Six Pack for Summer!

Water

2011-07-16T11:16:00.001-07:00

Drink water all the time.
-drink 4 cups when you wake up
-drink a cup every hour
-drink a cup before every meal
-drink a cup with every meal
-take a sip between every bite

Breakfast, Lunch, Snack

2011-06-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

So far I've had 3 meals today. Thankfully today is also my off-day for working out so I just get to relax.

Breakfast: 2 Post Shredded Wheat biscuits, a water protein shake, and 3 cups of water

Lunch: One Grilled Chicken Breast, 3 Romaine Leaves Chopped up, and Balsamic Vinegar. Mixed together this makes a very tasty salad! Of course another 3 glasses of water

Snack: One Protein Shake (with milk this time), a banana, and you guessed it, 3 glasses of water.

Everything is really yummy and really healthy. I wonder what my next meal will be?

What I had for lunch

2011-06-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

Lunch today was so simple. Why? Becuase I just microwaved everything. I had already made quinoa in the fridge, beans in the fridge, and broccoli rape from last night in the fridge. Threw em all on a plate and voila! Took 2 minutes. Water on the side of course. Grapes were for dessert.

Try this for yourself. If you've got healthy stuff already made in the fridge, just microwave it up. Even better, make a ton of something and use it throughout the week. Getting it out of the way earlier will make your week so much easier.

Today's "Interval Workout"

2011-06-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

I had a interval workout scheduled for today on my rugby workout. However, it's raining where I am, so instead I decided to utilize my stationary bike that I have. All I would do is bike for about a minute on the bike's lowest setting, then turn it all the way to the bike's highest setting and bike hard for about 40 rotations. After I was done I'd switch it back to the lowest setting and get an active rest until I felt ready to go again (about 45 secs). I did this for 21 minutes and burned over 200 calories. Of course, nothing can beat a normal sprint workout, but if there's bad weather just do what you can. It's better than nothing! Try it for yourself, put your bike on a really low setting, bike for around a minute to get a warmup, then turn up that resistance to its highest or the highest setting you can manage to actually peddle with! Google sprinting and you will see that it is one of the best ways to burn fat, so try it today!

What I Had for Breakfast

2011-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

I never used to like oatmeal, but now it has actually become one of my favorite breakfasts to have. It is quick, easy and very filling! Here's breakfast this morning:

Plain oatmeal (not that sugary junk in the packets)

Raisins
Water Protein Shake (Water and whey protein)

2 cups of water

It's so quick and healthy you'll love yourself for doing it. Pour half a cup of the oatmeal into a bowl (trust me, 1/2 cup is plenty when it cooks). Then, fill up the oatmeal with water so that it covers the oatmeal and goes a little bit over it (add more or less depending on how thick you like your oatmeal). Put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Make sure you watch the oatmeal so that it doesn't bubble over the top! When it's done, then you add in a handful of raisins. I don't like to add in raisins before putting it in the microwave because for me, it just doesn't taste good and takes away some of the sweetness. If you want, add in some ground flax for some good fats. Viola! Good yummy food. If you're just starting add in a splenda packet or some other zero calorie sweetener, but try to grow out of it! Getting at least one raisin in every bite sweetens up the oatmeal a lot! Add in a protein shake if you need to get protein into each of your meals in a heavy dose but don't skip the two glasses of water! This also helps keep you full and hydrates your body well from getting dehydrated overnight.

What I had for my fifth meal of the day

2011-06-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

So this is my after dinner meal. I'm a sucker for sweets so I thought about what I could have. I didn't want just a piece of fruit and I need some protein in all of my meals so I opted for my Greek yogurt mixture. I love doing this because it tastes good, is low in calories, and is packed with protein. Added to this was a glass of water for hydration and I'm good to go for a couple hours!

