How To Build A Classic Physique

Published by Tried & True Fitness Copyright 2011

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Title: How To Build A Classic Physique

Author: Matt Marshall

Published By: Tried & True Fitness

Location: Tried & True Fitness, LLCP.O. Box 1701Eastlake, CO 80614

No part of this manual may be reproduced or distributed without the expressed written consent of Tried & True Fitness LLC.

Every word of this manual is protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, 2011.

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Legal Notices No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or

transmitted by email without permission in writing from the publisher.

While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in

this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any

responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the

subject matter herein.

This publication is not intended for use as any source of advice such as

legal, medical, or accounting. The publisher wants to stress that the

information contained herein may be subject to varying international,

federal, state, and/or local laws or regulations.

The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the

use of these materials and information.

Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, including international,

federal, state and local governing professional licensing, business

practices, advertising, and all other aspects of doing business in the US,

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Canada or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser

or reader.

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Medical Advisory The information and workout procedures provided in this guide are very

intense and should not be attempted by anyone unless a doctor has

cleared you for such an intense workout.

If you have any existing health problems that would prohibit you from

taking part in any of these activities, you should refrain.

As always, you should clear this program with your doctor before you

begin.

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Table Of Contents

Introduction...............................................................................................8

Chapter 1: Everything You've Been Told Is Wrong!.........................17

Chapter 2: A Lean, Muscular & Healthy Physique Is Your Birthright.............................................................................................21

Chapter 3: The Four Cornerstones of Health & Fitness....................29

Chapter 4: The First Cornerstone: Nutrition.....................................34

Chapter 5: The Second Cornerstone: Lifestyle..................................71

Chapter 6: The Third Cornerstone: Strength Training....................86

Chapter 7: The Fourth Cornerstone: Conditioning........................161

Chapter 8: The Extra Edge: Supplements........................................176

Chapter 9: Realistic Results................................................................192

Chapter 10: Parting Words.................................................................199

About The Author.................................................................................201

Recommended Reading.......................................................................202

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Introduction

Eugene Sandow in 1898.

Congratulations! You've made a wise decision to purchase this book. Because within these pages, you're going to discover the lost secrets of gaining muscle, burning fat, and developing a classic physique.

.

These are the techniques and tactics developed long before the invention of steroids... so you can be sure this system will work for regular, drug-free guys like you and me.

I'll give you my story in a minute. But first, let's talk about you. Let's talk about how YOU can have a classic physique with far less effort than you might think and how you will look when you achieve your classic physique.

So What Exactly Is A Classic Physique?

Take a look at the photo above. That's Eugene Sandow and that photo was snapped way back in 1898. That is a prime example of a Classic Physique. He's lean & muscular. He didn't just look strong, he was strong (more on this in a minute.)

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He's proportionate and symmetrical no single muscle group stands out more than the other. Rather, the entire body is developed in perfect unison. And because he sculpted his physique way back in the late 1800's, we know he was a drug-free trainer.

Compare the classic physique of Eugene Sandow to that of today's modern bodybuilder. The modern bodybuilder looks bloated and soft.

And while the modern bodybuilder is certainly bigger and more muscular than Sandow.... most guys (myself included) would much rather look like Sandow.

And most women would be far more attracted to a guy with Sandow's physique. While the modern bodybuilder might bench press more than Sandow, you can bet Sandow would be in better all-around shape.

Today's modern bodybuilder: Over-developed, droopy pecs and a swollen

belly caused by steroid use.

Sandow could easily beat the modern bodybuilder in a foot race, a grip competition you name it and 9 times out of 10 Sandow would prevail over today's modern bodybuilder.

Plus, it's obvious that today's modern bodybuilder is on all kinds of illegal and dangerous steroids. In stark contrast, Sandow built his physique with nothing more than hard work and smart training.

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Sandow Is Just ONE example of a classic physique...

When I first found that photo of Sandow, I was intrigued. But I was also skeptical. Maybe Sandow was a genetic freak? Maybe Sandow was the only guy who managed to build a lean and muscular physique with these ancient principles?

But then I started digging deeper. And I found MULTIPLE examples of regular guys who built phenomenal physiques... decades before steroids were even invented.

Here are just a few more examples:

Max Sick Photo from 1903 Sig Klein, 1924

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George Hackenschmidt, 1911

Hermann Goerner, 1920

Marvin Eder, 1942Edward Aston, 1921

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As you can see, each of these men built strong, lean & muscular physiques long before steroids were even invented.

Here's why this is so important:

If there was only one example of a old-time guy who built a lean & muscular physique without drugs, then it could be considered an isolated incident.

If there were only two examples of old-time guys who built lean & muscular physiques without drugs, then it could be considered a coincidence.

But because I was able to track down MULTIPLE examples of regular guys who managed to build lean & muscular physiques without drugs, then it must be considered a pattern.

And PATTERNS can be copied and mirrored. Which means if you can discover what these old time trainers ate & drank... how they trained... and how they lived... then you too can mimic their actions and you too can have a lean & muscular physique.

Luckily, I've done all the hard work for you. I've done the research, spent hours tracking down the long lost methods of these old time trainers. And I turned myself into a human guinea pig meticulously testing each method, each strategy and each technique to figure out what REALLY works for genetically average drug-free trainers like you and me.

And if you follow along with this method, you too can have a Classic Physique.

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A Glimpse Into Your Future...

Before I ask you to trust me... before I ask you to try this method... let me show you what's possible. Let me show you the end result.

Eugene Sandow, 1898 Me, 2011

This is me after discovering these ancient fitness secrets. As you can see, my body bears a striking resemblance to Eugene Sandow. This was NOT by accident. This was by design. I saw the photo of Sandow, decided I wanted to look like that and then followed a specific program to make that happen.

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I can't predict exactly how you will look when you complete this program. But I can paint a picture for you.

Imagine waking up each morning feeling full of energy and vigor. Imagine walking into the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror and absolutely loving the way you look. While your friends and family assume you work out for hours each day and starve yourself... you'll know the secret.

You'll know you got this body with just a few short & simple workouts each week And you'll know you got this body by enjoying rich, delicious foods and eating heartily at every meal.

Imagine laughing at the bodybuilders on the magazine covers knowing now that you've mastered your physique and you know exactly how to get (and stay) in top physical condition.

Imagine easily bounding up flights of stairs without any trouble whatsoever even though you never do any cardio. Imagine pulling up your shirt to reveal a rock-solid six pack even though you never do any sit-ups or crunches.

Sound too good to be true? That's what I USED to think. But if you'll try my system for just 30 days I think you'll quickly become a believer.

A Special Note To Women

Although this book was written by a man and in a male voice, I want the women reading this book to know there's no reason why they can't follow this program as well.

Women following this program will not gain anywhere near as much muscle as a man. A woman following this program will simply

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shed fat, lean out and develop curves in all the right places. She'll also enjoy useful strength and energy.

For example, consider the following examples:

Abbye Pudgy Stockton didn't train like a girl. She trained like a man. She tossed around a heavy barbell just like a man. (Although she obviously used less weight but she did the same exercises.)

And it paid off giving her an enviable 34-24-34 measurements at 115 pounds on a 5'2 inch frame.

Abbey Stockton, 1931

Or how about Kate Vulcana Roberts?

Beautiful, slender... and stronger than most men.

In fact, legend has it she could press 180 pounds over her head!

Believe it or not, it's vitally important for a woman to build strength. Because the process of building strength helps to cut body fat.

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I once heard someone in the fitness community say when a woman has what most would consider to be a hot body she can almost always do 3 pull-ups and squat/deadlift 135 pounds for 5 reps.

