Lose Fat and Build Muscle with Intermittent Fasting!

I mentioned on the Super Human Radio interview with Carl Lanore and Dr. Andro that I had recently taken some updated back pictures and had seen awesome results!


I did a side by side comparison of these back pictures with the ones from my guest post on the Suppversity Student Spotlight and the results are amazing!


Even though people had said I looked like gained muscle during my transformation, I wasn't fully convinced whether I did or not as I know it is nearly impossible to do so while on a caloric deficit.


However, after comparing these two pictures, it definitely looks like I have gained muscle and lost fat at the same time!

Increased muscle and fat loss with intermittent fasting!...with of course heavy weight training!

The first picture was taken on June 11th, 2011 and I weighed 165 lbs at that time. The second picture was taken on July 26th, 2011 where I weighed 163 lbs.


Even though I weigh less, my back looks wider, thicker, and has more cuts and detail in it. My biceps and shoulders look bigger as well! 


Being that I weighed less yet am bigger and more "ripped", this is evidence that simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss occurred!


After seeing these pictures, I am now convinced that there's something amazing going on with the intermittent fasting combined with my training routine and nutrition protocol!

Intermittent Fasting Interview on Super Human Radio

Check out my interview with Carl Lanore and Dr. Andro on Super Human Radio!

Superhuman radio interview with Carl Lanore and Dr. Andro on Intermittent Fasting!

Duong Nguyen and Dr. Andro discuss his amazing transformation using Intermittent Fasting combined with weight training! Listen to the show at the link below:


Listen to Duong Nguyen on Super Human Radio

Syntha-6 Protein, 5 lbs for 35.49! (Vanilla or Strawberry flavors only)

This is a pretty good deal on 5 lbs of Syntha-6 Vanilla or Strawberry Protein!
Do the Amazon subscribe and save, then you get it for $35.49 and free shipping. You can always cancel the Subscribe and save after you receive the protein.


Syntha-6 tastes delicious although it is higher in carbs and fats then other proteins. Because of this I don't plan on incorporating the Syntha-6 until my bulk :)

5x5 workout routine

My Modified 5x5 Workout day


During my 12 week transformation, the weight training routine I was doing was a full body heavy/medium split with 2 heavy days a week and 1 medium day. The details of that routine can be found in my blog post regarding training for my 12 week transformation.

Parallel Grip Pull ups to failure

Heavy for me is defined as weight training in the 3-5 rep range. Medium workouts for me are defined as weight training in the 8-12 rep range.

If I workout with heavy weights too often for too long, then my joints start hurting. So what I am doing now is giving my joints a break and also trying to put some more emphasis on hypertrophying my upper body. 

To do this, I have taken a break from working out legs and am now just doing 1 heavy day with 2 medium days. The 2 medium days are reserved for a chest/shoulders and back/biceps split. The one heavy day consists of a heavy chest, back, and shoulder exercise. 

I also do a few sets of ab exercises at the end of each workout.

I just did a heavy workout yesterday and decided to take some pics to show you guys what I do :) 

Here are the details of my current heavy workout:

Format is Set # - Weight used x # of reps 

Heavy Chest Exercise: Low Incline Smith Machine Bench Press

Set 1: 245 x 5

Set 2: 245 x 5

Set 3: 245 x 5 

Set 4: 245 x 5

Set 5: 245 x 5 followed by dropset of 155 lbs to failure

Low Incline Smith Machine Bench Press

Heavy Back Exercise: V-Bar Handle Pulldown

Set 1: 240 x 5

Set 2: 245 x 5 

Set 3: 245 x 5

Set 4: 245 x 5

Set 5: 245 x 5 followed by parallel grip pullups to failure

V-bar Pulldown Back View

V-Bar Pulldown Side View

Dumbbell Push Press

Set 1: 85 x 5

Set 2: 85 x 5 

Set 3: 85 x 5

DB Push Press - Start

DB Push Press - Middle 

DB Push Press - End

Lateral Raises
Set 1: 55 x 5
Set 2: 55 x 5 followed by dropset of 35 lbs to failure

Ab Wheel (Standing on Feet)

Set 1: 8 reps

Set 2: 8 reps 

Set 3: 6 reps followed by Ab Wheel from the knees to failure

Ab Wheel from feet -Start

Ab Wheel from feet - Finish

I feel great using this workout routine and split right now. The medium days give my joints a break and I also get to work on a "pump" on those days. The heavy days allow me to use the heavier weights so my strength stays high.

Harbinger Big Grip "No-Slip" Pro Lifting Straps review

Harbinger Big Grip "No-Slip" Pro Lifting Straps review


Recently, my left wrist has been in a great deal of pain during and after my workouts. I don't remember exactly how I hurt it so I figure it must have been a gradual build up. The pain is now to the point where I can't ignore it.


