Oct 31st: Halloween Candy Fun

Today starts the second cycle of MB8. I’m feeling stronger, leaner, and faster. Like a freakin’ athlete should!

Pre-Workout: HPN P3

Bench (based on a 255 max)

55%-140-7

65%-165-7

75%-190-8 (failed on the ninth)

Fat Grip Curls (105)-6,5,5

Bar Dip (88lb KB)-6,5,5

-90 seconds between

Ring Fly (feet elevated, body parallel to the ground)-6,6,6

Ring Row (feet elevated, body parallel to the ground)-(55lb)-11,9,9

-60 seconds between

Rope curl (70lb)-6,6,6

Triceps Ext with Lat involvement (EZ bar +55)-8,8,8

-30 seconds between

Finished with a circuit involving bike sprints, jump rope, and MB45 Essentials (about 15 minutes worth) with a 20kg bell.

Solid workout today. High carb days are also fun:)

2:00-Chicken, sweet potato

4:00-HPN P3

5:00-Train

7:00-Ground beef, rice, raisins (sounds gross but it wasn’t bad), handful of M’Ms. (I love me the peanut ones)

10:00-Protein shake with casein

Oct 22nd: Cardio Fun

October 22^nd: Saturday

Today was a cardio day. I used the Pure Powder from HPN about 20 minutes before. Felt great and ready to go.

Sandbag Circuit (Arion Sandbag): 3:00 minutes: Alternated through: deadlift, row, clean, front squat as many times as I could

Plate Circuit (45lb plate): Alternated through: Front Raise, Press, Curl, Front Press (killed the shoulders!)

Moved into intervals

4:00 minutes per station (15 on/15 off)

Sprint Bike

Prowler Push

Heavy Jump Rope

This was actually a blast. Hard as hell but got me sweating and my heart rate was through the roof!

This is the first weekend I’ve REALLY, TRULY honed it in. I’ve always been a little lax on my weekends and this plan is actually changing my mindset (you don’t change your way of acting by thinking differently, you change your way of thinking by acting differently).

10:00 AM-10g BCAA, Pure Powder

12:30 PM-1/2 chicken, large salad

3:00 PM-1/2 almond butter sandwich (low carb bread)

6:30 PM- 4 eggs, 4 slices turkey bacon, cheese, cup of broccoli

9:00 PM-2 light beers

11:00 PM-1/2 cup Fage, ½ cup cottage cheese, 2tbsp almond butter, low carb jam

Till tomorrow.

Oct 6th: Training Journal Series

October 5^th: Wednesday

Today was a MUCH needed rest day. Most fitness enthusiasts/athletes do not take their rest days seriously enough. A rest day is as needed if not more than a proper diet, training, etc. A rest day (where you do nothing except maybe a walk) will allow your body to recover and train harder your next session.

Rest days pump me up for training! They give me a mental break from the rigors of my training and allow me to come back harder and stronger the next day.

Use this day to recoup, hit the Indian clubs, foam roller, spa, whatever. Just rest. Resting is crucial!

12:45: 10oz Chicken thigh filet, spinach salad, salami with cheese, tomatoes (basically a giant salad) 8oz pineapple

4:00: ½ cup cottage cheese, 2 scoops biochem whey protein, Chia seeds

9:00: 4 eggs, cheese, spinach, cooked in butter.

Rest days (or non lifting days) goal is 2200-2400 calories

180-200g protein

130g fat

80-100g carbs

This is why tracking is so vital. You can’t expect to spend carelessly and then have an exact knowledge of how much money is in your bank account. Budget your calories and you WILL see results

October 6^th: Thursday

7am: 198.9

Today’s workout was a fun one. I was looking forward to it all day! I love those days.

Military Press Day (I use the log because I like the neutral grip position)

55% @ 93lbs (log weighs 88)-7

65% @ 106- 7 (felt tough)

75% @ 123lbs- 7 was all I could do. This was definitely my 7RM. Started to see stars!

-2.5 minutes between sets

Ring Pull up (Dead Hang)( 20kg kettlebell)-5,5 (BW) 9

Incline Bench Barbell Shrug (225)-8,8,8

-90 seconds between sets

Double Snatch (28kg)-5,5,5

Lateral Raise (25lbs)-12,10,10

-90 seconds between sets)

Finished workout with a brutal cardio set.

Prowler-30 seconds

Weighted Jump Rope-30 seconds

Deck Squat to Jump-30 seconds

Rest-30 seconds

--8 rounds.