Here's the problem: Most women don't DO pull-ups, squats or deadlifts. Well, on my program you will. So now you've got something to shoot for.

So if you're a woman and you're bold enough to give this program a try (most women won't try this program since it's not very girly) you can expect amazing results. Please drop me a line with your results as I'm always interested in helping my clients succeed. Ok, let's jump in...

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Chapter One: Everything You've Been Told Is WRONG

Floyd Page, 1948

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain. Mark Twain was right. Because when you start to closely examine many of the commonly believed rules of health and fitness, you start to see them unravel right before your eyes.

See for yourself. How many of these rules have you heard in the past?

Don't eat late at night or it will make you fat.

Don't skip meals or it will slow down your metabolism.

Don't drink beer or alcohol as it kills any hope of losing fat.

Don't eat fatty foods or red meat because it's bad for your heart.

You need to do plenty of cardio to lose weight.

Eat plenty of fruits and whole grains for health and weight loss.

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You need to do 1,000 sit-ups a day to get great abs.

You need tons of protein to gain muscle mass.

You must exercise in your fat burning heart rate zone to burn body fat.

You should always strive for lean protein.

There's no such thing as big-boned individuals as our skeletons are all about the same size.

Eat plenty of fiber because fiber helps prevent colon cancer.

It's ok to drink diet soda because diet soda doesn't contain any calories.

Butter, eggs and creamy foods are bad because they contain too many calories and can raise your cholesterol levels.

Be sure to wear sunscreen every single time you go out in the sun.

The reason we're fatter today is because we're lazy ancient people were more active and would run everywhere.

A vegetarian diet is the healthiest way to eat.

You don't need to lift heavy weights to get strong.

You should lift weights slowly, under control and through a full range of motion.

You must count calories to lose weight.

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Orange juice, apple juice and other fruit juices are healthy drinks.

It's dangerous to maintain an ultra-low bodyfat level (sub 8% bodyfat for men, sub 15% for women) for extended periods of time. And it's nearly impossible anyway.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

If you don't eat protein before bed, your body will eat your muscle while you sleep.

Walking is a good form of cardiovascular exercise.

You must get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

And on and on and on...

This is just a partial list of all the rules of health and fitness I've heard over the years. And in this book, I'm going to shatter every single one of these commonly-held beliefs.

Because believe it or not these myths are probably keeping you fat, weak and unhealthy.

If you're like I was just a short while ago, you are probably embarrassed to take off your shirt in public because you still don't have the lean & muscular physique you want. And yet, it's not for lack of trying. You probably eat right most days. You work out more than the average Joe. And you probably take a few popular supplements as well.

Yet, you're still not as lean & muscular as you'd like. What gives?

The problem is simple. You've been listening to conventional wisdom. You've found yourself as Mark Twain put it on the side with the majority.

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And the majority is ALWAYS wrong. The majority of people are soft, fat and weak. So by following conventional wisdom, by following the majority, you too will end up soft, fat and weak.

But fear not. Because this book will open your eyes. This book will show you a little-known, easy-to-follow method created over a hundred years ago that can give you a lean & muscular physique AND boost your quality of life.

In the next chapter, we'll take a trip back in time and examine why modern day health and fitness information is so far off base.

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Chapter Two: A Lean, Muscular & Healthy Physique Is Your Birthright

Say hello to your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-Uncle Lee. While he's a long-lost ancestor, you two have more in common than you might think.

He wandered the planet around 200,000 years ago. And before he started walking upright and cooking with fire, there were even earlier forms of humans wandering the earth as far back as two million years ago.

Let me give you a brief glimpse inside an average day in Uncle Lee's life.

Lee most likely woke up with the sun. He didn't sleep on a Craft-O-matic mattress. He slept on a pile of leaves or other material gathered to give him a few inches of separation between his body and the cold ground. Despite the accommodations, he wakes up feeling healthy and strong.

He takes his time getting up the sun is just barely peeking over the horizon and Lee is in no rush.

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He stands up and wanders over to the smoldering remains from last night's fire. Some of the women in the tribe are already awake and they're sitting lazily around the fire whispering in hushed tones.

Eventually, Lee's male counterparts join the rest of the tribe at the fire. The kids are waking up now, sleepily rubbing their eyes and wandering down to find their mothers. The group is quiet, but content. Today's activities will look much like yesterday's activities. Everyone knows the plan, everyone knows their role and everyone participates fully.

The men will spend the day hunting while the woman and children will stay closer to the home base while searching for edible greens and berries.

It's the height of summer, and so to beat the heat the men start out early. There's no leftovers from last night so no breakfast for anybody, but they don't seem to mind as they know they'll find a few munchies during the hunt.

The men head out, walking slowly but purposefully. They'll have their best chance of success once they get a few miles away from the rest of the group. As they walk, they keep their eyes open for snacks. A few random berries, some leaves and wild grass, and a few sparse handfuls of nuts are acquired along the way. It's not a full meal, but just enough to keep the mind sharp.

The men nab some smaller prey in the cool of the early morning tossing spears at rabbits and killing a couple. But they're in search of bigger game so they press on.

Still no sign of bigger game and as the sun peaks the men decide to relax for a while under the shade of a large oak tree. They snack on some

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wild vegetables, laugh...and ultimately snooze. The midday heat lends itself well to a brief afternoon nap.

After a few hours rest, the men are back up and on the move. Before long, they spot a herd of buffalo. The hunt is on. Quickly splitting up into small teams, they separate a young buffalo from the herd and chase him down. The entire ordeal, takes less than a few minutes, but in that short time they men have sprinted hundreds of yards, changed directions, tumbled, rolled... and wrestled the powerful buffalo to the ground.

Victory cheers erupt from the group. And they string up the buffalo so they can drag it back to camp. It's hard work dragging the 300 pound load over miles of rough terrain. But the men don't mind as this fresh kill will feed the entire group for days.

When they finally arrive back at camp, the children run out to see the buffalo and the women eagerly greet their men. The women had a successful day as well gathering plenty of vegetables, berries, nuts and even some turtle eggs for the night's feast.

The tribe gets to work preparing for dinner. The fire is stoked, the buffalo is skinned and prepped. The heart, brains, liver and other fatty organ meats are the most prized possessions from the kill and each child fights for a piece of the fatty meat. The bones are handed out for each child to scoop out the fatty marrow.

The meat is cooked over the fire and everyone eats well. There's even a bit of wine passed around made by fermenting berries. A few of the boys in the tribe take turns trying to lift a heavy rock located near the campsite. None of the boys can make it budge so eventually the men give in and try their hand. The strongest warriors are able to pick up the rock and lift it over their heads in a powerful display of full body strength.

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As the sun goes down and the fire starts to smolder, the tribe gathers around the fire for warmth. Some of the elder tribes members share stories about harder times many springs ago. Before long, tribe members start to grow sleepy and head off to bed. They're asleep relatively early by our standards but with no artificial light there isn't much to do but sleep.

Despite what many believe, they don't sleep through the night. Because of the surroundings, they may wake up a few times during the night and may even enjoy some leftovers during the night.

Anthropologists and other experts who've studied the bones and fossil records of prehistoric man tell us that these early humans were lean, healthy and strong. They didn't suffer from the modern diseases that plague us now in the 21st century.

MYTH: Pre-historic man died young in life and that's why they didn't suffer from the modern ailments that we face later in life.

Here's The Truth: Yes, the average lifespan of prehistoric man was about 36 years old. Some people look at that and think that means most people died around 36 years of age. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Let me give you an example. If we take 100 people, and 50 of them died at birth and 50 of them died at age 72... what would be the average lifespan of that group? It would be 36 years... even though not a single person died at 36.

