Fitness Facts

Slow down, your form is horrible and quit eating so much! I love the saying that goes, “perception is reality.” I use it all the time. However true that may be, in bodybuilding, perspective is also reality – a harder, colder, crueler version of the  truth. The reason that's so is because in our world – especially in a Golds gym in the late 80s -  there's never a shortage of willing comparisons. In any given scenario, where two guys are training near each other in tank tops, there is an inevitable comparison going on in the mirror. Anyone who...

So, you want to work for Gaspari? Maybe you don't.... Not a day goes by that doesn't include at least one person inquiring about working for my company. However, once they get an idea of the hard work and discipline I expect from my employees and athlete reps, many of those inquiries disappear. Somehow, there's an idea circulating in our industry that a sponsored athlete is entitled to free money that doesn't require much in the way of hard work to get.  That may be true for some companies, but not mine. Work ethic is the number one most important...

Even though more people lose than win, success stories seem to be a dime a dozen. No one really talks about losing, and no one really talks about getting back up, but we should. But, before we do, I think we should actually define winning. In a foot race, that's a petty easy thing to do, but in life and in business it's not so cut and dry. Measuring success is, too many times, measured in dollars. Well, I'm here to tell you that's not the case. Vision, passion and drive will bring you success in business. If you can...

A sports dietician would probably say that nutrition for athletes would seek the same ultimate goal as general nutrition – insofar as that ultimate goal being, of course, good overall health. However, within the confines of good overall health an athlete is able to train hard. Hard training athletes expose themselves to nutritional needs that non-athletes don't usually face. So, in constructing an athlete's meal plan, not only must the tenets of good health be followed, but an athlete's diet should also consist of specific nutrient densities that satisfy the unique requirements generated by the sports they pursue. So, to...

The term “snake oil” has long been associated with any dietary supplement that made health claims, usually devoid of proven supplement facts, of their product. The concept goes back to the pioneer days, when a traveling salesman hawked an anti-inflammatory, made from a proprietary blend that contained actual Chinese water snakes. Based on today's supplement facts, the stuff worked. High in omega-3 fatty acids from the snakes, daily supplements made from the snake oil actually reduced inflammation and eased the symptoms associated with arthritis. It wasn't long until an enterprising pitchman decided to make his own snake oil and travel...

“Work ethic” seems to a be a perception difficult to share. One man's version of hard work could seem like a vacation to another - the “your workout is my warm-up” philosophy. It's a pretty common belief that, if you come from a family of immigrants, you have been instilled with a pretty powerful work ethic. It's pretty hard to argue with that. Anyone who has traveled to America since the turn of the century (the 20th) perusing a dream only realized that dream by working hard. Those born with the proverbial “silver spoon” in their mouths are routinely accused...

The best three-day workout routine is the one you're going to do three days a week. It's absolutely pointless to embark on a fitness program, with a well researched list of exercises for a three day workout routine, if you're not going to do it consistently, three days a week. I'm emphasizing “three” because it’s a screaming deal if you can get away with it. Devoting a three-day workout routine to a seven day week is a pretty paltry commitment, considering what you intend to accomplish. And that's really the issue. What is the purpose of this fitness program? If...

“If you stay ready you don't have to get ready” - Suga Free People always ask me how l get so lean? My answer is simple, l stay lean. If I stay lean I don' t have to get lean. Right? I mean, that's pretty simple. Ah, but is it? A casual stroll through the domestic terminal of your basic international airport, in any city (my de facto example of the most diverse cross section of America), and you will find an extraordinary number of people who don't pay attention to Suga Free, cuz, they ain't ready. Well, maybe for...

For some reason, many bodybuilders believe they have to turn themselves into a giant pumpkin during the off season in order to build any muscle. They believe, “you can't grow muscle when you're dieting.” Oh my God..... To find a greater pile of bullshit than that you'd have to visit a cattle ranch. That is such utter nonsense. It's true that you could not eat enough on a diet and not gain muscle, but it's not necessary to gain fat in order to gain muscle. All my clients gain muscle leading up to a bodybuilding show while losing body fat....

“Intensity” is one of those terms that's as subjective as it is ambiguous, if not just completely downright misconstrued. It is, however, the apex requirement in your list of things you're going to have to learn to generate if you intend on using your tine in the gym to  increase your strength/ performance.  Every athlete knows this. In fact, it is widely accepted among the fiteratti that the best athlete is the one who can focus the hardest, concentrate, and generate the most intensity. Every single world class athlete known to man is prone to this formula. There are literally...

Pondering whether or not a 30-minute workout is enough to build muscle is a bit like wondering if 30-minutes is enough to cook a meal. Sure, it could be. Depending on who you are. It could also be a disaster. Clearly, it's what you do with those 30-minutes that may or may not trigger muscle growth. Whether it be a good circuit workout, “popsugar” workouts, or whatever 30-minute fitness thing you can come up with, the reality is, that it's largely irrelevant. What is relevant – the only thing that's relevant. - is exercise intensity. And I'll tell you why.......

Creatine, more specifically, creatine monohydrate, is one of the most studied dietary supplements in history. Reams of peer reviewed and published research indicate numerous ergogenic benefits of creatine supplementation, as well as eating creatine rich foods (meat). Depending on how you cycle creatine, and how much creatine a day you take, the apparent gains in muscle mass have caused many a coach to wonder if creatine is a steroid. Well, right off the bat, creatine is not a steroid, or even a drug. It's a naturally occurring compound of three amino acids, (glycine, arginine, and methionine) that the body manufactures,...