The Smarter Sculpted Physique: Training | Nutrition | Muscle Gain | Fat Loss

-------------------------------------------------- ♦ Testosterone Replacement Therapy for Men ♦ -------------------------------------------------- Scott discusses the benefits of therapeutic testosterone replacement therapy, its effects, the symptoms it treats, and how it widely differs from stacked steroid usage. Coach Scott has lectured at Michigan State University on performance enhancing drugs and was referenced by the Canadian Government as an expert on the subject. He recently wrote a blog posted in T Nation documenting on why he quit steroids. Accessible also through his website: scottabelfitness.com/quitsteroids ♦♦ “There’s little point to adding years to your life if you can’t just as equally add life to your years.” ♦♦ • Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT, aka Hormone Replacement Therapy) is completely different than steroid use found in bodybuilding. • TRT [when prescribed and monitored by a physician] is safe and effective. • Testosterone is involved in many biological functions beyond sex drive; it affects mood, thinking, cognition, muscle and fat distribution, bone strength, and sense of well-being. • Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can help men and post-menopausal women. • Testosterone production declines with age. That doesn’t mean it should be accepted and lived with if there are scientifically proven ways to treat it. Not doing so would be like not wearing eyeglasses [or contacts] to improve vision. • Symptoms of low testosterone: low libido, lack of enthusiasm, low energy and overall vitality. • A blood test can determine if you have low testosterone. Low T is often misdiagnosed as low thyroid. • Testosterone in the low normal range can produce symptoms. Some labs only label testosterone as low if it’s in the very low range. Borderline low T is often left untreated when TRT would help relieve symptoms. • The increased vitality resulting from TRT can improve adherence to training and diet strategy. • The positive effects of TRT may take a few weeks to exhibit themselves. [References] Morgentaler,A, “The Truth about Men and Sex.” St. Martin’s Press, 2015. https://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Men-Sex-Morgentaler/dp/B015GQ6ZC4 Morgentaler A, “Testosterone for Life.” McGraw Hill, 2009. https://www.amazon.com/Testosterone-Life-Recharge-Vitality-Overall/dp/0071494804/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=morgentaler+testosterone+for+life&qid=1555771796&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull Morgentaler A, Bruning CO, DeWolf WC. “Incidence of Occult Prostate Cancer with Low Serum Testosterone Levels.” Journal of the American Medical Association, 996 Dec 18;276(23):1904-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8968017 Morgentaler, A, “Testosterone replacement therapy and prostate risks: where’s the Beef?” Canadian Journal of Urology, 2006 Feb;13 Suppl 1:40-3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16526980 ------------------------------ Training Resources by Scott ------------------------------ Physique After 50 https://scottabelfitness.com/ebooks/physique-after-50/ The Aging Proposition https://scottabelfitness.com/ebooks/the-aging-proposition/ **Special Offer - Get a FREE week of workouts from my most popular workout program, The Hardgainer Solution: http://hardgainersolution.com/free/

----------------------------------- ♦ Rattling Another Protein Myth ♦ ----------------------------------- Think protein is the macronutrient that satisfies best? Think again. Scott shares peer-reviewed scientific research that says differently. ♦♦ Recent science refutes paleo dogma ♦♦ • Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by the gut provide a number of positive effects on health, notably reduction in Type II diabetes, obesity and heart disease. https://www.gutmicrobiotaforhealth.com/en/breaking-short-chain-fatty-acids-health/ • SCFA influence hunger, size of appetite and cravings. • Acetate, propionate and butyrate are the short chain fatty acids produced in the gut. • High-fiber foods are linked to an increase in SCFA. Fruits and vegetables contain fiber. Animal proteins don’t. ♦♦ “Evidence suggests that for most of history [humans] consumed more indigestible plant material, such as grasses, sedges and tubers, than is present in a typical western-style diet (>100 g per day dietary fibre compared with • This study contradicts paleo dogma. The more fiber you eat, the less you eat overall. • Evidence suggests that colonic propionate production helps reduce the amounts we eat and may curb reward-based eating. • Data from a 2015 study published in Gut show that increasing [the amount of] colonic propionate prevents [further] weight gain in overweight adults. • High fiber diets help automatically protect against over-eating. • Science disagrees with gym-floor folklore about which foods satiate best. [References] Byrne CS, et al. “The role of short chain fatty acids in appetite regulation and energy homeostasis.” International Journal of Obesity. 2015 Sep; 39(9): 1331–1338. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4564526/ Byrne CS, et al. “Increased colonic propionate reduces anticipatory reward responses in the human striatum to high-energy food.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2016 Jul; 104(1): 5–14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919527/ Chambers ES, et al. “Effects of targeted delivery of propionate to the human colon on appetite regulation, body weight maintenance and adiposity in overweight adults.” Gut. 2015 Nov;64(11):1744-54. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25500202 Lin HV, et al. “Butyrate and propionate protect against diet-induced obesity and regulate gut hormones via free fatty acid receptor 3-independent mechanisms.” Public Library of Science PLosOne. 2012;7(4):e35240. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22506074 ----------------------- Diet Resources by Scott ----------------------- Lean Without Trying https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Without-Trying-6-Day-Vegan-ebook/dp/B07MHVV2JJ The Cycle Diet http://thecycle.diet/ **Get an entire module of "Food Freedom" as a Free Email Course. 100% Free. No Credit Card Required. https://foodfreedomcourse.com/free/

