Optimum Anabolics - Day 61/Product Review

Hello Hump Day!

A product sample of Vitargo S2 by Genr8 was delivered to the homestead a week or so ago courtesy of my (relatively) new favorite internet radio station, SuperHumanRadio. Since this was my heaviest week of training on Optimum Anabolics thus far, it seemed like a good time to try this stuff out.

Vitargo is a molecular carbohydrate in powder form that has zero sugar and comes in 2 flavors (orange, tropical fruit) and unflavored. The sample I tried was unflavored which was nice since it was going in a coffee smoothie. I used half of the packet yesterday and the other half today. This provided 35g of carbs per day.

Vitargo is derived from barley (NOT gluten free) and is designed to replenish your glycogen stores extremely quickly when consumed after exercise. Due to it's molecular composition, it digests and leaves the stomach twice as fast as normal carbohydrates. This leaves you feeling less stuffed or bloated, as well.

Enough background. Here are my thoughts...

PROS:

• No bloating is no joke. I was satisfied but not stuffed for the amount of carbs involved.
• One packet gives you 70g of carbs with no sugar. That's huge. No crashing involved.
• The unflavored option makes this very flexible for adding to any liquid.
• Unflavored also means less chemicals (aka, crap!) are involved.
• Most importantly, it's my opinion that Vitargo did what it said it would. I literally felt like I could work out again and my muscles were pumped up.

CONS:

• Is it possible to work too well? I had so much energy I was ready to jump out of my skin. I could not sit still and I only used half the packet to make my smoothie.
• The powder did not thicken my smoothie as much as I had hoped. Xanthan gum was still required.
• An organic option would be nice.
• Expensive. 10 servings are $37.00 on line. Yikes.

BOTTOM LINE:

• I would purchase this ONLY if I was looking to build muscle for a show or contest or if I was some sort of extreme distance/endurance athlete like a marathoner or a tri-athlete.
• It was too high-powered for casual use by guys like me. No Cadillac required here.

WORKOUT - CHEST/ABS

2 supersets of the Week 9 Day 5 workout were chest related, followed by a superset of abs work

Superset 1: Incline DB Flye, Dips - Chest version (I had to do some assisted reps here...phew!)
Superset 2: DB Front Lateral Raises (palms up), Regular Push Ups
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers w/ ankle weights, Stability Ball Roll Outs w/ weight

Total Time => 42:27

Comments:

I finished off the week very strong with plenty of focus and good strength.

Legs were crazy sore today. I was walking funny. (~:

I went with 5 LB weights on my ankles today while doing mountain climbers and then had to drop down due to short rest periods.

The end of the Progressive Loading cycle is TOUGH! Lighter sets and longer rest periods will be more than welcome next week.

I was generally sore from head to toe after these 5 days. Incredibly intense workouts.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

Breakfast, post-workout, was a repeat of yesterday. Asian Fusion oatgurt. One big bowl of oatgurt, 1 TBS tahini, 2 tsp raw honey, and 2 tsp of miso paste. Originally I had planned on going with apple and cinnamon but had to go back and do yesterday's recipe again. So good.

To get my post workout protein requirement taken care of, I had a coffee smoothie with the following:

• 1 C of chilled coffee (Cafe Brioso, of course!)
• 1 C of almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 2 TBS of cocoa powder
• 2,000 shakes of cinnamon powder
• 3 TBS of coconut milk
• 1/2 packet of Vitargo Muscle Fuel & Recovery

Morning snack today was two home-grown apples from the farmer's market and raw brazil, walnuts, cashews, and almonds.

For lunch, I polished off the last of the first (repeat that a few times fast...hehe) batch of 3 bean chili along with a few slices of left over almond flour crust pizza. Warmed my tummy on a chilly (no pun intended) day.

As an afternoon snack, hummus was spread on (the other) half a tomato and a yellow bell pepper from the farmer's market.

Dinner consisted of eggplant parmesan that Christina slaved over with raw zucchini "noodles". I'll be sad to see the eggplant disappear until next summer. They have been phenomenal. It never hurts to have the chef prepare them well, either. (~;

My muscles were glad to hear that tomorrow is cardio only. (~:

Optimum Anabolics - Day 60/Busy So I Need An Answer

It was a crazy busy day today, so I thought it'd be a good time to ask a question about something that has me stumped.

We bought the baked, not fried, organic blue corn tortilla chips at Trader Joe's this past weekend (see photo below). For a 7 oz bag, the price was $1.99. For a 16 oz bag of FRIED chips, they charge $2.99.

How is it that the fried version costs more than the baked? Anyone?

WORKOUT - BACK

All 3 supersets of the Week 9, Day 4 workout were focused on the back.

Superset 1: Hanging Row, Pull Ups (Assisted)
Superset 2: Wide Arm Cable Row, Close Grip Lat Pull Down
Superset 3: Twisting DB Row, Wide Arm Lat Pull Down

Total Time => 46:15

Comments:

This workout just murders my grip and forearms. With the exception of the rows, all the exercises require me to hold on tight. This is terribly taxing for that "pump" set of 15 at the end of each superset!

The "pump" sets lived up to their name today. My back felt very wide all day.

