Instant Mood Booster

8/16/11 Instant Mood Booster

Wow, it’s been a long time since my last blog!  Let’s just say I’ve been a bit busy…wedding, honeymoon, lots of weekends at work, and I took a short hiatus from my normal hardcore training regimen.  Nonetheless here we go….

So during my much needed break (when the body speaks you gotta listen) I became pretty lenient with my eating habits, and cut my workouts down to about 2-3 per week.  What happened was pretty expected, I gained a couple of unwanted pounds, but was able to maintain a decent state of health which I attribute to the past couple of years of training.  Overall, I can’t complain, it actually felt pretty good to relax a bit and know that I wasn’t completely letting myself go.  One thing, though,  that was noticeably different was my moodiness.  I just didn’t feel right in the head, ya know?  I lost a little confidence as well, even though my wife kept telling me I still looked good and in shape.  But let’s be honest, when you feel good mentally, your confidence and overall attitude can go through the roof.  Mine was in the basement, under some magazines, in a box…sealed in duct tape.

So here’s what I did – Went for a run….and instantly I felt better!  I hadn’t ran on my own free will for months, but as soon as I hit the pavement, the endorphins began to stir and I felt great!  I’ve been helping a co-worker to increase his long distance running ability and overall cardiovascular health so we had been on a couple runs together and incorporated some sprint and hill training…but this was something different.  I just ran with no worries and no direction,  and it was everything I hoped it would be!  It sparked a feeling that I was missing from the long layoff, and afterwards I had an amazing gym session.  I just felt happier, more confident, and had a sense of accomplishment that I hadn’t felt in about 5 months.

So I’m back, officially, and ready to embark on another fitness trip, so take my advice and go for a run if you’re feeling down and see if turns that switch on for you as it did me.  I’m looking forward to helping anyone if they are stuck in a rut, as I was, and I welcome any and all fitness advice from my readers.  Sometimes I need a push too, so I’d especially like to say thanks to my wife, Misti, who motivates me everyday and is always supportive.  Love ya!  Keep on running….

Mix Up Your Reps for Great Results

So I read something interesting the other day and I’ve been meaning  to write about it but sadly I have been neglecting my blog lately, and for the one or two of you that actually read it, I am sorry!  The article was on Bodybuilding.com, which, if you have never been on that site it is full of knowledge for everyone from teenagers to senior citizens on how to get in shape.  Check it out, cause they have great articles about workouts, nutrition, and supplements.  Anyways, the article I was reading was about how to put on mass in 4-5 weeks.  Studies have shown that mixing low reps with high reps in one workout or workout program triggered significant gains in muscle and strength, and then it hit me…every time I have ever plateau’d, I just switched up my workout by changing the reps I did and viola, improvement!  So reading this article just confirmed to me, that it can be that simple.  So here is what I suggest for a 5 week plan, not just for mass, but sculpting muscle and creating a leaner body, and depending on how you eat, you could either gain size or tone up:

Week 1

This week, you will start with high reps and lighter weight to get you geared up for the next 5 weeks.  Try 4 sets with reps of 12-15 and single out a body part each day.  Use a training split like Chest (Mon), Arms (Tues), Legs (Wed), Shoulders (Thurs), Back (Fri).  Stick with about 4 exercises per body part, hitting all the different heads of each muscle.  Cardio every day for 30 mins after your workout with a low impact, fat burning heart rate of around 120-140bpm.

Week 2

This week, switch it up and increase your weight poundage and drop your reps to 8-10, and do 5 sets per exercise.  We are shocking the body by increasing weight, changing the reps, and adding one more set.  Same cardio plan.

Week 3

Again, add more weight, and drop your reps to 4-6.  Stick with 5 sets and the same cardio plan.

Week 4

Okay, big change this week by doing a full body workout on Mon, Wed, and Fri. Pick just one exercise for each body part and do 5 sets of 10-12 reps.  Although you are only weight training Mon, Wed, and Fri, we are going to do cardio every day, and on Tues, and Thurs, I want you to do an hour of cardio.

Week 5

Finish up the program with a workout that incorporates the 4 weeks prior.  Go back to the 5 day training split, one body part per day and do 4 sets with different rep ranges.  First set do 12-15 reps, Second do 8-10, Third do 4-6, and Fourth do 10-12.  Basically, it is week 1’s workout but with alternating rep ranges from  the four weeks.  This will completely shock the muscles and finish up an awesome 5 week workout to help put you in great shape.

Subsequently, I am using this plan to get ready for my wedding on May 6^th, and I am excited about showing up in the best shape of my life.  Stick with a healthy diet and throw in a killer ab routine twice a week and I guarantee you will love your results!  It’s all about sticking with a plan and succeeding both physically and mentally, see you in the gym!

Motivation

So I can’t really explain it, but there is no greater feeling than accomplishing one of those earth shattering, unbelievable workouts that puts you in  a state of i-can-do-anything mentality.  Having a bad day?  Go to the gym to work out some stress and frustration and 99.99% of the time you will come out feeling refreshed and ready to begin a new day.  I’ve found that if I am in a really bad mood, and just don’t even feel like working out, I can drag myself to the gym and sloth up to a treadmill…what follows is one of the greatest reactions hardwired in the human body.  My heart rate slowly rises, my body begins to heat up, bad thoughts go away, and the world seems right as I quicken my pace…7 mph, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10!!  I just sprinted for about 2 minutes straight and completed the best warm up I’ve had in years!  And to think, just 7 minutes ago, I was having an awful day.  We are wired for activity, it releases endorphins  and awakens happy thoughts and rewards us with a sense of accomplishment that no other activity can do.  I hop off the treadmill and hit the weights, and they’ve never felt lighter…I increase the poundage with each set, blaring some Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 311, and Tech9; no one is in the gym but me, I have a tunnel vision of intense focus to facilitate each movement with explosive power and strength.  An hour passes by, I am dripping sweat, breathing hard, and completely exhausted…yet I’ve never felt so alive and energetic!  This is the power of fitness, and a feeling I want everyone to know and love. 

