End of the Week

I am one week in to cutting milk out of the diet, and honestly, I feel great.  I think it might be a little early to come to any conclusions about body composition or gut health.  More and more people are flipping up stones about the food industry that are extremely disturbing.  I am not extreme about going all organic, but I think that it is definitely something that I can see myself moving towards.  Our industrial practices in producing food is atrocious for the most part.  In my personal opinion, if you aren’t aware that high fructose corn syrup is being put in everything these days, then you need to wake up.  It is killing us, slowly but surely.

Training was good this week.  I am toying around with intense training sessions, but lowering my frequency of workouts during the week.  I know that I could battle through training 5-6 times per week, but I want to see what kind of an afterburn I can create from training every other day.  Research shows that metabolism can be cranked for up to 36 hours post workout, assuming that you are training with weights and shortening your rest periods.  It may just free up the perfect amount of time to get other things done instead of training.  Not that I don’t like getting a good session in when I have the opportunity.

 

I have added a few things to my daily intake that I am extremely hopeful about.  The first is a scoop of Metamucil in my shakes.  Most people take Metamucil so that can free up a good dump, but I just want to get more fiber in my diet.  More people airball on fiber intake that you can imagine. 

The second is a vitamin/antioxidant powder called Emergen-C.  Basically its just a single serving powder form of loads of vitamins mixed in with 6-8oz of water.  I have been taking it before bed, but in reality I should probably be taking it in the mornings to start the day off right.  I was sick about a week ago, and in an effort to prevent feeling like crap again I decided that I was going to take the “best offense is a good defense” approach and be proactive about avoiding illness.  I can’t be sick with what I do for an occupation, the surgeries are still going to be performed and I need to be there as a support network. 

Lastly, I have been consuming more water consciensly.  I KNOW that people miss this element big time, and it is so simple.  Just carry a water bottle with you.  Buy a re-usable container and use the hell out of it.  Better yet, buy like 3-4 of them so that if you need to wash them (which you should often to prevent bacteria build up) then you have 1-2 handy to take on the go.

 

Well…  Going to swing the KBs for a little while and then meet a buddy out for some beers.  Am I a hypocrate for drinking some beer on the weekends?  Probably.  But consider this…  I am not the one desperate for fat loss.  I think people really just need to worry about themselves.  If you feel like you deserve a drink or two… or 15, then do it, but weigh out how you can going to counter those actions.  Going out and having a good time can only be a sometimes thing, not an all the time thing.  Plus I am too young to be watching Man vs. Wild re-runs at 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. 

 

Cheers big ears…

 

 

World’s Greatest Wednesday

Not really, but I couldn’t think of anything else to title this post.  List format again…

 

1.  I am going to cut milk out of my diet.  Too much information leading me to believe that it is not needed in the diet, and can actually cause bloating.  A lot of people are mildly allergic to milk and don’t even know it.  I am going to take almond milk for a test run and see how it fits in with my pre/post workout shakes.

2.  I used to think Lil Wayne was a fruit.  I watched his “Behind the Music” on VH1 while I was out of work ill on Monday and now I think differently.  He freestyles ALL of his lyrics on his albums.  Seriously, that is sick.  I am not the biggest fan of rap music, but I respect talent, and that takes talent.

3.  I am picking up a pair of Power Blocks soon.  Shortened rest periods are all well and good, but if I want to pack on any muscle, I need to spend more time under tension.  I have been fairly creative thus far, but I have to get more external loading if I want to progress from where I am at.

4.  I talk training and nutrition with my doctors all of the time.  Some of the smartest people on earth have no idea how to train or what to eat.  I would have originally thought that will such a comprehensive understanding of functional anatomy and how the body systems cooperative with one another, they would have some idea.  Nope.

5.  Platelet Rich Plasma is starting to take off for us.  We have 5 docs using it now regularly, and they are seeing great results with there patients post-op.  Just wanted to reinforce my theory that putting the doctor and the patient as the top priority will reward with a salary increase.  The cardiac guys at Luther are next on the target list.  Good challenge but I think that I am up for it.

6.  If I see one more person hobble through a recreational jog I am going to throw up.  Why would you do that do yourself?  You have obviously created some kind of trauma through dysfunction, so why continue to make it worse?  Are you trying to lose weight?  If you really want to lose weight go to the library and check out a nutritional book by someone with some credibility (who preferrably doesn’t reference the current food pyramid at all because it is bullshit).  Read it, learn how to read food labels and ingredient lists, learn basic cooking and go to town.  I bet you would suprise yourself with body transformation just from paying more attention to your eating habits.

