Superfood- Quinoa

Quinoa is a grain-like crop that packs a major nutritional punch. Quinoa has a high protein content and is high in fiber, magnesium, iron and phosphorous. Quinoa is gluten-free and easy to digest. You can use quinoa as an alternative to rice or couscous. The most common way to cook quinoa is boiling it much like with rice. Quinoa can be served as a great snack or even breakfast. Simply combining it with almonds, honey and mixed berries will give you a great mini meal.

Ultimate lat routine

If you want to widen that "V" look and build up those lats then give this one a try. Although, I am normally against doing too many exercises for one muscle group in a workout I am willing to look the other for this routine. Every exercise in this routine is geared to target those lats. Remember when doing lat work, don't grip the weight or bar too hard and get a mindset of having light arms and feel your back doing the work. For those of you who generally do lat work and by the end have screaming forearms then you are simply putting to much pressure on your grip when performing the exercises. Think of your grip as if you were holding an egg. You want a strong enough grip to keep the egg from dropping but not too hard to the point of cracking the egg in your hand.

Everything is single sets unless noted

Wide grip lat pulldown- 10 reps

rest 1 minute between sets, do 5 total sets

Standing straight bar pulldown- 8 reps ( stand in front of a cable pulley machine and attach a straight bar. Keeping your arms extended and straight the whole movement, simply move the bar towards your thighs while keeping an upright posture)

DROP THE WEIGHT BY 10 LBS- This time continue but only do the bottom half of the movement- 1@Failure

rest 90 seconds between sets, do 4 total sets

One arm row with dumbbell- 6-8 reps

* try and use heavy weight but keep good form

rest 1 minute between sets, do 4 total sets

Straight bar row with lean- 8-10 reps

( set up is like a regular row keeping your palms down, however lean forward the entire set but still keep your back flat the entire time, no rocking backward keep the forward lean. Also make sure you feet are low on the foot pads)

rest 1 minute between sets, do 4 total sets

E.O.M- Reverse fly with dumbbell

The exercise of the month for June is the reverse fly. This exercise should be a part of every ones back routine. Your main focus on this exercise is the rear delts. You can set yourself in many different positions.

A) Lie on a elevated bench face down

B) Take a incline bench and stand behind it. Rest your head on the top of the bench trying to let your weight onto the bench. make sure to keep your back straight. This is will look like the classic position of a bent over row.

Execution: Use lighter weights and hold your arms straight out to the sides. With palms facing down, raise your arms until your elbows are parallel to the ground.

Tricep trio to shock the system

If you are finding yourself doing nothing but straight sets or super sets or just simply the same exercise all the time then try this unconventional hypertrophy tricep routine. I like to use this routine every now and then when I need something different for my triceps.

Dips- As many as you can

SUPER SET

Diamond pushups ( take your thumbs and pointer fingers and shape a diamond, center it with the middle of your chest and perform pushups )- 8 reps

SUPER SET

Reverse tricep pushdowns ( pushdowns but with a palms up grip )- As many as you can

Repeat this without resting 2-3 more times.

***The weight for the reverse pushdown should be your 12-15 rep max

"Super Legs" complex

This routine comes from Vern Gambetta a great strength coach. He is the one who named this complex "Super Legs " and later JC Santana made this popular under the name " Leg Cranks".

Start of by doing the rep range on the far left and then make your goal the highest number on right. Meaning start with 20 reps for the squats........and your goal should be 24. If you can do 3 rounds of 24/24/24/12 then you kick ass!

20-24 reps bodyweight squats ( go fast ! )

SUPER SET

20-24 reps alternating lunges or reverse lunges ( go fast ! )

SUPER SET

20-24 reps alternating split squat jumps

SUPER SET

10-12 reps squat jumps or box jumps ( as high as possible )

Un-even mix up

Next time you do your back workout try and change things up in a unique way. Instead of doing your normal routine and exercises try doing chinups and pullups with an uneven grip. By placing your hands asymmetrically you will stimulate more fibers and create a new stimulus for your body. Try and find a pullup/chinup bar that has multiple handles. You can try the following :

1. Pronated/supinated alternate- Place one hand with your palm facing you and the other hand with your palm facing away from you. The palm away grip will put more tension on your back and the palm facing grip will stress your biceps more.

2. Neutral/pronated- Place one hand facing away from you and the other in a neutral grip. This will stimulate the outer head of the bicep and hit a different angle of the back.

3. Vary grip distance- try and place one hand wide and the other not as wide on the other side of the bar.

*** Just remember in order to keep your body even, make sure you do the same amount of reps on one side as you do the other.

Are you drinking poison?

I'm sure most of you consume protein shakes daily if not multiple times a day just like me. After reading this article on http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm the findings were shocking. You must check this out. Basically they tested some protein shakes and found high levels of 3 main toxins. Muscle Milk and EAS looked to be the worst.