That's why the AVERAGE lifespan of pre-historic man makes it appear that pre-historic man died young. Because of a higher infant mortality rate (more infants died young because of famines, inclement weather, wars, accidents, etc...) it makes the average lifespan of pre-historic man appear shorter than it really was.

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For those who survived infancy, many if not most lived into their 70's and they were still healthy and strong. Those who perished earlier often died due to accident or injury. But those that survived were healthy, strong and full of vitality.

So if research tells us that pre-historic man lived long, healthy lives free of modern diseases and if our genetic foundation is still nearly identical to these early day humans... then doesn't it make perfect sense that we should do our best to imitate their diet and lifestyle?

Using the day in the life example from above, here are few characteristics of modern man that we can strive to imitate:

They got plenty of sleep. With no artificial light or technological distractions, early man slept when it was dark and probably napped frequently as well.

They did plenty of walking. While we spend much of our time slumped at a desk or glued to the couch, early man walked to get around.

They sprinted daily. Sprinting is one the single best activities you can do for health and fitness. And clearly early man spent plenty of time sprinting.

They lifted heavy things. Put a big rock in the middle of a group of young men and in just a few seconds an impromptu weightlifting competition will break out. So it's easy to see how prehistoric man would find ways to lift heavy things during the day.

They push/pulled/dragged heavy things: This is another great conditioning exercise and clearly early man did his share of pushing, pulling and dragging.

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They ate a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate diet.

They had little stress. Sure, there were tiger attacks, food shortages and wars with other tribes. But they didn't have the kind of day-in-day-out round-the-clock gnawing stress we deal with today.

For nearly two million years, this was man's lifestyle. This was their diet and this was their way of life. Sure, there were certainly some geographic variations those in colder climates ate fewer fruits and vegetables than those in the jungle areas. In fact, Eskimo natives from many years ago survived almost exclusively on fat with virtually zero vegetables, fruits or grains.

But even with seasonal and geographic variations, the common theme remains: High intake of animal fat, heavy lifting, sprinting, plenty of sleep and very few carbohydrates.

MYTH: Animal Fat is bad for you.

Here's The Truth: For decades now, the medical establishment has been pushing their theory of heart disease down our throats. You know how it goes. Don't eat fat they say Or you'll get fat. Don't eat cholesterol or animal fat because it clogs your arteries.

And the dreaded saturated fat is just about the worst thing you could possibly eat. It's practically poison... right?

Actually... no.

Even though the focus of dietary recommendations is usually a reduction of saturated fat intake, no relation between saturated fat intake and risk of coronary heart disease was observed in the most informative prospective study to date.

Walter Willett, Nutritional Epidemiology.

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The idea that saturated fats cause heart disease is completely wrong, but the statement has been published so many times over the last three or more decades that it is very difficult to convince people otherwise unless they are willing to take

the time to read and learn what produced the anti-saturated fat agenda. Dr. Mary Enig, Consulting Editor to The Journal Of The American

College of Nutrition

For hundreds of thousands if not millions of years, our ancestors survived and thrived thanks to FAT. They ate a bit of vegetables, some fruit, a few wild grains when they could find it but the bulk of their nutritional energy came from animal fats.

So if as a species we've been thriving on animal fats for thousands of years... why is it suddenly harmful for us now?

It's not. What IS harmful for us are vegetable-based fats (unnatural fats created from vegetables) combined with higher than normal carbohydrate intakes. Especially sugar.

In fact, if you want to see why humans are fatter today than ever before, just check out the rise in sugar consumption.

Annual Refined Sugar Consumption In the United States

1750: 4 pounds per person, per year.1850: 20 pounds per person, per year.

1994: 120 pounds per person, per year.1996: 160 pounds per person, per year.

Sugar wreaks havoc on the body it's the ultimate anti-nutrient. And we're consuming more and more sugar every year. Yet somehow saturated fats continue to get the blame.

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Let's fast forward a few thousand years....

So we've determined that our ancestors ate mainly a high fat diet, did a bit of heavy lifting, some sprinting, and a lot relaxing and sleeping.

Fast forward to the year 1900 and guess what you'll discover? The muscle-men from that era ate primary a high fat diet. They did a bit of heavy lifting, some sprinting, and a lot of relaxing and sleeping! It's no wonder these old time trainer managed to build lean & muscular physiques without steroids! They were following nature's laws of health and fitness!

Now fast forward another hundred years. Today's bodybuilders eat high carbohydrate, low fat diets. They do a lot of light lifting for higher repetitions, they do a lot of jogging and running, and they almost never relax and almost never get 8 hours of sleep. On top of all that, they're pumping their bodies full of artificial steroids and hormones.

It's no wonder bodybuilders today are dropping dead at age 30... and it's certainly no wonder why their methods don't work for drug-free guys like you and me --- it's because they're going against nature's laws!

Building a lean & muscular physique doesn't have to be complicated. You simply have to follow the rules of nature that were established hundreds of thousands of years ago. It's your body's natural state to be lean and muscular. And when you work WITH nature you can achieve your natural state without drugs and without living in the gym.

In the next chapter, I'm going to break down the four cornerstones of health and fitness and show you why getting a classic physique can be easier than you ever imagined.

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Chapter Three: The Four Cornerstones Of Health & Fitness

Alan Mead, 1925.

If you've ever felt completely overwhelmed by information on your quest to get a lean & muscular physique, then you're going to love this chapter.

.

Because getting a classic physique really isn't all that complicated. In this chapter, I'm going to break down the most important aspects of health and fitness into four basic cornerstones. By the time you're done reading this chapter, you'll understand why building a classic physique can be easier than you ever imagined and why most modern day fitness methods end up putting the cart before the horse.

Let's jump in:

I call these my four cornerstones of health and fitness. Each block is important, but there's a clear and logical order of importance.

So let's kick things off with the first cornerstone:

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Cornerstone #1: Nutrition

Old school bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda once said, Bodybuilding is 85% nutrition.

What he meant was simple: What you eat will be responsible for the vast majority of your results. Your diet is far more important than your workouts, your cardio and even your supplements.

Think about it: You lift weights maybe 3 times a week. Maybe 6 times a week if you're really hardcore. Maybe you do some cardio 2-3 times a week.

But how many times do you eat per week? Well if you eat 3 meals per day that's 21 different opportunities to improve or damage your health. But most people eat more than 3 times per day when you add up snacks. I'd venture that most people end up eating 6 times per day. That's 42 different opportunities each week to improve your health and fitness or inflict damage.

Plus, because our food these days is so calorically-dense, one simple snack can actually undo a workout! Here's what I mean...

A 200 pound man will burn about 150 calories by running a mile. So if our 200 pound man runs 3 miles he'll burn about 450 calories.

Not bad, right?

Well, here's the problem with that. After his run, let's say our hypothetical 200 pound man decides to stop into the local Jamba Juice (a smoothie shop) for a refreshing smoothie.

After all, he's earned a health drink, right? And it's got fruit, yogurt and the cute girl at the shop always hooks him up and tosses an extra scoop of protein in his smoothie.

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It's the perfect health drink, right? Unfortunately, no. Because his Banana Berry Power Smoothie packs a whopping 560 calories, and 115 grams of SUGAR.

So this health drink just canceled out the three mile run and then some.

That's the yin and yang of nutrition what you eat is important but what you do NOT eat can be just as important.

In the nutrition chapter, we'll dive into a classic eating plan and show you how you can eat the foods you love to the point of gut-busting fullness and still get a ripped and muscular physique.