Fitness is infectious, so pair up with a friend and motivate each other to get results, because staying motivated is the mental part of the game and its more times than not the reason people give up on their goals.  Hopefully I motivated some of you today to hit the gym and have one of the best workouts of your life…stay fit and stay happy!

Give Yourself A Break

So I just wanted to post a quick note about allowing your body to recover correctly. Over the years I have committed the mistake of overtraining and just saying "If I just work through the pain it will eventually go away." The only thing that does is bring more pain and prolong your recovery. Listen to your body, and if something doesn't quite seem right, it probably isn't. You have to understand that with weight training and running you WILL incur injury. It's inevitable, so the next best thing you can do is educate yourself on some ways to overcome your injuries. Ice can be your best friend in most cases due to inflammation of joints or an over strained muscle. But sometimes, just give it some rest, and when the pain subsides, you will have an amazing pain free workout. The secret to ultimate fitness is to keep your body injury free in order to keep training. Let's face it, an injured body is one that is not able to train.
Some quick tips on injury prevention:
1. Use proper form. It does no good to sling around weight you shouldn't be lifting if you can't do it properly.
2. If a certain body part is sore, DONT WORK IT OUT! Let it recover fully before training it again.
3. If you have sharp pains in your joints or muscles then you likely suffer from impingement in the joint or a strained muscle and you are going to need ice and rest. Normally this pain will go away after a week or so of rest, if it doesn't you should go see your doctor and should stop weight training until medically cleared.
4. Lastly, drink lots of water to prevent dehydration and be sure to eat enough protein to allow your muscles to repair and grow.

Hope this helps a little, and remember to stay fit and stay happy!

Finding the Best Weight Training Program

That is the question.  Which one is the best?   Is there ONE workout that will deliver the best results?  And what do I need to do to look like that?!  I’m gonna let you in on a little secret….all of them work.  You wanna  know why they don’t ALWAYS work?  Because 99% of the time you won’t stick with the plan for  longer than 2 or 3 weeks or you won’t focus on your meal plan (notice I didn’t say the scary word ‘diet’). 

That’s the big secret, just stick with it and give it 100% effort, because if you not only set your goal but BELIEVE it and LIVE it, I promise you will attain it.  First off, decide what your goal is.  Do you want to lose fat, gain muscle, increase endurance, or develop athleticism?  These goals are important, because without a clear and concise goal, it’s like going to the grocery store and just grabbing all kinds of crap and getting overloaded with all the options so you end up leaving with more than you bargained for.  Once you have your goal, it’s time to plan.  This is where I come in.  I am here for your questions, support, and advice so please feel free to post some questions in order to get you on the right track to achieve your goal.  I’m gonna lay some ground work for you real quick on some different plans according to goal.  I won’t go into great detail, cause that would take forever and get a little confusing, but here it is…

FAT LOSS-  This one is pretty simple: low calorie count + high calorie burn = fat loss.  In this kind of plan, I would suggest a 3-5 day per week workout regimen, 3 for those of you that just don’t have a lot of time, and 5 for those of you that do.  Activity is key so the more the better in this situation.  You should completely cut out all of your white carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, bread, pasta) and increase your protein intake in order to gain some lean muscle to help burn more calories.  One pound of fat is 3500 cals, and for each pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn an extra 500 cals a day….so that means that for every pound of muscle you gain, you will automatically burn a pound of fat off each week.  That is why weight training is essential to weight loss, you’re not going to lose it as quickly just doing cardio so combine the two.  Try this:  Mon/Wed/Fri/ Cardio for 20 mins, then lift weights for 30 mins, then finish with 20-30 mins of cardio.  On Tue/Thurs, cardio either twice for 30 min each or just knock out an hour in one setting.  For your weight training stick with this regimen: Mon-Chest/Back, Wed-Legs/Shoulders, Fri-Biceps/Triceps.  Work your abs as often as you like, just don’t work them if they are sore.  Do this along with the slow carb diet I outlined in my previous blog ‘Eat Healthy for a Happier You’, and you will see results after the first week (likely at least 5-10 lbs of weight loss).  For those of you that can only make it 3x a week, increase your cardio to 30 mins before and after each weight lifting session.  The latter will work, but the 5 day plan is optimal.  You can even lift weights 5 days a week (one muscle group per day) and cardio 20 minutes before and after for great results, but a lot of people just don’t have the time for this much gym time.  That or they don’t want to wake up early enough!

