Tyson Beckford Workout And Diet Approach For Building And Maintaining His Body

Former male model Tyson Beckford's stunning lean and muscular physique didn't come by accident or chance. According to statements made by Beckford, who is also an actor, about his diet and workout routine it's clear that his approach is focused on maintaining the right lean and muscular look.



Tyson was skinny when he started out building muscle. He said his successful body development was due to hitting the gym hard and eating right.

Of course, when you're skinny you must make a strong commitment to follow your workout regime properly so you can see muscle grow. And remember, when you're working out to build muscle for the first time it's a great opportunity to gain muscle rapidly. You just need to use the right diet and workout plan to guide you along the right path.

Where did Tyson Beckford Get Guidance

If you're reading articles online to increase your knowledge about building muscle you're doing the same thing Tyson Beckford did to help guide him to build his body. Tyson said that, reading information on fitness websites and magazines gave him ideas for his routine.

He didn't use a personal trainer like most celebrities to achieve his transformation. He did it all on his own by using written muscle building information as his guide.

Tyson Beckford Approach For Staying Lean 

Tyson maintains a very lean physique by performing enough cardio in every workout session and ensuring his diet consists of the right foods in the right amount so that body fat is kept well under control.

This approach has allowed Beckford to own a well defined body that has undeniably played a major role in his career both as a model and an actor.

The Best Muscle Building Program For The Lean Male Model And Hollywood Physique...

How To Turn Your Toned Abs Into Shredded Abs

Getting toned abs is really about getting your body fat level down to a low percentage. Getting down to a low body fat level doesn't involve special tricks at all. There are different methods to achieve this that work. To be honest, for a person to get toned abs they just basically need to be self-disciplined. Let us go through the basics.



Here's A Proven Strategy to Getting Toned Abs

The more body fat you have to lose to get down to a low body fat level, the easier it'll be to drop body fat. Take for instance, if a person needs to lose let's say 100 lbs of fat, it'll be a breeze burning off their first 20 lbs, if a person needs to lose just 25 lbs to get lean, they will have a much harder time dropping 20 lbs.

The closer you come to getting lean the harder you are going to have to work to reach that goal. For that reason you'll need to increase the intensity level of your exercise to continue making progress. The closer you get to your goal the more intense your exercise should get.

Amazing Tip on How to Go From Toned Abs to Shredded Abs

I have never heard anyone talk about this. In order to get really shredded abs, you basically need to keep your body fat low for a long period of time.

This is because it takes a while for your loose skin to tighten up and "fill in the grooves" in your abs. If you work on maintaining a reasonably low body fat percentage for over one year, I will guarantee you that you will love the way your abs look.

The Problem With "Bulking Up"

Lots of trainers recommend to people that they should eat excess calories during the winter and lift heavy to gain muscle. Then in the summer it is recommended that you hit cardio hard and burn off all that fat to get ripped.

The problem with this approach is that your skin never has the time to really tighten up around your muscles.

If you stay lean year round, you will eventually have better muscle definition than just about everyone in your gym. The nice thing about staying lean year round is that you look good all year, not just part of the time.

To Sum It Up - Work Your Way to A Low Body Fat Level and Keep it Low for 12 Months or More. This Is Your Ticket To Shredded Abs.

Article by R. Moore - an avid fitness trainer who have perfected the right methods to help people get high quality results when building muscle and losing fat. His popular fitness programs are VI For Men, VI For Women and VI Cardio.

C'est La Vie...

I was lucky enough to travel to France in July for work...

1st stop was Paris then onto Nice followed by a road trip, stopping in Monaco, Cannes, St. Tropez, Montpellier, Biarritz and Hossegor. 

Such amazing places, can't wait to go back!

Bonjour Paris!

Saturday in Paris...

View from room...

La Plage in Monaco

Fields of sunflowers...

Sunset in Cannes...

Heading to St. Tropez...

