given? Because anyone who has tried to lose weight, has helped someone lose weight, or has watched a TV show about losing weight KNOWS that leaving that kind of temptation laying around will diminish even your best efforts to lose weight and make better decisions.

Perhaps just as important, throwing out all of the unhealthy, high calorie food in your cupboards that costs a fair amount of money and serves as one’s “comfort” signifies commitment–it shows that you are “all in.”

You can’t be “all in” when you are distracted by things that oppose your goals.

By now, you may be wondering what this has to do with you, other than the fact that you may have just realized you need to literally clean your your cupboards, or assuming this is just another weight loss article–and you would be wrong on both accounts.

In short, this idea of “cleaning out your cupboards” can be applied in a figurative manner to the fitness journey that all of us are on in a much broader, but incredibly important sense.

The Biggest Challenge of Building An Awesome Body

Ten or twenty years ago the biggest challenge of transforming your body, and when I say “transforming your body, I mean getting an “Adonis Body”, may have been getting the right information to accomplish that goal.

However, with the boom of the internet, the biggest challenge today is not lack of information–but, rather being overloaded with too much information, often leading to analysis paralysis.

Consider this scenario for a moment:

Let’s say a few years ago you started really getting into health and fitness. You googled “how to get a six pack” and came across a few different sites promising to deliver. You subscribe to their blog feed and apply some the advice and things are going pretty well.

As you start to see results, you realize that the challenge of transforming your body is something you thrive on, a quest that provides meaning and purpose far above “working out” for health benefits alone–you see an email promoting a new muscle-building workout and decide to give it a shot. You stick with that workout for a few weeks until you see a brand new muscle building program advertised from an up-and-coming fitness pro, promising better results than anything you’ve ever experienced and reason that it would be foolish to not give it a try.

This cycle continues over the next few months, and as you compare the three, or four (or ten) programs that have accumulated on your computer, you realize they don’t all see eye to eye: one program prescribes “heavy weights and low reps” while the other says “moderate weights and moderate reps” are the key and yet another takes a “wacky exercise” variation on all of the above.

As you continue to seek more information, sure that further “clarity” is the answer, you soon become lost in a sea of confusion, constantly frustrated about your lack of progress and, on some level, disappointed in yourself for not being able to stick with ONE program long enough to see results.

Sound familiar?

Intervention Time

The “hypothetical” scenario we just explored is often all too true. I see it almost daily on the Adonis forums–guys who are following an AGR workout but are asking questions about nutrition information from some other supplement company. Guys who want advice on this or that program from some other “fitness pro.”

Some are completely focused on the wrong things; others are obsessing over the minutia and missing the point. And on some level, I get it: I get that adopting the AGR philosophy, an approach that is often radically different from what you are used to, takes time and is a process. At the same time, though, I can’t help but wish that I could speed this process up and help you avoid the frustration that many, including me, have experienced on our way to revelation.

So that’s why I follow with this reality check: You will NEVER see the results you want until you stop flip-flopping between workout programs, reading 10 different fitness blogs, and buying every new program that comes across your email.

I know because I have been there. Until about a year ago I was constantly going back and forth between AGR and a few other workout communities across the web.

Information from both sources was credible and quality–the problem was that there were competing ideals. AGR stresses a very specific look that is all about proportion and definition; the other sources focused on “getting big” and being a “real man” which was associated with certain levels of strength or by weighing a certain amount. This left me going back and forth between focusing on achieving the Golden Ratio as outlined here and trying to “get big”; in the end I just continued to spin my wheels, making little progress toward either ideal.

The issue isn’t necessarily “good” vs. “bad” inforamtion. The issue is, tucked within each segment of the fitness industry, hidden within each respective goal–whether it be to build a proportional physique without being a slave to the process or to increase maximal strength–is a “culture”, a framework of beliefs and ideals that drive everything you and inevitably lead to your success or failure, or at the very least, the rate at which you will find success.

From the language used to the measure of an “effective” workout or even what it means to “look good”, the culture defines your thought process and determines where your focus is directed.

Trying to combine the frameworks that lie within each goal, frameworks that clash at their core, leads to confusion and frustration that will derail your progress. Soon you aren’t even sure what your goal is anymore, which often leads to even more program hopping as you go from trying to become more athletic one month to trying to build a proportional physique the next.

