Life Isn’t Fair, But Bodybuilding Is Pretty Close…

Life in general is not fair, not even close. It took me a while to realize it, but this simple fact is something important that you need to eventually understand.

If you are unable to ever acknowledge it, it will start to slowly eating away at you.

There is always going to be someone smarter than you, richer than you, and definitely better looking than you. (You, not me)

And that is why I love sports so much. Effort is important.

In my opinion, bodybuilding is one of the most “fair” sports in the world.

I’m not gonna plead ignorance and say that genetics are not important, but without heavy and consistent weight lifting, cardio and a proper diet; you will never get anywhere.

There is nothing I enjoy more than standing on the beach in the summer and showing off my hard work.

I might be able to beat Arnold, except in abs, but I can still get in better shape than 95% of the population.

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

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If You Are Gonna Take A Shot At The King, You Better Not Miss…

I am not trying to brag, but when I get my ass into great shape, I really start to look good.

What it really comes down to for me is, what kind of mindset am I in?

• Am I willing to starve myself?
• Will I do repeat sprints in the blazing heat outside?
• Will I try to deadlift 600 lbs?

If the answer to all of these are “no”, then I will not look like a freak.

I need to be firing on all cylendars to look my best.

So far this year, I am feeling “pretty good”.

My mindset is in the right place, I’ve been injury free and my numbers have been impressive.

My workout last week were as follows:

Monday: Bench press 245 x 7, biceps, etc

Tuesday: 275 x 5 squats (ass to the floor), calve raises, etc

PM Session 3 miles in 20:40 treadmile

Wendsday: Rest

Thursday: Chest# 2. dumbbells, fly’s, etc.

Friday: Deadlift 345 x 10, 110 lb dumbbell bend over rows, 2 sets of 10 chins

Pm session: 2 miles in 13 minutes (Treadmile)

Saturday: 2 miles in 13:55 outside.  6 x 40 meter sprints.

Overall, that is a tough week of exercise, along with going to work everday and eating like a bird.

I am “finally” starting to look a little bit slimmer and my times are starting to improve.

My game plan from here out? 5-6 days a week of exercise with multiple “double” sessions.

My typical goal is to hit 3 miles in 21 minutes outside and it looks like I “should” hit that pretty easily.  On a really good year, I will even go under 20 minutes.

But I am also looking pretty solid this season.  My winter training was strong with 550 lb deadlifts, 315 lb bench presses and 355 lb squats.

I tell people all the time, if you werent lifing heavy in the winter you will have trouble trying to get ripped in the Spring and Summer.

Overall, I am feeling really good and that is bad news for all you other guys out there.

Remember, if you take a shot at the king, you better not miss.

And I am still alive.

-John Andre

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

To Look Freaky, You Need To Train And Eat Freaky…

As of today, the best shape I have ever looked was when I was 29 years old.

Ripped abs

Since then, I have gotten pretty close to my “peak” shape and I always get relatively ripped during the summer.

But to be honest, it’s going to be difficult to beat my 29-year old physique, although there are some advantages of being older.

Older bodybuilders have the advantage of having really solid muscle.  There is just no way to cheat or replicate years of heavy powerlifting.

That is why some College Football players will still look massive even years after they stopped competing.

But, I also think about what type of crazy training I was doing back then.

First of all, my diet was STRICT.  I was living with two roommates at the time and without the distraction of a wife/kids, all I did was eat cleanly.  Very low carb and also very low calorie.

Secondly, I was lifting heavy.  I was just coming off my best powerlifting year, where I was benching 350 and deadlifting over 560.

And finally, I was also running pretty good.  I had my 3 mile time down to 20 minutes flat and I was running the mile in around 5:20 on the track.

So overall, I was bench pressing over 315 lbs, while running a mile in 5:20 and eating like a bird.

That combination is tough to beat.

I was also hanging out all night, especially on the weekends, until 4 in the morning and burning a ton of extra calories.

One thing I am starting to notice is that although I always get cut, I am starting to look the same every year.

For me to make any “freaky” changes, I am going to have to start getting freaky in my routine.

