1 – Going on a road trip? Ziplocks and a cooler are your friends. Pack a small cooler full of precooked and peeled hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken breasts, whole grain bagels, and a chilled bottle of water.

2 – Traveling with someone who just has to stop at every single Starbucks? A Venti Skinny Peppermint Latte clocks in at just 170 calories and you’ll still get 16 grams of protein.

3 – Workout before the festivities. This is an excellent idea for two reasons. First, many people discover it’s a great motivator to snack and drink less if they’ve accomplished a fantastic workout earlier. Second, it’s a great way to help burn off those extra calories before you even eat them. Plus, it even helps rev your metabolism for hours afterwards, allowing your body to better metabolize extra calories.

4 – Find your self needing to eat at fast food? When in doubt, choose the grilled chicken breast option. Most fast food restaurants give you the option of grilled or crispy chicken. Crispy chicken will contain more fat and carbs, often pushing the total calorie count over that of a burger. At Wendy’s you can substitute those unhealthy french fries for a baked potato or salad.

5 – Eat the sweets at the “right time.” Following an intense workout, your body needs plenty of simple sugars to help replenish spent glycogen in the muscle. So, rather than leaving those cookies on the counter and at the mercy of random late night cravings, have a couple sweets during the 60 minutes following your workout. Your body will be primed during this time put those extra calories towards muscle growth and recovery instead.

6 – Wait 20. It’s so tempting to go back for seconds or grab dessert after a meal, I know. But before you do, wait 20 minutes. Why? Research shows it can take up to 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you’re full. And when you feel full, you’ll be inclined to eat less.

7 – On the big day, eat as you normally do. Many people skip meals or eat less prior to a big dinner, thinking they can “save their calories for later.” The truth is, you’ll be even hungrier come dinner time if you do. So eat as you normally do during the day, having a small meal every 2-3 hours. You won’t be as hungry when you finally sit down at the table, and you’ll be less likely to over eat too.

8 – Chicken salad. Almost every restaurant has some form of chicken salad. Just order it with the dressing on the side.

9 – Time your drinking. Alcohol itself doesn’t make you fat. What gets people in trouble is the increase in appetite alcohol causes. There’s a reason you and your buddies ordered the pizza and cheese sticks at 1am after drinking all night in the dorms! If you’re going to drink, save your drinks until after you’ve eaten. You’re already full, and you’ll find your appetite will be less.

10 – If you are staying at a hotel, check with the front desk, or on a website like mapmyrun.com to find out the best running routes in the area so that you can get your cardio in.

But most of all, enjoy your holiday season and have a great 2012!

- Team AX

This is the same sense of perfection that went into manufacturing German Creatine. Creatine is often used in large quantities for extended periods of time by bodybuilders and casual fitness enthusiasts alike, due to its safety and proven effectiveness. We recommend this article from Men’s Health for a crash course in why creatine monohydrate is so great. Numerous studies have been done over the years on creatine, but always using high quality, pharmaceutical grade creatine.
Some other creatines have been found to contain harmful levels of contaminants, such as dicyandiamine, dihydroptriazine, and creatinine.  While the actual effects of these impurities is unknown, German Creatine is 99.95% pure.  While Athletic Xtreme always uses the highest quality ingredients, the same cannot be said about all supplement companies.  A study performed at the German Sport University  in Cologne, Germany shows that up to 3.5% of your creatine could be contaminants.  This means that German Creatine is up to 7000% more pure than some Creatines found in the market today.

Don’t settle for less than the purity of German Creatine.

The leading pre-workout supplements on the market recommend that you take a break after 8 weeks.  Why is that?  Well you might have noticed that after taking your pre-workout for a over month straight it stops working as well as it used to.   Your workouts are not as explosive and you have to increase your dosage to get the same effect. This is happening because your body is adapting to the formula.  It’s called the law of diminishing returns and it will happen with any pre-workout supplement that contains stimulants.

What can you do about it?

This is precisely why we created SuperSize. There are loads of pre-workout supplements out there that rely on the same old ingredients. But SuperSize is radically Different by Design, and always delivers when your favorite pre-workout stops working for you.

What’s inside are NOT the same popular and time-tested ingredients your body is currently adapted to. But rather, SuperSize contains two brand new, never before seen ingredients that work through completely NEW pathways!

