Optimum Anabolics - Day 79/The Godfaddah (& Momma)

This morning, Christina and I had the honor of becoming Godparents to little Brenna Elizabeth Sampson. Pretty cool, huh? Brenna is the beautiful youngest daughter of our good friends Adriann and Don Sampson. Christina and Adriann spent their entire school-age years together and went to the same church growing up. So close are these two that Adriann was the co-officiant at our wedding! Very cool.

The proud Godparents...

















The happy family and Pastor Megan...

















The whole gang...



















WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Week 12, Day 2 workout included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: DB Concentration Curls, Cable Push Downs
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curls, Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Plank (1 minute hold on stability ball), Stability Ball Jackknife

Total Time => 37:28

Comments:

It seems my biceps and triceps are getting significantly stronger each week.

Stability ball plank holds were tough when combined with the jackknifes (jackknives??...haha).

Worked out later in the day (6:30 P.M. ±) today and felt like I had more strength.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

The hotel we stayed at provided us (ok, me at least) with vouchers for the hot breakfast buffet. This was not a high-end meal but not too bad, either. Comparable to the $10 buffets out in Vegas. Anyway, since this was not a post-workout meal, I ditched the carbs and had a plate full of scrambled eggs with some bacon and sausage while waiting for my made-to-order omelet. (:

The omelet was actually quite good. The kitchen stuffed it full of green peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham, and cheddar cheese. Holy protein.

Lunch after church and the baptism was family-style Chinese. I could have went nutso and pigged out because everything was so good but I kept a solid hold on the reins. Amish pumpkin pie and ice cream made up dessert. Somehow I managed to only have one piece of that, too. Clearly I was not focused. (~:

On the way back to Columbus, I did a little post workout meal pre-planning and stopped at my college-days employer, Pizza Oven (a local Italian family run establishment), for a take out pizza. I took home a bianco (white) pizza topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, mushrooms, and provolone cheese. Ahhh the memories!

After shoveling the 'za in my face just like the old days, I had some leftover sweet potato pie for dessert. What a wild day of eating this was...

So glad to be home, too.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 72/Gluten Free, Dairy Free Waffles

There are times when I do not care for the internet. Today, I love it.

Not too long before my wife determined it was in her best interest to not consume dairy or gluten, I had hooked her on homemade waffles (and pancakes). My mom could make a heck of a waffle so they were Sunday morning, post-church comfort food for me growing up. But how to make them gluten free, dairy free, AND taste good had me scratching my head.

I had been craving waffles lately and then it happened. One of the blogs I follow, Mark's Daily Apple (thanks, Heather), recently posted a link to a grain-free waffle recipe. With a substitution of coconut milk for cow's milk we made it dairy free, too. Beautiful!

Grain-free Gluten-free Waffles:

• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp milk (we used coconut milk)
  
• 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• Optional – 1 Tbsp maple syrup, honey, or other sweetener (we'll use more next batch)
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp coconut flour

Simply mix everything together, and let the ingredients meld for about 5 minutes (or during your workout :-) while your waffle iron gets warm. The coconut flour seems to react better if it has time to “soak” so please don’t leave out this “melding” time.

Then, thinly spread over your waffle iron – I didn’t need to use nonstick spray for these. You’ll want to just barely cover the “hole” lumps of the waffle iron, because this batter expands a lot.

Close the iron and wait several minutes, until the steam stops coming out quite as much. If you want, you can open it to peek… it won’t hurt anything. When the steam isn’t as crazy, and the waffles are starting to brown, remove them to a plate.

The verdict? Delicious!

I would not hesitate to serve these to any waffle lover.

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Week 11, Day 2 workout included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: DB Concentration Curls, Cable Push Downs
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curls, Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Plank (1 minute hold on stability ball), Stability Ball Jackknife

Total Time => 38:29

Comments:

It seems my biceps and triceps are getting significantly stronger each week.

Stability ball plank holds were tough when combined with the jackknifes (jackknives??...haha).

Mowed the lawn (again) this afternoon for some "extra credit" cardio.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

Breakfast was later in the morning after my workout and included waffles (see above) covered in homemade chocolate syrup (maple syrup and coco powder) and homemade bacon from my friends at Bluescreek Farm Meats. Awesome breakfast, fun pictures. :)






































Since breakfast was late today, I skipped lunch and had a mid-afternoon snack of cottage cheese and raw walnuts, almonds, brazils, and cashews.

