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So how does BEER help me get that 6-pack?

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — Leave a comment

June 27, 2018

You are on your road to a WOW body transformation. Everything is controlled, how much you sleep, your training (too the minute) your supps, your diet with previous night prep, you eat, sleep and drink transformation and you are busy making great progress!

Click HERE to view video “So how does BEER help me to get a 6-pack?”

You can see yourself at the goalpost and focus is 100%. Nothing but nothing stands in your way or deter you from keeping your eye on the goalpost.

Well, that is awesome…because this mean you WILL get there.

But, now the big “but”, This ultimate focus has the ability to burn your candle out, completely. Ever heard “too much of a good thing is never good”?

Well this is more true and applicable than you think. The problem is that a body transformation is not a quick process. It usually takes years. To keep this kind of over-drive focus for such a long time is going to take its toll. One morning you will just wake up and be exhausted to the bone, mentally and physically. Then it will dawn on you everything you are busy missing out on…basically missing out on life.

Off course it is great to have focus like that, but a key ingredient to such intense focus is BALANCE, otherwise you WILL burn out. And after that burn-out occur it will be very, very difficult to ever muster that focus again.

So how do you prevent this focus from burning out? How do you keep that “balance” I am talking about? Well, by making sure “life” does not slip you by.

I follow a three tier approach…

ONE

That mean friends, social time, eating out, enjoying a beer and going on holiday and just let loose a bit now and then.

You must make time to still hang out with friends. But always bring your own low carb/carb free corn bag and sugar free drinks with you and still party with them. You need to learn to live in a normal world and be able to withstand regular temptations. Just ALWAYS make sure you are prepared and have your food ready…never go on a empty stomach! Always eat something small to take hunger pains away otherwise you will be too weak when temptations hit. But this point is extremely important. You MUST not cut out your social time with your friends.

Off course they will laugh at you and make jokes…it ALWAYS happens. But soon that will start turning into envy and RESPECT.

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TWO

Once a week go and eat out at your favorite steakhouse (sorry Pizza won’t do!). If you want to have your glass of wine or a beer (just one), then have one but then no carbs allowed if you have that glass of wine at that meal. Just fillet steak and a nice garden salad and maybe a little of your favorite meat sauce (pepper, mushroom, etc)…but be careful they can contain massive calories/fat. Have a nice coffee afterwards (very little milk and sweetener). But feel like you have treated yourself. To do this is sooo important to let you feel “normal” and that you are not taking things away from yourself.

THREE

And when it is time for holiday (now I am talking not more than twice year and not a month at a time but max 2 weeks then down tools and let loose. But the golden rule is NEVER EVER stuff yourself. So avoid buffets. Order just a dish and finish it and enjoy it. NEVER more than 2 glasses wine/2 beers per day while on holiday. When possible eat healthy but if you feel like a meal where you want to treat yourself, then do it. If you want to train sure do it but that 2 weeks off from training is not going to kill you. It actually give your body perfect time to heal and recover from the strain it has been going through and will do GREAT things for you mentally.

Now of course you are going to pick up some weight and loose a bit of definition. But that negative will eventually add massively to a positive, because staying balanced will enable you to stay on track in the long-term with your body transformation and will naturally develop into a new fit and healthy lifestyle because now you can enjoy life and still obtain your goal.

I have seen MANY guys folding in their transformation hopes simply by being too focused in their approach and by letting life slip them by. They just reach a point where they feel…well this is not worth it.

There is just one way of doing this and that is to build the above balance factors into your body transformation journey.

Well, I am off to Thailand for 3 weeks on a well-deserved family holiday break. The first week I will be sticking as close as possible to my diet and training and the rest of the 2 weeks I am going to enjoy myself and let go and have some fun within the constraints of above rules…because I know when I get back I got the recipe and know how to do it.

To signup for my ADVANCED SYSTEM II for the over 40, just go here: Click HERE

Wish you all happy and balanced training.

Gert Louw

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Tags: balance, beer, Bodybuilding, focus, inspiration, inspired, lifestyle, motivated, motivation, muscle, over 50, over-40, transformation, vacation

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How often must I train to grow?

Filed under: BB Training & Exercises, Be MOTIVATED! — 2 Comments

June 26, 2018

Optimal training frequency for over 40 guys?

What is the best training frequency for growth? This is a question I get asked a lot. So let’s look at this.

I am in this discussion only going to look at the male 40 and over and what training frequency works best for him.

A further assumption is that we talk here about males, who’s primary goal is about adding shape and muscle to their body. Thus we are NOT talking about the marathon runner doing just cardio! We are talking about a guy over 40 who hits the gym to do resistance training.

Last assumption is that we are not alking about a guy who has never trained in his life. Because for such a guy the first 3 months is a complete different approach to the guy who is already fully into his training regime.

So now that we have defined the target audience let’s move forward.

PROBLEMATIC training frequencies:

Anything less than 3 days a week training will put you into severe risk for injury territory. The amount of days is just too little to adequately keep the muscles, tendons and joints flexible and strong enough for intense training. You chances for hurting yourself badly is very, very high. 1 or 2 days training a week does NOT prepare the body sufficient for intense training full stop. If that is the only amount of days that you can train, well then I say no intense resistance training but only bodyweight exercises…and even that can result in a damaged tendon.

Optimal MAINTENANCE training frequency:

Many guys go through a difficult work related period where time is limited and then they just want to be able to maintain size and definition. That can be done with good success of training 3 days a week but not (!) 3 days in a row and the 4 days off. The 3 days must be spaced with one open day inbetween each training day. The stimulation this apply to the body is good enough for maintaining but not for growth. It is also outside the danger territory as discussed above.

Optimal training frequency for MUSCLE GROWTH:

Now we are talking business. Remember you are over 40, so thinking you can train 6 or 7 times a day as some of these youngsters do (who are most of the time in steroids anyways!) is definitely NOT going to work. Training anything more than 5 days will have dire consequences for your muscle building efforts. It will leave waaay to little time for the older body to recover and built muscle effectively and can litterrally result in smaller muscles. I’ve seen it happen over and over.

An over 40 guy cannot train more than 5 days a week if he is not using steroids – full stop.

So the max amount of training for a 40 to 55 y/o is 5 days a week.

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For guys over 55 yrs I suggest not more than 4 days a week, simply because with the amount of testosterone and HGH in the body (which is a step lower than that of a 40-55 y/o) he need more recovery time and more time for the muscles to grow before it is punished again in the gym.

The important part is to remember, muscles do NOT grow in gym. You simply send a signal to them that they must grow because they are not coping with the workload. The growth happen while you rest and sleep and NOT training. But that only happens when the body is fed correctly.

So there you have it…I am 53 right now and for me the optimal training frequency is 5 days a week. My actual routine is mostly just 4 days but now and then I would throw in the 5^th day. There is just no way my body will be able to cope with 6 or 7 days!

If you want my customized ADVANCED SYSTEM II that covers this and provide a complete blueprint for your over 40 body transformation, have a look here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

So everyone – happy training

Cheers

Gert Louw

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Tags: advanced system ii, Bodybuilding, fit, fitness, growing, growth, inspiration, middle-age, muscle, over 50, over-40, training

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Intermittent Fasting – think before you leap!

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet — 2 Comments

June 19, 2018

intermittent Fasting – think before you try!

The following quote from one of the my clients about his experience with intermittent fasting summarize my whole point about the Intermittent Fasting craze that is currently sweeping the muscle-building fraternity: “My belief, and my naturapath’s belief is that intermittent fasting downgraded my metabolism and thus now going back to normal eating, my body thinks I’m getting too many calories for it’s new low need.”

The bottom line is, it cannot be denied that some competing athletes had great success to get shredded by using Intermittent Fasting as a tool in their arsenal.

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What 99% of the people seem to forget is that the people who apply intermittent Fasting are experts in their field who know exactly what they are doing. When someone who is a casual bodybuilder applies IF, the results are most of the time less than desirable. However, there are always the exceptions, I’ll admit that.

But few casual bodybuilders (meaning non-competitive athletes) go to the extreme levels of measuring, monitoring and analyzing everything. These competing guys do regular fat caliper, weighing scale, tape measurements and body water content checks to see (sometimes on a daily basis) the effect their past 24 hours diet approach had on their body. Those are the people who usually get success, because they are to the extreme in touch with every aspect of their body and manage everything in the finest detail.

