The main supplements you need to take and what they are used for

Whey Protein

This should be the number 1 supplement of any supplement program. If you are not taking in at least 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight you are seriously limiting your results. Whey protein has the highest bioavailability of any protein. Its absorption rate is increased when taken after a workout

Dosage

As stated, 1gram per lb of bodyweight, absorption is a lot better after your workout so ideally 60% of your protein requirement for the day should be consumed after the workout (not all in one go) up till you go to bed.

Creatine

Next on the list is creatine. As it gets converted into creatine phosphate in the muscles, which produces energy for contractions during training, supplementing with creatine can ensure that levels of it are topped off. Plus, creatine will force more water into the muscle cells creating an anabolic environment increasing protein synthesis.

Dosage

3-5 grams pre-workout: Taken with a moderate amount of complex carbs and 20 grams of whey protein taking creatine at this time will guarantee your levels are filled up.

3-5 grams post-workout: Within 30 minutes after training combine creatine with 40grams of whey protein and 80 grams of simple carbs . The insulin response from the simple carbs will also promote the creatine being moved quickly into the muscle.

Glutamine

 Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your muscles. It makes up about 1/3 of your entire amino acids It has also been shown to increase recovery rate and growth hormone levels

Doseage

7 grams when you wake up
7 grams pre-workout
7 grams post-workout
7 grams 60 minutes before bed

Branched Chains Amino Acids, BCAA

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. They help aid in the repair, growth and development of muscle tissue. The 3 amino acids L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, and L-Valine cannot  be created from your body so the only route of obtaining these is through supplementation, from my experience L-Leucine is the most important in adding muscle and aiding recovery and protein synthesis.

Doseage

5-10 grams when you wake up

5-10 grams pre-workout

5-10 grams post-workout

hope this has been helpful, cheers,

Jase

Asylum Round 2 , Day 20 - Andy

Vertical Plyo

Today was the day after the hardest vest training i've ever done ,
So i expected to be a little sore, but man, i was walking like an 80 year old this morning !

Plenty of ibuprofen gel on my back, pre workout took, 30 minutes later, lets do this !

Now anyone will tell you who as done this, and as i've said before Shaun T wants the legs to burn right away, so the warmup is different skipping routines and jumping.
Have to say i struggled big time, DOMS was ever present , and the pain was quite strong, but i got through the warmup and after the stretch, i felt a little better, ready to crush this bady boy.

Happy to say that's exactly what i did, nothing can keep me down or hold me back for long.

Also some great news yesterday, Asylum Vol 2 is coming in the autumn , so will tie in nicely with me completing P90X2, then moving onto this bad boy, seen a little trailer on youtube, and it looks even more mental, can't wait

Cheers Andy

Asylum Round 2, Day 19 - Andy

Gameday + Overtime

The day had arrived , 6 months ago when i worked my vest hybrid out, then thought about doing vest Insanity straight after, the first thing that popped into my head was " Gameday and Overtime, are you nuts"

Well i guess the answer is this, to get results, to get fitter, whatever your goals, you need to get out of your comfort zone, you need to push yourself hard then harder every single day.

That's what i do, and every single day , i change for the better.

Now when i did this workout last week, it was bad enough then, like i said the first 30 minutes are tough but you should be at the right level of fitness if your doing this program to get through it.
It's the second 30 that kick the crap out of ya , same today i was toast, but then it was time for it, yes Overtime had arrived .

Now for me the annoying and demotivational thing for me is this, Overtime is a separate workout, Shaun T is there with two dudes, all fresh looking and change of clothes.

The first thought is this " i'm actually doing 75 minutes, they cleary are not "
They should put it right at the end of gameday and say "if it's overtime today then lets go, otherwise well done and skip the dvd to the cool down " something along those lines .

Any way , it was tough, i did it though, and extremely happy with it,

Got it again in 6 days time, no fear

"Bring It On "

Asylum Round 2, Day 18 - Andy

Relief

Once again, back in two this morning, it's on my right lower side, on the kidney area, had it a few years ago, i thought due to being overweight , but obviously not, probably didn't help though.