MUSCLE GAIN-  This one is more difficult to do because the mainstream thought is that you grow in the gym….which is wrong.  To gain muscle and size you are going to need a lot of time off to recover and allow your muscles to grow.  It takes a lot of discipline to stay away from the gym or let your muscles fully recover, especially for people like me that love to workout, otherwise you are fighting a losing battle.  You will also need to eat like a horse to fuel your muscles to optimal growth.  Your diet should look something like this: 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat.  You should never be in a calorie deficit when trying to gain muscle/size.  As far as your lifting program goes you need to be lifting heavy weight and taking long breaks between sets in order to support the heavy sets.  Stick with a 5x5 program (5 sets 5 reps per exercise) or a descending rep set like four sets consisting of 8 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, 2 reps.  You want to keep your rep range pretty low to allow for heavier weights to be lifted.  There are two approaches to this muscle gain that I believe in, one is a 5 day workout plan where you focus on 1 muscle group each day, which gives you a full week for that body part to recover before lifting it again.  The other is very different; you work the entire body in one workout (which also increases testosterone levels) with what is called a High Intensity Training workout (H.I.T.), where you complete 8-12 reps for ten seconds each (5 seconds on the up motion, 5 seconds on the down).  These are very slow and controlled movements that put a tremendous amount of strain on the muscles.  Only focus on 1-2 exercises per body part (1 for smaller muscles like bi’s, tri’s, and shoulder’s, and 2 for legs, back, and chest).  Rest for 2 minutes between exercises.  This is typically going to be a 30 minute workout and will completely destroy you!  If you don’t believe me, try it…or better yet ask me more about it so I can go into detail so that you do it correctly.  I promise you will be sore like never before and will gladly stay away from the gym for at least 4 days to recover from this one!  A lot of ‘mainstreamers’ will tell you this is a beginner’s workout or one for those who don’t have a lot of time to train, but I believe this to be an advanced workout (if done correctly) that will deliver outstanding results.  I am starting this program on Monday, and will be training two people on it as well for the next month,  so I will keep you updated on the results.  I have done this before and achieved big strength gains and muscle from it so I am excited to give it another go.

People always ask me which muscle groups to work out together and my answer changes a lot depending on the person or their goal, but typically I stand behind the idea of working out 1 muscle group at a time.  You really get to focus on that muscle and put all your effort into it.  It gets plenty of rest and recovery time before lifting it again as well.  This can help with reducing injuries too, which will allow you to stick with your program longer.  Some people like to group muscles together, like Back and Bi’s or Chest and Tri’s, which will work, but you aren’t really focusing on either muscle so I feel like you can get better results going the other route for your typical routine.  Don’t get me wrong, I lift muscle groups together quite often and get great results, but I am not a beginner and that’s the difference.  With this being said, don’t pick one workout plan for the rest of your life, because like I said in the beginning, they all work!  Mix them up to shock your body once in a while, and keep it interesting.  A rule of thumb is to stick with something til you stop getting results or you get bored…the second that begins to happen, that is your body telling you it’s time for a change because it is used to what you are doing.  So keep it fresh, but stick with a plan that suits your goal, and stay positive!  Results are coming soon to a body near you…

Soreness and Supplementation

Okay, I’ve been asked twice this week about soreness associated with weight training, so I have decided to take a quick minute and shed some light on the situation.  First off, weight training and soreness come as a packaged deal, so just go ahead and swallow that fact.  If you aren’t sore after you begin working out, then you aren’t breaking your muscles down properly, which is the sole focus of weight training.  With that being said, there are ways to combat the soreness and pain, which are mainly to refuel yourself properly through a high protein diet, and supplementation. 

A high protein diet is essential if you engage in weight training at least 2x per week.  When you break down your muscles in the gym (small tears in the muscle fibers) you have to repair them in order for them to gain strength and grow.  The easiest way to do this is to eat proteins like chicken breast, tuna, ground turkey/meat, or whey protein powder.  If you destroy your muscles and don’t do anything to repair them, you are fighting a losing battle and will be in a continuous state of muscle hypertrophy which will actually reverse your progress.  The protein should be spread throughout the day with evenly spaced meals and you should reach for a goal of about 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.  For example a  4 oz. chicken breast has approximately 24grams of protein so if you love chicken and you weigh 150 pounds, you could eat about 6 of 7 chicken breasts everyday and be good to go! Haha, but there are options to achieve amount of protein other than just chicken, so find what you like!

Supplementation is a good option to aid in muscle repair, thus shortening your recovery/soreness time.  As stated above, whey protein powder is an option for two reasons:  it is very simple and convenient to take, and is absorbed by the body very quickly after a workout, which is what you want.  Protein powder is also a good way to add up the amount of protein you need a day, so that guy who likes chicken doesn’t have to eat 7 breasts a day!  He can just eat 2 or 3 and add a couple protein shakes in his diet and viola, recovery is in sight!  L-Glutamine is absolutely money if you have a diet high in protein, because it is an amino acid that quickly and efficiently breaks down protein into your muscles where you need it most.  It is cheap and easy to take in either pill form or powder, which can be mixed with water or your favorite sports drink.  (BTW, I don’t condone the sports drinks as they are high in sugar, although when competing in an endurance event or high intensity sport, it does a better job at hydrating you than water because it contains electrolytes you lose through sweat.)  I would also suggest adding Creatine to your supplement regimen in order to rebuild muscle, as it is a great protein synthesizer and promotes muscle growth and strength.  Take 3-5 grams twice a day, evenly spaced for an effective muscle pick me up.  Unlike the other two supplements I suggested, creatine should be cycled for 4 weeks followed by 2-4 weeks off.  On a side note,  it has recently been found that creatine can minimize or prevent the development of Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases so if you have a family history of any of these, it might not be a bad idea to use it off and on.  (This information was found in The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferriss)  All of these supplements are safe to use and are cost efficient, and can be purchased and researched online at bodybuilding.com which is where I buy all of my supps because they have the best prices and a ton of information about anything you are interested in.

Well I hope this helps some of you that may be interested in trying out some weight training, and just remember that soreness is a good thing and states that you broke your muscles down properly.  Now, you just need to repair them, so eat up and try out my supplement suggestions!  See ya at the gym!

