No Soy?? No Doy!!!

Had a crazy day of training yesterday: 11 mile run, 3 mile run, 1 hour of Capoeira, 1 hour weight session. By the time dinner rolled around I was HANGRY!

I've been on a no soy kick for the past few weeks. I read some pretty scary stuff in Men's Health Magazine about its effects on men's testosterone levels: http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/soys-negative-effects (I ain't goin' out like that)

My body needed lots of protein to recover and I'm not eating Tofu anymore. This meal is 100% dairy and soy free, and vegan obviously.  Here's what I had:

Quinoa, Lentils and Guacamole.

Quinoa: I use Quinoa instead of rice. It's got 2x the protein and 1/3 the carbs. Preps the same as rice. Takes about 10 minutes.

Lentils: Tons of protein and they cook up quick. I salted the water, add a little olive oil and 3 cloves of garlic. Takes about as long to prep as a pot of thick pasta. Check the health benefits: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5488/7-Health-Benefits-of-Lentils.html

Guacamole: Hass Avocado, Garlic, Roma Tomatoes, orange (I use orange instead of lemon cause I'm cool like that) Mash it up with a fork, and grub.

Raw Kale Salad:

 1 chopped head of Kale, 2 shredded carrots, 1 chopped red bell pepper

Tahini, Lemon, Garlic sauce:

4 lrg spoonfuls Tahini, 2 squeezed lemons, 2 chopped garlic cloves, equal parts water/ Tahini, salt to taste. A small food processor works best.

I made a bed of Quinoa, dropped a large spoonful of Lentils in the middle, topped it with Guacamole and Daiya cheese, then surrounded the whole thing with Raw Kale salad.

 The whole thing took about  an hour (I had a little help) I went to bed with a full belly and woke up in the morning turbo charged for my 5 mile group hill run.

Bon appetit and Happy Training!

Consistency, Accountability, and the Secret to Weight Loss

con·sist·en·cy  [kuh n-sis-tuh n-see] noun
1. steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc...

ac·count·a·bil·i·ty   [uh-koun-tuh-bil-i-tee]  noun
1. the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.

                                                                                                               The Secret to Weight Loss:

AND THAT'S IT!

Plyometrics

Plyometrics (Plyo) is one of the best ways to develop explosive power. I've been using Plyo techniques in my training since high school. My track and field coach introduced me to it to develope more power for  my Shot put and Discus events.

 I work Plyo drills into my HIIT classes and personal training sessions fairly regularly. They will help increase your vertical  jump, boost your sprint capacity, strengthen joints ligaments and muscles, and shake up your workout.

As with any high intensity movements you should do a thorough warm-up, be free of any pre-existing contraindications and always train under the supervision of a trainer. These movements are high impact. If you have issues with your knees, ankles, shoulders or lower back Plyo training may not be for you.

                                                                                                     Weighted Squat Jumps

This movement works the same muscles as regular squats. The difference is that during squats your reps are slow, and there is a controlled contraction of your glutes and quads. With Plyo squats you contract your muscles fast and actually leave the ground. This teaches your muscles to adapt to a new way of movement that will improve your performance in all areas of sports and fitness.

Choose a weight that will allow you to do a 1 minute set with proper form, leaving the ground with each rep. Repeat 3x. You can perform your reps standing in place or travel forward with each jump.

I have clients who are in and out of town all the time either on business or vacation. I tell them "Came back fat and your ass is mine!" Or something equally as crude.

 Travel can throw off your training schedule, cause your progress to back-slide, and kill your motivation. Your diet suffers and many times there's no access to a gym.

Here are a few Plyo drills you can do when you're on the road with no equipment and just a little space.

                                                                   

                                                                                                                Frog Jumps

Lock your hands behind your head. Keeping your chin and chest up, squat as low as you can then jump as high as you can. Hit the ground with your knees bent and repeat. Push yourself to do a 1 minute set without stopping. Repeat 3x

             

                                                                                                                Clappers

Lower your chest to the ground, push off as fast and hard as you can, clap you hands, hit the ground, repeat. Do 3 sets to failure. If you really want to challenge yourself, clap as many times as you can before you hit the ground. As you get stronger you'll be able to get more claps in. Its a fun way to track your progress.

 Ahem... I'm up to 7 claps

                                                                                                               Full Body Clappers

Once you've gotten strong enough, challenge yourself to push your entire body off the ground, clap your hands, hit the ground. repeat.

Do 3 sets to failure.

"Pffft, that's too hard, I'll never be able to do that."

      Here's 6 year old Rylan bangin' 'em out!

Your excuses are now invalid!

Happy Training!

D.O.M.S.

Delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S.) can make a softy out of the toughest of us. 

It's the pain and stiffness felt 24 to 72 hours after a tough workout. It can last from 2-6 days and can be extremely uncomfortable.  Not to be confused with acute muscle soreness.

If you have not worked out for a while D.O.M.S. is unavoidable. You can ease your way back into training by using lighter weights for your 1st few sessions, but there will still be soreness.

When clients come to me for personal training or group fitness classes after not training for a while they are always enthusiastic and motivated. They give 100% and leave feeling like a boss. They'll say "Oh man, that was great! I'll see you in 2 days!" 

It's all I can do not to laugh maniacally knowing whats in store.

