Reverse diet -harder than the regular thing?
August 14, 2010 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
It’s been just over one month since my last bodybuilding contest. Since that time I have been following what I like to call a “reverse diet”. After restricting nutrients and increasing cardio progressively for 15 weeks to achieve a bodyfat of 3.9%, one cannot quickly shift gears and go on a normal “full feed” overnight. This would lead to a very quick and efficient accumulation of bodyfat, which not only is undesirable, but will make getting ready for the next physique competition that much more difficult.
My goal is to compete in the IFPA Yorton Cup in November of 2011. This is one of the top professional natural bodybuilding contests in the world and I will need to bring my best package to date. In order to accomplish this, I am focusing on progressively increasing my muscle mass while controlling my bodyfat. This is where the reverse diet comes into play. I continue to follow a structured eating plan, however each week I slowly increase my intake to allow for my metabolism to increase, but still foster muscle and strength gains. For me, a 1/2 pound gain each week is the goal. While this sounds great, both myself and my clients will testify that this is more difficult than the actual precontest diet. The reason is simply that you only have a long-term goal to aim for and your self-discipline to keep from eating all the foods you shouldn’t (or overeating the good ones too).
So far my progress is going great. My bodyfat as of yesterday is 5.8% and I have gained 3.5lbs over my contest weight. Strength has continued to climb and I, along with the rest of Team Nutri-Sport, will be lifting at the Iowa State Fair Powerlifting meet next Sat. If you are interested in watching, it’s at the ABC/Budweiser stage on the 21st from 10-3.
I will continue to update with my progress as I continue my journey back to the pro natural bodybuilding stage. If you are interested in getting into the best possible condition (either just to get into shape or get onto stage) we can not only help get you there but also the critical adjustment period afterward to get to a maintainable condition.
Below is a video of guest posing at the NANBF ProBody Championships in July.
Keep training hard!
Ryan
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
515-331-2141
www.nutrisportfpt.com
Supplement research results: D-Aspartic Acid increases testosterone naturally
July 7, 2010 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
Testosterone is the male sex hormone that is well know to be a primary driver for muscle growth. In the pursuit of increasing muscle mass and strength, finding safe and effective ways to boost these levels is usually a priority in men.
Recently, in a scientific study published in the journal of Reproductive Biology and endocrinology, there has been an amino acid that has been shown to naturally increase testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in the body. D-Aspartic Acid was shown to increase testosterone by 40% and LH by 25% in males. This was done on healthy males aged 26-37 and are significant increases. (see study here).
Being able to increase hormone levels naturally and within safe levels without dangerous and temporary prohormones and steroids is obviously a very good thing. For males looking to naturally increase their testosterone levels without the negative side effects, look to this amino acid for a boost to your supplement stack.
Come in to Nutri-Sport for this new product and other supplements for scientifically proven ways to get the most out of your training.
“Results speak louder than actions and words!”
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
www.nutrisportfpt.com
515-331-2141
9-week Bodysculpting program
May 31, 2010 by Ryan Irwin · 2 Comments
We have a lot of success over the past couple of years with our Bodysculpting program. This program is different than many of the “transformation” programs out there. Really Bodysculpting is more like personal training than it is group fitness. We keep the number of participants in the workouts small so we can better supervise and push everyone. Additionally, the workouts are always different, both in structure and equipment used. The intent is always the same: stimulate the muscle tissue and bodyfat loss. Additionally, we focus on nutrition and proper supplementation to optimize progress.
Below is a video that goes into detail and gives a visual:
Classes run Monday through Saturday with varying times. New sessions start up every four weeks, space is limited so contact us or stop in to get your spot reserved and get ready to “reach your full potential”!
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
515-331-2141
www.nutrisportfpt.com
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training tip: Medicine ball pushups
March 30, 2010 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
There are many aspects to fitness: strength, cardiovascular, flexibility, balance, coordination, to name some. Today’s exercise hits on strength, flexibility, balance and coordination.
In the video below, David demonstrates medicine ball push-ups. This exercise directly hits the chest, shoulders and triceps. What really makes this a great exercise is that since you are using a med ball, it requires shoulder stabilization, plus one arm at a time helps develop balance between each side. Having to roll the ball back and forth requires coordination and focus, which are important especially in the athletic world.
Give this exercise a try at the end of your next chest workout.
Contact us here for more information on our personal training options. Helping clients reach goals such as weight loss, muscle gain, strength, athletic performance and healthy lifestyle.
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
www.nutrisportfpt.com
515-331-2141
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training tip: disc split squats
March 9, 2010 by Ryan Irwin · 1 Comment
When training, it is important that you not only just do the exercise, but do it in proper form and emphasize the muscles that you want to target. In other words, don’t just lift weights, but “feel” the bodyparts working.
In this video, David demonstrates a great variation in the Nutri-Sport studio to the split squat on the smith machine that helps emphasize the quads and requires more balance and stability, all of which is great for athletes or just those looking for a way to shake up their workout.
Throw this exercise into your leg routine at your next workout to shake things up. For more information on our personal training in the Full Potential Training studio, click here.
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
www.nutrisportfpt.com
515-331-2141
Nutri-Sport supplement tip -nutrition during training
January 13, 2010 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
In order to make the body adapt and change, one needs to do three primary things: stimulus (exercise/training), nutrition and recovery. If one of those three components is lacking, progress either won’t be made or will be slowed. While constantly changing one’s training is essential for continued growth and performance is important, rest and nutrition should always be a mainstay and fairly consistent.
One aspect of nutrition that many individuals overlook is during their training. It is critical to fuel the body throughout the day, especially what we call the four most important meals of the day (before/after training, breakfast and before bed). However, by ingesting specific key nutrients during your workouts, you can accelerate your recovery and progress big time!
A recent study published in the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition once again proves this. While pre and post workout nutrition is critical, one’s digestive system still needs to break down the foods before it can absorb the nutrients. Even a shake (which we recommend due to it’s quick absorption) takes time, so one should allow at least 30 min before workouts to allow for this process. During training, you don’t want to have solid food in your stomach as it could not only make you sick, but also makes your body pull blood and energy from your muscles while you want them to perform.
We recommend sipping on a mixture of simple carbohydrates and Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) during training. This minimizes digestion, which gets the nutrients into your bloodstream and delivered to your muscles quickly, to begin the recovery process. Performance will be enhanced as well (especially if one is not taking full advantage of pre workout meals). As the research in this study shows, supplementing with this combo improves performance greatly over just drinking water. For recommend 2 Tbsp of dextrose (20 grams of carbs) and 2-4 scoops of Scivation Xtend, depending on your weight and intensity of the workout. Of course a sound post workout shake with the proper ratio of protein and carbs should be taken within 30 minutes to optimize growth and recovery.
Ryan Irwin, BS, CPT,
Certified Sports Nutrition Specialist
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
515-331-2141
www.nutrisportfpt.com
Top 5 precontest myths and training update
November 13, 2009 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
It’s been 3 weeks since the NANBF Natural USA contest and my pro card victory and I’m still replaying the moment through my head! As my goal is to do my first pro show (IFPA Mr. Universe) in June, I am in growth mode, but going slowly to ensure I stay leaner and don’t have to overly diet for this competition. Came in today only a 1/2 pound over my stage weight and was at 5.8% bodyfat, so far so good! The picture below is from this morning.

