Exclusive Jeff Willet and Skip La Cour Podcast Series starts today!

Skip La Cour and I have joined for an exclusive podcast series that starts today at 10 AM EST.

Listen in on our candid conversation about a variety of topics including our thoughts on steroids, pro-hormones, our personal bodybuilding origins and our thoughts on the sport of bodybuilding as it stands today.
Hope you enjoy!

Believe. Achieve.

www.jeffwillet.com

Stop the long duration cardio madness!

While I was channel surfing last night I caught a show on E! - "True Hollywood Story - Female Bodybuilders." Like a car wreck, I had to peak on my way by.

Part of the story was following an amateur figure (maybe it was fitness, I can't remember which for sure) competitor who was trying to win her pro card at a national NPC event. What jumped out at me was when she was talking about her training regimen she said she did 3, 45 minute cardio sessions a day! Poor girl had fallen prey to the pundits of long duration cardio like so many guys and girls do when they are preparing for contests.

Long duration cardio, particularly when you are on a reduced calorie diet, is a great way to waste away hard earned muscle. Women have to be even more careful as their propensity to build and maintain muscle is challenged by their gender right out of the gate.

Truth is she would have achieved far greater results with a fraction of the time. This doesn't mean she would have had to work any less hard it just means she would have worked smarter with a more result producing plan. Hard work is great but if channeled in the wrong direction can actually impede progress. I know first hand because I used to do long duration cardio too and never achieved the kind of conditioning I did once I implemented Max-OT style cardio.

Stuart MacDonald's (Pictured above) amazing transformation documented in "I Want to Look Like That Guy" was achieved in part by his consistent short duration, high intensity cardio. There was no long duration cardio for Stu and he was able to go from over 30% body fat to less than 6% bodyf at in a 6 month period. I guarntee that if Stuart would have done hours and hours of cardio he would not have achieved the same dramatic results. He may have lost a similar amount of total weight but his body composition would not have been as great because he would have been sacrificing muscle along the way.

Remember - Short duration, high intensity cardio is the way to go for competitors and anyone looking to really improve body composition. It will have a greater elevation effect on your metabolism and less of any negative effects on the muscle building process.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

"Lost" Footage!

One of my favorite features in my latest DVD release "Posing to Win" is the bonus "lost" footage we included.

When going through tapes we stumbled across footage that I didn't think we had. It is a segment of me practicing mandatory poses just 2 weeks before the 2003 NPC USA. It was filmed by my friend and fellow IFBB Pro Derik Farnsworth in San Diego, CA. In fact, we left it uncut so you can actually hear Derik calling out the poses and counting to make sure I held them long enough. I remember we filmed it right after a Max-OT cardio session. I am excited that we are able to share this rare footage because I thought it was gone forever.

Another little fun fact is the photos featured on the front and back cover of this DVD were taken during that same trip to California on Venice Beach.

Some other neat stuff apart from the general posing instructions you'll see on "Posing to Win" is the Q&A session where I address some FAQ's about posing/presentation and overall preparation.

By the way, the offer is still available for the next few copies sold to get an autographed front cover!

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Drug Free Competitor Tip of the Day

Too many drug free competitors, especially first timers, focus too much on weight loss and abandon the real goal of bodybuilding which is to build muscle - hence the name "BodyBUILDING"!

Your goal should be to build and maintain as much muscle as possible while getting as lean as possible. This is different than simply trying to drop weight.

If you are a novice competitor you should not be worrying about the scale during most of your preparation. Your goal should be to look your best by building and maintaining every hard earned ounce of muscle possible while targeting maximum fat burning. When you zero in on that look....whatever you weigh you weigh. Unless you have a few contests under your belt you really have no idea where the needle on the scale will settle at that point.

Stuart MacDonald in "I Want to Look Like That Guy" illustrates this process perfectly. When I started working with him to get him ready for the NPC Natural Michigan he was over 200 lbs and over 30% body fat. I didn't look at him and project the weight class he needed to be in. I did not devise a precontest plan that was focused on weight loss. I devised a plan that focused on building muscle and losing fat to achieve a "bodybuilding lean" physique onstage.

The only time we concerned ourselves with the scale was the last couple weeks before the contest. At that point if you are close to the cut off of a weight class then it makes sense to try and be at the top end of a weight class rather than the bottom. In Stu's case he was getting very close to the light weight cut off so we worked to get him into that class. (We ultimately succeeded but you have to see the documentary to find out just how close we came to missing! Talk about some unplanned drama!)

So the tip of the day is devise your pre-contest plan to build muscle and lose body fat rather then simply focusing on weight loss. If you follow a smart and proven plan you will not have to worry about losing precious muscle and can shift your emphasis to maximum fat burning. If you commit many of the common mistakes that a lot of natural bodybuilders do and focus simply on losing weight to make a weight class then there is no doubt you'll be setting yourself up to sacrifice muscle and not be all that you could come the day of the show.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Take advantage of every day.

I was recently asked what were the biggest strategies that allowed for my dramatic increase in placing from 2002 to 2003? I would not say it was any different strategy but rather an improvement of my mindset and greater execution of the plan for a longer period of time. Let me explain.....

