Tag Archive: nutrition


How to get it ALL TOGETHER

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED!, DUDE Talk — 2 Comments
January 9, 2019

How to get “it all together”

Click here to watch video ” HOW TO GET IT ALL TOGETHER”

First everyone, I wish you a blessed 2019 with GREAT health and many, many muscles!

I will put on a few pics I took during my Pearly Beach vacation so you can see what I was up too.

 

 

Ok, back to the topic of the video/article – I deal with a lot of guys that tells me they look up to me for always having it all together. In their eyes, I am on top of my game and in control of my fitness, diet, marriage, parenthood, work and well, just everything.

But the truth is, there is not a single human being on this earth that has ‘everything and all together”!

No matter how “together” someone is looking, I guarantee you that that person has several intense personal issues, hopes, dreams and fears. No one is ever in “control”.

Life is always an unpredictable adventure no one has ever prepared for. We run a race we have never trained for. We do not know the curves in the road or where the potholes are.

I am the same as all of you in running this race.

Believe me I had some severe potholes and if you’ve seen me at my weakest, you would not think I got it all together.

But what is true, is that I do have a certain calm and focus over me that gives the perception that I got it all together in running this race.

 

We are starting a new year so let me give you some of my personal wisdom.

The following is my “rules of life” that guides me in this race of life:

  1. I always get back up after falling and continue where I left off, no matter how big the fall. I do not go and sit in a corner feeling sorry for myself. I get up, look life squarely in the eyes and get my act together to get on the path to reach my goals again. Most of u know 2017 I very nearly died (for the 2ndtime), but I got up and I am back in the game working very hard to reach my goals.
  2. Focused mindset. If you got a goal, you need to elevate this goal very high on your ladder of priorities. As I said in the past, for me it is just church, work and family before gym. NOTHING else! You need to prioritize to such an extent that gym is on the same level of dedication as work. You do NOT skip gym that day if you do not have a sick certificate. It is not about how you feel or whether you “think” you do not have energy…that is all irrelevant. You get in your car, you go to gym and you work out. Full stop!
  3. This same focused mindset applies to your diet. The night before you prepare all your meals for the next day and put it into ready to use containers in the fridge. Get the whole family on the system. In fact, it is very good quality time preparing food together for next day as a family…with your kids. If you do not make the effort the previous night for the next day, I guarantee you your diet WILL fail!
  4. My faith is critical to my calmness. Most of you know I am a passionate follower of Jesus Christ and every day I seek His guidance with my life. He is my moral center on everything I do. He determines my walk and direction I take in life. I don’t follow the world or the latest craze, and I DON’T care for political correctness, I do what I believe is the right thing to do.
  5. My personal motto is, MAKE IT HAPPEN. So, no matter what your goal…just MAKE IT HAPPEN. Were created in God’s image and that means we are immense powerful creatures. Realize that, LIVE IT and make use of this amazing power you have. You CAN change your life and you CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN! Nothing is forcing you to continue sitting on that couch and reaching for another beer. Only you are forcing yourself and most of the time, it is simple laziness and just a habit. Use the power you have inside you to rise above bad habits and a bad lifestyle.
  6. My rule: I refuse to be average. I refuse to live everyday over and over the same way. I will continue to better myself on every level. I will become a better person, inside and out. That is non-negotiable and critical when you want to move forward in life and not staying stuck in the trenches.

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Living life by these rules and a natural outflow is a great looking body, but also a person of integrity to who others look up to.

So, guys and girls, I do NOT have it “all together”. But I do have above focused approach, cutting out excuses and laziness and with my faith I have a strong moral center. I do what I believe is right without trying to please the world.

These are my rules for life, I hope it can help some of you out there. I have been priviledged in walking a very difficult path in life which has made me what I am today with my knowledge, life skillset and focused approach.

If any of you are interested – I’ve designed a very comprehensive transformation system for the older guy called the ADVANCED SYSTEM II. It contains all my knowledge, skills and my workout and diet approach, customized for your body and goals. So, if you are interested, then you can sign-up through the following link: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

 

The following is an interesting pic – my 9 most viewed photos on my instagram for the year of 2018 (my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gertfitness/ )

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To you all my friends and followers – Be the best version of you that you can EVER be!

Wish you a blessed 2019.