The heat warmers are "on call" for tomorrow. Started feeling my legs tighten up later in the day.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

I started my post-workout meal off with a bowl full of oatgurt. I got brave today and, with guidance from my oatgurt pal, Heather, went with Asian Fusion for the flavor theme. I tweaked it for my taste by using 1 TBS tahini, 2 tsp raw honey, and 2 tsp of miso paste. My hesitation on stirring in that miso paste quickly turned to excitement on my first bite. Wow! What a great combination of flavors. Not sure why I doubted it would taste good. Sweet and salty. Yum!

To get my post workout protein requirement taken care of, I had a coffee smoothie with the following:

• 1 C of chilled coffee (Cafe Brioso, of course!)
• 1 C of almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 2 TBS of cocoa powder
• 2,000 shakes of cinnamon powder
• 3 TBS of coconut milk
• 1/2 packet of Vitargo Muscle Fuel & Recovery (more on this tomorrow)

Outstanding of course!

I had a couple of The Cookie Cop's oatmeal-cinnamon-flax cookies and 3 raw brazil nuts as a mid-morning snack.
















At lunch time, I had raw tortilla soup along with a sandwich baggie full of the aforementioned baked blue corn tortilla chips.
















My afternoon snack was half of a tomato and a green bell pepper loaded up with hummus.

The left over veggie burgers and cole slaw from Day 58 made a convenient dinner for a busy evening.

And that's all she wrote....

Optimum Anabolics - Day 59/Pop A Squat

My computer is loaded with audio files containing interviews with various experts and gurus on subjects ranging from financial advice to spirituality to nutrition to fitness. Some people listen to music from iTunes during the day or stream their favorite radio stations right to there computers. I like my music, too, but mostly I listen to information.

Back on Day 56, I was listening to an interview with a strength coach and track athlete (discus and hammer throwing, not running) named Dan John. The advice he was giving out was very practical for all levels and types of training so I decided to check out his website. A few clicks later, I found a video of Dan coaching a group of personal trainers at a strength conference. Since today was my leg day, I figured it was appropriate to post it. Not only does he verbally break big lifts like squats and dead lifts down to easy to understand steps, he has the entire class perform each component in order to experience the proper technique for themselves. Needless to say, he is a remarkable coach.

If you do lifts such as squats, whether with body weight or underneath the olympic bar, you need to check out this video. If you're like me, most likely you have some room for improvement that will reduce your risk of injury and provide for bigger strength and/or endurance gains. Try not to get freaked out that the video is nearly an hour long. While I do recommend watching the whole session, even just watching the first 5 minutes or so will change your form for the better.

Take it away Coach Dan...

Teaching the Olympic Lifts


WORKOUT - LEGS

All 3 supersets of the Week 9, Day 3 workout were leg related.
Superset 1: Forward DB Lunge , Lying Leg Curls
Superset 2: Donkey Calf Raises, Barbell Squats
Superset 3: Seated Calf Raises, Dead Lifts

Total Time => 45:47

Comments:

Shoulders and arms sore today from weekend workouts.

I was absolutely spent and completely soaked after this workout.

Doing sets of 15 on anything leg related is taxing to say the least.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

My post-workout breakfast this morning would have to be my all-time favorite. Eggs and pancakes. Does it get any better than that?

I scrambled my 2 whole eggs with red onion, red and yellow pepper, and topped them with 1 oz of raw milk cheddar and 1 oz of grass fed mozzarella. A few shakes of Louisiana Hot Sauce were necessary, too.

This morning's version of pancakes were Polly's oaty cakes. The use of rolled oats in this recipe gives these cakes a density that I love.

Mid-morning, I snacked on the last 3 carob energy cubes and raw cashews, brazil nuts, almonds, and walnuts.

At lunch, I went with the cashew cabbage salad from our favorite cookbook, The Ultra-Metabolism Cookbook by Dr. Mark Hyman. I had half of the dressing left from last week so this was a very quick and easy meal today.

Hummus spread on a half of a red bell pepper was my afternoon snack.

For dinner, Christina made up another stellar pot full of 3 bean chili from, you know, that one cookbook we like.

The Cookie Cop made up a special batch of gluten free oatmeal cinnamon cookies for Christina so I had to try one for dessert to make sure they were ok. Wow were they good! If we would've had some ice cream in the house, the batch would've been in danger of extinction.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 58/An Inside Look

This afternoon, we did some re-arranging of the master bedroom. It's amazing what a difference just the slightest change can make.

While in the switch-a-roo mood and having just purchased a stationary bike, it seemed like a good time to change up the home gym space, too.

I snapped a photo while things were all nice and organized. Here is the new and improved look all set up to kick my glutes (butt) tomorrow on leg day....
















The new (to me) stationary recumbent bike is over to the left along with the Body Solid dip stand. The incline/decline bench is set for leg curls while the rack is locked and loaded for squats. Behind the squat bar is a high/low pulley system that is great for tricep pushdowns and rowing exercises. On the floor to the right are dumb bells ranging in weight from 3 LB to 40 LB. Tomorrow morning I'll be using those for lunges which will be done right in front of the leg curl attachment.

It may not be pretty, but it gets the job done!

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Week 9, Day 2 workout included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: Incline DB Curls, Overhead Rope Extensions
Superset 2: Close Grip Chin Up (assisted), Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Bent Leg Crunch (with towel roll under back), Ab Slide (with 10 LB on my back)

Total Time => 47:15

Comments:

Shoulders got worked very hard yesterday and were letting me know today.

My arms respond very well to the "pump" sets during Week 9.

