Do you like yogurt? Well if the answer is yes, you need to be aware of what kinds of yogurt you are eating. Most yogurts in the grocery store, all brands, contain a large amount of sugar and processed items within the yogurt. Even the low calorie yogurts are guilty of this. While you look at the fact that you are only eating 90 calories worth of yogurt, the quality of the calories are not so good. Ninety calories worth of sugar and 90 calories of protein are not created equal in the world of fat loss. So, ideally we would want 90 calories worth of protein in our yogurt. Well guess what, its already done for us. Greek yogurt is a more protein dense yogurt than that of the typical other leading yogurts. It is also important to look at the labels of the variety of Greek yogurts these days, because they now include additions with fruit and processed fruits containing large amounts of sugar as well. So am I asking you to eat plain, unflavored, greek yogurt? Yes, I am. However, I am going to give a variety of different ways to "spice" up your greek yogurt while keeping the additional sugar calories at bay.
Recipe #1 - Chocolate "Pudding" Greek Yogurt
Because greek yogurt is a little thicker than traditional yogurt, it has the consistency of more of a pudding rather than a yogurt.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 scoop protein powder (chocolate)
- 1 tbsp Cocoa powder
- 1-2 tbsp stevia
- 6oz greek yogurt (unflavored)
Mix al together in a serving bowl and enjoy.
Recipe #2: "French Toast" Yogurt
Ingredients:
- 6 -10 Capella Drops, French Toast flavor
- 1/2 cup of Wheat Bran
- cinnamon
- 2 tbsp milled flax seed
- 6 oz greek yogurt
- stevia
Recipe #3: "Almond Crunch" Yogurt
Ingredients:
- stevia
- cinnamon
- 28g blended almonds
- 6 oz greek yogurt
Recipe #4 French Vanilla Yogurt
Ingredients:
- Capella drops - French vanilla flavor
- 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
- cinnamon
- 6 oz greek yogurt
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
4th of July HIIT
No Mercy
1. Lap around the gym
2. 90 seconds jump rope
3. Lap around the gym
4. 20 Jump Squats using step
5. Lap around the gym
6. 15 Burpees
7. Lap Around the gym
24 Skiers
7. 30 Russian Twists with Ball
Repeat 3 times...
It looks simple, fun and easy but after round one you will be second guessing the fun and easy part!
1. Lap around the gym
2. 90 seconds jump rope
3. Lap around the gym
4. 20 Jump Squats using step
5. Lap around the gym
6. 15 Burpees
7. Lap Around the gym
24 Skiers
7. 30 Russian Twists with Ball
Repeat 3 times...
It looks simple, fun and easy but after round one you will be second guessing the fun and easy part!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Hot sauce, mustard, and other low/no calorie condiments...
Hot sauce, mustard, and other low/no calorie condiments...
I don't think people truly understand how many calories they are actually consuming in their condiments alone. And by condiments I mean mayo, ketchup, honey mustard, barbeque sauce, steak sauce, glazes, jellies, syrups, salad dressings and things like that. The problem with giving a list like that is that most people can find one of two things not on it and then justify the use of those items because they aren't on the list. If in doubt, throw it out. That's what I always say. If there is a questionable food item, whether you are unsure of its nutritional value or health value, or even if you are unsure if it has spoiled or not, just err on the side of caution and throw it away.
Now, back to our discussion about condiments. There was recently an episode of Freaky Eaters on Discovery Fit and Health television about a man who ate maple syrup. Yes, he only ate maple syrup. The therapists gradually introduced him to being able to put maple syrup on more nutritional foods and then made the jump for him to try other things to put on foods such as sauces and dips. In this case, the alternative for him, other dips and sauces, was much more nutritional than his usual choice of maple syrup. While it may be hard for you to fathom that someone only ate maple syrup, just think about what you are putting into your body when you use all of the condiments and additions to your food. Now that is something that I cannot fathom. All of the ingredients in those condiments and food additives are absolutely disgusting and repulsive. They have a wide variety of ingredients that are positively unhealthy and the other variety of ingredients I have no idea what they are. Why would you eat something that you don't know what it is?! Not to mention the ungodly amounts of sugar they all contain. Some additives are more sugary and some are more fattening, however, neither one is better than the other.