7.  Sleep is under-rated in regards to its effect on daily performance.  Get more of it and complete tasks more efficiently.  It is all about getting things done.

8.  Craft beer is the greatest thing ever.  So it Bud-Diesel.

 

Happy Wednesday…

 

 

Next Up… Laffer T. Daniels

If you are a sensitive person, don’t read this blog post because I am going to carve out quite a few things…  It’s Friday and God Bless America…  In no particular order, here is a list of things that generally are guaranteed to piss me off…

1.  Wiping your ass with paper towel because you pulled off the last half patch real toilet paper.

2.  Taking a shower with guests in your apartment, then realizing that you don’t have a towel to dry off.

3.  95 year olds weezing on the only decent functioning airdyne bike at the YMCA. 

4.  Fat chicks bucking a dart on the highway, in the summer with the top down in a ‘98 Chevy Cavalier. WTF.

5.  The long haired bitch that lives in my apartment complex who carries a whole goddamn arsenal of keys and runs everywhere.  Dude stopped staring at everyone and take a fucking shower. 

6.  Smokers in general.  I want to put your cigarette out on your eyeball.

7.  People who limp through a run.  Get off the road.  You are nobodies hero.

8.  Celebrities.  They can all blow me because you are not that special.  I will give Will Smith a pass though because he puts his money where his mouth is. 

9.  Kwik Trip Cashiers.  Don’t hate on me because you decided to gang bang in highschool and skip class.  Give me my change and smile, that is your job.

10.  Dog owners who let their dogs shit in other peoples yards, and then walk away like nothing happened.  When I have a house and someone does that to me, (I might go to jail but…) I am going to pick up every last turd and make you eat it.  Bastards.

11.  People who moan softly while breathing heavily when they eat food.  Absolutely disgusting.

12.  Lip smacking while you chew your food.  Absolutely annoying. 

13.  Biceps curls inside the squat rack.  What makes you think that you need an entire freaking rack to curl 45 lbs? 

14.  Sagging pants/shorts.  Buy a smaller fucking size.

15.  Shorts that are too short, pants that are too short.  Buy a bigger fucking size.

16.  High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Are we still consuming this shit in modern day?

17.  Obesity.  How long will it take to see that nothing good comes from being ridiculously overweight?

18.  Recumbent Bikes.  Unless you blew out a knee or physically cannot stand up and exercise, get your lazy fat ass off of this machine.  Makes me sick.

19.  Ebonics. 

20.  Overly aggressive parents of kids who play sports.  NEWS FLASH:  Your kid isn’t good.  In fact he/she blows.  The reality is that you are going to burn your kid out before they ever reach highschool, which basically means that they are going to resort to smoking dope and mating uncontrollably, which also is the main cause of TOWNIES. (I ran my own case study for this information).

 

Music Motivates

Music motivates me.  I think people often forget how powerful music can be.  There has been more than one occasion when I was nearly down for the count during a training session and a classic song pops on my IPOD and I get a second wind to finish the session.  Music motivates, I don’t care what anyone says.  Try working out in dead silence, compared with working out with a slower song on, compared with an upbeat intense song on.  I guarantee you 100% that you will perform better during your training session with the upbeat tunes on. 

I like to get away from the health and nutrition every now and then and talk about new music that I have stumbled upon in recent weeks.  So, below is a list of songs that I would add to your playlist if I were you…

Artist/Song

Volbeat – Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood (check out all the stuff by these guys, I love their sound)

Authority Zero – Sirens

Snow Patrol – Hands Open

Lamb of God – Descending

Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter  (This song is just classic.  Feels like an intro to an absolute beat down)

The Tragically Hip – Grace, Too (This is not a new song.  Get the live version.  Classic)

Muse – Uprising  (I think that the lyrics to this song are more intense than people think)

Florence and the Machine – Howl (Florence, the singer, has an unreal voice.  Something weird about this group that gets me jacked up)

 

I am a huge fan of metal, true metal, like the material that Pantera used to put out.  That stuff is timeless.  I could pop in a Pantera record and still want to punch my neighbor in the face for waving at me.  haha.  Anyone who has an interest in metal I think would understand the feeling. 

I think that we are going to start seeing metal come back to its roots.  A lot of bands these days are experimenting with samples and voice alteration, and I think that there is a void left for real talent.  Any group can rip it up in the studio, but you better be able to back it up live in concert.  I think this is a lost art.  People are paying out their asses to see some of these “progressive new age” bands live, and leaving the show wondering how they could put out an album with such amateur talent.

