The third Adonis Index Transformation contest just ended and words can’t really describe the results…but a set of pictures sure can.

Dan Richardson 1st Place

I’ve post the top 6 contest winners here:

Adonis Index Transformation Contest Winners

And the “watch list’ for contest competitors who ended up in such good shape that we are creating an ‘open class’ competition for everyone to compete in.

See pics the guys on the ‘watch list’ here:

Adonis Index Transformation Watch List Competitors

We’ve realized that some guys don’t have as far to go as others to get into great shape, and we want to reward as many people as possible for make a change. Because of the this difference in the ‘before’ condition we’ve decided that we’re going to do a contest in january that isn’t judged as a ‘transformation’ but rather more like  a true competition that is based on the final look overall.

We will continue to do the transformation contest as well as this new ‘open’ category.

The first ever Venus Index Contest will include both categories right out of the gates so the women who are close and need that extra incentive to take it to another level have a place to compete as well as the women who are looking to make a big change (but maybe not quite hit their ideal VI ratios just yet)

So we’re living and learning and trying to give everyone a fair arena to compete in that suits their current shape.

John

Last night we did the Venus Index webinar and besides a few tech issues (apparently my phone was putting out a big echo) I think it went well.

We covered the basic philosophy of the Venus Index and the workout, the most common pitfalls that end up derailing women along their fitness journey and a new approach to eating for shape and weight loss.

This also marks the official start of the Venus Index community and the lifestyle. This is a place where like minded women can share information, stories, support, and have their questions and concerns addressed.

As with the Adonis community the members of the Venus community will shape what it becomes, and I will be there on a regular basis to answer questions and help everyone work towards their best look.

Just want to say thanks to everyone who attended the webinar and I look forward to chatting with you all in the community.

Next up is the first ever Venus Index Transformation Contest!

Venus Index Transformation Contest

The details are still being ironed out but this is what we know so far:

It will start early to mid Jan 2011

It’s a 12-week contest

There will be prize money going out to the top finishers (likely to the top 5)

Adonis Index Transformation Contest

The 4th Adonis Transformation contest also starts early to mid Jan 2011

It will be a 12-week contest

There will be prize money going to the top finishers

And this time we’re likely going to add in a level-2 competition for guys who have finished in the money at a previous contest. The level two contest will be judged differently than the regular transformation contest as it will focus on the finished look vs overall transformation (as level-2 guys won’t have a huge transformation to make but are now to the point of refining their look so to speak

I’ll be posting more info and updates once we’ve got solid dates set for this new round of contests.

John

Recommended Daily Calories, BMR calulators, Exercise Prescription, Good Foods, Bad Foods, Healthy Foods, Supplements you ‘should’ take, Drugs You ‘should’ avoid.

It seems that the health and fitness industry has endless ‘Do this not that’ recommendations. It has become politically correct to tell someone what you think is ‘healthy’ for them, what you think is ‘bad’ for them, and what you think is ‘good’ for them.

The one item that has become taboo to mention is bodyweight.

It's Just Obvious When Someone Is Overweight

Think about it like this: It’s not uncommon to engage in a conversation about exercise or dieting or food in general and have someone mention what they think is the right and wrong way to exercise, or the right and wrong food to eat etc.

BUT, it has become completely out of line to mention what you think the correct bodyweight is for a person.

Imagine the conversion we might have:

You: “I think I want to start a new workout program because I think it’s healthy for me, and I also want to cut out sugar and starchy carbs because I’ve heard they’re bad for me”

Me: “That’s interesting, but I think the healthiest thing you could do is lose 40lbs no matter what you eat or how you exercise”

…not exactly something you hear over casual dinner conversation, even though it’s just as valid of an issue to bring up (if you were in fact 40lbs over your ideal weight range)

In other words, in our current society it’s perfectly ok to tell someone not to eat sugar but it’s wrong to tell them what their ideal bodyweight is…and this is an incompatible situation.

The concept of ‘healthy’ (whatever it means to you) and bodyweight have been slowly separated to the point that people deny there is such a thing as an ideal bodyweight which is also a healthy bodyweight.

We now live in an age of political correctness which forces people to selectively avoid certain truths as to not hurt someones feelings.

The point is that we have plenty of scientific information that suggests we all have a relatively predictable ‘ideal’ bodyweight for our height. The scientific info suggests that you’ll both be ‘healthier’ and look better as you approach this ideal, which makes perfect sense as a good looking body is also a ‘healthy’ body.

Sure there is some genetic variation and a small percentage of people will be slightly larger and slightly smaller than the predicted ideal for their height, but in general most of us have a very predictable and measurable ideal body weight range that can be calculated down to within about a 10-20lbs range.

The Adonis Index and Venus Index talk about ideal body weight ranges and that is the basis for our formulas and calculations with the workouts and the targets we set. In the case of the Adonis Index we’re shooting for highly developed muscle with minimal bodyfat.

With the Venus Index we’re looking for well developed and shapely muscle (women like to call this ‘toned’ muscle) with minimal bodyfat.

But it seems that nobody else is really talking about ideal bodyweight.

I know that our guys in the Adonis Index community have for the most part accepted that there is in fact an ideal weight and shape and size for their best looking and best feeling body and that’s awesome.

The next challenge we’re about to embark on is convincing women that they too have an ideal bodyweight and shape and size with the Venus Index. From what I can tell this seems to be a touchy issue with women and I’m not exactly sure how it will go over in November when a couple of guys release a book and a workout that explicitly states what we have calculated to be the ideal bodyweight and shape for women (based on height).

It’s the exact same concept as the Adonis Index and it will render the same results, I just wonder if this will just further aggravate the cognitive dissonance some women have about their body shape/weight/size or if this will actually be a freeing experience to know there is a scientifically definable/realistic/reachable target to set for their fitness and bodyweight goals.

Do you have an opinion?

John