But the casual lifter just want to look better and do what he does for enjoyment. The dedication is not NEARLY on the level that is required for one to apply something like Intermittent Fasting successfully.

I am not saying IF does not work, not at all, I am saying don’t expect to use a tool an expert use and apply it in a casual fashion and think it will work as effectively as it work for them.

For the non-competitive athlete using IF, it usually spells disaster = less muscles + more body fat, simply because when not applying correctly IF will very easily result the body to enter a “famine mode” whereby it thinks it is in a famine environment. And this means the body will do everything to ensure it can survive as long, thus lowering the metabolism drastically. It will also prefer to use energy from muscles (Glutamine, Glycogen) which usually result in smaller muscles while the body will protect it’s bodyfat storage at all costs to ensure it has what it takes to outlive the famine period it thinks it ‘s detected. With end result loosing muscles and very little bodyfat. This is the last thing you want to happen!

Let’s look at some of the negatives of intermittent Fasting

interference with the SOCIAL aspect of eating
Getting hungry, low energy and unproductive
Fasting = binge
Digestion Issues
Unclear impact on heart
Is is NOT for everyone
Potential long-term health consequences (especially women)
Potential weight gain
Lowered metabolism

Off course there are some really interesting benefits to IF (like cognitive and body rejuvenation aspects) but with the risks especially when you do not have the dedication and time to perform the necessary body monitoring, my advice to you is to rather stick to a tried and tested lifestyle approach and nutrition to reach your success with a standard 14 day body monitoring approach to keep the diet calories aligned to your unique metabolism and leave the tricks of the trade like intermittent Fasting to those that are willing to put in the necessary time and effort to make it work, like the competing athletes as a short-term trick to get shredded..

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As you can recall in my previous video I made a specific point that the truth to reaching success is not held by a single method or person but that many road leads to success because of our diversity with regards to genetics, lifestyle and beliefs systems. But what I am preaching is specific to the guy over 40 who have a job, family and many obligations to fulfill. He is not a competing athlete and never will be. He wants the safest quickest and healthiest road to success. For such people, intermittent Fasting is a risky tool better left alone. And this is where my ADVANCED SYSTEM II comes in to provide you with that total, safe and healthy approach to reach success: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

Wish you all happy training!

Gert Louw

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Tags: advanced system ii, aesthetic, athlete, Body fat, Bodybuilding, cardio, cons, diet, Fasting, fit, Health, IF, inspiration, intermittent fasting, lifestyle, middle-age, muscle, nutrition, pros, ripped, science, shredded, work

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Finding the TRUTH – 3 criteria to guide you

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, BB Training & Exercises, DUDE Talk, EXPOSED supplements! — 8 Comments

June 13, 2018

How do you choose a fitness mentor through all these opposing ideologies you see in the fitness world? There are probably as many unique approaches and recipes as there are transformations! It is actually crazy…that is the only word that fits.

You have decided it is time to make a change, a big change and you want to choose the right system and coach but that proves to be MUCH more difficult than you anticipated. When venturing on internet and searching for the right approach or system, you are faced with many conflicting solutions. Sometimes directly opposing each other. Now, who do you trust and how do you sift through all this info to find the right approach and person to trust to lead you onto your journey?

THREE things are major critical to help you making your choice.

NUMBER ONE – Accept that there is no magic pill!

This is the number one important thing you have to accept. NONE of these advertising claims hold any truth, NONE! This is not an overstatement. ALL of the supplement advertising claims, even from the prominent companies, are filled with lies and half-truths. Most (nearly 90%) are complete and utter lies. I know what I am talking about. My before and after photo has now been abused illegally by more than 150 companies marketing their products and showing me as “proof” that their product works. And this is the going rate…if you see a before and after photo in any advertising add, it is ALWAYS either stolen or the person was paid a nice sum of money to lie and say he/she used their product to achieve the results. There is no truth to any such marketing photos…sadly. The bottom line is supplements makes no more than a few percentage points difference (I say 2.5%) in your effort of changing your body with a transformation. Easily 80% is made up by following a diet focused to produce results and the rest is made up by your exercise efforts in the gym. There is no magic pill…accept that. Sure, steroids and HGH can hasten the process but even then, it will take great effort and focus on both the diet and training front. Nothing comes overnight, and nothing comes easy and anyone claiming such is lying blatantly. A Significant transformation takes time and a LOT of effort…full stop. Steer completely clear from anyone telling your different because there are many that will…they are not after your happiness but only your money in their pocket.

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NUMBER TWO – Accept that many roads lead to Rome.

Many of these approaches are junk and totally misleading. But, there are many that is the truth and works and many of them preach complete opposing systems/approaches. Is this possible?

Let me explain.

The world of fitness is far from being a scientific fact sheet. Each of our bodies are so vastly different. Our genetic traits make us unique and apart. Each of us have unique metabolisms defined by multiple lifestyle aspects. The bottom line is many of these opposing systems and approaches have produced true results. These people are not lying (well some actually is but to try and make my point here I am referring to those that actually have a moral center!). They have reached success by following the path they are preaching. Let me take my wife for example. Right now, she is getting major success (lost 16kg in just over 3 months) with the 28 DAY DIET. A diet I would traditionally oppose vehemently. Simply because it is too little food and thus would lower the metabolic rate to unacceptable levels. But it is working for her and I can see that she can continue on it indefinitely albeit with some changes when she reached her goal weight to make it more lenient. Bottom line is, not everything works for everyone. Our personalities, genetics, lifestyle, habits, working environment, beliefs and many other factors play a more important role than we realize.

So, this is a very important point you need to realize. Many different roads in the body transformation arena can lead to the goalpost. Science is far from proving a singular all true road. We as individuals are far too unique for that.

NUMBER THREE – does your mentor have a moral center?

Ok, this might sound a little condescending, but the bottom line is, can you trust your mentor/coach to have your best interest in mind or is he/she just after the quick buck?

This is probably the most important of the 3 points. Because everything falls flat if this person working out your transformation system is a moral-less person caring just about turning around the quick buck. He/she needs to be a person of integrity that invokes trust. This you need to establish, or chances are you going to burn your fingers. You cannot trust in a person to lead you, but in real life you would never even consider this person making the grade for your friend list because of his/her lack of integrity/moral-less behavior.

You seriously need to look up to this person NOT just because of his/her body but especially because of all the other things.

So, let these three points guide you to make the right choice when you ready for that transformation journey!

Should you believe I am that mentor that can lead you on your transformation journey, you are more than welcome to consider signing up to my ADVANCED SYSTEM II, developed for the older individual and a truly comprehensive system covering all and every aspect. Customized for your goals and body on many levels: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

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Tags: 28 day diet, advanced system ii, aesthetic, Bodybuilding, bodybuilding.com, cardio, diet, faith, family, fit, fitness, Health, inspiration, integrity, internet, ironman, lies, life, lifestyle, middle-age, muscle, muscles, nutrition, over 50, over 60, over-40, quick solution, science, supplements, too good to be true, web, work

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Motivation to continue on your path.

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 6 Comments

April 19, 2018

Hi guys and girls from a very cold Cape Town. We just missed day zero here in Cape Town and nearly ran out of water so we are so glad the rainy season is upon us. We pray for a good one!

Ok, back to the topic…

Click here to play video “MOTIVATION FOR GYM”

Many times we feel demotivated because our efforts seems like a drop of water in the ocean. We feel we will never get there and the progress we make is so small that it makes no difference. This is when many, many people give up on their hopes and dreams.

Let me put it to you like this. Your efforts may just “feel” like a drop of water in the ocean, but the truth is the ocean are made up of many, many drops. All your hard work, sweat and pushing through with the diet is like many drops together and counting this up over a period of a year, two or three makes for a LOT of drops that start to form an ocean.

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Success is NEVER a short term thing, it is a long-term lifestyle that brings dividends to those pushing through. It is not a mater of feeling like training or dieting, you HAVE to train and diet. It is like working, you HAVE to work you don’t have a choice. The same goes for training and dieting, you HAVE to just do it. You miss work only when you have a sick note, same applies to training and diet.