What I had for "dinner"

2011-06-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Just a note, I don't cook my dinner-time meals. My mom does, while I'm at home anyway. So tonight I had:

Salad that included lettuce, carrots, avocado, cucumber, grape tomatoes, and a homemade dijon mustard dressing
Grilled chicken breast
Broccoli rape
String beans

Thankfully my mom cooks, for the most part, healthy. This is my largest meal of the day since all of my other meals are small and are eaten every 2-3 hours. Eating a meal like this, even though it may have a few different parts, is still very healthy. Try a meal like this for yourself!

Why I do this blog

2011-06-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

I do this blog because I've searched the internet heavily and found that there are a lot of gimmicks to "get you more muscle" or to "burn your fat quickly." Truth is, doing both of these is hard work. I've learned it and over time found that the only really way to gain muscle is to lift correctly while eating an adequate amount of protein and get some cardio in. Sticking to a manageable plan will help you shed pounds and keep them off. Don't follow gimmicks! They may work temporarily but will fail in the long run. Doing some hard work with exercise AND nutrition will get you to look great and feel great!

I am an example of what I write. Months ago I was at 170 pounds. Finding out what I know now has brought me to be 157 pounds while retaining all of the strength I had when I was 170. This means I'm losing fat! :]

My after-workout meal

2011-06-22T15:56:00.000-07:00

Note how I said meal. This is more of a meal-substitute, as stated in earlier posts, but my meal was a protein shake made up of whey protein powder and skim milk. The milk made it a little more filling that just having it with water. However, I did have a glass of water to keep rehydrate myself while also keeping myself full. Here's the protein powder I use:

I use this protein specifically because it has no saturated fat, 30 grams or protein in one scoop, and it's only 140 calories. Plus, it tastes and mixes really well with milk or water!

My workout for today 6/22/11

2011-06-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today was a weight training day along with a plyometric workout. I've just recently started doing the workout regimen found here to get myself in shape for the upcoming fall rugby season. The weight training is as follows:

1. Military Presses-- From a sitting position pushing weight directly over your head.
2. Deltoid Lifts-- From a sitting position lifting weight outward and to the side.
3. Biceps Curls-- From a sitting position lifting weight by bending your arms.
4. Triceps Extensions-- From a sitting position lifting weight by extending your arms.
5. Pull Downs-- From a sitting position pulling weight downward and behind your neck.
6. Butterflies-- From lying on your back with your arms either fully extended or bent at the elbow lifting weight from your sides without bending your arms (i.e.-not using you biceps to lift the weight).
7. Leg Curls-- Like Biceps Curls except using your legs while lying on your stomach.
8. Leg Extensions-- Like Triceps Extensions except using your legs while sitting.
9. Anything Else that Suits Your Fancy-- Hand and wrist strengthening exercises, neck work for front row players, situps, stomach crunches, or whatever.

Each of these is done once and only once. No need to repeat sets or anything. Just go through the rotation once and you're done. Each exercise is done for 8-12 reps. If you do less than 8 continue on with the next exercise and remember to use less weight next time. If you do more than 12, continue on and remember to use less weight next time.

Next up is plyometrics. To complete the workout you have to reach 200 foot contacts and no more. To me, this just means 200 repetitions of any plyometric exercise you do. Here is a link to various different plyometric exercises. All of the ones I use are contained on that page.

Pictures from http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometricexercises.html

All together this workout took me about an hour but I am sure to feel some hurting tomorrow from it. Heck, I feel some now.

What I Had for my second meal of the day

2011-06-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

How about this, actually very tasty and packed with protein. Took some Tilapia leftovers (that were already cooked) and baked them in a toaster oven on 350 degrees for about 7 minutes. Popped about a little more than half a cup of Quinoa in the microwave for 30 seconds and plated that with my Tilapia for a, small, protein-protein packed meal. The secret to making this extra tasty is to squirt some lemon juice onto the Tilapia for a burst of citrus flavor. After the meal included another glass of water and a bowl of grapes. So good. Try this meal for yourself, it hits all the flavors that your tongue could ask for.