Normally, I would just work through the pain as I have had this happen to me before, but this time I was worried I might seriously injure it and not be able to workout as intensely as I would like.


So, I decided to buy some wrist wraps for support especially during the heavier lifts. In my search for wrist wraps, I found these wraps that also doubled as wrist straps as well.


I was planning on buying straps in the near future anyway, so I thought I might as well buy the wrist wraps that came with straps.


I decided on the Harbinger 21700 Big Grip No-Slip Pro Lifting Straps. 

Impressions
My initial impressions upon pulling these out of the package were that were of a very high quality. The stitching and the material felt like it would provide for a long lasting product. I had never seen straps of this quality before...but I had also never spent 20 dollars on straps either!


It has an 11.5" strap which I was able to easily wrap around the bar or dumbbell twice if I wanted or needed to. The inside of the strap also has "Dura-Grip" rubber for added grip strength. I felt like the rubber worked well to provide a "no-slip" grip as it advertised.


The wrist wrap portion had great wrist support so I felt little to no pain during exercises. The Velcro strap and buckle is a nice feature that allows me to easily adjust the tightness as needed. 


The strap portion also worked as it should in decreasing the involvement of my wrist and forearms to lessen fatigue.


Before I received these straps, my left wrist would be in extreme pain by the time I was done with my workout. However, after working out using these straps I felt no pain at all at the end...this was great and exactly the effect I was hoping for in purchasing this product!


I'm very happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend this product if you're looking for wrist straps.

Guest Blog Post on Suppversity!

Guest Blog Post on Suppversity!

SuppVersity is one of the blogs which I follow regularly and really look forward to the updates. Dr. Andro posts awesome research reviews of studies he finds relating to the areas of health, exercise, fat loss, and building muscle! 

He came across my blog and recently asked me to write a guest blog post and I was happy to oblige! So here is the link to my guest blog post telling the story of how I started weightlifting and how I transformed my body in 12 weeks!

The SuppVersity Student Spotlight: Duong Nguyen - Twelve Weeks of Intermittent Fasting Got Duong a Mind-Boggling, "Aesthetically Muscled" Physique

White Flood review

Controlled Labs White Flood sample review

Recently, I had requested some samples from the supplement company known as Controlled Labs. If you're not familiar with the company name, you may be familiar with their most popular supplement called Purple Wraath.

Samples received from Controlled Labs: REDuction, Green Magnitude, White Flood, Purple Wraath

They also have a pre-workout product called White Flood, which I've been hearing a lot about on the Bodybuilding.com forums. They apparently come out with an updated version which people were saying was better than the original. 

So here's my review of the sample product I received:

Taste

I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed with the taste. I was expecting something pretty delicious since that was what I had been reading on the forums so I guess my high expectations sort of set me up for a let down. I'm wondering if I got a sample of the original version instead of the newly revised version.

It was a supposed to be fruit punch flavor which I guess that's what it did taste closest to. It's hard to describe what I didn't like about the taste though, it was just off. I guess I would say that there was an aftertaste that I didn't like about it. It wasn't bad but I wouldn't say it was good either. It's not a product that I would like to sip on and would just chug it as fast as I could.

I've tried other preworkouts that have tasted better such as Lit-up, Jack3d, and Superpump 250. 

Energy

The energy I felt on this was great. I normally don't like to take stimulants that get me too "amped" up but this one felt good. It got me ready to workout but didn't feel like the kind of cracked out "amped" like I used to with get with ephedrine, but this is a good thing for me.

Strength

For this particular workout, it was my "heavy" day so I was doing sets of 5 reps. I did notice that I was able to increase the weight a little bit in each of 3 exercises which I did. This was a little bit of a surprise as I had been out late the night before until 4 AM. So thumbs up for this area :)

Endurance

This is the area where I really felt it made a difference. Normally, towards the end of my workout, I can tell when I'm ready to leave the gym. But yesterday, I felt like I had just as much strength and energy at the end of my workout as I did at the beginning! This was a pretty amazing effect for me.

Pump

I don't normally pay too much attention to the pumps I get from products as I've never had trouble obtaining a pump in the gym. Even when I do low rep workouts like the one I was doing, I get a pump. So in this area, I didn't notice anything different. 

Overall

This is a preworkout that I definitely would buy for its effects and price if it tasted better. If you're not too concerned with taste, then I would definitely recommend this product for its effectiveness. I might consider buying it if I could get it for a super low price than it already is, but until that happens I'm going to continue to try other preworkouts.

Note that you will definitely feel the Beta Alanine "tingles" with this product as I felt it very strongly on the back of my neck and shoulders.

What preworkouts have you guys used and recommend?

Driven Sports Lean Xtreme Buy 2 Get 1 Free

Driven Sports Lean Xtreme Buy 2 Get 1 Free


I haven't posted any supplements deals at all except for my one blog post about what I had found. 

