Tag Archive: gertfitness


Motivation to continue on your path.

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 4 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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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:

GertLouw30Small

TRAINING

  1. 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.
  2. Consider training lighter for a 6-month to a year period if you struggle with a serious tendon/joint issue.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.)
  5. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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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Alkaline-2.png

SUPPLEMENTS (natural)

  1. 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.]
  2. 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]
  3. The 3rd 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. 250-raw-cbdAfter 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

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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

 

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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:

  1. NEVER exceed your daily calories.
  2. 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.
  3. 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. before-and-after-dec2016Every 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 1cd 2cd 3

THE BUILDING DIET

bd 1bd 2bd 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

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Confusing bodybuilding terms for newbies!

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, BB Training & Exercises — 2 Comments
March 17, 2017

Click here to watch video “Confusing bodybuilding terms for novices”

 

Quite a few of my followers have requested that I must clarify some of the basic training terms I refer too in my videos. I can fully understand their confusion. Some of them has never seen the inside of the gym. After watching some of my videos they are so inspired and then want to embark on this new adventure but alas everything is soooo confusing! It is similar when a nuclear physicist is trying to explain cold fusion in the most basic terms, but you still have no clue as to what he/she is talking about because you do not grasp the meaning of the most basic terms.

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So although many of you will find this boring, let me lay the ground work and give some clarification for those newbies to the basic training terms I refer to in my videos.

Ok, let start at the big term: “training program”. This refers to the training aspect and does not include nutrition or supplements. It refers to everything where muscles are involved while you exercise.

By the way, I support a 4 or 5 day workout schedule.

Workout is the specific routine you will be following on a specific day.

There are total body workouts, which refers to a workout where all muscles groups are trained/exercised during a single session.

Then there are more goal orientated split routine workouts where one only focusses on 2-3 muscle groups per training session/day – this is the kind of training I support.

You will hear I talk a lot about sets and reps.

Reps are the time it takes to lift a weight to the maximum position and dropping it back to the original starting position. This will be a single rep. If you lift and drop the weight 8 times, that will be 8 reps performed.

concerntration curl

Sets are slightly more complicated. This is a method of grouping the reps together for a specific goal. For example if one wants to build muscle you will typically group the reps in sets of 8 (and reach muscle failure on the last rep). When you want to lose body fat one typically group the reps together with more reps, about 15 in a set (and just stop short of complete muscle failure).

Muscle failure is the point where one cannot perform another rep with the weight, meaning the muscle is literally failing.

Between sets one typically rest long enough to allow the muscles to recover enough to be able to do the next set effectively. This is usually 2-3 min but when one really training very heavy this might be slightly longer.

A muscle group refers to a single muscle like biceps for example. For effectivity one strings 2-3 logical muscle groups together in a training session. (For example: Pecs, Biceps and abs)

Warm ups is the process by which one perform light exercises before the training session to get the blood flowing and make sure the target muscles are sufficiently warmed up before you start training intensely.

Stretching is the process after each set which you use to lightly stretch the muscle which was just trained.

You will hear I will also refer to training concepts and things like supersets.

Training concepts is any activity that you add to your training session to perform your normal reps and sets in a different fashion to stimulate the muscle for growth.

The way the body works is that anything that become repetitive over time stop stimulating the muscles for a response. The muscles learn to handle that type of training/attack without further increasing in shape or size.

So training need always be fresh and changing to allow for effective muscle stimulation.

A training concept I regularly refer to is supersets. That is where you string two different muscle group’s sets together without resting in between. You only do this for 2 sets at a time. It is good tool to help burn more body fat and stimulate muscles for growth.

Dumbbells refers to the weights showing on the screen now.

Dumbbells

This is how a EZ barbell look.

EZ bar

Then one also get barbells with straight bars.

barbell

This is a flat bench.

flat bench

This is an incline bench.

Incline Bench.png

This is a seated bench.

seated bench.jpg

This is an exercise ball.

exercise ball

When I talk about technique, I refer to the specific way and form in which one performs an exercise or lift a weight.

I also regularly refer to Cutting Phase and Building Phase. Cutting phase is the process by which one train and diet with the focus on preserving muscles mass while losing body fat. Building Phase is the process and diet which focus on building muscles with adding a little more body fat to allow the body to build muscles effectively.

Lastly, you will hear I refer to health supplements and bodybuilding supplements.

Health supplements is anything (like a multi vit) you take to ensure optimal health. Bodybuilding supplements is something one takes in a specific way and timeframe to assist the body with certain aspects of the bodybuilding process (could be fat loss, muscle building, tissue repair, etc…)

 

Hope this give some better understanding for those newbie’s that want to start the great adventure.