The Joy of Training

 So I was wondering what to write about for a week, then it hit me while I was reading the book ‘Run’, by Matt Fitzgerald in the pool today after my workout and trail run….I was so happy at the moment with my current workout schedule/life and as I was thinking that, Matt also mentioned  in his book that a happy runner is a fit runner and will probably get more out of his workout than someone who isn’t enjoying their program.  I know that some of you are reading this and saying, “WTF, it’s snowing outside, and this guy is in San Diego where it’s 78 degrees and he’s chilling in the pool?!”  Yep, get over it, or move to San Diego!  So that is the reason for my post this evening, to tell you to workout however you need to in order to stay engaged and interested in what you’re doing.  If it’s fun and you enjoy it, then it will work for you.  When you start to feel lethargic and tired and get that unmotivated feeling of having to go workout, it’s time to make a change.  Set new goals for yourself in order to keep things interesting, and do it often.  Here are some avenues of approach.

Crossfit- Okay, while I don’t actively engage in Crossfit, here are some reasons it is pure money.  One, it can be done in about 20 minutes!  Crossfit focuses on compound movements and normally incorporates only one or two exercises per day and has you work on doing it in a prescribed time or set/rep range.  So typically you can finish a workout very quickly, but beware, it’s not for the faint at heart!  Two, it’s free fitness advice.  The website, although a little confusing and hard to navigate because of all the information on it, has all kinds of workout example videos, training regiments, and nutrition advice.  Coincidentally, I happen to agree with most if not all the advice on the website, so whoever writes all of it is a pure genius, haha!  Three, you will never run out of workouts.  There are more moves on there than you can shake a stick at…that’s for my fiancé (inside joke).  But seriously, Crossfit incorporates so many sports, from swimming to gymnastics and covers many varieties of ways to use compound movements to achieve a higher level of fitness than most people are used to.  This program is really good when you need to shake things up a bit, and try your hand at some Olympic weightlifting techniques or just flat out want to kick your own ass!  It’s primary goal is core strength and conditioning, and it will succeed in both of this if followed correctly, so good luck!

P90X- Along with Crossfit, this is an ass-kicker!  I have done this program and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Unlike Crossfit,  this workout plan is perfectly laid out for you with an easy to follow DVD system.  For those of you without the time to go to a gym or have to stay home with the kids, this is the program for you.  All you need is a set of strength bands/dumbbells, and a pullup bar (which you can buy for around 10 bucks at Walmart or sports store) and you are on your way to a better body, guaranteed.  Tony Horton guides you on a 90 day expedition of “muscle confusion” and incorporates core building exercises and yoga along with strength training.  Best of all, it comes with a 90 day nutrition plan, mapping out exactly what you need to eat throughout the program.  I can’t say enough about this program, and again I will stress that this is perfect for someone who needs to workout at home, so there is no excuse for you not to get into the best shape of your life. 

5x5- This program is a strength builder, period.  If you are having trouble with strength gains and are stuck on that awful thing called a plateau, try this for 4 weeks and prepare to watch your gains go through the roof.  The idea of this program is simple: 5 reps times 5 sets.  So for example on Bench Press, say you think you can do 225lbs five times and on the first set you get 3 reps, drop the weight to 205 for your second set and try to get to five.  If you do, throw some 2 ½’s on each side and try 210 for five reps on your third set.  Then continue on until your five sets are through and you have lifted the most possible weight fives times for each set completed.  Here’s what it looks like:

1. 225x3
2. 205x5
3. 210x5
4. 215x4
5. 210x5

So just because you didn’t achieve 5 reps on every set, you attempted to lift the most weight in order to try and achieve the 5 reps.  Do this for 3 or four exercises per body part and workout 5 days a week splitting your body into the following groups in this order: Back, Chest, Legs, Shoulders, Biceps/Triceps.  Call me after the 4 weeks and thank me after you hit a new personal best in your lifts, haha!

Hard Run/Easy Run- This program is for all you hardcore runners out there looking to increase either you mileage or your run times.  For 4 weeks try this out:

Monday- Hard tempo run, meaning you set a pace slightly faster than you are used to running and see how far you can keep it up.

Tuesday- Easy run, meaning just a mediocre distance at a nice easy pace.

Wednesday- Hard interval run, meaning you run your ass off for a little bit, followed by a resting jog.  Do this for intervals such as 2 minutes fast, 1 minute slow and try and keep it up for about 20-30 mins.

Thursday- Easy run.

Friday-Long run, meaning you force yourself to run a longer distance than you are used to.

Saturday- Easy run for recovery.

Sunday- REST

Set a goal for yourself, be it a 10k personal best, half-marathon, or marathon but be sure you log your runs so you can measure your progress.

So those are just a few suggestions,  but really the main focus of this blog is to keep it fun for yourself.  Enjoy your routine and you will get the most out of your efforts, hate your routine and you will fall victim to what I see everyday at the office (gym) which is overweight 40 year old women with that sad, pathetic I’dratherbedoingsomethingelse look on their face while they slug away on the elyptical machine.  Knowing what to do is half the battle, and enjoying what you do is crucial.  Staying in shape should be the highlight of your day, because it’s just you and the gym, and the best way to relieve stress and release some endorphins.  I pity the fool who don’t enjoy their workout, now get to work sucka!!  Yes that was a Mr. T reference…see ya at the gym!

Motivational Rant

Okay, I’m not really sure why, but I just feel like ranting a bit today, so consider this your pre-game motivational speech…and what’s it about you say??  If I hear one more person say, ‘Well some of us can’t do that’, or ‘That doesn’t work for me, I’ve tried everything’, or ‘That won’t solve all my problems’, I am gonna lose it!! Where are my positive thinkers out there??  Have you just given up?  You’re body is too far gone, huh?  NO IT ISN’T!!

