Being Smart About Supplements, Part 1: Good Supplements

Probably the best way to make money in the fitness industry is to sell supplements. There are some worthwhile supplements for sure, but unfortunately the supplement industry is pretty successful at preying upon people's desire for quick solutions and instant gratification, and most of the supplements you'll see claiming radical and quick results are going to be outright frauds. There's an overwhelming amount of options available as far as supplements go, and it's a common misconception that you need to be taking a whole bunch of supplements to get leaner, bigger, or stronger. One of the first things most teenaged dudes do when they first start lifting is go to GNC and buy a whole bunch of sick new supplements that the guy behind the counter will tell them they need to get jacked. I assure you, you'd be better off spending your money on literally anything else that's not the newest $50 pre-workout.

You don't need many supplements at all to be successful in improving your fitness. In fact, you don't need any if you're eating well enough. Sometimes, however, life doesn't permit you to be as diligent as you'd like with your eating, so you might see some benefits from supplementing your diet. This doesn't mean you can neglect proper eating just because you take a protein powder and a multivitamin, but there's nothing wrong with adding in a few things that might help you out.

Here are some supplements that I think are worthwhile. After, in part 2, I'll discuss the supplements that are, at best, terrible ways to spend money that you could be using for real people things, and at worst, downright dangerous.

Worthwhile Supplements

Caffeine

Caffeine has been shown to reduce fatigue, increase blood pressure and pulse rate in the short term, improve endurance (particularly by allowing you to sustain more forceful lower-intensity muscle contractions for an extended period), improve mental focus, trigger release of gastrin (which stimulates gastric motility), and increase the metabolism of bodyfat as energy (1, 2). What this means for working out is that caffeine can help get you through long, voluminous workouts and maintain a higher intensity throughout, and be less prone to distraction. It can also perk you up when you feel tired, help you burn fat more efficiently, and make you poop. The last part is relevant because if you take caffeine with a full colon right before a workout, you may find yourself exploding in the bottom of a squat, so tread carefully.

Something that should also be mentioned with caffeine is that the more you take it, the more you'll build a tolerance to it, so you'll need more to get an effect. Additionally, if you use it enough you can become dependent on it, and without it you may experience withdrawal symptoms. I personally only ever have caffeine in the form of coffee, and I don't drink it more than once or twice a week at most to keep my tolerance low. On a somewhat related note, coffee itself has been shown to have a number of health benefits, and an often-cited study found that coffee drinkers may live longer (3, 4)


Whey Protein Powder

This is probably the first supplement a person will buy when they start working out, and for good reason - it's excellent to take right around a workout. Whey is one of the two primary proteins that make up milk, and is a very fast-digesting and complete protein that contains branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), which can help prevent muscle catabolism if taken pre-workout, and help stimulate muscle growth and repair after a workout. Leucine, which whey contains a significant amount of, is a particularly good trigger of anabolic pathways (5). Ingestion of whey before, during, and immediately after a workout is an easy step that can be immediately taken to get the most out of your workouts. Because whey is digested so quickly, however, it is a poor protein to use as a meal replacement and will leave you hungry soon after taking it. For that, the next supplement is far better.


Casein Protein Powder

Casein is the other primary protein in milk, and it's basically whey's polar opposite in that it is extremely slow-digesting. Because of this, casein is perfect to use when you won't be able to get in any protein for a while. When amino acids aren't being released into the bloodstream from digesting proteins, your body can catabolize its own muscle to supply sufficient amino acids for bodily processes. So if you aren't taking in protein for a 6+ hour period, you're doing yourself a disservice. Casein takes up to 8 or so hours to fully digest, so it's a perfect protein to take before bed or when you know you won't be getting any meals in for a while, but for this same reason it's definitely not the best protein to consume directly after a workout (6). When I have 7 hours of classes and don't feel like packing a bunch of food in my backpack, I'll often just bring a scoop of casein to add water to and drink later, since it's quick and easy to consume, high in protein, and won't perish if you keep it dry. It's more important to keep a relatively steady intake of protein than of carbs or fat, so this should be a priority.