Lemon is all you need! (averagejoecooking.com)

What I Had for Breakfast

2011-06-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

To day was a simple, yet still healthy breakfast! Here's what it was:

Post Shredded Wheat Cereal

http://cerealfacts.org/media/cereal_images/PostShreddedWheatOriginalImage.jpg

SKIM Milk
Handful of Raisins
Water

That's it! But what?! Why? How? Well...Milk for protein, Shredded wheat for fiber with no sugar, raisins for some fruit, and water to hydrate myself! It all actually makes sense. I had 2 of those huge shredded wheat biscuits with a big bowl of milk, and also had a glass of milk on the side. After I finished the bowl and the glass, got a handful of raisins and drank a big glass of water with it. Simple, yet yummy!

But I hate boring cereal, can't I eat something else?
No! This is some of the healthiest cereal out there that you can eat. The only ingredient is shredded wheat. As long as you eat it with milk your fine, the lactose will sweeten the cereal up just enough.

What I ate for breakfast today

2011-06-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Egg Whites are an amazing source of protein with no fat at all and very low in calories (around 3-4g of protein per white). Only problem with them is that they are lacking in the taste department. However, mixing them with salsa (nature's miracle condiment) and you've got a taste, protein-packed breakfast that you can make in less than 10 minutes. Here's how to make this:

Heat a pan to medium and pour out however much salsa you'd like to mix in with the eggs. More salsa equals more flavor and veggies!
Crack 5 eggs and separate the yolk from the white. We don't want the yolk because of the fat in it. If you can't figure out how to do this here's a video how. If you're still having trouble, just go to the store and buy a carton of egg whites. They are just as good and WAY simpler.
Once the salsa is dried out from heating it, move the pan off of the heat and heat up another pan to medium (or put it on the same one if you'd like. Once heated, pour in your egg whites.
Scramble the eggs like you would normally for scrambled eggs but stop when they're almost done!
Pour in your dried salsa into the pan and finish scrambling the egg whites while incorporating the salsa in them.
Viola! Plate it and you're done!

Once you're finished you'll have something like this:

Beans added for some extra protein and what could be better than water?!

Great, Yummy, and Healthy Protein-Packed Snack

2011-06-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

So many adjectives to describe one simple snack, but it's true once you hear it! If you eat this in one of your meals for the day (because you should be having 5 to 6 small ones), you'll be satisfied, and have gotten the protein to help your body regrow from a hard days workout. Are you ready? There's only two ingredients...

Ingredient 1: Greek Yogurt. Oh my word! Greek Yogurt! Shocker! Well, kind of. I'm not sure if people know just how good Greek Yogurt is for you. Here's the label from the Greek Yogurt I have here, Fage's 0% Greek Yogurt:

Now why am I so crazy about this?! This is basically like eating protein powder, 23g of protein in a 1 cup serving. Furthermore, you aren't sacrificing calories, in a 1 cup serving, there are only 130 calories and to add on to that, 0 fat! Trust me, with a cup of this and maybe some water or a fruit you'll be full! Do you see why I am so excited about it? Skip the old plain vanilla yogurt and go with this. However, those of us who know how bad plain Greek yogurt can taste know that it needs a little something extra. But wait, I don't want to add calories! Well, okay then, we won't...or not many of them at all. Let's move on to the second ingredient, Sugar Free Preserves!:

Above is a picture of the brand I have here, a simple Wal-mart brand, strawberry sugar-free preserve. It was kind of hard to get everything in the picture since the jar is so small and rounded, but look at what you can see! First off, 10 calories per tablespoon, can you say semi-liquid gold? The label itself says 80% less calories than normal preserves, what progress they've made! Now for all the Splenda haters out there, I don't care about what sweetens my stuff as long as it tastes better. You'd have to eat a whole box of Splenda packets before anything happens to you. That being said, the small 10 calories are basically coming from the minimal amount of carbs, 5g per serving. Honestly, you don't need very much of this stuff to make your Greek yogurt taste better. If you add 2 tablespoons of the stuff you'll already be making your yogurt nice and pink. Personally I've never measured how much of the preserves that I've put on but at most I'd say 3 tablespoons, a minimal 30 calories.

