New Things

Well, I've made several huge changes in my life.  The diet, the exercise, the divorce, and changing jobs.  It's really life.  I've started a brand new life.  It's scary.  I mean it's frighteningly scary at times.  On the plus side, it's all positive.  I have some negative things going on in my life too right now, but I try not to focus on those things.  They are temporary, and all my positive things I'm striving to make permanent.  It's not an easy task, but seeings the results of my efforts is making it all very worthwhile.  It's a learning adventure as well, by that I mean I'm learning a lot about myself along the way.

Normally I'm the last person to compliment myself, and I don't know if that was a self esteem issue or what, but now I can see the positives in myself and I am proud.  I mean I don't go around professing how great I think I am, but I'm not afraid to brag a little if the occasion arises.  I'm also more receptive of compliments, where as in the past I just assumed people were trying to be nice instead of honest.  I've had several people over just the last few weeks tell me how nice I am.  I finally asked one why they think I'm nice.  The response took me a little off guard.  They said that I did favors, tasks or was just generally there for them and I didn't expect anything in return.  I don't ever do something with the intention of having something done for me in return.  It's sad that some people treat kindness with the expectation of a return on investment.  Be nice, people.  You'll be better for it, and so will the world.  I guess that's today's public service announcement.  Do with it what you will.

Since there has been so much interest in the health and fitness series I wrote, I'm going to try to include a little tip in each blog entry.  I won't today, because honestly, I just got through working out (it's 11:00p) and I've got yo be at work at 7a, so I'm cutting this one a bit short. More to come soon.

Until next time dear readers...

Revelations

So several things dawned on me (with the help of some of your emails).  There is probably a lot about me that the vast majority of my readers don't know about me.  I'll answer a lot of the questions posed to me, today.

Age: 35
Favorite Song: Ice, Ice, Baby by Vanilla Ice (Shut up)
Favorite Color: Green. White is a close second.
Do you drive? If so, what? Absolutely, everyday.  I drive a 2003 Yellow Hummer H2 (6.0L). Love it.
What was your first car? 1964 Pink (Samoan Coral) Ford Thunderbird Landau Edition (The decked out model) 390ci V8 with Cruise-o-matic transmission. Awesome Car.
Random fact about me:  I'm the seventh great-grandson of Daniel Boone

I'll answer more in the next entry.  I'm not exactly sure why my blog's audience has grown (significantly), but I promise to address as many questions (that are appropriate) each entry as I can.  So, keep them coming.

Something I wanted to talk about this entry is love.  Define Love. Exactly.  Love can be the source of great pleasure or great pain (and in a lot of cases both at the same time).  I've been a few relationships since my divorce and one way or another they haven't worked out.  I mean we still are friends and still talk (in most cases), but it just wasn't meant to be.  My problem is easy.  I fall in like\love with the idea of the person rather than the person.  That's dangerous.  I have a mental image of the person that over time gets fewer an fewer flaws, so I essentially create a perfect partner for myself.  The problem is that's not the person.  It's my imagination.  I believe that there is a person out there for me, but I've all but given up looking.  All things in time.  The problem (If you want to call it that) is I'm terribly optimistic when dating.  That's just who I am, I really can't help that, but I can help whom I date.  Long story short, I'm an old romantic at heart, but in a culture where one night stands are socially acceptable, it's tough to find a kindred spirit.

Sorry about getting all serious there.  I'll have the girls for Halloween this year and they all have their costumes.  They are waiting on me to get mine.  My Batman costume is way too big on me now (dropping 30+ pounds will do that), so I'm at a loss.  I found a Lego Batman costume that was awesome, but it was only in children's sizes.  I also thought about just getting one of those huge masks and just calling it, but I'm afraid of all the diseases and lice that are probably haunting each one, seeing as that everyone seems to want to where them as they go through the store.  Ew.  The search continues...

I'm keeping this one short(ish) because the last four I wrote were pretty lengthy.  I look forward to your emails!

