Ab Anatomy
If you're attracted to the models here on GSR, you're probably wondering how they get and maintain ripped abs. Here's the scoop on using the latest workout technology and working out your abs the right way. It's all about the Core... [click for Rock Hard Abs]

 HGH Miracle?
Forget about $2000 a month HGH injections to keep up your hard body, now you can get the same results with supplements that accelerate the natural HGH secretions in your body. Learn what it takes to help build lean muscle mass, strengthen your immune system, increase bone density, and even prevent wrinkles. [click for HGH]

Gluteus Maximus
It's Greek for hubba hubba. Everyone loves one, some guys are born with one, but unfortunately most of us aren't. Read how much healthier it is for you to concentrate on building lower body strength, how it actually helps you stay lean, and how much sexier it is than all that pecs and biceps shenanigans. [click for Bubble Butt]

 Spring Fling
The days are getting longer, the temperature is rising and gay boys all over are itching to show off their hard bodies. Finding a boyfriend and working out together is a great motivator to jump start your new fitness routine. GSR recommends these workout steps to give you that long lean hard body everyone lusts for. [click for Spring Fling]

High School Athletes Embrace Yoga
More and more high school athletic programs are using yoga as a way to supplement their strength-building programs. What was once the joke of the crunchy-granola crowd has now become the ideal way to keep young minds focused and their bodies lean and flexible. [click for Yoga]

Should You Use Steroids?
Seems like more young gay teens are considering "roiding out their body" to gain a competitive edge. Before falling into this trap read this article about what you could be exposing yourself to if you should decide to use steroids or hGH. Does anybody think a 'roided-out meathead is sexy anyway? [click for Steroids]

Perfect Posture
Having trouble maintaining your ideal weight? You're not alone. We can all agree there's nothing sexier then a perfectly proportioned lean body with perfect posture. Read how to start and keep yourself on a healthy diet and working on keeping your posture... erect.
[click for Perfect Posture]

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Build Your Summer Body

Quality Over Quantity

Many guys believe that you must be in the gym for hours to see any kind of benefit from working out. Let's break down the average guy's workout in a traditional gym. Most guys will typically race for the bench, avoiding abs and cardio altogether, and work out two muscle groups the entire time they're at the gym: Chest and Arms. Each muscle group will be worked with three different exercises, three sets of each exercise, and ten repetitions in each set. Those ten repetitions will take the average person about ten seconds to complete. If you do the math that is only 90 seconds per muscle group that your muscles are actually being activated. With two muscle groups per day that is only three minutes of actual muscle activation. The rest of the time is spent staring at other guys, or jabbering away about nothing with random gym 'friends', or just simply wasting time. Rest less and activate the muscles more to burn the calories for the results you are looking for. Find a more efficient means of exercise such as moving around circuit training or doing abs between sets. And do NOT skip out on doing cardio, at least 30 minutes. You can't just pile muscle on top of old fat and think you're going to look ripped, you won't.

Nutrition: You Can't Buy It, You Have To Prepare It

You can workout as much and as hard as you want, but if you are not feeding your body healthy nutrition than you won't see the results you want to see. In today's world of hormones, preservatives, and over processed food it is hard to find healthy choice. Your best choice would be to prepare all your own foods and stick to fruits and vegetables as often as possible. Avoid eating out, there's a reason restaurant tastes good: Excess oils and salt.

Focus On Overall Fitness

Its hard to go into a gym these days and not notice that most people are only focusing on one aspect of fitness: Weights. Try mixing in some resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, core strength and flexibility training. They are all great ways to help achieve total fitness.

Recovery

Everyone knows exercise is very important, but it's just as important that you recover properly from your exercise. Recovery is an often overlooked part of fitness training. Help your body recover by stretching, nutrition and rest.

De-stressing

Bad stress has a negative impact on your body.Age stress is at an all time high. The more stressed out you are the less effective your body is going to be at performing its functions properly.

Eat Breakfast

Your body repairs itself all night long while you sleep. It awakens, internally ravenous to replenish the energy it burned up during the repair cycle. Not feeding it creates a metabolic slow down and hampers your gains. Eating five to seven small meals and healthy snacks during the day is the key to kicking your metabolism into high gear to shed pounds and lean up. Breakfast is the starting point.