That means super fast cardio, more super sets in the gym and also a ton of “fasting”.

If I don’t change it up, I will look the same as last year.

Time to make a change…

-John Andre

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

I Am Coming In Pretty Thick. This Could Be A Good Summer…

I am now about a month and a half into my Spring training.  So far I have started to clean up my diet and I have also added some intense cardio.

In the last two weeks I ran 3 miles on the treadmile in 20:45 and outside I ran it in 21:40.  I am not as fast I would like to be yet, but I am getting there.

But more importantly, my physique is looking especially thick this year.  Some of that is just from lifting weights for so many years but it’s also from going heavy during the winter.

This winter I was almost deadlifting 545 lbs and I also was squatting 315 to the floor.  Those are heavy, classic, mass-building exercises.

One thing that I have noticed about when I am coming in thick, is that I start to look good pretty fast.

When I am slacking in muscle, often it will take me a long time to start looking good.  But since I put on so much solid muscle this year, I am starting to look “ok” already.

Going forward, I still need to cut another 15+ lbs and continue to improve on my cardio.

I think I should be able to run 3 miles in 21 minutes in a month or so.  After that, I just need to continue adding my sprint training and push it in the gym.

I might have to post some early Spring training pictures this year, I am looking good.

Good luck!

-John Andre

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

For Your Training In April You Need To Be A Machine…

After a long winter with some heavy powerlifting, I am really turning the corner and starting to look “a little bit” cut.

April is a month of hard work.  My plan for the next 6 to 8 weeks is just to start killing it in the gym and keep my diet strict.

This will include at least 2 days a week where I work out twice.  That doesn’t mean two long sessions, it means I do weights at lunch and then go back after work to hit the cardio hard.

Sometimes I can do weights and cardio in one session, but I found that taking 3 or 4 hours in between makes a big difference.  I can hit it really hard again after sitting in front of a computer for a while and that hard training will really start to pay off.

This past Thursday I run 3 miles in 20:45 seconds.  That is finally a fast time for me and my only good run of the year so far.  I am hoping that is that start of some fast times and will propel myself into good shape for the summer.

Overall, my training is coming along good, I just need to seriously cut some weight.  I would love to cut as much as 10 lbs before Memorial Day weekend.

Losing weight is the name of the game.  There are millions of people out there training consistently, but their physiques will never improve because they don’t cut any weight.

Heavy lifting, fast cardio, fresh air and strict diet.

That is the name of the game.

-John Andre

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

It’s Time To Get Busy. Hard Cardio And Diet…

This has been a rough Spring so far.  Not only did I start a new job, but I also have a second child on the way.

Luckily, my second child is not due until Octobers, so I really have no excuse to not get ripped this summer.

I’ve cut about 8 or 9 lbs down to 171ish and I am running 3 miles in around 22:30.  I have also included some sprinting, but I really need to pick up the pace.

Switching jobs hurt me bad.

I had about a month straight of interviews that were killing my workouts and then starting a new job also took up a lot of my free time.

But now it looks like I can finally get down to some hard training and get into shape.

The name of the game is going to be super strict diet and hard cardio.

Tomorrow I am going to do a double session.  Weights during lunch at work and then cardio after work.

Double sessions can be tiring, but once you get into a routine, it starts to go pretty easy.

I also signed up for a 5k race in the Spring, although I plan on focusing on my sprinting more this season.

Overall, slight hiccup for the last month but I am still coming in pretty strong.

Will try to get pretty cut for Memorial Day and hopefully have some good pictures.

Good luck!

-John Andre

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

I Am Getting Older (39). I Need To Change My Training…

Being stubborn can destroy your training.  If you continue with the same routines day in and day out, you will never improve.

And I see this ALL the time at the gym.

Most people don’t change at all.  Middle of winter or in the blazing hot middle of July, they look exactly the same.

Now that I am officially in my late 30’s, almost 40, I am still in pretty good shape.  I am still deadlifting in the mid 500’s, my squats are in the mid 300’s and I can still run good times.

But there are two things that I need to change asap.