Until next time dear readers...

The Plan - Part 4

In this final part of the series, I'll try to explain a few things.  Welcome to the Results and Summary.

Results

It's hard to see changes to your body, I mean you see it everyday, and if you are like me, I had a hard time seeing myself getting out of shape.  In our culture, it's all about instant gratification.  The old adage "If it's worth it, it will take work" is never more true than with a body transformation. That being said, there are ways to measure your progress.  Don't be deterred though if you don't see progress quickly, every body is different.  How do you track results?

Weight
Weigh yourself.  Maybe not everyday, because body weight will fluctuate, so maybe one day each week. When you weigh, wear the same weight in clothes.  Best way is to just weigh in your underwear first thing in the morning.

BFP
Body Fat Percentage.  Exactly what it sounds like, the percent of your body that is fat.  The target number is your own choice, but keeping it in the teens is great.  There are several ways to measure this, but getting a scale that does weight and BFP is probably the best\most accurate way.

Measurements
When you read this, I bet your first thought was your waist. Yep, that's one, but don't forget the calves, biceps, thighs, chest, shoulders, forearms, and hips.  Track these.  Some should get bigger (more muscle mass), while others should drop (less body fat).  Use an app or a pen and paper, but do it, you'll thank me later.

Pictures
Take front and side pictures of yourself every week so you can see your body slowly taking the shape you want it to. These can be some of the best motivators.

Questions

"Do you adhere 100% to what you've described?"
No.  Close, but no.  Sometimes circumstances don't allow for you to eat when you need to.  They also can mess up what you eat, say if you're out of town and eat at a restaurant.  Be mindful of what you order.  Go for low-fat, no fried, protein rich foods.  Most restaurants have a "Fit" or "Healthy" section now.  While they aren't as good as what you could make yourself, it's better than just going completely off your diet.  This diet\exercise routine isn't a temporary thing, it's a lifestyle change, so staying completely on track may take a little time.

"In your diet, what have you had to cut out completely?"
Changing the way you eat does require some sacrifice.  I haven't gone into it a lot, but sodas need to be eliminated.  If they can't be eliminated (I realize it is a drug), then greatly reduced.  Alcohol needs to be eliminated as well, but I know that may be hard for some. (Again, another drug).  Alcohol is empty carbs.  Doesn't help, only hurts. Sugar is something else that you need to drop your intake on.  Sugar is ok in moderation, but don't make moderation routine.

"What about sugar substitutes?"
The only substitute I would recommend (and I use) is Stevia, the brand I use is Stevia in the Raw.  No calories and a very low sugar count.  I like it with coffee or green tea, works great.

"I read that grilling is bad for food because carcinogens get transferred over from the fire, but I see where you grill almost all of your protein, why?"
Good question.  There have been studies that show that cooking with charcoal or wood can cause some carcinogens to show up in the food.  I cook mine with propane, which eliminates that obstacle.

"How often do you change your workout routine?"
It's important to change things up, but it's also important to give your body enough time with each exercise.  I will change my weekly routine about every 3-4 weeks.

"So, is fast food out?"
Yes.  Most of it isn't even food, it's classification is "food-like product".  If you slip up, just remember, you are what you eat.

"How did you come up with your meal plan?"
A lot of research. Not just about what nutrients I needed (and when), but into food.  I read long studies about what is best for gaining lean muscle while losing fat.  So far I'm pleased, but I will have to mix it up soon so that I don't get sick of eating the same things.

Summary

I'll keep it brief.  Eat right.  If you can ask yourself "Should I be eating this?" and honestly say no, then put it down.  Exercise (strength and cardio) regularly.  Be consistent.  Often it helps if you have a gym buddy, or running partner, so consider asking friends if they'd like to help you transform your body.  That sounded weird, but you know what I mean.  No one's perfect, we all have weak moments, but the longer you stay on the plan, the fewer and farther between those moments are.

Until next time dear readers...