To get the same amazing energy, focus, and pump-inducing levels of nitric oxide back into your workouts, you need to change the ingredients you’re using. Your body is not yet adapted to the powerful ingredients in SuperSize because they work through completely different biochemical pathways.

We promised ourselves that we’d never release a pre-workout unless it was completely unique and unlike anything anyone had ever experienced before. We’re excited about what we achieved with SuperSize. And when you try it, we know that you’ll be blown away by what you can achieve too.

Click Here For More Information on SuperSize

http://www.athleticxtreme.com/arsenal/superSize/

“What product is that,” AND “is it for me”, you ask? Well, let me ask you a few questions. Please answer them honestly.

How would you like to have 12-hours of clean, long-lasting energy every day? That kind of energy that doesn’t make you feel all wired and jittery. The kind of energy where you just feel like whatever you have to do, you’ve got the energy to do it.

How would you like to be in a GREAT mood all day, able to focus, get things done…LOTS of things, get ahead in life, and be bursting with positive feeling no matter what you’re doing?

Would you like help controlling your hunger cravings, and to drastically reduce your appetite so you hardly think about eating?

And how would you like to finally melt away the pounds and be in the BEST shape of your entire life?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have some exciting news for you!

For the last 2 years, we’ve been working a little wonder pill that lasts for up to 12 incredible hours, toastifies the appetite, delivers what feels like an endless supply of clean and jitter-free energy, and flat-out makes you feel good – all day long.

And we’re proud to announce that after 2 longs years of testing, our “12-Hour Energy & Appetite Eliminator” is only weeks away!

Now, I’m sure you’ve heard these kind of claims before. So real quick, go ahead and skim through what a few of our testers had to say. The testers were picked randomly from people that had signed up for our newsletter. We shipped them the product and asked if they would sign up for our forum, create a log, and give us their honest review.

Tester 1

“(My energy) has been up for almost 14-16 hours from taking this! My sleeping has not been a problem while on the diet pill.”

Tester 2

“It zaps my appetite for a good 10-12 hours…loving the focus & energy I have everyday. I’m sticking with 1 cap and having NO issues sleeping.”

Tester 3

“I’ve had no crash at all, and none of the usual cravings you get when dieting strictly, which helps me stick to my diet way better! I’ll take a cap at 6:15 am and the energy lasts all the way until 8:00 pm that night! Every 2-3 hours I get a burst of energy and my focus on every day tasks is very intense. This is a pill anyone would have success with! I have 3 days left and I can 100% say that this is the best diet aide I’ve ever used!!!”

Tester 4

“From day 1, I was amazed at the clean energy I experienced. I was so alert and focused the entire day! It’s really quite amazing. It’s really long lasting, kind of like that gum brand that says “ridiculously long lasting”…well, that describes it perfectly! And I had to force myself yesterday to eat at least 3 times a day because I really had almost no desire to eat! It actually kills my hunger like ECA used to.”

That’s some pretty good feedback, don’t you agree?! So what is this product called?

It’s called Slim FX™, and it delivers 12 hours of AWESOME thanks in part to a brand new technology we like to call, “Endless Energy™.”

But Endless Energy™ is just one of many exciting ingredients you’ll find inside the highly anticipated Slim FX™.

When we created Slim FX™, we were amazed at what we’d achieved. And when you try it too, we know you’ll will be amazed at what you can achieve! So stay tuned!

For more information on Slim FX click the link below

http://www.athleticxtreme.com/arsenal/slimfx/

Dear AX-Hole,

I’m going to make a promise to you right now. I know you’re busy online, so I’ll keep this very short and you can decide if this article is right for you.

If you follow the Ultra Reps Plan for Success, I promise you WILL GET STRONGER. And that’s not all.

If you follow the Ultra Reps Plan for Success, I promise your body will have no choice but to ADD MORE MUSCLE MASS too. And not just on your genetically gifted body parts either that grow the easiest.

I promise that you’ll experience significant strength increases on every major compound lift and you’ll Rapidly Add More Muscle All Over Your Body.

It’s like an inevitable “side effect” of this program.

So….You game to learn more?

It’s a proven FACT…and you probably know this from personal experience…the more weight you lift, the more muscle mass you have the potential to build.

