Training for Team Universe 2009!

Back/Triceps/Light Abs + Light Cardio

High Carb Day (carbs in 4 of 6 meals)

Seated Hammer Strength Iso Lateral Hi Row (LOVE this thing)

90×15  100×9  120×7  130×6

Seated Front Wide Grip Pull downs ~ overhand, no thumb grip

90×10  90×10  90×10

Seated Narrow Grip Pull downs

105×8  105×8  105×8

Seated Machine Row

90×9  80×12  80×12

Back against pad Triceps Rope Extensions

65×9  65×9  65×9 65×5

Seated overhead DB triceps extension

40×10  40×10  40×10  40×10

Triceps Dips w/ feet up on another bench

1×15  1×12  1×12  1×9

Reverse Trunk Curls, sloooow and careful

1×15  1×15  1×15

Side Oblique Crunches

1×15  1×15  1×15 (per side)

Standard Crunches 

1×20  1×20  1×20

Cardio

Elliptical Trainer, Level 5 resist/Level 9 incline

31m ~ HRR 125-140 BPM

Manic Monday

I really f***ing hate Mondays ~ got my kids all ready for school, lunch money handed out, dragged them to the car in the 32 degree weather just to get to school and find out that they are off the ENTIRE week.  UGH. So up bright and early at 0600 am on a damned vacation day.

Sooo…

I went for a jog/run… I am still needing to use intervals to work up to the consistant pace I am after.  I will walk for 5m to warm up, then I break into a steady jog of about 5.5 mph for 3m and then 2m I will increase speed to about 6.5-7.0 mph.  I did this for 36m ~ I do love the little rush I get after I do even a light jog/run.  I love the stepmill and all but I feel as though I have worked harder this way I guess.

Did an early afternoon Everlast Boxing work out.  Meh.  I made this internal commitment to take at least 3 group ex classes per week, that I haven’t taken, I am bored fitness/cardio wise I guess. It was ok, I am in exceptional condition I guess cuz I barely broke a sweat, and everyone around me, the "regulars" seemed to be dying, sweating, huffing, puffing, getting clumsy with it.  Guess that’s a bonus.

Will be back on the weight heavy and hard starting tomorrow (Tuesday) still very worried about my lower back giving out on me at an inoppertune moment.  The "trainers" at the gym I work out (not work) at in the evening are such shit; I am sorry and hate to be so negative, but I have seen some HORRIBLE, DANGEROUS exercises and form from memebers and no attempt at all to help, instruct, or even offer correction in a nice way.   I don’t work there, and my BFF was thrown out of one of these gyms, for offering help, cuz she too is a trainer, but if you dont work there, its a cardinal sin to open your mouth and speak "as a trainer".  I don’t give a shit, if I see someone about to kill themselves again, I am speaking up.  When my back gave out, if my BFF wasn’t there spotting me that day thank GOD I would have hit the floor with 165 lbs on a bar coming on top of me and I guarentee no help from any of the "staff".  I have never once complained, but I guess I just opened my eyes to the facilities around me that I dont have control of, and I am just astonished these days.  Anyway, sorry for the bitching.  It’s Monday.

Trainer Tells All: What I Have Learned About Health and Fitness

May 23, 2008

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I was riding my mountain bike yesterday and all of the sudden it just came to me. I just started thinking about how many things I’ve learned through my own personal working out (since I was a kid and playing competitive sports) as well as being a trainer (since 1998). So today I just wanted to share some of the things this 36yr old has personally learned about all things health and fitness….in no certain order….