Earlier in the day, I dusted off the crock pot (literally) and put dinner in to cook. A 3+ LB lamb shoulder roast (also from Bluescreek Farm Meats) simmered all day long in chicken broth, spices, and onions. Outstanding. I think I could have eaten the whole roast...it was that good.

Before bed, I had my 30g of whey protein isolate powder and called it a day.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 65/Supplements

As I mentioned yesterday, Week 10 of Optimum Anabolics requires a switch back to a higher protein diet. I figured this was a good time to introduce some supplements that are considered optional on the program.

Here's a quick peek at what I'm taking, the timing, and what they are taken for:

• Creatine Monohydrate: 5g before and 5g after a workout. Great for providing strength and energy during a workout and for encouraging muscle recovery during the post workout time period.
• L-glutamine: 5g immediately after a workout and 5g before bed. This supplement is for tissue recovery and secondarily boosts your immune system.
• Branch Chain Amino Acids: 15g immediately after workout. BCAA's are the building blocks for protein. The muscles soak these up like a sponge in the recovery mode.
• Fish Oil and Udo's 3-6-9 Oil: Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) sources. I take these throughout the day for so many reasons. There isn't enough room on this post to do justice to what EFA's can do.

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Week 10, Day 2 workout included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: DB Concentration Curls, Cable Push Downs
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curls, Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Plank (1 minute hold on stability ball), Hanging Knee Raise (with 5 LB ankle weights)

Total Time => 39:28

Comments:

My biceps felt very strong today.

Stability ball plank holds were tough!


DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)

For breakfast this morning, I went with a protein fest of eggs and sausage. Mmm...protein. With the eggs, I sauteed up some onion and bell pepper and topped it off with some Louisiana Hot Sauce. Ambition got the best of me so I fired up the grill flame the sausage patties. Wow.

As a mid-day snack, I dug some chocolate protein powder out of the pantry and mixed up a protein bar based on the Muscle Hack's recipe which can be found here. I went with raw almond butter, of course.

Post workout (early) dinner was grilled chicken (raw, dairy free) alfredo. Oh yes. The chicken was marinated for a couple of hours in lemon juice, EVOO, garlic, salt, and pepper then grilled up. If you're scoring at home, I did indeed use the grill *twice* today. :-) We healthied the normal version of this dish up (a little, anyway) with organic brown rice noodles. I also sauteed mini-bella mushrooms with a sliced up onion and coconut oil. This went over the pasta before the alfredo sauce topped it all off. Dinner to die for, kids.

I forgot to mention in my previous post what the deal was with the "Plus 1" in the diet section of the blog. For the next 3 weeks, I'll be taking in 30 grams or so of protein right before bed. Most likely, this will come in the form of whey protein powder but might also include cottage cheese. The main requirement is that this snack should be low fat and low carb to keep from raising insulin levels too high during the night which can inhibit growth hormones. Bad news when you're trying to increase muscle mass.

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 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 44/A Day To Regroup

After staying up way too late to watch the Bucks lose in the waning moments of the ball game, it seemed fitting that today should be a time to take a breath and then forge forward to the next week.

For starters, we slept in today until about 8:30 ish...late for us, for sure.

Once we were out of bed, properly re-hydrated and refueled, and caffeinated (at least I had to be), we sat down and planned out meals for the week.

That pretty much wore me out (hehe), so I basted in the sun for about 45 minutes before strapping on the gym shoes for a workout.

Post-workout, I got cleaned up, had lunch and then headed off to the grocery.

By the time I got back and we got all the goods put away, it was meal prep time. We spent the rest of the evening chopping, dicing, stirring, processing, slicing, sauteing, and baking. There was lots of work involved but a good bit of the weeks meals and snacks got prepped for easy picking out of the fridge.

As much as I love a fresh meal, sometimes it's nice to just grab a container out of the fridge and eat.

Thanks to my lovely wife for all her help in the kitchen. ;-) It was definitely a team effort tonight!

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Week 7, 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 (resurrected from the garage sale!)

Total Time => 39:46

Comments:

Shoulders sore but not killing me today.

My arms were definitely worked over and rubbery.

Doing crunches with the towel and correct form totally burnt my abs. I could only get 6 reps on the last set.