My abs are getting stronger at doing crunches with the towel and correct form.

The pump set of abs was done in the fully contracted position. Brutal.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

As a post-workout meal today, we met my friend Luke out and treated ourselves to First Watch. Love that place. Their service is amazingly quick no matter how busy they are. Most importantly they have a gluten free menu and go to great lengths in their kitchen to make sure the food is prepared without cross-contamination. Christina is a happy camper there for sure.

I managed to chow down on 3 big blueberry pancakes and a turkey sausage patty. I think I drank about a 20 cups of coffee, too. Whoops!

Lunch time came around mid-afternoon. It seemed like a good day to finish off the leftover lentil taco "meat" along with some homemade guacamole. I also had some baked blue corn tortilla chips to scoop up the escapees from the romaine lettuce "shells".
















Kombucha in the background to drink. Ahhhh!

I had been craving veggie burgers since we first made them a couple weeks back. We brought back the copycat recipe from Houston's Restaurant and once again it did not disappoint. Of course, we had to make the non-dairy coleslaw again, too. Also on the side was a sweet corn and bean salad from our favorite cookbook that Christina had put together earlier in the day. Definitely could make a meal out of that alone!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 57/Don't Blink

Do you ever have days that seem to go by so fast that when you lay your head down on your pillow you're wondering if you ever left the bed at all?

Today was one of those days...no idea where it went.

We had to meet a tenant at the bank at 9:00 so we got up around 8:59 (haha), grabbed a quick breakfast and headed out the door.

From there, we were off to the last farmer's market of the season, at least for our favorite location. Despite the rain, we spent over an hour filling our bags with produce, talking to our favorite farmers and vendors, and thanking them for doing what they do. I was especially appreciative this year since we tried to grow some produce but lost interest early on. Next season, we'll be exclusively shopping. No green thumbs in this house. (~:

After returning home, it was time to workout, take a quick shower, and make up some lunch before the Buckeye game.

The game ended in a route, we fixed up some dinner, and watched The Biggest Loser that was waiting on the DVR for us from Tuesday.

I tried to hang to the end of the Penn State/Iowa game but it just didn't happen. Last night wore me out!

WORKOUT - SHOULDERS

Week 9 of the Optimum Anabolics program is the 3rd week of a Progressive Loading cycle. This means getting more work load accomplished in progressively shorter amounts of time. In other words, this type of workout really gets the heart and lungs going.

The 3rd week is also the final week of the Progressive Load phase so it's a killer. 5 sets of each exercise are performed with very little rest time. The last set is a high-rep "pump set".

The intensity drops off again next week. I'm going to need it!

Superset 1: DB Front Lateral Raises, Standing Arnold Presses
Superset 2: DB Rear Raises, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Twisting DB Presses

Total Time => 43:04

Comments:

My shoulder muscles continue to get stronger since the last Optimum Anabolics Progressive Load workout.

I thought I was going to pop out of my skin after this workout. I had forgotten how much that "pump set" blows you up.

I did 15 minutes on the stationary bike after the weights for some light cardio work.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For breakfast I repeated yesterday's recipe for (mostly) raw blueberry cereal. Perfect for getting out the door quickly in the morning.

Lunch was more of a post-workout brunch. I finished off the very last of the grass-fed meatloaf that I topped with some of the veggie burger BBQ sauce. Awesome! Dessert was two of Polly's oaty cakes and a piece of pumpkin bread from Bob Evans that Christina saved for me from her breakfast out yesterday. It went great with our rainy day and my Cafe Brioso coffee. Yum!

For dinner, we whipped up another batch of white bean hummus with Greek-style salad. After a big brunch, it was nice to have a lighter dinner.

That pillow is calling...

Optimum Anabolics - Day 56/8's Not Enough

Week 8 of my journey through Optimum Anabolics has come to a close.

First up, three progress photos...






























































For comparison's sake, check out my Day 42 post. Not bad!

Now for this week's tale of the tape...

MEASUREMENTS:

Weight: 180.5 LBS (UP 2.5 LBS for week, UP 1.0 LBS total)
BF: 9.5% (according to the calipers I have) (UP 1.4% for week, UP 1.4% total)
Neck: 15-3/4" (NO CHANGE for week, UP 1/4" total)
Chest: 39-3/4" (UP 3/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Shoulders: 46-1/4" (DOWN 1/2" for the week, DOWN 1-1/4" total)
Biceps: 13-1/2" (UP 1/2" for week, NO CHANGE total)
Waist: 33-1/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/2" total)
Thighs: 20" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Calves: 15" (NO CHANGE for week, NO CHANGE total)
Adonis Effect: 1.391 (DOWN 0.026 for the week, DOWN 0.029 total)

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

As discussed in yesterday's post, this morning's intervals were done on the stationary bike newly purchased for the home gym.

Continued to work on getting faster at the Flying Romans.

I did 28 minutes on the bike. Next week I'll pay more attention to the timing break down.

Here are today's Flying Roman results (3intervals):

• 36 seconds
  
• 35 seconds
  
• 33 seconds (sweet)
  

Comments:

Shoulders and upper arms still way sore today.

Not much to show for the chest workout a couple days ago.

Left heel was much better today while working out AND later in the day. Very good thing.

