Random thoughts.....

• Favorite new thing is a Bar-rito from Protein Bar ( a chain in Chicago that serves healthy protein based sandwiches, wraps and bowls ) called the Capone. It is easy to make at home so try it! Take a whole wheat tortilla as your wrap, fill it with grilled chicken, spinach, marinara, quinoa, and shredded parmesan. For a better taste finish it off by grilling it or using a panini press.
  

• To get lean you must do different types of workouts. Do heavy strength workouts, high endurance, agility, speed, and power. Now do you have to do each of these, well not really, but the point is to expose your body to numerous styles of training in order to keep stressing the system to make new gains.

• Great quick routine for the biceps-Do 1 heavy rep on one arm rows with a dumbbell then do 1 chinup. Keep repeating this sequence without rest adding 1 chinup to each set. See how high up you can go. I would use a weight you could do 5 times for the row.

• Learn to do deadlifts. Hire a great trainer and learn the right technique. Done right and you have found yourself an exercise that uses tons of different muscles including traps, lats, hams, glutes just to name some. Deadlifts will bring you gains in muscle and strength as well as a great way to jack your metabolism and maximize your time in the gym. Ladies don't worry you wont get big doing them.

• Around the holidays the worst thing to do is not have a action plan. Everyone is going to splurge at some point and some more than others so you need to be ready. Best bet is to kick up your workout sessions for the days prior and eat as clean as possible so that when you do cheat the negative effects are reduced.
  

• Sleep might be the most underrated component of health and fitness. In order for your body to recover and rebuild you must get your sleep. Sometimes a lack of results that you see dont stem from a bad workout routine but are more of a product of bad recovery.