 

WANT SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED & FULLY CUSTOMIZED?  The program I am following for the past 6 years (age 46 to 52), available now fully customised on all levels, just for you. 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/

 

Wish you all happy training!
Gert Louw

http://www.gertlouw.com

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Incredible LIFE inspiration at age 52

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 4 Comments
September 3, 2016

Hi guys and girls, Gert Louw from Cape Town.

Every year just after my birthday it is sort of a tradition for me to do a flexing and inspirational video.

This year it was my 52nd birthday.

So here is the video just after my birthday:

Click here to view video “Life INSPIRATION at age 52”

 

With this video I want to inspire a little.

Neither your age, nor your health should ever (!) stand in your way.

Now, most of you know by now that 12 years ago I nearly died and doctors did not give me any good news. But with faith I moved forward and apply healthy living on all levels and also did some house cleaning and moving closer to God ( I am a follower of Jesus Christ).

Obviously it was a long and hard road and the body took long to respond to this healthy living but the wheel did turn and it is keeping on turning as a result.

Now, I am not naïve in thinking everyone with serious health issues can and will turn around like I did, but what I do believe is that with faith in God and by living very healthy, one CAN make a huge difference. Obviously you need your doctor’s approval to embark on such a journey.

But, let me share with you the core of my healthy living

Gert Louw face2

 

My training program is as follows:

  • Mondays – Chest, Biceps and abs
  • Tuesdays – Shoulders, Traps and calves
  • Wednesdays – rest
  • Thursdays – Back, triceps and abs
  • Fridays – Legs, upper pecs and calves
  • Saturdays & Sundays – rest

 

My supplement regime

Health supplements:

  • ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid)
  • CQ10 (Co Enzyme Q10)
  • Omega 3+6
  • Strong Multi Vitamin
  • Slow release Vit C

Muscle building supplements:

  • Whey protein powder
  • L-Glutamine
  • BCAA

 

How do I structure my training?

I do a 3-months Cutting phase with a very specific cutting phase diet and training with lighter weights at a higher rep range followed by 1 week rest and then a 3-month building phase with a very specific building phase diet and training with heavier weights to absolute muscle failure at lower reps (about 8 reps per set) followed by 1 week rest and the repeat.

This allow me to build muscle but also to recover the strained tendons and joints.

 

About my diets

I make use of one of the top fitness nutritionists in the field (BERNADETTE BEYER) to work out my diets for each phase according to my bodytype and goals. This is the crucial part of your success and without a very focussed diet there will be no success.

My blog contains a LOT of info for free that can help you through all these processes.

But for those interested, I also offer my exact training/supplem and diet system via the ADVANCED SYSTEM II (option E). The same nutritionist I use will also work out your diet solution and I myself attend to working out your training and supplement attack based. If you want to signup, just choose option E via the following link: https://gertlouw.com/contact-me

Now, everyone…happy training!

Cheers

Gert Louw

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Cheat and still win with your diet

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, Be MOTIVATED! — 2 Comments
June 8, 2016

Cheat and still win with your diet!

Click here to view video “CHEAT & STILL WIN WITH YOUR DIET“

Now this is probably what everyone wants to hear – lol! BUT, the truth is, there are methods to cheat and still get to the top!

Life is not meant to be without a dessert once on a while…and I am talking Baked Chocolate Fondant with oozing real sweet chocolate out if it’s center with ice cream (real ! ice cream) liberally used. The same goes for the odd glass of wine/whiskey or beer or whatever blows your skirt up, even a chocolate!

A certain balance needs to be applied to stay sane with anything in life. I’ve just done a 3 weeks severe cutting diet, sticking 100% to it…and, it’s was hell! The more you are going to disallow yourself a treat once in a while, the bigger the chance that your diet will fail completely in the end. You would just say…”I had enough”. And you know what? I have big compassion for that…so let’s have a look here how (!) you can cheat regularly without crashing your diet and keep yourself sane and focused to stick 98% to your diet.

Sundays to Fridays – sorry that (!) is where you stick 100% to your diet.

Get yourself some sugarless, carb less, fat free sweets. Do some searching and buy those that have as little calories as possible…like below 10! Then during the Sunday to Friday period…pop a few (3-4) of those during the day when you feel the urge to treat yourself a bit. Apart from that – nothing else.

The key is always to eat all your regular meals and drink all your water (2L-4L)…THAT is what keeps you full and keep the urges to eat wrong away.

Obviously, if you are at your target body fat then some different rules apply. Then you are allowed 2 -3 cheats evenly spaced out during the week. But for this documents purpose, let’s assume we are dealing with all those that are still far from the target body fat levels.

Your cheat should be left for a weekend day…when you are less stressed, more relaxed and doing something you like. This cheat will go to great lengths to make you not feeling deprived of some great things and food in life. Even if you don’t feel like a cheat, maybe it is a good idea…simply to help you stay balanced and not feeling deprived later on in the week.