--------------------------------- ♦︎ Remembering Andy Sinclair ♦︎ --------------------------------- In this special episode, Scott pays tribute to the memory of his friend and protege, cover model Andy Sinclair. ♦︎♦︎ In Loving Memory ♦︎♦︎ • Fitness and physique model Andy Sinclair passed away suddenly two weeks ago. (Andy was the model for Smarter Sculpted Physique.) • There was a lot more to Andy than fitness. He was a “three-dimensional” guy. • Andy had a spiritual side he didn’t talk about much. • He did good deeds in private. Scott learned after Andy’s passing that he’d been monetarily sponsoring a boy in Africa. A neighbor just happened to notice Andy cleaning up other people’s litter along a nature trail near his condo. • As a schoolboy, Andy would often give his lunch to another student [who had none]. He won his school citizenship award several years in a row. • People from all ages—people Scott had never met—attended Andy’s memorial service. He was friendly to everyone. • Andy had a connection to nature. His nature photography was accepted within 24 hours by an online nature stock photo site that receives 300 applications a day. • He became more and more uncomfortable with the physical stuff. His social media posts of his own body were to encourage others to get fit for themselves and to engage in fitness in a healthy way, rather than to call attention to himself. • He had little interest in the concept of “more.” • What would Andy’s parting words be? Scott thinks he would say to be kind to your neighbors and be kind to yourself. ♦︎♦︎ “Lone wolf, not lonely wolf.” – Andy Sinclair ♦︎♦︎ In lieu of other remembrances, Andy’s family requests that donations be made to The Humane Society of Canada or The Salvation Army. https://www.humanesociety.com/donate-now https://salvationarmy.ca/donations/

---------------------------------- ♦︎ Live Q&A with JC Santana ♦︎ ---------------------------------- Scott and JC host a Live Q&A session, fielding audience questions about exercise methods, biomechanics, the pros and cons of combining training methods, and the importance of recovery. ♦︎♦︎ If you’re not taking care of your body, your body can’t take care of you. ♦︎♦︎ • Some opening questions from the audience: - Safety bar squats? They’re great for people with shoulder issues. - Trap bar squats?They have similar kinetic chain expression as the dumbbell squats but with different balance demands. - Ball slams? More of a power generator than a core exercise. • Why is not training to failure better? The right amount of fatigue is the question. There’s technical failure and “fatigue” [volitional] failure. Olympic lifters have shown that they get better when they don’t train to failure. • Recovery requires energy: - Training to complete failure saps the body of energy needed to recover. - Training to complete failure taps into the immune system. - Training hard and training smart can co-exist. ♦︎♦︎ Volume, frequency and intensity dictate how often to train. ♦︎♦︎ • Some muscles were meant to work more, like calves, because they’re locomotive and used all the time. You could probably train calves every day, but not chest, because it’s not locomotive. • Jiu-Jitsu is for “gumby people.” It requires tremendous flexibility that few have. • Bodybuilding combined with MMA training can lead to joint issues. The training styles are incompatible. • JC prefers the leg press over squats for hypertrophy, especially for the hardgainer. • Resistance training tips for women: - Functional training is great for women who want to get toned without getting big because those exercises (like stability ball bridges) distribute load over many muscles. - Strength training—low reps greater weight—work well for women who want to work on bone density. The reps stay low enough not to encourage too much hypertrophy. ♦︎♦︎ No one can out-train a bad diet. A great physique is diet-mediated. ♦︎♦︎ • The only two places to rest a barbell for squat are the traps for back squats or the clavicular shelf for front squats. The more vertical orientation of the front squat places additional demands on knees and hips. • External rotation of the hip is required to squat deep. They also place rotational demands on the knees. • Three carries for the dumbbell squats: overhead, shoulder, and hang. • The hang carry for dumbbells creates form problems when using heavy weight, which is why JC prefers trap bar squat to dumbbell squats. • JC’s take on yoga: - Same take as on Olympic weightlifting: great for some, not for others. It depends on its application. - All training benefits are predicated on specificity. Lengthening a muscle doesn’t make it appropriate [for all applications.] - The flexibility involved in yoga doesn’t transfer to the flexibility needed for pitchers, sprinters or MMA fighters, for example. - It’s good for centering and stress-relief. JC might agree to it for calming a fighter preparing for competition. - Yoga should honor the individual’s anatomy and range of motion and should be the right style of yoga. - Yoga can’t prevent injuries that result from [traumatic] overload that are not the result of inflexibility, but that are often blamed on muscle length and tightness. ---------------- More about JC ---------------- • JC Santana is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with distinction (CSCS,* D) and a Fellow (FNSCA) of the National Strength and Conditioning As...

