THE 411 on fitness and supplementation, by The Prodigy.

So you're slouched on the weights bench, feeling like a fat blob, wondering why the hell you don't look like any of those other huge guys who spend the same time and effort as you in the gym? You're frustrated, bored and miserable of going to the gym day after day, and seeing minimal results. You finally come to the conclusion, that every guy with a huge built frame is on steroids and that you never wanted to look like that anyways! Hmmm...okay? I think the question you should be asking yourself is: "What am I doing wrong?". There are so many minor things, that we do incorrectly in our workouts; and also when taking supplementation and nutrition that is really vital for massive progressive change in one's physique. In this article I will touch on a couple of aspects, very briefly on where one's training level should be at; the different types of whey protein; pre-workout drinks; mistakes made when training; intermittent fasting and much more. If you're interested in building muscle and losing weight, keep reading. If you're interested in just losing weight...well why don't you give it a go and continue reading, you might just find that you are much more informed after reading this article:)

A push in the right direction, brief training tips: Where is your fitness level at? If you are a beginner and want to build muscle, I would highly recommend doing 30min to 1hr of full body normal workout, or 15 to 30 min of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). If you are intermediate to advanced, your muscle tone by now should show somewhat, maybe not ripped, but at least let's say slightly toned? If so, it's time to pull that 90min a day, 6 days a week type training, focus on 2 muscle groups a day, throw in 30min of rigorous cardio, and 1 hour of weights, really get into it, and that should sort you out, keep it simple, and change up your routines constantly. My free 1 week workout schedule and eating plan will be posted up at the end of November for beginner, and intermediate to advanced, so check out for that. If you are doing advanced to professional training, it's purely strategic training for a specific attainable aesthetic physique. You should already be doing the 90min per day but your training should be very specific down the T, about how many reps you do on each muscle group; the intensity and the type of weight training. If you want to go beyond that, there is the ultimate level of training 2x a day, same 2 muscle groups trained twice a day, a minimum of 8hrs apart between each workout for partial recovery. Keep in mind, you will have to up your supplementation before and after both workouts.

When I do '2 a days' not everyday though, my overall protein intake for those days is about 175 to 200g! No joke, 25g before workout = 1 scoop of whey, then 2 scoops after workout 1. I repeat the same for workout 2, which so far adds up to 150g. The other 25 to 50g is purely from my meals during the day. Remember you need 1.5g of protein x your body weight in pounds per day if you are training hard to build muscle. Further on in this article, you will read up on why you should take whey protein before and after a workout. I don't believe in working out once every 3 days or once every 2days, as this causes the muscle fibers to get lazy, if not enough work is done on the muscle, for the recovery to actually last 2 full days. Mentally you become lazy, and working out everyday becomes a mission, an obligation, and if you are training professionally, this is not a good space to be in, it's the wrong mindset to have. Professional training is everyday, minimum once a day, for 6 days, 7th day is what we call ARD - Active rest day or recovery day. People always ask the question: How do I get built or ripped or get a 6 pac quick? No such thing, no supplement or workout machine will get you there, in other words there's no short cut. It's maximum effort spent at the gym daily, you need to fall in love with pushing yourself to the edge in your workouts. Building muscle takes time, a minimum of a year at least to have the aesthetic look. You need to get obsessed with it, overly excited; and energized just thinking about your next workout, this drive will lead to success.

3 big myths about training straightened out: Don't stretch before working out, a stretch is not a warm up. A warm up is a 3 to 5min mini workout to prepare the muscles for rigorous action in the main workout. A stretch elongates the muscle and prepares it for relaxation, whilst working out contracts the muscle and prepares it for action. So you can understand the stupidity of stretching and then jumping into a crazy workout, getting cramps and wondering why? Save the stretching for after your workout, that's called a cool down people:)

For a normal person: Doing the same workout routine after 3 weeks, becomes inefficient and unproductive. Why? What happens is that the body hits what is called a 'plateau'. It gets used to the routine and you lose less fat, and build less muscle as this is no longer a challenge for the body anymore. For a pro athlete, the workout routine changes every day, max, every 3rd day, because the body adapts very fast to new movement and muscle pain, since the muscle fibers are way thicker than that of a normal person.