La Plage - St. Tropez

Heading into Biarritz...

Hossegor...

How To Get Rid Of Stubborn Body Fat With Interval Training

Burn Body Fat With The "Steady State Cardio" Method  

There are different ways to burn body fat, however some methods are more effective than others. The most popular method is what I call "Steady State Cardio". Basically, this means performing cardio at a moderate pace for an extended period of time. The aim is to increase your heart rate up to about 60 - 80 percent your maximum heart rate. It has been shown that this is an optimum zone to use fat as energy while you work out. Providing you carryout this for a long period of time, you will burn off the body fat. This is the most used form of cardio and it works very well.



The "Interval Training" Method to Lose Body Fat

Interval Training isn't as popular as Steady State Cardio, but I believe it is much more effective at burning off stubborn body fat. Interval Training basically means alternating high and low intensities throughout your cardio workout. A typical HIIT workout might be getting on a treadmill and walking for one minute followed by running for one minute. You would repeat this pattern until your cardio session was complete.

Intervals: Proven Superior in Several University Studies

In the early to mid 90's several university studies were conducted which showed how Interval Training allowed people to burn off fat at faster rates than any other method of cardio. This method was proven years ago to be the superior method to burn body fat, yet people are still stuck in the past doing the same old steady state cardio. I believe that Interval Training isn't understood by most people and that is why it isn't as popular as the traditional Steady State Cardio method. If you want to get really lean, then you need to understand how Interval Training works!

Interval Training Will Burn Body Fat Hours After Your Workout is Finished

Steady State Cardio is very effective at burning body fat the 30 to 60 minutes you are working out. Interval Training is very effective at burning body fat for up to 24 hours after you complete the workout! Without getting too technical, Interval Training will increase the natural occurring level of HGH in your body. HGH is a hormone in your body that will burn off body fat like crazy. If you can find a way to increase the natural levels of HGH in your body, you will get as lean as you desire! Interval Training is the way to do exactly that. It has been shown that Interval Training can burn up to six times as much fat as traditional cardio. The HGH response is one of the reasons behind this.

Interval Training Creates a Large Calorie Deficit

This is tough work which burns more total calories than traditional cardio. A very basic approach to losing weight is to burn more calories than what you consume in a day. An intense session of Intervals will raise your metabolism for a few hours after the workout. The total calories burned will be much greater than if a more moderate form of cardio was used.

A Cardio Workout That Works Very Well

I have used several variations of this workout for 6 years and it keeps me at 6 to 8 percent body fat year round.

1) Hop on a treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical machine

2) Walk or ride at a Steady State Cardio Pace for 1.5 minutes

3) Jog or peddle fast for 30 seconds (set the resistance higher)

4) Go back to the same Steady State Cardio Pace for 1.5 minutes

5) Jog or peddle fast for 30 seconds (higher speed/resistance than the first time)

6) Repeat this for 20-30 minutes

Note: Start off the 30 seconds sprints at a moderate pace and go a bit faster for each of the remaining sprints. The last 30 second sprint should be your toughest. It is a good sign if you are short of breath, your skin is hot, and you are sweating. This is what will cause an increase of HGH in your body. Some people call this the "HGH flush"...this is what you are aiming for. Interval Training is tough, but you will love the results!

Working Out The Chest To Develop Masculine Square Pecs And A Well Defined Chest

In order to come up with a good chest workout you have to first be clear of your goals. We will focus a chest routine in this article intended to develop a chest to what a male fashion model may possess.

If your main goal is to be powerful at bench pressing, then you would certainly need to follow a different workout. This workout will increase some strength, but it isn't the main focus of the routine.



What Should A "Masculine Chest" Look Like?

The look of a masculine chest should be square and angular, not rounded and soft looking. The traditional way of working out the chest is to focus on the basic bench press. True, the bench press is great for getting bigger and more powerful chest, but the problem is it can develop the lower area of the chest too much.

