I'm Back!

I had a great 28 days off from resistance training and now am back ready to take on everything I can. Over the past month I still performed cardio, yoga, hiking, stretches and received a couple massages. I wanted to do everything I can to help expedite my recovery.

For my first workout back I began on Saturday with some basics.

092708

Warm-up:
Forward and Reverse Lunges
3 min. Treadmill walking
Pullups

Workout:
5 Min. 2 Handed Swings

Then:
3 Rounds-
5% Incline Treadmill Intervals
1. 1:30 Walking
2. 3:00 Jogging @ 6mph
3. :30 Sprinting @ 12mph

Then:
6 Min. One Arm Jerk Set w/ one hand switch in the middle

Cooldown:
Stretches

This workout left me feeling amazing and very happy to be back at it. Taking the month off was the longest I've ever taken off in about 15 years besides the occasional 7-10 day recovery week every few months.

My second workout was even better and I already feel my conditioning coming back. On top of that my extra stored "lazy fat as we will call it" is even looking like it's quickly leaving. Reason for that is simply my intensity. Other than taking it easy on my weight bearing training my interval training is always balls to the wall. I give it everything I can and bring myself to the point of my body wanting to give up. That is when I know changes will occur. You can't do that all the time with weights no matter if you work with Kettlebells, body weight exercises, free weights, etc. If you do you will very quickly overtrain and get injured. You have to know your own personal limitations and listen to your body. Recovery proceeds growth of any kind so implement that for success.

092908

Warm-up:
50x Lunges
100x Jump ropes
50x MB Slams

Workout: All with 16kg

6 Min. Snatch Set
I kept a little over 15 reps per minute. Again I didn't want to get to crazy that would leave me sore for 2 weeks so I really paced myself.

Then:
4x Quarter Mile Sprints on StepMill
Rest as long as it took to complete the sprint

Then:
5x High Windmill per side
5x TGU per side
5x High Windmill per side

Then:

4x 30s Uphill Sprints on Treadmill
Rest 1 min.

Cool Down:
4 Min. Jog @ 6.0mph on Treadmill
Stretch

I Am Vegetarian!

I never thought I'd say this, but I am a VEGETARIAN!!! ...and loving it.

The only animal sources of food I eat are eggs, fish, and dairy because I gotta have my cheese and yogurt. LOL I have never felt better and more energetic. I will NEVER be a vegan as I think that can be unhealthy, but by not eating meats it has made me much, much more healthy and feeling great. My athletic performance has gone way up as well.

Here is just a little info on vegetarian protein eating as this is a concern for a lot of skeptics.

1. Vegetarian Protein Combinations: http://www.theveggietable.com/articles/protein.html

2. Hummus is a complete protein: http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/hummus.htm

3. Actual human daily protein need: http://nutrition.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=nutrition&cdn=health&tm=3&f=10&tt=12&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14563169/

4. Nuts & Seeds info: http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/i-nuts.html

Complete Health

I realize I always write about bettering your health through nutrition and fitness, but there is yet another piece that I haven't really mentioned as strongly as I should. That is our continuous journey of living a spiritually healthy lifestyle and it is even more important than anything else I have ever wrote about on this blog. I will start sharing thoughts on this as well.

If you don't believe as I do that's okay. The answer is simple- Adapt, Adopt, or Ignore. In any case thank you for visiting and I will begin with an extremely moving video testimony. I hope it MOVES you as well.

"Go Out and Get What You're Worth..."

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place. And I don't care how tough you are. It will beat you to your knees and keep you permanently there if you let it.

You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.

Now if you know what you are worth, go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers, saying you ain't where you want to be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that, and that ain't you. You're better than that."

-Rocky Balboa

Basic Calorie Need Formula

Basic Calorie Need Formula

Most folks either over or under-estimate the amount of calories they take in during the course of the day thus causing them either to gain weight or simply just not lose it. For those who are trying to gain muscle mass the same can be true too.
Here an easy formula for the calculation to determine your daily calorie needs:

Step 1: Calories needed to maintain your current weight. (energy burned doing nothing)
Weight in pounds X 11 = Your basic calorie needs.

Step 2: Calories needed to maintain your current weight with activity.
Basic calorie needs X Calorie cost of activity level % (from chart below) = Your metabolic rate

Chart - CALORIE COST OF ACTIVITY LEVEL
Mostly sedentary <30 old =" 30%" old =" 25%">40 years old = 20%
Moderately active <30 old =" 40%" old =" 35%">40 years old = 30%
Dedicated exerciser or athlete: <30 years =" 50%" years =" 45%">40 years = 40%

Step 3: Calories needed to maintain weight at your current activity level (without gaining or loosing)
Basic calorie needs + Your metabolic rate = Your maintenance total

Step 4: To gain muscle
Your maintenance total + 500- 1,000 = To gain muscle

Step 5: To lose fat
Your maintenance total - 1,000 = To lose fat

Workout of The Week

Whether you’re in a personal training session, group training class, or practicing on your own each workout should consist of the following:

1. Movement Based Warm-up
2. Skill Practice such as a Kettlebell timed set
3. Supporting exercises such as a faced-paced circuit or high intensity intervals
4. Cool Down and Stretches

Workouts should take no longer than 20-45 min. when it is all said and done. This will ensure you are training as efficiently as possible and not overtraining or lowering your intensity.