Sit ups do not give you a six pack! For a person to get a 6 pack, there has to be high intensity strain on the abs, plenty of different ab exercises for the side; upper and lower abs, also resistance training, full body weight training, HIIT cardio and last but not least, diet diet and diet. The abs do not show if the fat layer is thick above the muscles. All the above together = A six pack! A good quote to remember: "Abs are made in the kitchen".

Working out on an empty stomach versus pre-workout meal or supplement: Ok let me get straight into it: If you want to lose weight and do not care about building muscle, by all means, workout first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or with just a cup of coffee before hand. You actually lose more kilojoules of energy working out on an empty stomach, as you wipe out your body's reserves which in essence causes you to loose weight quicker. If you are building muscle, and losing weight, do not, I repeat do not, workout on an empty stomach! Here's why: The energy source you will be pulling from will be your reserves contained in the muscles, when working out on an empty stomach.

In essence what happens is that the body first goes to carbs; then proteins then fats for energy. So keeping that in mind, once your glucose (Carbs) stored in your muscles are used up, the next energy source that will be hit is the amino acids (Proteins) in the muscles, and guess what that means? Break down of muscle tissue. What? Yes! The body is looking for its next energy source, and what happens is that your muscle tissue breaks down into tiny amino acids, providing energy for the body to keep functioning at a fast pace.

The last thing the body will do is try to break down fat into more carbs, as this takes longer, and is not instant, otherwise we would all be thin! So it is extremely important to take at least a scoop of whey, preferably isolate type, so that the diffusion into the muscles is almost instant, 30min max. What does this do to help prevent muscle breakdown? Once the whey protein is ingested and is floating freely in amino acid form in the bloodstream, the body pulls from this energy first, as it is more immediate than your reserves. Meaning your reserves are not touched, as you have free flowing amino acids, readily ingested into the system, ready to be used for workout.

Remember, at the end of the day weight loss is caused due to a negative kilojoule count, meaning: You use up more kilojoules than you eat. A simple rule to keep in mind.

Supplementation before and after training:

Beginner: I would start with a light protein shake, or even organic whey protein powder from a health shop, nothing hectic. The USN range is great to start off with, I would recommend USN IGF-1; and even Optimim Nutrition Light Whey. Both are great tasting; light on the stomach and have no major side effects. Your protein intake should be one scoop before and one scoop after workout. Intermediate to advanced: Your choice should be from the top 10 in this exact order: O.N Gold Standard Whey Muscletech Phase 8 Jym Pro Jym BSN Syntha 6 Cellucor Cor-Performance Whey O.N Casein Musclepharm Combat Powder BPI Sports Best Protein Universal Nutrion Animal Whey Dymatize Iso-100.

One scoop before and 2 scoops after workout. Advanced to Pro Athlete: O.N Gold Standard or O.N Platinum Whey. The top 2 protein shakes. One scoop before and 2 scoops after workout. Pre-workout drinks: Your top 10 pre-workout drinks: Jym Pre-Jym Cellucor C4 BSN N.O.-Xplode Cobra Labs The Curse Musclepharm Assault RSP Nutrition Dyno Muscletech Anarchy Evolution Nutrition ENGN Cellucor C4 Ripped GAT Nitraflex Honestly speaking I am personally not a fan of taking a pre-workout drink everyday. Reason being is that it is crammed with insane levels of sugar; caffeine and foreign ingredients which you sometimes, might not be fully aware of, that are included in the pre-workout, which start to affect your heart and liver. I have read up on so many cases of athletes being hospitalized because of taking the wrong pre-workout or something that does not agree with them. In my personal opinion, I do however believe in a pre-workout meal, which I would think to be more correct to give one normal amounts of energy during workout, and especially eating fruit right before your workout and even after. For example: Eating an orange has the energy equivalent to that of a cup of coffee, it gives you a natural energy spurt, without the damage. What do I mean when I talk about a pre-workout meal? A scoop of whey 30min before workout, or a meal replacement shake with a high protein content 2-3hrs before workout; and lastly you can even have a normal high protein packed low carb meal 2 to 3 hrs before workout. Those are healthier choices, but if you are adamant about taking some type of energy drink before workout, there is one that I would recommend it's safer than a pre-workout drink: O.N Amino Energy. My close friends reading this, know how obsessive I am about Optimum Nutrition. O.N is the brand to have as it has the top 2 number 1 whey protein shakes and the top casein powder in the world: Casein which I am currently on; Gold standard whey which I was previously on, and the Platinum Hydro-whey which I am on at the moment. An interesting fact: O.N Platinum Hydro-whey and Amino Energy is also taken by Dwayne Johnson, The Rock among many other pro athletes. People have this concept that taking a pre-workout makes u train harder for longer? I disagree, you train harder and longer because that is discipline; strength and stamina built up day after day, and not from a pre-workout drink. Your strength and stamina have to be earned, not bought. It's definitely also one's mental strength that is increased as one pushes through a rigorous workout day after day. You can be the fittest person in the world, but once the mind says stop, the body obeys. You can still go into beast mode without a pre-workout, but if you're bent on buying one, you have reference to the top 10 above. A good saying to remember: 'The body goes where the mind takes it'.