Rest

It's not hard these days to burn the candle on all ends. Guys that get the recommended eight hours of sleep give their body more time to repair and prepare for the day ahead. The more you train, the more rest you need to adequately recover from bouts of exercise, and the accompanying daily life stress we all face. Power naps of 15 to 30 minutes can be a big adder to the overall rest quotient.

Think Positive

Change the channel on any thoughts of negativity. Drop "I can't" from your thoughts. You are the executive in charge of your fitness, and your thought life is where it begins. If you think you can, you will. If you think you can't, you won't. When faced with negative thoughts, speak mental words of encouragement: "I am strong, I am able, I am courageous, I am well equipped to take on this challenge. I CAN."

Train To Failure

You know those last reps that you really, really, think you can't finish? Where you feel yourself losing the ability to perform? Those reps are actually the most important. Pushing the body to failure makes the body adapt to the physical stressor you are placing on it. Through that adaptation, the body changes right before your eyes. If not challenged, the body merely remains in a state compatible to deal with the current physical stressor you place on it. You must challenge your thresholds. Stuck in a rut? Change your routine then. Do it backwards, more rest between sets, less rest between sets, heavier weight, lighter weight, split up the routines to multiple days – you name it, but keep the body guessing and work it to failure.

Workout Buddy

The accountability to push through, stay on course, eat healthier and have quicker gains can jump start, or take any fitness level to the next peak. Knowing that you have a gym partner there waiting for your session to begin, helps keep you alive and on fire to force the body to adapt to the way you want it to look and feel, in the least amount of time. Proper form, technique, motivation and intensity are the keys to making your time in the gym the most efficient and effective as possible.

Sustainable Results

If you are trying to lose weight, fiber is your best friend. You must get 35 grams of fiber a day if you want to be successful. Fiber is a weight-loss wonder, because it boosts the hormones that signal the body to feel full. Fiber-rich foods are generally lower in fat, calories and added sugars. If you sabotage your weight loss efforts because of uncontrollable cravings then eat 35 grams of fiber a day and you will forget what a craving even feels like. What if you don't have time to eat six times a day? Join the club. I don't know anyone who has that kind if free time. Every article you read about losing weight will tell you eating six small meals a day is the best way to lose weight. Take a look at your day, and realistically see how many times you can eat a meal or a snack. If it turns out to be three – that's fine. The less you disrupt your day the easier it will be for you to stay on course. It is a lot easier to eat 100 calories than it is to burn 100 calories.

Drink Water

Commercials show elite athletes with eight-pack abs guzzling sports drinks before, during and after their workouts, right? So why shouldn't you drink them, too? I will tell you why: you don't sweat and move enough. The second reason is your goal is weight loss, not to be able to get that last yard on third down with two minutes to go in the game. You want a calorie deficit. Lastly, you don't work out long enough to warrant one. These drinks are perfect formulations of electrolytes and sugar to replenish the body after a long, strenuous workout. There is too much sugar in these sports drinks and you will sabotage your weight loss if you drink them. Drink water.

Nutrition Management

Managing your nutrition consumption is one of the five most important segments to finally attain your six pack abs. Some basic rules apply to each individual, such as; avoid consuming fats, foods with high sodium, bad source of carbohydrates and sugars, alcohol, sodas… etc. However, there are some exceptions for each individual depending on their lifestyle and their exercise regime. For example, if you exercise five times a week, your body needs to be fueled with more nutrition than the person who exercises two times a week. Carbohydrates give our bodies the energy we need. If you do more physical work than an average person you should eat more carbohydrates to keep your energy level up. This speeds up your metabolism so you will burn fat faster and healthier. Consume your carbohydrates while you are active during the day, instead of at night before bed. Focus on time-released complex carbohydrates such as; brown rice, potatoes, wholegrain wheat bread, corn, yam, oatmeal…etc. Additionally, you should manage proteins and minerals properly so you will maintain muscle mass and still look lean. Focus on white meat as it is a much leaner meat with a lower caloric value and high in protein.