Off course there will be stumbling blocks, sometimes major one’s. Last year (2017) I could not train for the whole year due to severe health issues. But when that stumbling block is out of the path, then we pick up the pieces and get back to gym and eating correctly. Stumbling blocks are a given and part of life. We cannot truly avoid them and we have to make them part of the game. The key is just to always resume after each severe stumbling block. And few stumbling blocks is bigger than the one I faced in 2017 (banned by doctor for 12 months from gym due to severe bad health from drinking dirty water – nearly, nearly died!). But we must get up and continue. So I am back at gym and slowly building up the body again with the winning recipe. Off course it will take some time…after 40 any setback takes up to 2-3 times as long to get back to the level one had before the setback. And the older one get, the longer this recovery time takes. BUT, the fact is, we CAN get back to that level and might even surpass it and that is the goalpost and reality for those that keep getting up and push through.

For those of you interested in my ADVANCED COACHING SYSTEM II specifically developed for the over 40 individual, have a look here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

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So to all of you that do not feel like training or sticking to that diet because it looks like your efforts are worthless, let’s pick up the pieces and just MAKE IT HAPPEN because all those efforts together start forming an ocean for those that keeps pushing through! You WILL reach success with this mindset.

Wish you all a blessed week of training.

Gert Louw

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Tags: body, Bodybuilding, fitness, food, gert louw, gertfitness, Health, inspiration, life, lifestyle, middle-age, motivate, motivation, muscle, muscles, ripped, shredded, training, transformation, work

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Over 40? How to avoid the BLUE pill!

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, Be MOTIVATED!, DUDE Talk — 6 Comments

March 6, 2018

Ladies, sorry but this is for the eyes of guys only! For guys under 30, not really applicable to you but then again to be educated will help you to deal with this problem swiftly whenever it ever arises.

Click here to watch video “OVER 40 – HOW TO SAY NO TO THE BLUE PILL”

So, you are over 40 (or like me, waaay over 40) and it does not do any positive things for your ego knowing you need that blue pills in the cupboard. Now, you might think that us “older” guys should in any case not be interested in sex and stuff. Well, I reckon there are many over 40 guys out there that, due to their totally unfit and unhealthy lifestyle, probably live a life unwillingly devoid of sex. But that is no fun at all! I am over 50 and well, I LOVE sex and all related kinky “things”. The fact that I am fit, healthy and active most probably play a big role in this. So as long as I am able I am going to have great fun with my wife deep into my old age and you youngsters can frown all you want!

But alas, the fact is we are not 18 anymore and no matter how fit or how healthy we live, when you are over 40 the need for the blue pill become an increasing reality.

Let’s look at the 3 levels of attack on how to deal with this “problem” and avoid that dreaded blue pill.

First level of attack.

No smoking
Little drinking
Changing unhealthy living and eating habits
Embark on a fit lifestyle

All these things have a massive impact on blood flow and a man’s ability to maintain a strong erection.

Second level of attack.

With above in place we now move on the 2^nd level of attack.

Ensure your blood testosterone levels are healthy (if not get the doctor to prescribe TRT – don’t mess around with this. Low T levels have severe negative medical implications for your health).
Ensure cholesterol levels are healthy.
Ensure blood pressure levels healthy.

Third level of attack.

Ok, now for the magic. You’ve done all of the above, but eish…you are still not happy with your performance between the sheets. The memories of your rock-hard-ability during youth is now but just salt into a raw wound for you.

But not all are lost. You still can avoid the blue pill and get very close to that young man ability, even exceeding it. There is a stack out there that is not only great for your bodybuilding efforts but also have magical positive effects to make you feel like a young man again.

And no (!) it is NOT steroids and not hearsay either. It is not Facebook fake news and neither bro science. It is solid real science and I can personally vouch for it’s effectiveness…my wife too (although I would never tell her this secret…she thinks it is just my virile self)!

The stack works in the same way the blue pill works, by enhancing blood flow but goes much further than this. You will find sensations you never had before. Plus the size, especially the flaccid size, is impressive to say the least. None of this “shriveled up thing” anymore, but only impressively solid-looking, flaccid or not. And great news for some guys, this stack also stimulates libido. Yes, you actually want sex. So if this has been a problem in the past, then this stack might just be the solution you were looking for.

Any side effects or negative things about the stack? Apart from that you must get the approval of your healthcare provider since it might interact with certain medications, especially depression meds, there are only good news about this stack. The stack could even help lowering your blood pressure. Is great for vein health and a many other things.

Let’s look at some of the more obvious benefits of this stack:

improved cardiovascular endurance
can boost muscle mass
reduce fat levels
improve general health
stimulate release of growth hormone
lower blood pressure
increase sexual drive/libido, especially in older men
enhanced mood levels (treating depression)
increased metabolism
increase mental clarity
appetite suppression
improve sexual stamina
help control migraines and inflammation

So what is this magical “blue pill replacement” stack to make you spark again?

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BLUE PILL REPLACEMENT STACK

L-Arginine (4g upon waking up on empty stomach and 4g just before training on empty stomach) From the brand I use this is 6 pills morning and 6 pills before training.
L-Tyrosine (1.5g upon waking up on empty stomach and 1.5g just before training on empty stomach) From the brand I use this is 6 pills morning and 6 pills before training.
L-Ornithine (500mg upon waking up on empty stomach and 500mg just before training on empty stomach) From the brand I use this is 2 pills morning and 2 pills before training.
Citrulline Malate (1g upon waking up on empty stomach and 1g while training) From the brand I am using this is 1 standardized scoop in morning and 1 scoop I drink during training.

How soon does it start working? Some effects will be experienced within a few days but the full effect is experienced after a period of about 6 weeks. This is great for health (including sexual health), bodybuilding and many other positive things, so this is a stack you can and should be using non-stop. However, as stated earlier, you must get your healthcare providers approval for any supplement changes, just to be on the safe side.

Here is a photo of my stack.

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I buy everything at my local pharmacy (Dischem) but most health shops should stock these goodies. Except maybe the Cutrilline Malate which you might get from a bodybuilding supplement store since it is considered a pre-workout supplement. There are many different brands, but one of the more trusted brands is always SOLAL.

Want my transformation system customised to your body and goals? Have a look here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

So guys, let’s not take this lying down…hmmm, wrong words, let’s actually do take this lying down and recapture the virility of our youth. Just make sure wife is using a contraceptive though!

Wish you all happy training.

Gert Louw

www.gertlouw.com

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Tags: arganine, blue pill, boner, CIALIS, citrulline, ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION, erection, flaccid, food, hard, hardon, Health, inspiration, Libido, life, lifestyle, middle-age, ornithine, penis, rock-hard, sex, sex drive, sexual, stack, testosterone, thyrosine, training, viagra, women, work, youth

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Over 40: Joint-pain solutions

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, Be MOTIVATED!, SURVIVAL TIPS for Cancer/Fibromyalgia/HIV+ — 2 Comments

February 27, 2018

Over 40 training and joint pain – what to do?

Click here to watch video “Over 40 Ultimate guide for dealing with join pains”

This is very familiar territory for every over 40 guy. We nearly all struggle with joint and tendon pains.

Some of us accept defeat and enter potbelly territory. Well if are you like me, then we refuse to accept even the word “defeat”. It is not in our vocabulary.

But we cannot ignore the aches and pains. So how do we deal with it?

First, the fact is, it IS good, very good, for the over 40 body to be involved in resistance training. That has been proven beyond any doubt by many science studies.

We must just find a way of dealing with the “problem” and not too simply, give up! Dealing with it involves wisdom and quite a few things that we need to do to effectively relief the pain.

Before we start discussing what must be done, remember – NEVER train through pain. You will make whatever the problem is MUCH worse. As you get older you will have to regularly change your exercises and even your whole workout approach and regimen to periodically side-step pains and aches in tendons, joints and back. This is a given. BUT…never, ever, stop training because of pain…adapt and change. Always keep training with what you can do, even if it means a total different temporary training approach.

Joint pain (and tendon pain) is not just simply a result of training heavy. MANY factors play a role.

Let’s go through the list of the things you need to do to relief/avoid tendon/joint pain:

TRAINING

You must have a cutting (lighter weights, higher reps per set) and building (lower reps with higher weights) phase in place to allow regular “rest” periods for the tendons/joints. Phase lengths should be roughly 3 months each.
Consider training lighter for a 6-month to a year period if you struggle with a serious tendon/joint issue.
Very important – never bend your hand upward or downward when lifting, but keep it all times in a straight line with the for-arm. Bending the hand during heavy lifting places undue strain on the elbow via strained tendons. Keeping the hand straight keep all tendons at equal strain.
Bench pressing should be performed with the overhand position with bar resting on the thumb area (bottom) of the palm so that there is no pressure on the wrist. (The place where the bar lies on the hand must be in a straight line with the whole arm to ensure that no strain is on wrist.)
Use special straps to relief strain on the wrist. I will show example in the video. A simple strap fastened around the wrist with a rubber palm grip which can be wrapped around heavy weights. This allows for near zero strain on the wrist joint. This is especially helpful with pull ups, shrugs and nearly all back and upper body exercises.