So, if you total up 1 big cup of Greek yogurt that has 23g of protein and 130 calories added to about 3 tablespoons of sugar-free preserves of any fruit that you can find, you have a snack that is only 160 calories, tastes good, is full of protein, and has 0 fat. Personally, I find this so great that a meal like this can exist. Add on some plain shredded wheat, a piece of fruit (even though you've already got fruit preserves) and some water, and you've got a fine meal that could fit in any part of the day.

Don't go and buy the Greek yogurt with the fruit that comes with it on the side or on the bottom. Buy a nice big jug of it since it does not spoil quickly and buy some preserves of your own. Add in what you need and enjoy!

Take care,

Jaime

Protein Powder

2011-06-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Protein powders are something that a weight lifter always has at their disposal, but why? Well first off, simply, protein is the nutrient found in food that helps to rebuild muscles and make them stronger. Protein is found in meats, beans, milk, and even oatmeal. So what makes protein powder so special? It's a great ingredient to have at your disposal because: 1. It's a meal simply made of of mot much else than protein, and 2. It's simple and doesn't require any cooking.

I have tried a few different protein powders, all coming from whey. Whey is just a byproduct from making cheese, which comes from cows. I don't have any experience with egg protein powders or anything else besides whey. For me, whey works just fine. Now, if you'll notice. I said in #1, "It's a meal..." I said this on purpose. Using protein powder is a meal substitute. You put the powder in milk or water and drink it to get a quick blast of protein to your system after a workout. This is the equivalent of eating a piece of grilled chicken or a bowl of beans. The difference is that is just quicker and easier to make. If you really wanted to, you could grill up a piece of chicken right after your workout, or open up a can of bean and eat that, it's no difference from what using whey protein can do for you. Whey protein powder is not a magic muscle builder, you won't gain any more muscle from drinking it than you would if eating any other food item that is packed with protein. About an hour before your workout, or right after your workout, scoop some protein powder into a glass of milk or water and drink and start your muscle regeneration process. Every other meal of the day should be a protein packed meal (based on your weight) with some type of meat and/or vegetable and a fruit.

Healthy N' Fit 100% Whey Amino

Now that we know a little more about protein powder. What kind should you use? Well, that's really up to you. For myself, I have been using Healthy N' Fit's 100% Whey Pro-Amino. I got the reference from a client of my mother's and have never used anything since? Why is this? Do they pay me? Heck no, I'm just a kid. It's because it's good! In a serving size it says that there is 45g of protein. However, this is kind of deceiving because a serving size is 1 1/2 scoops. One scoop is 30g of protein, which is PLENTY for most people. Furthermore, it has 0 grams of saturated fat and less than 2 grams of fat in just one scoop. To make it even better, it has only 2g of carbohydrates and 140 calories in just one scoop. All of this in a protein powder? Can it be true? Yes! I challenge you to go into your own stash of protein and look at its nutrition facts.

Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Protein

For comparison, I will use Optimum Nutrition's 100% Whey Gold Standard. For one "rounded scoop" there is 120 calories, .5g of Saturated fat (bad fat), 3g of carbohydrates, and finally and in my opinion most importantly, 24g of protein. First, I don't want any saturated fat in my protein powder, I just want protein. Secondly, ON's protein powder only has 24g of protein in their scoop. Now depending on your protein needs you may or may not need more, but I'd rather have more in a scoop. Of course you could get by just fine using ON's protein powder with a cup of milk added, that would be just fine. Now as for cost, they're right about the same. You could find ON's protein in any GNC store. However, I have found that it is harder to find Healthy N' Fit's protein in a store, so I just buy it online. Prices for things online change constantly but as I look for it right now, a cost for a 5lb jug of each is about the same. Google each for yourself. DON'T spend $15 for a pound of Jillian Michael's protein that you find in the supermarket. It's nowhere near worth the $15 and is no different than the two proteins I just listed. Around $40 for 5lbs of protein or $15 for less than a pound of protein with some celebrity trainer's name associated with it. It's not worth it!