Cut Back Sugar

Eating sugar is not conducive to achieving ripped abs. But if you are sugar lover and have difficulty cutting it from your diet, eat one serving of fruit with breakfast and one following your workout (strength training or cardio). Focus on eating lots of greens such as asparagus and broccoli because they are high in fiber. And remember to drink lots of water. These components will help you digest faster and become leaner in a shorter amount of time. Try to eat smaller portions but eat more frequently. People make this common mistake when individualizing their nutrition intake results start to get minimized. A lot of people try eating the least amount of food possible which is detrimental to your health and will not maximize your potential results. You need to eat a good amount of clean food to support your body and still be healthy.

Train Smart

Choose the right combination of abdominal muscle exercises and combine it with stretches between your sets. Do not repeat one or two exercise over and over. Performing just five hundred sit ups alone will not get you ripped abs. It is waste of time and waste of energy. Guys have a limited amount of energy in the gym so train smart and save energy for other necessary exercises. Additionally, combinations and the order of the abdominal exercises are very important to maximize your results. You should use several different combinations of exercises and styles working your upper abs (upper rectus abdominis), lower abs (lower rectus abdominis), and side abs (obliques). Finish this up with necessary midsection stretches. Turning your upper body while holding a wooden stick on the back of your neck for a few minutes will help take inches off your waist, and will tighten up your obliques/side abs. Do not only train your abs. If you want to have a great looking abs, you need to train your back, chest and your shoulders as well. This will help the skin on your stomach tighten up. It will make your abdominal muscles look better and more defined.,/p>

Cardio

Focus on using cardio machines that work the entire body. Use elliptical, step master, and treadmill combinations. In between, remember to complete some mid-section stretches and turns. A sample cardio program specifically to bring your six pack abs is to use an elliptical, step master and treadmill for 30 minutes each. Again, while you are switching machines, turn your upper body while by holding the wooden stick on the back of your neck. Do this for two minutes and perform mid-section stretches. To complete this workout it will take about 70 minutes. Do this four to six times a week. You will see your abs becoming leaner much faster than just using one cardio machine.

Stretch

Stretching is an important part of any fitness routine. You should stretch your full body at least two times a day. It takes only a couple minutes and is well worth your time. On top of that you should focus on some specific mid-section stretches for another couple of minutes. If see that you are developing lose skin, you can use a skin roll method to tighten it. Stretches increase joint range of motion and muscle suppleness, and minimize risk of injury. Most importantly it helps you to achieve six pack abs by tightening up the skin.

Patience

Being patient and being focused is the last step to your success. You must be mentally strong. There will be times that you want to quit or take a break. At that moment you should be mentally strong, believe in yourself and keep it up. Do not forget good things take time. This is a life journey altering your behavior. Results will arrive slowly but surely. Stay strong and remain healthy. Believe in yourself!

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The most effective and economical amino acid of is L-glutamine and L-arginine. Take L-glutamine in the morning and take L-glutamine before bedtime. Both of these amino acid supplements should be taken on an empty stomach.

There has been scientific studies showing that L-glutamine causes HGH release, but there is a large body of anecdotal evidence from anti-aging physicians and their patients that L-glutamine is actually effective in persons only under age 55.

There has been significant scientific studies on the effects of L-arginine on growth hormone release. In fact, the administration of a large dose of L-arginine is the standard test for the ability of the pituitary to release growth hormone. Most scientists believe that L-arginine promotes HGH release by inhibiting somatostatin.

There are some drawbacks with the use of amino acids as HGH releasers. Their effectiveness generally diminishes with age, and with continued use. Many young people use L-arginine, but it should not be used by anyone until at least 5 years after they have completed their long bone growth (unless they are under close medical supervision).

I've read a story of a 19 year-old who took L-arginine (about ten grams) before bedtime for one week, and stopped after one week because it was making them nauseous, which was an indication of an excessive level of HGH release. Even though they had no body growth since 16, the introduction of L-arginine added an additional inch and a noticeable growth of heel bone.

For most people, the doses of amino acids recommended on the labels are right for maintaining youthful levels of HGH beginning at about age 25, and continuing into the 40's, and sometimes beyond 50. In order to maintain its effectiveness, these amino acids should be used for about 6 weeks, then stopped for 2 or 3 weeks. The same 6-week ON, 2 or 3 weeks OFF cycle can be continued indefinitely. This cycling helps to maintain the effectiveness of the HGH release.

Keep in mind, the effectiveness of HGH release with amino acids is highly variable from individual to individual. For some people, it is a very effective means of HGH release over a long period of time and with a regime of good workout exercise. And for a few, it maintains its effectiveness until the age of 60 and beyond.