For both casein and whey, since they're both the main proteins in milk, you could just as well consume some milk and get many of the same benefits, but if you want to functionally isolate each protein in a more concentrated amount or avoid the carbs and fats of milk, I'd recommend buying the powders. You can also get a blended powder that will contain whey, casein, and possibly some other proteins as well for a more "hybrid" effect.
Also, as far as both powders go, I'd recommend any isolate that you think tastes the best. All isolates are basically the same. Concentrates aren't awful either, they're just less pure so you need to use more powder to get the same amount of protein. Hydrolyzed whey is overpriced for the small marginal benefits it may possibly offer, so I wouldn't suggest buying it.


Gatorade Powder

Ok, Gatorade isn't really a "supplement" per se, but you can use it like one. There is evidence that consuming a fast-digesting carbohydrate before, during, and after training can help enhance training quality during hard sessions and maximize the muscle-building results of the workout. Sipping a fast-carb drink before and during a particularly long or voluminous workout can help assure you're provided with a steady supply of glucose which can provide you with sufficient energy to make it through. It can also help decrease the chances of muscle catabolism during the workout slightly. Consuming some fast carbs after training can help muscle building by repleting glycogen stores and activating anabolic pathways (7). Gatorade fits the profile of "fast carbs" perfectly.

The reason I suggest buying powder is twofold. One, it is exponentially cheaper than buying individual bottles. Two, you can adjust the concentration to whatever you want. A more diluted solution will most likely be more conducive to absorption.
You can combine Gatorade and whey powder into a pre-, during-, or post-workout shake so that you're getting the necessary nutrients in through a convenient single drink. You can either use unflavored whey, so that the drink will only take on the taste of the Gatorade (with a slightly creamier taste and texture... it's not as bad as it sounds), or you can combine flavored Gatorade with flavored whey. I'm sure there are a lot of combinations that would taste good. I've been taking fruit punch Gatorade with chocolate whey at the suggestion of Renaissance Periodization's Nick Shaw, and it's surprisingly good. It actually tastes just like a red Tootsie Pop.

Hell yeah.

ZMA

ZMA stands for zinc, magnesium, and aspartate (it also contains vitamin B6). You're supposed to take it about an hour before bed, and it's supposed to improve sleep quality and hormone production (particularly of growth hormone) while you sleep to enhance recovery ability. There isn't any particularly substantial clinical evidence to back this up, but I've been taking it for a while and I do think it has had a positive impact on my sleep quality and recovery abilities. It's important to note that it isn't meant to induce sleep, just to improve sleep quality and hormone secretions throughout the night, so take it for what it's worth.


Probiotics

If you have digestive issues, you should be taking a probiotic. For those who don't know, probiotics are orally-delivered doses of helpful bacteria such as lactobacilli that aid in digestion of food, particularly in the colon. Your colon is naturally populated with symbiotic bacteria, and probiotics can help make sure that the right kind of bacteria out-compete the wrong kinds. The nature of this symbiotic relationship is essentially that you provide the bacteria with nutrition through what you ingest so that they can grow and reproduce, and they provide you with the benefit of improved digestive health. I don't think probiotics are a cure-all like some people have recently been saying, but they're definitely worth trying.
Probiotics can come in the form of a chewable tablet, a capsule, or simply in foods such as yogurt or kefir. I believe that taking a probiotic was a huge part in helping me adapt to eating Rutgers dining hall food, which destroyed my digestive tract for the first several months of college. Probiotics would be particularly beneficial if you are eating a lot, such as if trying to gain weight, or if you are just coming off of an antibiotic regimen, as some antibiotics might kill your helpful gut bacteria in addition to the pathogens that they're intended to kill.