Cornerstone #2: Lifestyle

Up next in the order of importance is lifestyle. This encompasses many different areas such as quality and amount of sleep, stress, and general well-being.

You can eat a perfect diet and follow a perfect training program but if you're stressed all day long from 9-5 and you spend every evening snorting lines of cocaine and dancing the night away you certainly won't be the picture of health and fitness.

Sadly, this area is frequently ignored by most fitness gurus. Probably because most of the advice falls on deaf ears. But that doesn't mean it's not effective. Don't take my word for it.

Take a week and force yourself to shut off the T.V. and be in bed by 10pm. If you can do it, you'll notice something amazing happen. You'll be leaner and more muscular after one week with NO OTHER changes to your diet or workout plan. That's the power of sleep. And that's the power of a proper lifestyle.

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In the chapter on lifestyle, we'll examine the lifestyle of our ancient ancestors and the classic weight trainers from a hundred years ago. Then I'll show you how you can adapt the beneficial aspects of the classic lifestyle to our modern world.

Cornerstone #3: Strength

I'll come right out and say it: Strength is the single most important aspect of physical fitness.

When I was in grade school, we had to take the Presidential Physical Fitness test which consisted of 7 different tests of various skills such as flexibility, cardiovascular conditioning, agility, etc.

We were told that each skill was important but that no skill was more important than any other.

This was wrong.

Strength is the single most important aspect of physical fitness. This is true despite that fact the most fitness experts will vehemently deny this.

But it simply makes logical sense in any context.

Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general. Mark Rippetoe

On the football field, if everything else is equal, the stronger athlete has the advantage.

In general everyday life, strength comes into play when opening jars, moving couches and improving your quality of life.

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We'll tackle this topic in much greater depth in the chapter on strength development, but I wanted to give you a heads up as to why the classic trainers placed a premium on strength while today's modern fitness guru's seem to think cardio encompasses all things fitness.

Make no mistake about it: You can do absolutely ZERO cardio or conditioning work and still have a rock-solid physique as long as you're engaged in some form of strength training.

The opposite isn't true. If you do ZERO strength training and plenty of cardio you will lose all your muscle mass and end-up looking (and being) weak and emaciated.

Cornerstone #4: Conditioning

Lastly, we have the final cornerstone of fitness. Conditioning is important, but no where near as important as the other three elements.

I can show you how to get a lean, muscular, rock-solid and completely healthy physique without doing a single lick of cardiovascular training or conditioning work. (I've done it.)

However, there are still some important reasons for incorporating some form of conditioning into your training. We'll cover the classical methods of conditioning and the reasons why conditioning is important in the conditioning section of the book.

So while conditioning is important, it pales in comparison to the other three cornerstone's of fitness and that's why it will appear last in this list.

In the next chapter, we'll tackle the most important cornerstone of health and fitness and take an exhaustive overview of nutrition and how a simple eating plan can give you the body you want.

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Chapter Four: The First Cornerstone: Nutrition

Jack Lalanne, 1934

In this chapter, I'm going to show you why almost everything you've ever heard about nutrition is flat-out wrong...

and how a few simple tweaks to your daily diet can help you build muscle and burn fat almost effortlessly.

Some of the information in this chapter is EXTREMELY controversial. In fact, I strongly suspect certain government agencies would love to burn this book simply because of this chapter alone.

But I don't care. I'm sick of seeing lies and false information force-fed down your throat by greedy lobbyists, government officials and corporate junk food fat cats. So where to start? Nutrition is a certainly a broad topic so let's take it from the very top...

First... What Do You Want?

Before you set out on a trip, you obviously must pick a destination. If you want to look like a sumo wrestler, than obviously you're going to follow a very different eating plan than someone who wants to look like a runway model.

So here's the 3-prong destination I personally desire from my eating plan:

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First and foremost, I wanted to be healthy. There's no point in achieving a great body if you're dead before age 30. So health goes straight to the top of the list for me.

Next, I want to be lean. There are plenty of ways to bulk up and build muscle if you don't care about staying lean enough to see your abs. But I think leanness is important not only for health reasons but also for vanity reasons as well.

Finally, I want my eating plan to enable me to add muscle and become more and more muscular. I have absolutely no desire to look like an emaciated marathon runner and I'm sure you don't either.

Healthy, Lean, Muscular. That's the endpoint I was striving for when I developed this particular eating plan after researching the dietary habits of yesteryear.

So with our goal in mind, let's start breaking down how to get there.

As I'm sure you're already aware, food can be broken down into 3 major elements: Protein, Carbohydrates & Fat.

However, you may never have heard that only ONE of these elements is truly essential.

And that's FAT.

Anthropologists believe our ancient ancestors ate a high-fat diet for hundreds of thousands of years. The rise in grain and modern agriculture methods only sprung up over the past few hundred years a virtual blink of an eye compared to 200,000 2 million years of a high-fat diet.

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And it's because we as a species have been eating a high fat diet for thousands of years that the high fat diet is the healthiest way for us to eat now.

This may come as shocking news especially when you consider that the mainstream medical establishment has been railing against dietary fat for the last 50 years or so.

But when you start to examine the evidence, it becomes quite clear that eating the way we were meant to eat flat-out leads to a healthy and fit body.

Perhaps you've seen the documentary, Super Size Me where filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's fast food meals 3 times a day for a solid month.

As you might have imagined, his health took a huge turn for the worse over those 30 days. He gained over 24 pounds and during the month he consumed a whopping 30 pounds of sugar and 12 pounds of fat from the fast food meals.

Most people THINK the reason Spurlock gained all this weight and had such massive health problems is because of all the saturated fat he consumed.

But documentary filmmaker Tom Naughton proved otherwise. In an effort to show that saturated fat is not the devil everyone believes it is, Naughton repeated the 30-day all McDonald's diet with one very important difference: He limited carbohydrate intake to 100 grams per day and allowed himself to eat unlimited grams of fat.

(Because dietary fat is very satisfying and filling, it's difficult to eat a great deal of fat especially if carbohydrates are restricted.) The result? Tom Naughton actually LOST 12 pounds over the course of the month and his cholesterol actually went DOWN!

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Meet Your New Best Friend: Saturated Fat!

While saturated fat has been unfairly villainized by the press and the mainstream medical establishment for decades now, saturated fat just might be the most important thing you can consume if it's your goal to build a healthy, classic physique.

Before I explain why, I should point out that there are good sources of fat and bad sources of fat.

Good (natural) sources of fat:

Animal Based:Meat, Milk, Butter, Cheese

Tropical Oils:Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil

Bad (unnatural) sources of fat:

Soybean, corn, cottonseed, canola, peanut, safflower and sunflower oils.

Vegetable and grain sources of fat like those mentioned above are created using complicated processing procedures. The end result of all this man made interference is a final product that's very different from the one nature intended.

Think about it: How the hell do you get oil from an ear of corn? Or from a sunflower? Well, it takes a ton of processing and other chemical wizardry. Contrast that with animal fat it's completely natural and untouched.

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So assuming we're talking about the good sources of saturated fats here's why saturated fat will be your new best friend...

Cell membranes are composed of 50% saturated fat

Saturated fats are required for bones to assimilate calcium and other minerals properly

Saturated fats help signal satiety (meaning they tell the brain hey the stomach is full, stop eating!)

Saturated fats help kill invading organisms and boost your immune system

Saturated fat boost sex drive and muscle-building testosterone levels! (Testosterone is CRUCIAL for building muscle and stripping off body fat.)

Perhaps most tellingly, 54% of the fat in human breast milk is saturated. (If saturated fat were bad for you, babies who breastfeed would be having massive heart attacks.)