What HGH therapy can do:

Reduce excess body fat, especially abdominal fat. (The reduction of abdominal fat is the single most profound effect of HGH replacement in many people.)

Increase muscle mass (and physical strength if combined with exercise).

Reduce wrinkling of the skin and some other effects of skin aging.

Re-grow certain internal organs that have atrophied with age.

Increase bone density.

Strengthen the immune system.

Stimulate production of the bone marrow cells that produce red blood cells.

List of Recommended Amino Acid Supplements:

L-Arginine - Increases Your Bodies Growth Hormone and Sexual Performance

L-Carnitine - Promotes Muscle Growth and Development

Chromium - Gain More Eenergy, Burning Fat, and Building Muscle

L-Lysine - Maintain Muslce Growth and Lean Body Mass

L-Glutamine - Reduce Muscle Deterioration from Working Out

Glycine - Creates Muscle Tissue and Converts Glucose Into Energy

L-Ornithine - Build and Maintain Muscle and Lose Fat

L-Tyrosine - Helps Avoid Overtraining

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Lower Body Training

This session is designed to work all the major muscle groups of the lower body, start the exercises after a good warm-up and stretch.

As always, use weights based on your current strength levels, be smart and start with a light weight establishing good technique increasing gradually.

Simple Points To Remember:

Avoid repetation; don't allow your body to get used to your workout routines. Change it up, introduce new steps and mix the order around.

Quality sessions, with ample rest between them, don't train sore muscles and focus on your form, that's what the mirrors are for, not to check out the other hot guy.

Feed your body, plenty of protein throughout the day to build muscle tissue. Food is fuel. Keep your body running on hi-octane healthy food.

Keep a log and keep your sessions regular. Consistency is the key.

Exercises:

Quads: Seated leg extension machine Quads. Keeping your back firmly into machine, place your feet under the foot pad, about shoulder width apart, just above your ankle level. As you develop your leg strength, aim to work for 4 sets of 12 - 15 reps, followed by 1 - 2 sets of 50% weight until you're exhausted.

Leg Press: Leg Press Quadriceps. There are a number of foot positions you can use to work the different muscles of your quadriceps, you can have your feet close together - wide or shoulder width apart. Work for 4 sets of 12 - 15 reps, for first set work with your feet close, then normal and finally wide, with toes pointing outwards.

Hamstring: Hamstring Curl Machine. Use a suitable weight and perform smooth reps. Avoid pushing too much weight on this exercise, most people's hamstrings will tend to be tight and are hard to stretch, and can easily be damaged. Aim for 3 - 4 sets of 12 - 15 reps, using a light weight for your first set.

Lunge: Complete Lower Body. A combination of either front or rear lunges can be performed using a Smith Machine, however always make sure that you perform with a lightweight, enabling your leg muscles to get use to the movement prior to increasing the weight. Aim for 4 sets of 15 - 18 reps each leg, using a light weight, aim for a full range of movement.

Calf: Calf machine. Most gyms will have a calf machine, if not that use either a Smith Machine or Barbell across your shoulders. Stand straight with the balls of your feet on the platform, with the shoulder weight cushions comfortably placed on your shoulders, - avoid being bent up, or straining to reach the supports. Lift and lower slowly for 3 - 4 sets of 12 - 15 reps working for a full range.<./p>

Remember you do not have to do all the above exercises, aim to build up both the weights, sets and reps gradually. Adjust your program to suit your own fitness level, as well as the equipment you have available to use and gradually increase your weight as you gain more strength.

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For at least an hour every workout session, the 30 players stretched into Downward Facing Dog, Tree, Frog, and other yoga positions. Not push-ups or wind sprints. "It's a little bit effeminate," joked Joel, 17, a defenseman with tight hamstrings who struggled with a contortion or two. "But nah, I like it."

Already part of the trendy 20-30 something crowd's schedule in spas and health clubs, yoga is now winning over high school jocks. A growing number of high school teams have rolled out the yoga mats to augment training regimens and improve flexibility, strength and mental grit, coaches and strength trainers say.

A Growing Discipline

Training with yoga appears to have little downside other than, perhaps, the time it can take away from traditional workouts. Researchers do point out that the most-touted benefit of better performance has never undergone rigorous scientific study but that hasn't slowed the flow of followers.