After all, if you’re benching 315lbs for 5 sets of 10 reps, then you’re going to have more muscle than the guy who can only bench 225lbs for the same number of sets and reps.

And that’s what this program does, and more. It builds your strength…and not just in the lower rep ranges like traditional strength programs….but through multiple rep ranges so that every muscle fiber type is forced into a state of continuous growth.

The Ultra Reps Plan for Success

I’ve spent the last 2 years testing and fine-tuning this program….a program that will force your body to lift heavier weights, help you get MORE REPS, and allow you to pack on ALL the muscle mass YOU’VE BEEN MISSING OUT ON.

But I’ve kept this program a secret (except for a select group of athletes) during development. And I’m going to reveal it for the first time ever. Why now?

Because frankly, I was missing a key element that would turn this program from being great, to being better-than-great. There’s a lot of “great” programs out there, and I don’t want to waste your time with another “great” program.

I wanted to give you a program that delivers results that exceed expectations, and that’s what you’re going to get.

That missing element was an element that could overcome your muscles’ physiological limitations…a way to increase the muscles’ energy reserves AND enhance their ability to contract stronger for longer.

It’s called Ultra Reps, and it is the first stimulant free, Ultra-potent power and performance formula to be released. It’s fast acting, highly effective, and the master key to unlocking the inevitable “side effect” of this program…more size! But enough about that. Let’s take a look at the plan that will net you better results in the next 4 weeks than your last 4 weeks of training have yielded.

Your 12 Week Overview

The Ultra Reps Plan for Success is a 12 week program made up of three, four week burst cycles. Here’s how it works.

You will start with lighter weights for higher reps and gradually increase your weight as you decrease your reps. You do this until you’re lifting very heavy weight and using very low reps. Have a look.

Week 1: 13-15 reps

Week 2: 9-12 reps

Week 3: 6-8 reps

Week 4: 3-5 reps

 Week 5: Repeat Week 1 and Continue

Simple enough right? This is traditionally referred to as Periodiziation. However, over the last 2 years I spent my time perfecting and tweaking this program with techniques for specific weeks that make each week progressively more beneficial than a standard Periodization program. I’ll outline the techniques for you below, but real quick, let’s cover some important guidelines for the program.

Program Guidelines

The following guidelines are critical to your success with this program.

A Look at Week 1

The following is a 3 day split for week 1, which again, the lifting frequency I have found works best for this program. This is the SAME split you will use for all 4 weeks, except you’ll adjust your rep ranges accordingly. Feel free to swap out exercises, but make sure you replace them with compound, movements only.

Monday

Squats 5x 13-15

Bench Press 5x 13-15

Lat Pull Downs 5x 13-15

Dumbbell Curls 5x 13-15

Close Grip Bench Press 5x 13-15

Abs 5x 10-15

Wednesday

Dead Lifts 5x 13-15

Shoulder Press 5x 13-15

Barbell Curls 5x 13-15

Tricep Extensions 5x 13-15

Abs 5x 10-15

Friday

Squats 5x 13-15

Incline Bench Press 5x 13-15

T-Bar Rows 5x 13-15

Hammer Curls 5x 13-15

Weighted Dips 5x 13-15

Abs 5x 10-15

These higher rep ranges are traditionally thought of being less efficient at eliciting muscular hypertrophy. However, working with higher reps is critical to building the kind of muscular strength and endurance you’ll need to better control the heavier weights in the lower rep ranges.

And…because Ultra Reps rapidly increases intramuscular pools of carnosine and ATP-generating creatine, you will discover that you’re quickly able to work with far heavier weights for higher repetitions.

It is because of this simultaneous increase in muscular endurance and strength that a powerful metabolic signal is triggered, signaling muscle growth…ie, the kind of muscular growth that you’d otherwise miss out on when training in these higher rep ranges!

Important Note: Dead lifting in the higher rep range is no joke. In many respects, it’s harder than pulling a loaded bar off the ground for a few reps. With that said, protect your core and lower back at all times. If the burn in your lower back becomes painful and prevents you from safely completing additional reps or sets, stop, and finish out your remaining sets with pull ups or weighted pull downs. You can rest longer between sets if you need to as well.