An alternative group that I have been jamming to for a while is Frightened Rabbit.  Give the record a chance.  Its two guys, brothers, guitar and drums.  For alternative music I think that the lyrics and the overall vibe of the album is great.  Lyrics are something that I think people ignore as well.  Some groups are putting out some really clever lines.  Better than the typical rap lyrics…  “grab a forty and shoot your shorty” bullshit.  I don’t know how people are drawn to that shit but whatever, your entitled. 

 

Cheers…

 

You Have to Say No…

A common misconception that people have about eating out is that they have to eat unhealthy.  Yes, it is true most times that even the healthiest item on a restaurants menu runs no comparison to the type of nutrient/ingredient content that a person can get from preparing a meal at home, but it will do. 

Just because your buddy across the table is getting the deep-fried donuts does not mean that you have to, or better yet, you are enabled to.  If you want a salad, order a damn salad.  Don’t like the menu listed?  Ask the waitress to tweak a recipe.  Trust me, they can do it.  They have the ingredients to do it. 

I would encourage everyone to take the time to learn how to cook.  Just basic cooking is enough to make some pretty amazing meals.  Better yet, buy a nutritional cookbook like the one that John Berardi and his camp put out, Gourmet Nutrition 2.0.  Some of the menu items in his cookbook are absolutely amazing.  The best part by far is that they list exactly the nutrient profile, and even better yet is that all of the recipes are healthful and usually packed with protein and essential vitamins. 

I will admit it, I pretty much eat the same thing for breakfast every morning.  Some people can’t do that, but it is completely fine by me.  I basically scramble some eggs, and throw in a ton of beans, mushrooms, veggies, meat of some kind, dash of sea salt and pepper, and a little cheese for some flavor.  I still don’t think that cheese is horrible for a person, but you have to realize that you can’t dump a 1/2 pound into every meal that you eat.  The whole moderation idea is tough for some people to grasp. 

Nutrition is seriously just common sense.  I have always said that I think that most people really know that to eat, but they are making a conscious decision to indulge themselves in foods that are destroying their bodies.  It bothers me that people still think that adding a little tomato, lettuce, onion to a 1 pound burger somehow makes the burger more healthy.  There is no logic sometimes.

The real truth is that if you want to see PERMANENT results in body composition, you have to commit to eating smart almost all of the time.  You can’t half ass it.  If you can stick to healthful eating habits, then maybe you don’t want change as much as you think you do.  Treat your fat loss program like you are desperate.  Willing to do anything.  Set a deadline in the near future and work your ass off to achieve goals by that date. 

Last of all, set the bar high.  Weak goal setting bothers me.  It’s like settling for less.  Nobody deserves less, yet everyday people are falling into the mentality that says “I’ll just do enough to get by”.  Why be average in anything when you could be great?  Get to work today…

 

Cheers

Reasons to Train At Home…

1)  You can choose your own music (minus the annoying and potentially dangerous headphones cord)

2)  You can organize any selection of exercises in an infinite number of combinations (no competing for equipment)

3)  Shower is nearby

4)  Post workout nutrition is easily accessible

5)  Allows for use of a foam roller without getting weird looks or questions from other gym goers

6)  You can train BAREFOOT

7)  Swinging kettlebells is not a liability to the facility and completely accceptable in your own home

8)  More bodyweight exercises can be completed

9)  Accountability for your training is even more important because no one is watching your sessions.

 

All I can think of for now, but trust me, it is way better training at home.

Giving Up On Commercial Gyms…

I think that I have come to the realization that I don’t like training around other people.  It may sound a little cocky but I go to the gym to crank out a good hard session.  One thing that I absolutely cannot stand is losing a piece of equipment during a Tri-Set at a public gym.  What usually happens is this:

I starting my Tri-set with something like:

1.  Deadlift

2.  Incline Bench Press

3.  Pallof Press (Anti-Rotary)

Somewhere between the time when I move from deadlift to Incline Bench Press, a 13 year old kid will infiltrate my set up on the cable column and just destroy it.  Probably rip off the handle, completely change the weight, and then proceed to bang out 40 reps of one arm bicep curls.  Add on the fact that he is flailing around with each rep to get the weight to the top… and by that time I am just heated. 

It’s one thing to move in on someone’s training equipment and get after it the right way with good technique, and another to lift like you are trying to add 5 inches to your arms with a weight that my Mom could curl comfortably for 15 reps.