DIET - PROTEIN DEPRIVATION

I got things started right today with what's known in the blog world as a Green Monster. Cram all the ingredients you see below into a blender, crank it up, pour it out, and enjoy!

• 1 C Almond Milk
• 1 banana (frozen...there is no other way!)
• 1/2 C blueberries
• 1 tsp Carlson's Lemon Flavored Fish Oil
• handful of raw nuts (cashews, Brazils, walnuts, almonds)
  
• Couple handfuls of fresh organic spinach (the green in the Green Monster!)

Lunch was post-workout and shaped up much like last night's dinner. I polished off the remainder of the lo mein and 4oz. of leftover chicken cacciatore. This combination is better known as Italianese. Or is it Chintalian? Hmmm...

Chicken...














Lo Mein...














I followed up the meal with another big bowl of oatmeal raisin cookies crumbled into a good sized portion of PJ Madison's ice cream. Considering there is still a nice serving left in the pint-size container after two desserts, I'll be bold and say I didn't go *too* overboard. What about the cookies? Well, that's another story... (~:

At dinner time, Christina and I partnered up, as I mentioned earlier, to create quite the All-American summer meal. On the menu was homemade veggie burgers (thanks to Heather for inspiring this burger) and dairy-free, mayo-free cole slaw.

Click here for the copycat version of Houston's Restaurant veggie burgers. We even made our own BBQ sauce from a Google search!

The recipe for the cole slaw is located here. NOTE: We would recommend soaking the cashews for a few hours before mixing them up for the slaw dressing.

Here is our delicious dinner. Looks like a burger, huh?

Optimum Anabolics - Day 37/Wanna Beer?

"It's 7:30 in the morning!"

"Scotch?"

If you haven't seen "Mr. Mom", you're missing out! Hilarious.

Anyway, you may have noticed that a few of my posts have included alcohol in the "DIET" section for that given day (typically on a weekend).

How can this be? Aren't you all about fitness and health? Where does alcohol fit into that?

The answer, of course, is "it depends". :~)

Remember, what is your goal? Where are you headed?

If you're looking to get really lean, it's best to reach for the water with a lemon in it. Losing body fat is largely dependent on calorie intake. It's way too easy to take in a whole meals worth of calories in one drink and be left with zero nutrition to show for it. Do you really want to blow a whole days worth of calories on beers at the bar?

Secondly, the body treats alcohol just like any other highly processed grain. It burns it just like sugar which can spike your insulin. Sugary, syrupy drinks like margaritas and daiquiris are also loaded with carbs in addition to the alcohol itself. Double trouble for battling the belly bulge. During a 12 week "cut" phase last spring, I can only remember drinking one time.

If you're looking to maintain your weight, a couple of drinks can be worked into a day pretty easily. It's easier said than done, but removing carbohydrates from the remainder of your meals can help balance out the alcohol.

Regardless of your goals, moderation is key. Can you have a couple of beers while watching a football game on a Saturday night? I think so. Can you do this every night and then workout like a madman to try and stay lean, healthy, and vibrant? I do not think so.

Life is about balance. Results are about consistency. Can you stay consistently balanced and enjoy life and results? Let's try, huh?

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Day 30 workout was a repeat of Day 23 and included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: DB Preacher Curls, Overhead Cable Extensions
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curl (arms braced against wall), Close Grip Push Ups
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers (with 5 LB ankle weights), Hanging Knee Raises

Total Time => 37:36

Comments:

Weights were just about perfect.

Mountain climbers have to be one of the best ab/core exercises ever invented.

Just like yesterday, I did a 15 minute bike ride after I finished up with the iron. Hopefully my cardio engine is appreciative.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

We had some fun for breakfast (post workout) this morning. Despite the fact it was about 9:00 in the morning, I fired up the grill and flamed some homemade Italian beef sausage patties. These went perfectly with a fresh batch of Polly's whole wheat pancakes. Christina followed her gluten free diet and made her first batch of almond flour pancakes. They were equally as good as the "regular" ones! If you're looking to eliminate or reduce the gluten in your diet, this book is a must.

Here's my plate with a sampling of each type of pancake accompanied by a coating of butter...















