Posts Comments

You are here: Home / Archives for Sage Advice

Man Cave Etiquette & Managing the Adonis Effect at the Gym

June 29, 2012 by

“The frame of the cave leads to the frame of man.” -Stephen Gardiner

Entering The Man Cave

“The frame of the cave leads to the frame of man.” -Stephen Gardiner

Gymnasium. Fitness Center. Athletic Performance Complex.  These are a few of the many names that refer to my most frequently visited location besides home & work.   I personally prefer to call my training ground, the “Man Cave.”  Living in the digital age, apart from manual labor, it’s the closest we come to our ancestral roots of running, jumping, lifting, and exploring.  Although the “Man Caves” of today are more refined, its a place where you can come and relieve stress from being cooped up in the office or break away from the couch and TV. When I enter the domain of the “Man Cave” all is well with the world.

John Barban and myself recently got into the discussion of how different people conduct their workouts in the gym. Our brief chat prompted me to describe my experience of training and obstacles I’ve had to overcome.

First off… you should know there are all sorts of creatures in the “Man Cave” but no one wants to be the dreaded “Gym Guy.”  I’m sure he lurks wherever there are dumbbells to be dropped on the ground and machine plates to crash together like cymbals.

I’d like to share with you three concepts from “Man Cave Etiquette” that will ensure you become “Golden” and not “Gym Guy.” Remember, the “Man Cave” is a training ground that offers a place of refuge and not chaos.  A place where you can come to cast aside the cares of the world and focus on building a “Golden” you.

Three  Concepts for proper “Man Cave” Etiquette

Man Cave Etiquette

Man Cave Etiquette 101: Re-Rack Weights when Finished

1. Preparation is never Lost Time

As I prepare for photoshoots or competitions it’s important to  gameplan how I’m going to arrive at my ideal physique.  This is often times done in reverse.  Pre-Screening what workouts you will do for the week and then again the night before sets your mind on what you are trying to accomplish and brings you closer to achieving your goals.

You may have to adjust the order of the workouts to accomodate your schedule; which is fine, because the bottom line is that you complete them whether it was: good, bad, or ugly.  This concept will save you time and keep you on track during the workout because you KNOW what’s coming next.

2. Situational Awareness

It doesn’t matter which “Man Cave” you enter, they all have similar characteristics, there is a place for: dumbbells, machines, and bench/squat stations.  Upon entering, locate what equipment you will use for your workout that day.  If there is a back-up on certain things needed you may have to adjust.  If not, go ahead mark your territory in the “Man Cave”  where you will train. Rather it be with a towel, bottle, or your paper copy of the workout.  The AI workouts are designed to keep you in the same place for the duration of that particular module.

As for me, I purposely leave my FAT GRIPZ  on dumbbells or bar that I’m training with when performing a ‘Super’ or ‘X’ Set.   No one has ever taken them while I was briefly away; but it has peaked some interesting discussions…more on that later.

3. Staying the Course: Motivation to complete the workout

While desserts are typically not served in the “Man Cave” you can expect to find yourself eating some “Humble Pie” at any given workout.  There have been times where I’ve bitten off more than I can chew and I need to rest in order to attack the weights with a renewed vigor.

I keep a couple go-to Power Songs in my music playlist when times get tough.  Interestingly enough, despite all the grunting and groaning you hear in the “Man Cave” there is an alternative approach to getting past those sticking points and completing your workout.

I was eating some humble pie on a leg day and I noticed that the workout ended with the dreaded Bulgarian Split Squat.  At that very moment I laughed and thought the workout was insane; I was ready to pack it up and call it a day.   However, as soon as I laughed, I felt a wave, a rush of energy come over me that was enough motivation to finish the workout.

Since this time, I frequently laugh or chuckle to myself as a sort of power-up when I’m approaching a challenging part of the workout.  I’m sure there are many therapeutic benefits of laughter but I’d encourage you to try this technique during your next workout.

 Managing the Adonis Effect

The “ADONIS EFFECT” is a powerful subconscious effect your physical presence can have on all other people around you. | Fitness Shoot feat. FAT GRIPZ | Credits: Air Harp Photography

The “Adonis Effect” is a powerful subconscious effect your physical presence can have on all other people around you.  It appears most evident when your AI ratio is around 1.5 and up approaching a Golden 1.6. The shape and look of your body, coupled with the way you carry yourself, will immediately burn a lasting impression into the minds of everyone who encounters you on a daily basis.

At this point I fell it’s equally  important to talk about momentum.  This is a very powerful principle and a great compliment to the Adonis Effect.  By following the AI workouts consistently, you are putting the law of momentum to work for you.  Your training is focused and goal-oriented, which puts you in the elite category of  “Man Cave” dwellers.  Rest assured you will attract some attention.  While the Adonis Effect is a  flattering experience overall, you have to be careful that all of that extra attention doesn’t put the brakes on your momentum.