Here is the workout of the week:
Remember all my workouts are fitness friendly so if you if you cannot perform as prescribed feel free to substitute or modify as needed.

Warm-up:
50x Forward Walking Lunges
25x Pullups (or 25x no pushup burpees if pullup bar is unavailable)
25x Situps

Workout: perform as quickly as possible
100 Push-ups- (Use Bosu if available.)
100 Jackknifes- (Your body will be face down and feet/shins are on the stability ball and palms flat on the ground with arms locked. Bring your knees into your chest and then back out.)
2 Min. Plank Hold
100 Forward Jump rope Revolutions
100 Backward Jump rope Revolutions
50 Kettlebell Clean and Presses (on each arm)
100 Forward Jump rope Revolutions
100 Backward Jump rope Revolutions

Rest 3-5 Min.

Then:
3 Min. Kettlebells Two Handed Swings

Cool-Down:
Stretches

There you have it- a great workout to practice. Give it a shot and set your own standard!

091808

Today I worked with another one of my trainers, Valarie Carlino. She did a great job. It was a workout completely different than I'm used to with very slow and controlled movements such as 4 second pushups and low lunges. All felt great and today I'm pretty sore in my chest and lats.

It takes a lot to get my legs sore since I'm used to quarter mile straight lunges so the challenge is out there.
She did try with some heavy resistance bike and stepper 2 min. sprints, but in the end the only thing cashed in was my breath. :)

She'll get my biz again. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed myself. I always love mixing things up.

Oh and my month of rest was of course disrupted, but I'm planning on taking this next week real easy. I might do a run or two, but not much. Then come October I'm back baby!

All About Healthy Diet And Nutrition - How To Eat Right

Some of this does not exactly go along with the Warrior Diet or overall what I believe, but for the most part it is a good article.

POSTED By: Low Jeremy

With the fast-paced, technologically driven world people are now living, who would have the slightest idea that the most important rampart of normal living is being neglected?

Undeniably, because of the busy courses of people's lives, people tend to forget some of the vital fragments in maintaining a healthy lifestyle diet and nutrition.

THE CONVERGENCE

The terms "diet" and "nutrition" are defined into two different sentences but are greatly connected. By definition, "diet" refers to the food and liquid intake of a person while "nutrition" pertains to the science of dealing with food and nourishment. When these two are combined, an entirely new meaning can be derived. More than the issues of food and liquid intake and the science of food and nourishment, diet and nutrition can revolve around nutritional information on various dietary supplements and the benefits vitamins and minerals to a person's body.

Making yourself familiar with latest diet and nutrition topics, trends, and tips can lead you to the renewal of your health and well being commitment inside your home. You must remember that it's never too late to redirect your eating habits, but before you take that drastic change, learn what are the common diet and nutrition mistakes so you can avoid them.

1. Careless assumption that the food choices you have are better than they actually are. Experts say that people who are very particular about diet and nutrition have larger tendencies of thinking and believing that their food choices are healthier than they really are. Make sure that you eat whole, fresh, and unprocessed foods whenever possible.

2. Confusion over carbohydrates. Although many people say that low carb diets are effective, experts say that there are excellent carbs that make people eat less. So before you cut down on carbs totally, make sure that you have consulted your dietician if this diet will be good for you.

3. You think you're eating too much when you're not. Experts say that one of the most common mistakes people make is that they overestimate and underestimate the amount of food their body needs. Make sure that you monitor the portion sizes of your food.

4. Not eating enough food or not eating often. Overeating and under eating may put the person at risk because it disrupts disrupting blood sugar and insulin levels. Make sure that you eat something every three hours and don't starve before eating the next meal.

5. Neglecting the value of regular exercise. Making exercise a regular part of your life can definitely contribute to great diet and nutrition.

6. Taking in a lot of dietary supplements. A vitamin or dietary pill is a supplement that is meant to complement a person's diet; therefore it should not be considered as substitutes for the foods you're supposed to be eating. Experts say that one all-purpose multivitamin a day is enough to complement the nutrients you don't get from the foods you don't eat.

7. Following nutrition and weight loss guidelines by the book. Since people are different, it is only natural for them to have individual needs. Although diet and nutrition plans work for the majority of people, not everything can help you improve you overall diet and nutrition.