These high rep dead lifts are extremely beneficial for bringing every muscle group involved in the movement, up to par, so that during your heavier weeks, no one muscle group is lagging in effort.

Stepping Into Week 2

You’ve successfully completed week 1. Congratulations! During week 2 you’ll be working in the 9-12 rep range – a range where muscular hypertrophy accelerates like a bat out of hell. You will have a weeks worth of Ultra Reps under your belt, and your muscles will be crammed full with carnosine and ATP reserves.

It’s during week 2 that you’ll introduce the principle of Rest-Pause to your working sets.

Rest-Pause works like this. When you hit failure between reps 9 and 12, you set the weight down. Rest for 20 seconds. Then pick the weight back up and shoot for 3-4 more reps until you hit failure once more. Rest for another 20 seconds, and then aim for 2-3 more reps once more.

Important Note: You will use Rest-Pause only on your last 1-2 sets per exercise. Continue to follow the program structure that I have outlined for you in week 1, modifying only the rep range for this week.

Week 3 – Big Time Power Comin’ At Ya!

Here’s where things really get interesting. During week 3, you’re going HEAVY. And I’m going to teach you a technique that will quite literally INCREASE YOUR STRENGTH BY 10% in less than 3 minutes.

For the sake of article length here, I want you to download the FREE Big Arms Guide. This technique is outlined in detail starting on page 5 and is a quick read. Here’s how you’ll implement this technique in week 3.

After your sets of either dead lifts or squats, you will chose one compound movement for the one body part you wish to add size and strength to the most. You’ll then use the “Priming” technique (discussed on pages 5-7 of the Big Arms Guide) on your second exercise each workout – and ONLY on this exercise.

This technique tricks your body into activating more muscle fibers than what are typically needed to lift a given weight. As a result, this allows you to squeeze out 2-3 more repetitions than usual.

For example, if you can do lat pull downs with 190lbs for 5 reps, you’ll discover that you can now use that same weight and get 7-8 repetitions.

Yes, I’ll be the first to admit the ego boost that comes with this sudden increase is sensational. But overuse of this technique can quickly send your body into a state of over-training….been there, done that….not fun! Over the last two years, both myself and a select group of elite athletes have determined this is the most efficient way to incorporate this principle into week 3.

The Final Week

Use of the priming technique during week three will have helped your body advance its adaptations. You’ll discover that you’re stronger during week 4 (where you’ll be working in the 3-5 rep range) than you otherwise would be.

During week 4, you will be using 5-second negatives on your final set of each exercise. Negatives are a tried, tested, and proven method for increasing strength, control, and muscle mass. However, overuse of negatives too early during an exercise will result in a reduction of peak muscular contraction on successive sets. Therefore, I have reserved the use of negatives for your final set only.

Week 5 and Beyond

It’s at this point that you once again move back to working in the 13-15 rep range. And guess what? You’ll now have more physical strength and muscular endurance to work with even heavier weights in these higher rep ranges.

And this is a pattern that continues throughout your 12 weeks on the program. Every time you revisit a rep range, you will find yourself able to work with progressively heavier weights. And by increasing your strength throughout the various rep ranges, your body will have no choice but to continually pack on more mass to withstand the added stress of heavier weights.

I hope you have enjoyed this in-depth plan for success. This is a program that we’ve spent the better part of 2 years perfecting in-house, and I’m excited to see your results and hear your feedback. So feel free to post in the comments section below, and let me know if you have any questions that can help you build the kind of strength and muscle mass you’ve been missing out on!

All the Best,

Craig Richards

P.S – You can get 40% Off Ultra Reps today.  Simply visit us on Facebook, Become a Fan, and we’ll give you an exclusive Fan Coupon Code good on any purchase here at AX!  Visit us on Facebook and Become a Fan.

P.P.S – To truly maximize the results of this program, you must combine it with the proper nutrition your body will need to build the muscle and strength you’re after.  For more information, please visit our popular forums where our team of experts will be glad to assist you.

So you have a bunch of online friends, a blog, a facebook page, or a website, and…..

you love AX

……so why not spread the word and get paid for it? Become an AXfiliate and by sharing Athletic Xtreme with your network and friends, you’ll earn generous commissions (Cash) for each customer you send our way. That’s right, cash! And best of all, you will be giving them exclusive offers that they cannot find anywhere else.