The Epiphany

Today, as a committed AGR member, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life and know exactly what I need to do to achieve my goals. This is no accident–this is because I clearly defined what I wanted to achieve and zeroed in on that goal.

I went all “all in”:

I unsubscribed from all other fitness related blogs.

I cancelled my subscription to the other online forum I had been involved with; where I had been shelling out $20 per month for workout programs that sat stagnant on my computer.

I took all of the workout programs I had purchased over the past five years (probably in the range of 15-20 programs costing thousands of dollars in total), dropped them on a jump drive, which I filed away in a safe place and then deleted them off of my computer.

In a manner of speaking, I “cleaned out the cupboards.”

All that was left standing was AGR.

As I did this I felt a sense of relief and clarity: I no longer had to wonder if what I was doing was as good or interesting or comparable to any other program. I was no longer confused about what I was trying to accomplish with fitness– I knew exactly what my goals were (Golden Ratio) and all of the other distracting, competing information no longer mattered.

Wrapping Things Up: A Call To Action

People often want to talk about the “secret” to building muscle, losing fat, or getting in great shape. Typically, this will be an ever-elusive quest without a clear answer, even when it’s delivery is promised with “one easy payment of $67.”

The real secret to getting in great shape is much less complicated than most believe: Clearly define your goal and go all in.

In the fitness realm, there are a number of possible goals one could pursue; improving athleticism, increasing maximal strength, or building an awesome looking body.

You must decide what your primary goal is and remove all distractions that stand in your way, which for many, often means all distracting (or competing) information.

Get rid of all the other workout programs you have on your computer. If you can’t stand the idea of “wasting” all of that money and deleting them; at least put them on a jump drive or find a way to remove them from immediate accessibility.

Stop reading fitness blogs outside the Adonis community (this includes being a part of other forums as well).

Consider investing in Immersion–when JB, Brad, or Allen say “you will never need to buy another fitness product in your life, it’s TRUE. Everyone who identifies their primary goal as building an awesome body in the most efficient and effective way possible should have Immersion.

Many will read this and keep grinding away, helpless to their vices of chasing the “secret” promised by the newest workout program–and they will continue to struggle, wasting money they often don’t have and drowning in the confusion.

But for few, something will click; they will take action and go “all in”, and they will find success, they will find peace of mind–they will be the ones featured at the end of the next Adonis transformation contest while others hopelessly wonder what their “secret” is.

Be one who takes action.

-Eric Weinbrenner

eweinbrenner’s Transformation Pics

Filed Under: body image, Featured Articles, Golden Eye, Muscle Building, Physique, Transformation, weight loss, Weight Training Tagged With: adonis golden ratio, aesthetics, clear out your cupboards, mind-muscle, movement, muscle

Focus on What Matters: Muscle vs. Movement

November 28, 2014 by Allen Elliott

Hope everyone here in the U.S. celebrated a Happy Thanksgiving with friends & family yesterday.

As the infamous “Black Friday” is now upon us, I would encourage those brave shoppers who dare venture out into the “savings wilderness” to shop safe.

Alternatively, to some of you who might be heading to the gym, might I suggest making it a “Back Friday.” (Pun Intended)

Nevertheless, today’s post is the latest installment of the Golden Eye for the Adonis Series.

Here is another guest post from Eric Weinbrenner. Better know by his True Insider Handle, “eweinbrenner.”

EWeinbrenner: True Insider and One of our Top Bloggers in the Community

Focus on What Matters:

Muscle vs. Movement

I struggled through a few more reps, dropped the dumbbells, and sat up.

Having just finished my third set of Incline Dumbbell Press, my chest (especially the upper portion) should have been fried… but as I sat there thinking about the set I had just performed, I realized I couldn’t really feel any specific muscle working.

Sure, my arms, chest, and shoulders were fatigued- but as far as feeling a specific muscle?- nothing.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case: this was a system-wide issue. With nearly every exercise, be it biceps curls or seated rows, I could lift “heavy” weights, but getting a pump and really feeling the target muscle work just was not happening.

To make matters worse, I felt like my muscles were lacking that hard, defined look that I was after. I had put on a decent amount of size, but even at a pretty low body fat (near golden waist), definition was not what I wanted, especially in my chest and arms–where I struggled to feel the muscles working the most.

How a Set Should “feel”

When you are lifting to achieve a certain look–note: I said “to achieve a certain look”; not “to get strong”; not “to improve conditioning”–each set you perform in the gym should feel a certain way.

