Muscle Ventures Podcasts

In this podcast (click to see Quicktime ipod compatible, 17MB; click to see Google streaming flash video), I briefly outline my new plans to lose about 15 lbs. My decision is to go with the Atkins diet because it's fairly easy to implement. Further they've made a lot of progress since I first tried it in 2003 (I say I was 42 in the video; that was my age in summer 2003). They now have something called Atkins Learning Center, and it has a course on high protein diets for people who work out a lot, similar to stuff I've read in a lot of other places.

Troy Garver makes a cameo appearance at the end of the video. I'll be using him as a sounding board. He's produced some interesting insights in the past and has agreed to contribute to this series.

In this podcast (Quicktime ipod compatible, 31 MB; Google streaming flash video), Nancy Arnold and I (Bud) discuss our fall from grace with the metabolic diet. Basically, it was too much of a habit change for Nancy who has spent her whole life trying to minimize the fat she ate in food. During the low carb phase, the metabolic diet requires you to consume up to 70% of your calories in fat. Personally, with my job transition, having to continuously monitor my diet and eat just a certain kind of food was driving me crazy.

Nancy, however, has not completely fallen off the diet wagon. She is currently pursuing a medium carb diet from Beverly International. This diet puts her at 50% of her calories from protein, 20% from fat, and 30% from carbs. This mix mirrors other common advice.

In this podcast (Quicktime ipod compatible, 36 MB; Google streaming flash), Bud Gibson and I (Nancy Arnold) discuss plans for my bodybuilding competition 8 months from now.

Throughout our training together Bud and I have had many opportunities to discuss the 2006 show and how certain aspects of our training could help me improve for the 2007 show.  One of these topics is my goal of improving muscularity in my legs.  We discuss the two areas of my legs that I feel need the most improvement and how to approach that.

We have also agreed that specific measurements would be useful in determining the progress with my legs.  We discuss how the squat presents a challenge for me and why the leg press may be a better alternative. 

The contest diet is also another topic that we talk about frequently.   In this podcast we touch on more details of the diet we are currently following (The Metabolic Diet) and how this early "practice" with the diet  could help with performance.  There is a fine line between decreasing muscle while trying to lose fat and these diet specifics could help me determine where that line exists for me.  This, clearly, will take some time and the practice seems to be the right approach. 

Additional links

• Why should you test your 1RM?  Here are some guidelines.
• Increasing muscle mass includes intense training and strict dieting.