LIFESTYLE

Yip you guessed it…NO SMOKING! Smoking makes the whole body functioning less optimally. It affects nearly everything in the body from the brain to the skin to the lungs to pains and aches that get much worse because of the smoking.
The same goes for drinking. Light drinking (4 glasses wine per week) is max. But even for some this proves to be too much and result in joint pain. In quite a few cases people had to completely stop drinking alcohol in an attempt to get rid of the joint pains.
Too little sleeping. Your body needs time to heal and repair. Too little sleeping rob it of this time. A good (6-8hrs) night rest will go a long way to help the body function optimally.

EATING

Our eating habits have a much bigger role to play in joint pain than you might think.

Ensure that you drink enough filtered water per day (3L-6L). This helps washing out the toxins from the body. More toxins = more joint pain.
Enough good oils. Apart from the fact that good oils (omega 3 & 6: peanut butter, olive oil, avocado, coconut) are critical for a healthy functioning hormonal system, it is also very important to help ease joint pain. Cutting out all good oils/fat from your diet will aggravate joint pain and result in low testosterone levels.
You must ensure the body is in an alkaline environment with a PH of roughly 7. The more acidic the body gets, the more joint pain will be experienced, full stop. There are enough serious science studies to back this up. There are also many other advantages when you keep the body in an alkaline state. It has been proven to lessen your risk for cancer and supports a stronger immune system amongst others. On the next page there is a list of ALKALINE and ACIDIC foods to help you adjusting your diet. (A good starting point – lemon juice every morning and evening and cutting out wine and fizzy drinks. MANY people have gotten rid of their joints pains by simply changing their diet to a more alkaline one.)

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SUPPLEMENTS (natural)

CQ10 (Co-Enzyme Q10). This has been proven by various science studies to be a potent long term pain combatant. However, as with most natural approaches, this only starts working after more than 1 month of continuous usage. [I take 300mg in morning and 300mg at night.]
Even more potent than CQ10, MSM (METHYLSULPHONYLMETHANE) has helped many people changing their lives. It is not a wonder pill but with long term use can significantly ease joint pain. Effective results only achieved after about 3-4 months of continuous use. [I take 400mg morning and 400mg evening]
The 3^rd one, eish…this took me some time to support it’s use – CANNABIS oil. I am old school and anything drug-related, even for medical reasons is pretty much “no-go” territory for me. This one took some serious mind changing for me. Eventually I just could not ignore study after study that supported various benefits of CANNABIS OIL. The oil, which contains a higher ratio CBD to THD, is rather harmless when compared to the psychotropic effects of smoking cannabis. It is the THD that result in all this bad effects and the oil has a CBD/THD blend of about 85/15 in most cases which make it mostly harmless. Even here in South Africa the studies are nearly concluded and it looks like we are mere months away from Cannabis Oil being available over the counter for medical purposes. Apart from lowering blood pressure, combating nausea, helping with sleep and fighting cancer, it is actually a potent pain relief substance. After about 3 weeks use the body reach a saturation point and then the real pain relieving properties kicks in. If you can get past the mind barrier of taking something that is closely drug related then this could have a drastic positive pain relief impact. And believe me it is not so easy getting past this “mind barrier” for us older folks…but it can be done…I took the plunge. The end result for me – less pain and drastic better sleeping at night. Also drastically lower blood pressure. [I take 1 drop morning, 1 drop afternoon and 5 drops before bed]. Cannabis oil (CBD/THD) has some very interesting medical applications. Some of the claims the cannabis groupies make is not backed up at all by science but some actually are, especially with the latest studies. I think this warrant a future article to give some more insight into this new emerging product (emerging…well at least in the medical mainstream community that is!).

MEDICATION

This is a territory you want to avoid. Yes, you can take anti-inflammatory meds, but this is hard on kidneys/liver/stomach and definitely NOT a long term solution.

The last resort and sometimes a necessary route is arthritis medication. There are various types depending on the severity and type of arthritis. A well know anabolic steroid, Deca-Durabolin, is known for its anti-arthritis / joint pain properties. But only your health care provider can do the necessary blood test to determine the problem and plan of action.

However most of the time if you take the points above about training, lifestyle, diet and supplementation seriously enough then you can have pain free over 40+ workouts.

Interested in my customized transformation system for the over 40 guy? Have a look here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

Happy training everybody!

Cheers

Gert Louw

Tags: acidic, alcohol, alkaline, back, Bodybuilding, cannabis, CQ10, deca, drinking, durabolin, fit, fitness, food, Gert, gertfitness, Health, inspiration, joint, lifestyle, louw, middle-age, msm, muscle, oil, omega, over 50, over 60, over-40, pain, ph, smoking, Tendon

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Nasty people – this one is for YOU!

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED!, DUDE Talk — 8 Comments

February 21, 2018

To watch the video click here: “NASTY PEOPLE – THIS ONE IS FOR YOU!”

This one is NOT for my followers/friends but for those, well, that simply does not like me. So friends and followers…skip this one! But you, yes you (!), read/watch this…

Now why would I even bother talking to my haters?

Well, it is not about what they say (that is water of my back), it is about the intensity of hate they show that bugs me.

I find it difficult to comprehend just how dark a person’s heart must be to utter such intense hate to someone they know nothing about. Call me naïve but for me one must always act with the same moral and integrity rules which you apply in life, whether you are on internet or whether you physically talk to a person standing next to you.

My blocked list on youtube is challenging my subscribers list.

If you look at every article I wrote, every comment I made, every video I’ve made then you would very quickly see I adhere to 3 things:

I show every person the same respect I want them to show me
Integrity is extremely important to me
My moral conduct is guided by the one I follow – Jesus Christ.

So the fact that so many people have a distinct dislike in me, well, I reckon that is a sad sign of the times. It seems this is the way the world is today…hate is increasing for those that show respectful behaviour and integrity. The bad is becoming good in the eyes of the world and the good is becoming bad…

Now my rule is simple – If you don’t show basic common decency with your comments, sorry, you will be blocked. I never waste my time in responding to negative or destructive comments. I focus on the positive and uplifting in life.

The surest sign of a man with a lack of integrity is how he/she interacts in the faceless environment of internet. Thinking you can say what and how you want without any accountability or consequences tells me everything I want to know about you and it shows your heart in all it’s not-so-beautiful colours.

The moment a swear word exit’s your mouth it shows exactly what is in your heart. Because, what is in the heart, always (!) comes out the mouth…especially when it is in a faceless environment.

You have no idea who I am, what I’ve been through, how hard I’ve worked for what I have, whether I am a man of integrity, my path I walked with God, the challenges I am facing in my life and how many times I was at death’s door and how it changed me. You watch one minute of a video of me, know nothing and then you want to wash out your mouth?

Don’t get me wrong, I have MUCH respect for any person saying anything, as long as he/she shows basic respect and common decency towards me. You can disagree with me 100% but as long as you are prepared to treat me with the same respect that I am treating you with, then we can talk like grown-ups and have a decent conversation.

But, you don’t care what you say, who you say it to and what effect it has on people. All you want to see is that you have made an impact with your nasty comment. An impact of hurting someone…it takes a dark heart my friend. And you know what? The worst of all is, you love that darkness.

If you want to know what I stand for, stop coming to conclusions before you have not read my blog www.gertlouw.com only then do you have an idea of who and what I am. And even then, when you speak to me it must be in a decent manner applying the same level of respect that you want me to apply to you no matter how much you dislike me.

Now, just to annoy you even further. Yes, I will keep on mentioning my relationship with Jesus Christ when I think it is applicable. This is my channel, whether you like it or not, He is and always will be my rock in life. I don’t care for political correctness, I care for what is right and what is wrong. I have many incredible faith experiences and many things to tell you but the fact is you are not interested and neither would you believe anything I say. But that is all fine as long as you respect my beliefs the way I respect yours.

