I get fed up with weight loss and exercise programs for the simple reason that most of their claims are semi-bogus.
What do I mean by semi bogus?
Well advertising execs are very good at exploiting correlations between things to suggest their product is good. An athlete is huge and uses a supplement. People emotionally relate to the athlete and that makes them feel good about the product.
Correlation does not mean causation. Causation needs a deeper analysis. I find t particularly disturbing when pharmaceutical companies misrepresent their claims in cases of life threatening illness.
Supplement companies exploit the insecurities of others. Now they are feeding anl obsession that has been there for millennia. Check out the history of ancient Greece, and look at the idealized disproportionate sculptures of Michelangelo.
Enter the latest to blatantly exploit evolutionary psychology to make a buck – The Adonis Effect.
“Don’t COMPLAIN about how the world works… figure out the rules… and SLINGSHOT your way to the top” writes Brad Howard, The Adonis Effect co-author, in the promotional eBook Weapons of Mass Influence.
“Both men and women make instant assumptions about you based on the way you look (known as value attribution)… and it’s almost impossible to change those assumptions once they are ingrained (diagnosis bias) so you might as well intercept these assumptions and control them as weapons of mass influence!” Said Brad Howard.
“Studies have shown that a male body that has this particular shape garners more attraction from women and more admiration and FEAR from other men” he said.
Basically a man with more muscle tone is more likely to get a lady to his bedroom and with less required romance according to evolutionary psychology. However you can have too much muscle. Huge body builders are often treated with suspicion as untrustworthy.
So is The Adonis Effect just another gimmick?
While the sales pitch is gimmicky, the science is solid.
Yet, according to John Barban, a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with year of experience formulating nutritional supplements, the scientific claims made by companies are just as illogical.
John Barban’s long experience in analyzing statistical data, and the fact that when in the industry he tried every supplement out there, gives him insider information few know.
According to Barban, almost all diets worked because they are eating less calories. Check Atkins, Weightwatchers or whatever and almost all of them have you eat less than 1800 calories.
Supplement industry is interested in two things – weightloss or muscle building, says Barban.
One works: Creatine. The rest is illusory.
Protein synthesis does not equate with muscle building and research is often misinterpreted to support the data.
“Body shape is a function of exercise routine and diet”, said John Barban.
Scientific evidence must be taken as a whole. One experiment that has an unusual result must be weighed against the entire body of research.
The media often grabs on these studies and rarely [places them in their scientific context.
A company only has to have one study to prevent a legal claim of misleading advertising says John Barban.
According to The Adonis Effect, The claim that eating six times a day is better for you than three, is an example of scewed statistical data.
An analysis of the data indicates that people who eat six meals were already exercising and probably read of the idea in a fitness magazine, compared to a 3 meal a day non-exercising statistical sample, says John Barban.
Although creatine supplementation helps, overeating doesn’t build muscle. It can give you more energy and make a longer workout possible.
However, the majority of people simply want to look good with the in the most effective, time efficient way possible. Chances are you can’t spend 3 hours a day at the gym.
Long hours of training maybe fine if you’re an athlete doing sport specific training, however hours of cardio is a poor way to lose weight.
You can do hours of cardio and in a few minutes put all those calories back on. Many people work themselves into exhaustion and then reach for a self defeating energy boost.
Good diet is the only true weight loss solution.
You need daily cardio for health and longevity. But is there any point spending hours in a gym if you are healthy?
Even with drugs the law of diminishing returns applies. You have genetic limits.
5 pounds of true muscle mass combined with fat loss looks huge says Barban. If your body is hydrated you look bigger still. You look like you have put on 30 pounds said Barban.
The The Adonis Effect claims to give you more bang for your buck and be the most time effective way to reach your desired appearance. They argue that a person whose proportions approximate the Adonis Effect Index ideal will have a healthier body if reached naturally and be closer to the evolutionary ideal, according to the limits of your body type.
What is the Adonis Effect Index?
The Adonis Effect authors claim that the naturally healthy body of the hard working men of the past approached a waist height ratio of 1.6. The so-called golden Ratio.