At the most basic level, during each rep of each set, you should feel the target muscle working. There will be stabilizing muscles contributing, but overall, on any given lift, there should be one muscle (or muscle group) that you feel above all else. When you set the weight down, you should know, without a doubt, that you just worked the target muscle.

But… wait… what does that feel like?

Feeling the target muscle work produces a significant “pump” in the muscle; you should be able to squeeze the muscle and feel tension in the “belly” of the muscle, rather than in the joints around it; you should be able to isolate and flex the target muscle without feeling distraction from surrounding muscles.

In addition to describing what a good set feels like; it is also helpful to describe a bad set. Let me use the biceps curl as an example.

Focus On What Matters: Muscle vs. Movement
At the most basic level, during each rep of each set, you should feel the target muscle working.

When you do a biceps curl, you should get an insane pump in your biceps and you should have limited contribution from any other muscles. Every guy in the world who has ever been in a weight room has done curls. For some guys, their workout looks like the following:

Monday: Curls

Tuesday: Bench press, curls

Wednesday: Think about doing legs but actually do curls

…You get the point.

I’m using curls and this ridiculous example to show that everyone knows (or thinks they know) how to do a curl.

Yet, I know guys, and have personally experienced doing curls and struggling to actually feel the biceps doing most of the work. For a long time, I would do curls and feel my front deltoids getting a lot of the action and notice that my elbow joints would hurt the next day.

It wasn’t that I was doing curls wrong–I just didn’t know how to target the biceps muscle and make it do the work. I’ve noticed this is especially true, for a lot of muscles, when people have a background in powerlifting or working out primarily to get stronger. They come over to Adonis, where it is about working the muscles, not the movement, and find that they struggle to do that efficiently.

Work the Muscle, Not the Movement

If you find that you struggle to really feel the muscle working on any given exercise; you have joint pain following certain movements; or you lack the hard, fully developed look in any of your muscles– you very well may be focusing too much on the movement and not enough on the muscle.

This often stems from the “more weight = more muscle” mantra preached so often in the fitness industry. There are also a lot of experts that suggest things like, “you must lift heavy weights in order to build muscle”, and that “lifting light weights will never stimulate enough muscle for growth.”

There are two major problems with both of these ideas: First, “heavy” and “light” are relative; a weight that is “heavy” to me may be “light” to someone else, and vice versa. Second, this kind of thinking places tends to cause focus to fall on lifting maximum weight, thus focusing more on the movement, rather than the muscle.

This whole idea of working the muscle is not new to the AGR community, but it is so important, it is worth repeating–this is THE focus of our workouts. John Barban himself has described the ability to contract and relax each muscle at will as the “key to full muscle development”– this is how important working the muscle is.

So how can you get better at working the muscle and avoid just slinging weight around?

There are a few ways to do this and nearly all revolve around improving your mind to muscle connection. The best way to do this without overcomplicating things is to align your lifting with your breathing.

This means you will need to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and use light(er) weights. Remember: “light” weight is relative, choose a weight that allows you to complete the prescribed amount of reps with perfect form using the target muscle.

When I say “slow down”, I am referring to the tempo of each rep. AGR members know that this is built into some of the more advanced programs where specific tempos are prescribed. If you are following one of those programs, just stick with the tempo as written.

During each rep, lower the rep while inhaling and counting 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand; pause for a second at the bottom of the lift; then complete the “lifting” portion of the lift while exhaling to the count of 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand. The entire motion should be controlled (i.e. you controlling the weight; not the other way around).

Final Thoughts

The strategies above can be applied to any and all exercises where you struggle to feel the target muscle work or simply as a way to improve mind to muscle connection overall and refocus on what is most important during our work outs: working the muscle.

Be careful to assume that this is for “beginners” and that you are too advanced for this. Remember: John Barban has noted the ability to target a muscle at will is the advanced stage of muscle building–this is something that will take years or practice and consistency to achieve. I can personally attest to the difference this has made for my physique as I have made improving mind muscle connection the focus over the past year or two–I have noticed a much more dense, hard look to my muscles and my ability to work the target muscle has noticed incredible improvements.

While I wanted to make sure I provided some applicable strategies that you can use at the gym within this article; I also want you to use this article as a way to adjust your mindset, if need be. Becoming distracted and getting caught up worrying about lifting heavy enough weights or feeling like you must “prove” yourself will distract you from what is truly important.

