Quick hitting tips.....

• Eat a pear for fiber-5 to 6 grams per large pear

• If you want to gain muscle mass-Eat 50% more calories on one of your off days from working out. Eat everything and anything just stay away from trans fats and sugars. To figure out how many calories you would need simply multiple your body weight by 16 then multiply that by 1.5.

• Change up your workout volume -If you always do low volume ( meaning not many sets and reps ) then switch your workouts to high volume ( numerous sets and reps ) to get new results!

• Focus more on your backside! Most people are strong and developed in their chest, shoulders and quads but are super weak and underdeveloped in their back, hamstrings and glutes. Put more emphasis on the backside of your body and improve your posture, back health and your look!

• If your body fat is not dropping it is most likely due to - 1) You don't workout hard enough 2) You eat too much/or not at the right time 3) Your not consistent

• If you didn't give up anything for Lent- Give up making excuses!

Tip of the day

Try to start your workout with an exercise you would not normally do first. For instance, if you always do flat bench press followed by incline press, try doing incline first for the next couple of weeks. If you do squats first and deadlifts second, try doing the hamstring dominant deadlift first for the next couple of weeks. People tend to fall into a routine or habit of always doing certain exercises first in their workout. Eventually your body just gets used to this and your results slow. By messing up the order of the exercises you will shock your system into better results! You will also improve your strength on the new exercise you start with since you no longer will be fatigued by having to do it second. Go Dominate-

6 things people do wrong in the gym

1. Doing endless amounts of steady state cardio for fat loss-Dont waste your time doing 45 min of mindless cardio on the eliptical day after day. Interval training is more bang for your buck!

2. Not doing enough resistance training-We all see that guy or girl who spends 90% of their workout doing cardio and then does 10 minutes of weight training to end their routine. If you want to change your body then lift!

3. Giving up on their program- Too often people quite their program within a couple of weeks because they dont see magical results. If it was that easy and took that little of time everyone would be a fitness model. Stay the course and have belief in the program your on!

4. Take too much time to workout- Everyone has a limited supply of time, we are all super busy these days and therefore need to make the most of our time. Keep your workouts short and simple.......under 45min is plenty. Hit it hard and dont waste your prescious gym time. If you get in and get out then you have more time for everything else.

5. No variation- When people get bored and their workout no longer is fun they burnout which equals failure. If your workout doesnt get you motivated or excited to do it then it is time for a CHANGE! Dont fall into doing what is comfortable....do what you need to!

6. People dont overload themselves-Simple basics when you talk about working out is the overload principle. Basically if you want change you must force your body into going beyond what you normally do. If you are pressing for 10 reps with a weight you can do for 15 then you are not overloading yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and results will come!

BHM- Between Holiday Mindset

For those of you rocking through your workouts and in your best shape yet then ignore this post but for everyone else who needs that spark...LISTEN UP!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and odds are as you look at yourself in the mirror you notice a couple extra pounds on that body of yours and realize your not liking it. Thanksgiving is not the easiest of holidays on the body......carbs and more carbs and deserts galore get stuffed into your face like a vacuum. The good news is you now have some time to prep yourself before the next set of holidays near. You have exactly four weeks until Christmas to ramp up your routine and eating plan to get yourself in the best holiday shape yet. Use this time constrain as your motivation and to help you keep focused. Remind yourself to go hardcore for 4 weeks and you can reap the rewards! The eventual goal is that once you get rolling for 4 weeks that it will be a whole hell of alot easier to start the New Years Resolutions than if you were starting from scratch.....think less pain and time.

Lets first focus on your eating for the next four weeks. The holidays are a time of special treats, cookies, pies and breads.........so make it special and don't eat them until Christmas or Christmas Eve days! For the time being focus on limiting carbs to the mornings and post workout only. Lean proteins are a must at every meal. If you can think of doing one thing during the next four weeks I would say try to make a small change each day and that is it! Don't try and change everything and do an overhaul just think of ONE SMALL CHANGE......you would be amazed what a difference that would make.

Now lets change the focus to the workouts. First, I want you to drop whatever program you are on and toss it! You heard me! Stop another day of whatever you were doing! I don't care how amazing it is or even if you have made insane gains with it......STOP IT! It was once said " that the best workout for you is the one you are not one." Now that you have done this go ahead and grab a scrap book or piece of paper. I want you to list exercises you don't like to do or ones you have not do in a long time. When your done, look at everything you have down on that paper and there you go.... before you is everything that will be included in your workout for the next 4 weeks. Below is an example:

If you wrote down the following-

THINGS I NEVER DO

Legs....like squats and deadlifts

• Triceps


• Anything cardio


• Circuits


• Pullups, inverted row

NEW WORKOUT

• All circuits


• Involve leg work 2-3x week


• Start doing assisted pullups and inverted rows


• Add interval training to your routines.......read my post from a couple of days ago

I want you to seriously give this a try and let me know your results. Go Dominate.