Creatine

Creatine works. It's not a steroid, it's not going to make you super jacked or strong overnight, but it can have positive effects on muscle synthesis and performance. Your body utilizes several different energy systems in a particular order based on the duration of activity. First it'll use existing ATP from the muscles and creatine phosphate for activity of any intensity for 10-15 seconds. For intense activities such as sprinting which cannot be sustained for a long period of time, this is the system that will usually be used. After the ATP-PC stores are exhausted, energy will be taken from muscle glycogen stores, then liver glycogen stores, and finally from oxidation of fatty acids from adipose tissue. In the energy systems following ATP-PC, processes begin as anaerobic and eventually move on to oxidative aerobic systems.
The point of creatine is that it can donate a phosphate group to lower-energy ADP (adenosine diphosphate) to synthesize the high-energy ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is directly used for energy. The ATP-PC system can recover after a fairly short period of rest, which is why creatine supplementation can give you the ability to perform more high-intensity sets in a given workout. Supplementation might also increase the duration of ATP-PC activity, which means that you might be able to push out a couple of extra reps while on creatine (8).
Creatine is synthesized naturally in the body, and also is provided in meats. A "loading phase" where you take larger than normal doses for a short time to saturate your muscles with creatine is often recommended on the bottle, and it may or not be effective. I didn't do a loading phase when I started using it, and I don't think its effectiveness was negatively impacted. Whether you do the loading phase or not is up to you.
As for which creatine to buy, I'd say to just buy whichever monohydrate is the cheapest. They're all pretty much the same, and it's not worth spending big money on one that claims to be higher quality than standard creatine monohydrate.


Fish Oil
I've been taking fish oil for about 4 years now, and while there is somewhat conflicting evidence as to how effective it really is in preventing heart disease and some of its other alleged benefits, I'd suggest it purely based on the fact that I think it's helped improve the appearance of my skin. Purely anecdotally, I noticed that my skin became a lot clearer once I started taking it consistently. I don't attribute this entirely to fish oil, but I do believe it played a role.
As for its alleged abilities to prevent heart disease and improve recovery abilities, I'm not entirely convinced, but it certainly can't hurt your heart health or recovery. Having extra healthy fats might be able to "lubricate" the joints and muscles to help you move more safely, as well as reduce chronic inflammation. It's also been thought that regular consumption of fish may be correlated to improved cognition later in life relative to non-consumers (9). Consuming fish oil rather than whole fish has the benefit of avoiding mercury consumption, which is never a good thing (though you'd need to consume a LOT of apex predator fish to actually get mercury poisoning). Since fish oil can be dirt cheap if you're buying the right brand, it's probably a good idea to give it a shot just for the hell of it.
I'd recommend buying the extremely reasonable Sundown Naturals brand, and buying the largest container you can find for value's sake.

Bad supplements coming at you in part 2.



References

1. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/caffeine_sports.htm
2. http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/caffeine.html
3. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1112010
4. http://authoritynutrition.com/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee/
5. http://www.nutritionexpress.com/article+index/authors/jeff+s+volek+phd+rd/showarticle.aspx?articleid=807
6. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-case-for-casein.html
7. Israetel, Michael, Jennifer Case, and James Hoffman. The Renaissance Diet. 2014. E-book.
8. Clark, Micheal, Brian Sutton Lucett, and Scott C. Lucett. NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2014. Print.
9. http://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-about-omega-3s-and-fish?page=3

Think Like a Meathead

This blog is called Be Smart, Be Jacked, and I think it's time to clarify what exactly I mean by that.

The essence of the title is sort of a double meaning. On one hand, it means is that you should strive to improve both your mind and body. To me, being jacked means jack shit if that's all there is to you. Nothing's more pathetic than a guy with nothing to offer other than his physique. Being able to hold an intelligent conversation and actually being able to contribute something worthwhile to society are far more important, to me, than my powerlifting total or how cut my abs are.
At the same time though, no one wants to be the dorky weakling who couldn't protect his girlfriend from an emaciated crackhead on the street.
Luckily, the two are not mutually exclusive, contrary to the musings of fat couch potatoes with sub-100 IQs everywhere, who are often so quick to jump to calling jacked guys stupid that it runs risk of putting them into cardiac arrest. 

Don't judge a book by its cover; He's actually a Ph.D. in astrophysics.

The other meaning behind "Be Smart, Be Jacked," and the part that I want to focus on here, is that you should train intelligently. But training "smart" doesn't mean that you need to make things complicated. Quite the opposite, actually. Training smart, to me, is keeping stuff pretty simple. This means not falling for gimmicks or fads and sticking to what works. Training smart is about keeping the extraneous stuff OUT and keeping the basics in. It means knowing when to take a day off, and when to suck it up and crush some weights. It means using tried-and-true methods, not brand new groundbreaking programs that guarantee ridiculous results. It means not fearing the barbell because you think squatting with 400 lbs on your back isn't "functional." It means having tunnel vision when it comes to achieving your goals, and not trying to ride two horses with one ass. It means making your training specific to what you want to achieve. If you want to squat more... then you need to squat... more. It means knowing your limits so that you can push them to their maximum but avoid running yourself into the ground. 