How does it work

First, sign up to be a Athletic Xtreme AXfiliate (aka Affiliate). This will give you full access to banners and text links that you’ll then add to your site. Sales that generate from these links will track through our network, ShareASale, and you’ll earn commissions for each sale. It’s really that easy! So join the Athletic Xtreme AXfilliate program, place links on your website, social networks, or email campaigns and start earning commissions on all sales generated by the Athletic Xtreme links you post. It’s quick, easy, and the average AXfilliate makes $80 a day!

Features of our Program

* 15-20% Commisions for every sale
* 60 day cookie length
* Dedicated Affiliate Program Manager
* Affiliate Resource Center containing up to date marketing materials to support your efforts
* Program run through ShareASale

Click Here To Join Now!

If you’re a competitive natural athlete in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF), plan to compete in the WNBF some day, or simply looking for supplementation that will help you retain your natural status, this article is for you. Here’s why.

Let’s face it, in today’s rapidly evolving sports supplement market, it’s hard to tell which sports supplements are natural, and which supplements might not be.   And it’s even harder for the competitive natural athlete to determine which supplements are approved for use in competition, and which ones are not.

At last, Athletic Xtreme has joined forces with the premier natural bodybuilding federation in the World, the WNBF, to bring you sports supplements that are officially approved for use in WNBF competition.

No more guess work, and no more phone calls into the WNBF who, like you, are trying to stay up to date on the rapidly evolving sports supplement market too. Just piece of mind that the sports supplements you’re using to build your best body ever are officially approved.

The WNBF Approved Program

The WNBF has recently launched a groundbreaking new program where supplement manufacturers can submit their formulations for approval.  And every product that is approved is assigned a unique WNBF Seal of Approval crest.

The accreditation requirements are stringent, as every formula must be free from substances currently banned from competition within the WNBF.  In addition to anabolic steroids, prescription diuretics, and growth hormone, many of today’s top sports supplement ingredients have made it on their highly respected list of banned substances.

And we’re proud to announce the following Athletic Xtreme formulas as being officially approved for use in the WNBF!

Mass FX: The Destroyer
Hard FX
Carnobolic
TST PowerCell
Axcell
Stimulant X
Axcite Magnum
Trisorbagen

Athletic Xtreme is committed to bringing you the absolute BEST formulations in the sports supplement industry, and we’re committed more than ever to ensuring the products you chose will help you safely comply with the WNBF’s highly respected banned substance list.

So get out there and start building your biggest, leanest, and meanest physique ever with Athletic Xtreme, and take it to the stage to crush your competition!

Instead of gaining 6lbs of muscle, how would you like to build 10?  Instead of losing 4lbs of body fat, how would you like to obliterate 9?

Now, I’m not going to claim that these results are a given, because that’s when somebody buys Hard FX, follows this detailed advice, and then gulps down the beer and eats like crap for 8 weeks….AND

…

…then I get an email that reads, “Hey Craig, your Hard FX training advice sucks bro.”

File that under the “supp-whore” category…I know, it’s crazy, people think all they have to do is pop a pill and magic happens, so if that’s you, please don’t buy Hard FX.  In fact, if you bought it already, please RETURN IT.

I really only want serious athletes and bodybuilders who are ready to take advantage of this physique-altering approach and are ready to dial into their highest level of muscularity and conditioning…EVER…to use Hard FX. 

If that’s you, READ ON! If you’re a supp-whore who thinks supplements do all the work, read on anyways. I’m going to get you on the right track today even if it kills me.

And hey, even if you don’t want to buy Hard FX, I don’t care (I know, imagine a supp company saying that, right), because this article isn’t about that.  It’s about some really sick training tips and tactics, and getting these tools into your hands today so you can start making better gains.

Supplement Specific Training

Over my 17 years of bodybuilding experience, I have found certain supplements work better when your training compliments their benefits.  And, when I applied this belief to Hard FX, I had to write this article and share some of the really cool stuff I discovered…remember, you can still get some great benefits even if you’re not using Hard FX.   