A workout for developing the chest that focuses mainly on the bench press may increase the size of the lower pecs so much that they can start looking like breasts. In most men the upper area of the chest is the most underdeveloped.

In order to develop square looking pecs your workout should focus on the upper chest and not so much on the middle to lower part of the chest.

How to Build the Upper Pecs.

For you to build mass in the upper pecs you need to utilize different incline pressing movements in your chest workout. You should begin your chest routine with some sort of incline press.

I would recommend starting your chest workout with incline dumbbell presses on an adjustable bench. I like dumbbells, because you can really work that hard-to-hit inner part of the upper pecs. If you develop this part of your chest, you will get that "line" up the middle of your chest all the way to your collar bone.

Here is a Great Chest Workout Which Focuses on the Hard-to-Develop Areas

1) Incline Dumbbell Presses: Adjust the bench to about 20-30 degrees above the flat setting. Pick a weight that you can press 10-12 times. Click the bench up the the next higher angle setting.

With the same weight, try to do 8-10 reps. Click the bench up to a steeper angle and try to get 6-8 reps. Keep clicking to a higher angle until you are either close to upright, or until you can't get more than 5 reps. I like starting my chest workout with this exercise, because it hits every part of the upper chest.

2) Smith Machine Incline Presses: I then take this same adjustable bench and bring it over to the smith machine. I setup the bench so that the bar hits my collar bone at the bottom of the lift. I will choose about a 20-45 degree angle.

I put on a pretty light weight and mainly aim for higher reps to really fatigue the muscle. This is more of a finishing move. The smith machine insures that I keep all stress on the upper pecs. I find that if I use a regular incline bench press in my chest-workout, then I can cheat and take the stress of my upper pecs. Include the incline smith press in your chest workout if you have access to this piece of equipment.

3) Cable Crossovers: You need the include cable crossovers into your chest workout if you want to develop the line that defines the mid part of your chest. You can also get a similar effect using machine flyes. Dumbbell flyes are a great mass movement, but you won't get enough tension in the middle of your chest.

Make sure when doing machine flyes or cable crossovers that you really flex the mid part of your chest hard when your hands meet at the end of the movement.

Avoid All Flat Bench Movements in Your Chest Workout for a While.

If you are like most guys in the gym, your upper pecs probably need to catch up with your mid and lower pecs. You should consider dropping all flat bench movements out of your chest workout for a while.

I dropped all the flat bench exercises for aver two years and the look of my chest improved dramatically. Another nice benefit of incline movements is that your shoulders will also take on a better appearance.

Keep The Main Points in Mind When Setting Up Your Chest Workout.

When setting up your chest workout, you can be flexible on the exercises you use. Just make sure that you focus on the angular and square look. Having great pecs is less about size and more about proper proportion and definition.

If You Want A Ripped Body And A Well Defined Chest............

Article by R. Moore - an avid fitness trainer that have perfected the right methods to help people get high quality results when building muscle and losing fat. His popular fitness programs are VI For Men, VI For Women and VI Cardio.

Commander Shepard Cosplay

Notes

Follow me on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/crystalcosfx
Costume made by me, sponsored by http://www.firefallthegame.com/

Photos from http://www.facebook.com/BigWhiteBazooka
and Entertainment Weekly

Omniblade commissioned from http://alexandertoy.com/
Carnifex pistol loaned from http://www.facebook.com/

wmarmory

Resources

HD References http://troodon80.deviantart.com/
Narayas' ME2 Armor Patterns http://www.julianbeek.nl/blog/
Volpin Props' ME2 Armor Build http://www.volpinprops.com/n7-armor-dragoncon-2010-recap/
Evil FX's ME2 Armor Build http://bioweapons.wordpress.com/tag/n7-armor/

Armor Construction

Note: Closeups were mostly done after wearing it, so there's a bit of crazing!