So where does "thinking like a meathead" come into all of this? Aren't I saying that you should be smart? Well, if there's one thing the biggest and strongest guys know, it's how to train. Thinking like a "meathead" doesn't meat thinking like an idiot. When I say to think like a meathead, I mean to use common sense and hard work to reach your goals. Look at the routines of the top guys in strength and physique sports and you'll see a wide variety of training styles, but the common theme across all of these routines is sticking to the basics and using insane intensity in the gym.

A perfect example of this is in the routine of Tom Platz, possessor of possibly the greatest legs in the history of bodybuilding.

Know what built these legs? 

• 1. Squats: 8-10 sets of 5-20 reps*
• 2. Hack squats: 5 sets of 10-15 reps
• 3. Leg extensions: 5-8 sets of 10-15 reps
• 4. Lying leg curls: 6-10 sets of 10-15 reps
• *Squats were performed deep and strict and pyramided to more than 600 pounds.

Clearly his leg routine was nothing too unusual, so how did it get him such awesome legs?

This video may shed some light: 

INTENSITY. Ok, so you don't need to hump the air and rock the leg extension machine like a boat to get results, but clearly Tom wasn't going to the gym and just going through the motions of some routine he got off the internet.

On internet lifting forums you'll see countless inquiries from guys with sub-315 squats wondering if they should do the Smolov squat program because their squat has been stuck for a while. Or you'll see a guy who made up his own training split, and is asking people to critique it. Commenting on his post are a bunch of other mediocre guys saying that if he trained traps with shoulders instead of with back, he'd make HUGE gains, or that he should only keep the bench press in his routine if he wants super lame non-functional strength and brutal shoulder injuries.
THERE IS NO PERFECT TRAINING SPLIT.


Lifting in general has become a lot more popular lately. This is probably largely due to the internet. With its increased popularity and exposure, lifting and the strength sports have attracted a wider variety of personalities, including more "smart" guys who want to see the science to back training methods up, and who want to analyze the effectiveness of routines more in-depth. I'm one of these guys; I've always done well in school, particularly in science, and by nature I'm analytical and precise.

However I see this explosion of interest in exercise science as both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good part of it is that there is more research being done in exercise science, and more people care about this research, which has allowed a lot of common misconceptions about diet and exercise to be debunked. Simultaneously, the methods that do work (and always have) are being backed up with actual concrete proof, which is very, very, cool. There are a lot of guys, like the guys at Renaissance Periodization, who use methods that are both scientifically-supported and that have been in use by big and strong guys for years, and to me that's what it's all about.

But at the same time, the increasing preponderance of exercise science literature on the internet invites a lot of self-proclaimed ambassadors of science to overanalyze clinical studies about lifting weights on the internet instead of actually, you know, lifting weights. I'm friends with some powerlifters and bodybuilders on Facebook, and none of them can post a status about training without some douche with a 315 deadlift arguing as to why they're wrong because of something they read on PubMed. Apparently, these people have nothing better to do than debate with people they don't know on the internet. As a side note, people in their late 20s to late 30s are the absolute worst on Facebook. It's like as soon as they log on they become 15 again.

Anyway, the ones who are really smart know not to overcomplicate things. It's lifting weights, not physics. It's almost as if "scientific" training is the newest gimmick supplement. Training "scientifically" is not a substitute for hard work. Don't get me wrong here, I love science, or else I wouldn't be majoring in biological sciences. In fact, that's why I take such issue with a lot of the bullshit ways that people decide to cite clinical studies. I have no respect for someone who forms a dogmatic opinion based off of one study that has yet to be reproduced with similar results. The nature of the scientific method is that a hypothesis has to be supported by repeated testing just to be considered a theory. There is no proving an absolute truth in science. Theories and hypotheses can only be proven false. If there's only been one study on a subject that's had a certain result, how can you cite that to support your absolutist statements? It's perfect reasonable to say that the study's results are interesting and warrant further research, but to tell someone else that they're wrong and you're right because science because of one study makes you as bad as Food Babe.