• Pushups are the best upper body workout designed….no machine can replace that…you don’t need any equipment and you can do them anywhere.
• It’s easy to become a certified trainer (as I have seen overweight people become certified)….it’s not easy to work as one full time (hence a high turnover rate in many clubs)
• Diet is 85% of where results come from…..for muscle and fat loss. Many don’t focus here enough.
• Working out too much doesn’t lead to good results….hence most people are still struggling after years of hard effort and little return.
• Most people do not lift heavy enough to make stronger muscles.
• It’s never too late to build muscle….and is more important as we grow older.
• The only real cure is prevention….don’t get sick in the first place otherwise you may be in for a long road back to health
• If you eat whole foods that have been around for 1000s of years, you probably don’t have to worry about counting calories
• Sugar is not our friend
• High Fructose Corn Syrup is making people fat and sick
• The biggest 2 threats to our health are inflammation (silent and chronic) and Insulin resistance
• Our dependence on gyms to workout may be keeping people fat….as walking down a street and pushups in your home are free everyday…but people are not seeing it that way.
• If I had to pick one sport for a child to start with it would be gymnastics, the strength/speed/balance/body control they will learn can be applied to any sport down the road.
• I hate to jog….I love to run
• Never listen to any advertising telling you what is healthy….as they are just trying to sell you something
• There is no such thing as spot reduction…but there is a great business in selling that concept (Ab-reclining chair anyone?)
• The fittest people I know keep active daily doing what they enjoy
• Fitness and Muscle magazines never got me any real results
• Supplements were are waste of alot of money for me
• The best performance enhancing thing I know of….is a cup of coffee 30min before a workout/playing sports.
• To build muscle, throw away your Whey protein and eat more steak and eggs
• More people are taking muscle building hormones than will ever admit to you
• The best way to lose weight is low carbohydrate eating/cycling
• I was skipping breakfast long before I ever found out about IF
• It’s alot easier to stay fit and strong….once you get there
• Meat and Fat are my friends
• Muscle size does not tell a person’s real strength
• Muscle size is mostly glycogen and water
• Whole foods can never be replaced by a multi-vitamin
• Most people need Fish Oil to control inflammation
• Most mental disorders can be solved with a diet of no sugar/low carb/higher fats (esp DHA from fish oil)
• Breakfast is not the most important meal of the day
• Eating 6x a day provides no metabolic advantage for losing weight than 2-3x a day…it’s still about calories and insulin control
• Mainstream media is 5 years behind research studies….research studies are 10 years behind what people are already doing for health and results
• The eat low-fat advice was the biggest health disaster in the last 30 years
• The greatest learning experience was helping people with autoimmune/arthritis to get healthier…..I never got more appreciation for my own health and how important prevention really is.
• The saddest thing to see is someone crippled by a potentially preventable disease while they are young which keeps them from doing simple daily activities and on multiple medications
• I was 215 lbs in college and thought I was big and had muscles….now at a much leaner and defined 185lbs I know I was more fat than muscles back then
• I can still keep up with the 21 yr old hockey players…..I just am a little more sore the next day now….
• Mountain biking is fun….snapping off my derailer and making it a single speed is even more fun
• The smartest trainer I know does not have a website or best selling ebook….as he is too busy training real clients
• Apple Cider Vinegar is the only medicine I take if I feel sick
• I can go up and down 10lbs in a week easily depending on glycogen and water balance
• The first big amount of lbs you lose in the first week dieting is mostly water
• If you want to get better at running….you run…..at biking…you bike…….at a sport…you play that sport
• I know a professional athlete making millions and a star on his team…yet he can’t do a pullup…but he doesn’t need to
• There is no one right way for anything…..as 20 different ways can get you results…
• 80/20 rule is so true…..80% of your results come from just 20% of the exercises, 20% of the food in supermarkets, and spending 20% of your time working out.
• Results are just the simple yet important things done on a consistent basis
• Losing more than 2lbs a week is probably not all fat
• Gaining more than 2lbs a week is probably not all muscle
• All diets fail over the long run….but lifestyle changes last
• All diets books are saying the same thing in general…they just make a new way to present it
• Bill Phillips was a marketing genius
• There is nothing new in health and fitness…..just ideas that resurface that are long forgotten
• Fads are created to sell more specialized equipment/gear, lifting/throwing something heavy and running fast has been around for 100s of years and still works
• Want a strong “core”? Lift something heavy over your head and walk around trying to stabilize it…the motivation to not drop it on your head will work wonders
• There should be a law against selling any dumbbells less than 5lbs….or ones in neon colors
• If your trainer can not get you to lose weight, fire him/her. You are not paying for his/her company or excuses….go find someone who can deliver or knows how to get results
• Squatting to parallel will only give you weak hamstrings and lead to more knee issues….you should be able to go down like you were going to pick something off the ground….as that is the reason our bodies were designed to squat
• The best thing anyone can do for their health/results is to just try new things…see how their body adapts and responds…and learn how to take total control no matter life may throw at them in the future
• Again I did not write this, only wanted to share its information

Things Your Personal Trainer Won’t Tell You

November 21, 2008

Having been a trainer myself for year and years I can tell you that I have met some great smart trainers, and some I’m not even sure how they got certified. Most people seem to trust their trainers 100% when it comes to advice on how to get into shape, yet isn’t the information only as good as the source it comes from. Some trainers may have a Masters in exercise physiology, some may have no formal background in fitness. While a degree is one thing, experience and the ability to get results is another. Much like a nutritionist who went to school to learn about nutrition, yet may also tell you to follow the food pyramid, eat 10 servings of grains all day and eating 6x a day is the best way to speed up your metabolism (which we already know is not true from the posts about the science of meal frequency Part I and Part II). Trainers are also in the business of training, so there is incentive to keeping people around month after month. So here are some things that you may not be getting from your trainer….but need to know.