Broke fast at 12:30 with HPN P(3)

Trained with 10g BCAA

1:45-Flame Broiler Beef Plate with white rice

5-1/2 cup cottage cheese, 2 scoops Biochem, ½ cup chocolate almond milk

8-1/2 Chicken, sweet potato fries, and little coleslaw (mayonnaise-less)

10-1/2 cup 2% milk, scoop Casein protein, ½ cup frozen cherries

This day brought me to 45g fat, 202g carbs, and 202g protein

Amazing dinner. Didn’t stuff my face. Just ate till I felt comfortable. That’s the beauty of Intermittent Fasting. Larger meals (within reason, of course)

Training days:

180-200g protein

40-50g fat

240-260g carbs

Outdoor Kettlebell Fun

Now that the weather is taking a turn for the bright and sunny it’s time to take your workouts outdoors!

Kettlebells are the ultimate in fat burning, time saving cardio, and frickin’ portable! Build your strength and stamina with this easy to follow, simple workout that will have you sweating in the sun in no time.

Directions: Grab your kettlebell and your MBody Kettleback (go to www.mbodystrength.com for more info) or a sturdy backpack. Bring a towel, some water; of course your iPod and you’re good to go.

You’re going to hike with your MKB or pack on for ten minutes. A trail works best but a track or open field works well. Once your ten minutes is up you’re going to take the kettlebell out of your MKB or pack and perform the following with little to no reset between exercises:

25 snatches per arm
25 cleans per arm
25 swings per arm
25 pushups on the kettlebell
25 bodyweight squats

This totals 200 reps. You’re going to then put your MKB back on and set the timer for another ten minutes. After ten minutes, hit the kettlebell again for another grueling circuit. Perform this circuit at least two times. If you can get more than five in you need a heavier bell!

This workout won’t just leave you a sweaty mess of an athlete but will also build your grip strength and stamina BIG TIME.

Time this workout and try it every few weeks. Aim to beat your time EVERYTIME.

Always Time for a Workout...

When a workout gets missed what do you do? Stress about it? Do you feel guilty? I know I did.

A great workout is never too far away. If you have a million things on your to do list and it feels like nothing is going your way that’s the BEST time to get a quick session. Does it have to be a 60 min, full gym workout? No. All you need is a kettlebell and if you don’t have that just your bodyweight.

Instead of stressing about getting a full workout in, just focus on movement. Movement can be anything. A long walk, some jump rope, pushups and squats, whatever you feel like.

While a structured plan is important for long-term fitness success and to ensure progression the reality is life will get in the way from time to time even with the best intentions. When that happens, don’t stress, just move. Not only will you decrease your stress you will be moving right along on your fitness goals.

Racking up your strength.

Are you a looking for tons shoulder strength and endurance without the wear and tear of constant shoulder pressing? Then the kettlebell rack is one of the best exercises for you.

The kettlebell rack is one of the simplest exercises, or should I say static holds, there is. You simply clean the kettlebell into the rack position and hold it. How much easier does it get?

The list of benefits from this exercise range from a great fatiguing drill pre shoulder presses for a great pump or for the more functional, killer core strength and shoulder endurance. You want to be careful if you have back issues because it puts a lot of strain on the back.

While using one kettlebell works, two is amazingly difficult. This is also a great shoulder conditioner for you Girevoy Sport nuts. While the point of the rack for GS is rest it’s also very smart to practice the position to learn to get comfortable. Jason Dolby once put me through a GS workout and made me hold the rack for what felt like an eternity. Trust me when I say, treat the kettlebell rack with respect! I learned the hard way.

I use the rack on clients, particularly my MMA fighters as a great way to force them to keep their shoulders up. A few minutes of hell is a solid rack with a pair of heavy kettlebells, followed by jerks and then some Indian clubs as active recovery.

If you’re new to the game then just use one kettlebell. Don’t bring the hips too far forward. Keep the emphasis on the shoulders rather than the GS rack. As you progress work your way to two bells and enjoy the pain! And by enjoy I mean do everything you can to not cry.

Try this simple routine for your shoulders with a pair of moderately weighted bells

1. See saw press: 60 seconds
2. Hold Double Rack: 60 seconds
3. Max Pushups (preferably on rings or Jungle Gym)

-Rest 60-90 seconds and repeat 2-3 times

Brutally effective (probably one of my favorites, both routines and pair of words.)

Enjoy!

Summer's a-coming...are you ready?!

It dawned on me this morning that summer is QUICKLY approaching. And I mean quickly. Which leads me to the point of today's email...

Are you where you want to be with your body? If so, kudos. If not, well, why not?

I'm going to share with you a few tricks to help you lose some stubborn body fat and get you well on your way to your summer look.

1. LIFT HEAVY! I know, not really a trick but focus on lifting heavier weights even if you're used to circuits. Lift heavier kettlebells, barbells, sandbags, whatever it is, it don't matter. Lifting heavier not only increases your strength (duh) but also will help you burn a ton more calories in your workout. And I swear if I get one response saying "won't I bulk up??" from any of you ladies I just might scream:)

2. Cycle your Carbs. While I am NOT a fan of low carb'n, strategic carb'n is an awesome tactic that will help you increase your strength in your sessions while dropping unwanted body fat. The cool thing is no matter what plan you're on you can start incorporating asap!