Have you ever watched “The Biggest Loser”?  Do you think that 400lb 45 year old guy feels like going for a brisk walk uphill on a treadmill??  Hell no!  What about the 300lb 36 year old diabetic woman who is complaining about how much it hurts her body to perform up downs til she pukes?  I highly doubt she enjoyed a minute of it, but you know what, she needed it!  And I promise you her feet were killing her, but the trainers pushed her through it and I guarantee you, now that she is free of Diabetes, and 150lbs lighter, she is happy as hell someone made her do something ‘she couldn’t do’.

There is no ‘cure all’ as someone said earlier this week about running, but you know what, it’s better than not running, and I promise you someone that runs is doing a lot more for their body than someone who doesn’t.   And regardless of your views on running, it HAS and will CONTINUE to change people’s lives for the better.  And when someone says, ‘We just aren’t able to do that’, maybe you should start by changing your diet so that after you drop some weight you may feel as if you can begin ‘doing that’.  It is never too late to change your life, and if you are in danger of dying due to your unfit state, then do something about it!  Why stand by why you progressively get more and more out of shape, when changing your course can be as simple as reading a Healthy Cookbook, if eating is your enemy.  If you are just lazy, make it a point to get out and be active for  just two weeks, and see if you don’t get hooked on the natural high that fitness can bring you.  There is no better feeling than after a long run, brisk hike, or epic workout at the gym, and why do so many people (like myself) get so amped up talking about it?  Cause that feeling becomes an addiction, so while others are addicted to their second pack of cigarettes for the day, or that awesome gut-gurgling ‘I just ate a double quarter pounder with large fries and bucket-o-cola  feeling’, I am high on the relief that I just did something for me, so that I can live as long as I possibly can to enjoy what little time we have on this playground called Earth.

So what am I really ranting about?  I’m tired of all the ‘Health Cynics’ out there who more than half the time are the most unhealthy people you know.  Spread the joy of living a healthy lifestyle, don’t knock it ‘cause you just don’t agree with someone’s views, or for the most part, have no idea what you are actually talking about.  If it’s not for you, then so be it, but only dismiss it after you have given a full-hearted effort to find out if it works for you or not.  If you know someone who needs help, lend them a ‘healthy hand’ and bring some sense of well-being  to someone  knowing they are doing everything they can to get the most out of life.  If you are the one in need of help, ask someone, ask ME, or educate yourself on weight lifting, running, swimming, hiking, biking or whatever else it is that puts your body in motion, because after all, a body in motion is a machine, the most amazing machine on the planet that actually gets stronger the more you use it! 

And for the record, I will be getting high today…maybe even twice.  See you at the gym!

Slow Carb Diet Follow Up

Well, what I started, thinking would take several weeks to get some good results to speak of, only took 2 short weeks.  With a starting weight of 176 and body fat % of 7.5, I honestly didn’t have a lot to lose, but as with most of my experiments, I am doing this as a guinea pig for my future clients so that I can speak from experience.  I don’t want to tell you what to do if I don’t believe it’s going to work, especially if I didn’t get any results myself.  With that being said, after just 2 weeks of eating the way I previously outlined in Eat Healthy for a Happier You, here are my results: Weight= 166.3 lbs (difference of 9.7lbs), Body Fat= 6.9% (difference of .7%). 

These are truly amazing results for someone who is already in great shape to pull these kinds of numbers.  I am confident that if you are in need to lose 20 or more pounds, this is your fastest route to some smaller pants!  I only had one side effect which I remedied with a green tea supplement and that was a decrease in energy and strength.  The dip in strength was most prominent during the end of the first week, with my body in a slight state of shock due to the new diet,  but I quickly adapted and the second week I felt much better.  And for those of you cynics out there that are saying, ‘See, I would never cut carbs out of my diet’, let me give you an example of my strength ‘decrease’….week before diet, my Incline Dumbbell Bench Press was 110lbs x 6reps, after one week it went down to 110 x 3.  So, when I say strength decrease, it did go down, but I still had plenty of strength, and my muscle tone, if anything got much more prominent.  So if you’re trying to set records in the gym, this may not be for you, but if you want to look better than you ever have in your life, I would suggest trying it out.

I was doing this to try and get in the best shape of my life for my wedding which is May 6^th, but since it worked so quickly, I am going to try some other experiments, possibly a runner’s diet or strength gaining diet here in the near future, so I will keep you posted.

Before I leave you here were my favorite meals while enjoying the slow-carb diet:

-Grilled Chicken w/ Black Beans and Spinach

-Pan Seared Tilapia with Salsa, Black Beans and Spinach

-Spaghetti made with Ground Turkey, and substituted pasta with Spinach leaves.

-Lean Ground Beef Burger Patty with Pan Seared Red Bell Pepper topped w/ Salsa and Spinach

Happy Eating!!

We Are Built to Run

I just finished the book, “Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall, and I am at a loss for words to describe the passion this book was written with and the motivation that pours out of every page; begging it’s reader to reach inside his/her inner spirit and find their historical purpose.  We were built to run…it’s how we evolved,  emerging from walking on four limbs to just two, in order to open up our airways to turbo-charge our lungs in order to chase down our prey.  Our bodies are running machines, using sweat glands to continually cool our system, unlike all other animals which rely on breathing to cool themselves until they can’t release enough overwhelming heat to the point the lay down to recover.  Not humans.  Believe it or not, we are perfectly built endurance machines, relying on distance and persistence to survive which is how we are still here today, and not extinct like our closely related cousins, the Neanderthals, who could hardly run a mile before tiring out, thus vanishing into extinction without the means to survive.  So why do we all dread the thought of running?  Our minds have evolved too, to the point where we try to get the most out of every situation with the least amount of energy exerted.  But if think about it, we run to/from everything in life…when you need to burn off some steam, you run,  when you’re scared you run away, when an emergency arises, you run to assist, to get in better shape we are all told to run…there’s a method to our madness, and it’s the simple fact that we were actually BORN TO RUN.

