The Adler Blog

When you spend enough time in gyms, you can not help but notice the vast majority of people never gets in shape. When I say majority, I mean more than 80%. Why is that? It is certainly not the lack of time they spent working out; most of them actually appear daily.

One major factor is certainly nutrition; very often people try to out-exercise a poor diet, which simply never works.

But what strikes me even more is that these people do the same workouts for years on end. Why would your body change if it is not being challenged?

Take a look at your calves; they are not getting leaner or stronger from walking because you are using the same resistance (your bodyweight). So, if you are still using the same weights you used last year, you simply have not progressed.

Albert Einstein said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Unfortunately, this is what happens in every gym on the planet. Don’t be that person!! Change things up, lift heavier weights, shorten you breaks, change your grip on the bench, stance on the squat; whatever it takes challenge your body (but please, do not get on those stability balls, they of very little value).

Embrace the soreness, it means you are creating a new body!

Till next time,
Maik and Scott

How is everybody doing? Things in NY are great, both Scott and I are trying to put on weight (muscle that is). So far, we managed to get some good lean gains with getting too fat

Since Jon wrote such a great post yesterday , I felt I should pick up on this struggle with alcohol and just lay out some facts so that everybody can decide for themselves.

Drum roll please……
Anybody, who is trying to lose weight, will come across the question whether to drink or not to drink. Does alcohol kill you six-pack or is it ok to have a drink? If so, how many? Will red wine make me live forever?

Let’s look at the facts:

1. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, which adds up quickly.
2.It increases your metabolic rate. However, the increase in BMR is for a very short term only.
3. The digestion of alcohol stops fat loss almost completely. Here is how. Alcohol gets broken down into acetate, which holds first priority for energy usage. You have to imagine acetate as similar to President Obama’s motorcade: as long as he is driving on 5th Ave, nobody else will. Your body will not burn any fat until the acetate is gone, which can last up to 12 hours. So if you drink 4 times per week, it translates into 48 hours of non-fat burning….you do the math.
4. Attention, guys! Heavy drinking (5 drinks or more per sitting) will lower your testosterone which means less muscle and more body fat.
5. Excessive (same threshold as above) alcohol usage hampers your recovery so you won’t be able to train as hard as you might need. Coordination is also impaired for up to 48 hours.
6. Alcohol stimulates the appetite and lowers inhibitions. Chicken wings, anyone? Bar food is notoriously bad; I have never found steamed vegetables in a beer garden.
7. Considering the potential health benefits of wine and beer, the jury is still out on that. It occurs that resveratrol, a substance found in grapes, might be helpful to lower the risk of heart disease. But to achieve that, you don’t necessarily need to consume wine; grapes will do.

In my opinion, all points above seem to make alcohol a very bad choice for a serious dieter. In addition, mixed drinks and cocktails are extremely high in sugar and should be avoided at all costs – a piña colada can set you back 600 calories.

However, the best diet is the one you can stick to. If you don’t drink, keep it that way. If you enjoy a glass of wine or beer, do it twice a week. In the long run, happy dieters are usually more successful.

So there you have it: the lowdown on alcohol.
Train hard!
Scott and Maik