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Tom Venuto.Com Most Recent Articles
The truth about fish oil and fat loss
 Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you’ve probably heard about the health benefits of eating fatty fish or taking fish oil supplements. Well, it looks like you might be able to add fat loss to that list. The biologically active ingredients that make fatty fish so beneficial are are the long chain omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, EPA and DHA. At least a half a dozen human studies suggest that these omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may help you lose more fat. However, the fat loss benefit is not as much as some people want you to believe…
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Tom Venuto's Holiday Survival Guide
 My mom makes the most amazing Christmas cake in the world; it’s been a tradition in our family for as long as I can remember. Now let me tell you, as a bodybuilder, I have a lot of discipline. But when that moist, delicious, red and green, Jell-O- filled, whipped-cream covered cake is sitting on the table in front of me on December 25th, it takes every ounce of my willpower to keep from calling it a “VERY high carb day” and devouring numerous very large slices.
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Alcohol: Why Some People Can Drink Without Getting Fat
 Whether alcohol is "fattening" has been a very controversial subject because technically speaking, alcohol is NOT stored as fat; it is oxidized ahead of other fuels. Whether moderate drinking is healthy has also been a subject of controversy. Many studies show that cardiovascular health benefits are associated with moderate beer or wine drinking (which has been of particular interest lately with reservatrol in the news so much), while other studies show improved insulin sensitivity. Some experts however, say that alcohol has no place in a fitness lifestyle.
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Balancing Out Those Dietary Acids
 The North American diet is very acidic. From most proteins to many dairy products to most grains, we take in far more dietary acids than we do bases. This imbalance can cause some long term healthy and physique problems. Every cell of the body functions optimally within a certain pH range - a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the body. In different cells, this optimal range is different, however, the net pH of the body has to remain tightly regulated...
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Punch Proof Abdominals - Get The Midsection Muscle Of A Pro Boxer
 Ripped, six pack abs may get admiring looks at the beach or by the pool, but in my world as a strength and conditioning coach, what comes first and counts the most is not looks, but function. Stated differently, I’m talking about athleticism. Function is the ability to use those abdominal muscles for a reason, such as excelling in sports. The interesting thing is, when you train for function and athleticism, the form almost always follows the function. Train like an athlete and you will look like an athlete.
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How To Evaluate Dietary Supplements By Dr. Chris Mohr, RD
 The manufacture and sale of dietary supplements is an $18+ billion per year industry. Sorting through the advertisements and associated claims for the 29,000-plus dietary supplements available can be difficult and confusing. This is particularly true considering there is a great deal of misinformation that make many supplements look like miracles. But, considering the supplement market is a big one, it’s important to educate yourself on how to intelligently evaluate dietary supplements...
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Unconventional Leg Training Tactics: As Seen In IRONMAN Magazine
 It's sort of a joke that drug-free bodybuilders "have no legs." I hate to admit it's true, but I've been to dozens of drug tested shows where nearly all of the competitors had thick chests, huge arms, wide lats and cannonball deltoids, but almost no lower body to speak of. In natural bodybuilding, outstanding quads can be the difference between winning and losing. If your quads aren't growing and your training consists of nothing but conventional straight sets - you know, the usual 3 - 4 sets of 8 - 12 reps, with a minute or two between sets - then you'd better try something completely "unconventional."
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How To Use Super-Sizing, Portion Distortion And Dietary Displacement To Your Advantage
 Ever since the independent film, Super Size Me was released, research on the relationship between increasing obesity and increasing portion sizes has skyrocketed and the results have been virtually unanimous. There have been numerous well-designed studies published just in the last several years which confirmed exactly what we suspected (and much of what Super-Size-Me suggested)...
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Why Some People Quit And Some People Never Give Up
Throughout my 18 years in the fitness industry, I have noticed that some people who start a diet and exercise program give up very easily after hitting the first obstacle they encounter. On the other hand, I noticed that some people simply NEVER give up. These people are like the bulldog that refuses to release its teeth-hold on a bone. The harder you try to pull the bone out of his mouth, the harder the dog chomps down with a vice-like grip. What's the difference between these two types of people? Psychologists say there is an answer.
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Can You Think Yourself Thin?