Fast forward to current day, and I strictly train in my living room.  Seriously, my living room.  I think that some of my friends still think that I train at a commercial gym somewhere.  I can blast whatever music I want, focus on every aspect of my program for that day…  warm up, mobility, strength, etc.  Its absolutely great.

I can tell you that there are plenty of other people that feel the same way that I do also.  Some (not all) people are sick of not being able to accomplish their workouts at their gyms.  Others flat out have no idea what to do in a gym, and I would say that this is about 75% of people that have memberships at a commercial club.  Think that number is off?  Next time you are at the gym, pay attention to how many people are actually lifting with flawless technique is a structured manner (rest periods, weight, reps, exercise combinations).  I bet it raise some serious eyebrows to know exactly how many people are just there to convince themselves that somehow just by setting foot in the club they are being productive.

 

Besides, bodyweight training, Kettlebell training, Battle Ropes, Sleds, Suspension Training is an unbelievable way to get a workout in.  My personal belief is not to discard any piece of equipment.  Everything serves a purpose when looking at it with common sense.  I think that Eric Cressey had a guest blog on his site recently speaking about this.  Too many people get caught in the hype of “new” gadgets and equipment. 

It might be time to stop looking for variations of foundational lifts (squats, deadlifts, inverted rows, push ups etc) and get back to basics.  I think this is where training is going.  As feminine as it sounds, the fitness industry is more similar to the fashion industry in the way that we are now re-introducing exercises that a select few knew were valuable 50 years ago. 

 

Cheers all…

 

 

 

Train At YOUR Level…

One issue that I have always had with the internet is that it is way to easy to get mislead with what everyone else is doing for training.  There are a ton of intelligent coaches and trainers who are putting great content on the web, but…  not every sample program is appropriate for the entire reading population.  For instance, I could post my workout from tonight…

1)  2KB Front Squat

2)  2 KB Push Press

3)  2KB Sumo Deadlift

4)  Chin Up

5)  Anti-Extension Roll Outs

The exercises were completed consecutively, and one time through all five exercises is considered one set.  Each exercise was completed with the following rep scheme:  10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 DONE.  You have 23 minutes to get through the workout…  yes… it is timed.

The problem lies in the fact that some chump will read this, want a tough workout and give it a shot.  Trust me, if you think you are going to get into shape with one tough workout, you’re wrong.  You have to work up to workouts like the one listed above.  Being able to maintain technically acceptable form while under extreme fatigue takes an advanced trainee.  When fatigue sets in, technique is the first thing to fail, and often leads to injury. 

I guess the main point of this post is just to work at your own level, whatever that may be.  Travel down your own path, and reach your goals at your own speed.  Don’t settle for less and become complacent, but avoid overreaching and backtracking because you are training senselessly.

My Beef with Running…

1)  People who run solely to achieve better body composition do not realize that running does not build muscle.  Yes, physiologically you may eventually push yourself hard enough or long enough to create change in your fat storage, but you are not going to look lean and ripped.

2)  Running has always been associated with wearing running shoes.  Running shoes fool the runner into thinking that the re-inforced heels in these shoes allows them to become heel strikers.  Running technique is flawed in 8-10 people because of the illusion that your shoes help with your stride.  They don’t.  These shoes cause people to overstride, which actually causes decceleration, which causes greater impact forces with the ground, which also causes the runner to have to work even harder to keep the same pace. 

3)  You have to have a purpose for running.  Some people just go for the same run, for the same duration, at the same speed time and time again.  If you want to shave time off of your mile time, or increase your mileage, you have to push yourself at some point.  If you aren’t getting better, than you are staying the same.  Your body will become really good at things that you repeditively do.  It is the SAID principal (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands).

4)  Running is aerobic.  Athletes think that long slow jogs are going to train them for their sports.  I don’t know who re-inforced this idea, but it ruined the sports performance industry.  We are just now beginning to take back the proper way to train for sport.  Maybe the only two sports that are aerobic in nature are: Cross Country/Long Track Events and rowing. 

5)  Lets face it, if you want to look like a world class marathon runner, keep training like one. 

 

Running on the Right Side?

Why are runners supposed to run on the right side of the road?  If I am going to go for a run, a serious run… it is going to take me out into the country where cars are going to be passing me going at least 50-60mph.  I would rather see cars coming toward me than guess that they are approaching me from behind.  I run with headphones in, it helps me achieve a trance and “zone out” while I am beating the streets. 

Besides, if you are going to get tagged by a vehicle traveling at those speeds, it is going to hurt the same no matter what side you get hit from.