Muscle building foods

1) Milk- Is a old school bodybuilding staple. You get a nice amount of calories and a great blend of both whey and casein proteins. Milk also contains calcium ( duh ) magnesium, potassium, Vitamin A and D. Whole milk provides the most calories although a higher fat content.

2) Potatoes-Both dense and filling. Filled with Vitamin C, B6, iron and potassium and some other nutrients.

3) Wild rice-1 cup of cooked wild rice has 3 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein!

4) Whole chicken- Cheap and can be kept for great leftovers!

5) Turkey-Good in many ways and contains selenium ( helps fight cancer ) and numerous nutrients and is high in protein.

6) Whole eggs- Get the benefit of the yolk!

Interval Training-Mike Boyle article

Mike Boyle is a very very very smart individual...did I mention he is a very smart man in the world of strength and conditioning. The article below is authored by him and covers the subject of interval training. Read and enjoy!

http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1766.cfm?sd=51

Getting your goals- The HARD is what makes it great!!

Watch this clip and pay attention to the last 20 seconds or so and listen to Tom Hanks words of wisdom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndL7y0MIRE4&feature=player_embedded

I hear too often that working out is HARD. I want to get toned and lose weight but it is just sooo soo HARD....I mean I really want to but why does it have to be so HARD. Yes, working is HARD and yes it wont be easy but that's what makes it great! If it wasn't hard to drop weight, gain muscle, get stronger than everyone walking this earth would be. The fact is it will be HARD but that at the end of the day that's what makes it worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears! At the end of your journey you can look yourself in the mirror and say yeah it was damn HARD.....but I did it and it was freaking great! Make it happen!

Staying motivated!

1.Get re-motivated everyday- Most of the time motivation doesn't last, it comes and goes and sometimes totally disappears. Motivation must be renewed every day if you want long term success! Get up and get yourself READY!

2. Have a vision or plan- The root word of motivation is " motiv." The definition of motive is " A reason to act." This is your vision. Your vision of what you want and what you want to get out of your workouts should be big enough to motivate you to act on!

3. Act on passion- So much of motivation comes from emotion. Use whatever emotions you need to draw from to get yourself motivated. It might be seeing someone close to you have health issues hence driving you to start to exercise or maybe being overweight all your life finally emotional drives you to become the " fit" guy.

4. Get results- If you work hard and get results it makes things waaay waaay easier to stay focused and motivated. When you start having success at anything you will be encouraged to keep going no matter how hard the goal is.

5. Ride the momentum- You will always get to that point when you are hitting on all strides....you will be getting great workouts, eating amazing, and taking care of your body like never before. When this happens dont let up! Use the momentum and keep riding the wave!

Top 5 reasons resistance training is beneficial

Resistance training should be a staple in everybodys workout routine no matter what your goals are. Resistance training offers the following benefits to the body:

1. Builds bone density ( this important especially in females as they age )

2. Enhances endocrine and immune function

3. Maintains and improves muscle mass

4. Maintains and improves power and strength

5. Boosts your metabolism and helps you burn calories at rest!

Reviewing protein supplements

Many of you have asked for me to blog about supplements and specifically protein supplements. So since I listen to the masses here you go! I used both my own thoughts and trials with products as well as other trainers I know thoughts and reviews when putting this together.

BIOPLEX WHEYPLEX

• Terrible taste


• Terrible mixing protein


• Very $$


• No reason to buy this

NEXT DESIGNER WHEY

• Solid choice but nothing great


• Added supplements are nice
  
  

ISS RESEARCH COMPLETE WHEY POWER

• Tastes very well


• Mixes very well


• High quality


• Good flavors


• Little $$

OPTIMUM 100% WHEY PROTEIN

• Decent product


• Don't buy Cookies n cream!


• Low price


• One of most popular

GNC BRAND 100% WHEY PROTEIN

• My personal favorite because of solid price and flavor ( chocolate)


• Not loaded with extra garbage

CYTOSPORT MUSCLE MILK

• Personally not a fan


• Some like the taste, but not me


• Too many ingredients you cant pronounce


• Good nutritional value


• Sometimes doesn't shake and mix well

MET-Rx MEAL REPLACEMENT PROTEIN SHAKE

• Taste is middle of the road, often is pasty


• Newest version has cut down on the fat content


• Full of vitamins

NATURES BEST ZERO CARB ISO PURE WHEY PROTEIN

• For those looking for low carb option


• Artificially sweetened............I am not a fan of this, but most low carb options are


• Lots of vitamins and glutamine


• Mixes well

Shape-Ups- The real truth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71cvCXp8_Tk


" Now you can get into shape without setting foot into a gym"-Sketchers Shape-Ups video

Ok ladies enough with thinking Shape-Ups will make your legs sexy and toned! If shoes can make your legs look damn good then everyone would have great legs. The only reason Shape-Ups might make your legs look better is because your average person starts moving and walking more once they buy them. I mean sure if you go from couch potato to moving on a daily basis then yes of course your legs will look better. However what will really shape your legs is lunges, squats, deadlifts, sprints and all things cardio......not just some flashy shoe.



