iamshendy

Today, I was determined to run for at least 1/2 an hour worth of interval cardio. I was feeling great when I got the gym, and hopped on the treadmill. I dialled back the intensity from my usual 9mph 2 minute bursts and started off with 7.5mph instead, eventually working my way up to 8.5mph. I wasn’t feeling run down so kept going – and going. Thirty-five minutes later, I got off the treadmill. I ran about 3.8 miles at an average speed of 6.7mph. I felt great!

On to the workout:

Back

• Wide grip pullups – 10 reps, 5 reps, 3 reps
• Seated row – 3 sets of 65lbs per arm x 10 reps per set
• One arm seated row – 3 sets 50lbs per arm x 10 reps per set
• Bent over rows – 3 sets (135lbs,155lbs,135lbs) at 4-6 reps per set

I read about a squat stretch from an article I found the other day. It involves sitting at the bottom of your squat (no weight) for 30 seconds, gradually spreading your knees farther apart. This reportedly helps to stretch our your hips (which are a real problem for me). I did 4 of these squat holds for about 15-20 seconds each. I could really feel my form on it, and I hope making these a frequent appearance in my workouts will help improve the weight and form of my squats.

Biceps

• Bicep Curls – 45lbs X 8, 50lbs x 4, 45lbs x 6, 35lbs x 10
• Hammer Curls – 45lbs x 6, 35lbs x 8,35lbs x 8
• "21s" with 25 lbs.

"21s" are great for a bicep burner at the end of your workout. They’re simply 3 sets of seven with the first set focusing on the lower half of the curl, the 2nd set focusing on the top half of the curl, and the last being a full curl from the bottom up. Your arms will BURN after trying these, if not – you’re not using enough weight.

Shendy.

Respect the game, that should be it
What you eat, don’t make me shit

I found a great resource on performing squats, and perfecting squat technique. The specific article I found is here: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems, but they have a whole category for squats as well.

I stumbled across this on the web. It’s a good reference – especially for those that have ever shied away from a CrossFit workout:

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/26_04_Beginners_Guide.pdf

Shendy.

We have our first guest post! Thanks to Matt for this one:

Most fitness diets have lots of sources of protein and ‘good carbs’ but not a lot of them talk about the essential fruits and veggies. One of the biggest topics discussed in the produce industry is the quality of the fruits and veggies that are consumed now, as per hundreds of years ago. Its no secret that now we are finding that a lot of our foods just don’t have the same nutritional value as they once did. Currently these luscious greens are being sprayed with pesticides and enhanced appearance though waxes and other chemicals that are extremely toxic to our bodies. It is now said that if you eat four servings of vegetables, you are actually only getting about one servings worth of nutritional value. Canada’s Nutritional Food Guide recommends anywhere from 5-10 servings of fruits and veggies a day… this puts you at 20-40 servings to maximize your nutritional value!!

Why all the talk about veggies and fruits?? It’s the one of the oldest sources of food and nutrients available, and I bet if you broke down your diet, you’re definitely not getting enough, or in some cases ANY!! I can’t count how many times I have asked people about diet and nutrition and they NEVER EVER include fruits and veggies in their daily routine, so how bad of a mistake are they making??? Lets go through what these wonderful food of the god’s do for us, in terms of fitness……

Although you may already live and eat a healthy lifestyle, you could be consuming mostly acidic foods which causes your body to be in the form of an acidic state. When you’re too acidic your body absorbs nutrients poorly and may even prove to be in a broken down or…. that’s right a catabolic state, I said that BAD word catabolic. Your body will be more likely to store nutrients as body fat or flush them out completely, this is bad news for the muscles. While in an acidic state, lots of free radicals and other tissue damaging toxins will live and thrive. What we need are lots of anti-oxidants to provide those free radicals an electron and neutralize and prevent cell and tissue damage. Cancers love to live in an acidic body. They thrive on a damaged tissue, and spread through an acidic state. I’m no doctor but I do know that anti-oxidant foods can be very preventative and cancer fighting. Enter alkaline foods!! Most fruits and veggies are highly alkalinizing which can cause nutrient absorption to broken down muscles (this would be your muscles after a hard ass workout).

As before we said fruits and veggies can also be high in anti-oxidants. We read more and more about how they boost immune systems, anti aging, fat loss, development of hair, skin and nails, etc. Anti-oxidants are measured ORAC units, which show the quality of the nutrients that your body is taking in. Some fruits that are high in anti-oxidants are Gogi berries, Pomegranates, Açai berry, Mangostein, blueberries, and any other type of berries. When it comes to these berries, the darker the better!! So after a workout have a handful of refreshing berries, or throw them in your protein shake for a good tasting smoothie!! When it comes to veggies; the greener the better. Common veggies to consume are: Spinach (there’s a reason why Popeye had huge guns!) Broccoli, any type of coniferous greens, and if you can try to find a good source of sea veggies!! (I know its tough you may have to search in extract form for this.)

So what’s the final word??

Along with your healthy eating every 3 hours or so, make sure to include a portion the size of your fist of fruits or veggies. A good idea that a lot of top athletes do is supplement with a greens/berry super food. Most of these are high in anti-oxidants, and increase your nutrient absorption along with all the other benefits that were talked about. All the nutrients that are included in these are veggies or fruits are in extract form and freeze dried so they carry the same nutritional value as the whole food. In some cases they can satisfy up to 6-8 servings daily!! With the discussion on the nutritional downfall of fruits and veggies, supplementing with a green/berry super food is almost essential in a healthy lifestyle. If I haven’t convinced you to complete your diet now, I probably never will, but if you have ever asked the question “Do I really get everything I need out of my diet?” Then I hope I have provided some answers for you.