Ryan Irwin 3 weeks post contest, 5.8% bodyfat
In my quest to compete at the NASA Nationals in January at Oklahoma, my strength levels have been steadily increasing. This week was the last week in my first 3 week cycle and I’m very pleased with the progress. We have been doing varying range of motions to continue to shock the body and attack the weak points. Below is a video of some deadlifts off 6″ blocks, which is right where my sticking point is. Squats are going great, as is bench too.
I have compiled a list of myths in regards to precontest prep that I thought I would share. When I work with my clients, it never fails that the locker room talk brings these up and others swear by them. Keep in mind, this is regarding those who are not using steroids or prohormones, but apply to most everyone.
Top 5 myths for precontest prep
5. Lift light for more definition: Wrong-lifting heavy weights stimulates muscle growth/retention, cardio & diet cuts the bodyfat. Wanna keep the muscle, keep the weights.
4. Stop taking creatine as it causes water retention: Creatine causes retention of fluid inside the muscle fibers, not underneith the skin. That keeps them hard and full, which is a good thing.
3. Do cardio on an empty stomach: Fasted state cardio has been shown in research studies to not increase the amount of fat utilized, but does lend itself to lose muscle tissue, not a good thing!
2. Don’t eat any carbs: This is a HUGE variable topic that really differs among individuals, but carbs are muscle sparing and you want to keep them as high as individually possible, gradually dropping them as needed.
1. Dehydrate/drastic carb deplete/carb load: This is a method that is supposed to draw water and carbs into the muscle fibers, make them hard and full. However, the timing is very difficult to hit dead-on and you do something extreme and you get an extreme reaction, often not what you want. A conservative approach is much more predictable. Muscle is 75-80% water, so when one dehydrates, what happens? Muscles flatten out and aren’t as full and hard. Most of the time when you hear someone is “holding water”, actually it is bodyfat and they didn’t diet long or hard enough.
These are just a handful of tidbits thought I would share! If you’re interested in competing in the Natural Iowa contest in May or just getting in the best shape of your life, come in and let’s chat so we can help provide direction. You bust your butt, so might as well make sure you’re doing it the most effective way possible.
Also, our next 9-week Bodysculpting course starts up in 2 weeks, if you’re interested, check it out!
Ryan Irwin
IFPA Natural Pro Bodybuilder
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd, Clive, IA 50325 515-331-2141, ryan@nutrisportfpt.com
Nutri-Sport Monthly Newsletter & Monday Madness reminder
October 30, 2009 by Ryan Irwin · 3 Comments
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Nutri-Sport | 9992 Swanson Blvd | Clive | IA | 50325
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Contest prep -2 weeks out
October 8, 2009 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
Wow, time has flown by! Hard to believe I’ve been dieting since July!! This has been a very smooth contest prep for the NANBF Natural USA in Chicago on Oct 24th. I believe the variety of food choices has really helped a lot on this. Everything is right on track, looking to come in stong!
Speaking of strong, I am simply amazed at how my strength has held. I attribute this to focusing on progression of weights and cycling my training to allow for recovery. I continue to get stronger with my leg exercises as well as the bench press and deadlift. My shoulder and lower back feel awesome and looking to start my training for NASA powerlifting Nationals at 100% right out of the gates.
For supplementation, the 100% liquid egg whites have be awesome to keep me satisfied and is very convenient. In either a shake or cooked as an omelet, they have been great. I am also going to add some night time herbs in before bed as sleeping has been increasingly difficult.
Have been working more on posing and putting together my routine. Looking forward to having fun with it as this will be the first time my kids will see me onstage!