--------------------------------- ♦︎ Gettin' Real with JC Santana ♦︎ --------------------------------- Scott and JC discuss how an expert coach can adjust and succeed--without selling out--in today’s oft-unfair world of social media marketing. • JC begins by sharing some perspective on the magnitude of people’s problems with a comparison of how South Florida and Puerto Rico were affected by a recent hurricane. Somebody always has it better and somebody always have it worse. • There are two types of being alone: alone physically, and alone as in “no one loves me." • Life teaches lessons, sometimes early in life, sometimes later. • Great coaches aren’t often good business people. • Scott shares a personal story of how his material was blatantly plagiarized and exploited. • The wannabe expert complicates what’s simple and simplifies what’s complicated. • Complaining about the unfairness of social media marketing doesn’t solve the expert coach’s dilemma. • Not competing with the online pseudo-expert isn’t an option. They’re in the market. Compete or die. • JC has recruited his son to create and run his online marketing, because his son has more expertise in the digital environment. ♦︎♦︎ “You cannot have old packaging.” - JC Santana ♦︎♦︎ • Is there a devaluation of real expertise? Yes. How does the “expert” deal with this: introductory packages followed by guiding those who take advantage of the introductory offer. • A product that sold for $199 in the ‘90s sells for $19 today. Because of the number of options available on the internet, the price-per-unit of product has decreased. • Just because a product is popular doesn’t mean it works. ♦︎♦︎ “Give them what they’ll “bite,” then educate them backwards.” ♦︎♦︎ • What IS isn’t necessarily what SHOULD BE. • Instinctive training that worked [for the bodybuilding pioneers] isn’t reflected in the research. • JC compares engineering feats of today with the pyramids. • Training should be adopted for different types of clients. An older client can’t be expected to do the same routine as a professional athlete. ---------------- More about JC ---------------- • JC Santana is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with distinction (CSCS,* D) and a Fellow (FNSCA) of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). • He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Exercise Science from Florida Atlantic University. • For eight years, he was the sport-specific conditioning editor for the NSCA Journal. He has served as NSCA’s vice president, chairman of the NSCA Coaches Conference, a member of the NSCA Conference Committee, and NSCA state director for Florida. • His IHP certification system has certified 10,000 trainers and-counting worldwide in over 15 countries, including more than 200 Olympic coaches in China and South America. • His Institute of Human Performance was voted among the Top Ten Gyms in the US. • JC’s authored 17 books and manuals and produced over 70 DVDs. He has published more than 300 articles, many in peer-reviewed journals such as the NSCA’s Strength and Conditioning Journal. ------------------------------------ JC’s Institute, Books and Products ------------------------------------ The Institute of Human Performance, voted to the Top Ten gym in the nation https://www.ihpfitness.com/ NEW release! JC’s Total Body Transformation https://www.ihpproshop.com/product-page/jc-santana-s-body-transformation-book Functional Training https://www.ihpproshop.