According to John Barban the waist circumference Vs height ratio is a far better indicator for health concerns than the antiquated BMI chart.
They also claim that a lean muscular body approaching the Golden Ratio is the evolutionary norm, and this is profoundly important psychologically.
“An Archives of Sexual Behavior study reveals that women are most attracted to muscular men whose shoulders measure 1.6 times the size of their waists. Of course, it’s not always easy or practical to measure the width of your own shoulders — you need someone to do it for you. But you can use your chest circumference as a handy stand-in stat. “They’re just different measures of the same thing,” says Viren Swami, Ph.D., author of The Missing Arms of Venus de Milo: Reflections on the Science of Attractiveness.” John Barden.
Have the ideal proportion for your body type and you will be seen more favorably.
This is called The Halo Effect.
“A study by Solomon Asch suggests that attractiveness is a central trait, so we presume all the other traits of an attractive person are just as attractive and sought after.
The halo effect is involved in Harold Kelley’s implicit personality theory, where the first traits we recognize in other people then influence the interpretation and perception of latter ones (because of our expectations)”
The Adonis Effect claims to concentrate its efforts on developing the body areas that will get the maximum results and at the same time has advice on good health and nutrition.
The exercise program includes 3 workout plans depending on your body type calculated by your Adonis Effect Index (EFI).
The modules are of 4 weeks duration but include plateau busting adjustments.
The body plateaus in micro-cycles (weekly), meso-cycles (4 weekly) and in a 3 month macro-cycle, says Barden.
Included is a Goals and motivation system and Social forum support.
At this point the forums are in their early stages and have a long way to go.
As for the website, I like to have clear bulletpoint listings of everything I get with a program. This is lacking which from a customers perspective makes me uncomfortable.
The developers of the system claim no hard sell. They say you can use their advice without it. The exercises are sound and are designed for maximum results.
There are many excellent workout programs available by people like Tom Venuto and Nick Nilson and Vince Delmonte who also warn of the excesses of the Fitness Industry.
I admit I don’t like the sexist sales pitch. However this visceral attention grabbing is what is behind the whole advertising media. They have simply milked it. Others just try to look a little more polite, while The Adonis Effect creators make no apologies for basing their marketing and methods on evolutionary psychology.
Although what they state on a scientific level is correct, the real test is how well the Adonis Effect keeps people motivated and on track.
“People think they do more work than they do in a gym” states John Barban
I think the true measure of the program will be measured as people use the forum support and results come in.
Therefore at this point, my review must remain open to further investigation.
Adonis Effect’s Below the Belt Advertising
Product Summary
The Adonis Effect by Brad Howard in association with Brad Pilon and John Barban.
Brad Howard is the author of the The Fatloss Guide that ‘delves into the “meat and potatoes” of all of the misinformation generated by the diet and fitness industry today. An industry veteran for years, his fat loss guide completely shatters all of the myths and misguided, outdated advice being propagated today.
Brad ”strives to help all men improve in the 3 most important areas of life: Lifestyle, Health and Fitness, and Finance…”
His co-authors are however experts in their fields and are I suggest the source ofThe Adonis Effect research.
John Barban is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, a varsity strength and conditioning coach as well as a successful entrepreneur. John has trained with world class level power lifting teams and athletes at the professional level. John has his masters in nutritional science and human physiology from the University of Guelph, and further graduate work at the University of Florida where he taught principles of strength training and conditioning in the department of health and human performance. John also has extensive experience developing and formulating nutritional sports supplements, and has worked for some of largest nutritional supplement companies in the world. John is the author of the trademarked workout for men called The Adonis Effect.
Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional with over seven years experience in the nutritional supplement industry. He lives in the greater Toronto area and writes for grrlathlete.
Brad’s goal is to help people navigate through popular nutrition fads and gimmicks to find real-world nutrition strategies that work.
Whois Details (Public)
Registrant: Phantom Storm Investments, Inc
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: ADONISEFFECT.COM
Alexa Traffic Rank: 280,898
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Blog URL: http://adoniseffect.ning.com
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