Gert Louw LEGS CB

Now, “HOW?” should you cheat?

There can only be one cheat and that cheat can only be once per day per week on just 1 day of the week!

First you eat the diet as normal for that day as specified.

Let’s look at the next cheat scenario’s:

1.       Ice Cream cheat / Soft drink / dessert cheat / potato crisps – once anytime during day. Then for 2 of your meals for the day cut out carbs completely. One small meals carbs and one larger meals carbs.

2.       Chocolate cheat 150g – anytime during day. The same as above:  For 2 of your meals for the day cut out carbs completely. One small meals carbs and one larger meals carbs.

3.       Alcohol cheat (500ml equivalent wine) – anytime during day. Usually late afternoon or evening you will use this cheat. So for the evening meal cut out carbs completely and ONLY clean fatless meat and salad…no sauces, no carbs, nothing else! And definitely no dessert. If you want dessert, then no wine! One or the other… [Note: be very careful with alcohol. It is the key reason why men, especially older men, struggle to loose fat around the tummy and have a bloated look to the tummy. Best is to cut alcohol COMPLETELY out and have other types of cheats.]

 

Remember that with any of the above cheats it will set you back 24 to 48 hours before your body reverted to the level before you cheated and only then will it be able to start losing fat again. So even though you have cheated it is STILL very much possible to loose fat for the week, but only within above rules.

 

I strongly believe that the only winning approach is a balanced approach. That keeps you focused and you feel like “life” is not deprived of you. Part of this balance is to cheat on a weekly basis with your diet by applying above wisdom!

 

Wish you all happy dieting and a great training week!
Gert Louw

http://www.gertlouw.com

Gert Louw green small

 

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Transforming your body STEP-BY-STEP

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet, BB Training & Exercises, Be MOTIVATED! — 7 Comments
May 26, 2016

In all my coaching systems and many articles on my site, I regularly refer to the process of transforming into a wow physique by “climbing a ladder step by step”.

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Here I want to explain as to WHAT exactly I mean by that.

Now, many people think they are starting to climb the ladder and start transforming, and they actually start doing rather great, but then stuff starts happening…things like: getting sick regularly, tendon/joint injury or other serious injury or they lose hope because they just cannot put on muscle no matter how hard they train and some just cannot lose fat no matter how hard they diet.

This is when the train stops and they get off the ladder.

Not because it was not possible but because they LACK knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE in terms off:

  1. You CANNOT lose fat if the calories are too low…then your body enters famine mode and you WILL lose all your hard earned muscle first before it uses the fat – no matter how HARD you train! There is a sweet spot with calories where the body use fat for energy and keep muscles safe. You need to find it. (In my SYSTEMS I and II this is covered).
  2. You CANNOT build muscle if: caloric intake too low, body fat too low or you do too much cardio!
  3. You WILL get sick regularly if you continue pounding your body week after week, month after month, in the wrong fashion and you do not use certain basic health supporting supplements.
  4. You WILL run into serious tendon and joint issues if you do not alternate every 3 months between BUILDING and CUTTING phases to allow healing and strengthening.

All of these are covered in detail in my COACHING SYSTEMS (https://gertlouw.com/contact-me), but the bottom line which brings all these together are a continuous alternating between a 3 month CUTTING PHASE and a 3 monthly BUILDING phase.

Each Phase has its own specific training methodology and specific type diet.

The two phases are vastly different and by continuously alternating between them, you allow your body every 3 months to go through a process off:

  1. Loosing max fat while protecting muscles in Cutting Phase.
  2. Building max muscle at slightly higher body fat levels in the Building Phase.
  3. Allowing your body to be fed correctly for your exact goal and training methodology for each phase.
  4. Allowing tendons and joints to strengthen and recover regularly in Cutting Phase.
  5. Allowing the body a balanced and healthy approach preventing sickness and injury by not overtraining and stressing the body and immune system.

These 2 phases hold the KEY to climbing the ladder. One step on the ladder = 1 BP (Building phase) + 1 CP (Cutting Phase). After each step you will be able to see a significant difference in shape and size. THIS is how you climb up the ladder.

Look at the following graph showing the BODY FAT variation during the phases

This is what your body fat will do when sticking to my SYSTEM I or II training that incorporates these principles (BP = Building Phase, CP = Cutting Phase):

Climing the ladder BODYFAT

Every BP1 + CP1 covers a 6 month period. At the end of each of the cutting phases your body fat is lower and lower till typically after a 3 year period you reach crazy levels like 5% body fat.

