Since this website is full of training tips and nutrition advice on becoming muscular and athletic, I

decided to put a different spin on this blog post. Since I've spent the past 8 years telling you what

you should do; this blog post is dedicated to giving you my TOP 5 List of what not to do this

summer! These are things I see and hear people doing every single summer in an attempt to look

better with their shirt off; but the reality is that the common mistakes I've listed below are surefire

ways to RUIN the hard-earned gains you made all year! After reading this blog post, please send it

to as many friends as you can so we can finally put an end to people blowing their physiques every

summer! So here we go...

DON'T DO THE FOLLOWING!!!

#5 - Stop training lower body

Many guys will stop training legs (if they even trained them in the first place) during the summer to

"focus" on their upper body and "beach muscles". After all, no matter how jacked you are, speedos

just aren't tasteful! Since most guys' legs are covered in their bathing suits, they figure they'll hold

off on training legs during the summer months. There are many reasons why this is wrong

(especially if you're an athlete), but this is the worst thing you can do, even if you want to "focus"

on your upper body. Anyone who has touched a weight knows that lower body training makes your

upper body grow and look better! Exercises like squats and deadlifts trigger your body to secrete

more anabolic hormones than almost any upper body movement, while burning a boatload of
calories in the process! Want your upper body to be muscular and lean, as well as in proportion with

your lower body? KEEP SQUATTIN' & DEADLIFTIN'! Period.

#4 - Go on a low-calorie diet

Unless you are a complete genetic freak, a low-calorie diet will not get you shredded! A low-calorie

diet will make you "a smaller version of yourself" by burning muscle along with the fat you lose!

Proportionally speaking, you will look the same as you did before your diet, but you will be a smaller

version of yourself (which really sucks). Basically, you will be the "skinny-fat" guy at the beach,

much like the picture of David Spade above. (And before you try and make yourself feel better by

saying, "Yeah, but David Spade still gets tons of hot chicks!" Don't kid yourself; David Spade is rich

& famous, your not. Looking like David Spade, without the money & fame, doesn't get you Heather

Locklear...it gets you sand kicked in your face at the beach!

#3 - Perform long, steady-state cardio

DO NOT replace your sprints, prowler pushes, barbell complexes, etc., with long distance running or

hours on the elliptical to "get shredded" for the summer. Like "#4", these activities will break down

muscle tissue. Once again, this is a great recipe if you want to be the "skinny-fat" guy at the club!

#2 - Focus on high-rep (pump) training, especially right before going out

The ALL-TIME biggest summer myth is doing "tons of curls and push-ups" right before you go out so

you have a pump. You may look great during the drive to the club, but once you get there you will

be smaller!! Think about it; even the greatest pumps only last for about 20-30 minutes after your

workout is completed. What happens to the pump after this? The blood temporarily pools out of the

muscles, making you temporarily smaller than before you even worked out! Your body obviously

goes back to "normal", but your "small period" is actually 1-3 hours after the workout...(the exact

time you're tryin' to pick up chicks at the club!)

Wanna have a real pump - all day, everyday?! Lift heavy ass weights! That's right; lifting maximal

weights creates myofibrillar hypertrophy, aka, REAL MUSCLE! (I refer to this type of muscle as

"real" because it's actually made of dense, contractile tissue. High-rep training does not develop this

type of tissue.)

Although performing heavy, 1-3 rep sets doesn't give you the immediate "pump" of a 20-rep set of

cable flyes; it's residual effects are far superior! Those that train heavy probably know the feeling of

getting a "pump" hours, or even a day or two, after performing a max-effort exercise. This is due to

an "active" nervous system...and eventually this "pump" will just be due to the fact that you're

jacked from liftin' all those heavy ass weights!

#1 - Drink beer or sugar-filled cocktails

Even if you "only" drink on weekends, beer and "fruity cocktails" can add thousands of calories to

your diet, which will turn you into a bloated mess all summer! Obviously, the best thing to do is not

drink at all, but I'm not naive. It's summertime and even the most dedicated athletes may have a

few drinks here and there. If you are going to drink, the "best of the worst" is clear alcohol...and
stay away from mixing them with soda, fruit juices, etc. The universal meathead drink of choice is

Vodka with club soda (and a lemon/lime if you wish). If you switch to this drink, you'll notice a huge

difference the next morning when you wake up -- you'll be much less bloated, along with less of a

headache (if any), due to a fraction of the calories and sugar contained in fruity cocktails and/or

beer!