Metabolic Masterpiece

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Aesthetic Muscle Progress Update: Getting Ripped Abs While Enjoying Your Favorite Foods

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Aesthetic Muscle ProgressIn less than 3 weeks time I’ve undone the Summer diet damage…

…and if you’ve been following my daily Aesthetic Muscle Journal videos, you’ve seen that I achieved this while enjoying my favourite foods… enjoying every second of my training… and enjoying life to the fullest.

My top two priorities to get ripped abs;

1) Nutrition: Create a caloric deficit
2) Resistance Training: Five weight training sessions per week.

I gained strength each week, because I wasn’t being overly restrictive with my diet. Most days I consumed approximately 2000 calories, which is a 500 calorie deficit for me. I bumped up those calories twice a week on average, and ended up in a caloric surplus a few times.

I’ve been following my Aesthetic Muscle Plan workouts (which I do 99% of the time)… this phase involves high frequency training… hitting each muscle group 5 days per week. It’s definitely been an eye opening experience for my workout partner, Rick and I.

For cardio I performed two 10-15 minute HIIT sessions on the recumbent spin bike each week. I also performed 10-15 minutes of farmer walks on two occasions, but pulled back from that once we started the high frequency training.

I also walk my dog 30-45 minutes most days of the week. This adds to my overall caloric deficit, but more than anything it’s great for my mental health and well-being, which I believe creates an optimal environment within my body to burn fat and build muscle.

No secrets here… just science… a focused mindset… smart training… and consistency. about Aesthetic Muscle Progress Update: Getting Ripped Abs While Enjoying Your Favorite Foods

Aesthetic Muscle Journal September 19th 2014

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Week 2 workout 5 of our high frequency Aesthetic Muscle training phase. Today we focus on strength training in the 3-5 rep range. I hit a personal best in the Decline Bench Press… 275lbs for 3 reps… and the Trap Bar Deadlift felt incredible today. Check out the footage, plus every aesthetic muscle meal I ate today…

 

After two weeks on this high frequency workout phase, I am still in disbelief about how much we are enjoying it and the strength gains we’ve been making. I’m so glad we decided to step outside of our comfort zone and add some more variety to our training frequency.

My Stats: about Aesthetic Muscle Journal September 19th 2014

Aesthetic Muscle Journal September 18th 2014

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Week 2 day 4 of our high frequency Aesthetic Muscle training phase. Today we focus on hypertrophy training in the 15-20 rep range. Check out the footage, plus every aesthetic muscle meal I ate today…

 

My mind-muscle connection with the Hammer Strength Chest Press was Earth shattering. I’ve NEVER felt a pump like this before… which confirms that I have a natural tendency to use more shoulders and triceps during chest exercises.

My Stats: about Aesthetic Muscle Journal September 18th 2014

Training For The ‘Feel’ and It’s Role In Building Aesthetic Muscle

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Your mind-muscle connection has just as much an impact on building an aesthetically pleasing physique as exercise selection and program design. A lack of mind-muscle connection leads to haphazard muscle gains and the risk of creating lagging body parts or lagging aspects of a muscle. Whereas a strong mind-muscle connection AMPlifies targeted muscle gains… shaping your body with great precision.

This mind-muscle phenomenon, also known as “Training for the feel” to us Physique Artist’s… is a learned skill that will take your workout experience to a whole new level.

With it’s limitless potential… the practice of enhancing your mind-muscle connection turns every workout into an adventure. It’s a heightened sense of focus and awareness… allowing you to intentionally dial down the activation of specific muscles, while cranking up the activation of others.

mind-muscle connection

To us Physique Artist’s… this is where the magic happens in the gym.

I live for this shit! It excites the hell out of me as I anticipate each training session. No pre-workout drink can match this kind of ‘rush’.

A Weak Mind-Muscle Connection Leaves Clues

Many fitness enthusiasts have built incredible physiques without having a strong mind-muscle connections. They don’t think about lifting… they just pick the weight up and put it down. That’s exactly how I built the foundation of my physique during the first 15 years of working out.

But as is the case with many lifters… about Training For The ‘Feel’ and It’s Role In Building Aesthetic Muscle