 

Let’s look what your muscle size will do when alternating between the phases:

Climing the ladder MUSCLE MASS

At the end of each of the cutting phases your body weight is higher than after the previous cutting phase. That COUPLED with the fact that the body fat is lower after each Cutting Phase compared to the previous cutting phase makes a HUGE difference on how the body looks and the amount of lean mass you are carrying.

THIS (!) is how you climb the ladder…not after one cutting phase or one building phase but after various of these phases. Stopping with the process simply mean you stop climbing the ladder.

Simply put – After each Building Phase your muscle weight is higher at lower body fat levels, and during the Cutting Phase you show your results, keeping that muscles safe and dropping the body fat on each Cutting Phase lower and lower than in the previous Cutting Phases until after a few years you look back and say…”WOW!”

Wish you all happy training!

Cheers – Gert Louw

gert louw B&A

 

 

 

 

 

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Sickness, injuries and gym off-time

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 8 Comments
May 5, 2016

This is where a LOT of dedicated people get derailed completely! They get sick or injured and well, that is where their road to transforming the body stops…dead in it’s tracks. Until that point they are so motivated and charged up and then that happens…and the de-motivation is just too much. They just never get it off the ground again afterwards.

Right now, I am down from gym with kidney infection and this will keep me out of gym for close to 7 days. But after the 7 days off, I’ll be back doing one week light work and then all back to normal.

Not ONE of us are spared sickness or injuries. Now, injuries we can manage better especially with applying more wisdom as we get older (warming-up, stretching and simply avoiding high risk exercises for injury). But sickness is difficult to prevent. Sure we can apply the basics (anti-oxidants, multi-vit, CQ10 and ALA) and wash our hands regularly with anti-bacterial soap/spray, but even with that, chances are we will still get flu in the winter and still get the odd infection.

It is not a matter of preventing sickness and injuries but a matter of accepting that they form part of the training/body transformation environment as a given. You WILL get sick and you WILL get injured. But that must never (!) derail your efforts. Accept that it will push you back one to two weeks. Do not allow yourself to get negative about it, it is PART of the whole process and those with a winning mindset accepts that!

Now, what is even more important is that after a week of sickness, be careful to go in full force back to gym. Your body is still weak and in a process of recovery. Your immune system not nearly back to normal. Pushing yourself to the limits the first week back can and most probably will result in a recurrence of the sickness even to a worse degree putting you out gym for 3 weeks or more. That first week back after being sick make sure you do not do more than 50% your normal capacity. Go through all the motions and exercises but keep the exertion levels low.

Then the 2nd week back in training you will find you feel yourself again. That is where you start pushing the limits again.

A KEY ingredient of the winning mindset is to force yourself to stick 100% to your diet while sick or injured. Doing this will go great lengths to keep the motivation levels high! This is NOT the time to binge or eat what you want. This is the CRITICAL time to feed the body correctly. Sometimes I experienced when going back after a week sick I actually am in better shape than before, simply because of the control I had with my diet and my body that actually had a well deserved break!

Now, my timing for my kidney infection is real bad because 21st May I got a photoshoot coming up. But that is where all your hard work you have put in over the previous months and years will show the dividends…

Wish you all good health and injury free training!

Gert Louw

http://www.gertlouw.com

Gert Louw INJURY

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Vacation flexing!

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — Leave a comment
April 4, 2016

I had a 10 day rest with wife and kid. Few months then I am hitting 52.

So while rested and relaxed I just always seems to have the urge to flex the hard earned muscles a bit!

We (me, wife and kid) visited all the local quaint little towns and wine farms – Hermanus, Struisbaai, Agulhas, Napier, Standford, Bredasdorp, Arniston, etc…

On my last day I did a short flexing video while we were eating out at one of the restaurants on a wine farm – dicy move, because I took it in the public restroom of the restaurant (thus while I kept my sunglasses on!).

During the holiday after 1o days of no training, binging and eating just what I wanted. Picked up about 2kg body fat.

In fear of being busted while doing the video in the restroom (which would not have been nice, actually real bad!), I finished up as quickly as possible – so it is a short vid!

Click here to watch video “Restroom muscle flexing”

 

Here are a couple of photos while on holiday:

Now for the next 3 weeks I am preparing for photoshoot and get body fat levels down with at least 1.5% – 2%. No wine, no binging…sticking perfectly to diet!

Wish you all happy training!

Cheers

Gert Louw

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Acquiring the winning mindset to transform your body.

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 6 Comments
March 31, 2016

 

Click here to watch video “How to get a winning mindset for a WOW transformation?”

Nearly all of us have this dream to be the best we can be. Too have a great, ripped, muscled physique that impresses and exudes health, wealth and happiness. We seemed to have been programmed with this urge and I believe that to be true…we are created in the image of God.

But back to reality, life is difficult. Work, school, studying, marriage, family, kids, meetings and a rat race trying to stay ahead and on top.