Ryan Irwin front double bicep, 2.5 weeks out

Ryan Irwin 2.5 weeks out rear double bicep
Supplement stack:
Ecogreen multi vitamin capsules
Quad protein (timed release protein)
Bio Heat (fat burner)
Nitro Burn PM (night time fat burner/cortisol blocker)
Creatine (Bio Cell)
L-Carnitine/Alpha Lipic Acid (pre/post workout)
Xtend (during workout and in between meals)
Omega 3/6/9
CLA
Multi Whey & Karbolyn (post workout protein/carb shake)
Beta Alanine
Casein protein (before bed and added to whey to help get in between meals)
Psyllium husk
100% liquid egg whites
Nutri-Sport & Full Potential Training
9992 Swanson Blvd
Clive, IA 50325
www.nutrisportFPT.com
Contest prep -4 weeks out
September 25, 2009 by Ryan Irwin · Leave a Comment
Officially one month to go before the NANBF Natural USA bodybuilding championships in Chicago, IL. Things are really going well, definition, strength, size and even energy levels doing great.
This week for supplements I added in Nitro Burn PM, which is a night time fat loss agent that also helps you reduce cortisol levels and get a good nights sleep. Also, for the workouts, almost always splitting up my lifting and low intensity cardio sessions to get a metabolism boost two times a day.
Hit PRs again this week on some lifts, did sumo deadlifts on Monday and worked up to 455 for a single, which felt surprisingly good.
Tomorrow, headed to Council Bluffs for the Bluffs Classic and IFPA Masters Pro Cup. Great competition, looking forward to watching it!

Ryan Irwin 1 month out

Ryan Irwin, beginning of precontest diet
Ecogreen multi vitamin
Quad protein (timed release protein)
Bio Heat (fat burner)
Nitro Burn PM (night time fat burner/cortisol blocker)
Creatine (Bio Cell)
L-Carnitine/Alpha Lipic Acid (pre/post workout)
Xtend (during workout and in between meals)
Omega 3/6/9
CLA
Multi Whey & Karbolyn (post workout protein/carb shake)
Beta Alanine
Casein protein (before bed and added to whey to help get in between meals)
Psyllium husk














