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Athletic Greens (www.athleticgreens.com) This is my all-in-one greens insurance policy. It contains 76 ingredients, including inulin for improving bacterial balance.
Thera-Bands (www.fourhourbody.com/thera)
Ephedrine hydrochloride: 20 mg
Policosanol: 20–25 mg Alpha-lipoic acid: 100–300 mg (I take 300 mg with each meal, but some people experience acid reflux symptoms with even 100 mg) Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg Garlic extract: at least 200 mg (I routinely use 650+ mg)
Daily PAGG intake is timed before meals and bed, which produces a schedule like this: Prior to breakfast: AGG Prior to lunch: AGG Prior to dinner: AGG Prior to bed: PAG (omit the green tea extract) AGG is simply PAGG
This dosing schedule is followed six days a week. Take one day off each week and one week off every two mon...
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the addition of policosanol (10–25 milligrams before bed) to the PAGG (then AGG) stack produces, in my experience and that of my guinea pigs, far superior effects for fat-loss vs. AGG alone.
23 milligrams per day to be optimal for fat-loss, with little additional benefit from higher doses.
ALA helps you store the carbohydrates you eat in muscle or in your liver as opposed to in fat.
325 milligrams three to four times per day,
fat-loss results seem to “hockey-stick”—go from a mild incline to a sharp rise—between 900 and 1,100 milligrams per day for the 150- to 200-pound subjects
decaffeinated green tea ex...
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GARLIC EXTRACT
Ensure adequate consumption of B-complex vitamins while using PAGG and consult your doctor before use if you have a medical condition (e.g., hypertension, hypoglycemia, diabetes) or are taking any medications.
TOOLS AND TRICKS I used the following products for my testing, but I’ll update links based on availability and reader feedback. I have no financial interest in any of them: Allicin 6000 Garlic—650 mg, 100 caplets (www.fourhourbody.com/garlic) Mega Green Tea Extract—325+ mg EGCG, 100 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/greentea) Vitamin Shoppe—Alpha-Lipoic Acid, 300 mg, 60 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/ala) Nature’s Life—Policosanol, 60 tablets (www.fourhourbody.com/policosanol)
1. Place an ice pack on the back of the neck or upper trapezius area for 20–30 minutes, preferably in the evening, when insulin sensitivity is lowest. I place a towel on the couch while writing or watching a movie and simply lean back against the ice pack. 2. Consume, as Ray did, at least 500 milliliters of ice water on an empty stomach immediately upon waking. In at least two studies, this water consumption has been shown to increase resting metabolic rate 24–30%, peaking at 40–60 minutes post-consumption, though one study demonstrated a lower effect of 4.5%.
Eat breakfast 20–30 minutes later à la the Slow-Carb Diet detailed in earlier chapters.
Take 5–10-minute cold showers before breakfast an...
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INCREASING FAT CONTENT IN MEALS BLUNTS JUMPS IN GLUCOSE MUCH
The more fat, and the earlier in the meal, the less the glycemic response. Eat good fat, preferably as an appetizer before the entrée. I now eat four Brazil nuts and one tablespoon of almond butter first thing upon waking.
three tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice just prior to eating (not store-bought with preservatives and artificial additives) appeared to lower blood sugar peaks by approximately 10%.
There is ample evidence that cinnamon can be used to reduce the glycemic index of a meal up to 29%.
• Eat decent quantities of fat at each larger meal. Saturated fat is fine if meat is untreated with antibiotics and hormones. • Spend at least 30 minutes eating lunch and dinner. Breakfasts can be smaller and thus consumed more quickly. • Experiment with cinnamon and lemon juice just prior to or during meals. • Use the techniques in “Damage Control” for accidental and planned binges. Keep in mind that the techniques in that chapter will help you minimize damage for about 24 hours, not much more.
Juliet Mae Fine Spices & Herbs (www.julietmae.foodzie.com) This is where you can buy Juliet Mae’s delicious cinnamon. I used her sampler for all testing, which includes Cassia, Ceylon, and Saigon cinnamon.
In 2005, my interest in kettlebells reinvigorated, I returned to the United States from Argentina and purchased one 53-pound kettlebell. I did nothing more than one set of 75 swings one hour after a light, protein-rich breakfast, twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. In the beginning, I couldn’t complete 75 consecutive repetitions, so I did multiple sets with 60 seconds between until I totaled 75. Total swing time for the entire week was 10–20 minutes. I wasn’t trying to balance tequila shots on my butt cheeks. I wanted abs. In six weeks, I was at my lowest bodyfat percentage since 1999.