**On your training sessions (not cardio sessions but lifting days) increase your carb intake. Try keeping your carb intake at about 40% and only cardio/rest days at 20-30%. Use Livestrong.com for an accurate look at what you're eating. Which brings me to the final number...

3. Track calories! Ok, this can be a pain in the ass....BUT...and it's a big but, IT WILL TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF THE EQUATION. Of course, this rule only applies to those who want a majorly defined, ripped, physique.I don't care if you're Paleo, Neanderthal, Caveman, I only eat grass and berries, if you don't track you are most likely eating more than you should. Simple as that.

There you have it. A few simple things you can start doing ASAP to start seeing results ASAP!

Pick Your Poison, But Don't Let It Kill You

Variety is the death of so many training programs. The want to do it all can stifle the best of intentions for a more improved you. Too many goals is a surefire way to stop your best intentions dead in their tracks. And as they say, the road to hell...you know where I'm going.

"I want to be big, I want to be cut, I want to be fast, I want to be HUGE!!!

The best thing you can do is pick your goal and go with the the best method available. Does that mean search endlessly for the perfect program? Of course. Wait, I mean not at all. Scouring the internet for the best laid plan is pointless. Go to a resource you know and trust and take what you need from there. Everything works some of the time and nothing works all of the time. The best plan is the one you can stick to.

Make your plan work for you. There's no point in picking the workout that on paper looks great and theoretically will turn you into an animal but if you can't consistently do it then what the hell's the point? To say you're doing the Special Forces Brutal MMA Football player plan who trains 12x a week? The only thing people are going to see are the lack of results.

That's where picking your poison comes in. You want to get lean. Simple enough. Pick a method or two and rep schemes, stick with it for a couple of weeks to see how it's working. The same goes for your nutrition program, strength program, muscle gain program etc. Multiple goals can be achieved at once but always at the expense of the full potential of another. Jumping around from plan to plan will get you nowhere. Repeat that with me. NOWHERE! Trust me. I've tried. I ain't just talking out my arse.

More importantly is your nutrition program. Some diets look great on paper, but if they don't work for you then it's basically useless, be it one, two, or twelve meals a day. Now of course there's a level of "suck it upness" that needs to be there in the beginning and you just need to get it done, but there are some things that are easier than others for certain people.

Know yourself. If you've been blessed with the body type that the smell of food puts fat between you and your six pack, eight mini meals might not be the way for you. That constant tease of a little food all day can result in a caloric overdose. On the flip side neither does one gorge-fest of 10,000 calories. Thinking you have to fit into some guy or girl's mold of a diet book is ludicrous. Personality types are completely underestimated in nutrition (much, much more on this soon.)

Another example is if you're one of those people that absolutely hates being full (I know, who the hell is that). Then small meals in the right caloric amounts is the way to go for you. Meal timing (which requires a whole other article as well) is dependent on what you can do and your personal preference. Are you on the road, near a fridge, etc etc. Just get your daily calories in one way or another and don't stray too far.

The worst thing you can do is pick a goal, pick a method and then run it into the ground with no results just 'cause. You have to pick your poison but not let it kill you. So here's your action step. Think about you. Think about your personality. What type of guy or gal are you? Really be honest and I mean brutally honest. Once you have a tiny fraction of an idea, because we all know we'd be sitting there for days on a rock with one hand under our chins, make your plan accordingly. Figure out what you really want and then how to get there. Basic guidelines, but the more I'm discovering in this life the more I find it's the basic, simple, "why the f didn't I think of that," ideas that are truly monumental.

So pick your goal (get cut, get big) pick your method and types of training (warrior diet, precision nutrition, three squares, kettlebells, sandbags etc) and then go from there. What's the point of floating through life searching for the latest and greatest!? It won't get you anywhere but stuck and back at square one. It's a simple formula that will have profound results on your life.

Holiday weight gain is back!

It's so easy to gain weight during the holidays, but what makes it so much easier is the acceptance you've already given to the possibility before it even happens. Most people expect to gain weight during the holiday season and this is the first trap. Everyone empathizes with everyone and there's a comfort in knowing that everyone is doing it. You don't feel so guilty. In order to see your body change in a positive way during the holiday season, stray away from the pack. Make a set of "Holiday Goals." Goals you put on yourself that keep you in line during the holiday season whether it be to lose 5 pounds before 2009 or not to put on a single ounce this season. Now that you've put some goals on yourself, you have a much better chance at not slipping down that slippery slope of "it's alright if I gain a FEW pounds this season." This never ends well. Before you know it, February will be here and so will those extra pounds.

More on this topic soon.