Cool stuff as in…

•    20-40 times more Human Growth Hormone released into your blood during training
•    Enhanced excitation and release of anabolic insulin-like growth factors (IGFs)
•    Superior testosterone production through rep specific training
•    Increased availability of amino acids for protein synthesis (muscle growth)
•    Greater muscular strength
•    Enhanced muscle mass
•    Decreased fat mass

Are you ready?  Ok, let’s get you some!

Tip #1: Burn it out for more HGH.

HGH behaves as a powerful trigger for anabolism.  Not only does it promote muscle growth, but it promotes lipolysis too (break down of body fat).  In addition, HGH excites a third set of hormones with strong anabolic action…insulin-like growth factors (IGF).  Elevated IGF can increase the availability of amino acids for protein synthesis (muscle growth), and this can result in superior muscle tissue repair and growth.  And, get this…

Research shows that higher repetitions can release as much as 20 to 40 times more human growth hormone, above normal baseline values, into your blood!

So what’s the magic number to shoot for while training?  There’s two actually.  Perform 10-15 repetitions per set and rest NO MORE THAN 1-minute between each set.

KEEP THIS IN MIND:  If the burn ain’t causing you to contort your face into all sorts of funny ugly little grimaces, then pick up some more weight.

Tip #2:  Lift HEAVIER for more testosterone.

Lifting in the 5-6 rep range, with longer 2-3 minute rest intervals, packs on thick, dense muscle mass.  You know that…duh!  But did you know this?

Lifting in the 5-6 rep range also kicks your body’s testosterone producing machinery into overdrive – as in, your doc may think you’re on the juice if he were to test your blood in the middle of the workout!

The ideal weight to achieve this effect is roughly 85% of your one rep maximum.  For example, if your one rep max on the Dead Lift is 405lbs, you’ll want to work with 345lbs for five to six repetitions.  But there’s a key to making this work. Your resting time must be 2-3 minutes between sets…so all you guys jacked up on stims who can’t sit still…sit your ass down and rest.  Trust me, it’s worth it.

Tip #3:  Combine Tips 1-2 for a killer HGH/Test Combo workout.

To reap the benefits of elevated testosterone and HGH, follow the rule of 50/50.  For example, if you are training Back today, 50% of your back workout will be focused on heavy, testosterone induced lifting, while the other 50% of your back workout will be focused on higher repetitions for elevated HGH release.  This dynamic approach sets the stage for big mass gains and some wicked body fat reduction. Here’s a sample workout to put into practice.

The Hard FX Back Routine

Testosterone Focused

Dead Lifts: 3×5 (2-3 minute rest intervals)

Weighted Pull Ups: 3×5 (2-3 minute rest intervals)

HGH Focused

 Seated

Cable Rows: 4×10-15 (1 minute rest intervals)

Close Grip Pull Downs: 4×10-15 (1 minute rest intervals)

Tip #4:  Take Advantage of the BIG 3

You know them, and I bet a million you probably hate 2 out of 3 of them…I’ll admit it, I certainly do.  The first is the bench press, which everyone loves to do, myself included. But the other two…well, they can suck ass while you’re doing them, but the gains are SOO worth it in the end.  I’m talking about the squat and the dead lift….hey, there’s a reason the leg press was invented, right!  Squatting is HARD!

But, here are two really good reasons to think otherwise about squatting and dead lifting.  It turns out that squatting and dead lifting will quite literally soak your blood in human growth hormone and testosterone. These two exercises require such an intense degree of motor unit recruitment that not only do they pack loads of muscle all over your body, but they crank your metabolism into over drive too…throw in the extra test, the increased HGH, the added muscle, and higher metabolism, all the synergistic benefits with Hard FX, and the natural athletes have the perfect recipe for a mass building, fat torching smack down.

I take Paypal, Visa, and Discover for all this free advice   I’m kidding…..!!!!

Tip #5:  Talk to me!

If these 4 tips are helpful to you, let me know what you think.  You see that “Facebook” icon at the top right on the screen?  Click it and drop us a message.  

I’ve got a ton more cool information that I uncovered along my 8 week Hard FX journey.  So if enough people want more of it, friend us, share it on Facebook, and tweet it or twat it or do whatever you do…just let us know!!!

See you soon!