I compose myself and say "Now, you're gonna be good and sore for the next few days. Don't let that discourage you." 2 days later they show up with a different look on their face...

The bad news is there's no way to avoid D.O.M.S. Pop some ibuprofen and suck it up!

The good news is after a couple weeks of regular training the soreness is nowhere near as bad. 

HAPPY TRAINING!

Abs!

Everyone wants abs. Here's the hard truth. WE ALL HAVE THEM, but if you are fat you'll never see them! 

Do all the crunches, sit-ups, leg lifts, bicycles, trunk twists, and body curls you like. Your abs won't show through layers and layers of body fat. That's not to say you're wasting your time. Having a strong, well trained core will help with your posture, stability, and performance in everything from sports to everyday activities. That said, this blog is about getting a 6 pack.

Abs (abdominals) is the name given to the group of muscles that form the trunk of your body.

Here are the exercises that will make your abs pop:

Straight legged hanging leg lifts:

Not for the timid. You'll definitely have to work your way up to this one. I've been doing it for years and can still only get 12- 13 reps. Do 3-4 sets to failure.  There's nothing better for building those hard to reach lower abs.

Oblique leg lifts:

Another of my favorite high rep drills. Do as many reps as you can then switch sides and do the same # of reps on the opposite side. Repeat 3x.  Nothing sexier on a men or woman that a well formed set of obliques. You'll get that "V" that starts right above your hip bones and runs all the way down to your money maker. 

le *nice*

Trunk twists (I call them Cherry pickers):

A high rep exercise. It'll take a little while to get the balance right. Once you get it, lift your feet off the ground and go to work. Challenge yourself to do as may reps as you can before you stop. Anything from 20 - 100 reps. Push yourself to muscle failure for 3-5 sets.

Cable crunch (body curl):

Low rep exercise. Pick a weight that will allow you to do between 15-20 reps. Pack on the weight, your abs are stronger that you think. I can do the stack at most gyms. These will make your upper abs really pop. 

These and many other exercises will give you a strong well developed set of abs that start just below your chest, run all the way down to your business, and wrap all the way around both sides of your trunk.

BUT !!!

If you want all your hard work to show you've gotta burn off all your extra body fat. 

Do your cario. Lots and lots of cardio!

HAPPY TRAINING!

The Plateau

Okay, you've been working out for a year. For the 1st 3-4 months you saw awesome gains. You leaned up and packed on muscle.  For the last 6 months you've been doing the same exercises and training just as hard but your progress has stopped. You my friend have hit your plateau.

Our bodies are great at adapting to stress. Say your chest routine is: Incline barbell press, flat barbell press, and dips. The 1st time you do that routine you're super sore for the next few days. The next time chest day rolls around you do the same routine. Again the next time and the next. After a month or so you're not getting sore, your pumps just aren't there, and you're not putting on any size. This is because by now your pecs know exactly whats expected of them. They have adapted and know that they don't need to grow any more.
If you make a few little changes to your routine it'll shock your muscles into breaking through your plateau.
Try this: Start with flat dumbbells instead of incline, incline dumbbell flys instead of flat bench, and decline beach press instead of dips. You'll notice your pumps are back, you'll be sore again, and you'll start seeing gains again. After a while though, the plateau will come back. That's when it's time to change up the routine again! This applies to all area of fitness.

You've got to keep your workouts new and fresh. I always say "Your workouts should be like snow flakes. Never the same one twice." This will keep you excited about training, keep the gains coming, and prevent repetitive stress injuries (RSI)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury .

So you run everyday. Great! Gotta be sure to keep your joints and ligaments healthy. Try cross training in the gym for a month. When you get back on the road all the areas that take a beating when you run will be well rested and stronger

So you lift every day. Awesome! Gotta be sure you don't sleep on the cardio. Try cycle/ run training for a month. You'll lean out a bit, and when you get back into the gym all the pings and pangs in your elbows, shoulders, and knees will be significantly better.

If this seem like too much to remember, find a trainer who knows what the hell he's talking about (I know a guy) to keep you motivated and moving in the right direction.

Showing up is not enough

So you bought a few boot camp or personal training sessions. Good for you! You've taken the 1st step. Now the hard work begins.

I take my career as a personal trainer deadly serious. I ask nothing less than 100% from all my clients 100% of the time, and I promise to always give 100% back. If you come to one of my classes or PT sessions expecting anything less than the hardest workout you've ever done you have hired the wrong guy.

Showing up is not enough! You must push your body as far as it will take you on every set, every rep, ALWAYS! (obviously being sure to always use proper form and taking any contraindications into consideration)

So you can squat 100 lbs for a minute then run a suicide. Good for you! Slap on another 10 lbs for the next set and do it again! 

If you do a set of swing throughs with with a 20 lb kettle bell, run a 100 yard sprint, get back and have enough wind to chat with your buddy about work or whatever, YOU HAVE NOT PUSHED HARD ENOUGH!!!  Up to the next weight and run harder!

We are social creatures. Getting together in groups and talking smack about whatever is just what we do. But for 1 hour a day all  I ask is that you put that crap on the back burner and train as hard as you can.

It will suck, you might puke, you may want to quit. DON'T!!! 

You WILL get stronger. You WILL get faster. You WILL get leaner. You Will get better.

"That was the hardest workout I've ever done. I wish I hadn't" 

said no one ever.