One of the major reasons why people get overweight or suffer from minor and major health risks is that they don't practice having a healthy diet. Healthy diet which include eating balanced amount of food from all food groups along with exercise or regular physical activity can lessen people's inclination to health problems.

PLANNING ON A HEALTHY DIET

Experts say that though basic principle of healthy diet is simple, most people are having a hard time sticking to it. Major reasons may include a super busy lifestyle, work that causes a lot of stress or even an environment that is not conducive to having a healthy diet.

Although it is hard to start and maintain a healthy diet, nothing is impossible if you really want to achieve a healthy mind and body. For starters, it is advisable to mix up food choices from each food group. Eating a large variety of foods and veggies can also serve as a warm up in avoiding the foods that contribute to drastic weight gain. Having a balanced intake of calcium-rich foods, whole grains, and protein-rich products will also keep you in track.

To be able to maintain eating a healthy diet, you must also know your restrictions of fats, salt and sugars levels, and intakes. Lastly, you must monitor your body weight regularly for you to know if your body is absorbing all the nutrients it needs.

Here are more tips for eating well and achieving a healthy diet:

1. Meals based on starchy foods are a good start to a healthy diet. Experts agree that people should eat more starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta, and potatoes because they are a good source of energy not to mention being the main source of a range of nutrients of a person's diet like fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin B.

2. Load up a lot of fruits and veggies. Eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day is an ideal way to maintain a healthy diet. But, it is sometimes hard to achieve because people do not want to waste time peeling or chopping certain fruits and veggies. The best way to keep up with the recommended fruit and veggies intake if to eat a variety of fruits that are either fresh, frozen, canned or dried and picking out veggies that can be finger delights such as celery, broccoli, carrots, beans and peas.

3. Be more "fishy" Despite of the so-called "high mercury content" of fish, nutrition experts say that eating more fish especially oily fish is an important component of a healthy diet because it is a good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals.

4. Try to cut down on saturated fats and sugars. Do not totally cut down on fats because your body needs it to stay healthy. Basically, fats are categorized into saturated and unsaturated fat. The former has high amount of cholesterol and the latter has lower amounts that lowers blood cholesterol. Cut down only on foods that are high in saturated fat such meat pies, sausages, hard cheese, butter and lard, pastry, cakes and biscuits, cream and the like. Also monitor your sugar intake because aside from causing decay, sugary foods can also be high in calories that contribute to weight gain.

5. Eat less salt. Too much salt can raise your blood pressure.

6. Drink lots and lots of water to keep your body well-hydrated.

Article Source: http://www.depositarticles.com

091608

Today I trained with one of my trainers- Greg Haas. Since I'm only doing cardio and yoga this month I told him to kick my butt in cardio and boy did he.

I gave him free reign over everything and he did a great job. We did some sprints, mountain climbers, kick boxing, situps variations, walk outs on the stability ball, bear crawls, and burpees. It's always a good day for burpees. :)

In the end I felt great and look forward to working with him again.

Live A Lifestyle of Eating Simplicity

---

I am often asked what I eat throughout the day and what I recommend. Let me provide you with a little bit of both.

Fats should not be eaten during the day as they are not really able to be beneficial. It takes about 10-12 hours for the fat to be digested and absorbed fully in your body. A lot of folks drink milk or eat yogurt in the morning and what you are getting energy from is actually the sugars in the milk or yogurt itself. Even if it is plain it still has more sugar than a banana or apple does. Then lunch comes and a little while after that most folks crash and are sluggish throughout the rest of the afternoon. This is due to eating relatively too heavily during the day.

Here is my typical day practicing the Warrior Diet lifestyle:

1. Wake up and immediately drink 8oz of water.
2. 30 min. later: Pineapple and parsely smoothie w/ water in the morning.
3. About 3-4 hours later a banana.
4. 2-3 hours after that another fruit such as apple, orange, peach, or even another banana.
5. Dinner is always a really big salad to start with about 10+ different veggies in it. Dressing is always either homemade or one of two of the Bragg brand dressing as this is the only all organic and health beneficial dressing products out there.
6. A half hour later I eat my protein which is always either fish or eggs. I never eat poultry, red meat, or pork as that is all very unhealthy for different reasons.
7. Then I eat cheeses, nuts, yogurt, and other veggies throughout the rest of the evening till the end of the 4 hours. Sometimes I even have another salad.

I eat 3 days of high fat and then 1 or 2 at most of high carb and low fat.

Last night was "high carb" and I ate all the same as above, but no nuts and instead had pancakes made solely with a grain called Kamut(which considered the "great-grandfather of grains" by the Egyptians) w/ Blue Agave syrup.

I never eat wheat except in Ezekial brand products such as their bread, English muffins, pasta, and wraps.

Most days are very close to the same patterns.

