Thursday, October 1, 2009

Magazine Article

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No doubt, the six-meal-a-day-approach so prevalent among fitness professionals and recreational trainees alike can interfere with social life and work.

It's sad considering it doesn't have to be that way. Indeed we ourselves are the creators of all of our troubles and compulsions. But it certainly doesn't help when we are constantly showered with messages concerning the dire consequences of not eating every two to three hours. Nonsense and make believe.

But there is hope. I'm working with an ever increasing amount of competitors who are fed up with the old dogma and time-consuming behavior that tends to come with the territory. It's good to see and experience that more people in this industry are starting to open up their eyes. Role models are needed to create change on a greater scale.

Here's an article about one of my clients. I've translated some parts of it.



"...this summer I adopted an intermittent fasting regimen. It entails two large meals a day, and the approach fits me like hand in glove. As a bonus, I've gradually leaned out as well."

Note that Andreaz is eating two meals most days, while the default approach includes three meals. There are no set rules regarding meal frequency within the 8 hour feeding phase, but other clients tend to prefer three meals (as do I).



"As I received excellent coaching from Martin Berkhan during the pre-contest prep, I was very pleased with my conditioning at the day of the competition."

One thing I do differently with competitors is the pre-contest prep. Specifically the last two weeks, where I think most coaches make things more difficult and painful than what's necessary or optimal.

Andreaz is competing on Saturday, and is going up against guys a lot heavier than him (they cancelled his weight class). Let's hope they judge symmetry and conditioning fairly. That is where he really shines. I've helped Andreaz once before, where he took second place in his class (-70 kg) at the Sweden GP. He would no doubt have taken first, if it weren't for a Dutch (!) wildcard that appeared in the last second.

Here's a sneak peek on his current condition, one week out.



I should also mention that Andreaz is completely natural - and please believe that I wouldn't be telling you that if he wasn't.

Let's all wish Andreaz good luck on Saturday. You can follow his progress on his blog.

By the way, "Making High Frequency Training Work: Part Two" will be up on Monday, at the earliest. That will allow me to evaluate some relevant progress reports/client data being sent to me this weekend.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, awesome! Seems to be going really well for you and your clients :)

Anonymous said...

you can only know he`s natural if you have been living with him 24/7 for a long time, what people is telling, is not always true.

thanks for a great site Martin,

best regards, marcus

Anonymous said...

no marcus, thats something that is often said but it isn't true. you can now if someone is drug free if your working closely with that person, even when you don't spend 24/7 with him/her.

but for sure, alot of people lie about their drug use. (not talking about andreaz...just in general)

Unknown said...

Marcus,

as his coach, I would know. So you either believe what I'm telling you, or you don't. Simple as that.

If you look at his current stats, 68 kg at 170 cm a few days out, you'll note that they are in the upper range of my formula for natural trainees. See the post "What's my genetic Maximum Potential", or read the linked article at Lyle's site.
Nothing unobtainable or crazy. Also consider that this is a guy that has been working out consistently for more than 10 years.

JC said...

I just want to reiterate what Martin said about the fact that he(Andreaz) has been training for over 10 years consistently(and probably very sensibly at that).

Again, awesome work Martin.

Unknown said...

Good pics, he is almost my height and weight and he has like the body i want, but obviously a lot more ripped.
Right now im at 72.4kg(159lb) at 12%-13% bodyfat and my height its 1.68cm(5.6)




My name is Martin Berkhan and I work as a nutritional consultant, magazine writer and personal trainer.

Welcome to the Internet's leading resource on intermittent fasting and all things related.


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