And here's yet more evidence that dietary fat and saturated fat are critical to survival and optimal health.

Let's take a look at people who eat more dietary fat than anyone else on the planet...

Eskimos!

Typically, when we think of Eskimos we think of short, fat people. But this is simply a lazy, inaccurate way of thinking. Most true eskimos are actually quite lean.

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Back in 1906, Dr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson was the undisputed expert on all things Eskimo. He actually lived with Eskimos, eating exactly as they did, for a full year. Eskimos in that region ate a diet of only meat and fish no vegetables, no fruit, no whole grain bread.

The good doctor reports:

Eskimos, when still on their home meats, are never corpulent[fat] at least I have seen none who were. Eskimos in their native garments do give the

impression of fat, round faces, round bodies, but the roundness of the face is a racial peculiarity and the rest of the effect is produced by loose and puffy

garments.

See them [eskimos] stripped and one does not find the abdominal protuberances and folds [fat rolls] which are so in evidence on Coney Island beaches.

There is, however, among Eskimos no racial immunity to corpulance[fatness]. That is proved by the rapidity with which and the extent to which they fatten on

European diets.

Or in other words, when Eskimos eat a high-fat traditional diet, they stayed slim. But when they switched to a carb-heavy diet full of starches and sugars, they got fat in a hurry.

So if saturated fat isn't quite the devil it's been made out to be... then what's causing all the problems with obesity and diseases in our modern society?

Meet The White Devil: Sugar.

Sugar is the ultimate anti-nutrient. Here's just a short list of how the sweet poison can interfere with the quest for optimal health and a classic physique:

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Sugar drives up insulin levels and promotes the storage of fat

Sugar drives up cortisol levels (cortisol is a hormone that prevents your body from building muscle.)

Sugar decreases leptin-production. Leptin is a powerful hormone that helps regular appetite. This is why when you eat sugar, it makes you hungry for more sugar.

Sugar disrupts the travels of amino acids to muscle tissues.

A high sugar intake over time leads to insulin resistance and the development of type II diabetes.

But don't you NEED sugar to survive?

In a word NO!

Plenty of mis-informed doctors and medical experts have been telling people that you need to eat carbohydrates and sugar for optimal health.

But less than 2% of your body is composed of carbohydrates and your body is fully capable of manufacturing enough carbohydrates without any need for dietary intake of sugar.

Besides let me perfectly clear about this I am NOT advocating a zero carbohydrate diet. I have no problems with fibrous vegetables (which contain carbs) and small amounts of fruit (which contain PLENTY of carbs and sugar.)

But there is simply no reason why anyone needs to consume carbohydrates in their most deadly form sugar.

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So far your instructions are fairly simple: Eat plenty of fat - trying to focus on good sources... and do your best to avoid carbohydrates while making a special effort to avoid sugar.

What About Protein?

Proponents of the caveman-type diets will tell you to eat a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate diet.

When they talk about moderate protein, they usually mean 80-100 grams of protein per day.

And while that might be fine for the average man or woman simply looking to lose weight, we've got different goals in mind.

Remember, not only do we want a lean & healthy physique, we also want muscle.

And with the desire for more muscles comes a need for more protein.

How much more? We'll tackle that in a minute. First, the benefits of protein intake:

#1) High protein intakes are believed to be linked to higher testosterone levels. (And testosterone is a very good thing if you're trying to build muscle.)

#2) High protein intake is correlated with high levels of bone density and strong bones are a very good thing if you're planning on getting strong.

#3) Your muscles are composed or primarily protein and water. So if you want to build more muscle, it only makes sense to increase your

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consumption of the raw materials needed to build muscle (namely, protein.)

So how much protein do you need? Well, I've experimented with as little as 50 grams per day and as much as 2 grams per pound of bodyweight (so 400 grams of protein per day for a 200-pound man.)

For me, the answer lies right down the middle. 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight consumed each day works out just about right for me. With that level, I can build/maintain muscle but I'm not consuming so much protein that it's turning into fat.

So if you weigh 180 pounds, shoot for a 180 grams of protein per day. Of course, this assumes you are following some kind of strength/muscle-building program like the one outlined in the next few chapters.

Obviously, if you're just sitting around on your butt you don't need this level of protein.

Won't Consuming All That Protein Damage Your Kidneys?

Nope.

This myth got started because scientists discovered that people who ALREADY had damaged kidneys shouldn't consume high levels of protein.

Which is kind of like forcing people with broken legs to run a mile on their busted stumps, inflicting further damage and then using that to justify a position stating that running a mile is bad for EVERYONE.

Wouldn't make much sense, would it? But that's exactly what they did with the protein intake studies.

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Luckily, a few studies have come out since exonerating the high-protein diet.

From The Paleo Diet, page 18: Scientists at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen put 65 people on a high protein diet for 6 months and found that their kidneys easily adapted to increased protein levels, and that their kidney function was perfect at the end of the experiment.

From Protein Power, page 138: A study from Germany showed that kidney function actually improved with increased protein consumption.

So don't buy into the hype a high protein diet has NEVER been shown to cause kidney damage EXCEPT in cases where test subjects ALREADY had damaged kidneys.

Let's continue to build: So far we've got the following rules in place:

#1) Eat plenty of fat.#2) Minimize carbs especially sugar.#3) Shoot for 1 gram of protein per day.

Now, when we talk about protein everybody always asks the same question...

I should eat lean protein right?

Answer: NO!

Once again, this might come as shocking to many people. But remember, we're trying to closely replicate the dietary practices of our ancient ancestors since research has shown they were lean, muscular and healthy.

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Many people believe that the types of animals our ancient ancestors consumed were leaner than the fat cows and pigs in our modern day feedlots.

This is TRUE.

However, even lean, grassfed cattle still has plenty of fat when you peel back the skin.

See for yourself. Here's a photo of a healthy, grass-fed, modern-day bison (buffalo).

The yellow stuff you see is all FAT! (At the time of this writing, I do not know whether this book will contain color photos or not. So if you're looking at a black & white photo, just know that most of the flesh in the picture above is actually yellow fat NOT lean meat.

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And because fat was such a valuable nutritional resource for our ancient ancestors, we know they would typically eat the fattiest parts of the kill FIRST!

So that's why the recommendation to eat lean protein doesn't make much sense when you really think about. Besides, as we've already established, animal fats are good for you.

Now, this doesn't mean you should run out and eat cheap hamburger from McDonald's. Fast food meat is fattier yes but that's not why it's bad for you. It's bad because they feed the cattle an unnatural diet to make it fatter. This dramatically changes the ratio of Omega 3 fatty acids versus Omega 6 fatty acids in the meat.

Or in other words, the nutritional components of cheap meat are not all similar to the nutritional components of grass-fed meat.

So whenever possible, try to get grass-fed meat because grass-fed meat most closely resembles what our ancestors would have consumed.

Now that we've shattered the lean protein myth, let's slay a few more myths.

You've probably heard that fruit is good for you so let me be the first to tell you...

Fruit is Junk Food!

Now before you have me locked away in a padded room, let me explain my position.

Millions of years ago when our ancient ancestors populated the planet fruit was a health food. During those days, fruit was very different from what our modern day fruit looks like.

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For starters, fruit was SEASONAL. Meaning it was only available a few months a year. There were no grocery stores and no airplanes so nobody was shipping fruit in all year round. So while the government advises you to eat some fruit every day, be aware that your ancient ancestors probably only ate fruit a few days out of every year.

Next, fruit was a cherished commodity during ancient times. As humans, we're hard-wired to crave sweet things and the sugar in fruit is what makes it sweet. But we're not the only animals on the planet that crave sweetness.