How did those grapes get in there? :~)

For lunch, I had some leftover chicken cacciatore from earlier in the week along with some fresh bell pepper and tomato cut up. I was sure to leave room for a "pick me up" dessert smoothie. 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee over ice, half a ton of cinnamon, a few shakes of chili powder (oh yes!), 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, stevia powder, 1 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder, and xanthum gum all blended up until it's so thick you have to eat it with a spoon. When it reached that point, I tossed in a few each of almonds, cashews, and walnuts and pulsed a few times just to break them up and add a little crunch (and healthy fats) to the mix.

Dinner time was a team effort eggplant parmesan from our new gluten free almond flour cookbook. We also finally gave our vegetable spiral cutter a try. Half a zucchini from the farmer's market yesterday turned into today's "pasta". Take a look...

















This turned out to be a remarkable substitute for traditional pasta. I'm hooked!

Here is dinner all plated up. Check out that fork twirling action on the "pasta"!
















Christina also found a dairy free substitute for grated parm. I love, love the real stuff so this had a lot to live up to. The result? Fantastic!

It's easy to make, too. Here's the recipe...

2 cups of walnuts
1 cup of nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon of salt

Throw all those in the food processor and whirl away until it looks "parm-like".

Try this! Seriously. You will NOT be disappointed!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 30/A Moment To Breathe

Since we ran most of our errands yesterday and last night turned into a late night for this old-timer (haha), we were able to sleep until 8:00+ this morning. That's late for us anymore. The day was spent doing mundane tasks around the house, paying bills, and munching.

After dinner, we took some time to chill and breathe a little. We didn't even clean up the kitchen!

I had posted a couple high school/early college photos on Facebook so we had a few good laughs at the comments that had come in. Then we went through a box from the basement that contained some old photos from birth through my grade school years and even some high school memorobilia (otherwise known as junk!).

All the high school stuff prompted me to return a call to a good friend from high school. He teaches in the district we graduated from, so he reminded me what a lot of that stuff I had boxed up all these years was about (homecoming trinkets, favors from dances, various award certificates). I figured since I barely had no idea what any of the stuff was, that it should be designated as clutter and was destined for the trash.

Crazy what we hang on to that keeps us from breathing and our spaces so cluttered.

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Day 30 workout was a repeat of Day 23 and included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: DB Preacher Curls, Overhead Cable Extensions
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curl (arms braced against wall), Close Grip Push Ups
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers (with 5 LB ankle weights), Hanging Knee Raises

Total Time => 41:10

Comments:

My shoulders were suprisingly sore from yesterday's workout.

Weights were just about perfect.

Mountain climbers have to be one of the best ab/core exercises ever invented.

Just like yesterday, I did a 15 minute bike ride after finished up with the iron.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

Breakfast was an omelet consisting of one egg, two egg whites, green and red peppers, white onions and raw milk cheddar cheese. I topped it with a few shakes of the Louisiana hot sauce, too, of course.

Since I had plenty of meat on the menu for today, I opted for a breakfast dessert smoothie we'll call the "pick me up". 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee over ice, half a ton of cinnamon, a few shakes of chili powder (oh yes!), 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, stevia powder, 1 scoop of plain whey protein isolate powder, and xanthum gum all blended up until it's so thick you have to eat it with a spoon. When it reached that point, I tossed in a few each of almonds, cashews, and walnuts and pulsed a few times just to break them up and add a little crunch (and healthy fats) to the mix.

Lunch was a grass-fed beef burger wrapped up in turnip greens "buns" along with some dijon mustard and sliced tomatoes. On the side, I had a heaping portion of steamed green beans mixed up with sauteed onions and garlic.

Come dinner time (post workout), Christina and I made one of our favorite things...pizza! To keep things gluten free, we used Gluten-Free Pantry's French Bread & Pizza Mix for the crust. This got split into two pizzas...one for each of us. I topped my pie first with minced garlic that had been briefly sauteed with EVOO. Next came the homemade Italian sausage, grass-fed organic mozzarella cheese and then the veggies and mushrooms.

Here is a pre-bake pic...

















For dessert, a cut up a banana, sliced kiwi, and a crumbled Cocoa Mole Larabar all went together into a bowl and got topped with cinnamon, steel cut oats, and about a 1/4 cup of almond milk. Not bad, huh?

Needless to say, there was no need for a pre-bed snack tonight. (~:

Optimum Anabolics - Day 23/The Ego Gets A Workout

Today was an interesting day for me. To start off, this week, Week 4, it's back to just 3 sets of each exercise (down from 5 sets last week). Each set stops 2-3 reps from failure. For a guy that's used to pushing things to the max, racking the weight before pushing out one last rep was hard to do!

