Fountain of Youth:
July 16-24, 2020 Enrolment

Lesson 2 –
Mechanical Tension: The SKILL of STRENGTH

Happy Friday! Today we’re going to talk about Muscle Building Principle #1: “Mechanical Tension”… and I’ve got a video for you to watch below about it.

Mechanical Tension is always the first thing that I teach when I work with someone because it teaches the SKILL of STRENGTH.

How do you TEACH strength?

Isn’t it just about lifting weight?

Well, yes… but that’s only one aspect of it.

Today’s email will go a little deeper into this.

Yesterday we talked about why being strong (and having powerful muscle) just makes life easier.

If you missed it, you can read yesterday’s email HERE.

So now, the question becomes, how do we get strong?

The important thing to remember here is that STRENGTH is a SKILL.

And just like any skill, it has to be “PRACTICED”.

Notice how I didn’t say “strength is a skill that must be ‘worked out’“?

Nope, when it comes to strength – because strength is a skill – it is very neurologically intensive.

What does that mean?

It means that just like learning how to swing a golf club for the first time;

…or learning a new language;

…or learning how to use a skill saw;

…strength must be practiced while you’re fresh & alert and you must AVOID fatigue as much as possible.

You wouldn’t mess around with a skill saw when you’re not fresh and alert, right? So…

…why would you mess around with a pair heavy kettlebells over your head when you’re tired or pushing exhaustion?

More:

Strength is defined as someone’s ability to apply force on an object… and this is true.

But there are 2 underlying foundational components that support that definition…

Component 1 – Movement

Strength training – in the end – is just loaded movement.

When you are squatting – as you’ll see in my video below – you are moving under load.

If you’re doing a One Arm, One Leg Push-Up you are moving under the load & leverage of your body.

If you’re picking something up from the ground… that’s LOADED MOVEMENT.

Here’s the thing though…

You must have CORRECT MOVEMENT PATTERNS – especially when you’re under load…

…if you don’t, the chances of injury goes up.

Let’s use a squat as an example…

If you pull yourself down into a squat and one knee has the tendency to “collapse” towards the middle (in the physiology world, we call this “valgus”)…

What would happen if you squatted with the collapsing knee 50 times?

What would happen if you were squatting with 135lbs of weight and did that for reps?

You may not injure yourself right then and there… but you will… eventually.

That pattern would have to be corrected first before you could continue squatting.

And just like a skill, you have to be conscious of that correction – purposely grooving the correct pattern – until it becomes automatic…

…just like your golf swing or your roundhouse kick or your jump shot.

Component 2 – Tension

The 2nd aspect of the SKILL of STRENGTH is your ability to create and master tension in your body.

Tension is about the ability to contract your muscles – to create tension in them – to a high degree.

Pound for pound, someone who is able to contract their muscles harder is usually stronger – and usually has greater muscle definition as well.

There is a principle that I teach in my Fountain of Youth Program called “Irradiation”.

I learned this concept firsthand from my mentor & coach Pavel Tsatsouline (the Godfather of the Modern Kettlebell Movement).

Irradiation allows you to “borrow” nerve impulses from surrounding muscles to create a much stronger contraction to the muscle you are working.

And when you create tension in the surrounding muscles… the exercise you’re doing – a military press for example – ends up being a FULL BODY exercise, more than just a “shoulder exercise”.

And when you train full body, you experience SYSTEMIC OVERLOAD (remember that term from yesterday?)…

…that means a greater overall response from your body which result in more fat burned and more muscle built.

Because you’re using the entire system and not just a single muscle group.

So when we talk about MECHANICAL TENSION, we’re talking about creating tension in your body while displaying correct movement patterns.

In this video, I show you exactly how to do that with the Double Kettlebell Front Squat…

So How Do We Apply Mechanical Tension and the SKILL of STRENGTH?

Simple…

Step 1 – Make sure you have a correct movement pattern.

Step 2 – Use a medium-heavy weight (a 5RM is about right)

Step 3 – Use LOW reps (multiple sets of reps between 1 to 3 if you’re using the weight above)

Step 4 – Make sure you recover between sets (about 2 minutes)

Step 5 – Contract ALL your muscles and create tension when you perform each rep… don’t just contract the muscles you’re “working”.

Lesson 3 –
Muscle Damage: Does it have to HURT for it to work?

Does muscle soreness mean that something good is happening?

Why do your muscles get sore after a hard session?

In today’s lesson, we’re going to talk about 2nd Principle of Muscle Building…

…Muscle Damage.

I’ve got a quick story to tell you and a video for you to watch that will show you the best exercise to use with kettlebells to elicit a “Muscle Damage” response so you can beef up your shoulders and upper back.

I started training in the mid-90s when my fitness education came from 2 sources…

1. “Muscle Media Magazine”

2. A bodybuilder that went to my high school named “Demos” (pronounced “dee-mohz”) – who vaguely resembled The Undertaker…

Demos used to train at the local gym and because he was big – because when you have a name like “Demos” you’re destined to be huge – the local gym hired him as a personal trainer.

But because I knew Demos personally, he used to help me “work out”.

Every Monday – all over the world – is “Universal Chest Day”…

…and for the bodybuilder, muscle head types, this means it’s BENCH PRESS Day.

In today’s video, I’m going to share with you what we did to get “huge” on bench press day and how we can apply this “Muscle Damage” Technique to using Double Kettlebell Training to build muscle.

Lesson 5 –
The #AlphaDAD Diet: Eating for MUSCLE while staying LEAN

The #AlphaDAD Diet s a simple EATING template that flat out works… if you put it to work.