Gert Louw

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My 7-point system on how to get out of the rabbit hole

Filed under: Be MOTIVATED!, DUDE Talk, SURVIVAL TIPS for Cancer/Fibromyalgia/HIV+ — 8 Comments
November 9, 2018

My previous article/video was about how to deal with depression when over 40. With this article/video, the angle changes. Here I provide a “escape roadmap” for those guys that hit rock bottom in their life, whatever the reason might be, on how to get to the point where life taste sweet in your mouth again.

Click here to watch video “GETTING UP AFTER LIFE HAS BLOW YOU OVER”

 

So let’s start…

When you are over 40 chances are you have tasted enough of life to know that all is not sweet. But for some of us the taste can be very, very bitter indeed. Some of us are picking up the pieces after a long battle with cancer, or finding out we are hiv+, a severe heart attack, some other serious health problem, death of our life partner or child, financial ruin and more, the list is endless…

There is no other way sometimes to say it…LIFE SUCK!

Ask me I’ve been there, twice fighting for my life and had to pick up the pieces and start running again. That bitter, bitter taste that life can leave in your mouth can also be as sweet as honey, but it is going to require a deep look into yourself and reaching into places you have never touched. It is going to take every single ounce of your being to make this happen. But there is no alternative. This is the t-junction in your life where you have to choose the left or the right road. The left road is going to be easy…staying in your dark place feeling sorry for yourself and hating life becoming everything you don’t want. The right road is leading to a grand fight with the prize of reaching levels of character and body development, you have never thought possible and once again see life for the amazing gift it is in all its beauty and splendor, with a new lust for life like when you were young. And yes, I mentioned “body development”, because I do not believe in taking on this grand fight journey without including transforming your body as well…but more on that later on.

So, here I am going to provide you my rules on how to fight that grand fight to get you to this level where you have an unquenchable lust for life again and you have reached levels of character and body transformation you have only dreamed off.

Off course these rules will mean altering many aspects of your current life and habits. Some of these rules are plain common-sense rules and others will be a surprise. It will mean you will have to move out of your comfort zone with many things. But seriously, you are currently rock bottom and you are at a crossroad in your life where the decisions you make over the next few weeks and months is going to determine whether you will rise or whether you will fall, permanently. I have seen this happen so many times, so this is my hand I reach out to you. I have done this, more than once. It works, and it CAN be done…this is my recipe.

 

The rules for the GRAND FIGHT:

  1. No drugs! Here I am talking about anything you might use to escape or alleviate the emotional pain. As long as you use these escape routes, healing cannot begin. This is your first serious choice you have to make. Any form of recreational drugs is a no-no and MUST stop. There is just no way you will rise up from rock bottom and continue using recreational drugs. Alcohol must be limited to once a week and not more than 500ml wine. Smoking must stop. The negative impact of smoking is way too long to even discuss in this document. But simply put, there is no place for smoking when you fight the GRAND FIGHT! Even the overuse of caffeine must stop. More than 4 strong cups a day and the resultant valleys and peaks will be too great for a balanced new beginning and the valleys will drag you down time and time again.
  2. Restore your integrity. (No affairs! No sex or sleeping around outside a committed loving relationship) You need to love yourself and you cannot do that if you do not have self-respect. Some of you guys are going to laugh when first read this point. NO SLEEPING AROUND / NO CASUAL SEX! You need to start respecting your own body and that of others. The only place for sex is in a long term loving and supporting relationship. You can only restore your integrity when you respect yourself and others and you CANNOT do that if you engage in sexual acts outside of a long-term loving relationship. Believe me if you do not change your casual sexual habits you will struggle severely to rise up from rock bottom. To rise up you must have a strong center, know your roots and respect yourself for being a man of integrity.
  3. Make sure your hormonal levels are healthy. When over 40, be sure to get your blood testosterone levels checked. Severe depressive states and lack of energy are common symptoms for guys with low testosterone levels. To restore yourself and rise up is going to be very difficult and close to impossible if you have low testosterone levels. If TRT treatment is your future so be it! 