Back in 2008, I was badly out of shape and was in desperate need of a wake up call before an array of health problems came knocking at my door…such as diabetes, high blood-pressure, and stroke which all run in my family.  I was tipping the scales at about 187 pounds and if I had to roughly estimate, about 25% body fat, which at 5’11’’ tall was not a very good ratio and I had the vital signs to prove it.  My RESTING heart rate was a staggering 78 beats per minute and my blood pressure was high as well, around 145/90.  I had fallen victim to the great American diet of gotta have it now which included every fast food chain I could think of.  I knew I needed to get whipped into shape, and what could be better than Sergeants Course in Quantico, VA.  It was in the dead of the coldest winter I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  I was there for 7 weeks from the middle of January to the end of February and I swear the temp never broke the 30 degree mark, often times seeing wind chills of sub zero.  And we ran.  Like there was some kind of emergency we had to get to or the world was going to end!  It didn’t matter how cold it was, we were going for a run every other morning at 6 am.  And these weren’t you’re typical, ‘Hey let’s go for a jog to get your heart rate up a little type of  runs’, they were 5 to 8 mile interval runs of ‘Hurry up and get your ass up that hill’ runs!  Needless to say, the instructors were in the game of shaping Marines for combat ready effectiveness, and they were damn good at it!  The first day of class we were told we had to run a PFT (Physical Fitness Test)….”But, GySgt, it’s snowing outside, how the f**k are we supposed to evaluate our fitness when its 20 degrees outside and the ground is covered in ice??”  You can imagine where that comment was told to go…so off I started, and for those of you who don’t know, the PFT consists of a maximum pull-up effort (20 reps being 100%), a timed 2 minute crunches effort (100 reps being 100%), and a 3 mile run (18 minutes being 100%, which is ludicrous in my opinion as I have only attained this goal one time in my Marine Corps career as a recruit in boot camp when I was 21 years old and ran a 17:40 weighing in at a whopping 145 pounds!).  Upon the culmination of  this specific snow covered PFT, I scored 17 pullups, 100 crunches, and a 26:40 run time, a ghastly performance when you are trying to impress your instructors at an elite military training academy, nonetheless, at the Headquarters of the Marine Corps.  I shrugged off my poor performance, though, and said to myself, “This is why you are here, Barrett, to get into shape and become a better person.”  And I did just that.

Seven weeks later, after pushing myself through run after run after run ( I should point out that at one point early on in the course, I nearly fainted on one of the runs, but kept it to myself as I was embarrassed.  Later that night, on my own, I ventured to the schoolhouse gym and put myself on a treadmill to check my heart rate when I ran to see if that was the culprit for the light-headedness, and sure enough, just 8 minutes into the run, my heart was beating out of my chest at an astonishing 198 beats per minute, so I could tell I was going to have to pace myself on my own and work that much harder) I was reveling in the fruits of my labor.  Here were my scores:  20 pullups, 100 crunches, and a 20:40 3 mile run!!  Better than that, I weighed in at 167 pounds, I am guestimating my body fat % dropped to  around 10 (I didn’t have the means to accurately measure), my resting heart rate was reduced to 47 bpm,  I no longer had high cholesterol, and my blood pressure was an astonishing 116/65. All this because I RAN for 7 short weeks.  No crazy diet plans, no supplements, no borrowed urine for my blood tests, haha, just pure NATURAL, running. These are not minimal changes people!  These were life changing results due to tapping into what my body responded to the most. 

I’m telling you this because I have seen the positive effects of running, and after reading this amazing book,  it has reconfirmed what I truly believe, and that is fitness cures all that ails us.  You don’t stop running because you get old, you get old because you stop running.  The famous Running People of the Copper Canyons, called the Tarahumara, don’t suffer from all the diseases we suffer from, and neither did our ancestors.  They don’t die of diabetes, or lung cancer or massive heart attacks because their bodies are keeping in tune with what they are supposed to do, and that is to run, which in turn keeps them in shape yielding longer healthier lives.  Please, do yourself a favor and find it in you to make fitness a part of your life, you may be surprised at what your amazingly adaptive body can withstand to.  The Tarahumara are living, breathing proof at what we are built to do, running hundreds of miles a day!  And that's not it, the coolest part of their whole story…they do it in sandals!!  Which brings me to my next point…

You don’t need fancy running shoes to cure your knee/foot/back/shin splints, you need to go back to how your foot was supposed to carry your ass…barefoot!  I’m telling you, I am in the front of the line when it comes to complaining about foot and back pain due to running.  And this book has opened my eyes as to why…we aren’t built to put our foot in a 1 1/2’’ soled Nike running shoe that causes our foot to hit the ground bony heel first, our foot is a magnificently built arch that is one of the most amazingly created biomechanically sound structures the world has ever seen.  It consists of over ¼ of the body’s total bones, and 26 muscles that are there for one reason, to catapult your body as long as you feel like running, be it 13.1 mi, 26.2 mi, 100k, or 100 mi, it will withstand your beating.  Your foot is an amazing sensory organ and the more cushion you put around the natural structure of your foot, the more you confuse it upon impact, thus making each step more unstable than the last.  Simply put, the evolution of the running shoe may be the most destructive force ever to hit the human foot.  Dr. Lieberman, a professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University said this, “If running shoes never existed, more people would be running.  Up until 1972 people ran in very thin-soled shoes, had strong feet, and had much lower incidence of knee injuries; that is until Nike invented the modern day running shoe.  A lot of foot and knee injuries that are currently plaguing us are actually caused by running with shoes that actually make our feet weaker, cause us to over-pronate, and give us knee problems.  If more people ran, fewer would be dying of degenerative heart disease, sudden cardiac arrest, hypertension, blocked arteries, diabetes, and most other deadly ailments of the Western World.”  So what am I asking of you?  Try taking a page out of Stanford University’s book and do some barefoot training…or listen to Gerard Hartmann, Ph.D., who is the world’s best distance runner’s guide who says, ‘Barefoot running has been one of my training philosophies for years”, and “the deconditioned musculature of the foot is the greatest issue leading to injury, and we’ve allowed our feet to become badly deconditioned over the past 25 years.” 

