I'll Be Back

I'm taking a brief hiatus from the blog to focus on some new opportunities. Check back in a few weeks. I still have a lot of great things to write about!  In the mean time, feel free to check out one of my favorite blogs - http://zenhabits.net/infoholic/  Keep up the exercise and remember that a healthy life is a happy life!

DAY 28

4 weeks and 16 workouts down! And I'm still moving in the right direction. I'm up to 181.5 lbs and I lifted more weight in my exercises this week than last.  That said, I did run into a few snags.

DAY 28, March 4th, 181.5 lbs

American Idol has ruined me... This may sound lame to a lot of you, but I have kept up with just about every season of this show since its first season 11 years ago.  The show comes on around 8pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night and usually lasts until 9:30 or 10.  If you've been following my progress in these last 4 weeks, you know that I have been waking up at 4am to get to the gym before work.  I was able to DVR all of the American Idol auditions in the past few weeks and watch them the next day, but now that they are doing live shows 3 nights a week I feel like I have to stay up and watch.  If I record them to watch later, it just doesn't feel the same.  Plus, I risk having the show spoiled the next day by a friend, family, or the news.

I stuck to my morning routine Monday and Tuesday, but by Thursday I was way too exhausted to hit the gym.  I told myself I would go Friday and Saturday instead, but I felt just as tired Friday and another aircraft carrier with 5000+ people pulled into the base.  The traffic was ridiculous. My quick fix - I did both my Thursday and Friday workouts all at once on Saturday. The result - I'm incredibly sore.

Just for your information, this is what my routine looked like this past week:

Monday-Strength Training with Legs/Core

Tuesday-Strength Training with Chest/Upper Back/Core

Wednesday-HIIT/Sprints

DAY 1, February 6th, 178.4 lbs

Thursday-Rest

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Strength Training with Lower Back/Legs/Shoulders/Chest/Core + 1 hour basketball

Sunday-2 hours of beach volleyball

This week, I'm going to have to figure something out.  I'm going to go in the morning again tomorrow and Tuesday, but I am not sure what I'll do when Thursday rolls around.  I guess I'll plan on going on the afternoon Thursday and Friday.  I have 2 more weeks of my strength gain weight lifting routine.  After that I will have a short break before I start a 6 week long hypertrophy plan.

I guess my quick words of advice for you are... If something sets you back, try to make up for it in the short-run, but more importantly, you need to make a plan to keep it from setting you back again.  Keep moving forward and keep improving!  I'm moving slowly, but I can't beat myself up for moving in the right direction.

Let me know! What makes it hard for you to keep a good workout schedule?

The Only Way to Work Abs – Part 1 of 2

We all know thousands of crunches and sit-ups are what it takes to get perfect abs, right?
Sadly, these exercises have grown synonymous with strong, attractive abs and they are probably what you see everyone doing in the gym too.  It turns out that crunches and sit-ups are incredibly ineffective for developing core strength.  And crunches and sit-ups actually do more harm than good!  I will just use crunches as an example from now on, but keep in mind the same rules apply for sit-ups.

WHY CRUNCHES AND SIT-UPS ARE HORRIBLE

Your core muscles were designed for one thing only – to keep your spine straight.  When performing a crunch, an unhealthy strain is put on your back at its weakest point.  This weak point is at the back of your lower spine, which contains a huge amount of nerves.  The high amount of nerves increases the potential of nerve damage.  Flexing your spine over and over with a crunch also puts you at risk for a disk hernia.  Your spinal disks can only take so many bends.  The more you bend, the closer you are to causing bulges or hernias.  Hernias can be debilitating, by the way. They can cause weakening of your entire body and incredible back pain.  You’ve always heard to lift with your legs to avoid hurting your back, right? So why would you do this same bend in a lying position?
“But crunches make my abs look good.” When you are doing a crunch, you are not using the muscles in the way they were designed.  And you are not building muscle for your health, you are only building them for looks. And guess what!  If you do enough of these excruciating crunches, you will actually have some horrible looking abs.  They will look great from the front, but when you see them from the side your stomach will actually poke out.  There are some guys in fitness magazines that appear to have incredible abs, but they are actually complete weaklings.  Not only have they created abs for the purpose of looks, they have put unnecessary wear and tear on their backs.  I’d like to think of them as chiropractors’ best friends.

WORKING YOUR CORE

Before we get started, I need your help.  I am soo tired of hearing the word ‘abs.’  I think it is the word ‘abs’ that got all of us doing these stupid crunches and sit-ups in the first place.  Can you help me by replacing the A-word with the word ‘core’ and vow never to use the A-word again?  Thanks, now let’s move on.
The best way to get the strongest, sexiest, and healthiest core is to work the muscles in the way they are designed.  Here’s a quick anatomy lesson to help us out – your core is composed of :
Rectus Abdominus – the six-pack, connects the rib cage to the pubic bone, balances the spine, creates abdominal pressure to help with lifting and going number 2 (these are my technical medical terms)
External Obliques – front side of body, assists in twisting and bending
Internal Obliques – underneath external obliques, assists in twisting and bending
Spinal Erectors – Run up both sides of the spine in the back.  I can always tell who is a strong lifter with a healthy core by looking at their spinal erectors.  The physical elite have big strong spinal erectors that make a ‘valley’ that runs up their spine.
Quadratus Lumborum  – also in the back, straightens the back and allows it to flex backwards
Multifidus Muscle – runs down the spine and connects to every vertebrae, forms scaffolding to keep back upright
Iliopsoas Muscle – connects at spine, goes through pelvis, connects to thigh, main posture muscle and strongest of hip flexors, allows you to lift your leg
Gluteus Maximus – a core muscle believe it or not, largest muscle in the body, moves leg backwards and rotates your hip, also important in straightening the back

To improve athleticism and your overall strength, you must train all of these muscles. The good news is you should not ever need to isolate any of these muscles and you can work them all at once.  