---------------------------------------------------- ♦︎ Gut Health and Fitness with Dr. Angie Sadeghi ♦︎ ---------------------------------------------------- Gastroenterologist Angie Sadeghi, MD, joins Scott to talk about gut health and fitness-related topics ranging from digestive and metabolic consequences of physique competition, fad diets, body image, to strategies for getting and staying lean. Angie Sadeghi, MD, is a practicing gastroenterologist who advocates Whole Food Plant Based diet, and exercise, for overall health. ♦︎♦︎ “Wellness starts in your gut” ♦︎♦︎ • Angie used a plant-based diet to recover from her own health and weight problems. She began by not consuming meat and compensated for what she thought was a lack of protein by consuming more dairy. She got worse. • Sadeghi then tried keto and other nonsense fad diets, which didn’t work. • Keto, Paleo, Atkins…all names for the same thing. • Forks Over Knives changed her life forever. After watching it, she began eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet, immediately dropping dairy, oils and sugar from her diet. • To add a compelling vision for her weight loss goal, she signed up and competed in a fitness competition. • The bodybuilding industry traditionally promotes a type aesthetic that’s seen on stage for "2 seconds", but is unhealthy in the longer term. • You can lose weight, and build muscle using certain types of diets, but it doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Bodybuilders often go for months with little or no fiber. • Animal protein, when consumed, doesn’t go to muscle as commonly thought. • Depression, heart problems, exhaustion and impacted bowels are all things Dr. Angie has seen in her gastroenterology practice as side effects of bodybuilding diets. ♦︎♦︎ "The human alimentary (digestive) tract is similar to that of an herbivore, not a carnivore." ♦︎♦︎ • The right [healthy] way to eat is for the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome live in a symbiotic relationship with us; they eat what we eat. • Short chain fatty acids are produced as the result of eating fiber, which has a healing effect on the gut. The microbiome “eat” and ferment it. • To have great microbiome diversity, you have to eat fibrous vegetables of different colors. • Gluten sensitivity and gluten intolerance: people want evidence that they’re nutritional victims. • Most people are not gluten intolerant. There are people who have celiac disease, an autoimmune condition, but it’s more like one out of 100 who have a problem with gluten. • Women face a tremendous amount of social pressure related to body image. • Self-love—a positive self-image—is often what a physique client truly wants, and not primarily the transformed physique. • Women often don’t take care of themselves because they spend all their effort nurturing others. • Fitness should be used as part of self-care and keep us grounded. • A healthy diet can help treat depression because over 90% of serotonin is made in the gut. • Angie recommends bio-identical hormone optimization to post-menopausal women for treatment of related symptoms. • Portion control is a thing of the past. It’s almost impossible to get fat if eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet with no refined sugars or oils. • The job of a coach is to free people from coaching. A coach empowers the client to do for themselves. ----------------------- More about Dr. Angie ----------------------- • Sadeghi is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Gastroenterology.

------------------------------------------ ♦︎ More Biomechanics with JC Santana ♦︎ ------------------------------------------ JC Santana and Scott continue their conversation on biomechanics and functional training. In this episode, they examine how training methods and intensities should be re-examined to preserve joint health and athletic performance. JC just released a new book, JC’s Total Body Transformation. A prolific writer, he’s written 17 books in 20 years. ♦︎♦︎ “Heavy training is over-rated and mostly unjustified from a scientific and practical standpoint.” - JC Santana ♦︎♦︎ • Training isn’t meant to be entertaining. Would you rather be serious and obtain a goal you’re pursuing, or just have fun? • JC briefs his prospective clients on what to expect from a coaching arrangement with him. He’s a serious coach; he’s not an entertainer. • [Many] professional athletes today present a challenge to trainers. Many have a sense of entitlement and aren’t willing to do what a coach tells them to do. • Expertise is based upon one thing: tireless repetition of the basics. • JC talks about heavy weights’ effects on joints. Mass deteriorates structures. • If you slow it down, squeeze [the rep] and feel it, where every rep becomes deliberate, enormous loads can be placed on the muscle while sparing the joints. • Training with lighter weights saves tons of overload on the joints over the years. • Bob Paris was one of the first to say that there’s only so much muscle mass the human body can accumulate and still look aesthetic. Paris also said that his [training] goal was to make 300 lbs feel like 500 lbs. • People who take up fitness later in life have the advantage of not having the same amount of wear and tear on their joints as long-time strength and physique athletes. • JC and Scott discuss the out-of-control pharmacology in use in bodybuilding today. ♦︎♦︎ “If you want to soar like the eagles, get ready to crawl with the roaches.” – JC ♦︎♦︎ • Santana is re-examining the squat and other basic exercises to re-evaluate their use in training athletes in various sports. His new book gets into the physics of body movement. • Muscular strength has been assumed to enable better athletic performance of all types. However, powerlifters don’t have good vertical jumps yet they’re the heaviest squatters. So does it make sense to train, say, a basketball player with heavy squats to improve vertical leap? • Why is it that basketball players don’t have large calves? Could their ability to jump be more about the tendon size? • Hard training of performance athletes takes its toll [on the body]. • Injuries from long-term heavy training aren’t always visible. JC compares these to undetected damage done by undiagnosed high blood pressure or high cholesterol. • Technical lifts shouldn’t be done to volitional failure [as some training methodologies dictate]. You don’t want to break form with cleans or snatches. • CrossFit style of training has infiltrated performance athletics. Performance athletes [who train that way] are being injured in ways never before seen. • JC believes CrossFit will die off in a few years. ---------------- More about JC ---------------- • JC Santana is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with distinction (CSCS,* D) and a Fellow (FNSCA) of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). • He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Exercise Science from Florida Atlantic University. • For eight years, he was the sport-specific conditioning editor for the NSCA Journal.