Why is our society in this moral declining abyss? Simple – Jesus Christ is banned out of schools. With no moral anchor to guide us, children are blasted with gruesome violent and horrifically chilling video games. Children can do nearly anything in school as long as it got nothing to do with Jesus Christ who, ironically (!), was the biggest mentor of selflessness, respect and love for your fellow human being and moral guide to ever walk this earth. Children and adults alike have easy and free porn access on internet. Sex shops are around the corner and drugs and booze are easy to come by. Parents are banned from shaping kids into respectful adults through the most effective discipline tool, a good hiding. The result of all of this is just one thing – broken families and a broken world with extreme disrespectful youth growing up into disrespecting and moral-less adults. But the flaps stays over our eyes…we cannot seem to realize what is happening. Now you my friend, are a product of this broken society falling down this dark abyss. Why do you continue to do it? Is this really what you want to be? Do you not yearn to better yourself inside and outside and becoming someone you are proud off?

Don’t get me wrong. I am FAR from perfect! I still struggle with many things in my life…but one thing I do, is to seek a path where I always better myself continuously. I want to look into that mirror and like the inside and outside of that person I see. To be a man of integrity brings much peace in one’s life…that (!) I can promise you.

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I have not invited you to watch my channel or visit my sites. So if you do, it is out of your own accord. You don’t like what you see, please leave and never come back. But stop leaving nasty comments that only show just how dark your heart is. I don’t visit your site and leave nasty comments, show me the same respect. The old saying goes “If you don’t have anything good to say then don’t say anything at all.”

You need to let in some light into that heart my friend. You are in serious need of it…

Just do not expect me to read any of your hateful comments. My time and energy is spent on positive and uplifting things and the last thing I have time for is to entertain your dark heart.

May the peace of Christ be with you always.

Gert Louw

gERT STEROIDS.jpg

Tags: bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, Christ, faith, fit, fitness, gym, hate, haters, inspire, inspired, Jesus, lifestyle, nastiness, nasty, over 50, over-40, rude, rudeness, transform, ugly

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How to return to gym after LONG lay-off

Filed under: BB Training & Exercises, Be MOTIVATED!, SURVIVAL TIPS for Cancer/Fibromyalgia/HIV+ — 8 Comments

February 14, 2018

How to (re) start your body transformation after a long lay-off.

This article is for those that has been off gym for 6 months or longer due to a severe injury or health issues and who need to resume training. How do you know if your body is fit/healthy enough to return to gym?

Click here to play video “STARTING A TRANSFORMATION AFTER A LONG LAY-OFF”

Before one can officially resume training one must first establish if the body is in a state to deal with the training resumption. In other words, is it healed enough to have the required stamina to start? If not, believe me you can do serious, serious harm.

So how do you determine if the body is ready or not?

First let’s look at the reason for your off-time from training

First you need to analyse your situation. Was it medical or non-medical?

Non-medical: If it was due to a loss of a loved/divorce or something similar? Then you were right to take off from gym. Some things in life is so important and life altering that one need time to absorb and process everything. Me, I like doing that while I am lifting, but all of us have our own way in dealing with life issues.

If it was due to work pressure/other pressures in life, well then not good! This means it is going to happen again and again until you have made a change. Stress is NOT good for building up your body. The stress hormone cortisol is a powerful catabolic hormone that makes effective muscle growth very difficult. You need to find ways of dealing with stress effectively. Sometimes the change is simply changing your attitude towards stress/busy schedules and learn to love the buzz of the fast-moving pace. We have amazing power in ourselves to decide how we react and respond to our surroundings and situations. What has to change is that fact that gym time needs to be of a higher priority in such a busy schedule. Gym must be nonnegotiable. If this means you have to do it early mornings or late at night so be it. You need to learn to allocate and hour and a half space for yourself during the day and that is your gymtime. This must be of the same priority of eating & sleeping, it must be non-negotiable. It is not optional it is a given. Let this sink in…it is NOT optional! So the fact that you sometimes do not feel like gyming…that carries NO WEIGHT. It is like sleeping & eating, you go there no matter what and you simply JUST DO IT.

If it is medical related (sickness, organ problems, etc…) well then it is a different situation. You have little control over it. But somewhere along the line you need to resume again. Most doctors could not care less in telling you to stop gyming. I found this out the hard way. After my first near death hospital visit last year I had no clear instructions regarding when and with how much I could start training. After just a few very light gym sessions (which I struggled through greatly because of no stamina) I ended up again in hospital. Simply because my body which was not healed enough for me to apply any pressure to it. Luckily I ended up with a specialist that really know what he is doing and he then insisted that I need to be completely sedentary until certain important requirements was met with my health. The key factor here is to be very mindful of your body. You must never train through pain or apply intensity when the body has extreme weakness. If the body is right for training you will not suffer from extreme weakness and easy exhaustion. This is a sure sign the body need more time to recover.

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Now the next step

For all of the above scenario’s, you will apply the same approach.

That approach is two-fold:

First determine if your body is at all fit/healthy enough to resume training
Secondly when above criteria met, then generally one is cleared to start slowly training again according to a specific system. Critical in all these to get your doctor’s clearance.

So let’s look at how to determine if your body is at all fit/healthy enough to resume training

Week one – brisk walking. This is to test your stamina levels and if you are ready to return to gym.

Day 1: 5 min brisk walking.
Day 2: 10 min brisk walking.
Day 3: 20 min brisk walking,
Day 4: 30 min brisk walking.
Day 5: 40 min brisk walking.

If you can do the above fairly easily without having serious stamina/exhaustion problems, your body is for all practical purposes healthy and fit enough to return to gym with a specific introduction system. However, if you struggle in any means to manage above, keep your brisk walking time per day at 15-20 min and repeat for week 2.

To test if your body is ready you must pass the test of being able to do brisk walking for 40 min without too much exhaustion/stamina problem. ONLY then should you return to gym with the system explained beneath.

Slowly start training

The program you should follow to introduce gym to the body is a slow and gradual process. Joints, tendons and muscles are weak and need to follow a gradual approach to strengthen otherwise it easily can result in a serious injury.

Here is the “STARTING FROM SCRATCH” gym program for the next 3-months: https://gertlouw.com/2014/06/02/how-do-i-start-a-body-transformation-from-scratch/

And if you want to watch the video, click here “STARTING FROM SCRATCH”

After the above is completed, then you are ready to move onto serious training ground…this is where you can start with the ADVANCED SYSTEM II to start shaping and building the body into your dream body (again): https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

We have one life and it is much more fragile than you might think. Apply wisdom and the body will respond in kind. Apply ignorance and you could even die. Change inside and out and become a man with integrity like a rock and a body to match!

Wish you all happy training!

Gert Louw

Tags: bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, faith, food, Gert, gertfirness, gym, Health, inspiration, life, lifestyle, louw, middle-age, muscle, muscles, resume training, sickness, training, walking, work

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What does a year of NO TRAINING do to a muscle physique?

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 20 Comments

February 9, 2018

Hi guys and girls,

By now most of you know 2017 was a bummer year in my fitness quest. Nearly a month in total in hospital and striken by doctor from gym for just under twelve months…even brisk walking was not permitted.

But alas as off 1st Jan 2018 I am cleared by the doctor to enter the gym again! MAN I was SO glad.

So now, just over a month after I returned to gym, I am reflecting on how far my body has regressed and how far I have already progressed after the 1st month of training.

I’ve done this short documentary type video showing you my shape at 52, then the lowest point off my shape after 12 months of complete training absence and lastly my current shape 1 month after I returned to gym.

To watch the video, click here “12-months no training effect on a muscled body”

I am very positive after the progress of the 1st month, that reaching a level close to my best at age 52 should take not much more than 4 months at most.

The important thing now is to control my eagerness to raise the weight size to quickly. This can very easily result in tendon issues which is NOT what I am looking for now. So absolute wisdom needs to apply.

So who is joining me on this quest?

Wish you all happy training!

Gert

Tags: 6-pack, aesthetic, Bodybuilding, fit, fitness, Gert, louw, muscles, over 50, over-40, physique, sick, training

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13 year video log of transforming the body (40-53) to greatness.

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 8 Comments

October 31, 2017

Hi guys and girls.

I am sitting with all this video footage of me flexing muscles and showing body development from the day I start at age 40 to my current age 53. With this video I decided to preserve it in single video format like a documentary style showing each years progress and in some case even going a bit backwards.