While no one tracks the number of high school teams that supplement training with stretches, deep breaths and meditation, A New Yoga Journal survey indicates that nearly 16 million Americans pursue the discipline, 5 percent of them in the prime high school age range of 15 to 18.

Some pro teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, have used yoga poses in workouts. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been a fan since the '70s. Shaquille O'Neal, Kyle Korver, the Williams sisters and other sports stars also train with yoga. College and high school teams have adopted the exercises more recently. The pro sports influence trickles down.

The activity is stripped of its traditional Hindu roots and some instructors avoid Sanskrit names for poses in favor of English or no names at all, and add movements from other exercise forms. "If I started to use yoga-speak, they'd shut me out," said Coach Bradley, who recently began training the boy's soccer team at La Jolla Country Day School. "We don't 'om' or anything." He even gave the class a more sports-appealing name: Balanced Athlete.

"It makes us a little more in tune with our bodies," said attackman Mike Disting, 16. "It definitely stretches us out more than we ever would during the week." On this day, the men squatted (Frog) and then moved to the aptly named Happy Baby before finally meditating for a spell. "I'm all yogified," goalie Jake Mendleson 17, said with a smile as he grabbed his stick. "I'm ready to play."

Whatever the style, the goals are similar: Improved flexibility. Better concentration. Fewer injuries. Yoga brings stability to the entire body. It's not just about having strong quadriceps. A favorite is the Komodo Dragon, for which players assumed a push-up stance and moved opposite legs and arms across the field-house floor to build strength and agility. "It's a push-up unlike any you've seen or done," head coach Dean Wagner said.

Mental focus

Winning championships will definitely boost yoga's appeal. Hatha yoga does help flexibility. Hypothetically, it should improve performance.

At La Costa Canyon, Dustin Ambrose, head coach of men's soccer, was betting off-season training with yoga would pay off on the field. "As a coach, I want to give my boys every competitive advantage I can," he said while the team bent and twisted under Ambrose's guidance. Soccer is "absolutely about mind, balance and agility."

Well-conditioned athletes marvel at the challenge. Some of the boys began shaking as they tried to hold positions. "It humbles them from the first pose," Ambrose said. "I rock their world a little bit when their in a position and their butts end up shaking out of control."

Junior Preston Bateman was skeptical, he said, when he encountered yoga training three years ago as a varsity rower for Mission Bay, where instructor Ed Harrod shares his Flexibility for Athletes program. Then the nostril breathing (in one side, out the other) and belly pumping (quick, short breaths) helped him push past pain and stay competitive while various poses strengthened core and lower-back muscles. "I started to shed some of the doubt," he said.

Added Harrod: "There really isn't any separation between the ancient yogic warrior and the warrior you see on the athletic field."

Because of the pressure they both feel to excel in their demanding field, Thomas and Elijah wonder whether steroids would help them. They've been approached by other older HIV positive gay guys that are willing to sell them their medicinal steroids (prescribed to HIV positive patients for wasting away syndrome) at a cheap price. They've heard rumors about the bad side effects of steroids, but they don't have all the facts. Here's the scoop so those gay teens out there thinking about using steroids as a performance enhancing drug may reevaluate their decision. Besides big is out, lean is in.

What Exactly Are Steroids?

Steroids, also referred to as roids, juice, hype, weight trainers, gym candy, arnolds, stackers, or pumpers, are the same as, or similar to, certain hormones in your body. The male body produces natural steroids to support such functions as promoting growth and development, and fighting stress. Some gay teens use steroid pills, creams, gels, or injections because they think steroids will improve their sports performance or the way they look. And they do.

Artificially produced hormones, anabolic steroids, are similar to androgens, the male sex hormones in the body. There are more than 100 types of anabolic steroids, the most powerful being testosterone. Testosterone helps boy bodies become hard lean teen bodies by building muscle and burning all the baby fat boys might be carrying from childhood. You've seen it before; your BFF is a boy one year and then he starts puberty and all of a sudden his body becomes lean and trim and grows body hair. That's testosterone at work Testosterone is mainly a mature male hormone but girls' bodies produce some in smaller amounts. Testosterone levels can also affect how aggressive a person is.