On a recent special edition of The Larry King show, panel experts Bob Proctor, John Assaraf and others who were featured in the movie 'The Secret' explained that recent breakthroughs in neuroscience along with understanding mental laws, reveal why goal setting, the "law of attraction" and "positive thinking" really do work, regardless of whether you look at them from a metaphysical or a scientific perspective
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Cortisol, Stress And Body Fat
It seems that every time science uncovers some type of association between body fat and anything, opportunistic entrepreneurs are waiting in the shadows to create a product and a marketing campaign around it. The most recent example is when researchers discovered a correlation between cortisol and abdominal body fat. Cortisol was then blamed as the latest culprit in the obesity problem, and cortisol-suppressing pills were touted as the “miracle solution.” .
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Protein Supplements vs. Protein Foods
Did you ever notice how so many articles about protein in certain bodybuilding and fitness magazines are slanted towards hyping some "revolutionary" new protein product? did you ever wonder why? Are protein powders and supplemetns really better than protein foods? Although protein powders can be very useful, as with most aspects of the bodybuilding supplement industry, the subject of protein is often driven more by marketing hype than science.
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An Inspiring Conversation With Fitness & Figure Superstar - Janet Marsico: Part 2
Our interview with Fitness And Figure Superstar Janet Marsico continues…Discover Janet’s secret to losing the after-pregnancy baby weight, why she thinks it’s easier to get leaner as you get older, her tips and advice for aspiring fitness or figure competitors for how to shine onstage, plus a lot more.
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An Inspiring Conversation With A Fitness And Figure Superstar - Janet Marsico
What does it take to have the body of a fitness star, win figure championship titles and look 20 at the age of 40? You’re about to find out. Janet Marsico is a WNBF figure pro, a former Miss Fitness America pageant competitor, a judge, figure coach and the founder of “The Figure Workshop.” Janet is an all-natural fitness champion and role model for women of all ages and what she has to say is sure to inform and inspire you at the same time (part 1 of 2).
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How To Repair A Damaged Metabolism
If you've caused metabolic damage as a result of following starvation diets or losing weight too rapidly in the past, it can be extremely difficult to achieve any further fat loss at all. The good news is, metabolic damage can be repaired. All it takes is the right combination of metabolism stimulating exercise and metabolism stimulating nutrition
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A.M. Fat Burn - The Truth About Morning Cardio
Doing your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach has been embraced by bodybuilders as a tried and true fat loss method... and they should know - bodybuilders are the leanest muscular athletes one earth. However, fasted cardio remains a controversial subject and many exercise physiologists doubt whether it matters when you do your cardio. See what both sides are saying in this revealing feature article and then decide for yourself...
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Abdominal Training Secrets: The David Grisaffi Interview
Discover what it really takes to get a lean, chiseled set of six pack abs AND the functional strength and power of a top athlete at the same time. In this fascinating in-depth interview, Tom Venuto picks the brain of "The Abs Guru" about the best abdominal exercises, which ab machines really work, how to decrease body fat, training the abs and core for sports, preventing low back pain, and a whole lot more...
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Burn Fat And Curb Your Appetite With This Metabolism-Boosting Food Group
There have been countless studies performed on the role of protein in the muscle growth process to try and determine exactly how much protein you should consume to build muscle mass. Recently, several studies have looked at the role that dietary protein plays in helping you lose fat, and more importantly, helping you keep it off! One thing scientists have discovered is that eating lean protein foods is important for regulating body composition because it decreases your appetite.
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What A "Muscle-Head" Says About Organic Food
Last week I was talking about nutrition with one of my workout buddies. When I mentioned grass fed beef and "organic food” he asked, "Do you mean like what you get at Whole Foods Market?" I said, "Yes, exactly... that's a natural food and organic supermarket." He said, "Yeah well, that place costs so much, I call it Whole Paycheck!"I was rolling on the floor laughing, but the truth is, organic food really is expensive so it's a valid question to ask, “Is it worth it?” After researching the subject, let me offer you my take on it from a bodybuilder’s viewpoint. This is a perspective on organics you may not have heard before.
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The Truth About How Much Exercise You Really Need
Everywhere you look - on TV, in the magazines, on the internet - you hear about “Revolutionary, breakthroughs” that allow you to train once a week and presto! – overnight muscle and instant abs! We also hear advice and instruction such as: “Don’t do too much cardio, or you’ll lose your muscle and get weaker.” “Watch out for catabolism, and beware of cortisol!” “Long workouts are out… short workouts are in.” This is all well and good and there’s some true and sensible advice in there, and don’t get me wrong – any amount of exercise is better than no exercise, however…What ever happened to, “Get some exercise every day because it’s good for you?” You hardly ever hear that anymore.
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