P.S If anyone is thinking about taking Hard FX and enjoying the beer and wine more often than not…bite your tongue slackers and keep your emails to yourself!!  You’ve been forewarned!  Remember….Paypal, Visa, Discover….worth a shot, right?  LOL!

See ya next time!

Craig Richards

Hey AX fans, we’ve got some exciting news to announce today.  Some of you may have heard some whisperings of a new product launch in 2011 that after three years of research and development will change everything. Well we’re getting ready to be in a position to share it with our Facebook fans for FREE. Towards the end of May we will be selecting several of our active Facebook fans to test drive the new product and give us their honest feedback! We can’t say too much as we don’t want to spoil the surprise, but we hope you’re as excited as we are and we will bring you more news over the coming weeks!

There will be a special announcement made sometime during the month of May for Facebook fans only.  Remember, you have to be our fan to see the announcement and take advantage of of this, so like us today!

http://www.facebook.com/AthleticXtreme

“Kim my motivation is in the toilet right now.  Got any advice? I want to pack on an extra 20lbs of lean muscle, but it seems like no matter what I do, I just can’t grow….so part of me just says screw it because I feel like I’m spinning my wheels.”

This is a common problem I hear all the time.  You train harder and harder, but no matter how hard you seem to train or how much you push it, your body refuses to grow.  In fact it may seem paradoxical – the harder you train, the fewer results you see.

However, your analogy may be right on target.  You are indeed spinning your wheels and not moving.  Lets take that a step further and look at a literal example.  Lets say your car’s stuck in a mud hole.  What’s going to happen if you step on the gas?  Wheels are gonna spin, but you’re not gonna move.  What you need to do is ease on and off the gas real gently to get your car rocking back and forth a bit until you’re out of the hole.  And when you’re out, that’s when you can slam on the gas again.

Your body is probably overtrained.  You’ve trained too much, too often, and now you’re stuck in a hole.  Best thing to do is to back off from hard training for a while.  This doesn’t mean you cant come to the gym, but it means give yourself a few days of rest, and when you come back, take it easy.  One or two sets of exercise per body part.  That again, one or two sets per body part.  This doesn’t mean 2 sets of bench, 2 sets of cross overs, and 2 sets of incline bench.  It means just 2 sets of cross overs, then you’re done with your chest.  Repeat that for back and shoulders, and you’re finished.  You wont sweat much, you wont work hard, and you wont be there long.  You’re easing on the gas and giving yourself a chance to rock out of that hole you trained yourself into.

Here’s an example of what to do.

Monday (chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, forearms)

Warm up: Treadmill 5 minutes

Bench Press – 10 reps / 2 sets

Wide grip bent over rows – 10 reps / 1 set

Wide grip pull ups – 10 reps / 1 set

Overhead dumbbell press – 10 reps / 2 sets

Bicep curls – 10 reps / 2 sets

Wrist curls – 10 reps / 2 sets

Reverse wrist curls – 10 reps / 2 sets

Thursday (Lower back, legs, abs)

Warm up: Treadmill 5 minutes

Front Squats – 10 reps / 2 sets

Good mornings – 10 reps / 2 sets

Weighted crunches – 10 reps / 2 sets

Calf raises – 10 reps / 2 sets

Additional Notes: I’m aware of the lack of direct tricep work on Monday.  It’s made that way since 2 sets of bench and 2 sets of overhead press are fine for triceps when you’re backing off.  Further I’d suggest you casually bring yourself near failure – that means do not fail mid rep on anything.  If you know you’re going to fail on the next rep, then go ahead and stop the set.  This works even better if you don’t bother with anything containing caffeine or listening to music.  Both of those get your adrenaline pumping, and we’re trying to let your body to include your adrenal glands rest a while.

A week or two of taking it easy is just what you need to perk back up.  You’ll feel better and your motivation will return.  While you cant completely avoid getting yourself into an overtrained state (getting stuck in a hole), you can increase how long your program can last before you do overtrain by boosting your testosterone.  One supplement I recommend to everyone (I really do) that can do this is Mass FX The Destroyer.  So long as your diet is in check (high protein, good fats balanced with bad fats, plenty of green leafy vegetables, and other common sense things), this will definitely help keep you out of a rut.  And if you find yourself back in a rut, you’ll know what to do.

Hope this helps.

Kim “Swole” Williams