I have a blueprint transformation system developed to create the environment for growth and fat loss…have a look here:  https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

We easily make decisions at the beginning of a new year or after being inspired by someone to reach for that dream body we so much want.

And sure, that is the first and most important step each of us have to take on the road to success BUT, and this is a very big BUT, 99% of those taking this first step have not acquired and mastered the mindset that needs to be in place to push through to reach goal and beyond.

Gert Louw AGULHAS

Let’s look at important aspects of this mindset that must be in place before the journey starts:

 

IT WILL HURT

Do not think for one moment reaching a dream body is without pain. LIFE IS PAIN! You will never ever be in a situation where you will not experience some form of physical or emotional/other pain. Being alive, means that you WILL experience pain. The whole idea is to minimize, control and use this pain to your advantage. To reach your dream physique you will be working out intensely. This will cause muscle pain and resultant muscle growth. Learn to LOVE this pain…this is a signal that you are stimulating your body for growth. There might be injury on your path. This is part of any sport environment. Learn to work around it and do NOT let it derail your efforts. For example: When you have a knee injury, nothing stops you from concentrating on the upper body workouts until it is healed. Even with back injuries under guidance you can still workout safely.

 

IT WILL TAKE TIME

The Hollywood and Western Culture has programmed us to want immediate results and satisfaction. Get that out of your mind very quickly. That is the single biggest reason why people do not push through. We want it and we want it now and if it does not happen within a month or two then why bother. I got one thing to tell you – “NOTHING, BUT NOTHING IN LIFE THAT IS REALLY WORTH IT COMES EASY.” Accept that. A dream body is not designed in months , not even in years for some. It took me 11 years to get to the best shape of my life. Month after month there are small differences and they add up to significant differences on yearly basis and wow differences every few years. You cannot get to the top of a ladder without climbing the steps…only by going up step by step do you get to the top. Sure there are shortcuts people try to take but nothing this side of anabolic steroids can and ever will produce magic results (even with anabolics it takes time and a very focused approach and is NOT an overnight process!). Do NOT believe marketing advertising of supplements. 99% of what is printed and claimed is complete and utter lies.

 

IT WILL REQUIRE DEDICATION

There is no easy way to say this…You will need to be at gym 4-5 days a week, you will need to motivate yourself for intense workouts (and learn to love it!), you will need to make extreme effort with your diet preparing the food the day before, you will need to have 100% dedication to your supplement regime. This is what it will take.

 

YOU WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE

Right now you are probably hanging out with your mates every evening. In future you will have to cut social time to the bare minimum. Your time and focus will now be in a new environment. You need to brace yourself for a total lifestyle change – friends, socializing, eating habits, time spend and more.

Having family requirements make it more challenging but not impossible. In fact your life partner and kids will see the changes and your dedication and that will instill in them even greater respect for you. You will lead now by example and what you are showing them is the best possible example a father can show to his children…that if you want something badly in life, you have to put in the effort and dedication to get there, you will show them everything worth something in life comes with great effort and dedication.

Many people also ask me how I bring my faith in Jesus and my fitness lifestyle together. They see a good looking shredded, muscled guy and struggle to bring faith and this lifestyle in the same environment. I find it very easy and actually find that my dedication to the fitness lifestyle brings me closer to God because it teaches me dedication and discipline. For me Jesus Christ is in the center of everything I do. I never cut Him out of anything and I am not shy to give Him the credit for what I’ve reached. Even before I sometimes do a heavy set…I will quickly close my eyes for strength from my Lord. I don’t care what people say or think around me…I am not doing this for them…I am doing this for me.

 

THERE WILL BE TEMPTATION

Be under no misconception…there will be many reasons for giving up. This is the exact reason why so few reach success. You will be hungry, you will miss out on drink dates with friends, you might even have to change friends, your body will ache and pain and there will be days that you feel drained and without focus. Those are the days that you just have to PUSH THROUGH and JUST DO IT. Just get yourself to gym and just do what you need to do. Steer clear from foods that tempt you. Do NOT keep those foods in your house. Temptation is what will separate the men from the boys.

Never use work-pressure or deadlines as an excuse. You HAVE to find your solutions around that. If it means early morning or late evening training, so be it. NEVER use the excuse “but I cannot stick to the meals because I do not have time at work to eat.” It takes you 2 min to pour water in a shaker, put in the protein powder and shake and drink it…2 minutes, nothing more!

This especially is one of the key areas where I found my faith helps me a lot to stay focused.

 

The above is just some of the key areas for the right mindset, but I believe these are the most important.

Master them and you WILL reach success.

Success is within each of us but so is failure as well.

You have been given the ability to reach to the stars and be everything God ever meant you to be…DO NOT LET THIS WONDERFULL GIFT PASS YOU BY.