There has been two recent studies from the American Council of Exercise that concluded there is "simply no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone." Sure Sketchers claims their product does work and they give numerous testimonials on how satisfied people are with them but don't be fooled. Most of the time these companies do horrible studies and end up with garbage that they try and make seem like real evidence to you.



Overall Shape-Ups to me do nothing for you. They claim to help your posture when in fact they seem to put you into worse posture. They claim they will reduce cellulite which is just hilarious, sorry your not losing cellulite because your sporting these shoes! If you really love how the shoes look and they get you moving and active then good for you, but do not expect true results or miracles from these things.

CONSISTENCY- You must have it!

Are you stuck in a rut that you cant get out of? Are you seeing limited results in your workout program? Are you not hitting your goals like you thought you could? If the answer to these questions is yes than you are most likely lacking consistency in your program. In my mind consistency is the key to getting results.

First, lets take a look at your workouts. Are you consistently going to the gym day in and day out or do you go for three days and then miss the next two? You will never get what you want if you follow that type of pattern. That's great if Monday you just kill it in your workout and dominate it like no other, but if Tuesday through Thursday you don't get back into the gym then I don't care about your monster Monday workout.......you wont get results! Be consistent in the gym and you will get consistent results...period! No matter what your goals you must be consistent to gain the strength, strip the fat, or gain the muscle.

Second, lets look at your eating habits. How many days would you say you actually eat stellar in a week? If the answer is only a few than you aren't consistent. Your eating should go hand in hand with your workouts. If you eat super clean for two days you better not be spending the next day at the buffet and Dairy Queen. Eat consistent throughout the whole week and the results will follow.

Take away message- Take the idea of consistency and use it in play everyday. If you want to be like everyone else and not get results than that's fine.......but if you do want to get ahead of the game and take your body where you want to go than be CONSISTENT! It starts today! Get excited that you had a great day both eating and in the gym but remember that is day one of seven....don't slide, but stay the course!

Go Dominate people............

Old school training philosophies

If you look back at some of the old school training tips from back in the 1920's you will see that most of the same things can be held true today. Here are some things the famous Charles Atlas said back in the day:

1. Set a concrete goal-Figure out your end goal and work backwards from it.

2. Never miss a single training session- Remember the whole consistency thing...this is what he was talking about! Always remind yourself why you are working out and stay on track.

3. Treat your body like its a new car- You would not junk up and dirty a new car would you? The answer is no, and you should feel the same way about your body. Take care of yourself by eating good and getting your rest and results will follow.

4. Totally concentrate on the task at hand- There will always be tons of noise and chatter at the gym, so make sure you focus on you and your responsibility to get the best workout in you can. Also, don't worry about what you will be doing later in the workout or even later than day, simply focus on what is right in front of you.

5. Keep stress to a minimum ( or none if possible )- It has been show that stress and anxiety can inhibit muscle growth. The best stress reliever is exercise so make it happen!

6. Drink your water- duh...obvious of course but rarely ever followed well enough.

Extended faitgue sets

This is a great training technique to use in your workouts that is similar to drop sets. The difference in this method is that you will be changing grips or foot position to accommodate the fatigue.

Example:

EZ bar bicep curl

• First set use a palms up grip and do 5-6 reps. When you start to fail switch to a palms down grip, wait 10 seconds and do more reps to failure. Once you failed again now grab a pair of dumbbells and perform more reps until failure with a hammer grip ( palms face each other)

Here are some more examples of exercises and how to change the grip following the same procedure as above.

Dumbbell row

1. Palms down grip

2. hammer grip ( neutral, or palms facing your body )

3. Palms up grip

Dumbbell chest press

1. Palms down grip/overhand ( traditional grip for pressing )

2. Palms down grip/overhand but with the hands all the way to the right side of the dumbbell

3. Neutral grip ( palms face each other )

Pass the Kiwi

Who knew one fruit was such a stud but yet got none of the press like apples, oranges and bananas do. Kiwi has twice the vitamin C of an orange, more potassium than a banana, and more fiber than an apple! There was research done at Rutgers University to see out of 27 fruits which had the most " bang for you buck" in terms of nutritional value and the winner was kiwi. Kiwi tastes great so why not eat it more often.