So I'd thought I'd share this one that I came across. It's a Buy 2 Get 1 Free deal from Bodybuilding.com for Drive Sports Lean Extreme. I've used the old version of this product before with good results. I haven't yet tried the new version though but I thought I'd share this since I'm really considering buying it for this price.


Note that it's a non-stimulant based fat burner so you can stack it with other stimulant type thermogenics if you wish.


It's a buy 2 get 1 free deal, so you get 3 bottles for a 63.56 so about 21 bucks a bottle. Regular price on these is around 30 bucks so its a pretty good deal.

Why do people skip going to the gym?

Why do people skip going to the gym?


I feel like lately all my posts have been about vacations and cheating on your diets :) So today, I have a rant. 


The gym I go to is one of those 24 hours gyms in which members receive a card that they scan in order to get access to the gym. The members need to scan this card in order to unlock the door to get in.


This scan card is also a way for the members and the gym owners to track what days and time a member supposedly goes to the gym.

This is the current gym I go to

The other day, my girlfriend pointed out to me a person who had driven up to the door, scanned their card, opened the door, and then got back into their car and drove away. 


Now this isn't something new that I haven't seen before. I've actually seen it done plenty of times since I've been at this gym. My previous gym was the same type of 24-hour gym and I saw it done there as well.


So why are these people doing this? Well their insurance companies give them a $20 reimbursement off the gym membership fee per month if they go to the gym 12 times a month. I know this because my girlfriend receives it from her health insurance company.


Not only are these people cheating themselves, they are also cheating their insurance companies. This is essentially insurance fraud! They think nothing of it though since they justify it to themselves that's its only 20 dollars.


What really pisses me off when I see this are my thoughts about why they would keep their gym membership? My gym has a month to month agreement so they are not locked into a contract. Why not just cancel your gym membership and stop lying to yourself about having one? You're so lazy to cancel your gym membership that you would rather drive to the gym 12 times a month to save 20 bucks?


Another thing is that the people who I see do this, of course are the ones who look like they need to get into the gym the most! I don't know what's worse, these people who scan their cards without stepping foot in the gym or people who lie to themselves and say they're happy with being fat. They both are lying to themselves either way.


I wish there was a way for my gym to not give these people credit for their scans unless they get in and stay in the gym for at least 30 minutes. This would mean that the video would need to be reviewed to catch these people and that would take too many man hours for the owner to do so.


I think a good idea would be to have separate scanners for coming in and out. The user would need to scan their card to get in and then scan their card to get out. Then if the difference in times is less than 30 minutes, the member gets no credit!


I think this is a great idea :) Too bad I don't know how it would come to realization. It would have to be something the insurance companies initiate since the gym isn't necessarily losing any money from people doing this. Its the insurance companies that are losing money from this (and indirectly me as well as this would lead to increased insurance rates)


Has anyone seen this happening at your gym and has any one of these people ever been confronted?

July 4th Vacation with Friends

July 4th Vacation with Friends and weight gain


I know its been a while since I've posted anything. My friends from Philadelphia flew in to visit me for the July 4th weekend so I've been super busy. Needless to say, the festivities included a lot of eating, drinking, and partying (which means lack of sleep as well).

Me and my girlfriend partying and gaining weight

Thursday morning before my friends flew in, I weighed in at 159 lbs, the lowest I've been this summer. Now that my friends were in town, I was not going workout and I was going to eat without any regard to nutrition or diet (I actually did workout the morning before they came). I knew I would gain weight but how much, I wasn't sure. 


Here's a list of the foods I ate over the course of the extended weekend: 

• Juicy Lucy burgers w/ french fries
• Beef brisket noodle soup
• Chinese baked goods
• Hawaiian cookie company cookies
• Chicken curry noodle soup
• Cream cheese wontons
• Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup)
• Summer rolls
• Steam rolls
• Various Asian desserts
• Culvers butterburgers with culvers frozen custard
• Pizza rolls
• Instant pho
• Dim sum
• Various chinese pastries
• More Culvers burgers and frozen custard
• Bun Bo hue, cream cheese wontons, eggrolls
• Chicken and potato curry w/ rice, papaya salad, chicken wings, asian sausage
• Cheesecake
• Roast Duck wonton noodle soup
• More Culvers butterburgers, frozen custard, and onion rings
• Cici's pizza buffet
• Breyer's ice cream

So how much did I gain eating ALL this food? I ended up at 173 so I gained 14 lbs over 5 days! I had actually reached 176 but it stabilized at 173.

Normally after a cheat or refeed, I'll fast the entire day the next day which is what I did yesterday. After fasting, I am down to 167 this morning so I lost 6 of the 14 lbs I gained. 

I'm still feeling pretty fat right now, but just 8 more lbs to go to get back down to my pre-vacation weight :)