Food poisoning last night. I knew that sausage tasted like plastic.
Worked out lightly today, 5x overhead press, some clean snatch, and 4x planks.
My diet was even worse, considering I could barely keep food down.
Venison steak, vegetarian baked beans
everything bagel with some veggie cream cheese
50g protein shake.
then my stomach hated me.
Early to bed, hopefully early to rise to start 6am workouts.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Still a little off
Today is still an off day, but I did get a chance to work out. 6 Sets of back squats, and 3 sets of lunges. Don't want to push too hard if I'm not nearly 100%.
Because of not feeling well, my appetite is off too, so here's the diet.
Breakfast: 3 cups of cereal (finished my box!) with 2 cups of milk
Lunch: 20oz of Jambalaya (homemade)
Dinner: Grilled cheese
I also have drank some orange juice, and a boatload of water. This sickness needs to pass! :)
Stay motivated, recipes this weekend!!
Because of not feeling well, my appetite is off too, so here's the diet.
Breakfast: 3 cups of cereal (finished my box!) with 2 cups of milk
Lunch: 20oz of Jambalaya (homemade)
Dinner: Grilled cheese
I also have drank some orange juice, and a boatload of water. This sickness needs to pass! :)
Stay motivated, recipes this weekend!!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
A little off
Hey friends-
No long post today, I feel like the gum on the underside of a shoe. Taking a night to actually rest, and come back stronger tomorrow.
Breakfast: 50g of protein shake
Breakfast 2: Large bowl of cereal, 1 homemade banana muffin (thanks mom!)
Lunch: Large chicken caesar salad. Ive decided that I need more green and fruits in my life. That and it's the only thing I could get and keep down.
Dinner: Copious quantities of pasta, and homemade Bison meat sauce.
I've decided that weekends are going to be new recipes and culinary adventures.
Talk to you all tomorrow!
No long post today, I feel like the gum on the underside of a shoe. Taking a night to actually rest, and come back stronger tomorrow.
Breakfast: 50g of protein shake
Breakfast 2: Large bowl of cereal, 1 homemade banana muffin (thanks mom!)
Lunch: Large chicken caesar salad. Ive decided that I need more green and fruits in my life. That and it's the only thing I could get and keep down.
Dinner: Copious quantities of pasta, and homemade Bison meat sauce.
I've decided that weekends are going to be new recipes and culinary adventures.
Talk to you all tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Supplements and the such
Good evening folks!
I'll start off by saying that today is my off day for working out, and a great one at that.
Here's the diet for today:
Breakfast 1: 50g of protein through shakes, which we'll talk about today
Breakfast 2: A large bowl of Trix (we'll chat about this too.)
Lunch 1: Homemade venison stew
Lunch 2: Coffee. Ha.
Dinner: More pizza. I know, I'm ashamed.
I told you yesterday we were going to talk about supplements. Reading through Muscle and Body from GNC, you pick up a little bit. I haven't tried them all, and I haven't done "independent studies." But from what I've gathered, if I exercise and have a great diet, by using these supplements, I can be cock diesel in 90 days! Cough. Right.
Here are the supplements I use, and why I use them. I also must say this, SUPPLEMENTS ARE NEVER BETTER THAN ACTUAL FOOD! This is important. Having 50g of protein shake is not better than say, 50g of protein from fresh salmon. Real food > Nutrition Supplements.
2 gummy multivitamins in the morning. That's right, I take gummy vitamins. Want to know why? Because they taste good and they're easy to take. One-a-day vitamins have between 80-133% of my daily recommended vitamin intake. That's just to supplement anything else I don't get during the day. And cmon, gummys are awesome.
When I get to work, I take 2 green tea/caffeine pills. Now, you'll probably look at me and wonder why I take these things. The main reason? 160mg of caffeine, and 40,000 thermal units of capsaicin. Add in some EGCG for good measure (not sure what it does besides an antioxidant, but whatever) and you have a pretty decent supplement. Caffeine is a known mood booster, wakes you up in the morning, and also apparently aids in thermogenics! (Burning of fat.) Capsaicin also aids as an appetite suppressant. My buddies and I when cooking used to put habanero peppers in our foods to help keep us full. Surprisingly it worked. Does it work in pill form? I don't know, but it hasn't hurt me yet.
You can also just drink coffee if you want to attempt the same effects. I take the pills because it's similar to chugging 2 cups of coffee.
I also take 2 more either after lunch on break days, or 30 minutes before I work out in the afternoon. The caffeine aids in my lift. Helps me push out that extra rep. Simply because my heart feels like it's about to explode.