Cardio over the weekend will continue to be bike rides only to rest the foot.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For breakfast I repeated yesterday's recipe for (mostly) raw blueberry cereal. This cereal is tremendously satisfying. This is a very important quality for me. Hunger and I do not get along. (~:

Mid-morning snack was carbo energy cubes and raw nuts.

A material supplier took a couple of us to lunch today at Cap City Fine Diner so there were a few discretions on my part. Things got started with a warm, buttery "white death" roll. As an appetizer, the man in charge (meaning, the guy picking up the check) ordered some house-made tater chips with alfredo sauce (the dairy laden one) and Maytag blue cheese. Oh. My. Goodness. For a meal (as if I needed more to eat), I had the veggie plate. This was a great combination of an angel hair pasta cake, mushroom spring roll, asparagus, broccoli, goat cheese, diner vegetables and marinara sauce.

I skipped the mid-afternoon snack (duh!).

For dinner, we finished off the last of the eggplant parmesan and roasted spaghetti squash.

Later in the evening, we met Christina's high school friend and her new fiance out to celebrate her friend's birthday their engagement. I sipped on 3 of these light, low cal, low carb beers. Not bad, but I prefer dark, heavy beer for sure.

To finish off a rather crappy nutritional day, I had to have a piece of the birthday cake that came from a fantastic local bakery...Golden Delight. My sis actually got her wedding cake there. It's that good. Not so good on the ingredients, however. Oh well.

Back to the weights tomorrow!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 55/I <3 Craigslist

Ever since my heel issue showed up during Week 2, I've been spending increasing amounts of time on the bike rather than running and jumping rope for cardio purposes. Slowly but surely my foot was getting better. In fact, I hardly had any discernible discomfort yesterday at all. I was extremely encouraged by this improvement.

My attitude changed quickly, however, when I felt the pain again later this morning post workout. When I stood up from my desk at the office it grabbed me. Stinks. Actually, it sucked and I was pissed. Something had to change. Enough was enough.

It was time to get that stationary bike I had been seriously contemplating getting since Week 2 and lightly considering since, well, I don't know when. Probably since doing a fat-loss cardio interval on my bike in the snow 2 springs ago. Good fun. :-)

The thought came to mind to hop on the net and check out Craigslist. If you're not familiar, Craigslist is like an on line garage sale, want ad forum, and "services available" listing for your area. Nearly all the equipment in my home gym was purchased from the site. We have also had luck with selling a couple of items and even finding tenants for our rental properties. Bottom line...try this site out!

After clicking into the sporting goods for sale section, I immediately came upon what turned out to be my next piece of fitness equipment. The Edge 491r Programmable Recumbant Bike.

I contacted the seller, asked a bunch of questions and set up a time to meet. Christina's mom was kind enough to loan us her SUV for transport purposes and the bike fit (almost too) perfectly. Once home, with the reluctant help of my wife (thanks, hon!), we wrangled it down the steps and into the home gym.

Tomorrow's cardio workout should be pain free and my foot will get the rest time it clearly needs.

Sweet!

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

My lungs and breathing were quite good today.

The Flying Romans are coming along nicely. Looking at last week's times, I improved a little. That's a good thing!

I walked at a steadily increasing pace for 5 minutes or so prior to hopping on the bike for the first interval.

Here are today's intervals:

• Bike, Intensity 1 (warm up), 5:15
  
• Jumping Jacks, Intensity 2, 3:00 ± (160 jumps)
• Jog, Intensity 2, 4:30 ±
• Flying Romans, Intensity 3, 35 seconds (15 each leg)
  
• Jog, Intensity 2, 3:10 ±
  
• Bike, Intensity 2, 4:45 ±
  
• Jumping Jacks, Intensity 2, 3:00 ± (about 170 jumps)
• Flying Romans, Intensity 3, 35 seconds (15 each leg)
  
• Jog/Walk (cool down), Intensity 1, 5:41 (jogged 4:20, walked 1:21)
  

Total Time => 30:01

Comments:

Arms and shoulders are fairly sore again this week. The muscles that lift my arms above my head (like doing the wave at a ball game) seemed to have been worked the hardest.

Not as sore in my chest as I'd like to be, although it feels like I worked harder in this area this time around.

Left heel was just so-so today. Progress is slow and I'm still favoring it some.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today rather than the usual 1 minute per side.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For breakfast I tried out a new recipe...raw (mostly, I think...) blueberry cereal. I bummed this recipe from Kardena's Kitchen and was admittedly skeptical. I had been wanting some cereal however and was avoiding buying processed, boxed up junk. This did the trick!

Check it out...















The recipe went into the "keeper" file for sure.

1/3 Cup Sunflower seeds (soaked or raw) 2/3 cup

1/2 Tbsp Shredded Coconut

½ Tbsp Flaxseed (soaked or raw) 1 Tbsp

1/2 Cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)

12 gr Protein Powder (Rice/hemp)

Dash Mineral Salt (Sea Salt or Himalayan)

Dash Cinnamon

1 Tbsp Raisins ¼ cup

¼ tsp Vanila extract (optional)

Sweetener (Agave Nectar/Stevia/Raw Honey)

Female Calories: 337 Protein: 23 g Carbs: 35 g Fat: 13 g

Mens Calories: 489 Protein: 31 g Carbs: 59 g Fat: 18 g

The ingredients that are bolded to the right of the ingredient is the different portion for men. The rest of the ingredients are the same.