The best core exercises are the ones that require you to hold your spine straight.  The pushup is generally thought to increase strength in the chest, back, and arms, but it is an excellent example of a good core exercise.   Pushups force your core muscles to stabilize your body and keep your spine straight throughout the exercise and this is exactly what you want.  

In Part 2 of “The Only Way to Work Core,” I am going to provide you with a thorough list of excellent core exercises.  For now, I want you to try the plank (illustration below).  No, not the trend where people lie on their face in weird places, the exercise!  Support your body on your arms and toes. Keep your body perfectly straight (you might even say ‘as straight as a plank!’). And try holding this position for as long as possible. If you can hold it for 90 seconds or more, try lifting an arm or a leg and pointing it straight.  If you want a bigger challenge, try putting your elbows on a Swiss ball.  I have a challenge for you all this week.  See how long you can hold a plank and let me know your time in the comments below.  Remember not to dip your butt and keep your body straight! 3, 2, 1, go!

Let me know! Are you guilty of doing endless crunches and sit-ups?  How long can you hold a plank?

DAY 21

DAY 21, 181.5 lbs

Back in the 180s! Not too many people would be proud to be adding weight to the scale, but, for the ectomorph like me, it's a good thing.  I know that my diet does not facilitate any unhealthy weight gain. So for me, increases on the scale can only mean one thing - increased muscle mass.

I finally started to add some HIIT to my weekly exercise regimen.  HIIT (or High Intensity Interval Training) has been gaining popularity in the last few years and more and more studies are showing its incredible benefits.  So why should you do HIIT? To put it simply, in only 10 to 20 minutes, HIIT provides cardiovascular benefits that rival long-distance exercise while also improving power, strength, metabolism, and fat burn. This means you can drop the hours of cardio and get MORE benefits in LESS time. I'll let you decide what to do with all of the extra time!

You can do HIIT by running, swimming, cycling, or by jazzercise for all I care!  I'm going to use running as an example because its easy for most of us to strap on some shoes and get outside.

Sprint (preferably up-hill) at 90% of your ability 30 seconds
Jog/Walk at 50% for 30 seconds
Repeat 10-15 times

If you think it sounds easy, you are in for a surprise.  I had hard time staying motivated and an even harder time keeping my food down.  I do not suggest eating within 2 hours before HIIT.  By the end of it, you will be breathless, shaky, sweaty, and begging for mercy.  'No pain, no gain' definitely applies here, but it is undoubtedly worth it.  Whether you are looking to burn fat, build muscle, or just live a longer and healthier life, you have to make HIIT part of your weekly routine!

Now I'm lifting 4 days a week, HIIT 2 days, and resting 1 day.  I feel healthier already.

DAY 15

I spent the end of last week traveling with family, so I did not have much time for working out or eating properly.  I did the best I could with getting enough calories and protein and I even did a full workout with dumbbells in a Marriott hotel gym in Victoria, Canada.  It's not too difficult to keep at it while you travel! You have 168 hours in your week. You can at least use 4 of those hours to get some exercise! 

DAY 15, 180 lbs

I'm excited to be starting a new 4-week strength training routine this week.  I'm very happy to have recruited a friend of mine to join me.  We'll be getting up at 4:30 every morning to get in the gym before work.  We'll be doing a lot of high weight with low repetitions (i.e. 4 sets of 4 reps).  The workout comes straight out of The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle, so, unfortunately, I can't share it with you. However, I urge any weight lifters (from beginners to intermediate lifters) to purchase this book! It is an excellent resource for up-to-date lifting routines and techniques. It has given me a whole year of very effective weight lifting routines!  If you already have the book, I am using the Strength 2 routine for these next 4 weeks.

The only thing that the book lacks is proper instruction on working the core and the abdominal muscles.  I substitute crunches for planks for working my core. Crunches and sit-ups are highly ineffective.  I'll write a post on this soon!  For now, just start doing more planks.  If you can easily hold plank for a minute, try putting your feet on a bench or a swiss ball.  You can also try lifting one hand and the opposite foot for 10 to 15 second intervals.  There are tons of variations of the plank to help with core.

Let me know! How do you work your core?

DAYS 9 and 10

DAY 9

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope y'all made time to look good for your significant others.  I know I couldn't thank my wife enough for the love and support she gives me.  I can honestly say I don't always enjoy lifting weights, but I am motivated each and every day by her.  I work hard to make sure that we will have a long, healthy, and happy life together.  I love you, Lee-Cassie.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for us!

Valentine's Day was no excuse to miss a day a training.  I squeezed a great workout into my busy schedule.  I feel like my body is starting to head in the right direction now that I have the right food to fuel me and the right schedule to get proper rest.  One set-back has been the crowds in my gym lately.  I workout in a shipyard, so when we have more Navy ships docked, there are more people in the gym. I plan on starting to workout early in the morning this Thursday. We'll see how that goes.

DAY 10

My sweet wife went grocery shopping for us this week after I compiled a list of the types of food I should be eating every week to fuel my workouts.  Below is my personal 7 day list if you're curious. I don't have too much time to write tonight.  I'm getting to bed early so I can get in the gym bright and early tomorrow morning.   

FRUIT
Apples
Bananas
2 Pineapples (precut)
Plums, Pears, or Oranges
Berries

VEGGIES
5 Bags Fresh Spinach
3 Bags Baby Carrots
7 Potatoes
1 Onion
4 Red Bell Peppers
Cucumbers

DAIRY
1 Dozen Eggs
2 Large Containers Plain Yogurt
4 Cartons Egg Whites
Sliced Sharp Cheddar
2 Gallons Milk

MEAT
3 Packs Chicken or Turkey Sausage
4 Pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
Large Bag of Chicken Breasts
Fish

GRAINS+NUTS
Whole Grain English Muffins (NOT ENCRICHED)
1 Box High-Fiber Cereal
Walnuts
Cashews
Quinoa
Steel Cut Oats
Spaghetti Noodles

OTHER
Banana Cream Syntha-6 Protein Powder

Sports Drink Mix
Fish Oil Capsules (EPA + DHA = 300 to 600mg)
1 Bottle Flax Oil
Green Tea
Spaghetti Sauce

Let me know! How is your workout going? What does your grocery list usually look like?