Case in point, the “Man Cave” is  where you actually develop and cultivate the Adonis Effect. However, if you have distractions and interruptions at the source of your development then your momentum is hindered from the very beginning.   You may be in the middle of your workout and someone may pay you a compliment or ask you a question.

Which brings me back to my comment earlier about FAT GRIPZ. While performing my AI workouts, several people ask me about them and what I’m doing…this simple “ice breaker” can lead into longer discussions.  I’d love to to tell the story of Adonis Index and FAT GRIPZ, but it’s neither the time nor the place to chat during your workout.  Its proper “Man Cave” etiquette to be polite and courteous to other individuals, however be careful not to enter a 5-minute conversation, for you risk losing your momentum.

In conclusion, these “Man Cave Etiquette” concepts will de-clutter the flow of  your workouts and maximize your training efforts.  Also, recognize that with great power comes great responsibility. The “Adonis Effect”  is completely within your control to manipulate and harness to your total advantage.  Remember to harness your momentum, always respect others and each visit  to the “Man Cave” should be a memorable experience.

Very Respectfully,

Allen Elliott

 

 

Filed Under: body image, Goals, Identity, Sage Advice Tagged With: ,

Another Adonis: Interview with Scott Tousignant

June 27, 2012 by

It’s no secret that I believe in training for shape and proportion vs training for massive size and bulk. I’ve been down the ‘bulking’ road in my younger days and although I was strong it also left me fat and totally out of shape for years. Looking back it seems like such a waste of time…so many years spent out of shape. Even though it took me a while I eventually figured it out and learned that it’s just not possible to ‘big’ your way through life.

Scott now has a Golden Adonis Index Ratio…looks pretty damn good to me!

It’s been years since then and the Adonis Index system and philosophy is how I transformed myself and my entire approach to working out, ‘fitness’ whatever that means, and what it means to be ‘in shape’.

We’ve got solid metrics that are rooted in science and art history and have proven to be applicable for everyone. This goes for both people on our system as well as people who aren’t necessarily following our system.

The point is you can build a golden Adonis Index ratio more than one way. The workout programs I’ve built are my best shot with what I know about program design to get you to your golden AI as quickly as possible. But workout design is an art form, almost like composing music.

You can make an infinite number of songs while still using the same selection chords, musical scale, instruments, notes, keys etc. The only thing that limits what can be produced is the imagination of the artist.

The same thing goes with working out. Even though there are a finite number of exercises, set and rep schemes, and number of workouts you could possibly do in a week, there is almost a limitless number of ways to combine them into a workout that will get you to your goal…as long as the workout designer has their eye on the same prize.

Enter Scott Tousignant. He’s an artist with his eye on the same prize. A perfectly proportioned body.

Scott has been a friend of ours for a while now and he’s is very familiar with all things Adonis Index.

He has a very similar outlook on what has gone wrong in the diet and fitness industry and how a mindset shift towards proportion, shape and maintaining a low body fat level is the real goal for working out.

We both agree that the ‘get big at all costs’ mindset is fading and for good reason…it looks terrible. Setting a bodyweight goal, or a maximum strength goal, or any other performance or overall size metric is all secondary to the true answer we’re all looking for…and that is a perfectly proportioned body for our height.

In todays podcast Scott and I talk about working out and the mindset shift that must take place to start training for proportion and shape instead of overall bulk and size.

Scott is living proof that there is more than one path to a golden Adonis Index ratio. He designs his own workouts and used them to get into the shape in the above pictures in this post. He’s lean, muscular and has a golden Adonis Index ratio. Thats just about as good as it gets.

So would I ever do Scott’s workout? You bet, in fact I need to do other workouts just to get out of my head. Let me explain:

If you’ve ever built workout programs for clients or for athletes/teams it can become very mentally exhausting to follow your own workouts for too long. I become very hypercritical of how my workouts feel, if something should be upgraded, or tweaked or modified. I actually have a very hard time following my own workouts without being somewhat stressed about them as I want them to be perfect. This is of course irrational as there is no such thing as a ‘perfect workout’ but nevertheless this is what ends up happening to me when I follow my own program for too long. I get caught up in my own head and struggle to ‘just do it’. This is something that everyone who follows Adonis Index workouts can do with an AI workout…except me!

I use Scott’s workouts as part of my ongoing workout cycling to allow myself the freedom to go to the gym and ‘just do it’ for a while without analyzing my own workouts. And it feels really good to mix things up.

I don’t do this with just any old workout as I’m still focused on building and maintaining a golden Adonis Index ratio and Scott’s programs fit perfectly for this purpose.

So if you’re interested in checking out Scott’s programs you can pick them up at a discounted rate for Adonis Index customers here:

Scotts Workout Programs

Scott has also agreed to help the Adonis Index members integrate his workout modules with our AI modules to create a new MEGA-GIANT cycle!