This type of eating – above anything else – is sustainable…

[+] It will allow you to eat the foods you enjoy;

[+] It will allow you to develop a good relationship with food (which is important if you have kids… because they’re always watching);

[+] It will allow you to BOTH build muscle and burn fat.

It was created with the modern day family man in mind.

Someone who wants to eat healthy to model that type of behaviour to their kids, but still wants to enjoy the Friday Family Pizza & Movie night.

Here’s the thing though…

The template that I’m about to share with you is a LONG TERM approach to health.

This is not about some “lose 30lbs in 15 days”, instant gratification BS.

This is about playing the LONG GAME…

…or better yet, THE INFINITE GAME…

There are two different types of games: finite and infinite.

In finite games—like football or chess—the players are known, the rules are fixed and there’s an agreed-upon objective that ends the game with a winner often being declared.

INFINITE GAMES, on the other hand, can be played by known and unknown players, there are no exact rules and the length of play is infinite.

There is no winning in infinite games. The objective is to continue playing the game.

Examples of infinite games include HEALTH, business, politics and life itself.

-Simon Sinek, Author

So here’s the approach that I take for optimal PERPETUAL fat loss while maintaining/gaining muscle mass…

Step 1 – The Foundation

There are specific “non-negotiables” to this way of eating.

These are your everyday “rules”… things that you must do everyday to be successful.

If you’re trying to build the habit of healthy eating, this is where you start.

• Drink 2-3 litres of water everyday
• Eat an average of 100g of protein everyday (you will need MORE protein the leaner you are, but 100g is the minimum)*
• DO NOT consume caffeine after 2pm
• Eat at least 2 servings of green vegetables per day

*A NOTE ON PROTEIN: Protein must be broken up into smaller servings throughout the day. The human body can only ingest up to 40g of protein at a time after which a refractory period occurs for 3-4 hours.

Step 2 – Macro Cycling

Take a look at your weekly training schedule and plan your meals according to the days you train.

For most people this means that you’re training with weights/resistance 3-4 times per week depending on your program.

On the days that you are training, you can eat starches (grains, pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, etc).

You will eat these starches in combination with your 100g of protein.

On your non-training days, you will focus on only eating your 100g of protein with green vegetables and healthy fats ONLY.

No starches, no “carbs”.

Just greens, healthy fats and protein (you can have a serving of fruit if you like).

The idea behind this is that “fat burns in a carbohydrate furnace”.

With muscle sugar (glycogen) as your primary fuel source for anaerobic training (strength & power training), we need carbs on the days we train to fuel our bodies.

On the days we don’t train, we don’t need the carbs for fuel…

… so we use the “afterburn effect” from our training the previous day to burn fat.

So to simplify…

[+] On your training days… eat carbs/starches & protein

[+] On your non-training days… eat only protein & vegetables

Step 3 – Free Day

Once per week you need a day where you don’t have to worry about food and just eat whatever you want. That’s your FREE DAY.

Ideally, we want the free day to fall on a day that you’re training (I’m guessing you’ll eat starches anyway on your free day, right?)

On this day, eat whatever you want until you’re comfortably full.

DO NOT overstuff yourself.

Anything goes here… pizza, ice cream, burgers, fries, etc

Just eat without stress; enjoy time with your family; have fun.

Step 4 – Fast Day (24hrs)

One day per week – preferably after your FREE Day – eat nothing.

No food.

No juices.

No “zero calorie” soft drinks (there are always calories in those).

No calories at all.

What can you have on your fasting day?

Water. Black Coffee (no sugar, no cream). Black Tea.

Incorporating a fasting day will reset your system and allow you to take advantage of a massive growth hormone surge (growth hormone secretion occurs in the fasted state with the biggest surge coming when you sleep).

If you’ve never fasted before, this is a big step… I know.

But you can hack this and fast for a 24hr period.

So keep track of when you eat dinner the night before and then don’t eat again until dinner the following day.

Technically speaking you wouldn’t have eaten for a full 24 hours – dinner to dinner.

It would be wise though to work your way up to not eating the entire day, going to bed and then breaking your fast at breakfast the next day.

IMPORTANT: When you “break” your fast, You MUST EAT NORMALLY.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they break their fast is eating a full day’s amount of food in one meal.

Do not do this.

Eat normally staying on the lighter side.

Going Deeper…

When we get deeper into customizing the #AlphaDAD Diet for you (beyond the scope of this email), you’ll learn…

[+] exactly how much food you should be eating (the leaner you get, the MORE you should be eating)

[+] exactly how much protein you should be eating (the leaner you get, the MORE protein you need)

[+] why carbs & fats don’t matter in the long run so long as you hit your “numbers”

[+] exactly how many calories you should be adding on your training days

[+] the theory of fat availability and how to use it to your advantage

Right now The #AlphaDAD Diet will only be available to 2 groups…

1. My #AlphaDAD ELITE Guys (because they get EVERYTHING I create and put out).

AND

2. The guys in my 16-Week Fountain of Youth Coaching Program.

So listen…

If you want to learn how to customize a way of eating that won’t have you depriving yourself of the foods you love;

If you want to model healthy eating for your family while still enjoying life;

If you want to get leaner and still add muscle if you’re over the age of 35;

If you don’t want to have to worry about taking your shirt off at the beach or the pool;

Then you need to sign up for my Fountain of Youth Coaching Program and implement the strategies in the #AlphaDAD Diet right away.

Enrolment is open thru the weekend and closes on Monday.

Get started TODAY.

Have a great weekend,

Chris