• 85%+ of Your Results Comes from What you Eat - I can’t stress how HUGE this is. Whether weight loss or gaining muscle, diet and what you eat is the biggest part of the equation. I don’t care how advanced and special your workouts are, if your nutrition stinks then you get little to no results. A basic workout with dialed in nutrition will give phenomenal results. So while trainers convince you about needing to workout with them, ask them about nutrition as that is what really matters.
• Your Core is Not the Big Problem - It drives me crazy to see trainers in the gym doing all these balancing exercises on wobble boards, bosu balls and other ridiculous pieces of equipment. While you can use them as some secondary piece of equipment to work on something specific, to make it the focus of the workout is useless. Lifting weights and doing full compound movements is where 99.9% of people need to stay and focus with. Trainers are getting suckered into all this additional nonsense because the equipment industry is promoting it as ongoing education (because they want to sell more silly balance things). If you want a strong core, lift something over your head and hold it up there….but looking around the gym it seems people have too big a core anyways and just need to go focus on mastering full body movements and diet.
• Abs are Made in the Kitchen - Again another thing that drives me nuts, seeing trainers doing just an “ab” workout. Really? Unless you are already ripped and want to improve the definition on your abs, you again don’t need this as a focus of your workout. Do some planks at the end and that will be enough stimulation, but without proper focus on diet/nutrition you will never see those abs in the first place. We all have a six pack, we just have something covering it up.
• 90% of the Equipment in the Gym is Hype - If a trainer is taking you from machine to machine and spending no time on free weight or compound movements, go find another trainer. Isolation machines are pretty much useless in the overall scheme if your goal is to use exercise as a hormonal response to grown muscle and burn fat. If you goal is to just kill time for an hour 5x a week and never make any progress, then feel free to use the machines.
• If You are Not Getting Results in 30 Days, Hire Another Trainer - Remember that you are paying for RESULTS. Consider a trainer as part of your company named You Inc. If your employee isn’t doing their job, why do you keep them around? Fire your trainer and go find another one if need be. Heck find a new trainer every month and see what each has to offer. All in all you don’t need a trainer month after month (unless you really need that motivation and have that kind of money to spend freely). A trainer should teach you how to do the right exercises and nutrition. You can check back in with them to see what kind of progress you are making and to change things up as needed, but you really don’t need them month after month to count reps. Most trainers that make a living on long term clients may not be getting them any results….and those are not the trainers you want to stick with. Don’t get suckered into any long term contracts, go month to month and base it on whether you are getting the results you are looking for.
• You Don’t Need a 1-Hour Training Sessions - If your trainer can’t push you enough in 20-30 min, he/she doesn’t know what they are doing. Workouts should be about 30min and you can do any other cardio on your own without paying a trainer to talk to you on the treadmill.
• It takes a Spare Weekend and $400 to Become a “Professional” Trainer - Heck nowadays with the internet it’s probably more like $200 and a day on a computer. Don’t let the certification fool you into thinking they are an expert.
• Big Clubs have Big Turnover and Pay their trainers very little - So while you may go to a big chain club, you may be getting a trainer that is happy making $15/hr. Just remember that as some of the top trainers I know of are independent, own their own studios or work out of small gyms…not the big corporate ones.
• Trainers are being educated more on how to sell you - Like any good business, a gym wants to make money. So they train their salesmen (in the form of trainers) to get you to buy big 6-12mo contracts up front….and then they (the gym) couldn’t care less if you show up for them. Also there are plenty of fitness marketers out there telling trainers how to sell, how to trick you and how to make a ton of money. Now there is nothing wrong with running a business, making money and providing a valuable product. Just don’t get suckered into anything long term…..as you are paying for results, so make sure your trainer knows what they are doing before you decide on staying with them long term. Any good trainer will probably even tell you that is the best course of action. Don’t fall for some sales line of “well paying for 6 months up front will keep you motivated”….as that is BS….getting results month after month is the best motivation and good trainers know that.

and now (drum roll please) to finish off, I give you the top 10 warning signs on when you need to fire your personal trainer (and find a new one).