So even IF it was the right season for fruit... and even IF our ancient ancestors happened to find some, rest assured they would certainly have some competition from other wild animals. And since many nocturnal animals consume fruit at night it's unreasonable to think there would buckets and buckets of fruit just sitting and waiting for our human ancient ancestors.

Now, let's talk about the fruit itself. Today's modern fruit has been genetically modified to be larger, sweeter and more easily digestible than ever before.

And while that certainly makes it taste better, it downgrades the quality of fruit as a nutritional food item.

Bill Starr, in his groundbreaking book The Strongest Shall Survive writes:

Take our fruits for openers. Our grandparents could be fairly sure that every orange they purchased contained about 75 mg of Vitamin C. We can't. The grower picks the fruit green before it has had time to fully mature and develop it's full potential of Vitamin C. It is then artificially ripened, sprayed, colored, and shipped. It dries out on the super-market's shelf until you come along and buy it. You're lucky if there's any Vitamin C in the orange by the time you eat it. Bill Starr, 1976

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And Starr wrote that way back in 1976 things are much WORSE now as farmers continually look for ways to grow bigger, sweeter fruit at a faster pace.

Now do you see why I think today's modern fruit is basically junk food? It's got more sugar than ever with fewer vitamins, minerals and fiber.

So should you avoid fruit all together?

Well, if you need to lose weight than you should be aware that fruit is probably not HELPING your cause. If you're already lean (10% bodyfat or less for men), then a few servings of fruit each week probably won't make too much difference.

Key tip: When you do consume fruit try to stick with berries. Berries are lower in sugar, higher in fiber and higher in antioxidants than other fruits.

Weird tip: I once heard that the favorite fruit of anorexic girls is blueberries because blueberries provide maximum nutrients with minimal sugar. Something to consider when shopping for fruit.

What About Fruit Juice?

Fruit juice is garbage it's sugar water, plain and simple. If you eat real fruit, you'll at least be getting some fiber. Plus it's difficult (but not impossible) to eat an overabundance of fruit.

For example, a medium apple contains about 20 grams of carbohydrates (sugar). A small glass of apple juice contains about 29 grams of sugar. While you COULD eat 3 whole apples in a row, most people won't.

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But it's quite common for people to slug back 3 or more glasses of juice per day because they THINK they are doing themselves a favor.

Now, you might be feeling a little depressed because I just knocked the fruit out of your hand. But don't worry, because I'm about to shatter another myth and this one is bound to make you smile....

Myth: Alcohol Makes You Fat

Here's the truth: Many classic trainers consumed copious amounts of alcohol and still remained lean & muscular.

Did you know there are only TWO absolute, sure-fire scientifically validated ways to live longer?

The first is eating less: Time and time again, when rats are fed a starvation diet they outlive rats who are allowed to eat as much as they want.

Scientists believe the effort and energy required for constant digestion eventually shortens lifespan and that by eating less you can live longer.

(In a little bit, I'll show you how you can actually take advantage of this phenomenon WITHOUT starving for the rest of your life.)

The second is by drinking a moderate amount of alcohol. Scientists don't know exactly why this is true, but one theory is that a small amount of alcohol actually strengthens the mitochondria in your cells and forces them to get stronger and function more efficiently.

It's probably no surprise to you that moderate amounts of booze can actually be good for you. The mainstream media has run plenty of stories about the benefits of a few glasses of red wine.

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But the fitness community as a whole still shuns alcohol claiming that booze will waste away all your muscle, make you gain truckloads of fat and screw up your hormone levels.

To that I say... PUHLEASE. Sure, getting black-out drunk every single night certainly won't help you in your pursuit of getting a lean, muscular & healthy physique.

But a couple drinks at night won't derail your progress. I was amazed to discover just how much alcohol many of the classic trainers from the turn of the century consumed and they STILL had lean and muscular physiques.

Case in point:

Arthur The Iron Master Saxon.

He was lean, muscular... and strong as hell.

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He STILL holds the record for the bent press an old time lift.

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He hoisted a whopping 370 pounds in the bent press style. Think he abstained from alcohol? Hardly.

Saxon enjoyed what he called his health drink almost every single night.

The ingredients a pint of dark (stout) beer, mixed with a hearty shot of gin and a raw egg.

And Saxon wasn't the only old-time lifter to enjoy alcohol. Thousands of years ago, ancient Greek athletes enjoyed figs and wine with their evening meal.

Eugene Sandow was known to consume beer, the mighty Arnold Schwarzenegger drank strong beer after his workouts and plenty of other classic bodybuilder's enjoyed their booze while still maintaining a lean and muscular physique.

Here's my advice on booze:

#1) Feel free to enjoy 1-2 glasses of red wine, beer or hard liquor each evening.

#2) Remember, it's usually not the calories from alcohol that give people trouble but rather the dietary damage they do when they are drunk. (For example, getting drunk and then eating an entire box of doughnuts.)

What About Diet Soda?

I get this question a lot. Diet soda technically has zero calories so it's ok to drink it, right?

Well, the answer is not so simple. First and foremost, diet soda has plenty of unnatural chemicals and additives and despite the fact that the

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government has deemed these chemicals safe I don't trust the government to make my health decisions for me.

Secondly, something funny happens when you drink a diet soda. Because of the artificial sweeteners it tastes sweet. And for a second, your brain is happy. But then your body seems to realize that it's been tricked and as a result you get ravenously hungry a short time after drinking a diet soda.

I can't fully explain it but I started to notice that whenever I fell off the wagon and ended up devouring an entire box of cookies, it was usually because I had consumed a diet soda shortly beforehand.

So my advice is to be extremely wary of diet soda. One can a day probably isn't a big deal but any more than that and you're asking for trouble.

Magical Foods For Muscle Gain & Fat Loss

In all of my research on the nutritional habits of the classic bodybuilders and strength trainers, I found two food items that were regarded with awe and reverence by nearly all old-time lifters.

And with good reason. Go back in history, find any classic bodybuilder or old time strong man and you'll discover nearly every single man made these two items a staple in his daily diet.

Magical Food Item #1: Whole Eggs

While many of today's modern bodybuilder's make it a practice to throw away egg yolks and eat only the whites, the classic bodybuilders of yesteryear would NEVER do such a thing.

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They ate the whole egg just as nature intended. The whole egg (egg white + yolk) just might be one of the most perfect foods for building muscle and burning off body fat.

In fact, legendary bodybuilding guru (and passionate anti-steroid enthusiast) Vince Gironda actually said that whole eggs were actually better than steroids!

And many other classic bodybuilders shared Gironda's enthusiasm for the egg. For example, Arthur Saxon would eat 24 whole eggs for breakfast.

Gironda actually had his students eating up to 36 RAW eggs per day when they needed to gain weight and muscle.

Vince believed raw eggs provided the body with a superior form of protein and nutrients.

Egg protein scores a 100 on the biological value chart meaning egg protein is one of the most usable sources of protein for the human body. And eggs are a complete source of protein meaning that eggs provide all the amino acids required by the body.

Raw Eggs? Really?

Many classic bodybuilders would consume their eggs raw drinking them straight out of a glass or making high-powered protein drinks by combining raw eggs with heavy whipping cream.

The idea of eating raw eggs sounds like suicide to most people after all, what about salmonella, right?

Well, not so fast.

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Before Rocky was chugging raw eggs on the big screen, many classic bodybuilders were slugging back raw eggs. As previously mentioned, Vince Gironda and his pupils did it. So did Arnold.