I write this short blog and rant about condiments because I realized I had posted some pictures and alternatives to the traditional condiments but I didn't really write anything about why I posted the pictures. Basically, I just can't believe what people are putting in their bodies'. More importantly, I just can't believe how much they are putting in their bodies'. Years ago people used the same horrible ingredients but not as many people were morbidly obese. Why is that? Well, people began to have an aversion to the healthy foods by way of going for the tastier, cheaper and more unhealthy processed foods. They then began to eat these foods in abundance thus resulting in increased obesity and morbidly obese individuals. Not to scare anyone, but I really hope you will reconsider your condiment choices.
I don't think people truly understand how many calories they are actually consuming in their condiments alone. And by condiments I mean mayo, ketchup, honey mustard, barbeque sauce, steak sauce, glazes, jellies, syrups, salad dressings and things like that. The problem with giving a list like that is that most people can find one of two things not on it and then justify the use of those items because they aren't on the list. If in doubt, throw it out. That's what I always say. If there is a questionable food item, whether you are unsure of its nutritional value or health value, or even if you are unsure if it has spoiled or not, just err on the side of caution and throw it away.
Now, back to our discussion about condiments. There was recently an episode of Freaky Eaters on Discovery Fit and Health television about a man who ate maple syrup. Yes, he only ate maple syrup. The therapists gradually introduced him to being able to put maple syrup on more nutritional foods and then made the jump for him to try other things to put on foods such as sauces and dips. In this case, the alternative for him, other dips and sauces, was much more nutritional than his usual choice of maple syrup. While it may be hard for you to fathom that someone only ate maple syrup, just think about what you are putting into your body when you use all of the condiments and additions to your food. Now that is something that I cannot fathom. All of the ingredients in those condiments and food additives are absolutely disgusting and repulsive. They have a wide variety of ingredients that are positively unhealthy and the other variety of ingredients I have no idea what they are. Why would you eat something that you don't know what it is?! Not to mention the ungodly amounts of sugar they all contain. Some additives are more sugary and some are more fattening, however, neither one is better than the other.
I write this short blog and rant about condiments because I realized I had posted some pictures and alternatives to the traditional condiments but I didn't really write anything about why I posted the pictures. Basically, I just can't believe what people are putting in their bodies'. More importantly, I just can't believe how much they are putting in their bodies'. Years ago people used the same horrible ingredients but not as many people were morbidly obese. Why is that? Well, people began to have an aversion to the healthy foods by way of going for the tastier, cheaper and more unhealthy processed foods. They then began to eat these foods in abundance thus resulting in increased obesity and morbidly obese individuals. Not to scare anyone, but I really hope you will reconsider your condiment choices.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Quadzilla
Here is a random leg workout for all to enjoy.
Random Leg Workout (QuadFocus)
Warm up with 5 – 10 minutes light cardiovascular exercise.
1.
Barbell squats or smith machine squats: 20, 15,
12, 10, 10, 10
2.
Barbell lunges: 30 (15 per leg) x 4
3.
Leg Press: pyramid set (start with a light to
moderate weight, perform 10 reps, go up in weight, perform another 10 reps, go
up in weight one last time, and then back down to the second increase for ten
reps, then back down to the starting weight for ten reps and that is one set) x
3
4.
Leg extensions: pyramid set like the one
described above x 3
5.
Leg curls: heavy weight 10 reps x 8
6.
Leg press (close v-stance): to failure x 2
Friday, April 13, 2012
Captain America
So recently at school, we were required to design a workout program for a specific athlete or super-hero of choice. I chose Captain America to design a short workout program for. The following is an snippet of the project that I would like to share and a workout that I believe you all will enjoy! The workout is rather difficult, however, its over arching goals are general. That being said it is designed for an all around athlete with developmental characteristics than an athlete would need. Hope you all enjoy this workout! Give me feed back if you end up trying it out.