Yes, even me sometimes had to take a step backwards. Life is difficult and it might be one of many factors you have to deal with (health, sickness, injury, death in family, financial crisis, family matters. Believe me I know about obstacles and struggles…facing a BIG obstacle now – see video.) BUT…the key is and always will be to continue with persistence on the road of transforming the body. Obstacles there will be, ALWAYS, but it is the winners that work around them and sometimes have to pick up the pieces and persist and push through. Off course it is not easy. Not even close! Life never is… But I for one will fight this good fight and play the game with whatever hand of cards I been dealt with to the absolute BEST of my abilities…so what about you?

Click here to play video “13 years video log of transforming the body”

Anyway, year by year there was a steady progress. It took 6 years to get to my biggest size (40-46). It was not my most aesthetic look however. Some muscles was over developed and bulky compared to the rest. Sure it looked imposing and many would have been happy with it, but my aim was to have a balanced aesthetic muscled look. So from 46-53 my focus was on slightly smaller size but more aesthetic which is MUCH more difficult.

It did not always felt great to drop the size of certain muscle groups…I LOVE (!) big arms. But alas I had a goal in mind and that was driving me. And when I look in the mirror the smaller arms seemed even better looking than those monster size arms because of the better shape they had. Now in my book, THAT is what it is all about. Size might be the goal for some but size on it’s own will never create a stunning sculpture/body. I am not a artistic person, lol…so this is just about as far as my artistic aspiration will ever go.

This goal I obtained between ages 50 to just after 52. The system I am following (ADVANCED SYSTEM II) helped me on this journey to shape and mold the body.

One thing you must be aware off…great bodies takes time. There is no such thing as a 8 week or 6 week program. All these shortcuts and adverts…all is lies. You cannot build a great body in a matter of months, not even with steroids! (Most of the time good bodies are messed up when steroids are introduced…so be very careful.) Great bodies are build in matter of years, sometimes many years.

So this is my journey….now it is time for yours…

Wish you all a great day and happy training.

Gert Louw

Gert Louw GETTING DRESSED

Tags: bodybuilder, Bodybuilding, faith, family, fit, fitness, gertfitness, gym, Health, inspiration, muscle, muscled, muscles, over 50, over-40, transform, transformation, video

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FREE Cutting & Building diets for a ripped muscled physique

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet — Leave a comment

September 8, 2017

Click here to watch video “FREE Cutting & Building diets”

As discussed in previous videos the Cutting and Building phases/diets are done in a 3 month cycle. Three months Cutting diet followed by 3 months Building diet. This is called a cycle. Then after each cycle repeat the cycle again, and again and so on.

The purpose of the Cutting diet is to drop body fat while keeping muscles safe. Typical targets in a 3 month Cutting diet period is to drop the body fat with roughly 6% – 8%.

The purpose of the Building diet is to increase both the body fat and muscle size. Reason for the body fat increase is simply to stimulate better muscle growth. Muscle growth happens most effectively in a caloric surplus environment. The aim with the Building diet is to add roughly 4% – 5% body fat to help muscle growth.

Both diets stick to a small frequent meal system. For the simple reason that a frequent meal system keeps the digestive track activated continuously and thus results in a significant higher metabolic rate for the body which equals better fat loss. It is MUCH better for fat loss to take 5-7 small meals instead of 1-2 huge meals. It results in better fat loss plus you never feel bloated or uncomfortable from big servings plus you crave food much less.

The same following rules apply to both diets:

NEVER exceed your daily calories.
You MUST perform EVERY 14 DAYS a body monitoring with fat calipers, weighing scale and tape measurements to determine how your body responded to the previous 14 days daily calories.
Never increase or decrease your diets calories with more than 10% in a 14 day period.

The body monitoring process is the CRITICAL part of the diet. If you do not do this thoroughly your diet will NEVER be correctly aligned for your body. You must remember that no 2 people’s metabolic rates are exactly the same. There are a magnitude of factors determine each of us metabolic rates. So if you do not align the diet for YOUR metabolic rate…the diet WILL FAIL!

Now the next step is to interpret the results from the 14 day body monitoring intelligently.

For the CUTTING DIET you do it as follows:

RESULT: lost muscle, ANALYSIS: very bad, ACTION REQUIRED: increase daily calories across the board with 10%

RESULT: lost muscle & fat, ANALYSIS: very bad, ACTION REQUIRED: increase daily calories across the board with 10%

RESULT: lost fat but muscle stayed the same, ANALYSIS: good, ACTION REQUIRED: this is where you want to be during your cutting diet. No change, but redo monitoring every 14 days to ensure you stay in this sweet spot.

RESULT: gain fat & muscle, ANALYSIS: very bad, ACTION REQUIRED: decrease daily calories across the board with 10%.

For the BUILDING DIET you do it as follows:

RESULT: lost muscle, ANALYSIS: very bad, ACTION REQUIRED: increase daily calories across the board with 10%

RESULT: lost muscle & fat, ANALYSIS: very bad, ACTION REQUIRED: increase daily calories across the board with 10%

RESULT: lost fat but muscle stayed the same, ANALYSIS: bad, ACTION REQUIRED: increase daily calories across the board with 10%

RESULT: gain fat & muscle, ANALYSIS: good, ACTION REQUIRED: this is where you want to be in the building diet. But be careful that you do not add too much fat so do the body monitoring every 14 days to ensure you do not pick up too much fat.

WANT A HOLISTIC TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM FULLY CUSTOMIZED? The program I am following for the past 6 years (age 46 to 52), available now fully customised on all levels. Every little secret, every hard-earned practical fact, every scientific study that actually support the (very) few supplements between all the thousand ridiculous advertisement claims have been filtered en incorporated into one system that MAKES A DIFFERENCE click here:

https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

Right now on to the actual diets. Both have a complete breakdown with detailed caloric values and protein/carb/fat content. This enable you to exchange food easily to spice up the diet. But be warned! Do NOT exceed the calories when exchanging food and ensure you stick to the protein/carb/fat ratios.

You will see there are 3 days provided for each diet. The Monday and Tuesday you must shuffle between all the weekdays except for Saturday. The Saturday menu plan must ONLY be followed for Saturday. It is meant to be a more relaxed menu plan that will enable you to socialize a bit. You can also squeeze two meals in one or even 3 into one ONLY on Saturday. Again…do NOT exceed calories.

THE CUTTING DIET

cd 1 cd 2 cd 3

THE BUILDING DIET

bd 1 bd 2 bd 3

Now you got all the diet tools to go and get shredded and add muscle.

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Gert Louw

gert b&A 12May2016

Tags: abs, Bodybuilding, building, bulking, calories, cutting, diet, Diets, fitn, fitness, gert louw, gertfitness, Health, healthy, muscle, muscle gain, nutrition, ripped, shredded

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Extreme training dedication? how to get it.

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, BB Training & Exercises, Be MOTIVATED! — 4 Comments

September 4, 2017

Click here to watch video “Extreme training DEDICATION? How to get it!”

In this article I want to take you through the process of how to acquire an extreme dedication to your training and body transformation goals.

As you know MANY set out on this journey, nearly on a yearly basis. But close to 99% fail.

The simple reason for this failure is dedication to training. The smallest stumbling block and the grand hope of transforming the body to superhero looks, fail dead in its tracks.

Now I know what I am talking about. Before the age 40 I had more-than-I-can-count failures in my body transformation goals. For this simple reason – lack of dedication. After 40 I got my act together and things really start changing. How and why did I got my act together? Well that will become evident later on.

For now, let’s discuss the process on how to get this EXTREME DEDICATION to training.

There are two parts.

PART I – Stop with the shallow and superficial aims and reasons to transform the body!

When you decide to transform your body, what are your reasons? Too look sexy, to look nice or better, to attract more girls? Well sorry, but I am gonna burst your bubble here. That will NEVER hold. Superficial reasons carry no weight and with the first obstacle in the road, your dreams is going to come tumbling down.

Now everything change when these reasons are not superficial anymore. The more weight a reason carry the better your chance of pushing through! This must not be about the outside of the body but about the whole you! Change from the inside out. Become a better man, a better father, a better husband and a better friend. Start caring, start having compassion for others, start helping others. A natural outflow of this process to become the best YOU will be to change the outside of the body for the better. You will want to be fit, healthy and muscled because you want to be the best you on all levels. Simply put – the more weight your reason for change carry, the better your chances of success.

