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How Much Protein Do I Need?…by Josh Schlottman

A big question that I’ve always gotten is, “how much protein do I need to build muscle and burn fat?”  And that really all depends, if you’re a skinny guy who needs to pack on a muscle then you should be taking in more than a girl who wants to lean out and shed the belly fat.

Also if you’re the size of an NFL linebacker than you’re going to be able to take in more protein than a high school kid.

It’s still shocking to see young kids drinking 50+ grams of protein in one of those ginormous bodybuilding gorilla shakes because they’re really just wasting their money.

The average person can only absorb about 30 grams of protein in a sitting so if you’re trying to take in 90 pounds of protein for lunch then you’re going to find most of it just coming out your other side.

Click here to discover my 7 Best Muscle Building Foods.

So the best way to take in protein is going to be to spread it out evenly over the 5 or 6 meals you’re eating throughout the day.  This way you’ll have more time to better absorb the protein and use it for recovery and the rebuilding of muscles.  A big rule of thumb is to have some source of lean protein and some vegetables with every meal.

I usually recommend to my clients that they drink a 20-30 gram protein shake, half before their workout and half afterwards.  This way you can use some of the energy you’re getting from your shake for the workout and also get the other half to immediately start rebuilding your body.

Another good rule of thumb for answering the How Much Protein Do I Need question is that if you’re training hard to take in 0.6x-0.8x grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.  So if you weight 180 lbs. then you should be taking in around 144 grams of protein.  Spread that over 6 meals, eaten 3 hours apart, you should be eating (hold on let me bust out my calculator…) 24 grams of protein per meal.

But this is only if you’re training hard and trying to build muscle and if you’re a lady trying to lean out more than you’ll probably be better off going with just 0.6 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Another awesome advantage of taking in a lot of protein is that because of the protein molecules complex structure it’s a heck of a lot more difficult for your body to break down protein than it is carbohydrates of fats.  This means that just by taking in more protein you’ll see in increase in metabolism over having a diet higher in carbohydrates and fats.

I hope this helps answer the question, How Much Protein Do I Need and if you have any more questions be sure to send them my way by leaving a comment below.  And if you’re looking to take your diet to the next level see my review of the Xtreme Fat Loss Diet.

To your success,

Josh

Travel Diet Secrets: How to Join my Exclusive Mile High Club…by Josh Schlottman

So I’m heading off to Seattle today and I’ve been going into overdrive getting all my snacks ready to go.  I absolutely hate eating airport food and all the junk in most restaurants so I take my travel diet into my own hands.

Instead of paying $$ for overpriced junk food in the airport I’m snacking on some of my favorite healthy foods, while keeping lean at the same time.

A lot of my high end clientele travel a lot and one of their biggest concerns is nutrition and how to have a healthy travel diet.  Most people when they travel just pick up meals to eat here and there, but the real secret is preparation in getting all your healthy snacks and drinks ready to go.

The biggest key in my travel diet are foods that are lean and will last a long time.  Unfortunately I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way that will make you think twice about what foods to bring on your travel diet. (more…)

The 7 Best Muscle Building Foods…by Josh Schlottman

When it comes to the best foods to build muscle it’s easy to believe that all you need is protein, protein, protein.  But it goes a little deeper than that when it comes to muscle building diets.  The best part about having some lean muscle on your body is that it will also increase your metabolism and will burn A LOT more fat than you would if you didn’t have as much muscle on your body.

The goal of everybody who wants to have a lean, ripped and attractive body should be to build muscle.  The biggest resistance I get is from females who are really resistant because they don’t want to get big bulky muscles.

But when you go on a muscle building diet you will fortunately also shred a heck of a lot of fat and unless you’re on a crazy training program like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you won’t get big bulky muscles.  If fat loss is your goal, check out my Xtreme Fat Loss Diet review too.

And guys who are trying to build muscle should definitely be eating a lot of the best foods for muscle building.  Many vegetarians are going to have a lot of trouble getting muscle on their bodies because of the lack of lean high protein sources.  I’m not a fan of vegetarian diets but I do respect peoples decision to go on them, but I would NEVER recommend it if you ever plan on putting some good muscle on your body.

I’m still surprised at the amount of people training who don’t know which foods for building muscle they should be taking in.  And to be honest, it’s really not their fault, I don’t ever remember looking at the Food Pyramid and seeing what I should be eating to burn fat and build muscle.  I still remember my younger bodybuilding days when I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and would pound at least 3 protein shakes a day.  FAIL. (more…)

Hardcore TRX and Kettlebell Workout…by Josh Schlottman

Using two of my most favorite pieces of fitness equipment of all time, I had the crazy idea to create the ultimate hardcore workout using the TRX and kettlebells.  Both the TRX Suspension Trainer and the kettlebell are HUGE staples in just about all of my own personal workouts and my clients.  For a more in depth look be sure to see my TRX Suspension Trainer review.

The best way I thought possible to make this workout as hardcore as possible using the TRX and kettlebells was to superset them.  I have used supersets in my own workouts ever since I was around 18 years old.  To be perfectly honest I picked up the whole concept from bodybuilders, most notably Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And the supersets are still SUPER relevant when it comes to workouts that build muscle and burn fat.  The real key is mixing up the supersets, and one of my favorite ways is to alternate pushing and pulling exercises.

So with the TRX Suspension Trainer and the kettlebells I would use one for mostly a pushing exercises, such as TRX push-ups, while I would immediately go into another pulling exercise with the kettlebells, such as rows.  This way I’m using two whole different muscles groups back-to-back and getting the biggest bang for my buck.  So while my pushing muscles are resting, I’m training my pulling muscles instead of hanging out by the drinking fountain and watching ESPN.

The supersets in this hardcore TRX and kettlebell workout will get most people headed straight to the puke bucket, and on top of that all the exercises I use with them are going to be total body and require a lot of work.  When I first switched over to this style of training from the more traditional bodybuilding background, I was SHOCKED to find out how weak I was when I was doing this stuff.  It’s easy doing curls with 135 lbs. but trying to do curls on the TRX while laying on your back is the ultimate test. (more…)

The Jason Statham Kick Ass Workout and Diet Plan…by Josh Schlottman

If you’ve seen any real action movie recently then I’m sure you’ve seen Jason Statham in it.  And you won’t believe where he goes for inspiration for his hardcore kick ass workouts.  He’s not flipping on a lame P90x DVD anytime soon, Jason Statham goes to prison to find his training inspiration.

Totally put off my big gyms and their machines with wussy trainers walking around, Jason Statham went out to find the ultimate anti-gym and was inspired by visiting a prison and seeing how the inmates trained.  I was surprised to find the similarities with his own diet plan as I found in my Xtreme Fat Loss Diet review.

Jason Statham wants his own workout to be extreme and brutal while strongly emphasizing the use of bodyweight training over machines.  Jason Statham’s own personal trainer, Logan Hood, is a former Navy SEAL himself and was also one of the guys who got the crew for the film 300 in such great shape.

His trainer takes a no B.S. approach to his training and diet philosophy with Jason Statham admitting that there’s no place to hide when working out with him.

From all my research I’ve done with Jason Statham’s training routine I’ve found that his style of training is probably the one most similar to my own.  This guys is going really hardcore and leaves no excuses on the table.

I really like his attitude when it comes to training and he doesn’t get caught up with all the hoopla of pansy Hollywood workouts and diets. (more…)