So it was a foam roll, deep heat and ibuprofen gel, and i'm good to go.

Did Insane abs first from Insanity , and i'll be honest, i didn't wear the vest for this, as i usually do.

No point letting ego get the better of what i know to be sensible, after all tomorrow is the big one, gameday and overtime in the vest (gulp)

Just another milestone that i've set for myself.

So i did the relief , felt great afterwards , and the back feels ok at the moment.

Need to be in prime condition for tomorrow !

Cheers Andy

Asylum Round 2, Day 17 - Andy

Strength

I've been getting up at 4.15 am, for a good few months now, it's become part of the norm .
Today when the alarm went off. i jumped out of bed, excited like a kid at christmas, today was strength.

I know i sound like a broken record, but this workout really is great, gets every muscle working, pumping and definitely aching

I've not upped any weight while doing this, i've probably done a few more reps here and there, i use 18kg dumbells, but on the 3rd set of back flys, i have another set ready which are 12kg, i'm toast by the 3rd set you see, so correct form is more important than ego and injury.

The same on the chest press sets, i do between 13/16 reps with the 18's then change to the 12's for the remaining time .

You have to understand that this workout is not about lifting heavy weights, it's about making the muscle burn, then pushing through that pain , and just keep going.

As i mentioned once i've finished Asylum , going to do this workout every other day for three weeks leading up to my holiday, i'm hoping to be super ripped , lol :-)

Cheers Andy

Asylum Round 2, Day 16 - Andy

Vertical Plyo

Been having a slight discomfort in my lower back, put this down to, nearly 4 months of working out in the vest, i also do various Beachbody ab workouts wearing it, still, with only half way to go, nothing is going to stop me, so it's deep heat, ibuprofen gel and swig down my pre workout, 30 minutes later, i'm raring to go !

Now with this workout from the off Shaun T wants to make your legs burn, and believe me he succeeds !
I do really like this workout, yeah it's another tough one, but i'm pretty good and jumping in the vest, with all the Insanity workouts i've done .

All that said, it still leaves me in a pile of sweat every time.

I've noticed how, i was fit at the start, but in two weeks , i really do feel super fit.

As i've said before i'm really enjoying it all, and if your doing Insanity at the moment and thinking of doing Asylum next, i highly recommend it.

all i will say is

" NO ONE IS READY FOR THE ASYLUM "

Asylum Round 2, Day 15 - Andy

Speed & Agility

Halfway through now, loving everything about Asylum so far.

I was even looking forward to my worst one, oh yes" bring it on."

I'll be honest that soon turned to " oh dear god "

I think it's the vest that makes this so brutal, but again it didn't beat me, i didn't cave.
I got through, even had a little laugh to myself along the way (well it is Asylum).

I'm going to learn to love this workout, and i'm going to be it's master, the only way is to face this beast head on, go toe to toe with it .

So i've decided once the 30 days as finished, i'll have 3 weeks until my holiday, so i'm going to alternate this workout with Strength , without the vest though 7 days a week, for 21 days ,

Then i'll say at the end " Speed & Agility who's ya daddy ? "

Cheers Andy

Asylum Round 2, Day 14 - Andy

Relief

Did  ARX in the vest, then had a good foam roll, before moving on to the main event.

Felt nice to stretch, and reminded  me of how much i've missed not doing yoga the last 4 months.

Can't wait for X2 back into it then.

Speed & Agility in the morning, bring it on !

Cheers Andy

Asylum Round 2, Day 13 - Andy

Strength

Back to my favourite one again this morning, it just gets better and better, i don't know how many calories you burn during this workout, but you can guarantee it's quite high.

This workout leaves you in a pool of sweat at the end, with every body part on fire.

Nearly half way through already, feeling great and training hard .

Cheers Andy

Asylum Round 2 , Day 12 -Andy

Back To Core

My glutes were sore from gameday yesterday , as was my back from wearing the vest.

So what did i need ? not a back workout and a bit of glutes.

But i pushed through the pain, and i actually felt better at the end.