-Eric Weinbrenner

eweinbrenner’s Transformation Pics

Filed Under: body image, Featured Articles, Golden Eye, Muscle Building, Physique, Transformation, weight loss, Weight Training, Workout Design Tagged With: adonis golden ratio, aesthetics, Mind-muscle connection, movement, muscle, muscle building, reps, sets

Adonis Spotlight:Tales from a True Insider — “Why Average Is Ok”

November 21, 2014 by Allen Elliott

Tales from a True Insider

Today’s special post is the latest installment of the Golden Eye for the Adonis Series. Because it’s Friday and The Goal Is Frequency (TGIF) we are shining the Adonis Spotlight on one of our community members.

I’m pleased to announce a special guest post from Eric Weinbrenner. Better know by his True Insider Handle, “eweinbrenner.”

Eric Weinbrenner: True Insider and One of our Top Bloggers in the Community

The Adonis Community truly is an awesome resource to help answer the questions of those just becoming familiar with the AGR Program. Veterans of the community are more than happy to lend sound advice and support one another in their journey to “Golden.”

While browsing the community earlier this week, I happened to stumble across a Blog of Eric’s and was simply blown away by his content.

Here is a sample blog entry from eweinbrenner that has transformed into a guest post!

How to Look Awesome: Why “Average” is OK

When it comes to building muscle and getting in shape-being “average” is OK. Getting-and staying-in great shape is also a lot easier than most people believe (or would like you to believe). Before you disagree and point to the bazillion articles on the web arguing that building an awesome body is full of complicated formulas and endless hours in the gym–Let me explain.

First, we need to define a few terms, or perhaps ideas, that are essential to understanding–terms and ideas that nearly everyone in the fitness industry (fitness “gurus”, your average meat-head, and perhaps even you) tend to ignore.

The first idea that needs explanation is “building an awesome body.” There are many different ways to say this, some choose to express the idea by “building muscle” or “losing fat”, but these all really mean the same thing–trying to achieve a certain look.

What is an “awesome body”?

I would suggest that 99% of guys out there are working out, primarily, to build an awesome body. Or, at the very least, that’s why they started working out.
It would make sense, then, that people know what an awesome body looks like–considering this is their primary goal for working. Surprisingly, the idea of actually qualifying what an “awesome body” looks like is extremely difficult to nail down–but I have found it really comes down to two images of male body perfection that are presented as “ideal” in the fitness industry.

As part of my thesis during my undergrad seminar course, I evaluated a few of the sales letters for the top selling online muscle-building products. Included were products by Mike Chang, Ben Pakulski, Zach Even-Esh, and Rusty Moore.

I chose these specific products because I think it is a good representative of the fitness industry and the authors are names that most fitness-junkies will recognize.

To avoid re-hashing a 25+ page paper (and boring you to death), I will break down my findings to this precise statement: There are two forms of an “ideal” or “awesome” male body portrayed in the fitness industry. One is the roided-out, massive bodybuilder look and the other is the more lean, athletic look associated with hollywood actors.

Most guys who workout consistently tend to use one of these images as their ideal-look–whether subconsciously or consciously.

My take is that most guys do NOT want to achieve the look of the “roided” out bodybuilder, but rather would prefer the lean, athletic look (which is, of course, what is exemplified within the AGR community). Sure, there is a certain dominance that makes the idea of being “massive” and “insanely huge” appealing, but when being honest, most will agree that this is not what is attractive to women or something they truly desire to look like. Brad Howard has also provided numerous examples of data that support this idea that more muscle, or bigger muscles, isn’t equivalent with being more attractive or respected.

I go into all of this detail to define what I believe constitutes an “awesome body”, because I want you to be aware that you are likely, on some level, to be bombarded with conflicting messages about what your ideal body should look like.

This is important because I know what it feels like to constantly feel like you should have bigger muscles, weigh more, or look like a roided-out bodybuilder in order to be a “real man.” I struggled with this for years, until I finally realized that wouldn’t be my best look, or even what I want to look like. I have simply been misled by the ridiculous marketing of what I consider a dark-side of the fitness industry.