Just give it a shot, who knows, you may find your long lost passion hidden deep inside your veins as you unleash on a spontaneous unmeasured run, and release those endorphins that seemed to fuel your ancestors upon each and every run.  Barefoot or not, get out there and find the primal you, and live life to its fullest, and let fitness become a part of your life, so you can take advantage of your precious time on earth.  See you on the trails!

Eat Healthy for a Happier You

Why is the word Diet so scary?  It’s restrictive, that’s why…you can’t eat this, don’t eat at this time, stop eating so much, eat this not that, and it means you can’t enjoy your meals.  But it doesn’t have to be like that.  What if I told you that one day a week, you can eat whatever you want?  WHATEVER YOU WANT!!  Wouldn’t the build up for the entire week about the possibility of getting to eat nothing but delicious, comforting, nastybutohsoamazing food be enough for you to stick to a healthy regimen for the other 6 days?  It is for me, and I’ll give you an awesome menu that you will actually enjoy eating.

I’m reading The 4 Hour Body, by Timothy Ferriss, (thought I’d give it a shout out, Tim you can cut me in later, haha) and it has some amazing studies and tips for ways to ‘hack’ the body and achieve its ultimate potential.  I feel that when it comes to fitness and health, America’s problem is that we are stubborn  and ignorant…which has led us to be fat angry.  No one listens to new ideas on how to lose weight because we already know everything and think everything is a ‘fad’ and it will just go away, and no one ever actually researches the tried and true ways to get healthy cause they just want a quick fix (ignorance).  Tim gives us 5 rules to eat by in the book and they are:

1. Avoid white carbohydrates. (Replace with greens and black beans)

2. Eat the same few meals over and over.  (Find a healthy meal you love and stick with it)

3. Don’t drink your calories (Americas biggest problem in my opinion)

4. Don’t eat fruit. (Crazy huh? There is reason for it.)

5. Take one day off and eat WHATEVER YOU WANT. (This applies to the entire day!)

I’m not going to explain everything in detail, go buy the book if you want to learn the geeky, but proven science behind it all.  I will just outline it really quick.  This is not Atkins, and carbs are not the enemy, just the white ones.  You need carbs for energy so please feel free to eat bread/rice/pasta after a workout to refuel,  just limit them throughout your day and make sure they aren’t WHITE!  Eat meals higher in protein (chicken, white fish, ground turkey, lean ground beef).  The idea here is to cut your calories and to do this, eat more GREEN veggies, spinach being numero uno.  The whole no fruit thing was quite a shock to me, but here is the down and dirty reason for it…Glycerol phosphate breaks down to triglycerides via the liver, which is then stored as FAT.  Confused?  Me too, Google it.  Plain and simple, If you love fruit, then go bananas on Saturday!  Now I’m going to emphasize the DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES portion of this diet.  Everyone does it and it is killing your fat loss progress, and no Diet drinks are not okay either cause all the crap they put in that can just confuses the hell out of your body and gets stored as fat too.  STOP DRINKING YOUR CALORIES….water and tea (green is best) are your friends….one more time, STOP DRINKING YOUR CALORIES!!!!!  Best part of the diet is the one day a week you can just eat whatever you want, seriously, anything.  So if you’re a Diet Coke addict, insert here.  The only thing I would like to add to eating is please get it out of your head that skipping breakfast is okay, and that lunch and dinner will suffice.  That is definitely not okay, and you are fighting a LOSING battle if you think you will ever see results this way.  You MUST EAT BREAKFAST WITHIN AN HOUR OF AWAKENING EVERY DAY!!  This will jump start your metabolism and prepare your body for a day of burning extra calories, and try to eat about 4-5 small meals a day. 

Now, will this diet work for everyone….no.  Here’s why:  you won’t stick to it, you’ll cheat more than one day a week, you’ll think “Oh I can just have white bread with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich today, it won’t kill me”, or you’re just a freak of nature and science doesn’t apply to you.  If that is you, I can’t help you, so good luck, haha!  I am not a licensed nutritionist so by all means, just take what I am saying with a grain of salt, and if you don’t agree with it, drink your precious Diet Coke and enjoy your daily dose of fast food.  But for those of you that are serious about changing your life and really buying into my idea of ‘FitAndHappy’, please give this a serious look.  You owe it to yourself to be happier and healthier, and these small changes in your diet just might be the trick.  If you have any questions please feel free to ask.  Happy Eating, and see you in the gym!