Yet again, that band exchange and swimmer exercise is a toughy.

This is yet again , a very thought through workout, i've not done a lot of workouts, where you
really concentrate on the lower back.

By the way, i'm so loving Asylum

Asylum Round 2, Day 11 - Andy

Gameday

Well it finally arrived , 10 days of hard training all geared towards this workout, "team Asylum are you ready"

Now i've read before on a number of posts people giving advise about gameday they usually say , " pace yourself for the mile run " (which is the start of gameday)

Now i not only disagree with this statement , i disagree with the whole "pace yourself" mentality when it comes to HIIT (high intensity interval training).

The whole point is to go flat out and try to reach the red line zone

Here is a brief summary

The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80%

Training in this zone will develop your cardiovascular system The body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles can be developed and improved. As you become fitter and stronger from training in this zone it will be possible to recover more quickly , so getting the benefits of more fat burning and improved aerobic capacity.

The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90%

Training in this zone will develop your lactic acid system In this zone, your individual anaerobic threshold (AT) is found - sometimes referred to the point of deflection (POD). During these heart rates, the amount of fat being utilised as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning this glycogen is lactic acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer remove the lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This is your anaerobic threshold (AT). Through the correct training, it is possible to delay the AT by being able to increase your ability to deal with the lactic acid for a longer period of time or by pushing the AT higher.

The Red Line Zone 90% to 100%

Training in this zone will only be possible for short periods. It effectively trains your fast twitch muscle fibres and helps to develop speed. This zone is where you push past your mental block, and only the very fit are able to train effectively within this zone

Hope this helps people to understand , this is what is required to get the best out of the programs.

Ok in Gameday the first 30 minutes is quite easy anyway (and i'm wearing the vest)

Also you get lots of water breaks in this, which is a rarity in Asylum .

It's at this 30 minute mark though were it all goes brutal, yes you still get the water break in between each exercise .

But it's just rough, i'll be honest, there were a few F words dropped this morning.

At the end i felt a real sense of accomplishment , and it was smiles all round.

But then i had a sickly feeling in my stomach, as i realised, the next time i do this workout, it will be accompanied by Overtime

For those that don't know, overtime is another workout that lasts 13 minutes, and it's brutal

Oh dear god, what have i let myself in for ???

Cheers Andy

How To Get A Firm, Sculpted Butt

Whether you are male or female, everyone would like a firm butt. However the glutes are often overlooked when it comes to putting in a little extra training over and above our usual workout programs, even though they are more visible in our day-to-day lives than the abs. 

I have not followed an entire Brazil Butt Lift program but have done a few of the workouts several times. Two of them are really good: High and Tight, and Bum Bum. High and Tight in particular REALLY works your glute muscles. The acute pain it brings is like no other that I have experienced in any workout. It's definitely not just for women. I know several men who have tried it and it leaves them whimpering on the floor, like it does with me. Yes, the girls working out with Leandro constantly smile and remind you of the fembots from Austin Powers, but just ignore them and get on with it. It works! 

An alternative that is widely accepted as being THE butt-firming move is the squat. To get the most benefit out of the squat, it is important to follow these principles:

Perform a FULL squat:
This means go as low as you possibly can and definitely lower than a parallel squat. Think butt to ankles.  This will fully develop the muscles in the glutes, as it requires a greater contribution from them than with a squat which is not so deep.  If you can’t get all the way down, lose the ego and lower the weight.  

As well as being the number-one move for working your glutes it will also promote all over muscle growth and is the king of compound moves, working more muscles throughout your body that any other exercise. It will also contribute to killer abs due to the core strength needed to keep the bar balanced during the negative part of the movement.

Use as heavy a weight as possible:
The stable stance of the squat allows you to lift a heavier weight than with lunges or split squats. The heavier the weight, the greater the workout intensity, and therefore greater benefit to the muscles.  However, remember, form over weight.  Use the heaviest weight with which you can perform a FULL squat.  There is no half-way house in Firmbuttsville! 


Happy squatting!  


Pam