Your Best Body

I have some news for you–news that some consider unfortunate, but I would suggest is actually freeing: If your goal is to look like the huge bodybuilders that grace the covers of fitness magazines and are placed alongside internet articles of all the major online fitness sources; you need to do 1 of 2 things (or both):

1. Go back and be reborn with different parents–preferably those of John Cena or The Rock.

2. Take steroids.

Number 1 is obviously not going to happen, so that leaves the second option–steroids. I personally have never taken steroids and never plan to, so if this is something you are interested in, please go find someone who can provide information related to that.

So… the vast majority of us will never look like the guys in fitness mags…. should we just give up?

Absolutely not.

In fact, this is one of the most freeing realizations one can have, because building your best body–your version of “awesome”, is so much easier than what it takes to pump your body full of steroids and spend every waking hour in the gym.

Most of us not only don’t want to be as big and massive as bodybuilders; most of us don’t even want to be bodybuilders–we just want to feel confident when we go to the beach and take our shirts off. You don’t need to be “bodybuilder lean and muscular” to turn heads at the beach and look awesome–and achieving levels that are good enough to do so doesn’t take nearly as much work as many believe.

Dedication and consistency? Definitely. But directing one’s whole life to training and obsessing over everything you eat or dropping hundreds of dollars on supplements each month? Not even close.

Many of the complicated formulas, expensive supplements, and marathon workouts are things that may matter if you are trying to get “insanely big” and compete in a show–but are not necessary to build an awesome looking body naturally.

Why Average is OK

So when I say crazy things like: “being average is OK”, I’m referring to “average” in terms of the fitness industry–and I’m being completely serious.

Let’s say Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his prime, is the ideal physique–the top-of-the line “awesome” that every man could aspire to; getting 80 or 85% of the way there is still awesome–and that’s all any of us will be capable of naturally and without committing every aspect of our lives to all things fitness.

This is confirmed all of the time in the AGR community. Look at any of the past contest winners or any of the guys who have reached Golden–do they look awesome? Yes, absolutely- but do they have the level of muscular development of Arnold or pro bodybuilders? Typically, no.

The vast majority of of guys who reach Golden would still be considered “average” when compared to a pro-bodybuilder if we buy the idea that being “massive” and “stage-ready” is the ideal look, as is often portrayed in the fitness industry.

So… is this a rah-rah, “you’re special in your own way” call that everyone is OK just as they are and no one should push themselves to get better? Am I telling you to embrace mediocrity?

Definitely Not.

This doesn’t mean we stop setting goals or stop striving for improvement–it just means we keep things in perspective. It seems that all too often guys are reaching Golden AI measurements and still feel inferior–when this is the case, it may be time to refocus on what we are really trying to achieve and trusting in the system that will deliver YOUR best body.

The guys here at AGR have done a great job of reframing what the ideal “look” is, but we need to continually remind ourselves that we are NOT trying to achieve the look that is often heralded as perfection the fitness industry

When looking at most of the images that we consider male-body perfection and look at to see if we “measure up”–pictures that are taken in perfect light by a professional photographer, when the person who is in the picture spent days preparing specifically for that photo shoot, and in pictures that may, or may not be digitally altered–and then feel inferior when we look in the mirror–it’s no wonder most guys feel like they suck at fitness and need more dedication, more supplements, and more time in the gym with the “perfect” workout.

But instead of responding by feeling inferior, we should respond with a sense of freedom–freedom knowing that we don’t even need or want to look like those guys–and that “average” is OK.

eweinbrenner’s Transformation Pic
So when I say crazy things like: “being average is OK”, I’m referring to “average” in terms of the fitness industry–and I’m being completely serious.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Wow Eric! Way to raise the “Adonis Bar” for the rest of us. You touched on a lot of great points in your post. From avoiding “goal hi-jacking” to affirming the source of a man’s true sense of self-confidence when it comes to having an awesome body.

We look forward to hearing more from you in the future!

Well that’s all for now, hope you enjoyed the Adonis Spotlight.

Have a great weekend!

T.G.I.F.

your brother in Iron,

Allen Elliott | Adonis Transformation Coach

P.S. If you want hear more from Eric you can reach out to him in community here.

Filed Under: Featured Articles, Goals, Golden Eye, Phi Life, Physique, Stories, Weight Training, Workout Design

Common Sense…Ain’t (Enough-Said): Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

September 5, 2014 by Allen Elliott

HOW DO YOU CROSS A MINEFIELD? WALK CAREFULLY BEHIND YOUR COACH!