DAYS 7 and 8

DAY 7

Sunday was spent recovering from all of my 13 hour nights at the shipyard. I got off work around 6:30am and decided to stay up until about 11:00pm in order to get back on my normal sleeping schedule. My body was incredibly achy from the first week of workouts and all of the running around at work. It was nice to sit at home and finally get some rest.

DAY 8

Phase 1 (Strength), Week 2

DAY 1, 178 lbs

DAY 8, 178 lbs

Today is my start of week 2 and man, what a day.  My body is definitely still used to sleeping through the day and working at night.  My hamstrings and abs were still really sore from last week's workouts and unfortunately, today was leg day.  Just like several exercises on the last 3 workout days, I lowered the amount of weight I normally lift and made sure I was using perfect technique. Next week, I start a new 4-week strength workout routine. I'm incredibly happy to have these leg days behind me.  I get them done, but I'm definitely not a fan of leg days! I always remember that if the workout hurts really bad then it must be working.

DAY 8 Workout

You may see some improvements in my body since Day 1, but it is definitely a slow process. The fact that I was not able to eat enough food last week really set me back too. The good news is that I am getting groceries tomorrow.  I'm also learning how to use Fit Day to record all of the food I eat each day.  Soon, I will be able to give you insight on my daily nutrition too! Look for this within the next week.


Just some quick info on my workout spreadsheet: The tempo I use on each lift is very important. You may have heard of 'muscle confusion.' Your muscles get used to doing certain exercises, so you try to change them every few weeks to avoid plateauing. You can also change the amount of reps you do on each exercise. Doing more or less repetitions will force your body to recruit different muscles for the same task, thus keeping you from plateauing. So, I also vary the amount of reps for certain exercises at least every few weeks. So, about the tempo! The 3 digits provided give me the speed at which I complete each lift. Picture a bench press. With a tempo of 311 I would lower the barbell for 3 seconds, pause for 1 second, and raise it back up for 1 second. Got it? I vary my tempos just like my exercises and amount of reps to continue to 'confuse' my muscles. Lifting slower will allow more tear in your muscles while letting you to focus more on your technique. I advise using 311 when you are starting any exercise.


Let me know! How are you exercising this week? Do you hate leg days as much as me? Do you like to incorporate different tempos in your lifts?

Invest Now!

You probably already have a good understanding of basic finances,

right? Then you know about compounding interest - earning interest on top of interest.  Wait, isn’t this a health blog??? Yes. Bear with me!

Let’s say someone is planning on retiring at 65.  If someone puts $1,000 in a retirement account when they are 25, that $1,000 would turn into $45,000 by the time they get off the job. If they wait untilthey’re 35, they would only have $17,000. Delaying the investment by only 10 years led to barely getting one third as much at retirement!

You probably see where I am going with this.  Your body is much like an interest-bearing account.   It is incredibly important to develop
healthy habits as early as possible.  People that do not take time to invest in their body early in life have a lower life expectancy, are generally less happy, and are often much more prone to diseases. You save money so you can live a comfortable life once you have retired. There is little point in saving this money if you are not going to be alive and well when you’re done with work.  If you wait to exercise and eat healthy, you are doing your body a horrible disservice.  If you are older, however, don't make excuses. It is never too late to start! Take time to develop life-long healthy habits today.  You will be thanking yourself later in life!


Here's a list of a few healthy habits you could work on tonight:
1) Exercise at least 3 to 5 hours a week (elevate your heart rate!)
2) Eat only lean meats, whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables 90% of the time
3) Be less sedentary (find hobbies that let you get outside and move around)
4) Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night
5) Eliminate clutter so you can focus on the people and things that you love
6) Surround yourself with people who also want to live a long, healthy life

DAY 6

I'm shrinking! My body weight has dropped to a 5 month low of 178 pounds. Unfortunately, I am trying to add muscle (thus weight), not lose it. This week serves as an excellent example of how to eat during weight lifting for both those trying to build muscle mass and those trying to burn fat.

My job requires tons of running around, climbing ladders and stairs, and ducking through passageways. I have been working 13 hour shifts this week, so I am doing a lot more of this than normal. Since my activity level has increased, but I have not had time to eat more food, I have been losing weight. If your goal is weight-loss, this is exactly what you should do (increase your activity level while eating a balanced diet). But my goal is to put on muscle mass. If I want to continue to see gains on the scale and big gains in the weight room, I have to eat more to keep up with my caloric demands.  Pretty simple!

I'm hoping this evening is my last 13 hour shift. Once I am done, I will write a few posts I have been wanting to share with you. Plus, I will start providing you with my daily nutrition information and tips! Photo update will be posted Monday.

Have a great weekend. Get out there and do something!

Let me know! What are you doing this weekend to stay physically active? 

DAYS 3, 4, and 5

 Technique, technique, technique...

I keep having to repeat this.  My goal each and every day is to improve, so I have always been really competitive with myself.  For example, if I benched 185 pounds last week I would want to bench at least 190 pounds this week. These kinds of increases are possible, by the way, but here is my problem... The weights I have lifted previously have been completed with poor technique.

If you start lifting with poor technique, you may have a very hard time correcting it later on. 

If I were to continue to lift heavier and heavier weights each week, I would not be able to improve my technique. I'll use an exercise from today's workout as an example - the static lunge.  I have done the static lunge before with a 155 pound barbell, so I wanted to be able to at least do 155 pounds today.  While repeating that mantra in my head (technique, technique, technique), I figured out that when I was lifting 155 pounds I was only bending my knees half as much as I should have!  Your back knee should come close to touching the ground while your front knee bends about 90 degrees. I was able to complete the exercise with perfect technique and tempo after dropping the weight to 105 pounds.  In short, technique should always come before the amount of weight you lift! Who cares if the guy next to you is benching 300 pounds. As long as you are maintaining proper form, you will be on your way to being the healthiest you can possibly be.