 

I wish you success on your journey.

Be blessed

Gert Louw

TRANSFORMATION COACHING – more info here:  https://gertlouw.com/contact-me/

Gert Louw COACHING

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The road to your dreams

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED! — 8 Comments
March 16, 2016

Gert Louw LIFE LIFE

Later on in life, many of us have so much regrets…about what we did not do, about what we wished we did, about what we did wrong, about the hurt we caused people close to us, about many things…
But this is the road we have walked and chosen. It was not laid out for us…no one forced us to walk the path, we made the choices and took the steps.

But why are there so many exceptions? Why are there so many people out there that go against all the odds and reach exceptional heights, living life to the fullest. People that had everything counting against them, sickness, disability, or whatever other aspect that could have hold them back in life. Why do they reach a point, where, no matter their disability, they choose to stand up, start walking the right tracks in life and live their life with integrity and passion. Why can they do it?

The fact is, they are NO different than any of us. Through their struggle (disability, sickness) the sunglasses that covered their eyes have been removed, they can now clearly see how precious and vulnerable life really is. They appreciate life soooo much more. This clear vision make them stand up and choose to walk the right paths in life, to make right with God, to reach for their dreams with passion and to life live…the right way. And they rose to such heights that they completely overshadow the rest of us who have everything going for us.

LEARN FROM THESE PEOPLE…

You, me and everyone have the power to change the road you are walking into a new direction. A direction where you live life right and with integrity…and be ALL you can be.
But, it most certainly will take you out of your comfort zone, it will be inconvenient and it will mean you will have to change from the inside as well as the outside, it might even be painful.
But only YOU can make this happen, no-one else is going to force you. So keep sitting on the couch, sipping the beer and live a “wild uncontrolled life” or reach for the stars and live life to the fullest – be all you can be – have no regrets at the end of your life – live a life of integrity and live with PASSION.

May this inspire you too great things…

Gert Louw

TRANSFORMATION COACHING: https://gertlouw.com/contact-me/

gert life

 

 

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Training for size with weak wrists

Filed under: BB Training & Exercises — Leave a comment
March 7, 2016

Although even some young bodybuilders struggle with weak wrists it is most frequently the domain of the over 40 lifter.

The wrist simply do not have the power and ability to support the weight being lifted anymore. This could become a huge problem for a person in quest for size, because the key ingredient for growth is through intense, heavy weight lifting regularly to the point of failure.

I am one such person that struggles with weak wrists. I simply cannot hold the size weight required to stimulate enough growth. But I am definitely not going to call it game over…I made plans. And it is MUCH easier than most people think.

The following video is rather crucial to watch to fully understand exactly what and how I am doing it.

Click here to view video “Training for size with weak wrists”

 

Let me try to explain:

  1. You must get a wrist supporting rubber grabbing “glove”, like the one showed in the video.
  2. To make sure that the part that folds over the wrist is secure and do not come loose while engaged in heavy lifting, duck tape must be used as per instruction in the video. (Tape it on both wrists securing the part that folds over.)
  3. With every (!) weight you lift (dumbbells & barbels, pullups, seated rows for back and especially shrugs) the rubber part of the glove must be wrapped around the weight where your hand would go and then your hand must go over the rubber part in the reverse position (see video for exact method).
  4. This would alleviate the pressure on the wrist easily by up to 80%.
  5. When performing bench presses use the overhand position with the thumb in the same direction as all the other fingers. Let the weight of the bar rests on the lower part of just the palm of your hand so that no pressure is applied on the wrist. Do not clasp the thumb the other way around the bar. This put undue pressure on the wrist.

The above sounds simple, but I guarantee you that it will enhance your ability GREATLY to lift serious weights again without hurting the wrists and put you straight back into growth territory.

This is the way I’ve been lifting for the last 5 years and now at close to 52 I am in the best shape of my life.

Hope this help guys…be wise and GROW!

 

Those interested in the online transformation coaching I provide – check here: https://gertlouw.com/contact-me/

 

Gert Louw

http://www.gertlouw.com

gert2b

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Walking by faith

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED!, SURVIVAL TIPS for Cancer/Fibromyalgia/HIV+ — 25 Comments
March 4, 2016

Walking by faith – Everyone knows by now there are a deeper side to me and a life altering back story.

But I have never really told my story about my walk in faith.

I am opening my heart here and I know there are risks…because the world is not always a good place to lay your heart bare. But this is the time to do it…my walk in faith has brought me to this point where I feel compelled to share.

So those that want to know about a story of pain, hope, miracles and LIFE, read on.

As many of you know, 11 years ago (at age 40) I was lying on my “deathbed” in hospital. At one point no blood pressure and heartbeat and ready to die. A brutal attack and mutilation left me with a broken soul and the will to live has left me, my heart was filled with darkness and pain which I could not carry anymore.