I have an uncle that used to bench 365 for reps. I asked him what exactly he did to get there, and the simplicity of his answer blew me away.
"I'd bench for 6 weeks, then sometimes swap it out with incline for 6 weeks. Lots of sets of 8. I'd do some dumbbell rows, shoulder presses, and curls too."
That's it. No talk about deload weeks, or Russian methods, or the dynamic effort method. He was just lifting to get bigger and stronger, not to compete in anything, yet he was stronger than anyone I know personally that's had access to the plethora of "valuable" information on internet forums.
My uncle is a smart guy, by the way. He took lifting weights for what it is and didn't spend too much time analyzing his training when he wasn't in the gym.

If your bench is stuck you don't need to use some super plateau-buster program that you found on the internet to get stronger. You don't need to throw in a dynamic effort day because you think your speed is a weak point in your 225 lb. bench press. You need to go in to the gym, bust your ass on bench, and get your chest, shoulders, and triceps bigger. This doesn't mean to max out every day, it means that you need to push yourself. You need to get uncomfortable. Just like Tom Platz, you need to figure out what works for you and roll with it, and be consistent with it. Consistency does trump all. If you can't accept this, maybe you picked the wrong hobby. Try knitting instead.

Here's a good way to get started in curing your paralysis by analysis:

Squat one day. Do lots of sets and lots of reps. Afterwards do some bodybuilding movements for quads, hamstrings, calves and abs.

Bench one day. Do lots of sets and lots of reps. Afterwards do some bodybuilding movements for chest, shoulders, and arms.

Deadlift one day. Do lots of sets and lots of reps. Afterwards do some bodybuilding movements for back.

If you can't do the squat, bench, or deadlift for whatever reason, pick a substitute exercise that you can load up heavy and put through a significant range of motion. 

For the bodybuilding movements, pick stuff you like to do. It doesn't have to be exactly the same every week.

Go through these workouts as a rotation, taking days off as you need and as you feel like it. 

That's all you need to get stronger, gain muscle, or even lean up, provided your diet is decent. 

The same thing goes for diet. Diet is simple. Eat lean meats, fish, eggs, vegetables, whole grains, potatoes, and dairy as staples in your diet. Dairy might not be great to have too much of if you're trying to lose weight, but it's awesome for gaining weight. If you want to lose weight, eat less of these foods. If you want to gain weight, eat more of these foods. If you are eating more but still not gaining weight, then you need to eat more.

The best thing I ever did for my training was to start thinking like a meathead. Give it a try. Stop searching for the perfect routine. Stop trying to reach two goals at once. If you want to get big, get off the internet, eat a lot, and lift hard and heavy for 10 years. 

Don't call me a hypocrite. I've got to go squat.



References:

http://www.flexonline.com/training/quads/even-stronger-they-look-tom-platz

Review: The Renaissance Diet

Here I'll be reviewing The Renaissance Diet by Dr. Mike Israetel and co-authored by Dr. Jennifer Case and Dr. James Hoffmann.

The title refers to the personal training and nutrition consulting group that created the book, called Renaissance Periodization. Renaissance's consultants are of a whole bunch of highly qualified Ph.D.s and very proficient athletes in their own right. The company's premise is to utilize tried and tested methods that are backed by science to train their clients, who are primarily strength and combat athletes. The "Renaissance" in their name is a homage to the scientific explosion that occurred during the European Renaissance. If you think I'm bluffing about the "proficient" part, here is Dr. Mike Caruso, an RP Strongman and Powerlifting consultant, doing some utterly ridiculous overhead pressing.

I had the chance to meet RP's CEO, Nick Shaw, at a nutrition seminar that he did at Rutgers through the Weightlifting Club. He's a competitive bodybuilder with a base in powerlifting, and he's jacked, strong, and knowledgable. The seminar was a great experience and even got me a $10 discount on the already reasonable price of the book so I decided to buy it.