This week is still crazy at work. I worked out on Monday and Tuesday then rested Wednesday and Thursday. I just got off of another 13 hour night shift and went straight to the gym.  I am still unable to get proper nutrient timing with my horrible schedule.  I'm doing the best I can on nutrition, but I will likely not see too much improvement with my body this week without the proper food for fuel and recovery. Food is undoubtedly half of the battle when it comes to weight lifting. I can still honestly say I am making huge improvements though, because now everything I do in the weight room is with proper form.

Let me know! Have you struggled with using proper form in the past? What are the exercises you have the most trouble with?

DAY 2

Body Weight: 180.6 (up 2.2 lbs from day 1)

One thing I failed to mention in my Day 1 post is that I have a wild work schedule at the shipyard this week. I normally work 8 hour days from about 7 until 3:45, but about 4 to 6 weeks out of each year I am required to work 13 hour shifts. So right now I am working from 5:30pm to 6:30am and I go straight to the gym as soon as I get off of work.

I have some uncontrollable set-backs because of this crazy work schedule.  Throughout my 13 hour shift I only get about 15 minutes to eat. This completely ruins my nutrient timing and I cannot come close to eating enough. The only thing I can do is eat as much as I can whenever I can.  I am also running around a lot which increases my caloric demands.  So I should actually be taking in more calories during this schedule, but it is impossible to do so.  I'm hoping all of these 13 hour nights will be done before the start of next week. Until then, I will not be providing you with my daily diet. I don't have time in my day to eat the right foods, much less track all of my meals and post about it. So you can expect me to start sharing my daily diet with you next week!

IMPROVEMENTS

Today, I decided to lower all of my weights a little bit and really focus on my technique and tempo.  I think that us guys tend to do as much weight as possible, often sacrificing technique.  Technique is far more important than that extra 10 lbs you could throw on the bar! 

That's all I have time for today. I can't wait until these horrible night shifts are over and I can get in a routine!

Let me know! Do you have an inconsistent work schedule? If so, how do you make time to workout and eat well? Do you have any questions about my workout (above)? Are you guilty of sacrificing technique to get that extra 10 pounds?

DAY 1

Day 1, 178.4 lbs

Today is the day. No more procrastination. No more talking and planning. It's time to get it done!

As some of you may know, I have been using some incredible workouts from The New Rules of Lifting since last August. I've seen some significant strength gains and gained 10 pounds of body mass. My bench max went from 175 to 225 (a 29% increase) and my squat max went from 255 to 345 (35%). I saw similar gains in just about every exercise. However, there were things I did not do well during these 23 weeks. Here's the list:

THINGS I DID WELL
Never missed a scheduled workout during those 23 weeks
Completed every set for each exercise (e.g. I never stopped after 2 sets when I had 3 to do)
Always drank a post-workout protein shake
Avoided excessive cardio

THINGS I DIDN'T DO WELL
Didn't drink enough water
Didn't eat 6 meals each day
Didn't eat enough (at least 4000 kcal on workout days)
Didn't eat enough vegetables and whole grains
Didn't take proper rest intervals between each set (e.g. Taking a 2 minute rest when I should only be taking 1)
Didn't perform quick, intense cardio a few times per week (12-15 minutes)

This time around, I have 25 weeks of workouts planned with 3 weeks of rest included.  I am going to correct everything I didn't do well before.  I'm using information from Scrawny to Brawny to create the perfect nutrition plan for my goals and body type. I will be sure to take proper rest periods between sets and I'll definitely make sure I am getting a few intense cardio sessions every week. Each phase below has 4 workouts per week.

Phase 1: 6 weeks of Strength
               1 week off
Phase 2: 6 weeks of Hypertrophy
               1 week off
Phase 3: 4 weeks of Strength
               1 week off
Phase 4: 6 weeks of Fat-Loss
               Celebrate!

Throughout the next 25 weeks, I am going to keep you up-to-date with my progress by posting my workouts, diet, and (currently embarrassing) photos.  I hope you will follow along with me! I can't promise it is going to be easy, but extraordinary results take extraordinary measures. Let's get it done!!!

Today's Workout

DAY 1

DAY 1

Let me know! Let me know if you have any questions about my workout listed on the spreadsheet above or anything about this post. Also, I would really appreciate some words of encouragement! Your support means a lot. Let's get it done!

Grocery List – Whole Grains

You should be eating 5 to 8 servings of whole grains every day.  How many do you eat?  If you are like the average person, you fall well short of the amount you should be eating every day.  I strongly suggest that you start finding ways to add the following grains into your diet, but first let me give you a quick shopping tip.

The best rule to follow when you are picking out grains is to avoid enriched or refined grains.  Grains that are enriched or refined are stripped of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  When you are looking for grains you must look for whole grains!  When you’re looking at the ingredients of whole grain bread or pasta, make sure that the word ‘enriched’ is not on the label!  There are tons of ways to prepare raw whole grains.  

GRAINS

Amaranth

Barley

Brown Rice (Basmati, Long Grain, Medium Grain, Short Grain)

Buckwheat

Bulgur

Couscous

Flaxseed

Millet

Oats (Steel Cut/Rolled)

Quinoa (pr. keen-wah)

Rye

Spelt

Wheat (Bulgur, Durun, Hard Red, Soft Red, Kernels)

Wild Rice

FOODS CONTAINING WHOLE GRAINS

Whole Grain Bagel

Whole Grain Bread

Whole Grain Cereal

Whole Grain Crackers and Graham Crackers

Whole Grain English Muffin

Whole Grain Granola Bars

Whole Grain Oatmeal

Whole Grain Pasta

Whole Wheat Bread

BENEFITS OF EATING WHOLE GRAINS

Low in fat

Helps weight loss

Makes you feel full longer

Aids in digestion

Excellent source of fiber

Rich in vitamins, minerals, and plant enzymes

Prevents constipation

Reduces risk of heart disease

Protects you from some cancers

Prevents type 2 diabetes

Longer life expectancy

Make sure you are getting your 5 to 8 servings. Go shopping now if you have to! Whole grains are incredibly important for building a healthier you!