Instructions:

If you’ve soaked your sunflower seeds, drain enough water to scoop out 1/3 cup (or more, depending on desired serving) of seeds. If not check out this video on how to soak sunflower seeds. Place any extra sunflower seeds in water and store in the refrigerator. Place all ingredients in your bowl including salt, cinnamon and raisins to taste. Add sweetener to taste (your choice—feel free to experiment). Add however much water you want to mix the dry ingredients and seeds together.

I made a few adjustments, of course...

• Added 1/4 C almond milk
• I do not understand "dash" of cinnamon. I measure it by the pound. :~)
• Added about 3 TBS of Trader Joes semi-sweet chocolate chips
• No sweetener of any kind was added (unless you count the chocolate chips)
• I left out the protein powder as well since I'm in the middle of the Protein Deprivation cycle

Mid-morning, I knocked out 2 apples and raw almonds, cashews, walnuts, and brazils.

Lunch was a repeat of Day 53...raw tortilla soup with 3 tostadas. I'll be buying the farmers out of peppers and tomatoes this weekend to make this again next week. (~:

Lemony hummus and half of a Hugh Jass red pepper went down the hatch for a snack this afternoon.

Dinner before heading out to pick up my "new" bike was a repeat of Day 52...non-dairy, gluten-free, raw alfredo sauce with spiralized zucchini "pasta". The recipe comes from Gena at Choosing Raw.

Anyone know where I can buy stock in raw cashews? (~:

Optimum Anabolics - Day 54/BOO-cha

I assure you this post has nothing to do with Stewart Scott from ESPN who is known for hollering out "BOO-YEAH!" during highlight clips. :)

There have been several posts in the blogosphere recently that have mentioned one of my favorite beverages. Kombucha! Correct pronunciation (as far as I know) = com-BOO-chah. Around the Overall Fitness household, it's just known as "bucha".

Since I make/brew my own and drink 4-6 oz of the stuff after nearly every meal, I thought I might join the trend and do a little post of my own.

First, with a little help from www.kombucha.org, here is what it is...

The Kombucha Culture, sometimes mistakenly referred to as a mushroom, is a symbiotic, probiotic colony of yeast and bacteria (the friendly type). Kombucha Tea is made by combining the culture, with a mixture of black tea, and sugar. The ingredients are allowed to "ferment", usually from 7-10 days. The resulting beverage contains dozens of elements, many of which are known to promote healing for a variety of conditions.

Now, with assistance from www.getkombucha.com, here's why I drink it...

Top 10 Noticeable Benefits of Drinking Kombucha Tea Daily

+ Prevents Acid Reflux

+ Assists With Weight Loss

+ Aids in Digestion of Heavy Meals

+ Strengthens Hair, Restores Hair

+ More Energy in the Morning

+ Helps With Sleep

+ Relives Constipation

+ Post Work Out Recovery Drink (Cardiovascular and Resistance Training)

+ Reduces Severity of Hangovers

+ Better Skin Complexion, Tighter Skin Tone

Not too shabby, eh?

Now to my brewing process. My ingredients are as follows:

• 3 quarts (96 oz) of fresh, filtered water
• 1 C sugar (I use cheap white sugar)
• 6 tea bags (any tea will do EXCEPT herbal teas)
• 1 Kombucha culture
• 1 C or so of previously brewed kombucha

Starting out, I boil a quart (32 oz) of water and then dissolve one cup (or a little more) of sugar in the boiling water.

Next, I brew the tea with 6 bags for 10 minutes (or longer).

Starting out...















After the tea has brewed it's time to add it to the jar where it will be fermenting for 7-10 days (or more if it's cooler in the house).

I pour one quart of water into the freshly brewed tea to cool it off. We now have 2 quarts of liquid.

The 3rd quart gets poured directly into the fermenting jar.

















The 2 quarts of cooled tea then get added to the fermenting jar. I put a paper towel over the jar and secure it with a rubber band.

All set to hang out for a few days...


















Flash forward to tonight and we're all set to bottle it up!
















Bottled and ready for drinking...




























WORKOUT - CHEST/ABS

2 supersets of the Week 8 Day 5 workout were chest related, followed by a superset of abs work

Superset 1: Incline DB Flye, Dips - Chest version (I had to do some assisted reps here...phew!)
Superset 2: DB Front Lateral Raises (palms up), Incline Push Ups (I got creative and used 2 chairs and ladder!)
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers w/ ankle weights, Reverse Ball Crunches

Total Time => 46:13

Comments:

I have to admit, I just did not have it in the home gym today. My strength was lacking; particularly on the dumbbell flyes. Good thing tomorrow is cardio work only.

Legs were not sore but stiff for sure. They got worked well.

I went with 8 LB weights on my ankles today while doing mountain climbers. Abs...done.

It was a good week in the home gym even though today was somewhat disappointing.

Strict form continues to be a point of focus.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

My post-workout meal this morning was delicious. I cooked up 2 eggs sunny-side up with half a red pepper and a few slices of red onion in a teaspoon or so of coconut oil. I put them on a piece of Ezekiel bread along side 2 oz of homemade grass fed beef meatloaf. The eggies were followed up by 2 of Polly's oaty cakes with a TBS of organic butter and 2 TBS of pure Ohio maple syrup.

Mid-morning snack was 3 carob energy cubes along with a handful of raw nut mix (cashews, almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts).