------------------------------------ ♦︎ Biomechanics with JC Santana ♦︎ ------------------------------------ Functional fitness trailblazer and biomechanics expert JC Santana joins Scott for a spirited conversation about biomechanics, training methodology, and the challenges of marketing real expertise in today’s fitness environment. ♦︎♦︎“The race is not in the gym.” – JC Santana♦︎♦︎ • Can you do more with less? Is the question doing better in the gym, or performing better in a given activity? • What’s the minimum that can be done to achieve maximum results? • Performance metrics during a workout are [relatively] unimportant. “The race is not in the gym”. • Coaching takes a person to “how they want to feel” when they achieve their goal. • What does balance mean in practical application and what does balance training achieve? • Mel Siff changed JC’s thinking about balance training. Base of support influences amount of force that can be generated. • You don’t need static balance training, unless you’re a Cirque de Soleil performer. • Momentum and base of support influence balance. Try riding a bicycle very slowly. It’s more difficult to stay upright. • Power generation is dependent on support. Fred Hatfield once used the analogy of changing a car tire by placing the jack in the sand. • Don’t train someone out of a natural condition, such as making a left hander a right hander. • JC trains unilaterally: lunges, alternating curls, etc. • Science should inform, not dictate. – Scott Science attempts to explain what we have known for many years. – JC • Bodybuilding training is best for building muscle. • Tirelessly coach the basics. ♦︎♦︎“Training isn’t meant to be entertaining.” - JC♦︎♦︎ • JC doesn’t allow cell phone use at IHP. He runs a serious ship because [IHP] has serious clientele. • The mechanics of a training maneuver should approximate the movement it attempts to train. JC discusses how poorly single-arm kettlebell snatches trains Olympic barbell lifts. • A karate master doesn’t get certified in individual kicks and punches. So why are certifications needed for specific training tools, like kettlebells, for instance? • Surviving in today’s world of promotion via social media doesn’t require selling out, but it does require adapting. • Is it better to be right, or happy? To JC, effective is happy. • Optimal strength is the [training load] that, when exceeded, does not result in a performance gain. • Scott and JC discuss reinventing themselves as they age. ---------------- More about JC ---------------- • JC Santana is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with distinction (CSCS,* D) and a Fellow (FNSCA) of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). • He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Exercise Science from Florida Atlantic University. • For eight years, he was the sport-specific conditioning editor for the NSCA Journal. He has served as NSCA’s vice president, chairman of the NSCA Coaches Conference, a member of the NSCA Conference Committee, and NSCA state director for Florida. • His IHP certification system has certified 10,000 trainers and-counting worldwide in over 15 countries, including more than 200 Olympic coaches in China and South America. • His Institute of Human Performance was voted among the Top Ten Gyms in the US. • JC’s authored 17 books and manuals and produced over 70 DVDs. He has published more than 300 articles, many in peer-reviewed journals such as the NSCA’s Strength and C...