TRY

One thing I tend to hear a ton from people is the word TRY. "I am going to TRY and make it to the gym".............." I will TRY and eat better".........................."I am going to TRY and reach my goals" are some of the most used. Don't TRY and do anything......do it!!!! To me TRY stands for

T alking about

R eaching

Y our goals

or

T hinking about

R eaching

Y our goals

I want action from you! Don't Try and eat better.....do it! TRY is what people say to make it seem like they are going to put max effort into doing something but without the obligation of saying " I am" or " I will ". Trying is like putting 50% of your effort into accomplishing a goal. Next time don't TRY and workout......... but simply workout! YOU will eat better, YOU will workout harder and YOU will get your sleep. Its about making things happen and taking action to reach what you want. Go dominate.

From anger to iron

Everyone is going to have one of those "bad" days..........but don't let that drag your workout down too. The best thing to do when your pissed off or upset is to workout. Channel your anger and all of that energy you have into your workout and you would be amazed how great of a workout you will have and how good you will feel afterwards! I sometimes feel you almost need to have a little bit of an edge to get a great workout. So quit stressing and hit the gym!

Observations from the gym- Common errors

If you were to roll into any gym across the nation you would surely find people doing all sorts of things wrong. The other day I took a second to observe the gym I work at and this is some of the common errors I found.

ERROR #1- Doing external rotation work ( rotator cuff ) before bench pressing

Why: Working your rotator cuff muscles is very important but just not right before you bench. You will weaken your rotator cuff and therefore lose stability in your shoulder joint when you bench which is not good. Save the external rotation work for back days.

ERROR #2- Rolling the shoulders when doing shrugs

Why: This is a very common theme you see everywhere. When you roll the shoulders you put extra stress onto the shoulder and can increase your risk of injury. Focus on bringing your traps or shoulders straight up and " touch your ears " as they say.

ERROR #3- Excessive lean forward when rowing

Why: You usually see this when someone has too much weight on the seated row with the cable machine. Generally the individual will lean forward and build some momentum and then jerk the weight back extending their low back. This will cause stress on the low back and lead to back issues. Focus on keeping your back straight like your up against a wall and then pull by engaging the mid back and lats.

Gaining muscle- Techniques to get it done!

Damaging muscles are the key to building them. To build new muscle you must stress the existing muscle in a new way. When muscles are stressed then become damaged and then must be rebuilt. With adequate diet and rest your body will rebuild the muscle with an increase in size!

Try some of these techniques to shock your muscles into new growth:

1) Super-sets- Nothing has been around longer than this! You can really up the intensity on the muscle with this technique. Some examples include:

• Lat pulldown/Row


• Bench press/Fly


• Deadlift/Lunge


• Close grip press/ Dips

2) Negatives- If you like submitting yourself to pain than please try these! Negatives focus on the eccentric phase of the lift which has been shown to cause more damage to the muscle and lead to more growth. This is tough...and is best to do with a partner. You can do negatives two different ways. One way is to have a spotter help you with the weight on the way up and the other way is to lift the weight yourself. I like to do the negative and then have my spotter help lift the weight up. You can use more weight on negatives but just limit the negative to under 10 seconds.....any more you should increase the weight because it is too light.

3) Off set rep scheme- This is a personal favorite that I have come up with and use often myself. First pick two exercises for one muscle group. Then what you will do is do heavier weight on one exericse for low reps and then medium to lighter weight on the other exercise for higher reps. For example:

Standing barbell bicep curls- 6 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Seated dumbbell hammer curls-12 reps

Gym Etiquette 101- Pay attention!

I have been noticing some people at the gym lately who just don't have a clue when it comes to proper gym etiquette, so I decided to blog about it!

#1) Music- lift away to your music I dont care, just dont have it so loud that the whole gym has to hear it as well.

#2) Sweat- You will sweat when you workout but please have the courtesy to wipe off your equipment when your done. There is nothing worse than getting ready to lie down on a bench and see a big puddle of sweat.....horrible!

#3) Clothing-Dont be the one wearing flip flops....you will just look lost and dumb. No jeans, no dress shoes, and definetly no shortie shorts guys unless our a female.

#4) Phones- If you are really waiting for an important call or text then keep your phone on the side but dont sit on equipment and blab away........focus on your workout and not your phone!

#5) Awareness- Pay attention to your surroundings in the gym! Dont walk in front of people trying to watch their form in the mirror, dont bump into anyone, just keep your head up and watch where you are walking. If I am trying to do walking lunges dont stand right in front of me like you dont care either. People need space!

#6) Equipment stealers- If someone is on something always ask if you can jump in first, dont just move someones dumbbells or towel and make yourself at home without checking who is using it.

#7) Spotting- It is ok to ask for a spot but just make sure you return the favor if needed

#8) Talkers- Dont talk to someone trying to workout........wait to they are done with their set. Most people like to focus and take their workouts seriously..... and in no way is your annoying chatter going to help the cause.