Let us know! What are your favorite whole grains? How many servings do you get each day?

When To Eat

Do you eat 3 balanced meals every day? Is dinner your biggest meal of the day?  Are you one of those people who just can’t eat breakfast?

If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you have it all wrong!

If you have been following along these last few weeks, I have given you a glimpse of  what you should be eating and drinking for optimal health.  Lean meats, fish, dairy, whole vegetables, whole fruits, whole grains, unpasteurized fruit juice, water, etc.  See Grocery List - Fruit , Grocery List - Vegetables, and Grocery List - Meat, Poultry, and Fish for some guidance in what to eat.

What I have not yet discussed is when to eat. I like to call this nutrient timing. Improving your nutrient timing will allow your metabolism to stay high throughout the day and turn your body into a well oiled, fat burning machine. 

If someone asked you, "What are the two most important meals of the day?", what would you say? If you said breakfast and after your workout, you are correct!  Do you know why?

BREAKFAST

When you are getting your long night’s sleep, your metabolism is at its most efficient state and you have tons of stored energy and low levels of glucose in your muscles.  It is extremely important to eat a healthy meal within 1 hour of waking up in order to keep your metabolism high and build up stores of nutrients for the day. You have to avoid simple carbohydrates and refined sugars, because these foods will have a negative effect on your metabolism. Plus, the excess glucose actually turns into fat! Don’t start your day with a plate of fat. Instead, eat lean proteins (e.g. egg whites or natural peanut butter), complex carbohydrates (e.g. whole grain english muffin or a whole grain bagel), whole fruits, and vegetables.  Breakfast will affect your metabolism more than any other meal. The effects last the rest of the day. If you are not eating breakfast, you are shooting yourself in the foot. I would say you’re shooting yourself in both feet. If there is anything you take away from this post it is that you should start every day off right with a good, nutrient-rich breakfast!

AFTER YOUR WORKOUT

Cardiovascular and anaerobic exercises both use nutrients very quickly, so exercising, like sleep, will create nutrient deficiencies in your body.  For this reason, what you eat after your workout can be very similar to what you would eat for a healthy breakfast. In the meals following your exercise, you should replenish your body with lean proteins, carbohydrates, and vegetables. If you consider yourself to have a sweet tooth, post-workout is probably the best time of the day to get your sugar fix. A little sugar improves your insulin and glucose levels. I’m not a huge fan of sweets, but my post-workout protein shake includes hydrolyzed whey protein (quick dissolving for quick supply to the muscles) and sports drink mix (sugar).  If you drink a post-workout protein shake, make sure it is immediately after the workout. Also eat a solid meal within two hours of your workout. Avoid fatty foods (even healthy fats) in the 6 hours following your workout.

EAT SIX MEALS PER DAY

You have probably heard this one before. Eating six meals each day is incredibly important for maintaining a high metabolism. You will get nutrients more frequently, avoid over eating, and spend less energy handling waste products.  Many studies have shown that a person who eats 6 meals each day gets way more nutrients than a person eating the same exact food in 3 meals. The body can only absorb a certain level of nutrients, so large meals create tons of excess waste that slow the metabolism down.  If you’re eating three meals per day, it is time to make the change! Take a few minutes each morning or night to prepare your meals if you have to.

These three rules apply to everyone wanting a healthier body. If you want an individualized eating plan meant for your particular goal (weight loss, muscle mass, etc.), feel free to email me or leave a comment below. I would be more than happy to help!

Let us know! Which one of these tips do you struggle with the most? If you eat 6 meals per day, how do you take time to prepare each meal? Leave a comment below!

A Healthy Body in 10 Words

FOR EVERYONE
Drink water.
Eat whole foods.
Do enjoyable cardio.
Lift weights.


FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Drink water.
Eat whole foods.
Do more cardio.
Lift weights.


FOR SKINNY GUYS
Drink water.
Eat more calories.
Lift more weights.
Rest hard.


APPLY THE 10 WORDS
Apply these 10 words to your life. Make them your absolute priority and all good habits. This is all it takes!


Let us know! Are these all priorities in your life? If not, what are you struggling with? What is keeping you from living a simple, healthy life?

My Journey - Hitting a Wall

I have taken a lot of time to give all of you some of my best tips on exercise and nutrition, but I haven't found time to tell you about my own journey - until now.

ABOUT ME

I'm a 22 year old mechanical engineer. I live in Bremerton, Washington with my beautiful wife, Lee-Cassie. She has a blog herself, so check it out! [www.asoutherngirlsguidetoskinny.blogspot.com] I have been exercising and improving my nutrition off and on for the last 8 years, so I definitely know what it's like to go through slumps.

Okay, so don't hate me when I tell you this... Do you promise?....Fine. I have always been skinny. No matter what I have eaten my whole life, I have always been lanky, scrawny, a bean stalk, ectomorphic, or whatever you wanna call it. I have grown up on thousands of pizzas, pounds of mac and cheese, and tons of fast food. I've always thought (as a lot of people do) that skinny means healthy. Here's a quick fact though: Our bodies were made for natural whole foods, not the man made science experiments all of us are guilty of stuffing our faces with. Skinny, obese, strong, or weak, there is no way to bypass this fact. If there is anything I've learned in the last 8 years, it's that skinniness is definitely not directly proportional to health! My family has a history of high blood pressure and heart issues. I knew if I continued to eat poorly, I would be on a fast track to high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis among tons of other issues. It's amazing how eating correctly can affect your life.