--------------------------------------------------------- 17 Must-Have Principles for Physique Transformation --------------------------------------------------------- Scott opens up and shares his list of 17 foundational conditions and habits necessary for anyone who’s truly serious about transforming their physique. Too many people major in minor details. Don’t focus on incidentals; principles deal with foundational topics. These following principles support a program but are not the program itself. You must have… 1. A penchant to work toward your goal with a work ethic greater than the one you have now. 2. A will-do attitude, not a can-do attitude. Are you a doer? 3. A sense of resilience over a sense of illusion. You’ll need to deal with challenge life throws at you. 4. A desire for preparation. 5. Simple mantras to recite to yourself. Example: Quitters never win and winners never quit. Find one that grounds you. 6. Ownership and responsibility for the process and the goal. Blame = B Lame. 7. A positive, productive, constructive attitude. 8. Deeper dedication that extends beyond convenience. True dedication shows up when obstacles appear. Actual vs. fantasy dedication. 9. A belief in yourself. 10. A developed sense of pragmatism. Ignore gimmicks and claims of quick fixes. If it doesn’t feel like work, it won’t work. Be real about what your goal will take to achieve. If you expect a lot for yourself, expect a lot from yourself. 11. Self-discipline as a foundation, applied daily. 12. More humility than pride. Proverbs says pride goes before a fall. There will always be others who are better than you. 13. A plan, including a contingency plan. Should be common sense, but common sense isn’t all that common. 14. A healthy perspective on circumstances and on doing little things well. Doing little things well help you do the big things right. 15. Higher standards for the task at hand. Extraordinary achievements require extraordinary efforts. 16. A healthy, mature approach to mistakes, including learning lessons from your mistakes. 17. An “I want to earn it” approach, as opposed to “I want to have it”. Go even deeper by checking Scott's book How to Train for a Better Physique. https://scottabelfitness.com/ebooks/how-to-train-for-a-better-physique/ **Special Offer - Get a FREE week of workouts from my most popular workout program, The Hardgainer Solution: http://hardgainersolution.com/free/

-------------------------------------------- ♦ A Converation with Coach Dan Garner ♦ -------------------------------------------- Strength coach and nutrition specialist Dan Garner joins Scott for a conversation about the fitness and nutrition industry, coaching, and what differentiates true experts from the pretenders. ♦♦ "A great coach aligns talents with systems." - Dan Garner • Dan is co-founder of Hockeytraining.com and owner-operator of Team Garner, Incorporated. He began his career as a base level personal trainer at Gold’s Gym. • Dan’s clientele includes young, old, and average people looking to get fit, as well as top business executives, athletes in the NHL, NFL, UFC, and MLB. Among his clientele are Super Bowl champs and UFC world title holders. • It’s a crazy world [in the fitness and diet industry.] Someone always wants to take credit for someone else’s work. • In a lot of cases, a great athlete can make a bad coach look good, because the great athlete was always going to be good. The coach overstates their importance to the process. On the other hand, a great coach can elevate the performance of an average athlete. • A great coach can unlock “dormant performance.” • Slotting the athlete into the right system allows their dormant performance to be unlocked and their potential to be realized. • The online world of fitness and nutrition can be very confusing and misleading to the average person. • Someone with a large online following can be respected as an expert, even if they’re not truly authoritative. • Dan travels around the world to speak on fitness and nutrition, and can do so without notes [because he actually possesses the knowledge.] Some so-called experts with huge followings—who do an Instagram post or two a week—never present, because they’re insecure about defending what they know in a live public forum. • Repeat a message often enough, and it becomes a version of the truth, aka “alternative facts.” • Scientific studies can be misleading. Some scientific studies are performed solely to market a new product. Ask: where is the balance of the research leaning? • Scott shared a story of a successful fat burner that grossed $450M: Nine studies were commissioned to prove effectiveness; seven showed no effect; one showed it “may” contribute to fat loss. ♦♦ More coaching wisdom, in 25 words or less: • People love to hear good things about their bad habits. • Bind yourself to someone who truly wants to help, and doesn’t have a hidden agenda. • Beware the expert who’s selling supplements. • Sometimes, failure is the fault of the client. • The difference between a programmer and a coach is that the programmer coaches the routine, and the other coaches the whole person. • Sustainability of a program should always be in the background. Move the client toward [positive] lifestyle change. • Being jacked-up doesn’t mean you know anything [about training]. • We should look toward people don’t have a “before” picture, because they’ve always looked good. ------------------------- Find Coach Dan Garner ------------------------- Instagram: @dangarnernutrition @createfreedomcoaching Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanGarnerNutritionSpecialist/ https://www.facebook.com/createfreedomcoaching/ Websites: www.coachgarner.com www.createfreedom.com