Let's talk about some protein. I don't know the difference between whey, casein, etc. proteins. I do know whey protein has a higher BV (biological value) than any other food. From what I've gathered, the BV of a food is basically how well that type of protein absorbs into the body. Dave told me once that it doesn't really matter what the BV is unless you have to watch your protein intake very carefully- I believe him. But for a fun fact, whey protein has the highest absorption rate.
I've used about 7 different protein powders throughout my days. I've settled on 2 that I think taste the best, are light on the stomach, and just make me feel decent overall. Optimum Nutrition's Rich Milk Chocolate and GNC's Amplified Wheybolic 60 are the two. There are some that are lighter, and easier on the stomach (there are some that pride themselves on being light enough for cancer patients (isopure)) but I chose these two. They both pack a wallop in a serving, (30 and 20 grams per scoop, respectively,) and taste fantastic.
They're also relatively inexpensive. You can usually get a gold card BOGO of the GNC, and vitacost.com has some great deals on the ON protein. When you see me taking a protein shake, its either one or both of these products.
I also take some yohimbe at night. I don't really know if it helps, but studies show it helps with male sexual health, and aids in some fat burning. I take it just because it's cool looking. Dave, you think you could comment on this?
That's it for now. As I said earlier, some people pride themselves on key ingredients in XYZ supplements. I'm broke. I can't afford super expensive things. Everything I've said here, minus the vitamins, you can get in Costco sized containers that would feed a small army! Nothing super special, just some simple things to aid in your nutrition.
Dave always told me that "you can't look for motivation or results in a bar, or a shake, you have to look for them within." This really stuck with me. These things won't give you results if used simply by themselves. In fact, too much protein gives you the worst smelling bowel movements ever. (I've lived with body builders in two different states and times in my life,) and won't really do well. They're there to simply AID you in the process. 1/10th of the equation. I try and eat my 180g of protein a day, but I find it difficult to do so. I can only eat so much!
Also, if you're looking for a bar, try the 2:1 bars that you can find in GNC or random spots on the internet. The caramel almond ones are my favorite.
Tomorrow we're doing lower body. Just a heads up, we'll be doing squats (front or back, I haven't decided yet,) as well as some reverse lunges. I'll be doing sitting and standing calf raises, and probably working abs again.
Keep motivated, and talk to you later!
-Justin
I'll start off by saying that today is my off day for working out, and a great one at that.
Here's the diet for today:
Breakfast 1: 50g of protein through shakes, which we'll talk about today
Breakfast 2: A large bowl of Trix (we'll chat about this too.)
Lunch 1: Homemade venison stew
Lunch 2: Coffee. Ha.
Dinner: More pizza. I know, I'm ashamed.
I told you yesterday we were going to talk about supplements. Reading through Muscle and Body from GNC, you pick up a little bit. I haven't tried them all, and I haven't done "independent studies." But from what I've gathered, if I exercise and have a great diet, by using these supplements, I can be cock diesel in 90 days! Cough. Right.
Here are the supplements I use, and why I use them. I also must say this, SUPPLEMENTS ARE NEVER BETTER THAN ACTUAL FOOD! This is important. Having 50g of protein shake is not better than say, 50g of protein from fresh salmon. Real food > Nutrition Supplements.
2 gummy multivitamins in the morning. That's right, I take gummy vitamins. Want to know why? Because they taste good and they're easy to take. One-a-day vitamins have between 80-133% of my daily recommended vitamin intake. That's just to supplement anything else I don't get during the day. And cmon, gummys are awesome.
When I get to work, I take 2 green tea/caffeine pills. Now, you'll probably look at me and wonder why I take these things. The main reason? 160mg of caffeine, and 40,000 thermal units of capsaicin. Add in some EGCG for good measure (not sure what it does besides an antioxidant, but whatever) and you have a pretty decent supplement. Caffeine is a known mood booster, wakes you up in the morning, and also apparently aids in thermogenics! (Burning of fat.) Capsaicin also aids as an appetite suppressant. My buddies and I when cooking used to put habanero peppers in our foods to help keep us full. Surprisingly it worked. Does it work in pill form? I don't know, but it hasn't hurt me yet.
You can also just drink coffee if you want to attempt the same effects. I take the pills because it's similar to chugging 2 cups of coffee.
I also take 2 more either after lunch on break days, or 30 minutes before I work out in the afternoon. The caffeine aids in my lift. Helps me push out that extra rep. Simply because my heart feels like it's about to explode.