The main author of The Renaissance Diet, Dr. Mike Israetel, is sort of qualified to write about nutrition and training. He's a Ph.D. in sports physiology, a professor of exercise science at the University of Central Missouri, Head Science Consultant at Renaissance Periodization, and has consulted with the U.S. Olympic team and D1 athletes. He also competes in powerlifting, bodybuilding, and Jiu Jitsu. He's also sort of jacked at 5'6" and a lean 220-250 lbs. depending on where he's at in his bodybuilding season.

Sort of.

His co-authors are equally qualified. Jen Case has a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition, and is also a professor of exercise science at University of Central Missouri and a former MMA world champion,
James Hoffman has a Ph.D. in sports physiology and is also a professor of exercise science, but at Temple University. He is a strength and conditioning coach, and is accomplished in football, rugby, and wrestling.

What I really like about RP is that their methods are backed with plenty of scientific evidence, but at the same time their nutrition and training methodologies are pretty similar to those that the biggest and strongest guys have successfully utilized for years and years. As stated above, they don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk. They know what works and what doesn't. You won't find RP saying that dumbbell Y raises are superior to barbell rows for lower trap development because of some singular EMG study. RP is all about heavy compound movements for training, and simple, practical approaches to dieting.

I'm going to present some of the overarching concepts presented in the book, but not go into much detail because I still want you to have an incentive to buy the book, and it goes into far more detail than I could ever go into in a blog post.

The structure of the book is that the first several chapters address the important concepts that should be part of a diet and how they should be prioritized. Subsequent chapters address nutritional periodization, how to use the diet principles to design your own nutrition program, and diet myths and fads. There's even a bonus chapter that includes some awesome raw powerlifting training templates - one for hypertrophy, one for strength building, one for strength peaking.

I really like the ideas behind the "nutrient priorities." The problem that so many people have with dieting is that they prioritize things completely wrong. Sure, it's great if you're consuming foods that are full of antioxidants. But if you're eating too many calories of this "healthy" food, you certainly aren't going to lose weight. Likewise, a guy who buys a new fat-burner in the hope that it'll get him "shredded" despite his crappy diet is tragically delusional. The quality of your food and the supplements you take aren't going to take you very far if you don't have the more basic parts of your diet in order.

The Renaissance Periodization nutrient priorities are presented in the following graph; the amount of the rectangle that each priority takes up is directly proportional to how important it is to your diet.
Having your calorie balance right will get you to about 50% of your maximum success with diet. Having your macronutrient quantities right will get you to about 80%. Proper nutrient timing will bring you to about 90%, food composition will get you 95%, and supplementation to 100%.

The nutrient timing section is probably the most interesting part of the book to read, and outside of making sure to have a protein shake right after your workout, is probably something you haven't given much thought to.  I've started toying with timing my carb intake around my workouts after the RP seminar, and I think it's had a positive impact on my energy levels and recovery ability.

The chapters on application of the concepts present very specific guidelines on macronutrient and calorie quantities based on bodyweight and workout intensity. These chapters should leave little doubt as to how exactly you should be eating. The powerlifting routines are simple, no-BS templates that allow for plenty of personal choice and auto-regulation.

I would normally point out some of the negative aspects of a book or diet, but I really can't think of anything significant here.

Oh, it didn't have enough pictures. There we go. It did get a bit tedious to read at times, and it felt like some things were repetitive, but such is the nature of being thorough, and it's really nothing to complain about. There isn't any "fluff" to the book, which I always like, and it isn't very long at all (106 pages). Each point was presented in an organized manner, with plenty of tables to keep things clear and concise. I also liked the fact that it's in e-book format because it was easy to read on my phone in between classes, during lunch, etc.

There's no gimmick to The Renaissance Diet, and it certainly isn't an attempt to reinvent the wheel. Radical diets don't work, and this is nothing particularly radical. The structure of the diet plans permit for optimizing health and performance while simultaneously allowing for a great deal of flexibility so that the diet can be easily incorporated into anyone's schedule. No particular nutrient is demonized, and all of the claims in the book are based on solid science and tried and true methods. I'd say this book taught me more about practical application of nutrition than anything I've read before.

It's only 37 dollars, which considering how valuable the information is, is very reasonable. For the record, I have absolutely no incentive to recommend this book other than the fact that I think that anyone who wants to learn more about nutrition or change their body composition should read it.