We also had a scheduled 5K race this morning at 8:10 A.M. My original plan was to workout before the race and use the run as my post-workout cardio. It was tough to get out of bed this morning, though, after such a long day yesterday and a few drinks (whoops!) with dinner. I did manage to get a good workout in (see below) however, to add to my discomfort, my calves and feet still needed some rest time.

Typically on race day, I'm up near the front of the pack at the starting line all fired up and ready to go with my music thumping. Once the race starts, I bolt out to avoid the pack, settle in, and try to beat as a minimum, my previous time. In other words, pushing things to my max. Not so much today. I set my ego aside and walked. It was tough to see some of the familiar faces running by and not be able to be right there with them grinding out the last stretch of the race.

Why did I even bother going you ask? As it turns out, first, it was a fine day for a walk. Second, my ego needs to know it's ok to "take a knee". Third, I got to spend the beautiful morning walking with my wife and sister-in law on a gorgeous trail through the woods. Not a bad way to spend a morning, right?

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Day 23 workout was a repeat of Day 2 and included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work.

Superset 1: DB Preacher Curls, Overhead Cable Extensions
Superset 2: Twisting DB Curl (arms braced against wall), Close Grip Push Ups
Superset 3: Side Planks (30 second hold per side with 15 LB weight raised), Ball Roll Outs

Total Time => 41:10

Comments:

Not much in the way of soreness at all today.

New exercises meant some experimenting with weights again.

Side planks reminded me of doing Yoga. I've been missing it! Love those static holds!

Once out of the gym, I put on a sweatshirt and we headed out to the 5K race. This was my post-workout cardio today. We finished walking in just around 50:00.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

Breakfast came today after returning from the 5K race. I had a bowl full of oatgurt, peaches (yes, two), and almond butter sprinkled (ok, loaded) with cinnamon. Out came the blender at that point for a protein smoothie of almond milk, chilled coffee, whey protein isolate powder (plain), a heaping TBS of unsweetened cocoa powder, a frozen banana, and a few peanuts for some crunch. This cleared out any remaining cob webs from the previous night's indiscretions. ;~)

We had some cleanup and prep work to do at one of our rentals so we spent the afternoon getting ready for a tenant to move in next week. I readjusted my meal schedule and just had a snack of 1/2 cup yogurt, 4 tsp ground flax seed, and 1/3 scoop of whey protein isolate powder around 3:30. While snacking, I mixed up the marinade for the chicken we were having for dinner.

Dinner was grilled ginger-herbed chicken from our favorite cook book. Before chowing on the bird, I cut up some tomato and cucumber and had that with some sea salt and Italian spices. Along side the chicken, we roasted up a bunch of fresh green beans with some EVOO and salt. Green bean fries! Awesome!

My pre-bed snack was an exciting 1/2 scoop of whey protein isolate powder mixed with a little water.

Optimum Anabolics - Day 16/Here, There, and Everywhere

Today was fairly busy for a Sunday. I got up later than my weekday alarm time but was still out of bed early.

After finishing putting the final touches on our meal plan for the week, I reviewed and checked my workout plan for the day, then hit the weights.

I put myself through Day 2 of Week 3 and then struggled upstairs for breakfast and followed that up with a nice shower. Felt so good!

The wife headed out to a wedding shower shortly after noon and I decided to make up another batch of raw corn bread for the week.

I had some lunch before heading off to post a notice at one of our rental properties (grrrr....) and hitting up the grocery for the weeks goodies.

By then, it was just about dinner time so Christina and I hit the kitchen and watched Tiger get beat in the PGA Championship while we ate.

Post dinner, we discussed our rental business, the upcoming week, and then chatted with my mom on the phone for a while. Once off the phone, I made up some of my Monday snacks and lunch stuff. Time to head back to work already!

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Day 16 workout was a repeat of Day 2 and included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work. One set was added (2 sets since Week 1) to each superset exercise as a "pump" set.

Superset 1: DB Concentration Curl, Twisting DB Kickbacks
Superset 2: Close Grip Chin Up (assisted), Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Bent Leg Crunch (with towel roll under back), Ball Roll Outs

Total Time => 50:08

Comments:

Shoulders sore but not killing me today.