Week 1 (Upper Body Emphasis)
Monday
- Begin with a warm-up of jump rope for 5 – 10 minutes
- Circuit 1 (repeated 3-5 times)
o Plyo box jump to pull up (20 reps)
o Clean and Press (20 reps)
o Jumping Jacks (50 reps)
- Circuit 2 (repeated 3-5 times)
o Superman push ups (20 reps)
o Body weight rows on TRX trainer (20 reps)
o Monkey bars (2 minutes)
- Circuit 3 (repeated 3 -5 times)
o Walking pushups (20 reps)
o Pull ups (20 reps)
o Russian Twist (2 minutes)
- Circuit 4 (repeat 3 times)
o Running Pull-up
o Hindu Push up
o Tabata bodyweight squats (20 seconds as fast as possible, 10 seconds rest, repeated 8 times for a total of 4 minutes)
Wednesday
- Begin with a 5 – 10 minute jog
- Circuit 1 (repeated 6 times)
o 100 meter sprints with parachute
o 20 walking lunges
o 1 min plank
- Circuit 2 (repeated 5 times)
o Tabata body weight squats
o Stationary lunges with DB
o KB swings
- Circuit 3 (repeat 5 -6 times)
o 5 hill runs
o 20 walking lunges
o Bear crawl 50 yards
- Circuit 4 (repeat 2 -3 times)
o Jump rope 5 min
o 15 burpees
o Hanging leg raises
o Try no to vomit (repeat as needed)
Friday
- Begin with 5 – 10 min shadow boxing warm-up
- ** Each circuit repeat 3 – 5 times
- Circuit 1
o Clean and press (20 reps)
o Bosu ball push ups
o Wide grip pull up
- Circuit 2
o Under hand close grip pull up (20 reps)
o Clapping push ups (20 reps)
o Hanging leg raises (20 reps)
- Circuit 3
o Step ups (upper body) – (20 reps)
o Halos (15 R/L)
o Burpees (10 reps)
o Mountain climber (1 minute)
- Circuit 4
o Wall ball (2 minutes)
o Russian twist
o Hyper extensions
o TRX body weight row
Week 2 (lower Body emphasis)
Monday
- Begin with jump rope warm up
**All circuits for this day are to be repeated 4-5 times.
- Circuit 1
o Box jumps
o Step ups
o Plank hold (1 minute)
- Circuit 2
o Tabata body weight squats
o Duck walk
o Shadow boxing (2 minute)
- Circuit 3
o Stair run (3 flights)
o Wall sit
o Back down stairs
o Russian Twist
- Circuit 4
o 100 meter sprints (with a parachute or resistance) with 30 sec rests
Wednesday
- Being with shadow boxing warm-up (5 – 10 Minutes)
- Circuit 1 (repeat 3-5 times)
o Machine rower 100 meters
o Close stance push ups (20)
o V-ups (30 – 50 reps)
- Circuit 2 (repeat 3 -5 times)
o Walking push ups
o TRX bodyweight row
o Hanging leg raises
- Circuit 3 (repeat 3 -5 times)
o Overhead barbell Press
o Machine rower (2 minutes)
o Mountain climber (1 minute)
- Circuit 4
o Push ups to failure
o Pull ups to failure
Friday
- warm up with 5 minute of jump rope
- Circuit 1 (repeat 3 – 5 times)
o Deadlift (20 reps)
o Hindu squat
o Incline crunches (30 reps)
- Circuit 2 (repeat 3 – 5 times)
o Running against resistance bands (20 reps)
o Weighted squats (20 reps)
o Russian twist (50 twists)
- Circuit 3 (Repeat 3 – 5 times)
o Pistol squats 12 each leg
o Bear crawl (100 feet)
o Duck walk (100 feet)
- Circuit 4 (repeat 2 times)
o Hill run
o Tabata bodyweight squats
- Finish the workout with a parachute run to failure
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
FRESHMAN FIFTEEN!