Enjoy the podcast.

John

 

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Filed Under: Sage Advice

3 Jedi Mind Tricks to Stop Failing at Diet & Training

June 8, 2012 by

Still not getting results?

There are several mindsets that guys who get results from their diet and training have, let’s look at three of them.

If you are focused on looking for the easy path and getting quick results, you are focusing on the wrong thing.

Trick #1: Stop Looking for Quick Fixes

It’s rooted in us to look for the most efficient and quickest way. However, nowadays we are surrounded with lots of veneer products that simply don’t work. The only way to find the one that will work for you is to realize what you really want.

Here is a good question, do you want lasting results?

Quick fixes never last and shortcuts take too long, that’s what you really need to realize and choose products and approaches based on that mindset.

Hard work pays off, but there are quite a few issues with hard work:

  1. It’s really hard to sell
  2. It’s boring, uninteresting and definitely not sexy to put on a product cover/label
  3. Requires effort lots of effort
  4. You need to invest some time before you get any results
  5. If you are not committed, it won’t lead to anything

Let’s look at what the difference means in the world of fitness marketing.

Take a look at what the truth is about our workout system (and any good system for that matter):

With this workout, you will have to show up at the gym five times a week. Our diet calculator will give you a calorie budget for the week and require you to make smart choices in order to stay in it and lose weights. It’s important to note that you may not see noticeable results until week 5.

And now what you will be told in an ad/infomercial for the latest home workout device:

Introducing the new fitness machine that will take away the stress from going to the gym and the need to spend countless hours on cardio machines to lose weight. No counting calories required! Lifting weights? Forget it, with this machine you will build rock solid muscles in just a few days, 5 minutes a day, bodybuilders only wish they knew about this secret. No need to train everyday anymore, just a couple short minutes doing simple movements while watching your favorite show in the comfort of your home. Why are you still waiting…BUY NOW and get the body of your dreams effortlessly!!!

Which one would you buy?

Seriously, the workout or the machine?

It’s pretty obvious, but let’s pause for a moment. We both know you are smart, if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be reading this article. So, do you really think that it’s possible to build something without any hard work that other people spent years working on before they achieved their desired results?

I’m all for efficiency and fancy new approaches, but seriously do you believe you can get in shape quickly and effortlessly?

Think about it.

If it was easy, everybody would be in killer shape and looking good would not have such a high social value.

Trick #2: Make It a Priority

Let’s be honest, most people don’t want that awesome physique bad enough.

It’s like in other areas of your life.

You want to have more amazing people in your life, but you don’t spend that much time outside your home. You want to build a better body, but you don’t go to the gym as often as you should. And this list just goes on.

If  unsuccessful people share a common trait it’s definitely this one – not wanting it bad enough.

When you listen to the interviews with out contestants (and especially with the 1st place winners) you will notice that they have all, at some point, decided to give the program their best shot.

If you decide and commit to win our contest, and put your 100% effort, then chances are you will win. Obviously the competition gets tougher each time, but if you want to win it always start with that moment of commitment – deciding you really want it and do whatever it takes to achieve it, and as Goethe said at that moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you.

So do what it takes, even if it means finding a way to work out while maintaining your four jobs and taking care of your four children.

Getting and staying in shape has to be a priority. If it’s just something that would be nice to have for summer, then you will give up as soon as you run into some obstacles.

Trick #3: Take Action!

Sitting and reading won’t get you the body you want.

Everyone wishes to get better in something, but no one likes to take action. Taking action is uncomfortable and hurts, right? Well, the truth is that EVERYTHING you want is OUT of your comfort zone, so sitting on your butt won’t get you anywhere.

If you want to get moving, here are the steps:

  1. Stand up
  2. Start walking

It’s that simple.

But it’s not easy and there are no results without action.

And don’t make any excuses!

Just go to the gym.

You have the time. Even if you spend two hours at the gym, five times a week, that’s still only 10 hours a week. And I don’t know if you counted how many hours there are per week, but I did and it’s 168 in total.

That’s a pretty big number isn’t it?

Do you even know where are all the hours you have are being spent each week?

Do you know how much time you spend in front of the tv? Three hours a day? Then with those extra 4 on weekend, that’s 25 hours every single week. That’s 1200 hours a year. Do you know how much muscle you could build in 1200 hours?

Let’s be honest you don’t really need to watch that TV, it’s not improving your life in any way and once you make the decision to stop spending hours in front of the TV, you will suddenly find 25 hours that will be available to you every week that you can invest (yes invest) into working out, planning your workouts and cooking your meals. You don’t need more than that!

You will probably need about half of that time.

And this is how you do it.

You set a plan, find a way to make it happen and take action.

take-action

There are only so many tomorrows…

Taking action is key!