My freshman year of college (5 years ago), I was 6' 2" and 144 lbs. I added 20 pounds of muscle over my four years at Auburn University (War Eagle!) by improving my diet and being a little more consistent with weight lifting. My engineering courses made it nearly impossible to stay consistent, but my schedule got much better once I graduated. My work day is usually 7:00 am to 3:45 pm. It leaves me plenty of time to hit the gym before dinner. Since I finally had the time, I had to set goals. I ordered "The New Rules of Lifting," written by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove back in July. It helped me strip my workouts down to the most effective exercises and helped me lay out a one year plan. I'm now 23 weeks into the program and I'm 185 pounds and much stronger than I've ever been. I have seen close to 40% strength increases in several exercises, like deadlift, squat, and bench press. The results have been great so far, but I have recently hit a wall. Before I tell you about the wall, let me tell you about my personal goal.

MY GOAL

My goal is simple; be as healthy as I possibly can be. For me, this includes physical, emotional, and spiritual health. It's very important for me to find balance in all of these. I don't want to spend so much time focusing on my physical health that I end up dumber than a box of rocks. Some day down the road I want to be as fit as a professional athlete, have a PhD in engineering, and be a leader in my church. I'm a firm believer in self-improvement and I try to find at least one thing to improve upon each day.

To find a balance in my life, my goals are to:
-Live a long, healthy life with my wife
-Grow stronger in my Christian faith
-Improve the lives of those around me
-Be successful in my career
-Travel the world

Fitness and nutrition is obviously a small slice of my goals. So why am I writing on it, you ask? Because there is so much information out there about nutrition and fitness and it takes a crazy amount of time to find out the correct ways to eat and exercise! I've had to devote a ton of time to find out how to be physically healthy. This is time I could have been spending focusing on all of the other aspects of my life. I'm hoping this blog will help save you a ton of time by giving you simple information, so you can spend time doing all of the other things you enjoy.

HITTING A WALL

I have not gone to the gym in the last 10 days. This doesn't sound so bad, right? I know, but I think it definitely is. I started this 52 week program 23 weeks ago. I haven't missed a single planned workout since I've started. I have skipped the last 6 planned workouts and now I feel almost no desire to pick up any weights. I am having a hard time convincing myself that I need to keep going and I'm continuing to make tons of excuses. I've had a pretty bad cold since last Monday, the gym was closed due to snow for a few days last week, and I went out of town this past weekend. Also, I will start working 9 straight days of 13 hour night shifts this coming Monday. I'm a little worried I'll never get back!

BREAKING THE WALL

So here's my plan. I won't have much time to devote to the gym during the next two weeks, so I'm going to eat especially healthy and hit the gym hard as soon as I'm done with the long shifts. I'm being a huge hypocrite because I firmly believe that you should never put things off, but February 13th will be the day.
I will have 6 weeks of strength exercises, 1 week off, 6 weeks of hypertrophy workouts, 1 week off, 4 weeks of strength workouts, 2 weeks off, then 6 weeks of fat loss exercises. This has me ending sometime in August. I need you guys to help hold me accountable!

Let us know! What's the longest plan you've ever had? How do you break through your walls? What are your goals?

The Essential Exercises

The following exercises are the ones that I consider vital to any weight lifting program. If you are not currently doing them, you should be! I have seen the best results from these exercises and I never saw significant strength gains until I used all of them in my routines. The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove only strengthened my beliefs. It is an excellent read for anyone considering weight lifting. If you aren’t considering weight lifting, why not!? Weight lifting (with some cardio) is the absolute best thing you can do for your body.

Only young guys though, right? Absolutely not! Who should do them? Anyone with any sort of fitness goal or any desire to be the healthiest they can be.  This includes men and women of all ages.

Here is a list of the exercises, why you probably aren’t doing them, and why you definitely should do them!  I will also mention how some people approach these exercises incorrectly. I will leave it to you to find the proper technique. I highly suggest Strength Training Anatomy, 3rd ed, Delavier as a reference to proper form. It is a very thorough book with loads of information on just about every exercise you can think of. If you get mixed answers from your research or you are just unsure on proper technique, I would be glad to explain any of these. Just leave a comment!

SQUAT

The squat is the ultimate lower body exercise. It primarily works your quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus. It works your lower-back which has to keep your body upright through the lift. Lastly, it enlists all of your muscles from your feet to your abdominals and middle back.

Excuses I have heard:

Only athletes need to do squats. False. Squats are the ultimate leg exercise. You saw the lengthy list of muscles that squats engage!

I’m too old to be lifting free weights. Definitely not. This applies to all of the following exercise. I encourage Men and women of all ages to lift free weights. Use light weights and work your way up if necessary. I have seen countless episodes of The Biggest Loser where 60 year olds are lifting weights and seeing amazing improvements in their overall health.

It will hurt my back. With proper form, squats are incredibly safe. Just make sure to keep your back straight. Do not hunch over. If you’re worried about form try to utilize the mirrors in the gym to keep yourself on track – yes, mirrors are there for more than just the buff guys to check themselves out in.

Leg press is better and safer. Leg presses isolate your quadriceps and you don’t work half the muscles you would with a squat. Not to mention, leg presses put horrible sheering stresses on your knees.

DEADLIFT

The deadlift, like the squat, works just about all of your lower body muscles. For this exercise the focus shifts your gluteus, hamstring, and lower back. Your trapezius (the muscle between your neck, shoulder blades, and middle back) and forearms also get a great workout from having to support the barbell. Still questioning the importance of deadlifts, think about this: You probably pick things up off of the ground pretty often, right? If you want to decrease your risk of back injury, do deadlifts. Strengthening your lower back is very important for protecting your spine.

It will hurt my back. Just like squats, with proper form, deadlifts are incredibly safe. Just make sure to keep your back straight. I always tell people to poke their butt out. We have a natural tendency to want to hunch over, but do not. Hunching and doing the exercise incorrectly is how you would hurt your back. Just keep that butt poked out!