--------------------------------------- ♦︎ How to Never Fail on a Diet Again ♦︎ --------------------------------------- It’s no secret that dieting is a popular New Year’s resolution. It’s also no secret that many people fail to achieve their diet goals. Scott shares a proven approach to dieting that leads to long-term success. ♦︎♦︎"It's not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." - Paul “Bear” Bryant♦︎♦︎ • There are no magic diet pills, or workout programs. • It’s not about can you do it. It’s about will you do it. • Making the diet about the “numbers” leads to failure. Instead, make it about character development. • Character is why some succeed and some fail. • “Character is a set of dispositions, desires and habits that are slowly engraved.” – David Brooks, The Road to Character • We tend to eat how we live, and we tend to live how we eat. • Cheating on your diet is just cheating on yourself. • Commit to yourself, not to a diet. • Treat yourself like you are someone worth taking care of and committing to, then act accordingly. • The more difficult the [diet] rules, the harder the diet will be to adhere to. • Invest in following rules which are grounded in a set of principles. • Escape the battle mindset: battling cravings, or battling hunger. • More backbone. Less wishbone. ♦︎♦︎ “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle ♦︎♦︎ **Get an entire module of "Food Freedom" as a Free Email Course. 100% Free. No Credit Card Required. https://foodfreedomcourse.com/free/

-------------------------------- ♦︎ The Value of Mono-Meals ♦︎ -------------------------------- One food. All meals. Several days. The Coach outlines the benefits and guidelines of “mono-meals”: a single food eaten as an entire meal for a few days as a healthy, convenience, gimmick-free weight-control method. ♦︎♦︎ Diet doesn’t need to be complicated. This is a simple approach. ♦︎♦︎ - Benefits: • Convenient • No number-crunching of calories or macros. • Simplifies life and approach to diet. • Great way to kickstart a weight loss program and begin an ongoing healthy diet strategy. Not a gimmick. • Terrific for people who are not in control of their own schedules, like business travelers. • Can jumpstart a weight-loss program. - Two reasons mono-meals work well: 1) Aid digestion. 2) Re-connects you to your biofeedback: hunger-satiety feedback loops. Forces eating only when hungry. - Guidelines: • Limit meals to one [healthy] food and one food only for a few days (nine days up to as long as three weeks.) • Select whole foods that are unprocessed and nutrient-dense. Good choices would be: -Brown rice. -Potatoes or sweet potatoes. -Roasted, unsalted nuts. -Soft fruits like bananas. During a recent business trip, Scott ate seven to nine bananas for lunch each day. • Broccoli, carrots, or other fibrous veggies would be poor choices for mono-meals because they’re not as energy-dense as the others listed. • Choose something that’s simple to prepare and simple to consume. • Eat until you’re satisfied. • Diet doesn’t need to be complicated. This is a simple approach. **Get an entire module of "Food Freedom" as a Free Email Course. 100% Free. No Credit Card Required. https://foodfreedomcourse.com/free/

---------------------------------- ♦ The Self-Sabotaging Mindset ♦ ---------------------------------- Why and how can some people achieve then maintain physique transformation when others can’t? Scott covers characteristics of two opposite mindsets: those doomed to fail and those destined to achieve. This subject is addressed in Scott’s book “The Mindset of Achievement”, which can be found for free on his website, scottabelfitness.com. ♦♦ Quality of mindset determines quality of behavior. ♦♦ • Trying to change behaviors doesn’t address the underlying mindset. • People who struggle with weight loss exhibit the following characteristics: -Make excuses for every scenario and condition. -Play the blame game. Never your fault. -Focus on too much on food and eating. -Focus on all the things you can’t have and all the foods you’re trying to deny (instead of focusing what you’re trying to include.) -Focus on weight instead of feeling better. -Become skeptical of your own ability to change. -Set unrealistic goals. -Don’t change mindset about significance of food and its proper relevance. -Play the “poor-me” game. -Are overly judgmental. See the Anti-Diet Approach: https://scottabelfitness.com/ebooks/anti-diet-approach/ -The judgmental mindset often gives birth to the perfectionist mindset. -Unrealistic expectations and assumptions. Plateaus happen. Progress isn’t linear. -Focus on external circumstances instead of internal indicators of character. • Those successful at sustained physique transformation do these things: +Develop lifestyles that support weight maintenance. +Accept that weight maintenance and physique transformation is your responsibility. +Stop following trends and see through them. Stop having the mindset of sheep and adopt the mindset of shepherd. +Remind yourself that physique maintenance is health maintenance for life. +Embrace this as “what is” and not “what you want it to be”. +Focus on the little accomplishments, not on the sacrifices involved. +Use long-term imagery and visualization to counter impulses to cheat. +Transition from making efforts at behavior modification and more about character. +You notice, observe and embrace even the smallest personal victories. +Embrace transformation as a choice, not something forced upon you. +Understand the importance of positive and nurturing self-talk. +Avoid being judgmental. Learn from mistakes. • Nothing can taste as good as lean feels. • A few tips for a mindset of achievement: +Be habit-based and process-focused. +Until you change your mind, you’ll never change your habits. +Taking care of your physique should be like brushing your teeth. +Plant seeds of faith, not seeds of doubt. +Remember: The process is the goal and the goal is the process. • When you change the way you look at things, the way you look at things will change. **Get an entire module of "Food Freedom" as a Free Email Course. 100% Free. No Credit Card Required. https://foodfreedomcourse.com/free/