The Plan - Part 3

In this part, I'm going to talk about something most people don't do.  Supplementation. This is the process of providing your body with natural chemicals it just doesn't get or make enough of.  If you do or if you don't supplement you will see results, but if you do, you will see them much faster.

Supplementation

The studies behind supplementation vary from institute to institute but almost all show that there were noticeable benefits to supplementation, so I've worked out a formula for me that seems to work. Once again, this is for ME, so adjust accordingly.

Here's what I take and why:

• Multivitamin - To ensure I get my regular vitamin dosage in case my meals don't provide enough.
• Omega 3, 6 and 9 - A LOT of benefits in this combo. Fights depression, helps brain function and fights inflammation.
• CLA - Conjugated Linoleic Acid - An omega 6 that promotes metabolic rate, boost immune system and helps keep cholesterol down.
• L-Glutamine - Promotes muscle growth, brain health and has even been found to fight cancer.
• Green Tea Extract - Helps with weight loss, liver function, skin complexion, and again, can help fight\prevent forms of cancer.
• L-Arginine - Heart with Nitric oxide production and improves blood flow. In some studies it helped with clogged arteries.
• Creatine - Helps muscle cells produce more energy, improves overall high intensity performance, accelerates muscle growth, and helps to fight certain neurological diseases (which is important to me as Parkinson's Disease runs in my family).
• Beta-Alanine - Boosts muscle strength and endurance, helps increase muscle mass and boosts muscular anaerobic endurance. Good Stuff.
• Pre-Workout - This is actually kind of a prepackaged powder with several of the ingredients I mentioned.
• Post-Workout - Again, pre-packaged, but make sure it has what you need.
• BCAAs - Branched Chain Amino Acids - help with fatigue and recovery. Drink these all the time.
• Protein Powder - This is used to boost my protein (and carb if need be) intake.  It should be noted that it's important to get a lot of protein in your body within an hour of your workout, and this is the best way.

When I Take It:
Routinely
AM - Multivitamin, CLA (2000mg), Omega 3-6-9 (600mg), and L-Gutamine (2000mg)
PM - CLA (2000mg) and L-Gutamine (2000mg)

Workout Days
1 Hour Before Workout - L-Arginine (1000mg), Green Tea Extract (600 mg)
30 Min Before Workout - L-Glutamine (2000mg), Beta-Alanine (3.2g), Pre-Workout Mix
Post Workout - L-Glutamine (2000mg), Creatine (3.2g), Post Workout Mix, Protein Mix (Shoot for around 40-60g)

Off Days
At some point in the day you need to take your pre-workout supplements, but not your post ones. This keeps those supplements in your system and still working while you are on a recovery day.


That's the basics behind it.  It would help if you took a slow digesting protein (Casein) before bed so that you get a contents stream of protein entering the body.

Keep up the questions and comments, and get ready for the last part, Part 4 - Results and Summary, where I will answer a lot of the submitted questions as well.

Until Next Time Dear Readers...

The Plan - Part 2

Now for the next part of this series.  I would say it's the hardest, but honestly the diet can be a lot harder, so I'd say they are equally as difficult (or easy if you are an optimist) just for different reasons.

Exercise

Now exercise can be anything that basically causes your heart rate to increase and makes you sweat. My definition, not technical.  It's physical activity that burns calories.  That's not all it can do though, it can build muscle (technically speaking it breaks the muscles and they are rebuilt, bigger and more defined after the fact).  There are two main types of exercise, strength training and cardio training.  You need both.  I'm not saying you have to try to get all jacked up so you can complete for the title of Mr.\Mrs.\Miss Universe, I'm saying that you can only exercise so many muscles with cardio, and you can't (often) keep your heart rate high enough for long enough to burn fat while strength training.  Hand in hand.

As I stated in Part 1, this is what I'm doing, so your mileage may vary and you should tweak it accordingly.

Firstly, I believe in strength training days off. NOT THE DIET. NOT CARDIO. I believe that in order to make progress you have to allow muscle groups to repair themselves before exerting them again.  I've designed my routine around that.