Matt

Thanks Matt!

Shendy.

My workout postings have been lacking a bit lately – not because I haven’t been working out (I went 9 days straight before Superbowl Sunday), but I’m not going out of my way to post “traditional” workouts. These are workouts that contain your typical bicep curls, bench press, etc. At the end of the day – these are still great workouts – but we’ve all done these to death. If you haven’t done them to death – email me and I can give you some good “traditional” routines.

Without further ado, today’s workout was:

• 5, 2 minute intervals @ 9mph split with a 1 minute walk at 3.7mph
• 4 sets of “jerks” – 10 reps each @ 95lbs, 115lbs, 135lbs, 115lbs
• 3 sets of barbell shoulder thrusters – 10 reps each @ 135lbs, 115lbs, 115lbs
• 3 sets of lateral dumbbell shoulder raises – 8 reps each @ 35lbs, 30lbs, 30lbs
• 3 sets of side dumbbell shoulder raises – 8 reps each @ 15lbs per rep
• 3 sets of front dumbbell shoulder raises – 8 reps each @ 15 lbs per rep

T’was a gooder.

Shendy.

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/String2DateTime.aspx

221lbs… Almost time to re-evaluate the goals!

An in this month’s Men’s Health magazine was talking about lifting heavy weights to increase fat loss. While I was searching for that article, I came across this article from Men’s Health that echoes my thoughts on workouts. The biggest things that hit home for me in this article are how I’d summarize my workouts:

Keep it random

Random exercises, random muscle groups, random routine. From what I’ve seen of the CrossFit workouts, this seems to be a key to their success. Max weights with little reps, max reps with little weight, endurance exercises, long cardio sessions, short interval cardio sessions, cardio sessions mixed with intense lifting, cardio sessions mixed with endurance exercises, you get the idea. By keeping it random, you’re keeping your body on edge. You’re still allowing appropriate recovery time, but your body does not build up a resistance to that same flat bench press all the time. I find you are less likely to see that plateau.

Power lift for fat loss, and cardio increase

Power lifts (which I also call olympic lifts) are the old school lifts that typically incorporate a lof different muscle groups in one lift. Exercises like squats, dead lifts, power cleans, thrusters are just some that you can do that will actual expand your lung capacity. You can tell because your lungs are practically bleeding when you’ve finished.

For my money – power lifts are the most fun you can have at the gym. There’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment you get while doing shoulder thrusters with a 175lb barbell over your head. They also come in handy when you just can’t get that barbell back on the rack.

Use intervals

I’ve spoke to the benefits of interval training before. Either specifically to cardio, lifting, or to your workout as a whole – mixing intensity keeps your heart on edge as well. You’ll sweat like mad if you’re doing them properly.

Anyway – just a quickie that I came across, but hope you can apply it within your own workouts.

Go hard!

Shendy.

Here’s the play list I currently have on my iPod “Shuffle”. I use “shuffle” in quotes because i smashed my Nano last year and currently has no display. Rather than replace it I use it for the gym/running/biking as a shuffle. I’ll throw a picture up when I get a chance.

Anyway – playlist:

• Aerosmith – Fever
• Against Me! – Up The Cuts
• Against Me! – Stop!
• Big & Rich – Rollin’ (The Ballad Of Big & Rich) (Album Version)
• Billy Talent – This Is How It Goes (Album Version)
• Bon Jovi – We Got It Going On
• Buckcherry – Crazy Bitch
• The Eagles – Take It Easy
• Fort Minor – In Stereo
• Fuel – Ozone
• Godsmack – Whatever
• Godsmack – Get Up, Get Out!
• Guns N’ Roses – Welcome To The Jungle
• Hellyeah – Hellyeah
• Jay-Z – U Don’t Know
• Jay-Z – Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)
• John Fogerty – Gunslinger
• Junkie XL – Clash
• Kid Rock – American Bad Ass
• Korn – Got the Life
• Linkin Park & Jay-Z – Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You
• Linkin Park & Jay-Z – Jigga What/Faint
• Linkin Park & Jay-Z – Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer
• Marilyn Manson – This Is The New Shit [Album Version
• Marilyn Manson – Rock Is Dead
• Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
• Metallica – Master Of Puppets
• Metallica – Enter Sandman
• Metallica – The Memory Remains
• Metallica – The Unforgiven II
• Metallica – For Whom The Bell Tolls
• Methods of Mayhem – Get Naked
• Methods of Mayhem – Narcotic
• Motley Crue – Planet Boom
• Mötley Crüe – Angela
• Mötley Crüe – Kickstart My Heart
• Nickelback – Something In Your Mouth
• Nickelback – Burn It To The Ground
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Get On Top
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Storm In A Teacup
• Thornley – Easy Comes
• Tom Petty – Saving Grace
• Traveling Wilburys – Rattled
• Traveling Wilburys – Heading For The Light
• The Used – Pretty Handsome Awkward
• Velvet Revolver – She Builds Quick Machines

If you have some good tunes for working out – add them to comments. Looking forward to seeing whatcha’ got.

Shendy.