Let's talk about some protein. I don't know the difference between whey, casein, etc. proteins. I do know whey protein has a higher BV (biological value) than any other food. From what I've gathered, the BV of a food is basically how well that type of protein absorbs into the body. Dave told me once that it doesn't really matter what the BV is unless you have to watch your protein intake very carefully- I believe him. But for a fun fact, whey protein has the highest absorption rate.
I've used about 7 different protein powders throughout my days. I've settled on 2 that I think taste the best, are light on the stomach, and just make me feel decent overall. Optimum Nutrition's Rich Milk Chocolate and GNC's Amplified Wheybolic 60 are the two. There are some that are lighter, and easier on the stomach (there are some that pride themselves on being light enough for cancer patients (isopure)) but I chose these two. They both pack a wallop in a serving, (30 and 20 grams per scoop, respectively,) and taste fantastic.
They're also relatively inexpensive. You can usually get a gold card BOGO of the GNC, and vitacost.com has some great deals on the ON protein. When you see me taking a protein shake, its either one or both of these products.
I also take some yohimbe at night. I don't really know if it helps, but studies show it helps with male sexual health, and aids in some fat burning. I take it just because it's cool looking. Dave, you think you could comment on this?
That's it for now. As I said earlier, some people pride themselves on key ingredients in XYZ supplements. I'm broke. I can't afford super expensive things. Everything I've said here, minus the vitamins, you can get in Costco sized containers that would feed a small army! Nothing super special, just some simple things to aid in your nutrition.
Dave always told me that "you can't look for motivation or results in a bar, or a shake, you have to look for them within." This really stuck with me. These things won't give you results if used simply by themselves. In fact, too much protein gives you the worst smelling bowel movements ever. (I've lived with body builders in two different states and times in my life,) and won't really do well. They're there to simply AID you in the process. 1/10th of the equation. I try and eat my 180g of protein a day, but I find it difficult to do so. I can only eat so much!
Also, if you're looking for a bar, try the 2:1 bars that you can find in GNC or random spots on the internet. The caramel almond ones are my favorite.
Tomorrow we're doing lower body. Just a heads up, we'll be doing squats (front or back, I haven't decided yet,) as well as some reverse lunges. I'll be doing sitting and standing calf raises, and probably working abs again.
Keep motivated, and talk to you later!
-Justin
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
What this is?
Hey guys and gals-
My name is Justin, and I'm interested in fitness. I'm not a bodybuilder, nor a fitness professional, nor even in the best shape I could be. I'm just a regular now college grad, working a 9-5 desk job (actually 8-4) with a wish to get into better shape, both to look good, and be healthy.
Since I don't have a ton of money (hourly only pays when you can work,) I don't have money for tons of supplements, or the best of the best of foods or personal training. I was lucky enough to have an amazing roommate in college (who will probably end up reading this... Thanks Dave!) who showed me the ropes when it came to working out. Between 6am lifts, and him banging on my door when I didn't want to wake up, I had gained quite a bit of muscle, and a ton of confidence. Maybe if I can dig some old photos up I'll show you what I was talking about. For now though, I'll be blogging about my meals and workouts every day, and will show you the progress along the way.
Now I know you're going to say "ok, what do I eat, how do I eat, and how do I work out?" That's easier asked than answered. Everyone has their own ideas of what "perfect" fitness is (and by looking at some of these people, they have seemed to have perfected their routine.) I personally, don't have any idea what's perfect. What I do know, however, is no matter what else you do, there are four exercises that NOONE should go without doing.
-Overhead Press - Once the ultimate test of strength, the overhead press works virtually every muscle from the waist up.
-Bench Press- This is what overtook the Overhead Press as the test of strength. Works 3 axis of muscles, and is pretty beefy.
-Squat- Whether this be a front squat or back squat, a good squat works everything from the waist down. It also happens to release more hormones and good stuff than most other exercises. It's also thought that adding squats to your routine will help lower cholesterol. Since that's a concern of mine, I always do them :)
-Deadlift- The deadlift is a really simple concept, but very difficult to master (or even do correctly when you're starting out.) My suggestion is to ask your local trainer or gym buddy or meathead on how to do it correctly.
I personally like to do a 4 day split, meaning Monday I do upper body, Tuesday I do lower body, Wednesday I rest, Thursday upper, Friday lower. Add in with that 20-45 minutes of cardio (enough to get the blood flowing, but not enough to push you to exhaustion, this will always improve as time goes on,) and you have a pretty good setup.
Diet is important too. People always say that DIET IS EVERYTHING. Wrong. Diet is 50% of the equation. Exercise is the other 50%.
Keep in mind a few simple fun facts.
Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories
"They" say that you should have between 1-1.5g of protein per pound of muscle, but I would say 1-1.5g per ideal weight. Extra protein isn't necessarily a bad thing, and with how easy it is to get protein with good meals and inexpensive (not cheap, but low in cost,) supplements, you should get this easily.
Carbs are not the enemy! However, there are differences in the type of carbs you consume. I'm not a nutritionist, and I don't really understand it, so I'm not going to give you some bad advice. Ask your doctor or friendly neighborhood dietician/nutritionist if you have questions.
That leaves us with fats. Again, not being someone that has studied diet and intake, I can't give you scientific evidence regarding the different types of fat, but a few things are no brainers:
1) NO TRANS FATS - I CANNOT stress enough the importance of #1. Trans fat has been shown to lower HDL (good cholesterol), raise LDL (bad cholesterol,) and promote heart disease. Even though a food will be marked trans fat free, look at the ingredients. If you see "partially hydrogenated" ANYTHING, that = trans fat! Take a look at biscuit mix, it makes me sad :-(
2) Not all saturated fats are equal. Theres a difference between saturated fats from meat, and saturated fats from nuts. I don't know off the top of my head, but an increase in nuts (which also gives fiber and protein and good fats,) can aid in any diet, and is a tasty snack :-)
3) A raise in mono and poly unsaturated fats = good. Avocados are high in MUFAs, as well as a bunch of other great foods. Google some other foods.
Calorie intake is different for everyone, based on activity, height, weight, age, etc. Use something like My Fitness Pal (myfitnesspal.com) or the android/iphone app to figure out a great plan for you. This piece of software also helps track calories burned. Use it! It's fun!
Anyway- why am I doing this? Because I'd like to track my own progress through what I'd like to be a life-altering change. I have a goal, to look better than I did 6 months ago, in 10 months. Well, I'd like beach season, but I'd be happy with October 21. I'll be showing my transformation every month in visual form, and giving measurements every 2 weeks. I'll be telling you what I eat, some really awesome recipes, and how I'm working out, weight and actual exercise.
We'll chat about other things too, but for now, think of this as a sort of inspiration for others.
Here's what I'm starting at as of right now:
172 lbs, approximately 13% body fat.
Right Bicep - 13"
Left Bicep - 12"
Chest - 37"
Waist - 35"
Neck - 15.5"
Right Leg - 21.75"
Left Leg - 22"
I'm going to spend the first few months bulking up, gaining muscle, then the last few months before october cutting fat.
Todays workout consisted of:
9 sets of overhead press, including 3 warmups, 3 working sets, and 3 cooldown/burn
3 sets of dumbell rows
3x30s planks, plus a 15s warmup, 30s, 20s, and 10s between, respectively.
after that, add some dips (1 set of 6 before I decided to change it up,)
and 3x12 kneeled pushdown (sort of like a dip, but isolated movements.)
12 minutes of cardio on the upright bike. This is normally much higher, but since this is the first day back in a long time, I kept it light.
Today's diet consisted of:
Breakfast - 30g of protein from a shake
Breakfast 2 - Bowl of Golden Grahams
Lunch - 2.5 Cups of Homemade Jambalaya (I'll give this recipe later)
Pre Workout - 50g of protein from a shake
Post-Workout/Dinner - 4 pieces of pizza. I know I know, this is my "cheat" day.
I'll have a healthy snack later on, not too sure what yet, a few more cups of water, and maybe some milk.
We'll chat about supplements tomorrow. Keep motivated, and keep tuned in :)
-Justin
My name is Justin, and I'm interested in fitness. I'm not a bodybuilder, nor a fitness professional, nor even in the best shape I could be. I'm just a regular now college grad, working a 9-5 desk job (actually 8-4) with a wish to get into better shape, both to look good, and be healthy.
Since I don't have a ton of money (hourly only pays when you can work,) I don't have money for tons of supplements, or the best of the best of foods or personal training. I was lucky enough to have an amazing roommate in college (who will probably end up reading this... Thanks Dave!) who showed me the ropes when it came to working out. Between 6am lifts, and him banging on my door when I didn't want to wake up, I had gained quite a bit of muscle, and a ton of confidence. Maybe if I can dig some old photos up I'll show you what I was talking about. For now though, I'll be blogging about my meals and workouts every day, and will show you the progress along the way.
Now I know you're going to say "ok, what do I eat, how do I eat, and how do I work out?" That's easier asked than answered. Everyone has their own ideas of what "perfect" fitness is (and by looking at some of these people, they have seemed to have perfected their routine.) I personally, don't have any idea what's perfect. What I do know, however, is no matter what else you do, there are four exercises that NOONE should go without doing.
-Overhead Press - Once the ultimate test of strength, the overhead press works virtually every muscle from the waist up.