1. Your routines change up so much you never allow for any progression of weight for exercises
2. Your trainer likes to use alot of “toys” that he/she bought as the latest and greatest piece of equipment….and there is a new toy every month (shows where they are getting their education from)
3. Your trainer starts you off with any abdominal exercises (nothing like weakening your prime spinal stabilizers before going into compound movements, can you say injury?)
4. You trainer answers their cell phone during your session
5. Your trainer reads fitness magazines as their education (fitness magazines are marketed for people who don’t know how to get real results, if your trainer is one of them….then run away)
6. Your trainer does not explain how you should be eating (where most all the results come from remember?)
7. Your trainer keeps you on isolation machines (if there is not any focus on compound full body movements, you are not getting the education you need about good exercise)
8. You spend more time talking to him/her than working out (if you have enough time to talk for minutes in between sets, you aren’t working out hard enough)
9. You can’t get a good workout done in 30min (too much chatting going on? Or is your trainer just killing time with useless stuff to bill your more?)
10. and lastly….my personal recent favorite sign….your trainer has a bio in the gym saying he has 15 years of “weight training” experience….and he is 25. (seriously true story…..I about fell over when I saw that one personally….wow….or as I said in response “Well I have played with a calculator since I was 5 but you don’t see me saying I’ve been an accountant for 30+ years”)

If you liked this post you may also like this one from a while back: Trainer Tells All Post

reference: http://www.theiflife.com/

I did not write this; but having been a certfied and working trainer since 2004 I thought it was interesting, useful and for the most part largly true.  I know a lot of great trainers btw, all with integrity and great work and client ethic ~ but that is not true of all unfortunatly so I thought I would repost a few of these. 

AM Bonus Cardio x 52 minutes; I took my 2 German Shepherds for a long and really unorganized walk at about 0800 in the morning, it was super brisk out, about 40 degrees; my 16 month old female GSD is ok, but super hyper and the little 4 1/2 month old male GSD is a lunatic, still afraid of cars and birds and the wind; was surely cardio work though.  Heart rate was up above 120 the entire time, so for me, lower intensity cardio but better than nothing.  Love my new HR monitor watch.

Had to do work out at home for unmentionable reasons.  I always hate this, feels like doing practically nothing, but I know its effective.
Jump-rope x 10m for warm up, dogs think I am insane and bark at me every few minutes
Squats, arms overhead, to paralell, no weight on any of this

4 sets 25 reps

Alternating lunges, arms overhead

4 sets 20 per leg

Prone on fitball, unilateral glute/ham raise

4 sets 20 per leg

5m jump-rope interval
Standing front kick

2 sets 25 non-stop per leg

Standing rear/back kick

2 sets 25 non-stop per leg

5m jump rope interval
Push ups, regulation, no girlie

4 sets 15 reps

*No abs/crunches at all; still protecting my lower back, will try to add in some ab work tomorrow

5m jump rope interval

OK well everyone loves off season stats, but this summer when I competed and placed 4th my stats were as follows ON stage day after water was dropped and everything

Height: 5′5 3/4

Weight: 125.6 lbs

Bust: 35

Waist: 26

Hips: 36

Tuck: 19.75

Mid-Thigh: 20.75

Calves: 14.75

Biceps (no flex): 10.25  (flexed): 13.25

Shirt: small  jeans: 4  bra: 34-NATTA, nothing, zilch, A- if they make one, lol

and my current off-season stats (4 months post show)

Height: 5′5 3/4

Weight: 136.3

Bust: 36

Waist: 29 ~ EEK

Hips: 38 ~ EEK.. its all ass folks, it’s like a shelf back there
Tuck: 22

Mid-Thigh: 23.25

Calves: 15

Biceps no flex: 10.5  Flexed: 14

Shirt: medium (my back and shoulders are too wide for small), Jeans: 7, Bra: 34-AA no big change here, lol

I ended up pulling a muscle in my lower back last Monday morning; I attempted to go to the gym anyway, not realizing the extent of what would end up being a really bad strain.  I ended up sitting on the floor near Siobhan while she trained, I couldn’t bend or move or twist at all.

I did absolutly nothing for the next several days and then went in on Thursday, and very carefully did a lighter version of my regular work out for chect/tris.  I am using different training methods each week for 4 weeks ~ that was just a modified compound super set, and this week is dropsets to failure.  I was fine during the work out felt no strain on my back at all, until the end of my very careful and light cardio.