Awesome Abs in Two Moves

I know you are all thinking it…so here it is, the Abs post.  FIRST, you must understand that in order to see your abs you must first eliminate the body fat that surrounds them.  Doing more crunches  won’t just all of a sudden make them appear more quickly.  I will hit on diet in a future blog.  With that being said, to DEFINE  your abs you do need to work them, and work them often.  Abs are considered a ‘tough’ muscle, like calves, they need to be put into overdrive to develop.  You can work your abs 3-4 times per week, but just remember, if your abs are sore don’t work them, they are recovering, and that is the most important phase of strength training.  Blah, blah, blah, you just want to know my secret so here it is: myotatic crunches and cat vomits.  Good luck!

Haha just kidding, I’ll explain in detail.  Myotatic crunches involve more flexion of the entire range of your external abdominal  muscles.  The Cat Vomits work the ever so neglected Transversus Abdominus and Lumbar Multifidus muscles which are located behind your external abs and control posture, back support, and deep breathing for increased power in movements such as squats and deadlifts.  Ladies, this exercise is also MONEY for giving you more of an hourglass shape, as it pulls your abdominals in and will decrease inches around your waist.  Here are the moves:

Myotatic Crunch- Instead of wasting your time with traditional crunches (and it IS a waste of your time) lay down with the small of your back on a Bosu ball and bend your knees at a 90 degree angle.  Stretch your hands in a diving position over your head and keep them there throughout the entire movement.  Stretch your fingertips all the way to the floor behind you while simultaneously expanding your rib cage to allow the most flexion, then slowly sit up using only your ab muscles (remaining in the dive position) and stop before your hands pass over your waist.  Do this for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.  The second exercise is nicknamed “Cat Vomits” but are called Vacuums.  (I prefer Cat Vomits because it paints a perfect picture of how to do the exercise.)  Get on your hands and knees, with your palms flat on the ground pointed straight ahead, and place your knees just below your hips.  Force all the air out of your lungs, then suck in your abs with the idea of trying to touch your belly button to your back.  Hold this for 10 secs (it’s tough with no air in your lungs) then let it out and take a deep breath.  Can you see why it’s called Cat Vomits now?  Repeat this for  3 sets of 10 reps and superset it with the afore mentioned Myotatic crunch and you should be on your way to a great set of abs in no time!  Let me know if you try this out and give me your thoughts, and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.  If you do these two exercises correctly, and trust me, these are the only two you need, you will be sore like never before!   Take it from myself who has been doing these two moves for a couple of weeks, and my fiancé Misti, whom I introduced this to earlier this week.  Her text the next morning to me was, “Holy sh*t my abs are sore, you should blog about this!”  So here it is, hope you liked it, see you at the gym!

Vibrams Five Fingers = Super Strength and Balance

So I just finished what was hands down the best leg workout I've had in a long time.  Here it is by the numbers:  4 sets of Deadlifts, 225x10, 275x8, 315x6, 345x4...Leg Press 540x10, 720x8, 810x6...Reverse Box Lunges w/ Dumbbell 30x10, 35x10, 40x8 followed by two calf exercises, abs and 20 mins on a stationary bike.

To put the strength difference into perspective from my previous workouts, I maxed out at 315x2 on the deadlift just a week ago in my "regular old-fashioned" gym shoes but today with the Vibrams on I felt much more balanced with a better posture bringing the weight up off the floor.  I'm telling you this because I have extreme lower back pain and arch pain in both feet and its largely due to a weak lower body, improper posture, and lack of stretching.  After just 3 workouts with these new Five Finger shoes, I have awakened each morning with less pain in my lower back and feel much stronger all around.  My posture and form while wearing these shoes has dramatically improved and my legs/feet/ankles have been sore in places I've never been sore before, which is a good sign that the shoes are doing their job and strengthening my lower body like they should be. 

I will keep you updated on my thoughts about this amazing breakthrough in footwear, and in the meantime do yourself a favor and  go out and try some on...but try on 3 sizes, 1 up, 1 down, and the size they recommend for you, trust me you want these to fit correctly, otherwise, I see blisters in your future.  They have different models, the ones I settled on were the KSO, which are very versatile and are good for any type of activity, including water sports.  But they do have models strictly for running if that floats your boat :)  Happy hunting, see you at the gym!

Lemme Splain....Too Much, Lemme Sum Up.

First off, thank you so much for reading, I truly appreciate it.  Second, I hope to help at least one person achieve their fitness goal, no matter what it is. 

Just a little background on me, I am a Marine of 8 1/2 years, and I've been all over the grid when it comes to fitness.  I've been too skinny, (most of my life-in high school I weighed in at a whopping 125 pounds), too fat (in 2004 I had some stomach issues that required prednisone to fix and it took me to over 210 lbs), and completely out of shape to where I was too exhausted to climb a staircase.  I've also been to the other end of the spectrum...I was a runner for over a year in 2008, consistently running 5-8 miles a day; I have been your everyday gym rat that just wanted to grow like some kind of lab experiment and went from 169 lbs to 197 lbs in 3 short months from Oct to Dec 2009, and I've been lean and muscular enough to pose like one of those creepy Abercrombie guys that just stands at the entrance of the store and wreaks of man perfume with his shirt off!  All in all, I have gone from a skinny kid to fat kid to muscle head to ripped clothing store model.  I know what works and what doesn't, and if I don't, I promise to research it to help your needs.

Fitness has been a part of my regimen since I decided to gain some muscle after high school, but to be honest it was never like it is now....a religion.  I would be like every other out of shape American and just go to the gym for a few months, and quit.  Or I'd start eating healthy for a week, then screw it up with a McDonald's run or 12 pack of beer.  Only this last year did I have an epiphany...I am so much happier when I'm fit.  I am more productive and much more willing to go out and live life to its fullest when I'm in shape, like nothing can hold me back.  This is what I want for my readers, to have the same curtain rise in their brain and say, "When you're fit, you're happy!"