Now that I am coming up on the of my undergraduate career I thought it would be a good time to look back on these three years and assess a few things. At the beginning of college I was frantic about gaining the infamous freshman 15 or even now I think it's the freshman 20! That is gaining relatively a large amount of weight in college! However, I would like to present to you my experience with the freshman 15. I weighed in at 108 pounds at 14.3% body fat the dat before I started my freshman year. Keep in mind I had no idea I was going to be into bodybuilding and I didn't even know what figure competitions were! Today 3 years later I weigh in at 138 pounds and 17.3 % body fat. For those of you who don't know the specifics, let me break those number down for you. That is about a 21.5 pound gain of lean muscle mass and an 8 pound gain of fat mass over a 3 year period. That's about 7 lbs of lean muscle gain per year! Wow! Yes, I did gain some fat; however, the fat gain was necessary for my joints and bodily functioning due to the heavier lifting that I was engaging in.
So for all of you people who are terrified of the freshman 15, don't be so scared after all. However, it is important to know that I didn't gain that lean mass by sitting around or sleeping til noon. It takes hard work, dedication and most importantly consistency! But it can be done and I know I'm not the only one who has done this! I would just like to able to empower others to work hard and achieve their goals whether it be muscle gain, fat loss or increase in over all fitness levels! Take charge of your life and achieve the goals that you desire!
So for all of you people who are terrified of the freshman 15, don't be so scared after all. However, it is important to know that I didn't gain that lean mass by sitting around or sleeping til noon. It takes hard work, dedication and most importantly consistency! But it can be done and I know I'm not the only one who has done this! I would just like to able to empower others to work hard and achieve their goals whether it be muscle gain, fat loss or increase in over all fitness levels! Take charge of your life and achieve the goals that you desire!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Spices, Sauces and no more Diet excuses
So today's topic is based on the idea of NO EXCUSES. I dislike excuses a lot and I hear a load of crap lots of times when it comes to hearing people make up excuses for why they can't or don't stick to a diet. SO, today I am stomping all over their excuses with some lovely tips on how to literally spice up a diet so that it isn't so boring and bland.
Tip #1: Make your own spicy sweat and sour sauce. There are many ways to do this but I find that the products in the picture below provide the lowest calorie option. Liquid stevia drops, Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and Walden Farms Ketchup can all be combined within the ketchup bottle to produce a great sauce that can be used to season fish, chicken, turkey or any other meat.
Tip #1: Make your own spicy sweat and sour sauce. There are many ways to do this but I find that the products in the picture below provide the lowest calorie option. Liquid stevia drops, Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce and Walden Farms Ketchup can all be combined within the ketchup bottle to produce a great sauce that can be used to season fish, chicken, turkey or any other meat.
Tip #2: Make your own honey mustard. By combined Stone Ground Mustard Sodium free (can be found at Whole Foods), balsamic vinegar and stevia drops you can create your own healthy, sugar free honey mustard!
Tip #3: Mrs. Dash deserves a Noble Prize for keeping bodybuilders sane during contest prep. These seasonings are sodium and calorie free! They are great for seasoning pretty much anything edible. There are also a wide variety of different flavors to keep from getting bored.
Tip #4: Green Valley Ranch is a brand a lot like Walden Farms. All of the sauces are calorie free. Green Valley Ranch offers some different flavors that Walden Farms does not make like Indian Curry, Teriyaki, Red Thai Curry and Hawaiian Sweet and Sour.
Tip #5: The god old stand by Walden Farms. Walden farms offers a wide variety of different salad dressings, syrups, BBQ sauces, dips, pasta sauces and imitation peanut butter!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
St. Patrick's Day Damage Control
Did you eat too much last night, have too much to drink or do you just not remember? Well, this workout is designed as a cardio intensive workout to burn more calories than the traditional weight lifting workout and also more than the traditional cardio workout. The workout is based off of Tabata intervals but also a little bit of my own creativeness mixed in. The circuits are designed in an interval like fashion and are to be performed as fast as possible (all out) for the 20 seconds at a time intervals. Be sure to take 1 -2 minute rest periods between circuits. Since I’m sure the majority of the population went out drinking last night on St. Paddy’s Day, I took the liberty of naming each circuit after an actual Irish Pub in Ireland.