PART II – Training time is NOT optional!

Let me put it to you like this. Why do you get up and go to your job everyday? Because it is not optional but a requirement. If you are sick you get a doctor’s certificate. But as soon as this certificate expires you have to get back to work. No matter whether you want to or not. This is just the way it works. Now this exact same rules that hold for your job holds for your training time. It is NOT optional. The only time you miss gym is when you are sick with a doctor’s certificate. If that certificate is expired and you get back to work well, then you get back to gym. There is no but’s or why not’s…the training rules is equal to your job rules.

WANT A HOLISTIC TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM FULLY CUSTOMIZED? The program I am following for the past 6 years (age 46 to 52), available now fully customised on all levels. Every little secret, every hard-earned practical fact, every scientific study that actually support the (very) few supplements between all the thousand ridiculous advertisement claims have been filtered en incorporated into one system that MAKES A DIFFERENCE click here:

https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

I’ve been through this. AT age 40, training was not optional anymore for me. My life depended on it due to serious medical issues. There was no choices. I simply had to train 4-5 days a week. Then success came and it dawn on me why it was different this time. It was because I apply the same dedication level that one apply to your job to my training and diet regime. No “optional” anymore, no excuses. This is the mindset that must happen. Only when part I and part II become part of your aims and mindset, will there be success. Otherwise chances are very high for failure.

Let this sink in. It comes from someone who has failed many times and then one-day it all changed. Learn from this and make the dreams that dance in your head reality!

Happy training!

Gert Louw

GertLouw54Small

Tags: Bodybuilding, cardio, dedication, diet, fit, fitness, healh, healthy, Injury, Job, lifestyle, nutrition, persistance, ripped, shredded, transform, transformation, work

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Firing up your metabolism

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet — 2 Comments

September 1, 2017

Most of us know that the key to controlling fat-loss lies in our bodies metabolic rate.

Now as already proven by science there are quite a few things we can do to manipulate the metabolic rate of our bodies. And by applying all these WILL have a massive impact on our fat-loss journeys to obtain ripped physiques’.

Click here to watch video “FIRING UP YOUR METABOLISM”

But one thing stands apart from all these. There is one thing we can do that head and shoulders stands above the rest to elevate your metabolic tempo of the body.

Before I name this golden trick, let me take you back a bit.

When we eat a meal our digestive system is activated for 2-3 hours to process the food. This has been scientifically proven to be a very high energy requirement process. So for 2-3 hours after eating a meal (small or big) the body will have a significant raised metabolic rate.

For those that eat 1 large meal a day, it means their metabolic rate is raised for a max 3 hours per day

Those eating 2 biggish meals a day has raised metabolic rates of maximum 6 hours per day.

However those that divide the same amount of food into 5-7 small meals a day will have a raised metabolic rate for about 15 hours and longer per day spanning well into sleeping time. They will eat the same amount of food but just in much smaller meal portions and they will have a significant raised metabolic rate for the major part of a 24 hour cycle. This will have a dramatic impact on fat-loss efforts.

Sure this will result in insulin spiking much more frequently…but insulin spiking is not at all that bad. Insulin is the most potent muscle-building hormone in the body by far and this eating habit will result in a huge advantage to increase muscle size when combined with resistance training.

WANT A HOLISTIC TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM FULLY CUSTOMIZED? The program I am following for the past 6 years (age 46 to 52), available now fully customised on all levels. Every little secret, every hard-earned practical fact, every scientific study that actually support the (very) few supplements between all the thousand ridiculous advertisement claims have been filtered en incorporated into one system that MAKES A DIFFERENCE click here:

https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

But what about the fat gaining aspects of regular insulin spiking? Well, the benefits of a raised metabolic rate by consuming small frequent meals by far offset the negative aspects of spiking insulin multiple times during the day and on top of this the muscle-building benefits of the insulin spiking further add significant benefits to body shape, muscle size and achieving fat-loss.

The bottom line is – when in search for a great looking body, a small frequent meal system can have a drastic positive impact.

But this is not all you can do to fire up the metabolism…look at the following tricks that can further be applied in an effort to raise the bodies metabolic tempo:

TEN Easy Ways to Boost Your Metabolism (Backed by Science)

Metabolism is the term for all the chemical reactions in your body.

These chemical reactions keep your body alive and functioning.

However, the word metabolism is often used interchangeably with metabolic rate, or the amount of calories you burn.

The higher it is, the more calories you burn and the easier it is to lose weight and keep it off.

Having a high metabolism can also give you energy and make you feel better.

Here are 10 easy ways to increase your metabolism.

1. Eat Plenty of Protein at Every Meal

Eating food can increase your metabolism for a few hours.

This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). It’s caused by the extra calories required to digest, absorb and process the nutrients in your meal.

Protein causes the largest rise in TEF. It increases your metabolic rate by 15–30%, compared to 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fats.

Eating protein has also been shown to help you feel more full and prevent you from overeating.

One small study found that people were likely to eat around 441 fewer calories per day when protein made up 30% of their diet.

Eating more protein can also reduce the drop in metabolism often associated with losing fat. This is because it helps prevent you from losing muscle, a common side effect of dieting.

BOTTOM LINE:Eating more protein can boost your metabolism so that you burn more calories. It can also help you eat less.

2. Drink More Cold Water

People who drink water instead of sugary drinks are more successful at losing weight and keeping it off.

This is because sugary drinks contain calories, so replacing them with water automatically reduces your calorie intake.

However, drinking water may also speed up your metabolism temporarily.

Studies have shown that drinking 17 oz (0.5 liters) of water increases resting metabolism by 10–30% for about an hour.

This calorie-burning effect may be even greater if you drink cold water, as your body uses energy to heat it up to body temperature.

Water can also help fill you up. Studies show that drinking water a half an hour before you eat can help you eat less.

One study of overweight adults found that those who drank half a liter of water before their meals lost 44% more weight than those who didn’t.

BOTTOM LINE:Water can help you lose weight and keep it off. It increases your metabolism and helps fill you up before meals.

3. Do a High-Intensity Workout

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves quick and very intense bursts of activity.

It can help you burn more fat by increasing your metabolic rate, even after your workout has finished.

This effect is believed to be greater for HIIT than for other types of exercise. What’s more, HIIT has also been shown to help you burn fat.

One study in overweight young men found that 12 weeks of high-intensity exercise reduced fat mass by 4.4 lbs (2 kg) and belly fat by 17%.

BOTTOM LINE:Mixing up your exercise routine, and adding in a few high-intensity workouts, can boost your metabolism and help you burn fat.

4. Lift Heavy Things

Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, and building muscle can help increase your metabolism.

This means you will burn more calories each day, even at rest.

Lifting weights will also help you retain muscle and combat the drop in metabolism that can occur during weight loss.

In one study, 48 overweight women were placed on a diet of 800 calories per day, along with either no exercise, aerobic exercise or resistance training.

After the diet, the women who did the resistance training maintained their muscle mass, metabolism and strength. The others lost weight, but also lost muscle mass and experienced a decrease in metabolism.

BOTTOM LINE:Lifting weights is important for building and retaining muscle. Higher amounts of muscle will result in a higher metabolism.

5. Stand up More

Sitting too much is bad for your health.

Some health commentators have even dubbed it “the new smoking.” This is partly because long periods of sitting burn fewer calories and can lead to weight gain.

In fact, compared with sitting, an afternoon of standing up at work can burn an extra 174 calories. If you have a desk job, try standing up for short periods to break up the length of time you spend sitting down. You can also invest in a standing desk.

BOTTOM LINE:Sitting for a long time burns few calories and is bad for your health. Try to stand up regularly or invest in a standing desk.

6. Drink Green Tea or Oolong Tea

Green tea and oolong tea have been shown to increase metabolism by 4–5%.

These teas help convert some of the fat stored in your body into free fatty acids, which may increase fat burning by 10–17%.

As they are low in calories, drinking these teas may be good for both weight loss and weight maintenance.

It’s thought their metabolism-boosting properties may help prevent the dreaded weight loss plateau that occurs due to a decrease in metabolism.

However, some studies find that these teas do not affect metabolism. Therefore, their effect may be small or only apply to some people.

BOTTOM LINE:Drinking green tea or oolong tea can increase your metabolism. These teas may also help you lose weight and keep it off.