Me 2 months after hospital:

rotaste1

 

Then the unexpected happened. While I was lying in my hospital bed, weak and not expecting anything but death, I heard a voice, God’s voice. The voice was clear…”Gert, I am offering you life…I have a plan for you. You must choose…”

I cannot put in words that moment…I experienced an incredible beauty, softness, kindness, pureness,  holiness, love and I saw LIFE…and in that moment my life changed. I was heartbroken, I was weak and I spend a lot of time in conversation with God over the next few days lying in my bed. I was soooo close to choosing death…but this unexpected experience showed me LIFE and I made my choice.

Sure, before this I knew about God and I knew the Bible. But this changed my world. Suddenly God was not just in a book anymore but He was more real to me than this world around me. And for just that brief moment I felt the touch of God…and I was utterly overwhelmed and unprepared.

Two weeks in hospital and I was strong enough to leave. Prognosis not good…some doctors gave me a couple of years. But it was not in their hands, I chose life and God was in control.

I was a changed man…but, the pain and darkness in my heart of what happened was not over. The weakness I have, is that I put a lid on things and push it deep down, trying to bury it…never really dealing with it.

My walk in faith deepened over the next years.

Now at 51 I am a living miracle of God. The body is still broken. Kidneys functioning at 50%, struggling with my liver, and that is just the tip of the iceberg with my serious health problems. But that is insignificant for God…look at me…with my severe health issues and being expected to be long dead by now, God has turned this around to the extend that I am looking the healthiest and fittest I ever did in my life. For Him, NOTHING is impossible.  He is in control, not the doctors, not me, not medical science.

Me, today…4 months away from 52:

gert

 

Now this all sound incredible and it is, but my world was about to be rocked again. God knew that the pain and darkness that I am trying to bury needs to be addressed. Every now and then an event triggers the lid from coming off slightly and the pain and darkness boils over. And recently the Holy Spirit kicked off that lid for good. All that pain and darkness surfaced and there was no way I could put back the lid on again. The Holy Spirit do not mess around…that lid was gone!

I struggled to breath, it felt like my heart was tearing in two…I pleaded with the Holy Spirit to please ask God to come and take my life…I could not bear the pain, it was overwhelming. My power to push it down was gone.

 

But let me give you a glimpse into how incredible God works.

The Holy Spirit literally forced me to walk into a church I do not know the next day, and walk up to the first friendly face I see and tell him I need someone to pray with me, now (!)  and intercede on my behalf before God. Now anyone that knows me, will realize this is the worst thing anybody can ask me to do. I am a total introvert, sitting always quietly in the corner doing my own thing and NEVER EVER just walk up to people I don’t know, let alone in an environment total foreign to me. This was going against everything I am.

But instead of doing this, I wanted to die, because this darkness and pain was so intense and overwhelming that again I was at this crossroad point in my life where I had to choose between life and death. I had a young son who I adore and a beautiful loving wife and if it was not for them chances was I was going to choose the easy road out. I was breaking down in tears continuously…and I am NOT an emotional person!

So I DID IT! I just did it in total obedience. I went to the church the Holy Spirit indicated to me, my wife and son by my side. I walked up to the first friendly face I saw and I told him what the Holy Spirit instructed me to do. He smiled and said I must go and sit, someone will come to me. A few moments later a guy, my age, walked up to me and touch my shoulder and smile. We went to a quiet corner outside and I told him my story, laying my heart bare, told him of my pain and the way the Holy Spirit is working with me now. We bend down and started praying, he laid me before God…during this moment the Holy Spirit told me that because of my obedience, He will now plea my case before God and lay my pain of the darkest corners of my heart before God. I could hear it, I could literally hear the murmurings, not words, but I could hear everything. I felt the touch of God as I did in my hospital bed and broke down in tears by grace I do not deserve. God once again began the 2nd miracle in my life, healing my pain in my heart.

The following week was extremely emotional for me as the Holy Spirit carried me through this process of cutting the pain in my heart out, piece by piece.

I thought my walk was close with God previously, but had no idea how intense it was about to become.

This God I bow down too, has become more real than anything else in this world. I am totally unprepared for how amazing and incredible His love, His holiness, His power and His kindness is.

 

So many people I talk to over the internet ask me “Why do God, if He is a good God, allow this pain and suffering in this world to continue?”

