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How Much Weight Should You Use During Workouts?

July 19, 2013 by

In the upcoming weeks John and I will seek to provide our feedback and insight on “trending” topics and questions from within the  AGR Community.

Today’s topic is a frequently asked question among our newest brothers in iron.  The question many people ask once they begin the AGR workouts is, “How Much Weight Should I Use?”

 

Adonis Golden Ratio: Solid Goals & Simple Metrics

Adonis Golden Ratio: Solid Goals & Simple Metrics

Unique to the the AGR program,  the repetition ranges are specifically designed for positive progression toward your “Golden” Adonis Index Score, which is based on the  Fibonacci Sequence and cyclical, periodized weight training.

It’s important to note  that a “repetition” or “REP” is directly related to a suggested level of effort.  The level of effort on a scale of  1 to 10, will determine the amount of weight that you train with.

Below is break-out of REP ranges and the level of effort that should be applied when lifting a specific amount of weight.

AGR-Bo

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

  • Give yourself permission to lift lighter weights, to maintain your form.
  • Always use a spotter if you are training with heavy weights.
  • It’s ok to train while “sore” but NOT while “hurt.”
  • Try, Fail, Adjust– Record the amount of weight you use and look for opportunities to SAFELY increase upon the weight used in previous workouts.
Filed Under: exercise, Model, Muscle Building, Physique Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

“State of the Adonis Union” Inaugural Address by Allen Elliott

April 27, 2012 by

“The State of The Adonis Union is getting stronger.  And we’ve come too far to turn back to the couch.” – Allen Elliott, Adonis Lifestyle Ambassador

My Adonis Lifestyle Journey began when I made the Watch List in Contest AT3. I received tremendous support from members of the AI/VI community to pursue my fitness endeavors. After winning the AT7 Open Level 2 Contest Category I'm inspired to support and motivate others to begin their own Adonis Lifestyle Journey.

Hello, my name is Allen Elliott and I’d like to share my “Adonis Lifestyle” Story with you. While stumbling upon the Adonis Index website over three years ago, I could’ve never imagined the incredible amount of success and personal satisfaction this system has provided for myself and my fitness endeavors. As an ex-athlete, I’d hear the horror stories’ of guys who started off in great shape only to be de-railed later in life & never recovering.  Now that training for performance was no longer a goal or requirement, I was desperately looking for direction.  I found the Adonis Index Systems  to be straightforward and applicable to anyone desiring to improve their overall “Look” as opposed to specific performance training.

After completing the First Week of Workouts, I took the plunge and never looked back.  Training exclusively with Adonis Index Systems, I have competed and placed with top honors in Natural Bodybuilding/ Men’s Physique Fitness Competitions, graced the runway in several prominent fashion shows, and have published work as a fitness model. Following the Adonis Lifestyle has given me unstoppable confidence to pursue my fitness goals with a relentless tenacity.

Allen Elliott | Fitness Model Comp Card || Credits: N3K Photo Studios | Bertron Anderson Photography | Michael Martin Photography

When John contacted me and asked if I would like to become a guest blogger on the site, I was deeply honored and graciously accepted his offer. My Goal while giving back to the Adonis Index Community is to: Supply, Train, and Build.

Supply–As a guest blogger, I will post helpful tips for contest preparation, provide insight on making the transition from an AI Contest to a “Live Show”, and share updates from my Journey in the World of Fitness Modeling.

Train–I’ll also be active in the AI forums to chat with members about training styles, body-part specialization within the AI system, and any other topics that may arise that I can help with.

Build–Preparing for the road ahead, John and myself are masterminding to bring you the next Adonis Index workout.  This advanced workout will show you how I prepare for Fitness Competitions and Model Photo-Shoots, Adonis Index Style.

As we carry forward the plans and programs to better help you achieve your fitness goals I’d like to remind you to enjoy your fitness journey, the results are worth the effort. Stay Tuned! The best is yet to come.

Allen Elliott

Filed Under: body image, Contest, Fat Loss, Featured Articles, Goals, Muscle Building, Podcasts, Reviews, Weekly Guide, Workout Design Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Juvenile vs Work Induced Muscle Growth: What is going on Inside the Muscle

May 23, 2011 by

Multiple factors influence muscle growth including your age, genetic predisposition, exercise, nutrition and drugs. This is a general list but each category has specific effects and interact with each other. Over the course of your life there are two major factors that override all others with respect to how much muscle you’ll ever build and those factors are:

JuvenilevsWorkInducedGrowth

Once you're past the age of 25 Juvenile growth is over.

1) Juvenile Muscle Growth

2) Work Induced Muscle Growth

The effects that nutrition and your specific workout pattern can have on your ability to grow muscle will change depending on the stage of muscle growth you are working within.

The changes that happen at the muscle are also different depending on your stage of life and training status/history.

In todays podcast we’ll look at what happens at the cellular level when muscles are growing in both the juvenile state and as a result of working out.