LUNGE

This works all of the same muscles as squats and deadlifts, but allows you to attack the all-important hip flexors. If you have a desk job or just spend a lot of time sitting, you will have pretty tight hip flexors. This limits your mobility by making it difficult to take long steps or jump.  Lunges are very important for increasing your flexibility around your hips and legs. You can do these by holding weights at your sides or a barbell on your shoulders. There are several variations (static lunge, dynamic lunge, and twisting lunge just to name a few).

I haven’t heard too many excuses from people about lunges, but the problem I often see is that people will do tons of them without any weight. Adding weight helps stretch and contract the hip flexors even more than a weight-less lunge, while increasing strength in all of your leg muscles.

BENCH PRESS, SHOULDER PRESS, DIP

I put these together because they are all pushing exercises. It is important to do all of these or you will be building uneven shoulders and, more importantly, an uneven upper body. I have never heard any excuses from men on these exercises, but it seems women avoid them like a bad disease!

I don’t want a big flat chest or wide shoulders like a guy. Women can and should lift the same as men. Genetically, females do not have the same amount of testosterone that males do. For this reason, women cannot build large muscles without supplements and crazy diets. There are a small percentage of women who have high testosterone. If you are one of these women, just avoid heavy weights and make sure to work your chest and back evenly. For all of you women out there, I challenge you to start lifting just like men.  I doubt any of you will grow big strong muscles like men. Seriously, try it! If you start to see bigger muscles than you want, just ease back on those exercises (reduce weight, increase reps). You can lift like a man and mold an incredible feminine figure.

ROWS, CHIN-UPS/PULL-UPS, VERTICAL ROWS

Most guys crave what I like to call “mirror muscles.” This includes the chest, abdominals, and biceps. For this reason, guys head straight for the benches and dumbbells when they get in the gym. Guys that focus on these mirror muscles rarely spend an equal amount of time doing these three pull exercises.   Everyone that does this is building a very lop-sided body.  If you do a push exercise like a bench press, it is very important to do the opposite muscles in the form of a pull. The pull exercise associated with the bench press would be the row. You want to make sure you’re working both equally! I’m pretty sure this is an epidemic.

CARDIO

Read my earlier post, "Don't Stop Running," on how to incorporate cardio into your routine. You need to change the amount of time you devote to cardio based on your goals. 

So that’s it! That’s the list. Pretty short right? You’re probably thinking, “You left out bicep curls!” That’s because they are a waste of time! Focus on chin-ups for working the biceps and your upper body. If you want to continue to burn out your biceps after chin-ups, wrap dumbbells with towels and do towel dumbbell curls. This does great work on your forearms. There’s no reason to just work one muscle when you can work two! That’s the point of all of these exercises. They all will give you the most bang for your buck. Sure, they’re the hardest, but that is because they work the most! Incorporate these exercises into your workouts and you’ll see fat burning, muscle building results in no time. Better yet, you will be on track to be the healthiest you can be!

Please ask me any questions you have about form or clarifications about any of these exercises! Do you avoid any of these like the plague? Are you going to try to start incorporating these into your workout routine?

Don't Stop Running

I know, I know.  In my first post, I talked about weight lifting being more effective for weight loss than running and other cardio exercises.  I still believe this to be true, but I am not asking you to stop running, swimming, biking, or any other cardio exercise to only lift weights.  Cardio exercises can have massive benefits for your body including improving heart health, strengthening your immune system, quick calorie burn, strengthening bones and muscles, and improving your self-esteem.  I believe it’s necessary to balance our weight lifting and cardio.  The amount of time you spend on each, however, should be determined by your goals.

For Weight Loss

My earlier post dispelled any myth that cardio is better for long-term weight loss than weight lifting, because weight lifting builds muscle, boosts metabolism, and continues to burn fat even when you’re at rest.  Running and other cardio exercises are incredibly efficient at burning calories making running, biking, swimming, etc. all great ideas if you are looking for a quick burn.

To maximize weight loss, it is important to make time for both weight training and cardio. I recommend weight lifting three days a week and running three other days, taking one day for rest. For example, lift weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and run on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 

You could also do two-a-days, but make sure you weight lift in the morning and run in the evening. Your body requires glycogen for weight lifting that would be burned by a cardio session. Also, when you deplete your glycogen levels with weight lifting, you get a jump start on burning fat with your cardio. This is because, when you run, your body often spends the first 15-20 minutes depleting glycogen. Once glycogen is eliminated, you start burning body fat.

For Strength Gains or Muscle Mass

Cardio can ruin you! I have experienced this first hand. Several years ago, I was in a fantastic weight training routine. I would spend an hour lifting weights, three times a week and I was seeing tons of strength improvements with this particular workout. A few weeks into the routine, I started to play pickup games of basketball after each workout. I did this for a few weeks until I noticed that I was actually losing strength and muscle mass. I was going completely backwards! So I ditched the basketball and continued to see the gains I was working so hard for.

I have since learned how to work in a little cardiovascular exercise without sacrificing gains in the gym. You might be thinking, “Why do any cardio at all?” Well, adding in a little cardio allows us to continue to get benefits that we would not normally get from weight training. You will get improved cardiovascular health, better endurance, and burn excess fat to help you get that cut body you are looking for. I have three simple rules that I like to follow to ensure I get these benefits without sacrificing all of my hard work in the weight room.

Rule #1 – If you perform cardiovascular exercises, you must eat more. Try eating at least as many calories as you predict you have burned. If you don’t cover the energy demands of your workout, you will lose progress.

Rule #2 – Perform between 12 and 20 minutes of intense interval cardio. I have read that this is plenty of time to get all of the benefits from cardiovascular exercise.  Any longer and your body will have two separate exercises to recover from and you will start to see fewer gains with your weight lifting exercises. Your intervals should be short and intense followed by a longer recovery period (e.g. 30 seconds of intense running followed by 90 seconds of a slow jog or fast walk).