Lunch was a fantastic cashew salad with cabbage cole slaw mix, red peppers, carrots, and scallions dressed with an almond butter, rice vinegar, lemon juice dressing. The recipe was from our favorite Ultra-Metabolism Cookbook by Dr. Mark Hyman. This salad is really, really good.

At snack time, I had a green bell pepper with lemony hummus.

Dinner was eggplant parm from Day 51 along with some roasted, organic spaghetti squash from the farmer's market. Delicious is an understatement. (~:

Optimum Anabolics - Day 53/Arriba!

Hey Amigos!

Looking back on my day today, I had quite the Hispanic theme going. I had to drop off a business payment on my lunch break and wound up browsing through a new Mexican grocery store near my original destination. Lunch itself (see below) was raw tortilla soup with tostadas purchased from said Mexican grocery. Dinner included blue corn tortilla chips. Chulo! (that's Spanish for "cool")

Anyway...it was a great experience to walk into this Mexican grocery where all the food labels, pricing signs, and advertisements were in Spanish. I wish I would have had my camera! All of the workers were speaking Spanish as well. It reminded me of being in a big city like Chicago or New York where small markets like this are everywhere.

The best part was seeing all the homemade, fresh foods they had available in addition to grocery items from producers you will not see in a chain grocery store. As I mentioned, I purchased some tostadas (see below) that were made in Chicago and tasted amazing!

Next time you're driving to Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods, or your local grocery chain, stop into one of these markets that might be on the way. You never know what you might find there that could become a new favorite food for you. Besides, I'd much rather give my cash-ola (that's Spanglish for money...haha) to the local guy than the big, bad corporation any day.

WORKOUT - BACK

All 3 supersets of the Week 8, Day 4 workout were focused on the back. I tend to build in the chest area fairly quickly so this is good for balancing out my upper body.

Superset 1: Hanging Row, Pull Ups (Assisted)
Superset 2: Wide Arm Cable Row, Close Grip Lat Pull Down
Superset 3: Twisting DB Row, Wide Arm Lat Pull Down

Total Time => 47:53

Comments:

This workout just murders my grip and forearms. With the exception of the rows, all the exercises require me to hold on tight.

Very pleased with the weights I chose today. I kept my form tight.

My calf muscles were actually somewhat sore today. I have trouble working this area due to the limited equipment I have available so this is a good sign.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

I started my post-workout meal off with a 4 oz piece of leftover grass-fed beef meatloaf that was nearing the end of it's life in the fridge...so glad I rescued it. :) Next up was a bowl full of fresh oatgurt with a chopped up apple, a libra (that's Spanish for pound) of cinnamon, and a big spoonful of almond butter.

Breakfast bowl...















"I want that apple core now! You're killing me!"...















Had to throw in a gratuitous dog shot in there. :)

2 apples and raw almonds, cashews, brazils, and walnuts was my snack mid-morning today.

For lunch, I experimented with another new recipe. Raw tortilla soup! Here is the recipe copied from the blog Choosing Raw...

Raw Tortilla Soup (serves two people with appetites)

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, packed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, packed
2 large stalks celery, chopped
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp lime juice
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 clove garlic (optional!! raw garlic is powerful, folks)
Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

Optional toppings: tomato, avocado, onion, corn chips

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients in a minus the olive oil in a blender (a high speed blender will work best, but any will do). When the ingredients are well combined, drizzle in the olive oil with the motor running until the whole mixture is creamy and emulsified.

All the ingredients ready to become soup...
















The soup alone was excellent but wound up being outstanding with the crispy tostadas I bought at the local Mexican market.















The only ingredients for these are corn, water, salt, and coconut oil. Very nice!

As mid-afternoon rolled around, I snacked on a fresh red bell pepper and a tomato from the farmer's market dipped in some lemony hummus.

At dinner time, we tried out a recipe for Greek Wraps with White Bean Hummus that was on line from Vegetarian Times. My plate....
















We totally skipped the wrap part of the recipe and went with blue corn tortilla chips. Really good stuff!

I popped a teaspoon of fish (pescado...hehe) oil before bed and that was it for the night.

Buenas noches!!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 52/Time, Words, Opportunity

This past weekend we attended a wedding at a local Lutheran church. I'm not much of a religious guy so all the ceremonial happenings are usually just a blur to me. The part of the service (wedding or any other Sunday) that I have grown to find interest in, however, is the sermon.

The wedding officiant brought up the three words "time", "words", and "opportunity". In particular he pointed out that they have one thing in common...once they've passed, you cannot get them back.

So true.

He related the concept to marriage, of course, but my mind wandered to just life in general.

How often do we just let time pass by and say "I'll start that tomorrow"? Why not just start?

We've all had those occasions when we wish we would have chosen our words more carefully or even not said anything at all. Yes?

Whether we know it or not, we are all making choices each minute of each day. That means, to me, that opportunity is presenting itself constantly. Why not take it?

Great stuff. Just don't ask me what the bride's dress looked like. :~D

WORKOUT - LEGS

All 3 supersets of the Week 8, Day 3 workout were leg related.

Superset 1: Reverse DB Lunge , Lying Leg Curls
Superset 2: Donkey Calf Raises, Barbell Squats
Superset 3: Seated Calf Raises, Dead Lifts (AFTER squats?? Yep!)

Total Time => 49:49

Comments:

Shoulders still sore today from Sunday. Good workout!