My arms were hit hard today. I upped the weight and was pretty well dead after the "pump" set.

Doing crunches with the towel and correct form continues to burn my abs out! That slow negative is a killer on both exercises.

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

My post-workout meal today was most excellent! I mixed up some scrambled eggs with a touch of buttermilk and half a boat-load of fresh salsa with some Italian sausage, veggies, and cheese. To cool the eggs down (haha), I sprinkled some Louisiana Hot Sauce over the top. Before knocking back a couple of the oaty cakes, I munched on an apple and some grapes.

Lunch was a beast of a salad with spinach, mixed greens, celery, carrot, green onion, avocado, tomato, peppers, and some scallions

Dinner was Mahi Mahi sauteed up in all the fixins you see below in the picture. Holy cow! This meal was restaurant good! Actually, it was better than a lot of restaurants! :~)

















Tomorrow is Monday so that means leg day! Yikers! See you then!

Optimum Anabolics - Day 9/You Call That A Dog?

This morning I drug my booty out of bed around 6:30 A.M. and, after letting the pooch out, mixed up my oaty cake batter for my post-workout meal. I wanted to head to the couch with a spoon and gobble it down! Awesome! :~)

After that it was workout time at Scott's home gym. Just like yesterday, I followed up the Optimum Anabolics arm routine with some short bursts of light cardio (see the WORKOUT section below). As I headed out down the driveway, I noticed the neighbor was talking to one of the other residents that lives on our court. This person has THE most annoying dog on the planet Earth!

The dog is a roaming, darting fur ball that moves quick as a rabbit and chases after and barks at *everything* (cars included!) that comes into it's sight. This pup thinks it's king of the court and it's the size of an overgrown squirrel. Needless to say, it has a soprano-pitched bark (think yap, yap, yap) that just grinds on you like armour being dragged across a chalkboard.

The dog proceeds to yap it's head off as I run off up the street AND come back down the street. Lucky for me, they're still talking as I take off on my bike interval. YAP, YAP, YAP again! Up the street....back down the street. At this point, it's worth noting that this happened YESTERDAY morning, too!

I really need to figure out how to show this dog some love and stop resisting it. What you resists, persists, and I'd really love to not be barked at first thing in the morning...whether it's on my bike or in my car on the wary to the office. I'm open for suggestions? What's a guy to do??

WORKOUT - ARMS/ABS

The Day 9 workout was a repeat of Day 2 and included 2 supersets of arms followed by a superset of ab work. One set was added to each superset exercise.

Superset 1: DB Concentration Curl, Twisting DB Kickbacks
Superset 2: Close Grip Chin Up (assisted), Dips (tricep version)
Superset 3: Bent Leg Crunch (with towel roll under back), Ball Roll Outs

Total Time => 50:08

Comments:

Shoulders sore but not killing me today.

My arms were hit pretty good today. Next week I'll be upping the weight, tho. Could've done better.

Doing crunches with the towel and correct form totally burnt my abs again! That slow negative is a killer, dude!!

DIET - HIGH PROTEIN

My post-workout meal today was *crazy good* people! Remember that fresh sausage I mixed up last night? Yeah, that got browned up and tossed into some scrambled eggs with a touch of buttermilk and half a boat-load of fresh salsa. To cool the eggs down (haha), I sprinkled some Louisiana (pronounced "Loo-zee-anna") Hot Sauce over the top. Before knocking back a couple of the oaty cakes, I munched on an apple and some grapes that were unbelievable sweet tasting. I'll be the first to say that organic produce definitely is better tasting than conventional. Anyone care to challenge me on that??

Here are the oaty cake ingredients...

















Here's a pic of breakfast all put together...



















After we cleaned up, it was off to check on one of our rental condos and "borrow" the pool at the complex. We finally had a true summer day here in Central Ohio so it felt like a day in Florida out there. It seemed like vacation for a couple of hours, at least! (~:

When we got back, lunch was in order. I chopped up another salad like yesterday's and munched away.

Later on, Christina and I put together some almond shrimp lettuce wraps for dinner. What a great summer recipe! One of these days I'll get a picture of it. The recipe is from the book Ultra-Metabolism by Dr. Mark Hyman. If you even think you MIGHT have a food sensitivity or allergy, you owe it to yourself to check him out. His books and programs are incredible!