I even found a nutritional guru from the 1890's Bernarr McFadden who advocated raw eggs for building muscle, burning fat and achieving optimal health.

But what about salmonella poisoning? Well, the risk is really much lower than the media would have you believe. Only 1 egg in 30,000 carries the salmonella bacteria. And if you opt for farm-fresh, organic eggs the risk drops even further.

Salmonella typically resides on the outside shell of the egg and gains access to the actual egg if there are cracks in the shell.

So by purchasing farm fresh eggs (as opposed to the cheap, commercially produced crap eggs at your local Walmart), washing the shells and discarding any eggs with cracked shells, your risk of salmonella is minuscule.

Plus, farm-fresh eggs typically have larger, richer yolks. And the yolk of the egg is what provides most of the fat and nutrients.

Magical Food Item #2: Whole Milk

When reaching for milk, most people grab the 2% or the skim milk because they believe it's healthier than whole milk.

But classic bodybuilders and strength trainers preferred whole milk.

I'll explain why in a second, but first let me show you something funny.

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The fat in milk comes from butterfat. Skim milk contains about 0.5% butterfat. 1% milk contains 1% butterfat content and 2% milk contains 2% butterfat content.

So how what do you think the butterfat content in whole milk is? Surprise it's just 3.25%.

And it's the butterfat portion of the milk that's richest in vitamins. So if you're opting for skim or low-fat milk, you're missing out on all the vitamins in milk.

Milk was high-regarded by classic bodybuilders and trainers because it's high in protein, provides plenty of fat along with a fair amount of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

In short, it was a complete source of easily-consumable nutrition. Many old-time trainers would actually sip milk during their workouts!

And as we've already discussed fat and saturated fat from animal products is NOT a threat to your health and actually most closely resembles the way we were meant to eat.

However, milk does contain some carbohydrates and sugar (as lactose). So you'll need to be careful with consumption. For young, skinny males looking to gain weight, they can consume large quantities of milk each day for a short period of time. (I recommend 4-6 weeks for bulking.)

For those looking to lose fat, I recommend restricting milk consumption all together or just having 1-2 glasses after training.

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Raw Milk: A Classic Super Food?

Many of the classic lifters from the pre-steroid era swore by raw milk for adding muscle and size.

Raw milk is milk that has NOT been pasteurized. Pasteurization is the process of briefly heating up milk to around 165 degrees for about 15-20 seconds in an effort to kill any harmful bacteria within the milk.

Proponents of raw milk say that pasteurization kills the good bacteria and enzymes within the milk.

For example, pasteurization kills 50% of the Vitamin C in milk and up to 80% of other vitamins.

Many people today SWEAR by raw milk, claiming the beneficial enzymes and bacteria in raw milk have restored their health and made them feel better than they have in years.

I know more than a few fitness professionals who drink raw milk after their workouts because it boosts their recovery abilities.

Of course, the government doesn't want anyone drinking raw milk. It's illegal or semi-illegal in many states. Transporting raw milk for sale across state borders is treated as an act worse than drug trafficking.

So if you want to model your nutrition after the classic bodybuilder's nutritional plans and you want to include raw milk, you'll have find a way to get raw milk in your area.

You certainly can't just get it from the store in most spots. Many states offer a cow-share program where you essentially pay a farmer a small monthly fee for his cow. This makes you part-owner of the cow

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and because farmers are allowed to drink raw milk from their own cows, you'd be allowed to drink raw milk as well.

For more information on the benefits of raw milk and how to get it in your area, check out www.RealMilk.com

Fasting: The Final Piece Of The Nutritional Puzzle

You cannot have a chapter about nutrition without including an overview of fasting. Typically, when we talk about nutrition the discussion centers around consumption what to eat and what to drink.

But when it comes to health, longevity, building muscle and fat the complete and total LACK of consumption also plays an important part.

Fasting is a timeless tradition. And if you think about it, fasting is deeply seated in every human's DNA. Millions of years ago, when mankind depended on hunting & gathering for dinner fasting was a part of life.

Not every hunt was successful. Sometimes all available food sources simply dried up. One way or another, humans went without food sometimes for a day, sometimes for much longer. Clearly, the practice

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http://www.RealMilk.com/

of missing a few meals won't kill you or our ancestors would have been wiped out long ago.

Quick side note: When I talk about fasting, I mean the practice of abstaining from ALL food and drinking only water or other nearly-zero calorie drinks. (Such as black coffee or tea).

Some people fast while drinking fruit juices or eating vegetables. And that's not quite the same thing as abstaining from all calories entirely.

The Benefits of Short-Term Fasting

While long term fasts (longer than 48 hours) certainly have their own set of benefits, for the purposes of this chapter we're going to focus our attention on fasts of 48 hours of less.

I've done fasts longer than 48 hours it's no where near as difficult as you might imagine. But to be honest, boredom sets in after 72 hours so these days I prefer to keep my fasts to 48 hours or less.

Short term fasts...

Gives your digestive system a short break

May extend lifespan

Forces your body to burn stored body fat

Provides mental clarity

Improves recovery and helps combat inflammation

Boosts immune system and overall healing

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Eliminates toxins and poisons from the body

Boosts metabolism (surprise!)

Increases muscle-building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone

Saves money on food

Many classic bodybuilders and lifters from the turn of the century advocated periodic fasting as a means for achieving improved health, burning body fat and creating a lean & muscular physique.

For example, consider the case of Bernarr McFadden.

A health guru from the early 1900's, he believe fasting could cure almost any disease. He himself fasted every Monday for much of his life.

Anyone who doubts the restorative power of fasting need look no further than McFadden's now legendary 7-day fast.

McFadden went an entire week without touching any food. He drank only water. And while most people assume a fast leaves you with little energy for anything else, McFadden actually walked 10 miles per day each and every day during his fast.

He lost 15 pounds over the course of the week long fast. And you'd think he would have lost muscle and strength but that's not at all the case.

In fact, he actually grew STRONGER as the week went on.

Before beginning his fast, he lifting a 50-pound dumbbell above his head with one hand. He and many others of that time felt that was an impressive display of strength.

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But after 7 days, McFadden tried to lift the 50-pound dumbbell again and found it to be surprisingly light. So he tried a 60-pound dumbbell. Same result. Tried a 70-pound dumbbell. Easy. 85-pound dumbbell. Felt light as feather. Finally, he tried to press a 100-pound dumbbell over his head with just one hand and succeeded.

This is an impressive display of strength and it was a personal record for McFadden... despite the fact that he hadn't eaten a crumb in 7 days.

Check out the photo: That's Bernarr McFadden on the 7th day of his fast. He's bench pressing a 200-pound man.

(Apologies for the quality of the photo it is over 100 years old.)

Bernarr Mcfadden pressing a 200 pound man after 7 days without food.

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McFadden only advocated 24 hour (or longer) fasts once a week or even less frequently than that. But he railed against the practice of eating 3 meals per day as he felt that was driving most people to an early grave.

He advised most people to eat just 1-2 meals per day as he felt this was an important key to health. By eating just 1 or 2 meals a day, you get the benefits of fasting each day, but you don't have to go hungry because when you do sit down to eat a meal you get to eat your fill.

McFadden wasn't the only classic fitness enthusiast to stick with such a schedule. One of the most ripped bodybuilder's of all times, Mr. California in 1953, Irvin Zabo Koszewski ate just two meals per day.

The man they called Zabo often won best abs at bodybuilding competitions.

As you can see from the photo, clearly there is merit to eating just 1-2 meals per day.

While modern bodybuilders eat 6 (or more) meals per day consisting of lean proteins and high-carbohydrate fillers, the classic bodybuilders would eat larger meals consisting of meat, animals fats,

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cheese, butter and milk. This method allowed them to build muscle WITHOUT getting fat.