Really hit the dead lifts hard today. Increased amount of weight lifted and focused on form.

Totally soaked after this workout. Getting up the stairs required some coaxing. :)

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For my post-workout meal this morning I cooked up 1 egg sunny-side up with half a red pepper in a teaspoon or so of coconut oil. I also had the scrambled egg leftover from making the eggplant parm last night and put it all on a piece of Ezekiel bread along side 2 oz of homemade grass fed beef sausage. The eggies were followed up by 2 of Polly's whole-wheat pancakes with a TBS of Earth Balance Natural Spread and 2 TBS of pure Ohio maple syrup.
















Mid-morning snack was 3 chunks of carob energy cubes along with a handful of raw nut mix (cashews, almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts).

At lunch time, I pulled the last homemade veggie burger out of the fridge and re-heated it in the toaster oven I have in my office. While the burger was getting warm, I munched on a handful of shredded carrots and half a cucumber. For added crunch, a handful of blue corn chips did the trick.

Mid-afternoon, I snacked on lemony hummus, a green pepper, and a small tomato.

Dinner was an exciting new recipe for us...non-dairy, gluten-free, raw alfredo sauce with veggie "pasta"! After seeing this on Heather Eats Almond Butter last week, we knew we had to try it. The recipe comes from Gena at Choosing Raw.

Pre-sauce veggie plate with "parm" in the background...















Christina's plate all ready to be mixed up...















I will not claim that this tastes exactly like alfredo sauce from, say, The Olive Garden but who cares? It was fantastic! Good thing...we're having it again later in the week. :)

Optimum Anabolics - Day 51/Sunday Cheffing

It seems that lately Sunday's have been all about food prep. Today was no exception. Thankfully, eating is involved as well. :)

After breakfast, I headed out and picked up some fill-in items at the grocery store that could not be purchased at the farmer's market.

Once I got home and put the goodies away, it was time to hit the home gym. I followed that up with lunch, a shower, and some computer work.

As dinner time rolled around, it was non-stop kitchen fun. We roasted our spaghetti squash, fried up 2 eggplants, baked one eggplant parm, ate dinner, cleaned up, and then I made a batch of hummus for my daily snacks during the upcoming week.

Phew!

Anyone else feel like they spend more time in the kitchen than anywhere else in their house??

The meals we nourish ourselves with is more than worth it, though, so I should not complain. We eat pretty well around here...healthy (most of the time) and delicious (nearly all the time).

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Week 8, Day 2 workout included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: Incline DB Curls, Overhead Rope Extensions
Superset 2: Close Grip Chin Up (assisted), Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Bent Leg Crunch (with towel roll under back), Ab Slide (with 5 LB on my back)

Total Time => 39:46

Comments:

Shoulders sore but not killing me today.

My arms were exercised well today...particularly on the incline curls.

My abs are getting stronger at doing crunches with the towel and correct form.

Core muscles are getting strong as well. Tomorrow will be a good test with squats and dead lifts on the schedule.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

This morning was nice and cool which put me in the mood for a nice bowl of oatmeal.

Pre-cooking...















This was an excellent oatmeal that cooked up real nice with about a cup of boiling water. I loaded my bowl up with a chopped apple, a ton of cinnamon (seriously need to get a photo of that...hehe), and 2 TBS of almond butter.

My metabolism must've been in high gear this morning, because I burnt through that oatmeal breakfast fairly quickly. A snack of an apple and raw nuts was necessary before heading off to the grocery store. Hungry grocery shopping = bad news for the wallet. :)

Lunch (post workout) was a stroganoff-type concoction of leftover grass-fed meatloaf along side the following sauteed in coconut oil:

• red onion
• garlic
• mini-bella mushrooms
• salt

Gluten-free rice noodles were mixed into the saute. The whole plate turned out like this...















I'm not gonna lie and tell you these noodles are just like their gluten-laden counterparts, but they were darn good!

For dessert, Christina made up a most excellent gluten-free almond flour cinnamon coffee cake from THE Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. Another winner!















How sweet is that?

As mentioned earlier, dinner was eggplant parm from that same cookbook (yeah, okay, the book is awesome) along with some roasted, organic spaghetti squash from the farmer's market yesterday. The best squash I've ever had!

Din-din...
















Spaghetti squash before the oven roasting....















Told you it was a day of cheffing 'round here!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 50/Wedding Day Market

No, no. Not my wedding. :-)

Even though we had to be at an 11:30 wedding ceremony today, I was determined to make it to the farmer's market. The fresh produce is almost unbelievable right now AND there is only one week left in the season. I might have to give goodbye hugs to the farmer's next week (haha).

Anyway, I had to post again about the markets because I like being an excuse buster. I get sick of hearing people say it's too expensive to eat healthy.

Look at all these veggies I got for $15! That spaghetti squash could feed us for a week. Not really, but you get the idea...

















Seriously, do what you gotta do in the winter, but for now...get out there while you can and support your local farmers. Even if they do not follow strict organic guidelines, it's better than paying your grocery to haul the same stuff in from 1,500 miles away or, worse yet, some other country.

WORKOUT - SHOULDERS

Week 8 of the Optimum Anabolics program is the 2nd week of a Progressive Loading cycle. This means getting more work load accomplished in progressively shorter amounts of time. In other words, this type of workout really gets the heart and lungs going.