The world is a broken place. We have made our choices to abandon God and with it comes pain and suffering. God is the ultimate gentleman…He NEVER force His will on anyone. Bad things happen to even good people everyday…and you know what, it strengthens you to become a stronger person reaching greater heights. Look what happened to me…through it God strengthened me to reach heights I thought never possible in my life and I am touching many lives out there and helping people. I am a hard nut to crack and God knows it. He had plans for me…but left to my own devices that plan would never come into play. He allowed things to happened to me and come over my path. Bad things…like Job, but like God is, He turned everything around into blessings beyond believe. I still had to make the choices myself…but God gentlemanly lead me in the direction…

God wants so much the best for us, but when we abandon Him we are left alone in this broken world. The heart of God is such that He allowed that, which was most precious to Him, to be put through pain and mutilation and to die on a cross for us, just so that me and you would have direct access to God and the Holy Spirit.

My sins in this broken world prevents me from having a direct link with God, because before God nothing that has any sin or darkness can stand and live, nothing. God is pure and holy. Only through the sacrifice of Jesus, who was blameless, could He die in my place and through that allow me to talk to God and be saved. It had to be someone blameless, he had to had no sin because that is the only way He could die for ours.

God could have sent armies of angels to rescue Jesus, but this shows God’s heart…unmeasurable kindness and compassion. He did not have to do this for us…He is the Almighty God, rescuing us just by grace…which we do not deserve.

 

Now, many devoted believers don’t like it when they hear of someone like me who had such incredible experiences with God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ (I had Christ holding His hand on my shoulder at one of my toughest moments in prayer and more…)

Why me, what makes me special?

Remember Maria?…remember that between all the disciples of Jesus, SHE was the one that quietly bent down with her tears falling on Jesus feet and rubbed very expensive oil/perfume over His feet, no words, just an act of utter compassion. His disciples were not impressed about the logic that such expensive perfume was wasted. But she had a relationship with God on another level, why?…because of the AMOUNT of grace she required to be saved. Be happy and joyful if you required little grace to follow God, then you are blessed indeed. People like me (and Maria) carried so much pain and darkness in our hearts that the grace we require, is massive. This amount of grace changes you on every level and your relationship with God, is extremely intense.

 

Last week on one of the biggest radio stations in Cape Town, they aired this young woman who had a vision where Jesus Christ appeared to her and told her: “Go and tell the world, I have finished preparing all your places in heaven. I am coming to fetch you. The time is up.”

The Holy Spirit confirmed this in my heart…

Now, I know God said, no one knows the date and time, but I am making sure me and my family is ready…I cannot wait to join my Lord and Saviour!

 

I pray this article means something to you…it comes from deep within my soul.

Be blessed.

Gert Louw

Gert Louw staring

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Visual study to determine the impact of cardio on a muscled physique

Filed under: BB Training & Exercises, Be MOTIVATED! — 4 Comments
March 1, 2016

Men aiming at maximum muscle size usually steer clear from any form of cardio. The bottom line is that all cardio, even moderate cardio, WILL decrease muscle size and make it more difficult to add muscle. It is the normal reaction the body has to cardio. It can be most clearly seen in marathon runners who have these thin sinewy physiques with almost no muscle size.

Body fat should be managed by a very focussed diet and NEVER via cardio. Cardio primarily “eats” into muscle and actually help surprisingly little to bring the fat levels down. It is much easier for the body to use the muscles for energy during cardio than to tap into fat storage and thus why cardio nearly always has the opposite effect.

Now, for one who refuse to give up his resistance training and has no other choice but to drop muscle weight due to health reasons (such as kidney problems), cardio presents a great and healthy opportunity to simply add it to the training regimen. The response the body will have when cardio is added, even by sticking to the same diet and resistance training, is to decrease muscle size.

 

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

 

The general thought process out there is, that if you want to lose fat you must do cardio. It is unfortunately far from the truth. If you want to lose MUSCLE (!) you do cardio.

This video goes a long way as to give some proof about the matter although, admittedly, this is not an actual scientific experiment.

  • All factors like diet, resistance training frequency and intensity remained the same throughout the study with the only real added change being cardio that was added 5 days per week.
  • Supplements and all other forms of health support stayed exactly the same during the process.
  • The project spanned over a 6 month period.
  • Before the 6 months only resistance training (4 days a week) with no cardio.
  • During the 6 months significant cardio was added 5 days a week (speed swimming – 20 to 30 laps).

Click here to watch video “Visual study to determine body changes when cardio added to resistance training.”

 

The following very noticeable results after the 6 months:

  1. Bodyweight down by 7kg’s (mostly muscle with a smaller fat component as well).
  2. Body shape has become more pronounced and defined.
  3. Visible body fat decrease on upper body and lower body for a more shredded look.

Continuing with the cardio indefinitely will further decrease muscle size but at the same time enhances shape and shredded look thus providing a healthy fit looking body.

But alas, those in search of size should never follow this route!

Another interesting article on this subject: http://massgainsource.com/get-best-cardio-workout/

Wish you all happy training.

Gert Louw

http://www.gertlouw.com

Gert sea4bb

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