Buy The Renaissance Diet here:

http://www.store.jtsstrength.com/resources//the-renaissance-diet


Check out Dr. Israetel's "Nutritient priorities" and "Raw Powerlifting Priorities" lecture series on Renaissance Periodization's YouTube channel and also look out for Renaissance's articles on their website's blog (renaissanceperiodization.com/blog/) and on Juggernaut (jtsstrength.com). Also of note is that Dr. Mike has another upcoming book on raw powerlifting training, co-authored by Chad Wesley Smith.

Healthy Pancake Recipe

Since diet is a huge part of being jacked, I'm going to post some simple recipes for eating well from time to time.

On Saturday I woke up and looked in the fridge and cabinets to find nothing much except for bananas, oatmeal, eggs, and cottage cheese. I was just going to cook the eggs and oatmeal and eat everything individually, but the thought struck me to combine the ingredients into something because I hate eating bland crap.

I googled the ingredients and I found 20+ pancake recipes with those exact ingredients.

So I threw the oats in my blender and ground them up fine (they can basically become oat flour if you grind them in a blender, but you have to do it in a dry blender before adding any of the other ingredients.) Then I threw the rest of the ingredients in, in the below quantities, and blended it into batter. This brought it to the perfect consistency for pancakes, though you may have to adjust proportions to get it to the right thickness because i was just throwing it all together until it looked right, and these amounts are guesses at what I actually used. 

These are as good if not better than most buttermilk pancakes I've had. Not dry at all, very filling, and they have a decent amount of protein. The banana does the job of a sweetener. They're ridiculously easy to make, and a relatively "clean" option for breakfast.

1 1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
3 whole eggs
1 banana

Some semi-sweet chocolate chips or fruit can be added after you blend to add texture and some more flavor. I'm also going to try blending peanut butter into the batter sometime, though the other ingredients may have to be adjusted slightly to compensate for that.
You can also try adding baking powder to make them fluffier, and some vanilla for flavor, but I don't really think either are necessary because they're damn good without either.

Oil up a pan (I suggest butter), pour the batter into 5" or so diameter pancakes, and cook till they're satisfactorily browned on each side.

Macros for ALL the batter (so if you make the batter into 5 pancakes, divide these values by 5 for the macros per pancake), not including whatever oil you use to cook, are approximately the following:

778 calories
45 g protein
100g carbs
22 g fat

I didn't take a picture but they looked pretty much just like this, minus the fruit and syrup:

How to Get Abs

Everyone wants some sick abs, brah. What most people don't realize is that obsessing over working them directly is a huge waste of time.

Don't get me wrong, working your abs directly is good, and strong abs and obliques will help you with nearly every movement you'll ever do, in and out of the gym.
But you don't need 20 different ab exercises to get your abs strong. Ab training is something that's really not complicated and shouldn't take up a lot of your thought or time.

Let's get down to it.

First and foremost, no matter how well you develop your abs, no one is going to see them (or care how strong they are) if they're hidden under a layer of fat. If you want your abs to show, you need to have low enough bodyfat. The phrase "abs are made in the kitchen" does have some truth to it. If you've got some extra fat on your stomach, you're going have to fix your diet and lose the fat. Doing ab exercises won't spot-reduce your stomach fat either. You can't turn your fat cells into muscle cells; you can only reduce the size of your fat cells through diet, and gain muscle.

At the same time, if you're lean enough but have no abdominal muscle to speak of, they're not going to look like much. 

The first thing you need to do when it comes to training to get good abs is to do your heavy compound movements. In a squat, deadlift, bent-over row, military press, etc., you have to brace your midsection to maintain proper posture. Your abs do get worked from these movements, even if they don't get directly sore from them (which they still may, sometimes). 

The second part of training for abs is to do some direct exercises for the midsection. You can do these once a week, every day, or whatever. What really matters is that you do them consistently. If you want to prioritize your abs, I'd say to do them 3-4 times a week. Do 1-2 ab exercises AFTER your regular workout, or on off days. I'd recommend doing 1-4 sets per exercise, and mix it up with both higher (20+) and lower reps (10-15). If you're only doing one or two sets, make the reps high and go closer to failure.

There are tons of ab exercises you can do, but here are a few that I believe are most effective.