Cortisol one of the causes of muscle breakdown: What is cortisol; why and how does it cause muscle break down: Cortisol is a hormone released by your adrenal gland due to physical and mental stress and lack of sleep, it's primary objective is anti-stress and anti-inflammatory. In short, an increase in cortisol levels add to a decrease in protein synthesis of muscles. One of cortisol's actions is to provide alternative sources of fuel to the body when there is not enough glucose. This occurs when one is starving; fasting and also during intense exercise. Cortisol mediates muscle breakdown so that the amino acids in the muscle can be used to create sugar via gluconeogenesis, which is in simple terms: The formation of glucose with anything other than carbohydrates, such as proteins (Amino acids); glycerol from fats or lactate produced by muscle. Cortisol levels also rise after 90min of hardcore workout, that's why most pro athletes keep their workouts to 90min each, and if they want to do more work in 1 day, they do 90min in the morning and 90min in the evening, instead of a whole 3hrs all at once which is highly ineffective, unless you are trying to lose weight fast and forget about muscle tone.

For cortisol levels to rise and drop quickly, this does not heavily affect muscle breakdown. But if cortisol levels are on the rise for the long-term, this causes serious break down of muscle tissue. How to avoid this from happening: Make sure you are taking enough glutamine; BCAAS; and whey protein after workout; get at least 5 to 6 hours of solid sleep; and reduce stress as much you as you can. I know, easier said than done! In short, simple actions can lead to a lot less muscle breakdown.

Whey versus Casein: Both are good quality proteins, but let's have a closer look at how they react once ingested into the body. Well for starters you have to know what both proteins are used for, and when to use them. A good quality whey protein (Depending on the type of whey: Hydrolysate; isolate or concentrate) takes about 20min to be diffused into the bloodstream and into the muscles, by passing the liver as it is manufactured to be pre-ingested, especially the hydro-lized whey products which diffuse even faster. You are looking at 100% diffusion into the muscles. In English what I mean is, that you have instant recovery of your muscles after workout:) With Casein, this is not the case, once ingested, it stays in the stomach for about 4-5hrs! Forming a gluey like substance in the stomach, binding everything that's in the stomach together with it, and holding it there until it is digested. Only 4-5hrs later, does the casein start releasing into the bloodstream, and then into the muscles. The diffusion rate is about a 2 out of 10, not so great compared to whey. So why use casein, why not just stick to whey? Casein seems almost inefficient if you look at the comparisons. The truth is, it might not be completely accurate to compare the 2, as casein is not whey protein, it is more of a meal replacement protein powder. Casein usually holds the same amount of protein per scoop as whey 24 - 25g grams, yet the nature of it is very different compared to whey as described above, let me explain how and when to use casein. Correct use of Casein: So you're on a whey protein supplement as it is, but you're interested in looking for a meal replacement maybe once a day, there are many out there, but I strongly believe that casein is one of the best. When you look for any meal replacement shake, always check for the words 'casein' or 'concentrate' in the mix of ingredients described above. This indicates slow release, for about 3 to 5hrs, which is what you want, slow release means you stay full for much longer which is a good thing, that's the whole point of a meal replacement. If you are wondering what concentrate is, it is another type of whey protein that reacts like casein and releases into the muscles very slowly, compared to your isolate whey which diffuses into the muscles within 30min and lastly hydrolysate whey which is the premium of all whey proteins, diffusing into the muscles within 20min max. Now imagine taking whey protein as a meal replacement, would it work out better than taking casein as a meal supplement? The answer is no, definitely not. Firstly all of the protein is already diffused into the muscles within 20min (Assuming you're on hydrolysate whey), not bit by bit meaning that you won't stay full for long, you should actually be hungry 30min-1hr after taking whey, and there goes the whole point of taking a meal replacement right? Remember, whey protein is used for before and after workout for quick recovery of muscles, and casein is a meal replacement, for slow absorption, so that you can stay fuller for longer. Never use casein as a whey protein, your muscle gains will be minimal!