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  4. You cannot expect to rise up if your diet is poor and you feeding your body wrong. Some very basic healthy eating rules:
    1. ALWAYS eat a healthy breakfast – something like oats & berries or Fruit salad with yoghurt but it needs to be healthy and not small.
    2. Split your meals into 4 smaller meals per day.
    3. 3L filtered water per day. Glass water every hour.
    4. Two fruits per day and good portion veggies every day, preferably uncooked,
    5. Small portions of rice/pasta/bread/carbs per meal (try to stick to low-GI carbs)
    6. Fat-free or very low-fat protein sources like fillet, fish or chicken breast.
    7. Each meal must be moderate size, no large excessive meals and never 2nd helpings.
    8. Once a week desert…only ONCE!
    9. Strong multi vitamin after morning meal – something like ANIMAL PAK or OPTIMEN.
  5. Part of transforming your life is to transform your body. For a free basic body transformation system, check here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-program/You need to train intensively 4-5 times a week for at least 40 minutes at a time. You need to SWEAT – that will release all the feel-good chemicals in your brain that will make you feel uplifted and on top of the world. This is a critical aspect to rise up again. The exercise does not matter so much. Do what you like. But remember if you start lifting weights it will add immensely to your self-image as you start looking better and more muscled. This is something I can personally testify too. As you see your body change and grow it gives you renewed focus and dedication which can make all the difference.
  6. Critical part of the whole process is to ensure your mind is healthy and positive. With your healthy diet, less drinking and no substance abuse your mind will already have a better chemical balance. But if you want to help the mind to be a bit more healthy and positive consider specific natural supplements to help with a positive mindset. The most potent is: St John’s Wort. However, it can interfere with some prescription medication so be careful just double check with your doctor please. Another consideration with less interactions, but not as potent, is 5-HTP.
  7. Now probably the most important of them all. I cannot conclude the 7 points without a reference to the importance of you needing to make right with God. It was and is a critical ingredient for me that helped me to rise from the ashes and become what I am today. You will never be whole if you never make right with God. My mentor is Jesus Christ in my life. There has never been a better or more positive mentor that has walked this earth. Through my faith and my relationship with Christ I get my center and direction in life. I know many will laugh at this point but if you want to listen to how I managed to be who I am today and why, then this is a key reason and cannot be excluded.

You may ask now, “but how do I get the will to put these rules into place?”. Let me put it to you like this. You are rock-bottom right now. From here onward if you do nothing and just continue feeling sorry for yourself, your life is pretty much over and all your dreams crushed. THESE 7 rules are the alternative. This will and can elevate you beyond your wildest dreams. So, there is NO choice. If the reality of where you are right now and what future awaits you while staying where you are right now, if that does not fire you up to MAKE THIS HAPPEN and to WIN this fight, then sadly my friend you might have already lost.

So get up, look life squarely in the eyes and say:
“I WILL CHANGE
I WILL BE THE BEST FATHER
I WILL BE THE BEST HUSBAND
I WILL BE A MAN OF INTEGRITY
I WILL GET THE BODY I WANT
I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN!”

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So guys, with these 7 rules you can fight the grand fight and you can win. I have proven that twice already in my life. I pray this helps some of you out there. If any of you want to contact me directly: gertlouwljc@hotmail.com

And off course if you want to signup to my life coaching body transformation system customized just for you, then just click this link to signup: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

May you rise up and surpass your wildest dreams!

Gert Louw

 

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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.

Gert Louw green small

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

  1. interference with the SOCIAL aspect of eating
  2. Getting hungry, low energy and unproductive
  3. Fasting = binge
  4. Digestion Issues
  5. Unclear impact on heart
  6. Is is NOT for everyone
  7. Potential long-term health consequences (especially women)
  8. Potential weight gain
  9. 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

GERT LOUW LIB21B

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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/

Gert Louw BI10 small

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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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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. 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/

 

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

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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. 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/

 

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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DUDE talk

Filed under: DUDE Talk — 1 Comment
August 23, 2017

Click here to watch video “DUDE talk”
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.

Have a great day all!

Remember to train hard!

Gert Louw

Gert Louw PUNCHING BAG2.jpg

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Diet tricks for fat loss – intermittent fast & carb cycling

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet — Leave a comment
July 4, 2017

Diet tricks for fat loss

I get many guys asking me about “intermittent fasting” and “carb cycling” and similar “tricks” in the search to drop body fat.

Let’s look at this objectively.

I am not going to shoot any of these methods down, I think there are enough counter-proof that at least for some it is working.

However the people contacting me is never advanced athletes but Joe average who plays around with bodybuilding and want to get a quick road to loosing fat.

This is where the problem comes in.

The advanced athletes employing these diet tricks are already at very low body fat and are preparing for a show or event. In their toolbox which they use constantly, are their fat-callipers, tape measure and weighing scale and caloric counter. They approach this very scientifically and got the whole process down to a tee. They hardly ever make a mistake. But even then some do make a mistake and the consequences are close to disastrous. The truth is that with these tricks they are walking a thin line and it is very easy to make a mistake. You really need to know what you are doing and monitor the body extremely closely. You need to be very scientific about it to the extreme!