We’ll discuss something called “satellite cells” and how they might be the limiting factor to the amount of muscle you can ultimately grow and how various factors such as nutrition, age, working out, supplements and drugs can affect your satellite cells.

We’ll also discuss how your specific situation will change how effective supplements like creatine or protein can be and what the best strategies for using these might be.

John

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For more information as well as how to get access to Adonis UNCENSORED, click the link below:

Adonis UNCENSORED Premium Podcast

 

Filed Under: Muscle Building, Podcasts, Uncensored Podcasts S01 Tagged With: , , , ,

What does “Building Muscle” Mean?

February 28, 2011 by

Most men want bigger muscles…it’s the reason most of us go to the gym, it’s the reason men continue to experiment with new workout protocols, new supplements and even drugs…bigger muscles.

Eugen Sandow vs Schwarzenegger

How did Schwarzenegger get so much bigger than Sandow?

A quick glance around any gym will reveal men with vastly different sizes of muscles. So what makes one guy that much different than the other in a given group?

The factors that contribute to the muscle size of any given person you might come across include:

Genetics

# of years weight training

Type of program followed

Intensity of training

The age you started weight training

Supplements

Drugs

Money – how much supplements or drugs you can afford

Time – The amount of time you can spend working out

Stress – How much stress you are under in the other areas of your life

All of these factors contribute to the amount of muscle any given person has, and this is also why you can’t really compare yourself to anyone else.

This is all part of understanding muscle growth and what to expect.

At this point you might have noticed that I haven’t said anything about ‘building muscle’ but only muscle ‘growth’. That is because it’s incorrect to use the word ‘build’ to refer to muscle.

Or at the very least, the word ‘build’ makes us think of muscle growth in the wrong terms, and as long as we think in terms of muscle ‘building’ we will always be susceptible to marketing scams about muscle growth.

The first step to really understanding how to create bigger muscles is to first start thinking about muscle growth as it truly is, and that is hypertrophy, not ‘building’.

DEFINITION: Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells.

The definition of the word “build” can mean many things, but none of it’s meanings are the same as the word ‘hypertrophy’.

Hypertrophy can most closely be related to the concept of filling up a water balloon and perhaps making a slightly bigger balloon to fill.

Making this distinction in the way you think of muscle growth is a key step to developing the body you want and namely, bigger muscles.

In todays podcast we discuss how to correctly think about muscle growth and how this fundamental shift in the way you think and speak about muscle growth will change the way you view working out for both muscle size and definition.

John

LISTEN:

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Filed Under: Muscle Building, Podcasts Tagged With: ,

Building Muscle and Losing Fat

August 23, 2010 by

Most of us who workout are trying to build muscle, and along with that we’d all like to get rid of some fat too. One of the first and most common questions that comes up next is this:

“Is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time”

The answer depends on what your definition of ‘building muscle’ is.

The look and size of your muscles is a transient state based on how many calories you’re eating, the type of food you eat, the supplements you do or don’t take, the drugs you do or don’t take, and the volume, frequency and intensity of your workouts.

If you change any one of these factors you’re likely going to have some change in the look and size of your muscles.

When it comes to fat loss you must eat less calories than you burn, this might also cause your muscles to be less hydrated (less full looking) than when you’re eating as much as you like. This doesn’t mean you’re losing muscle, it just means that they’ll be more full looking when you go back to eating maintenance.

Keep in mind that a muscle is over 80% water and the hydration status of your muscles plays a big part in how they look on a day to day basis. You can get refresher on what muscle growth is here: WHAT IS MUSCLE GROWTH

The question shouldn’t be: ‘can I build muscle and lose fat at the same time’ but rather ‘what will my muscles look like once I’ve lost the fat’

In todays audio lesson we’ll talk about the factors that go into muscle building and fat loss and why this muscle building vs fat loss question isn’t easy to answer.

We’ll also talk about government regulations on fat loss claims and why you might see and hear different claims online vs on television or in print magazines.

For a refresher on the calories required for weight loss go here: HOW MANY CALORIES TO LOSE WEIGHT

John

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Filed Under: Featured Articles, Podcasts Tagged With: , , ,

What is Muscle Growth?

June 21, 2010 by

Most guys who workout with weights will tell you that they’re trying to ‘build’ muscle. On the surface this seems like a perfectly legitimate and normal claim, but the closer you look at the mechanism of muscle growth you’ll see that we don’t really ‘build’ muscle but rather we ‘grow’ or ‘inflate’ muscles.

Muscles are always in a transient state. The size of a muscle is always dependent on the external stresses that are forced on it, and specifically exercise.

After that there are some nutritional factors, genetic and drugs that can change the size of a muscle.

In each case the size of the muscle is a transient state that can be predicted based on the genetic, nutritional, drug, and mechanical influences.

In today’s audio lesson we’ll discuss what is really going on when we say we’re trying to ‘build’ muscle. Hopefully we’ll end up with a bit of a clearer image of what working out really does to our muscles.

John

(Download Transcription: “Muscle Growth“)

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Filed Under: Featured Articles, Podcasts Tagged With: ,
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