Intermittent fasting:

Used by athletes and normal gym-heads to help with the shredding process. Basically this is to limit your food intake. Need to lose weight fast, and you are at your last resort? Keep reading! So how does it work? Well this type of "fasting" is usually done from 8pm to 12pm, sounds crazy. Let me give you the breakdown: If you are building muscle-You wake up take your protein shake, do your workout, take your protein shake again, as per usual, this does not count as 'food' even though it practically is. If you are not building muscle-Wake up have a cup of green tea; normal tea; water; juice or a meal replacement shake until 12pm to keep you full. From 12pm to 8pm, you eat when you are hungry. Still keeping it on the low down with low carb; low fat and high protein packed meals. This is effective for people who have trouble following the 'Eat every 3hrs' regime which I am religious about. So in essence you have a time period from 12pm to 8pm to eat when you are hungry. My personal opinion: It can be extremely effective if followed perfectly, but seems somewhat difficult to pull off on a daily basis, and I am a person who eats every 3 hours from the time I wake up, period! Reasons why I am not 100% into intermittant fasting: I am a huge believer in listening to one's body. What does this mean? When you are hungry, you eat, when your body is tired or sore, or you have pulled a muscle, you rest on that day, don't train. When you are full, you stop eating, simply put. When you are not thirsty, don't drink water! I am fascinated at people who think that if they cram down 2 litres of water immediately, that they will start losing weight. No, you will start looking like a ballon if you drink 2 litres all at once, you will balloon outwards as the body's indication that you have drank more than what's needed! Everything in perfect moderation, is key! I am not a fan of regimes that force the body to work against its natural body clock. Intermittent fasting, even though it gives amazing results to those who are disciplined enough to follow it day in and day out without fail. It goes against the very evolution of the human habit of eating since the cave man days, when hunters use to stop and pick off fruit from branches to eat every couple hours when traveling or hunting. No jokes! This is the very reason why: Breakfast; lunch and dinner does not work. Humans have evolved to eat every couple hours, not morning; midday and night exactly. Thats why I am a huge believer in eating every 3 hours it's a programme designed for the pro athlete or normal gym-head to pike up the metabolism; enhance protein synthesis which occurs every 3hrs; and also not feel guilty for 'snacking' in between the supposed ' breakfast; lunch and supper' meals . Plus most people serious about gym and nutrition eat a minimum of 5 times a day! To conclude:

I hope this gives you all much better insight into working out; and thinking twice before just choosing any supplementation, it's not everything but I have tried to touch on different topics as best I could. Check out the article below this one for my interview with Physique Athlete International and check in at the end of the month, for my next article where I will be reviewing O.N Platimum Hydrowhey versus O.N Gold Standard, what to look for when choosing a good protein shake, and a free eating plan (A general guide) for people who just want to lose weight fast; and for people looking to lose weight and build muscle at the same time.

A quick shout out to: Media-Tee Coverage team (Especially CEO Dackien Thai Bboy Sheringo); Bboys Incorporated International Korea and the KBA (Korean Breakers Association) who have supported me since 2011 and without whom Nike Korea would not have been possible. Even though, I play a minor 'behind the scenes' part in Nike Korea's massive industry, it's still unreal to me. I have truly worked with some of the best in the dance industry and now slowly coming up in pro athlete fitness, a new journey begins. And to Physique Athlete International for promoting me on their website, a big thank you! It's been real guys that's it for now, check out my progress pics below and I leave you with my 7 fav fitness quotes:

"Keep the drive alive" "The best ab exercise is 5 sets of stop eating so much crap" "Give up the good for the great" "To not give your last breathe, is to sacrifice the gift" "Don't practice it. Live it" "Never underestimate the power of 1" "Conquer".

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