• Stand with your feet 6–12 inches outside of shoulder width on either side, each foot pointed outward about 30 degrees. If toes pointed straight ahead were 12:00 on a clock face, your left foot would point at 10:00 or 11:00, and your right would point at 1:00 or 2:00. • Keep your shoulders pulled back (retracted) and down to avoid rounding your back.
The lowering movement (backswing) is a sitting-back-on-a-chair movement, not a squatting-down movement.
Do not let your shoulders go in front of your kne...
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Setting the expectation that things will be easy results in disappointment and quitting at the smallest hiccup.
Three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), she performed a simple sequence of three exercises prior to breakfast, all of which are illustrated in the next few pages: One set: 20 two-legged glute activation raises from the floor One set: 15 flying dogs, one set each side One set: 50 kettlebell swings (For you: start with a weight that allows you to do 20 perfect repetitions but no more than 30. In other words, start with a weight, no less than 20 pounds, that you can “grow into.”) That’s it. Total prescribed exercise: about 5 minutes per session × 3 sessions = 15 minutes per week. One hour
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the MED is two circuits and will deliver 80–90% of the benefits for most women
Workout A All exercises, except for kettlebell swings, are performed for 10 repetitions using a 13-Repetition Max2 (RM) weight. 1. Heavy dumbbell front squat to press (ass to heels)—squeeze glutes at bottom for one second before rising 2. One-arm, one-leg DB row 3. Walking lunges with sprinter knee raise 4. Wide-grip push-ups3 5. Two-arm kettlebell swings × 20–25 Repeat sequence 2–4 times. Workout B 1. One-leg Romanian Deadlift (RDL)4 (10–12 reps each side) 2. Chin-up (four-second negative lowering portion only) × 10 or until you cannot control descent5 3. One-leg hamstring curls on a Swiss
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Kettlebells (www.fourhourbody.com/kettlebells) Most men should start with a 20-kg (44 lb) or 24-kg (53 lb) kettlebell and most women should start with a 16-kg (35 lb) or
“the luxury of no choice”:
“If you have 80–100 pounds to lose and aren’t losing five pounds per week for at least the first few weeks, you are doing something wrong.”
Avoid domino foods:
It is not a serving of cookies or cake, it’s an entire bag of cookies, or half a cake … and that’s no joke. This I know. So I don’t try and fool
Do not swing the weights above sternum height.
There is just one more prerequisite for visible abs: follow a diet that allows sustained low bodyfat of 12% or less.
a pile of firm cushions. Using a BOSU or Swiss ball, ensure your ass is close to the floor, usually no more than 6″ off the ground. Then follow these steps: 1. Start with arms stretched overhead as high as possible (I overlap my extended hands as if in a diving position). Keep your arms behind or next to your ears for the entire exercise. 2. Lower under control for 4 seconds until your fingers touch the floor, the entire time attempting to extend your hands further away from the ball. 3. Pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, aiming for maximum elongation (picture 3). 4. Rise under control and
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timed planks instead, which also strengthen the gluteus medius on the hip. Just as The Kiwi in the last chapter prescribed, start with 30 seconds on the front, then 30 seconds on each side, working up to 90 seconds maximum per set. One set per angle per workout is all that’s needed.
can you learn to do snatches safely? Sure. But if there are safer substitutes that provide 80% or more of the benefits, I will suggest those substitutes instead.
the goal of strength training is to reduce injury potential first, and to increase performance second.
Dynamic stretching before each session (“over-unders,” detailed later). One of the following, five minutes rest between sets: Bench press:1 2–3 sets of 2–3 reps or Push-ups: 10–12 reps2 Conventional deadlift to knees, 2–3 sets of 2–3 reps at 85–95% of 1-repetition max (1RM). Bar does NOT go higher than the knee and is dropped from that height rather than returned to the ground by the athlete. Dropping, and therefore avoiding the eccentric lowering portion, is critical for reducing hamstring injuries when also doing sprint training. Time under tension should be less than 10 seconds per set. For
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“Do as little as needed, not as much as possible.”
walk as fast as possible for 15 minutes, three sessions per week.
Her pre-track season conditioning was just 15 minutes of fast walking three days per week. Her goal was to increase the distance covered (but never the time) each session.
working smarter beats working longer, whether in the weight room or on the track.
lift heavy but not hard.
Muscle strength and short-term power output peak in the early evening (4:00–6:00 P.M.),