There's another group of steroids called steroidal supplements that contain dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and/or androstenedione (also known as andro). For the most part, steroidal supplements, which used to be found at health food stores or gyms, are now illegal and require a prescription. DHEA is one of the few exceptions and can still be bought over the counter and you can still find Andro if you ask the right people at your gym.

Steroid supplements are weaker forms of androgen. Their effects haven't been studied as much as anabolic steriods but when taken in large doses they cause effects similar to other androgens like testosterone. Companies that manufacture steroid supplements often use false claims and very little is known about the long-term effects some of these substances have on the male body. That’s probably the reason why the government passed laws controlling steroid distribution.

How Do Anabolic Steroids Work?

Anabolic steroids stimulate muscle tissue to grow and therefore"bulk up" the male body in response to training by mimicking the effect of naturally produced testosterone on the body. You can't just ingest steriods and sit there. You have to work out to make them function. Anabolic steroids can usually remain in the body from a couple of days to about a year. Steroids have become popular recently because they improve endurance, strength, and muscle mass. But there is no research that shows that steroids improve skill, agility, or athletic performance (i.e. Dumb Jock Syndrome).

Dangers of Steroids

Anabolic steroids can cause many different types of problems, some of the more serious or long-lasting side effects can be:
Premature balding or hair loss
Dizziness
Intense mood swings, including anger, aggression, and depression
Hallucinations, seeing or hearing things that aren't there
Paranoia, extreme feelings of mistrust or fear
Sleeping problems
Nausea and Vomiting
Shakes or trembling
High blood pressure
Aching joints
Liver damage
Testicular shrinkage
Breast development
Impotence Steroids also have serious psychological side effects. Users can become combative or aggressive, developing roid rage.

Steroid users who inject the drugs are also at risk for HIV infection. Guys who use dirty needles are also at greater risk for contracting hepatitis, a disease of the liver, or bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the inner lining of the heart.

Steroids: Stacking and Addiction

Some gay teens stack anabolic steroids with other drugs. Other steroid users pyramid or cycle their doses, starting with a low dose of stacked drugs and then systematically increasing and decreasing the dosage of the steroid because some believe it helps their bodies recuperate from the steroids.

But even scientists don't exactly understand how steroids interact with each other or possibly cause reactions to other medications, so it is possible that a person who stacks steroids might be taking a deadly combination, although occurances of that happen have been few. Emergency departments have reported cases of vomiting, tremors, dizziness, and even unconsciousness when patients were taken to Emergency after admitting taking combinations of steroids.

It seems a lot of gay teens tell themselves they'll only use steroids for a season or a school year. But steroids can be addictive making it hard to stop taking them especially since your body seems to deflate when you stop taking them and your workout gets even harder to do.

Some of the long-term effects of steroids may not show up for many years and that's one of the reasons younger gay teens consider using the drug. Teens who use steroids may also be at higher risk for using other drugs, such as meth or cocaine.

What Is Human Growth Hormone?

Along with steroids, you may have heard of something called Human Growth Hormone, or hGH. Like steroids, hGH is only legal when prescribed by a doctor . Doctors prescribe hGH for children and tweens whose bodies don't naturally make enough growth hormone, a condition known as growth hormone deficiency and tend not to grow to normal adult size. Recent trends show an increase in growth hormone being used as an athletic supplement, especially in conjunction with steriods.

A lot of myths surround hGH and its effects on athletes. Here are some risks you should be aware of:
Any type of hGH that is not obtained by prescription is not regulated by the US government and could be almost anything. Be especially aware of anything manufactured or bought from foreign countries.
Gay teens that buy online products sold as "growth hormone," "growth stimulators," or "growth factors" are actually buying common over-the-counter amino acids that don't significantly increase growth hormone levels in your body.

Along with the false claims of performance benefits from hGH, the price for a month's prescription of hGH can be as high as $5,000, meaning that the street value for just a month could run anywhere from $5,000–$10,000. And because growth hormone can only be injected not injested, like some steroids, there's a risk of contracting HIV or other diseases if guys share needles.

Strong Alternatives to Steroids

Anabolic steroids are obviously controversial in the sports world because of the health risks associated with them and their unproven performance benefits but mostly for the fact that you're cheating. Most are illegal and are banned by professional sports organizations and medical associations. As seen in the high-profile cases, if an athlete is caught using steroids, his or her career can be destroyed and they realized that but it didn't stop them.