Rule #3 – Separate your weight lifting sessions and cardio sessions with as much time as possible OR do your cardio immediately after weight lifting. I would do the former though. I worry that a fatigued body is more prone to injury. Two-a-days are especially horrible ideas. Your body, like mine when I was playing basketball, will choose to recover from the cardio and you will stop seeing gains from lifting. Unless you are a genetic freak, it is just impossible to be an endurance runner and a successful weight lifter.

For the Endurance Athlete

You are lucky. Endurance sports can negate any gains in weight lifting, but it is very unlikely weight lifting will ruin your progress in endurance activities. Obviously, you would not want to waste your time in the weight room though, so there are a few guidelines you should follow. You should obviously put your endurance activity as your first priority. You don’t want to lift weights before your cardio session in the same day because you will increase muscle fatigue and your chance for injury. You want to run while you have the energy. Try to separate your endurance activity and strength training, however. If you don’t, you will likely sabotage your progress in your endurance while seeing very minimal gains in your strength training. You will also deplete your body of glycogen (as I mentioned earlier) required for weight lifting and probably increase your risk of injury. Try to lift weights just two or three times a week and remember to keep it separate.  

Let us know! Do you lift weights and run? What kind of balance/schedule do you use to accomplish your goals? 

Grocery List - Fruit

I always have a hard time to remember what fruits I should buy organic and what is safe to eat non-organic. I would buy all organic if I could, but sometimes the selection is low and the prices are just way too high. This is why I've split this list into conventional (aka non-organic) fruits I think are safe and ones I think we should buy organic. The ones in the list titled "Fruit Okay to Buy Non-Organic/ Conventional" are almost always considered 'clean fruits' and are free of pesticides.The fruits in the "Fruit to Buy Organic" list have at least a generous amount of those pesky pesticides when grown conventionally. In case you were wondering, no, you cannot wash all the pesticides off. They are treated throughout the growing process and a lot of it is absorbed.

I tried to alphabetize the list to help with looking things up. Fruits I consider to be highest in pesticides all have an asterisk * next to them. I would avoid conventional forms of these asterisked fruits as much as possible. I hope this helps you guys and gals out. I know I will be pulling this list up about every time I'm wandering around the produce aisle or making my grocery list.

Fruit Okay to Buy Non-Organic/Conventional 

Avocados
Bananas
Blueberries (local)

Cantaloupe (in season and domestic/avoid ones imported from Mexico)

Honeydew Melon
Kiwi

Mango

Papaya

Pineapple

Watermelon

Fruit to Buy Organic

Apples**
Blueberries (if  buying non-local)
Cantaloupe (if out of season/imported)

Cherries*

Grapefruit

Grapes*

Oranges

Lemons

Nectarines*

Peaches*** (conventional peaches usually have the highest amount of pesticides over any other fruit)

Pears*

Plums

Raspberries*

Strawberries**

Tangerines
Tomatoes (buy local)

*Fruits considered to be high in pesticides if non-organic.

**Very high in pesticides if non-organic

***Extremely high in pesticides if non-organic

Let Us Know! Do you have certain fruits that you only buy organic? Is your decision to buy organic fruit based on flavor, the lack or pesticides and other chemicals, or because you like to stick to locally grown crops? Is there anything missing from the lists? 

When to Eat Organic

 If you are just starting to eat healthier foods, I would not worry about eating organic at first. Your first priorities should be to eliminate junk food from your diet and start eating more fruits, vegetables, and healthy snacks. There are people who only buy organic foods, but guess what – they could still be filling their bodies with junk.

Organic foods, under the United States Department of Agriculture's definition, are free of synthetic substances; contain no antibiotics and hormones; have not been irradiated or fertilized with sewage sludge; were raised without the use of most conventional pesticides; and contain no genetically modified ingredients.

This is all fine and dandy but when you're eating organic cheese puffs you are still eating junk food!  I'm completely guilty of this, by the way, those organic cheese puffs are some of my all-time favorite snacks – but, like many of you out there, I have tried to begin changing my ways. My point is, there are tons of organic products that are just as horrible for you as their non-organic counterparts. 


Health expert, Jillian Michaels, talked about eating organic in one of her recent podcasts. She is a huge advocate for eating organic for, what I consider to be, all of the right reasons. She does not want to ingest all of those extra hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals that are often found in conventional foods. But, you might ask, organic food is expensive, right? This is true in a lot of cases, so you have to find your balance. Jillian says if you have any expendable income, and you’re interested in being healthy and keeping chemicals out of your body, you should use it to buy organic foods. I think this is a great tip and it has stuck with me. I think what’s most important is that you find balance in your budget to include organics. In the end, it’s your prerogative – conventional foods with all the chemicals -or- organic, natural foods eaten the way God intended without any additives.

My wife and I have been trying to buy more organic fruits, vegetables, and meat lately and you can really tell the difference with some of them!  I think many of them taste better, sure,  every once in a while they don't, but I can rest assured that I'm not pumping my body full of all those man-made chemicals in conventional foods. I'm still not eating entirely organic foods yet and I’m having a hard time convincing my wife it’s worth the extra money that could be spent on books and clothes and other girly things, but it's a work in progress.

Here's a short list on why I think we should eat organic: (Remember, I’m only human and my reasons are  based on a lot of personal research and a passion for a healthier, better life.)

1) Free of pesticides (contain neurotoxins that damage brain and nerve cells)

2) Higher in nutrients like vitamins, antioxidants, and healthy minerals

3) Earth-supportive (a lot of modern agricultural practices are dangerous for the environment)

4) Support local/small farmers

5) Lower your cancer risk

6) Free of antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals

Let us know! Are you eating a healthy diet? Do you avoid all of those processed foods in the middle aisles at the grocery store? Do you eat anything organic?