Plus, fasting is one of the few proven methods for improving health and extending lifespan. Back in the 1930's, a study was performed on earthworms. One earthworm was isolated from the group and put on a cycle of fasting and feeding. The worm was able to survive on it's own tissue for months. Once the size of the worm visually decreased, the scientists would resume feeding.

This particular worm outlasted it's relatives by 19 generations! That's the equivalent of a human living for 700 years!

Now, obviously fasting is not going to allow you to live forever. But short doses of fasting can significantly improve longevity and boost recovery.

Rather than fasting for days or weeks, I prefer daily mini-fasts. That's right, most days I skip breakfast even though many consider it the most important meal of the day. (I suspect it was the cereal manufacturers who started that myth.)

And I'll even skip lunch too. I'll feast at dinner and then feast again before going to bed. According to the experts, my practice of pigging out right before I go to bed should make me fat and unhealthy. But instead I'm lean, muscular, healthy and fit.

It sounds crazy skipping breakfast and lunch each day. But once you get in the habit, it's really quite easy. And you'll be amazed at how much money you save and how much extra time you can free up.

If you want to try these daily mini-fasts for yourself, here's a few words of advice.

First: If you're used to eating 5 or 6 meals per day, don't expect to make the transition in one day. Start by skipping breakfast.

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Then try your best to eat a high-fat, moderate protein, low carb lunch. Dietary fat helps you feel satisfied after a meal where carbohydrates make you crave more food (which is why you're always hungry after eating Chinese food it's the rice.)

Next, start pushing your lunch hour back further and further. When I first started this plan I was used to eating lunch at 11am so it took a few days to push that back all the way to dinner. You might get some severe hunger pangs, shakiness or headaches the first few days. This will pass quickly.

Drink TONS of water during the first few days as this will help you feel full and dull your appetite. Within a few weeks you'll find it easy to go 18 hours or longer without any food. And you'll feel FREEDOM since you will no longer be a slave to the typical breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner-snack cycle.

Putting It All Together: Classic Nutrition In A Modern World.

By now, your head must be spinning with all the new rules and information I've given you.

Fear not. In this section I'll tie it all together for you and give you some sample eating plans.

First, let me paint you a picture.

Here's the standard government approved food pyramid:

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As you can see, the government would like you to eat 6 or more servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta EACH DAY. Plus 2-4 servings of fruit! And fat should be consumed only sparingly.

This is an absolute joke. Show me someone who eats 6 servings of rice, bread and pasta each day along with 4 servings of fruit and I'll show you an overweight, out-of-shape couch potato.

Millions of people followed this government-issued food pyramid for decades and sadly, their health probably suffered due to mis-information from the government.

The Classic Physique Pyramid Food Chart would look much different. You'd see meats, eggs, butter and healthy oils on the bottom. Followed by vegetables the next rung up. Then nuts, dairy and cheeses.

And at the top I'd put sugar/fruit/bread/rice/pasta and cereal pretty much the mirror opposite of the government's food recommendations.

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Follow this old school food pyramid when making your food choices. Eat 2-4 meals per day. 2 Meals per day when trying to lose weight. 3 meals per day when maintaining. 4 meals per day when trying to gain.

Eat large meals freeing yourself from the need for snacking in between meals.

Focus on consuming plenty of fat from animal sources or healthy oils (olive & coconut). Eat lots and lots of vegetables. And do your best to minimize consumption of cereal, bread, pasta, rice and grains. And do your damnedest to avoid sugar.

Combine this classic physique eating plan with the classic workouts plans and you'll be well on your way to lean, muscular, healthy, classical physique.

Sample 7-Day Classic Physique Meal Plan

Here's a week in my life following the classic rules of nutrition.

During this week, my weight remained constant. I did not gain or lose a pound. (Although my strength increased as it does almost every week by following the classic rules for training.)

If I had wanted to gain weight, I would have done so by increasing the number of meals I ate per day perhaps including breakfast or lunch.

If I wanted to lose weight, I would have done so by fasting a little more often or by cleaning up the diet per week. But as you can see, this classic method of eating allows me to stay lean (under 10% body fat year round), strong, healthy while still enjoying my life.

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Sunday:

Breakfast: Black Coffee.

Noon: Weight Training workout, followed by protein shake. 2 scoops of chocolate protein, mixed with water and 2 ounces of cream.

Dinner: Pot Roast made with beef, gravy, carrots and potatoes. Also had a couple slices of French bread slathered heavily with butter. Plus 2 glasses of red wine.

Before bed snack: Raw veggies dipped in ranch plus a few mixed nuts.

Monday:

Breakfast: Black Coffee.

Lunch: None.

Dinner: Chicken wings dipped in full-fat blue cheese dressing, plus a few beers. (Monday Night Football).

Before bed snack: Protein shake made with 2 scoops of chocolate protein, water and 2 ounces of cream.

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Black coffee.

Lunch: None.

Mid-afternoon snack: Mixed nuts.

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Dinner: Steak and vegetables. Extra butter added to both.

Weight Training Workout.

Before bed: Protein shake made with 2 scoops of chocolate protein, water and 2 ounces of cream.

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Black coffee.

Lunch meeting with clients: Cobb Salad made with lettuce, chicken, bacon, eggs, avocado and full-fat ranch.

Dinner: 2 large pieces of fish, plus mixed vegetables cook in butter. Small amount of almond rice on the side.

Snack: Blueberries mixed with full-fat whipped cream.

Thursday:

Breakfast: Black coffee.

Lunch: None.

Dinner: 3 Cheeseburgers (with the buns) plus some raw veggies in ranch dressing. 2 beers.

(Beginning of 24 hour fast.)

Weight Training workout on fasted stomach.

Water until bed.

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Friday:

Breakfast: Black coffee.

Lunch: None (fasting).

Dinner: Pizza night with the family.

Late night snack: Protein shake (2 scoop of chocolate protein mixed with water and 2 ounces of cream.

Saturday:

Breakfast: 4 egg omelet made with full-fat cheese, onions, peppers, ham and heavy cream. Plus coffee.

Lunch: Salad: Tuna fish, lettuce, bacon bits and full-fat Italian dressing.

Dinner: Tacos: Heaping portion of ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, full-fat cheese and few crunchy taco shells. Beer.

Late-night snack: Protein shake (2 scoops of chocolate protein, water, cream.)

Analysis: On most days, I get just about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. I get plenty of healthy fats from animal sources. Carbs are kept fairly low and sugar intake is practically zero.

And yet, I'm perfectly happy and content eating this way. I mean look at my food over the course of a week tacos, chicken wings, beer, wine, pizza, pot roast, French bread, full-fat cheeses and dips.... who wouldn't enjoy eating like this?

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Sure, not every food choice was perfect. Obviously, pizza night shatters the classic rules but at the same time sometimes meals are more about spending time with the family and less about the nutritional data stamped on your food.

That's the great thing about incorporating a 24-hour fast once a week. You'll notice I did mine from Thursday night at about 6pm to Friday night at about 6pm. This 24-hour fast basically allows me to commit a variety of dietary sins throughout the course of the week without suffering the consequence of fat gain.

Again, this is just a sample week from my life. This is the plan I follow to stay lean, muscular and healthy (I almost NEVER get sick).

And again, this is my strategy for maintaining my weight while making consistent strength gains in the gym. I stay under 10% body fat year round with this strategy. If I want to lose a bit more fat and drop to 6-7% body fat, I just clean up the diet a bit and maybe incorpora