Making Statements, Not Excuses

Today I wrapped up the week by doing a circuit and remembered how intense those things were. If you want a high intensity workout. You should definately do a circuit. Well today’s adventure was pretty awesome. Its no big thing to see older retired gentlemen and ladies in my gym. But ten there was this one guy that had to be at least 65. That wanted to join in on my circuit. So i said sure not knowing how long the guy would last. We started with the bench press, squat, and EZ Curl circuit. 3 supersets of 10 with a minute and a half rest. The guy did more than hold his own. Then we went to a Pulldown, Upright Row, and Military press superset. Again he held his own. Finally we did and abs superset of Leg raises, flooor crunches, and hanging knee raises. At this time the sweat was pouring because i take no prisoners with myself. Appearently neither does this fella. He was awesome. I immediately wanted to take this man to all the young guys that come in the gym and act like they are about to die after a simple chest workout. Honestly I believe this man had more wind than i did. An unlikely workout partner to say the least. At the end of the workout, the older guy looks at me and says "same time next week sonny?" after looking at him and thinking "sonny?" I said "yes sir I can’t wait"

At a lot of gyms, including my own they have nursery rooms for children while their parents workout. So why is it that some kids can’t stay where they belong and the parents can’t control the little crumb gobblers? Don’t get me wrong, I love kids and admit its kinda funny when they start flexing in the mirror like the grown-ups do LOL…but when they get to running around, yelling and getting in your way, I want to shoulder press them and their parents….ugggh. I really love the parents that go to the kids and say, "now sweetheart i told you not to bother the nice people while they work out" …I wanna tell those parents, "man why don’t put one of those weight belts to that kid’s A$$.." LOL but i know not all parents do that. So parents do me a favor, please get the little ones under control or leave them with a sitter. Its also another safety issue for the gym owner also. That’s my rant for the day.

I decided that i really am gonna kick the abs training into high gear now that my flab is starting to burn away. Gotta really bring the ripple effect out. I studied hard to get the best exercises out for the best results and came up with these. You might want to try them too.

Bicycle Crunches

Captains Chair Leg raise

Exercise Ball Crunch

Vertical Leg Crunch

Long Arm Crunch

Reverse Crunch

Full Vertical Crunch

Plank on Elbows and Toes

Seated Twists with Small Medicine Ball

Kneeling Cable Crunches

Now even though I have posted some insane workouts in here I’m not a sadist so i don’t do all of these on the same day. I mix it up. I pick about 3 abs exercises to add to one of my regular workouts and do about 10-15 reps except for the plank which i do only 3-5 reps.  Now on to the recipe….

Peaches ‘N Cream Smoothie

• 2 cups unsweetened frozen sliced peaches
• 1/2 cup skim milk (or 1% milk if desired)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt (preferably organic, such as Stonyfield)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a blender or a food processor in the order shown and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings.

Per serving: 161 calories 1 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 4 mg cholesterol, 32 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 7 g protein, 17% vitamin A, 53% vitamin C, 33% calcium, 3% iron

First I just want to say thank you to all the men and women who gave all for my right to sit here wand write these blogs eveyday. God Bless all of you for the sacrifices you’ve made. I decided to not cookout yesterday because as long as I’m on this bread/sugar fast i need to stay commited to the plan and there is no way i realistically would have been able to stick to the plan with all those burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, well you get the point. I also have to remind others that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I came to this conclusion the other day when i saw this lady doing crunches the other day. She was going 90 to nothing as if she was trying to beat the clock to do a certain number of crunches. I did mine at my normal rate of 3 sets of 15-20. She asked why i did mine so slowly. I responded with something that is cliche` but true. "slow and steady wins the race".  It’s better to do 10 reps with proper form and concentration than to do 30 and be all over the place. She did her next set the way i did mine and she said she felt an immediate difference. So my lesson for today is don’t be in such a rush. You’ll get there just not today but its ok.

Today i hit a lower back/arms superset workout today and i hit it pretty hard so once again I had a good week in th gym. My problem with the gym patrons today however is the fact that i had to step over a lot of weights lying in the floor. How hard is it for the minions of the gym to simply put the weights back to the rack when you’re done. It’s not the employee’s job to be a housekeep and clean up after you. I talked to the gym owner and he was 3 steps ahead of me on the issue. He wrote a note and placed it all over the gym saying that any member that does not put the weights back will be subject to their gym membership being revoked. I’m not sure he really will revoke their membership, but i think he is just trying to get people’s attention. "It’s a safety issue moreso than a cleanliness issue" from where he was coming from.

EZ Bar Curl/Deadlift Superset 3 sets 10 reps

DB Hammer Curl/Pull-up Superset 3 sets 10 reps

Triceps Pushdown/Seated Lat Pull Superset 3 sets 12 reps

Kick Back/One Arm DB Row Superset 3 sets 12 reps

I realize that water retention is a huge thing with creatine use, so in the sense that i really want to lean out and flatten this stomach during this 60-day fast, i’m gonna leave the creatine out until the diet is over. If you guys have some feedback, let me know, good bad indifferent. I got to got workout on the arms today. Somehow after watching the American Idol finals last night I feel the need to re-affirm my manhood. Still strugggling without the ipod so i’m gonna try and sneak in and change the radio station to a rock station.

EZ Bar Preacher Curls: 4 sets 10 reps

Alternating Dumbell Curls: 3 sets 12 reps

Dips: 4 sets 10-12 reps

KickBacks 3 sets 12 reps

Reverse Curls 3 sets 10 reps

Wrist Curls 3 sets 20 reps

Well there is nothing really to report about strange gym occurences but maybe i know why. Yesterday was leg day and it went well. I noticed also that not a lot of people were there yesterday. Then a light bulb went on in my head. I looked outside as it was raining and it dawned on me. Gym attendence sure is down a lot when it rains. I guess some people have a binding contract with Mother Nature that states whenever it rains they have to take the day off from the gym. I guess I missed out on the memo. But being from Florida i guess watching category 5 hurricanes crashing into your state every summer kinda desensitized me to mere thunderstorms. Anyway on with the recipe

Chili-Rubbed Steak and Panned Salsa

Makes 2 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

8 ounces 1/2-inch-thick steaks, such as rib-eye, trimmed of fat and cut into 2 portions
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. Sprinkle both sides of steak with chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook, turning once, 1 to 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a plate, cover with foil and let rest while you make the salsa.
2. Add tomatoes, lime juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pan and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and any accumulated juices from the steaks. Serve the steaks topped with the salsa.