7. Eat Spicy Foods

Peppers contain capsaicin, a substance that can boost your metabolism.

However, many people can’t tolerate these spices at the doses required to have a significant effect.

One study of capsaicin, at acceptable doses, predicted that eating peppers would burn around 10 additional calories per meal. Over 6.5 years, this could account for 1 lb (0.5 kg) of weight loss for an average-weight male.

Alone, the effects of adding spices to your food may be quite small. However, it may be slightly useful when combined with other metabolism-boosting strategies.

BOTTOM LINE:Eating spicy food could be beneficial for boosting your metabolism and help you maintain a healthy weight.

8. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Lack of sleep is linked to a major increase in the risk of obesity.

This may partly be caused by the negative effects of sleep deprivation on metabolism.

Lack of sleep has also been linked with increased blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, which are both linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

It’s also been shown to boost the hunger hormone ghrelin, and decrease the fullness hormone.

This could explain why many people who are sleep deprived feel hungry and struggle to lose weight.

BOTTOM LINE:Lack of sleep can decrease the amount of calories you burn, change the way you process sugar and disrupt your appetite-regulating hormones.

9. Drink Coffee

Studies have shown that the caffeine in coffee can boost metabolism by 3–11%. Like green tea, it also promotes fat burning.

However, this seems to affect lean people more. In one study, coffee increased fat burning by 29% for lean women, but only 10% for obese women.

Coffee’s effects on metabolism and fat burning may also contribute to successful weight loss and maintenance.

BOTTOM LINE:Drinking coffee can significantly increase your metabolism and help you lose weight.

10. Replace Cooking Fats with Coconut Oil

Unlike other saturated fats, coconut oil contains a lot of medium-chain fats.

Medium-chain fats can increase your metabolism more than the long-chain fats found in foods like.

In one study, researchers found that medium-chain fats increased metabolism by 12%, compared to long-chain fats, which raised it by just 4%.

Due to the unique fatty acid profile of coconut oil, replacing some of your other cooking fats with it may have modest benefits for weight loss.

BOTTOM LINE:Replacing other cooking fats with coconut oil may help boost your metabolism slightly.

Take Home Message

Making small lifestyle changes and incorporating these tips into your routine can increase your metabolism.

Having a higher metabolism can help you lose weight and keep it off, while giving you more energy.

Other ways to manipulate metabolism

“I have a fast metabolism; I can eat and eat and stay skinny.” Most of us have heard someone say this, and a majority of us have responded with annoyance and envy. But what is metabolism, and can we make ours run a bit faster? Taylor Newhouse, a registered dietitian with the Texas A&M School of Public Health, helps break down what you should know about your metabolism.

What is metabolism?

Your metabolism isn’t just what keeps your bragging friend lean, it’s the constant process that your body is using to keep everything functioning. Your metabolism is always running, even when you’re sleeping.

“Your metabolism is kind of the engine that keeps your body going,” Newhouse said. “It’s the drive that allows your body to utilize the food and nutrients you put into it.”

Some people do have faster metabolism than others, and that is the work of genetics and someone’s lifestyle. Although there’s nothing you can do about your genetics, there are ways to impact the lifestyle side and give your metabolism a boost to keep it running in high gear.

How can you improve your metabolism?

Because the metabolism’s base rate is set by genetics, there’s no quick way to rev it up; it cannot be changed without making some long-term lifestyle changes.

“We can manipulate our metabolism to a degree,” Newhouse said. “It’s like a campfire: just like we need to give a fire tinder and pieces of wood in order to keep it from slowing down and burning out, we need to fuel our metabolism as well.”

If you’re looking to boost your metabolism, then there are a few changes you can make throughout the day. Working out, hydrating and eating right can help with your overall health, but there are also specific habits you can foster in order to give it a boost.

“Eating your leafy vegetables and working out can definitely help your metabolism,” Newhouse said. “Muscle burns more energy than fat, so lifting weights or anything else that builds muscle — along with eating correctly — can play a large role in how our body processes nutrients.”

Apart from getting in more muscle-building workouts and eating better, another important habit to kick your metabolism into gear is not ignoring the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

“People tend to overlook how important breakfast is,” Newhouse said. “We go all night without food, and our body can approach a fasting state, an episode where our body will withhold calories, if we wait too long to eat after waking up.”

What can slow your metabolism?

If it’s possible to speed up your metabolism, then it’s equally possible — and far easier — to slow it down. There are many habits that are easy to fall into that can make your metabolism run at a slower pace. One of these happens in the late hours of night, and involves what you’re not doing: getting enough shut-eye.

Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest epidemics in American society, with more than one-third of adults getting less than the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Sleep is not only crucial for your metabolism, but skimping on sleep can also lead to long-term conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

“Sleep is one of the biggest factors that people seem to forget about,” Newhouse said. “Even if someone eats well and exercises, if they don’t get adequate sleep, then their metabolism won’t run as efficiently.”

Although snacks often have a bad reputation for being unhealthy, they are very important to keep you fueled and nourish your body throughout the day. Snacks should have some protein, fiber and carbohydrates and should not have too much salt or sodium.

“Eating snacks won’t slow down your metabolism if you’re eating the right foods,” Newhouse said. “Healthy snacks — such as nuts, fruit or vegetables — have the nutrients to slow the rate of digestion, keep you feeling fuller longer and keep your body working to process the nutrients.”

Stress can also indirectly lead to problems with your metabolism. People with high amounts of cortisol, a stress hormone, tend to be overweight, and being overweight can slow your metabolism. Lowering your cortisol levels can start a chain-reaction that can help your metabolism run more efficiently.

What does your metabolism do over time?

Believe it or not, metabolism — just like the rest of our body — goes through the aging process. As your metabolism slows, your continuous diet and exercise choices become more important.

While the cause for this is unclear, women entering menopause will experience a slower metabolism and can find it more difficult to stay at a healthy weight, which makes diet and exercise vital to healthy aging.

“Nothing changes overnight,” Newhouse said. “It’s a matter of making the small choices that can add up to try and negate the effects that are naturally slowing down your metabolism.”

If you’re worried about how your metabolism is affecting your lifestyle, contact your health care provider or sit down with a registered dietician to set up a plan for a healthier daily life.

So everyone, fire-up that metabolism and train hard!

Cheers…

Gert Louw

Gert METABOLISM

reference

http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-ways-to-boost-metabolism#section1
Texas A&M University. “Metabolism: What is it and can it be controlled?.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 October 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161019154842.htm>.

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August 23, 2017

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To all my friends, followers and subscribers…DUDE TALK is a video series where I chat about guy stuff and anything and everything, interacting with my website, Facebook and YouTube friends and followers. So if there is anything (fitness or otherwise) that you want me to chat about, just leave a comment and I will cover it in an upcoming video. If you want your name and photo included in the video (as reference to who posted the topic) just add your pic in the comment or email to me (gertlouwljc@hotmail.com) and you will featured in the video.

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PROBLEMATIC training frequencies:

Optimal MAINTENANCE training frequency:

Optimal training frequency for MUSCLE GROWTH:

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NUMBER ONE – Accept that there is no magic pill!

NUMBER TWO – Accept that many roads lead to Rome.

NUMBER THREE – does your mentor have a moral center?

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First level of attack.

Second level of attack.

Third level of attack.

BLUE PILL REPLACEMENT STACK

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TRAINING

LIFESTYLE

EATING

SUPPLEMENTS (natural)

MEDICATION

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First let’s look at the reason for your off-time from training

Now the next step

So let’s look at how to determine if your body is at all fit/healthy enough to resume training

Slowly start training

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The same following rules apply to both diets:

For the CUTTING DIET you do it as follows:

For the BUILDING DIET you do it as follows:

THE CUTTING DIET

THE BUILDING DIET

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PART I – Stop with the shallow and superficial aims and reasons to transform the body!

PART II – Training time is NOT optional!

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Most of us know that the key to controlling fat-loss lies in our bodies metabolic rate.

TEN Easy Ways to Boost Your Metabolism (Backed by Science)

1. Eat Plenty of Protein at Every Meal

2. Drink More Cold Water

3. Do a High-Intensity Workout

5. Stand up More

6. Drink Green Tea or Oolong Tea

7. Eat Spicy Foods

8. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

9. Drink Coffee

10. Replace Cooking Fats with Coconut Oil

Take Home Message

Other ways to manipulate metabolism

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