---------------------------------------- ♦ Food, Diet and the Holiday Season ♦ ---------------------------------------- It’s the Holiday season and time to start fretting about diet and weight gain, right? Not so fast. Healthy diet psychology celebrates and embraces food during the Holidays. ♦♦ “What you resist, persists.” ♦♦ • Food has been part of holiday traditions for hundreds of years, spanning both time and cultures; it is included in the happiness of the Season. • Resisting food during the holidays is silly. It just needs to be managed. • Proper diet psychology is about “managing celebration.” • This isn’t the time of year to wage war against yourself. • Scott suggests “…a time to embrace” from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, 1-8 includes the embracing of food in its proper time: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…”. • Scott made a practice of scheduling a two-week-long break from diet each year during Christmastime. • If the Holiday season has no importance for you, then go ahead and stick to your diet. • A free mind doesn’t mean total hedonistic approach to food indulgence… the free mind is an adult mind. • The Cycle Diet is a diet of inclusion, not exclusion; you can live [and maintain a great physique] in a world of food abundance. • The Cycle Diet allows for refeeds. These can be built into the program. http://thecycle.diet/ • Lean into food during the holidays rather than fighting it as fad diet gurus would advise. **Get an entire module of "Food Freedom" as a Free Email Course. 100% Free. No Credit Card Required. https://foodfreedomcourse.com/free/

-------------------------------------------------------- ♦ Research and Support for Hardgainer Solution 2.0 ♦ -------------------------------------------------------- A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 2017 found that training to failure slows down recovery, supporting the key tenet of recovery emphasized in Hardgainer Solution 2.0. ♦♦ Train like you have something to accomplish, not something to prove. ♦♦ • The study, published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology Dec 2017, demonstrated that training to failure slows recovery. • The hardgainer trainee shouldn’t train to failure at any time, even for one set. • Following a routine used by a pro (who may be on PEDs) leads to overtraining and overuse syndromes. • The true hardgainer has a very specific dilemma of balancing adequate stimulus and recovery for optimum adoptive response. • The study looked at three different resistance training protocols using the bench press and squat. It showed that training to failure slows recovery 24 to 48 hours post-exercise. • Not training to failure enables the trainee to train again sooner. • The hardgainer is already susceptible to overtraining, so avoiding it is critical. • Leave the gym feeling invigorated, not exhausted. • HGS 2.0 is the result of feedback from hundreds who wrote and commented on the original HGS, along with Scott’s own biofeedback and that of his clients. It focuses a bit more on recovery than did the original [although the original did as well…just not to the same degree.] • HGS 2.0 provides enough stimulus to engage adoptive response without tapping into ability to recover. • Whole body training based on innervation methodology with emphasis on inter and intra-workout recovery makes the most sense for the hardgainer trainee. • Scott: Compound exercises tax recovery more than do single joint exercises. [Reference] Moran-Navarro R, et al. “Time course of recovery following resistance training leading or not to failure.” Eur J Appl Physiol. 2017 Dec;117(12):2387-2399. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28965198 **Special Offer - Get a FREE week of workouts from my most popular workout program, The Hardgainer Solution: http://hardgainersolution.com/free/