When it comes to deciding whether to "roid" your body out, think of the harm you're going to be doing to your body or getting disqualified as an athlete. Being a star athlete means training the healthy way: eating the right foods, practicing, and strength training without the use of drugs. Besides, who wants a big oversized body when you can stay natural and have the hard lean body that every guy dreams of?

Stop Cleaning Your Plate

We all know our mothers told us to clean our plate because of all the unfortunate starving kids but stuffing your face even though you're not hungry anymore can set you up for nutritional failure. Today bigger and more seems better, and typical portion sizes have doubled in the past 15 years... and so have waist sizes.The first step in curbing overeating is to control your portion sizes. Just because a burrito now comes as big as a large shoe, that doesn't mean you have to eat it all. Ask for less rice and less beans. Even though the burrito make take on a smaller size, the porportion of rice/beans/meat is more balanced and you'll actually learn to eat less. I mean how many times have you finished 3/4 of your burrito and told yourself you're already full but continue to eat the remaining 1/4 and only because it's there staring you in the face?

Those who have successfully managed to win the battle of the dreaded pooch and back fat have learned to control their portion sizes, ensuring that they don't overeat and drown themselves in excess calories that they don't even want. Food portion control is the primary way for avoiding those excess pounds you find in the mid-section of most guys (girls get it in the arse). Once you listen to your inner-self and realize how much you can eat and when to say you're full, it becomes easier for you to control your calorie intake.

When To Say When

You know when you get so hungry that you inhale your meal then find yourself so stuffed that it's difficult to breathe? Racing through any meal is one of the easiest ways to throw your nutrition goals off track. The mind actually has a mechanism that is triggered upon satiety but it just takes time for that mechanism to relay messages of fullness to the brain, i.e. when you eat at a slower pace. So essentually the best way to avoid overeating is to take your time with your meal and pay attention to what’s happening within your body. That way you give your body enough time to let you know that you have achieved maximum capacity.

Eat More Often, Less Portions

Athletes find another way to avoid unhealthy eating habits and snack binges is to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. When you go for an extended period of time without fuel, your body begins to crave snack foods that are high in sugars and fat and low in nutrition content. If you eat six small meals per day you will be less likely to crave unhealthy foods and won’t feel obligated to eat everything in front of you come dinner time.

Move Around

Most people that attempt to diet are on some type of exercise regime. Successful dieting has shown that those who kept off the weight also included a daily hour-long walk into their weekly routine. If you’re crunched for time you can spread physical activity over the course of a day; park father away from your office, walk during your lunch break, use stairs instead of elevators or escalators, etc.

Keep Notes

Keep a food log monitoring your daily intake, it may be tedious but when you pay attention to what you're eating during the course of the day, you start to realize more what's actually going in your body and hence you're more likely to eat healthy foods. Set daily food goals just like when you go to the gym. Challenge yourself to eat one more piece of fruit than usual each day. That challenge may develop into a habit, and you’ll be ready to take on another one. And don’t worry if you fail to achieve your food goal each day; it takes time to change eating patterns. Just recognize that your goal was particularly challenging for that day and set the intention of achieving it the next. There's no such thing as failure as long as you keep trying.

Ditch Fad Diets

It seems that nearly everyone suffers from some sort of chronic pain, even young guys. Most of the time the cause for these aches and pains is bad posture and have nothing to do with getting older? Even carpal tunnel syndrome to ear aches to depression, researchers are starting to realize it's a guys posture that may be the cause for all these aches and researchers have started to focus more on a person’s structural alignment to help reduce painful chronic injuries.

It is estimated that 80 percent of Americans have – or will have – some form of lower back pain in their lifetime starting in adolescence. And although the pathology of lower back pain is difficult to pinpoint, scientists have discovered a relationship between persons with lower back pain and inadequate function of the stabilizers of the spine (abs, ass, etc.). Conclusion: those with weak abs and butt muscles are more likely to experience lower back pain.

So what really is good posture?