In February of 2002 around the Arnold Classic time there was talk about the NPC making a rule change that would effect former class champions of the NPC Team Universe. I don't even remember all the details at this point but the summary was that the same people were finishing at the top of their respective weight classes year after year and were not going to be allowed to compete for the weight class but would be allowed to compete for the overall. That being the case myself along with some of the other past champions decided to forgo the Team Universe that year and enter the NPC USA instead. Long story short, that is why I didn't participate in the 2002 Team Universe. I ended up placing 15 in the light heavy weight division of the NPC USA. (As a side note, as the show got closer in 2002 the NPC changed their minds and never followed through with that rule change for the Team Universe. By the time I found out my mind was already fixated on doing only the USA that year so I opted not to change my plans.)

I was disappointed with my 15th place finish at the USA but I also understood this was another level up from the Team Universe. The NPC USA is not drug tested and the NPC Team Universe is. Now some people will roll their eyes and say that the drug testing is a farce at the Team Universe and I beg to differ. In my three victories at the Team Universe I was polygraphed and urinalysis tested on each as were the other champions. Could someone try and beat that test? Of course they could just like they could try and beat a drug test for any event. Are there guys and girls who are in the Team Universe that are taking drugs? Probably so because there will always be some people who will cheat and try and beat the system no matter what but it is not fair to make a blanket statement that it is a farce and assume everyone is dishonest. The drug tests at the Team Universe are very real but this is a whole other topic.......so back to my story.

Top to bottom in each weight class there is no mistaking that the USA is a much harder contest than the Team Universe. Being on that stage against the best and not placing well really inspired me to prove to the world and to myself that I could compete at that level while being completely drug free. I never once used the excuse that my poor placing was because I was not taking drugs and everyone else was. That was not my style. I enetered the USA full well knowing what I was up against so I took my placing like a man and went back to the drawing board as I always did after a contest. I took a day or two to reflect on the experience and the moment I arrived back at AST HQ in Golden, CO I was on a mission to make the top 5 at the 2003 USA and to win the overall at the Team Universe.

Those were two lofty goals and I owned them both from day one. I wrote both proclamations on note cards and placed them in strategic spots so I had to read them multiple times a day...."I am a top 5 USA finisher"...."I am the Overall Team Universe Champion"... Those positive affirmations would drive and direct that entire year for me.

I took advantage of each day of that year unlike any other year prior. I always worked hard for every contest throughout the years but this year was special for me. In 2003 I asked more of myself daily and I delivered.

I followed the same formula of Max-OT training, Max-OT cardio, the same nutritional principles that I did the year before so there was nothing really different in strategy. Like I said, I just did a better job of performing at a higher level for a longer period of time. It was my mantra to take advantage of every day and make decisions on a daily if not hourly basis that would propel me closer to those two goals written with blue sharpie on white note cards that stared me in the face almost every where I looked.

As most of you know I made those two affirmations a reality. I placed 4th at the 2003 USA and I won the overall and IFBB Pro Card at the 2003 Team Universe.

An interesting tid bit about my positive affirmation note cards....My mother and my aunt would come to visit me over Mother's Day each year that I lived in Colorado. My mom later admitted to me that seeing those note cards around my apartment (during her stay in 2003) with those bold proclamations actually made her nervous to look at. She was worried I would take it very hard if I fell short of those goals. Fortunately, we'll never have to know because 2003 was my best year by a mile and a very happy ending to my competitive career.

Don't underestimate the power of writing down positive affirmations. It is one thing to think you would like to achieve "this" or "that" and another to take complete ownership of those goals by actually writing them down as if they are a statement of fact.

Believe. Achieve.

www.jeffwillet.com
www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com

One from the archives!

While going through some photos to include in the posing DVD we are producing I came across this picture taken at the 1991 NPC Novice Michigan Championships (Redford Theatre). It was my first bodybuilding contest and I won the 18 and under division as well as the overall teen title. I was 17 years old and had been training serious for about 1 year.

A little history about the start of my bodybuilding career...

My brother Joe encouraged me to start weight lifting and he was my first training partner when I was 15. He had just moved back home to start a new job after being away for several years in college and graduate school. He and I went to the gym for one spring and summer. I absolutely loved it! Then my school started (fall of 1989 - sophomore year in high school). I remember I stopped working out and was busy with school activities including basketball. That's right, I was a basketball player prior to fully starting my bodybuilding odyssey.

The spring of 1990 after basketball season concluded is what I consider to be my true uninterrupted bodybuilding start. This time once I began I would never stop again.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

NEW DVD - Coming Soon!

I'm excited to announce I'll have a new DVD ready for release within the next couple weeks. In fact, I am heading into the studio this afternoon to work on the finishing touches.

It is a Posing/Presentation DVD. The format gives you a unique "fly on the wall" perspective as I instruct amateur competitor Stuart MacDonald on the fundamentals of posing and presentation. You get to listen in and watch as I walk Stu through the mandatory poses, standing relaxed poses and a Q&A session where I discuss a variety of related topics.

Upon release there will be a special offer so stay tuned.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/

Footage from my final contest.

Someone posted this video on YouTube of my 2003 NPC Team Universe posing routine and overall winning moment. (My name is spelled wrong but other than that, it is a good clip!)

No doubt this was my personal best and as far as I am concerned there could not have been a more fitting way to end my competitive career.




Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/
http://www.iwanttolooklikethatguy.com/