Jillian Michael's Whey Protein

Don't be cheated when buying protein, buy healthy and buy cheap.

Take Care,
Jaime

How to lift weights correctly!

2011-05-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

     Have you ever looked at the directions for a machine at the gym? The ones that I've all read always include something along the line of "lift the wight slowly" and "lower slowly." This is such an important piece of information. One of the secrets to getting a good workout is to lift weights slowly! Controlling the movements of the exercise and doing them slowly allows your muscles to be under stress longer. This stress is what allows your muscles to break down and then regrow bigger. Unfortunately, many uninformed people do not follow this slow method and they do not get the workout they could be getting.

     Using myself as an example. I did a lat (back) workout today. I started doing dumbbell rows for 8 controlled reps using a 35lb dumbbell. I usually use 50 lb dumbbells but this week I am doing higher reps with lower weight. During the reps I lifted and lowered the weights slowly, allowing for my muscles to be strained and weaken to fail over the 8 reps. An important part of this exercise is that you do not move your shoulder up and down, use only your biceps and lats to lift the weight. On the two benches next to me, I watched as two other guys did the same exact exercise. However, both were going noticeably faster than me, lifting much more weight, moved their shoulders up and down to help get their weights up, and completely dismissed the negative portion, lowering the wights just as fast as they were lifting them. Granted, one guy was definitely stronger than me, but there are two big things wrong with this. One is that they are risking injury to themselves. I'm definitely not a doctor, but lifting heavy weights and jerking your shoulders hard and fast to lift the weight cannot be safe to your shoulders. Secondly, they're not allowing themselves to get the full workout! They are not allowing time for their muscles to feel the strain of the dumbbells on their lats and biceps. I would be interested to see how much weight these two guys could have actually lifted if they used good slow form, but I am sure it will be less weight than they were using today.

     A good point to remember is that lifting the weights is just one half of the workout. In a dumbbell row, lifting the weight up is half of the strain that your muscles will face. The other half is the lowering (negative) portion. Doing your exercises slowly up AND slowly down will ensure that your are getting an optimal workout without putting yourself in unnecessary danger of injury.

Here is a picture I found on Google's image search. It reads "lower slowly and repeat." If you look at the directions for other machines in the gym, you will see that they say the same in some way or another. Lift and lower slowly for great muscle building results! (credit: http://dumbbell-sets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/One-Arm-Dumbbell-Row.jpg)

Take Care,
Jaime

Using One Leg for Leg Extension and Leg Curl Machines

2011-05-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

Both leg extensions machines and leg curl machines are great ways to gain muscle in your legs without risking injury to yourself with squats. The leg extensions work your quads (the front of your legs) while the leg curls work out your hamstrings (the back of your legs). However, most leg extension and leg curl machines that I've seen do not allow you lift the weights separately with each leg. It is usually one long pad or padded bar. It is very possible that while using two legs, you may be extending or curling with more power in one leg than in the other.

For example, this Sunday I did my leg workout. When it came time to use the leg extension machine, I started by doing 8 repetitions with my right leg, keeping my left leg straight down and not extending. After I was done with my 8 reps on my right leg, I started doing 8 reps with my left while letting my right leg hang and rest. I did this for 4 sets. I then followed the same formula for the leg curls. Doing this during your leg workout will ensure that both legs keep equal strengths and one will not become bigger or stronger than the other.

Here we can see that this woman is only using one leg to perform the leg extension exercise on the leg extension machine. This is the action that I have described in this post and the method I have found to keep my legs symmetrical and strong. (credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj755v-mSbp15-aeG5aAmUTMykVs-hFVrsmpSQeMZRMuF0JMJJAP8klo33RF6Xc6Je5fFu_TfgYRmsAStTDpsUpd74vGFo3sC5CfNVzXQDDfOUK3m8BdrkT9OYGRy-Wg2cUMSVKFhyrjhE/s1600/168.jpg)

Take Care,
Jaime