First of all, I had to have patterns to work from.  Narayas' patterns were based off of ME2, but came with an amazing sizing guide, so I used those as a starting point.  While some pieces are too different between games and have to be scratch patterned, most of the pattern pieces still use the basic shape.  I just redrew all of the details onto the base patterns I was using, and added taped extra paper onto pattern pieces that needed to have their proportions changed.

Most of my technique I learned from the many N7 armor builders before me, especially Volpin and EvilFX, linked above.  Their builds are very helpful.  I used a mix of .5" EVA foam floor mats (available at Lowe's/Home Depot), 6mm EVA foam (from Michael's), and craft foam (also from Michael's).  In addition, I used a large sheet of 6mm EVA foam that I got online for the calf armor and shoes, but it was crappy so I won't link it here.  When using the foam floor mats, I never used the textured side. In addition, to make the armor more flattering, I only used the thickest foam on the back/front piece, the bicep armor, the thighs, and the elbow and partial knee armor.

After cutting out the foam shapes for the armor, I used a heat gun to shape the foam.  You can use a form to shape it, but I found I got the best results just curving it in as much as I could.  To adhere pieces together, I used super glue and hot glue.  Despite my typical aversion to hot glue, it worked pretty fantastically, especially when two edges of the foam have to meet.  Areas with flanges were carefully dremeled down to reduce thickness, and a layer of craft foam was laid on top for smoothness.  All of the detail grooves were done with a dremel cutting tool.

The one piece of my armor that wasn't foam was the breastplate.  I tried using Evil FX's method, and while his looks great, it wasn't working right for me.  Instead, I sculpted the bust in Monster Clay, used gelcoat and fiberglass to mold it, and did the final pull in shore grade 60 urethane rubber.  I also added a few layers of fiberglass cloth into the cast for rigidity.

Armor Painting

While I'm really happy with my painting technique, it's certainly very expensive and kind of complicated.  First off, everything got coated with Plastidip to seal it.  I had black nails for weeks!

Then everything was painted silver.  I then masked off the "smooth" parts of the armor so that only the areas that had that reflective texture showed.  I placed a screen on top and painted it black. Then everything was unmasked and coated in a thin layer of black.  Finally, I got to the weathering!  I used black acrylics in the grooves, seams, and edges, and then wiped them partially off.  I also added "dirt streaks" with the black and damp paper towels.  I then grabbed some silver paint and did all the highlights on the raised portions and edges, along with some damage streaks. In my opinion, it's better to exaggerate a bit on the painting.  In a full body photo, everything tends to get blended together and washed out.  It's the same concept as makeup for photos!

One note I'd like to make is that URETHANE IS TERRIBLE TO PAINT.  I had to do the same method on the urethane bust for uniformity, but the paint just kept peeling off when I removed the masking tape.  In the end I was just sure to be VERY careful when handling the bust, and it wasn't damaged during wear, thank goodness.

Armor Assembling

Pretty much everything is held together with buckles and Velcro.  The entire costume is modular, which makes it pretty easy to get on and off.  Even the stomach plate and back plate attach to the other pieces with Velcro!  The only exception is the calf armor, which closes with zippers.  When gluing straps and Velcro to the foam, I had the best luck with hot glue; super glue and contact cement didn't work out for me this time.  I hear barge is best, but I've yet to get some.

The fabric between the upper and lower thigh armor is a thick corduroy, and the thigh armor was mounted onto neoprene.

Undersuit

The undersuit was made from custom printed lycra.  I pulled the design right from a game model and made it repeatable.  Expensive, but worth it!  Construction wise, it's a simple front-zip bodysuit with a black collar closed with Velcro.  The fact that the upper chest was easy to open was great when I was feeling hot!  The bum armor plates were simply glued in place with contact cement, while I was wearing the suit.  This was a very special experience.



For my first full suit of armor, I'm really satisfied with it.  Shepard is one of my favorite female video game characters: she's strong, she's badass, and she's sexy, all while being fully armored head to toe!