But Joe average is not a guy who will put in the time and effort these guys do with these tricks. He will not daily pull out the fat calipers, the tape measurement and scale and double-check calories etc. He just wants a simple to follow solution that will allow him to shed fat. And this is NEVER a simple solution. This is a hardcore solution. And nearly 99% of Joe average who have tried these hardcore solutions have badly burned their fingers. By burned fingers I mean training derailed, getting sick (due to immune system dropping as a result of too much required from the body) or losing all the hard-earned muscle in the process.

If you want my complete training/diet/supps system customised specifically for your body and goals, have a look here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/

The risks simply outweight the benefits for Joe average …by far.

It is not worth it.

For Joe average and most advanced athletes it makes sense to follow a proven sensible approach.

Such a sensible approach is to monitor the body every 14 days with fat calipers and a weighing scale. Then to interpret the results with wisdom and make the necessary caloric adjustments to reach your goal.

In the cutting phase you want to lose fat and keep muscles safe (not necessarily build muscle but definitely not losing muscle!).

In the building phase the goal is adding a little body fat (2%-4%) and built muscle. Whenever you have to adjust calories, never do it with more than 10% in 14 day period up or down. The body need time to adjust and by adjusting calories with more than 10% will throw the body’s normal responses off for up to 1 month which makes the 14 day monitoring very difficult to interpret correctly.

The type of diet to follow is simple.

For cutting: https://gertlouw.com/2014/08/16/cutting-diet-challenges/

For building: https://gertlouw.com/2014/10/27/muscle-building-phase-sample-diets/

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Now I hope this let’s you think twice about venturing these risky paths. If you want to use me as an example…I have never done these diet tricks, simply because they are too risky! I am not about to sacrifice my hard-worked by slipping up once.

Wish you all happy training!

Gert Louw

GUYS & GIRLS DREAM BODYc

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After training – LOW or HIGH-GI carbs to ignite growth and fat-loss?

Filed under: BB Supplements & Diet — Leave a comment
November 17, 2015

Click here to view video “After training – LOW or HIGH GI carbs?”

 

How to spike your insulin naturally to ignite growth and shed fat…this will tell you how.

The whole idea of immediate after training nutrition is three-fold:

  1. To flood your system with muscle-building amino acids.
  2. To create environment for repair, healing and recovery.
  3. To get your insulin levels spiked to ignite growth and speed up fat-loss.

 

Let’s look at each point individually.

 

FLOODING THE SYSTEM WITH MUSCLE BUILDING AMINO ACIDS.

After training your body needs protein (amino acids) to feed the muscles and help with the growth/healing process. The key here is NO FAT. If you take in even the least amount of fat it will slow down the process of replenishing the body to such a degree that the feeding after training becomes near worthless. After training your body requires amino acids that are quickly absorbed. The best way to achieve this is to take a couple scoops of whey protein in water (not milk = fat!). The whey protein got all the required amino acids and will give the body with all the protein it requires to grow/heal. Make sure the brand you are using have no carbs added and that it is only pure whey protein.

 

CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR REPAIR, HEALING and RECOVERY.

It has been proven in various scientific studies that supplementing with L-Glutamine during and immediately after training adds significantly in providing the environment for recovery. Simply put, you will recover faster when you supplement with L-Glutamine.

 

TO GET THE INSULIN LEVELS SPIKED.

Insulin is the MOST powerful anabolic hormone in the body. Nothing comes close to it, not even testosterone or HGH. When insulin levels are spiked in the right way, the result is increased muscle growth and increased fat loss. Now how do one get insulin levels spiked after training? Well, Whey protein will already add to this effect but a compounded effect will happen when you consume the RIGHT type of carbs. Low-GI carbs cannot spike the insulin for any type of significant effect. That is the job of High-GI carbs. But don’t think chocolate here! ZERO fat must be in the carb. Plus it is highly advisable to use a natural, healthy high-GI carb with added fibre like a banana or apple to do the job. Vitargo is also a good choice.

This type of spiking is only effective immediately after training. Do not try it outside this window of training.

 

Summary

So after immediately training you need to consume the following:

  • L-Glutamine – 5g
  • Whey protein powder – about 40g
  • High-GI carb – Banana/apple or Vitargo

 

It is believed that this is an absolute key aspect of obtaining a “wow” physique and can be seriously beneficial in helping gaining muscle and shredding fat.

 

Wish you happy training!

Cheers…

Gert Louw

Gert sitting

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