Let's begin with the cardio. Every day. Every. Day.  First thing in the morning, before eating or anything, do cardio. Fasted cardio works. It's not fun, but it works.  For cardio to be effective, you need to keep your heart rate in the "fat burning zone," for which a formula exists to help with that.  Here is an easy way to calculate your maximum heart rate and what the zone is for you (65-70% of max).What I do is a ride on a recumbent bike.  When starting, ease into it, don't do so much that you get soured at the idea.  Start with like a 10 minute ride (or constant cardio exercise), or maybe 3 miles.  Keep doing that same distance\time until you are comfortable with increasing it, but once again, don't jump up to high that you get mad and quit altogether. Every. Day. Did I mention that?

Preface: Your body lets you know when you are doing too much or you are hurt.  A light pain is normal, but sharp and intense pains are not normal. Stop the exercise, wait (even days if need be) before working that muscle again, and when you do, use less weight to get back in the swing.

Mondays
Arm\Chest Day

Lying Tricep Press (Skullcrushers)
EZ-Bar Curl
Dumbbell Flyes
Bent Over Barbell Row

Tuesdays
Off

Wednesdays
Leg Day

Leg Extensions
Standing Calf Raises
Lying Leg Curls
Barbell Full Squat

Thursdays
Off

Friday
Whole Body Day (Intense)

Alternate Hammer Curl
Leg Extensions
Arnold Press
Barbell Rear Delt Row
Around the Worlds
Deadlift
Bent-Arm Dumbbell Pullover
Dumbbell Shrug
Decline EZ-Bar Tricep Extension
Seated Barbell Twist

Weekend
1 Day Off\1 Day Whole Body Day (Light)

EZ-Bar Curl
Incline Dumbbell Press
Lying Leg Curls
Lying Rear Delt Raise


I purposely didn't put sets\reps\weight because that is something you need to find out for yourself.  Traditionally it's 3 sets of 8 repetitions at 80% of you max weight.  Some people say less weight, more reps while others say less reps, more weight.  Honestly, I'm still figuring out what works best for me, but rest assured whatever you do, as long as you do it, it will work. This may sound silly, but get your phone\iPod or whatever, make a workout playlist with songs that pump up your adrenaline and play that while working out.  It can help you for several reasons, but a main one is it helps block out the sounds around you, letting you focus on what you're doing. Now for a thorn...

CARDIO AGAIN
After your strength training do cardio again.  I know that means some days you'll be doing cardio twice, but hey - gotta stick with what works.

Well, that's about all I do, part 3 will be on supplementation.

Until Next Time Dear Readers...

The Plan - Part 1

Ok, so basically this post is actually going to be me responding to some of the questions that have been sent in or posted.  The majority of this post will be in response to the most asked question, "What is your diet and exercise routine?" The Diet part will be today's subject, exercise will be next.

Before I dig in, I want to, again, thank everyone for their comments, questions, and concerns.  I am doing fine, the divorce doesn't bother me anymore (after all it's been two years since we separated), and no, I'm not in a relationship nor am I actively seeking one.  Alright, that should slow down a few emails, I hope.

The Diet

I've actually kept it pretty simple, but it works.  Let me begin with saying that carbs are not to be avoided like the plague.  You needs carbs, just the right type of carbs.  You need protein.  Muscles are protein, and when they need to rebuild after a workout (where fibers are broken), they need protein to do it.  Lastly, and this one some people will scream about is this: you need fats.  Not a lot, and not saturated - but you do need them.

My formula has been simple. With each meal (which I have about 4-5 a day because I'm wanting to gain a lot of lean muscle - i know it sounds like it doesn't make sense, but it does) I'll have a serving of meat (4-6oz, red meat is ok), a serving of carbs\starch (a medium potato, or a cup of brown rice are good examples), and finally a serving of a vegetable (Preferably green like broccoli or kale - the more green, the more chlorophyll, and the higher the benefits).  See? Not bad to follow, and with the right recipes and rotation you never feel full or get tired of the food.