Superset 1: DB Front Lateral Raises, Standing Arnold Presses
Superset 2: DB Rear Raises, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Twisting DB Presses

Total Time => 43:04

Comments:

My shoulder muscles have definitely gotten stronger since the last Optimum Anabolics Progressive Load workout.

I took a 15 minute bike ride after the weights for some light cardio work.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

For breakfast this morning, I wanted something quick and easy so I could get to the farmer's market. A coffee smoothie was in order. Into the blender went:

• 1 cup of chilled coffee
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 2 TBS of cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp+ xanthan gum

We had a wedding to go to this morning/afternoon. Before the ceremony, I snacked on a carob energy bar cut into 3 cubes along with raw cashews, almonds, walnuts, and brazil nuts. Thankfully, the meal at the reception was served buffet style with plenty of low protein (aka, veggy) options. I started with an appetizer of 2 spinach-stuffed mushrooms, a half dozen whole wheat crackers, a few pieces of pineapple and cantelope and 3 strawberries. In the buffet line, my plate got filled with a mixed green salad dressed with balsamic, broccoli salad (broccoil, mayo, raisins, carrots, onion, etc.), black bean and corn salad in a spicy dressing, and mango salsa that was to go over the roast turkey breast. Considering I thought I was going be stuck with salad and a steamed veggie or two, this was outstanding! Dessert was cake, of course, along with a chocolate covered strawberry. I gobbled up the strawberry but ate only a bite of the cake. I'm just not a cake kinda guy, I guess. Good thing they didn't have ice cream. ;-)

Since lunch was mid-afternoon at the reception, we had dinner (post workout) a little later than usual. We decided to do pizza night for the second Saturday in a row. This week we tried out a new gluten-free recipe from this book with the shipment of almond flour we received from Honeyville Food Products. This stuff is awesome and made an excellent crust. I topped mine with EVOO, minced garlic, green and red peppers, mushrooms and red onions. I put 4 oz of grass-fed, organic mozzerella cheese on half to meet my protein requirement for the day. Mmmmm....pizza.

Dessert was a repeat of last week, too. Cookies (oatmeal raisin) and ice cream! The PJ Madison's is good, but not excellent. It's tough to complain about the ingredients, however.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 49/Seven Down

Week 7 of my journey through Optimum Anabolics has wrapped up. Here's what I have to show for it thus far...

MEASUREMENTS:

Weight: 178.0 LBS (DOWN 1.5 LBS for week, DOWN 1.5 LBS total)
BF: 8.1% (according to the calipers I have) (NO change)
Neck: 15-3/4" (UP 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Chest: 39" (NO change for week, DOWN 1/2" total)
Shoulders: 46-3/4" (NO change for the week, DOWN 3/4" total)
Biceps: 13" (DOWN 1/2" for week, DOWN 1/2" total) (I'm shocked and dumbfounded by this!)
Waist: 33" (DOWN 1/4" for week, UP 1/4" total)
Thighs: 19-3/4" (NO change for week, NO CHANGE total)
Calves: 15" (NO CHANGE for week, NO CHANGE total)
Adonis Effect: 1.417 (DOWN 0.004 for the week, DOWN 0.003 total)

WORKOUT - CARDIO (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

Focused on getting faster at the Flying Romans.

Before hopping on the bike, I walked at a good pace for 5 minutes or so.

Here are today's intervals:

• Bike, Intensity 1 (warm up), 5:05
  
• Jumping Jacks, Intensity 2, 3:20 ± (170 jumps)
• Jog, Intensity 2, 4:45 ±
• Flying Romans, Intensity 3, 38 seconds (15 each leg)
  
• Jog, Intensity 2, 4:00 ±
  
• Bike, Intensity 2, 4:00 ±
  
• Jumping Jacks, Intensity 2, 3:00 ± (about 160 jumps)
• Flying Romans, Intensity 3, 35 seconds (15 each leg)
  
• Jog/Walk (cool down), Intensity 1, 5:30 (jogged 4:00, walked 1:30)
  

Total Time => 32:53

Comments:

Shoulders and upper arms still way sore today.

Not much to show for the chest workout a couple days ago.

Left heel was better today while working out but wish it was better than it is. Cardio over the weekend will continue to be bike rides only.

Calves and feet got stretched for 2 minutes per side today.

DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

Since the Optimum Anabolics program has me currently in the Protein Deprivation cycle, it seemed like a good opportunity to whip up a Green Monster. I repeated yesterdays mix since it was so good:

• 1 C Almond Milk
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 C frozen blueberries
• 2 tsp Flax Oil
• 1 tsp Fish Oil
• 2 TBS Raw Almond Butter
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
• Tons of Spinach
  
• Cinnamon
• Cinnamon
• Cinnamon!

Around 10:00 after a meeting, I snacked on an energy bar from The Cookie Cop and my raw cashews, brazils, almonds, and walnuts.

Lunch was another round of eggplant parmesan leftovers with zucchini "noodles". This meal is really excellent and *will* be included on next week's menu. :)

Mid-afternoon, I went with the lemony hummus, a cut up green bell pepper (no poblano today!), and a tomato from my father-in-law's garden. Outstanding!

Dinner was left over 3-bean chili, a few blue corn chips, and a piece of gluten-free bread that Christina made. Excellent! The recipe was from this book on baking gluten-free using almond flour.

Later, I took a teaspoon of fish oil and headed off for bed.