A) I need to keep my diet strict all year round and slow down on my winter bulk up.  Last season I felt that I bulked up way too much and it was a struggle to get my body weight down quickly.  This year I gained about 6 lbs less, but it still feels pretty heavy.

B) I need to do cardio all year around.  Again, I did “some”cardio all year, compared to last season when I took 6 months off.  That is not healthy and I think I actually looked better when I stayed lean during the winter.  For my 40th birthday next year I am going to make sure that I continue cardio all winter long.

Conclusion: Like I stated above, being stubborn can cost you big time in bodybuilding.  I can still train hard, if not harder, then when I was younger, but I do need to make some changes in my routine.

Spring is definitely here, time to hit the cardio hard, lose weight and start getting cut.

Good luck!

-John Andre

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

Diet Is 90%

I have been working out now for almost 25 years.  That includes doing track and field in both High School and College, several powerlifting meets and also amateur bodybuilding.

Although I always knew that the diet was very important, it wasn’t until I seriously started using a bodybuilding diet that I started to get really ripped.

Ripped abs

It was immediately that I realized, the diet is extremely important. I used to say that bodybuilding is 50% workout and 50% diet.

Then I upped it to 75%.

Now I think it is 90% diet.

Let’s face it, almost everyone in the gym does the same workouts.  Everyone does bench press for chest, everyone does curls for biceps, but not everyone looks like Arnold.

Besides genetics and taking steroids, the diet is really the only thing that separates bodybuilders.

Even if you lift less weights than someone else, you still might look better than someone depending on your diet.

If you want to make progress in the gym, immediately start to work on your diet.  That is really the only way to get cut.

Overall, spring is coming.  Time to get ripped.

Check out my 3 books on amazon.com! Or other books I support!

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

Finally, Some Good News

March 1st Is the Last Day To Start Cardio Or You Will Be Fat This Summer…

I am sorry to inform all of my competition out there, but if you did not start your cardio routine recently, you better start it now.

March 1st is the last day to start your cardio routine and still get ripped for the summer.

How do I know this? From YEARS of experience.  If you start too early you might end up “skinny fat”, if you start to late, you wont get your body fat low enough.

The “sweet spot” to start doing cardio is between Feb 14th and the first week of March.

The other question is, “what type of cardio I should be doing”? That is also important, because if you are doing your cardio incorrectly, you can also ruin your summer.

In my latest book, I tell you exactly what you need to do.

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat

For me personally, my Spring training is just starting to get revved up.  I lost around 5 lbs so far and I’ve completed about 10-12 cardio sessions.

Another week or two and I will start to add my sprinting routine into the mix and then I should start to get pretty cut.

And if you do it correctly, you should end up looking like this.

Ripped abs

-John Andre

It’s Almost Time To Train Outside, You Can’t Wait Forever…

This winter has been pretty mild in NYC.

Living in NYC, I actually like having 4 distinct seasons.   Although it seems that the Winters in NYC are pretty long and for some reason longer than the other 3.  This winter hasn’t been too bad.

For bad weather I prefer to use the treadmile.   In recent years I have been using it more and more, but I still think it is important to train outside when you can.

Especially when it comes to any type of sprinting, you need to be outside.  For tempo runs, the treadmile is actually pretty good and can be low impact depending on the machine.

For example, the treadmile I use in Manhattan seems to be very hard for some reason, but the one I use on the weekends in Staten Island feels as soft as a pillow.  For that reason I will run 3-4 miles on the weekends without hurting my joints or feet.

Since it has been pretty warm this winter, I am going to have to suck it up and start running outside.

Just as long as it’s above 30 degrees, there really isn’t an excuse to stay inside.  I used to run outside all year round, but now I take off the cold parts of the winter and just powerlift.

When it comes to dieting, its also time to start to getting busy.

Although I am on vacation and eating like crap this weekend, I have started cleaning up my diet during the work week.

Enjoy the rest of your winter.

If you really want to stop wasting time and start getting cut, check out one of my books on amazon.com

Running 2.0 The End Of Long-Distance Running: Including The Top Ten Spint Workouts To Remove Bodyfat