Circuit 1 – The Brazen Head
- 20 seconds of bodyweight squats
- 10 seconds rest
- Repeat 8 times (will add up to be a round of 4 minutes)
Circuit 2 – The Woolshed
- 20 seconds of push ups (modified if needed)
- 10 seconds rest
- Repeat 8 times (will add up to be a round of 4 minutes)
Circuit 3 – The Submarine
- 20 seconds of box jumps (appropriate height to you)
- 10 seconds rest
- Repeat 8 times (will add up to a round of 4 minutes)
Circuit 4 – John Mulligan’s
- 20 seconds of pull ups
- 10 seconds rest
- Repeat 8 times (will add up to a round of 4 minutes)
Circuit 5 – Kitty O’Shea’s
- 20 seconds of sprints
- 10 seconds of active rest (walking or slowing down)
- Repeat 8 times (will add up to a round of 4 minutes)
Circuit 6 – The Auld Dubliner
- 20 seconds of shoulder press
- 10 seconds of rest
- Repeat 8 times (will add up to a round of 4 minutes)
** Take a 1 – 2 minute rest between each circuit
At first glance this workout may seem simple or the circuits may seem short; however, I assure you by the end of the workout you will want to be done.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Throwback
Here are all the thinks to my RXMusclemag.com articles if you have missed any of them! Just thought I would repost the links so everyone could have a chance to catch the articles they might have missed!
Creatine, Friend or Enemy
EZ Curl, Straight Bar Curl, and Prone or Hammer Curl
Why All This Caffeinated Hype
Muscle Fiber Type
Got DOMS?
Angular Motion: A Lesson in Physics and Biomechanics
Joint Articulation Biomechanics in Terms of Injury Prevention: Part 1 The Shoulder
Eccentric Contractions and Muscle Hypertrophy
Joint Articulation Biomechanics in Terms of Injury Prevention: Part 2 The Knee
The Nervous System and How it Applies to Training
Effects of Shoe Type on Squat Performance
Joint Articulation Biomechanics in Terms of Injury Prevention: Part 3 The Elbow
Muscle Memory Debunked
Strength and Conditioning Applied to Bodybuilding
http://www.rxmuscle.com/rx-girl-articles/5114-strength-and-conditioning-applied-to-bodybuilding.html
Effects of Shoe Type on Squat Performance
Monday, March 5, 2012
Arnold Classic 2012
Some photos from my weekend at the Arnold Classic in Columbus Ohio. Sorry for the delay! 
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Viscous valentine WO
Valentine’s Day, or St. Valentine’s Day, actually originates from the honoring of early Christian martyrs. There were many of these martyrs of which many had the first name Valentine, which comes from the word “valens”, meaning worthy, strong, and powerful. So, that being said, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, try this workout!
It will be wise to do a slight warm-up prior to beginning this set of circuits. Perform each circuit as many times thru as you possibly can within ten minutes, also keep a pace that is relatively fast. Only take breaks between circuits that last between 3-5 minutes depending on your abilities. Prior to the 3-5 minute recovery but after each 10min circuit, perform 5 min of jump rope.
Circuit 1 - Chocolate Chaser
- sprint 1 lap followed by 1 walking lap
- 50 body weight squats
- 20 side shuffles each side
- Karaoke 100yards
- 100 bicycle crunches
*jump rope 5 min*
3-5min break
Circuit 2 - Cupid
- bench press 20 reps
- barbell row 20 reps
- push ups 20 reps
- pull ups 20 reps
- 30 incline crunches
* jump rope 5min*
3-5 min rest
Circuit 3 - Roses are Red, Your Face is Blue
- 15 burpees
- 1 lap jog followed by one lap sprint
- 25 jumping jack to overhead press with dumbbells
- 15 dips
- 15 barbell curls
*jump rope*
DONE
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