We all recognize it when we see, a guy with perfect posture, usually a gymnast or dancer but not necessarily a gym rat. Often times you see those same gym rats with rolled shoulders from too much upper body lifting. Not sexy. Researchers have described perfect posture as the positioning of the body such that stresses experienced throughout the body are minimized (huh?). I think what they're saying is if you maintain good posture all your aches and pains will disappear. The same researchers say that perfect posture is attainable at any body position, whether sitting, lying in bed or working out at the gym. To check if you have good posture start with your feet (which should be parallel to one another), you should be able to draw a line from the mid ankle, through the center of the side of the knee, through the middle of the side of the hip, through the center of the shoulder and finally through to the piece of flesh directly in front of your ear hole. This perfect posture is difficult to obtain and maintain but just like every exercise routine, regular practice and constant awareness of your posture can lead to significant improvements.

Why should I care about good posture?

Besides looking hot and feeling healthy, there are many beneficial side effects of good posture. When your body is out of alignment, the soft and hard tissue structures that hold up your skeleton are faced with excessive friction and irregular movement patterns and ranges of motion, which can irritate and initiate premature degeneration of those structures. Ever see those older guys at the gym that have been lifting the same heavy weight for decades but never thought once about cardio, abs, or stretching? See how their bodies seem off-balance and nothing like a college athletes? Bam! They didn't give any thought to posture or maintaining good posture (i.e. yoga).

Essentially the joints wear down and can cause arthritis and osteoporosis (not fun); tendons and ligaments become stretched and develop micro tears (slow painful agony); you lose muscle strength (your workout easily plateaus); you become constantly fatigued because the body has to work harder to move through what was easy body movement (shortness of breath, dizziness); and worst case scenario; compression of the internal organs happens (total meltdown). BUT... attention to your posture and contantly maintaining it can help reduce the incidence of many of these problems.

Reasons for bad posture

Most bad posture occurs as a result of daily living activities like working and sitting in front of a computer for eight hours or sleeping in the fetal position at night. A decent understanding of posture will help you learn to reduce your posture deviations through intelligent exercise and attention to everyday movement patterns. Here are a few of the most common violations and what you can do to eliminate them:

Lumbar lordosis - Excessive lower back arch. The majority of the population experiences this problem and it results from poor ab and ass strength and the result is lower back pain. You can tell if you might have lumbar lordosis if you perform the following exercise: Stand with your back flat against a wall. Your ass, shoulders and head should be against the wall and your feet should be a few inches in front of it. Reach an arm behind you and slide your hand between the lower back and the wall. If your hand goes farther than the second set of knuckles, you may have excessive lumbar lordosis. A simple way to correct this position is to close that space by contracting the glutes and abs at the same time. Do this position for periodically during the day until it becomes more natural (maybe not so much when that hot guy you don't know asks you a question for the first time at the gym). We promise you this can help alleviate painful syndromes and will also help with your workout at the gym.

Forward head - The average noggin weighs about eight pounds in a neutral position, when you extend the head forward three inches the muscles now support an extra three pounds of pressure. Guys who spend a lot of time gabbing on myspace or gaming in front of the computer, or watching the FUEL channel most likely have a forward head which can cause neck and jaw pain, tooth aches, headaches and even migraines. To train your noggin and neck to achieve better alignment, take your forefinger and index finger and push your chin in toward your neck. You should feel a slight stretch in the back of the neck. Do this movement several times throughout the day and you'll alleviate the dreaded forward head syndrome.

Rounded shoulders

Myspace and gaming addicts, bench press monkeys's and tall guys usually have rounded shoulders. Usually caused by overly relaxed upper- and mid-back muscles and overused chest and shoulder muscles (you know those guys, they enter the gym and BAM! they first thing the attack is the bench, and they're usually there all night long). To figure out if you have rounded shoulders, stand in your natural posture in front of the mirror. If you can see a great deal of the backs of your hands, then you have rounded shoulders. You can eliminate RS if you focus on exercises such as reverse flyes and low rows. Always make sure to keep your shoulders back and away from your ears.

Of course the male body is a highly complex system (physically and mentally!) and there aren’t any quick fixes for bad posture and pain. But just like changing up your workout from just strength gains to endurance, flexiblity, and maintaining a proper weight ratio, obtaining better posture takes time and effort, but athletically fit body is hot and good posture should be part of your goals. The old school way of thinking that pain and dysfunction is a natural part of working out is just a myth. You might not think you care now but paying attention to your posture now can help you live an active, highly functional life well into those daddy years.