Does Soreness Matter?

The answer to this common question is no.

Muscle soreness or lack there of is not an indicator of the success of your workout. Remember the goal of each weight training workout is to overload the muscle with a heavy weight (Max-OT style) and therefore initiate the best muscle growth response.

You have probably found there are certain muscle groups that always get a little sore and some muscle groups that never do. I think this is normal based on my own experience and the feedback from many others. I wouldn't put much stock into it one way or the other.

As you go forward with your workouts I would suggest not placing emphasis on your degree of muscle soreness and certainly don't use it to gauge the success of your workout.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

Is 16 minutes of cardio enough to get shredded?

Throughout the years I've often been asked the question, "Is 16 minutes of cardio really enough to get shredded?" People ask this question as though I was secretly doing hours of cardio when no one was looking and reporting to the world that I was only doing 16 minutes. That's simply not the case. I have always practiced exactly what I preach.

So is 16 minutes really enough? The proof is in the putting. I achieved what some called "drug like" condition in 2003 and finished an impressive fourth place in the light heavyweight class at the NPC USA (which is a non drug tested show) and capped off the contest season winning an IFBB Pro Card at the Team Universe. It was the best condition by far I ever achieved and I achieved that condition in large part due to the effectiveness of short duration/high intensity cardio.

Another great example of how effective 16 minutes is can be found in the documentary “I Want to Look Like That Guy.” In the film you see Stuart MacDonald undergo an amazing body transformation of 30% body fat to less than 6% body fat in 6 months. I’ll give you one guess what type of cardio Stuart did to achieve such outstanding results……If you said short duration/high intensity cardio you guessed correctly! Stuart did not spend hours doing cardio. He kept it short, he kept it intense and the fat melted away.

Short duration, high intensity cardio has a bigger elevating effect on your metabolism and keeps it elevated for a longer period of time after activity compared to long duration cardio. Plus, short duration cardio has less of any negative impact on the muscle building process. Those are two of the main points that make it the most effective approach for getting totally shredded.

The next time you are tempted to go for a 45 minute stroll on the treadmill STOP what you are doing and crank up the intensity for 16 crazy minutes of all out effort to really accelerate the fat loss process!

The other component for getting shredded is of course diet! I reveal the complete winning nutrition game plan in my new "Lost Logs" eBook. Along with every minute detail of my nutrition/supplement plan for 2003 you will see my detailed cardio log for insight on exactly how I implemented short duration/high intensity cardio to achieve the condition of my lifetime!

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

Body Transformation Tip!

To truly transform your body you need to have a strong muscle building component to your plan. This is true for men and women.

Remember that every ounce of muscle you build you will increase your resting metabolic rate and thus greatly aid the fat loss process.

Weight training is the catalyst for the muscle building component of your plan and there is no better weight training approach for encouraging muscle building than Max-OT.

Pictured to above is Stuart MacDonald and he underwent an amazing body transformation in a 6 month period of time and one of the keys to that transformation was Max-OT training. (You can see Stu's amazing transformation unfold in front of your eyes in the popular documentary "I Want to Look Like That Guy.")

Don't have the mindset that you have to lose weight before you focus on building muscle. It is best for your plan to have an emphasis on muscle building right out of the gate!

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

New eBook Unveils the Secrets for Getting Totally Shredded!

I'm excited to announce the much anticipated release of my "Lost Logs" eBook is finally here.

I believe this is the ultimate drug free bodybuilding nutrition resource. It’s a very rare look at the actual “play book” I used to become one the greatest drug free bodybuilders in history and now this eBook puts it all at your fingertips to help you construct your own winning game plan!

My "Lost Logs" contains explicit detail documenting every single nutrient I ingested as well as the timing of each meal. It also lists every supplement, exactly how much and specifically when I took them for the 18 weeks leading up to both contests.

In addition to all that detail you’ll see complete nutrient ratio breakdowns for every stage of the plan and as an interesting point of reference there is documentation of my bodyweight changes over the 18 weeks.

I often get asked how to adjust nutrition in the final days before a contest and what to do on the actual day of the show. No need to question any more as these logs illustrate exactly what I did with my plan right up to the very moment I stepped onstage.

My "Lost Logs" is also packed with some bonus information you won't find anywhere else:

*Contest Color Schedule - Any of you who have competed know how important onstage color is. It can make or break your physique. It took me years to perfect my contest color and now with this schedule you can see exactly what I did to achieve the perfect winning tan.

*Lost Cardio Logs - See record of all my cardio sessions from January 2002 through my Team Universe Overall Victory in August of 2003. Frequency, mode, distance, calories burned and intensity are all there in minute detail. This is the exact Max-OT cardio schedule I executed to get absolutely shredded.

*Body Weight Chart - View my body weight changes from August 2002 through August 2003.

Don't miss this opportunity to get the championship "play book" in your hands. Act now and get your copy of my "Lost Logs" at a special introductory price.

Believe. Achieve.

http://www.jeffwillet.com/

Don't Skip Your Post Workout Drink!

The most important time of the day to supply nutrition is directly after your workout. Your muscles are like dry sponges after training and ready to soak up valuable muscle building nutrients. It is up to you to supply what your muscles are craving so don't miss this critical opportunity to ignite muscle growth.

Directly after training I recommend whey protein isolate and my favorite is VP2 Whey Isolate by AST Sports Science. Along with whey protein you should mix a high glycemic carbohydrate like dextrose crystals or other liquid carbohydrate. In addition to the carbs and whey protein I add 5 grams of micronized creatine and 5 to10 grams of L-glutamine.

I have an eBook that will be released soon detailing the exact nutrition and supplement plan I followed on my championship run in 2003, including specifically what I ate and how I supplemented post workout.


Believe. Achieve.

www.jeffwillet.com

Max-OT Warm-up Protocol

The goal of the Max-OT warm-up protocol is to gradually introduce heavier weights without approaching the point of muscle fatigue.

Below are the main points to consider when you are doing your warm-up sets. These points are taken from a passage contained in my book "Inside the Mind of a Champion." The complete passage explains each of these points in detail and gives some specific examples.

* Warm-up on the first exercise for a body part only.

*Progressively introduce a heavier weight each warm-up set.

*As you add weight each warm-up set, decrease reps.

*Do not approach the point of fatigue.

*Your last warm-up set (also called weight acclimation) should be close to your muscle-building set weight.

*4-5 warm-up sets should do the job.

Believe. Achieve.

www.jeffwillet.com

Principles are more important than the routine.

I get a lot of questions about which Max-OT routine is best to follow. The answer is there really isn't one Max-OT arrangement that is better than any other. The important thing is that each routine sticks with the important Max-OT principles:

*Train each body one time per week.

*Stick with basic free weight compound exercises.

*Train in a 4-6 rep range.

*6-7 total sets for larger body parts (chest, back, legs)

*4-5 total sets for smaller body parts (biceps, triceps)

*Train to achieve overload NOT muscle fatigue.

Remember, there are a number of different Max-OT routines you can follow and all can be effective. Let me reiterate the adherence to the Max-OT principles is more important than the actual arrangement you follow.

Believe. Achieve.

www.jeffwillet.com