Now to tell you what I've cut out (or I'm trying to) - excess sugar.  In dieting, sugar is the root of all evil.  in 1909 the average person consumed 15g of sugar per day.  Today, it's between 100-120g a day.  I mean a 20oz cola contains 20g of sugar.  Some sugar is ok, but look at the obesity rates from 1909 and from today, especially childhood obesity. A recent study shows that just in the last 50 years those rates have increased ten times their original number. 1000%.  Sugar hides in places you wouldn't expect. Well, we know carbs do get turned into sugar in our body. Some more so than others. Bread.  It tastes great, but it turns into a lot of sugar in our body, especially bread made from enriched\bleached flour (white bread).  That is a carb to use as little as possible, there is very little benefit from it.  Now something that may surprise you is this one - milk.  Milk has added sugar. Processed milk anyway.  It was introduced originally to make milk "taste better" but it also led to higher sales because of America's sugar addiction (and that is exactly what it is).  Also, be careful of sugar-free products that just replaced sugar with HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).  It's just a different evil with similar effects.

Lastly, if you drink diet colas, stop. Right now.  They are so much worse than any other drink. The combination of phosphoric acid and aspartame should be considered lethal. Read this on what Diet Coke does within an hour of consuming.

Well, that's about it on the dieting side. It's working for me, but that doesn't mean it will work for you.  Like I've said, I've read a LOT of books and studies (formal and informal) and figured out pretty quickly that there isn't a "One Size Fits Most\All" diet, but the skeletal structure of this diet should, in my opinion be a good starting point for you to tweak however you need to.

Just remember: DO NOT SKIP MEALS & STAY CONSISTENT!!

Part 2 is going to be exercise, and 3 will be supplementation.  Been thinking about including a grocery planning\weekly meal prep guide too - let me know if you would be interested.

Until Next Time Dear Readers

Progress at the speed of

Dear Readers,

Yeah, I know, the title is an incomplete sentence.  It's ok. Unless you have severe OCD, then you can fill in the blank. You know, Progress at the speed of smell. Ok, now that that's settled, lets dig in.

I've been working very hard at changing myself.  Maybe that isn't the best way to put it, I've been working at transforming myself from the person I am\was into the person I want to be.  It's been paying off.  After really diving into, and I mean hardcore, the science of dieting, exercising, and attitude adjustment, I've started seeing results, on every front.  When I say I was detailed in my research, I mean it.  I studied every chemical (well, not all, but most) that goes into the body and it's effects, both positive and negative.  I've worked hard to eliminate most of the negative chemicals, and increase or introduce those with positive benefits.  On the exercise front, I studied the physiology behind common exercises and what muscle groups they do and don't affect, so that I can do great limited muscle exercises.  Whoever says that you can isolate a muscle group for an exercise is full of it.  The best you can do is do what I call the limited muscle exercise, because you can never truly work just one muscle group. end rant.

Now, some of my Facebook friends and Twitter followers might end up getting tired of my gym\weight loss updates.  That's ok.  Please know that when I post something like that it's not because I'm bragging, it's because I'm proud and I have a feeling of accomplishment.  Sure the "At a boy's" don't hurt, every word of encouragement is not wasted, I assure you.  Speaking of progress, let me share with you my goals.  I'm currently just under 200lbs, and ~25% Body Fat. Not great.  However, this is a lot better than say two weeks ago.  My Goal is to be around 180-190lbs with ~13% body fat.  Essentially I need to lose about 40 pounds of fat while gaining 20 pounds of muscle. Completely doable, and I've very motivated.

Next week (Later this week because this post is late) I'll go into a little more detail of the diet, that is if you would like me to. Let me know.

Until next time dear readers...

(PS - My previous blog post was by far the most viewed I've ever had, and I've gotten a TON of emails regarding it, I try my best to answer each one, but don't be afraid to send another one if I haven't responded within a few days!)