Chest

Seated Plate load Hammer Strength Chest Press

90 lbs x 9,  100 x 7,  100 x 7, 90 x 9

Incline DB Press

35s x 10  35s x 10  35s x 10  35s x 5

Standing Chest Fly Machine

85 x 12  85 x 12  85 x 12

Triceps Pressdown w/ rope

75 x 9  75 x 9  75 x 9

Seated overhead DB extension

40×8  40×8  40×8

Triceps dips on bench, feet up on another bench

1×15  1×12  1×10  1×8  1×6  1×4

Cardio

StepMill, level 5, 30 minutes

Meal 1

shake (1.5 scoops WPI+1 tsp L-Leucine)
fish oil

R-ALA

2 multi vitamins

1 Kava

3g Vitamin C (powdered; pure)

Meal 2

R-ALA

1 multi vitamin

1/3 c oats w/ water, 1 TBS sugar free maple syrup, 2 tsp Splenda/Stevia blend (75/15)

1 whole egg, 4 egg whites

4 TBS fat free shredded cheese

Meal 3

tuna fish, 3 oz envelope

1 TBS fat free mayo

1 TBS deli mustard

2 cups spinach

4 almonds

1 fish oil

1 multi vitamin

Meal 4

4 oz ground extra lean turkey breast

3/4 cup chopped broccoli

1/4 cup wild rice

1/8 c black beans

1 multi

1 R-ALA

Meal 5 (post work out)
2 scoops WPI, 12 oz water, 2 tsp BCAAs, 1 tsp L-Leucine, 3g Creatine Mono

1 fish oil

Glucosomine Chon
Meal 6

6 oz sirloin steak

8 spears asparagus w/ spray butter

green salad w/ 2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 GLASSES (4oz each) dark red wine

Kava
Meal 6

1.5 scoops WPI, 1 tsp L-leucine

1/2 cup cottage cheese, fat free

4 almonds, 1 tsp natural PB

cinnamon

2 multi vitamins

R-ALA

Melatonin

Glucosomine Chon

I have made a reasonable effort to in the least, clean up my diet and go back to 90% whole foods and drastically increasing my water once again.  I am also reducing my caffeine intake quite a bit, and we’ll see how that goes, I am truly addicted to coffee and caffeine.

My diet today is great thusfar

Coffee: 4 cups (6 oz.) w/ 3 tsp Splenda and 1 tsp fat free non-dairy creamer, each (powdered)

1 Calcium + Vitamin D

3 egg whites

1 whole egg

1/8 c reduced fat Monterrey jack cheese on eggs
1 slice reduced carb whole wheat bread

2 tsp natural PB

5 medium spears asparagus

33 oz water w/ a few tsp crystal light in it

Work Out

Back/Biceps/Abs + Cardio

Bent over uni DB Row

40s x 9  40s x 9  40s x 9

Standing Cable/Plate load Curl

70×9  70×9  70×9  75×6

Seated Wide Grip Alt Pull Downs

90×9 90×9 90×9

Alternating DB Curls

20s x 12  20s x 12  20s x 12

T-Bar Rows

75 x 8  75 x 8  75 x 8

Scissor Abs Crunch

3 sets 15 reps, 10 sec rest between sets

Prone Fit ball Crunch

3 sets 10 reps, 15 sec rest between sets

Lying Straight legged Raises

3 sets 15 reps, 15 sec rest between sets

Bench V-ups

3 sets 15 reps, 30 sec rest between sets

30 minutes on StepMill

Level 5-9 intevals every 5 minutes

15 min Elliptical

Intensity 5, Incline 9

intervals every three minutes

sipped 33 oz. water w/ one scoop BCAAs during work out, 33 more oz. during cardio work.
Post work out had 1.5 scoops WPI w/ 2 tsp BCAAs, 1 tsp L-Leucine, 1/2 tsp (2.5g) creatine mono, 1 tsp ultra super greens powder
I had another cup of coffee when I got home, damn.  This is going to be hard to stay off the coffee. I am having chicken and more asparagus and a 2 tsp olive oil and water now.  Blood sugar seems a lot more balanced since I cleaned things up, my hunger is not up and down constantly like it has been for the last month or so.

no explain, just training today

November 7, 2008

Although I don’t have time to write much at the moment, I wanted to mention the return of my blogging; I have been gone some time without explanation and will be returning to journal my workouts, training, prep, jobs I have obtained or am getting, really great new opportunities  and not so great aspects of life the past few months, and any possible prep plans for the future (or not).

Thanks to everyone who has consistantly asked about me, e-mailed and PM’d, and that was interested in my training and progress and my ill planned and eventually canked trip to New York City for Team U I will explain that in an upcoming post as well ~ sorry I really suck at keeping in touch when things go downhill Thanks for understanding. Looking forward to being back and accountable

peace and &<3