-Bench Press- This is what overtook the Overhead Press as the test of strength. Works 3 axis of muscles, and is pretty beefy.
-Squat- Whether this be a front squat or back squat, a good squat works everything from the waist down. It also happens to release more hormones and good stuff than most other exercises. It's also thought that adding squats to your routine will help lower cholesterol. Since that's a concern of mine, I always do them :)
-Deadlift- The deadlift is a really simple concept, but very difficult to master (or even do correctly when you're starting out.) My suggestion is to ask your local trainer or gym buddy or meathead on how to do it correctly.
I personally like to do a 4 day split, meaning Monday I do upper body, Tuesday I do lower body, Wednesday I rest, Thursday upper, Friday lower. Add in with that 20-45 minutes of cardio (enough to get the blood flowing, but not enough to push you to exhaustion, this will always improve as time goes on,) and you have a pretty good setup.
Diet is important too. People always say that DIET IS EVERYTHING. Wrong. Diet is 50% of the equation. Exercise is the other 50%.
Keep in mind a few simple fun facts.
Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories
"They" say that you should have between 1-1.5g of protein per pound of muscle, but I would say 1-1.5g per ideal weight. Extra protein isn't necessarily a bad thing, and with how easy it is to get protein with good meals and inexpensive (not cheap, but low in cost,) supplements, you should get this easily.
Carbs are not the enemy! However, there are differences in the type of carbs you consume. I'm not a nutritionist, and I don't really understand it, so I'm not going to give you some bad advice. Ask your doctor or friendly neighborhood dietician/nutritionist if you have questions.
That leaves us with fats. Again, not being someone that has studied diet and intake, I can't give you scientific evidence regarding the different types of fat, but a few things are no brainers:
1) NO TRANS FATS - I CANNOT stress enough the importance of #1. Trans fat has been shown to lower HDL (good cholesterol), raise LDL (bad cholesterol,) and promote heart disease. Even though a food will be marked trans fat free, look at the ingredients. If you see "partially hydrogenated" ANYTHING, that = trans fat! Take a look at biscuit mix, it makes me sad :-(
2) Not all saturated fats are equal. Theres a difference between saturated fats from meat, and saturated fats from nuts. I don't know off the top of my head, but an increase in nuts (which also gives fiber and protein and good fats,) can aid in any diet, and is a tasty snack :-)
3) A raise in mono and poly unsaturated fats = good. Avocados are high in MUFAs, as well as a bunch of other great foods. Google some other foods.
Calorie intake is different for everyone, based on activity, height, weight, age, etc. Use something like My Fitness Pal (myfitnesspal.com) or the android/iphone app to figure out a great plan for you. This piece of software also helps track calories burned. Use it! It's fun!
Anyway- why am I doing this? Because I'd like to track my own progress through what I'd like to be a life-altering change. I have a goal, to look better than I did 6 months ago, in 10 months. Well, I'd like beach season, but I'd be happy with October 21. I'll be showing my transformation every month in visual form, and giving measurements every 2 weeks. I'll be telling you what I eat, some really awesome recipes, and how I'm working out, weight and actual exercise.
We'll chat about other things too, but for now, think of this as a sort of inspiration for others.
Here's what I'm starting at as of right now:
172 lbs, approximately 13% body fat.
Right Bicep - 13"
Left Bicep - 12"
Chest - 37"
Waist - 35"
Neck - 15.5"
Right Leg - 21.75"
Left Leg - 22"
I'm going to spend the first few months bulking up, gaining muscle, then the last few months before october cutting fat.
Todays workout consisted of:
9 sets of overhead press, including 3 warmups, 3 working sets, and 3 cooldown/burn
3 sets of dumbell rows
3x30s planks, plus a 15s warmup, 30s, 20s, and 10s between, respectively.
after that, add some dips (1 set of 6 before I decided to change it up,)
and 3x12 kneeled pushdown (sort of like a dip, but isolated movements.)
12 minutes of cardio on the upright bike. This is normally much higher, but since this is the first day back in a long time, I kept it light.
Today's diet consisted of:
Breakfast - 30g of protein from a shake
Breakfast 2 - Bowl of Golden Grahams
Lunch - 2.5 Cups of Homemade Jambalaya (I'll give this recipe later)
Pre Workout - 50g of protein from a shake
Post-Workout/Dinner - 4 pieces of pizza. I know I know, this is my "cheat" day.
I'll have a healthy snack later on, not too sure what yet, a few more cups of water, and maybe some milk.
We'll chat about supplements tomorrow. Keep motivated, and keep tuned in :)
-Justin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)