Throughout the entire day I always drink 1.5-2 gallons of water. When I go to restaurants I sometimes have tea.
I do not drink any other liquid as most either have sugars in them, caffeine or such as coffee has substances which are quite unhealthy overall. Just because other folks drink coffee or tea doesn't mean I look down upon those actions or those people, but I just choose not to drink that because of a choice I make.
I also do not ever drink alcohol products which is also a choice.

I'm sure you are saying to yourself that some things in both coffee and alcohol products are beneficial; however the flipside to that coin is far worse than any benefit. To get the antioxidant in wine you must get through the estrogenic effect of the alcohol in the first place and second the sugars as well as calories it contains. To me it is not worth it. In fact the exact same antioxidant properties in wine are contained in peanuts and without the alcohol. On top of the antioxidant you get very good fats, protein, and lots of minerals in peanuts. It is a fact that those who regularly consume nuts have overall better health and weight management.
In most other alcohols they are derived from a grain which is not health or aesthetically beneficial to combine grains and alcohol.

Again these are my choices, but the proof is in the pudding. If you work hard at both your exercise practices and especially your lifestyle eating habits you'll reap all the rewards- always.

Size Matters...

While shopping at Whole Foods Market I noticed a new product they have called the "Reed Avocado" and had my wife hold it in display. It's about the size of a mango and twice the size of a normal avocado. Thank God they're organic cause I bought myself a couple and boy are they delicious! :)

I put them in my salads as well as mix them with shrimp and plain hummus for a great cocktail dip.

Go give 'em a taste for yourself.

The Last Couple...

091108

Today was Bikram Yoga day. This had to have been by far my best class. I didn't get tired, light headed, dizzy, or anything. In fact I felt so good I think I could have gone the entire class without even a sip of water.



Hydrating over the course of before really makes a huge difference.



I nailed pretty much all asanas very well expect a my standing bow and tree stand seems a bit shaky today for some reason. All my floor poses went perfectly. Today was an amazing day.





091308

Today I ran with all of my clients. It was a great run. We all ran(some walked) 1.5 miles and then rested about 5 min before starting back. We didn't just run straight back. We Fartleked back.



Fartleks are when everyone participating lines up and begins jogging as slow as the slowest jogger. Then the last person in line sprints up to the first position. Then the same continues until the distance is reached.



All in all it was an an amazing run and really got my legs feeling it after all those sprints.



When we arrived back at the gym I took everyone inside and had a 15 min Ab Bootcamp which ended up very well. I'm starting to feel the workout already. :)



Now I'm beginning my Warrior Meal with my usual big salad. Tonight I put in it some mixed greens, cucumber, tomato, red onion, shitake mushroom, avocado, chick peas, red beans, large green olives, raw mild cheddar cheese, and of course Bragg Sesame and Ginger dressing.



I've attached a pic of it for everyone to see. :)

Believe In The Power of One- RIP Evan Tanner

One of my real inspirations in life, Evan Tanner, passed away yesterday. He took a motorcycle trip into the California desert and ran out of gas. He didn't have enough water and was found dead. He was one of my absolute favorite UFC fighters ever and will always be in my heart.

It was because of him that I was inspired to get my shoulders tattoo: "Always(rightside) Believe(leftside)"- pictured below.


Evan will always be one of my inspirations as he lived his life as a silent warrior. He led by example and was as humble as they come.

Evan I will Always Believe In The Power of One!

Thank you for your amazing life.

090908

I decided to take a full month off, which is something I have never done, in order to heal up my back and shoulder that is still lingering. It has been a consistent 16+ years that I have been exercising and weight training in some capacity so this month will be good. I have taken a recovery week from time to time about once every 4 or 5 months, but never longer than that. I only hope this month is very beneficial and won't leave me into any strength regression. Either way I will take the time.
This time off is only from strength training and I will be performing cardio, yoga(mostly Bikram), and pool time.

Today I performed Guerrilla Sprints(12 min. of total work) and some yoga stretches for about 20 minutes afterward.

Overall it was a great workout.

090308

Today I took it light, since this week is supposed to be my "recovery week", and decided to do some water work.

I did a lot of leg kicking(inner and outer movements), jumping, knee tucks, arm circles, pushes, pulls and all done so in the water. I even used my son's kickboard to perform "swing" like movements in the shallower section of the pool. This actually worked very well and I felt great.
After that I performed some Muscle-Ups on the pool side while being in the water.

All in all it was a relatively light workout and very different from my norm which worked perfect today.

090208

I hurt my back again on Sunday so I've been taking it easy for the past couple days.

Today I performed Bikram Yoga and it definitely helped. It was my first class in almost a month due to just being so busy, but despite the heat it was a great class and I feel so much better now that it's over. :)

Sean, one of my clients, came with me and it was his Newbie class. He made it though and I never doubted him for even a moment. He's a true Warrior.