Stop reading and get out of your comfort zone NOW!

What should you take away today?

  1. Don’t look for quick fixes, instead aim for long term solutions, this is not a one time thing, while fitness should never be your identity, it should be a part of your lifestyle
  2. Getting and staying in shape must be a priority, you have to want that body as bad as you want to breath, otherwise your results will be mediocre at best
  3. Let it not be just another article you’ve consumed along with your morning coffee and the latest news, try to act on the information you’ve just learned (read the article again if necessary), if you don’t act now, we both now you never will

Talk to you soon,

Vaclav Gregor

 

Filed Under: Greg's Lessons, Sage Advice Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mental Courage: Be VERY Afraid!

June 2, 2012 by

AT8 has begun.  The largest competition to date for the Adonis Index Community.  The competition will be fierce! Scared yet?! Good.

For many contestants this will be their first journey into the territory of “Transformation Land.”  There will be hills and valleys on this journey but rest assured,  several others have gone before you and have achieved amazing transformations. Possessing mental courage is vital to your journey because the transformation is far more than just physical.

Webster’s Dictionary defines courage as,  “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”

While  in pursuit of  your transformation you may encounter fear, worry, doubt, distractions, etc.  You have two choices: FIGHT or FLIGHT.  I would ask you to stand and FIGHT for your transformation goals.

Erase Fear. Build Mental Courage.

Build Mental Courage with these three principles:

 1. Consistency: Proper Habits Take Time to Develop

At some time in your life,  you may have worked out, ate properly, and done cardio.  However, the combination of all three habits over a 12 or 20 week period of time are the ingredients needed for a successful transformation.

2. Utilize Resources: Discover which Tools Help Keep You on Track

Within the AI community there are several tools at your disposal to ensure your success. The new AI Contest Tracking software allows you to input your measurements and upload progress photos to help measure and track changes during your transformation.

Chat with others in the forum; remember you’re in this transformation FOR yourself not BY yourself. Lastly, stay focused and tune-in regularly to the website.  Read blog posts and  listen to podcasts of others who’ve already completed a successful transformation.

3. Be VERY Afraid: FIGHT? or FLIGHT? — Which Will it Be?

A famous quote by Mark Twain says, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”  And I think he’s right on the money. It’s ok to have fear, as long as it doesn’t hinder or stop your progress.  For some, fear is actually a motivator.

You may have told your friends and family you were joining the contest and now you’re accountable and afraid to let them down.  For others, quitting is not an option and the fear of not looking your best when you submit your final pictures actually motivates you to train harder.

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. Dale Carnegie

Whatever motivates/inspires you, the results are worth the effort.  If it was easy, everyone would do it.  That is the price you pay to possess an outstanding physique.

In conclusion, remember to have Mental Courage, harness the fear and enjoy your transformation!

Allen Elliott

 

Filed Under: Sage Advice

Miscellaneous Ramblings with Naomi and Allen

May 25, 2012 by

I was recently in Atlanta Georgia at Rachel and Steven Paynes awesome gym “House of Payne”

We’ were doing an Adonis/Venus video/photoshoot for the new Adonis Index workout and the Venus Phase 3 workout.

We took lots of video and at one point just starts chatting in a ’round table’ style about various items that come up with workout terminology, where you should ‘feel’ an exercise, things to consider when eating after your workout all many other confusing points.

The following link is about 10 minutes of this round table discussion between Allen Elliot, Naomi Sandoval and myself.

AI-VI Roundtable Part 1

You’ll likely find some useful tips if you get a chance to watch this sometime in the next few days.

John

Filed Under: Sage Advice Tagged With: ,

Adonis “Effect” on CMT’s Singing Bee

May 9, 2012 by

Watch this quick video, I’ll explain 2 interesting things below as well as why this is being posted. (Fun starts at 14 second mark)

Now you may be wondering why I’ve posted this video.

Well, there are 2 big reasons:

  1. Scotty is one of our clients.  Yes, that’s right, he’s been with us from the very beginning.  In fact, we’ll be doing an interview with him very soon about the changes he’s seen in his life… many just like you’ve seen above.
  2. It’s very hard to EXPLAIN what the “Adonis Effect” is.  More precisely, it’s tough to explain what the EXPERIENCE is like.  Sure, I’ve told stories in emails and videos about the things I’ve personally witnessed.  And you’ve also heard stories in podcasts from contest winners about the things they’ve experienced.  However, I do know that unless you SEE THIS FOR YOURSELF, it’s really tough to believe, and you may even dismiss it as marketing or propaganda otherwise.

Hopefully, after seeing this, it will help you realize the power of what AI can do for you… if you didn’t already know.

It’s just more PROOF that this can change your life – in more ways than you can possibly imagine.

 

Filed Under: Sage Advice
« Previous Page
Next Page »
Support