1. The Ab Wheel

This is, in my opinion, is the best ab exercise there is. If you only have $5-15 to spend on something fitness-related, get this. In addition to being a great tool for developing your midsection, it works your upper body too. It's sort of a combination of a plank and a pullover. It'll develop your abs, obliques, serratus, lats, and even your chest and triceps. This is one of the best bang-for-your-buck exercises there is.
Start off doing them on your knees, and make sure your stomach and chest come close to touching the ground (but don't actually touch) every rep. Don't cheat the movement by "sitting back" into it either. Your abs should be initiating the drive up from the bottom position, not your hips by pushing your butt back.
If you can do a rep from the standing position, you have some strong-ass abs.
Another way to make these harder is to add weight with a weighted vest or by putting plates on your back. If you can do a weighted standing-up rep, you're probably not human.

2. Planks and Push-ups

Everyone knows planks are an ab exercise, but push-ups? Well, if you think about it, you're holding a plank the whole time you're doing push-ups if you're doing them right. A lot of people who can't do push-ups correctly lack ab strength, which will make the hips sag down. Push-ups are severely underrated nowadays, and they're another great bang-for-your-buck exercise. If you can't do the ab wheel, doing push-ups is a great place to start that will help you progress to the ab wheel. 

As for planks, you can do front planks or side planks and make them harder by raising one arm or leg, or by raising one arm and one leg, either both from the same side or each from different sides. 

Another simple way to make these harder is to add weight. A guideline for when to add weight is when you can do 50+ good push-ups and hold a plank for a minute. You can add weight with a weighted vest, plates on your back, or having a friend sit on you.

3. Decline Sit-ups

These are far superior to normal crunches or even normal sit-ups. You get a far greater range of motion (and a great stretch at the bottom), and being on a decline will make the movement more lower-back friendly. Having the legs hooked in to the bench will also allow you to use more force in the concentric phase. I like to do these with a very fast concentric and a slower eccentric, but be careful doing that if you aren't used to it. Straining a muscle on an ab exercise would just be embarrassing. You can add weight to make these harder as well, once you can do 20 or 30 good reps, by putting a plate or dumbbell behind your head. This is better than putting the weight in front on your chest, since it'll force you to keep from rounding your shoulders over too much, and is more challenging. 

4. Crunches on a Swiss Ball

Yeah, I actually really like to use the swiss ball for these. You can get a great stretch in the bottom, and your back can articulate in a very natural way on the pliable Swiss ball. Stick to higher reps on these, and don't bother with adding weight. 

5. Medicine Ball Twists

These are killer. They'll torch your obliques. Find something you can hook your feet into such as a decline bench or a sit-up or GHR station, grab a medicine ball of whatever weight you want (a dumbbell or plate could work too), and go to town on these. I like hooking the feet in much better than sitting on the ground with the feet up, because without the feet held in place the hips have way too much room to move around from momentum and the focus is taken off the abs. I'd suggest setting a time goal for constant motion rather than counting reps.

6. Dragon Flags

These are an advanced ab exercise, and you probably won't be able to do them at first. They're the brainchild of legendary martial artist and possessor of cut-like-diamonds abs Bruce "The Dragon" Lee. 

If you're just getting started, don't even try these. Give them a shot when you can do some good reps with the ab wheel, but not before. 

To do Dragon Flags, lie on a bench, and grab the bench behind your head with your hands. Then, with only your shoulders/upper back, hands, and head in contact with the bench, keep your body rigid and straight from shoulder to toe and raise your entire body at an angle to the bench. For the safety of your neck, you probably shouldn't go fully to 90 degrees to the bench, but get a decent range of motion. Your body should still be straight from shoulder to toe at the top. Then, very slowly lower the body back to the start position, but do not rest your legs or butt on the bench. Instead, stop just before making contact with the bench and then go into your next rep. This exercise should be slowly, and you'll be getting plenty of time under tension with sets of 2-5 reps if you're doing them right. If you can do 10 of these, you're an abdominal beast. 

 Rocky Balboa doing dragon flags in the greatest montage of all time.

There you have it. Remember to do these only AFTER your regular workouts or on off days, and don't overdo them at the expense of your other exercises.