Common Sense…Ain’t (Enough-Said)

Now, I know I am not the most brilliant person in the world, but even I can tell when some things are simply not right. Before you get concerned, let me say that this blog is not a commentary on society, morality, or religion….

No, what I am talking about is training.

I don’t know who took the “sense” out of common sense, but as the saying goes: “common sense, ain’t.”

Common, that is.

While I personally blame Microsoft for the illogical way people think (I still use a PC, though), I suppose blame does not matter. Facts are facts.

Take what I saw today, outside our window:

Two extremely overweight people jogging.

Taking potential knee damage from the repeated impacts of all that weight out of the issue, the speed they were “jogging” at was just about the same speed as a brisk walk. Walking for the same distance as they jogged would have produced the same results in just a few more minutes of time.

It must have been absolutely miserable for them…physically AND mentally. I can’t help what their attitude of exercise (in the generic sense) was at the end. I bet it was “UGH..that sucked…I HATE exercising.”

No, you hated JOGGING. You might actually LIKE training if you did a form of it you were more capable of.

And, of course, I wonder if they “treated themselves” to ice cream or something because they “earned it.”

I don’t know…but the “logic” of decisions made just flabbergast me. In the case of those two “joggers,” the thought process might have been (and probably was) :

“Those joggers we see on tv and in magazines are thin, so if we jog we will be thin too.”

No accounting for calories, bad gut bacteria, or possibility of injury.

Same is true for most guys who go to the gym to either lose fat or build muscle…or both. Most guys initially either take a program out of some magazine ( “designed” by a pro bodybuilder…yeah right, like they actually designed or used it…Nevermind the chemical assistance of the pro, either) or just go in and wing it because they don’t want to ask for help.

But then…some…a very small percentage, it seems, seeks help from someone more knowledgeable and has experiential knowledge. They actually listen, learn, and do as their “teacher” tells them. A person who guides them and helps them over the humps. Someone who kicks them in the butt when necessary and “gets it,” (and offers some ideas to deal with the problem) when it’s a legitimate issue.

And guess what? These humble guys…willing to admit they need a roadmap or even a coach/mentor…get BETTER results.

The Adonis Golden Ratio program, and it’s related/supplemental material, are designed by John Barban, who has over 20 years in the training field (both in education and “in the trenches.”). Likewise, he has trained up some others who lead the Premiere Coaching program to personally coach you through your problems and humps that come up individually.

We truly enjoy helping others to achieve their goals. Not only that, we have each walked the walk and have coaches and mentors as well. John Barban being one of them, of course.

If you need help…it not a shame or disgrace. Heck, you can even keep it covert if you want. But if you need help, don’t wast years like so many of us did…myself included.

Train hard, train smart,

Jason

P.S: short blog today. Been busy with our son who was born 2 days ago. Writing this blog in an odd moment at the hospital when both our newborn and his toddler big sister are sleeping at the same time!

P.P.S: congratulations to Ream Kidane, who placed in the top 10 in the last Adonis Transformation competition. You worked hard and it was a privilege to have worked with you around the challenges you faced.

Ream Kidane 8th Place - Front Before/After Photos

Ream Kidane: AT-14 Contestant — 8th Place Winner – Front Before/After Photos — AGR Coach: Jason Haynes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010

ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes | June 2014

Filed Under: body image, Contest, Fat Loss, Featured Articles Tagged With: adonis golden ratio program, coaching, common, common sense, thought process

Then Vs. Now: Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

A Stroll Down Memory Lane:

Things I wish we had “Way Back Then”

Conclusion:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Precariously Stacked Piles of Pebbles: Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

Precariously Stacked Piles of Pebbles

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Clear Out Your Cupboards and Go “All In”

Clear Out Your Cupboards and Go “All In”

The Biggest Challenge of Building An Awesome Body

Intervention Time

The Epiphany

Wrapping Things Up: A Call To Action

Focus on What Matters: Muscle vs. Movement

Focus on What Matters:

Muscle vs. Movement

Work the Muscle, Not the Movement

Final Thoughts

Adonis Spotlight:Tales from a True Insider — “Why Average Is Ok”

Tales from a True Insider

How to Look Awesome: Why “Average” is OK

What is an “awesome body”?

Your Best Body

Why Average is OK

EDITOR’S NOTE

Common Sense…Ain’t (Enough-Said): Coaches’ Corner w/ Jason Haynes

Common Sense…Ain’t (Enough-Said)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

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