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Maybe I'm not but for the next few weeks, my shoulders should feel like they're getting all the attention.
Why?
This week I started Jeff Anderson's program Muscle Specialization Secrets. The purpose of this program is to accelerate gains in a particular muscle group that is stubborn and/or lagging behind the others. If you will, the "red-headed step child" of your muscle structure is what we're after here.I chose to hit my shoulders since they are in some serious need of expansion. Proportionally (see Adonis Effect), I need to add about 5 inches (!!) to match the waist measurement for my height, and weight. Long story short, I need all the help I can get to make King Atlas look like a twig.The great thing about the Muscle Specialization Secrets program is that it integrates with whatever training program you are currently using. In my case, of course, this is Optimum Anabolics.WORKOUT - SHOULDER SPECIALIZATION ONLY
The Week 13, Day 1 base workout focuses on the shoulders. Good place to start, huh?
Warmup: Pull Ups, Crunches (with towel under back)
Superset 1: Shoulders only (see below)
My shoulder specialization superset:
Superset 2: Standing BB Military Presses, Side DB Lateral Raises
Total Time => 25:00
Comments:
Whoa! The shoulder superset was a lot more difficult than I expected.
My shoulders were completely toast after the specialization set.
DIET - HIGH PROTEIN
Post-workout today turned into an Italian feast. I cooked up Italian sausage with green and red peppers from the farmer's market and served it along side of eggplant and a couple leftover rolls from O'Charley's.
This was a bit of heaven on a plate...
Last September, my dad was ordained as a Deacon in the Roman Catholic (Cat-lick as we like to say) Church. Today, just a little over a year later, he had the opportunity to preside over his wedding ceremony and give the homily (sermon).Christina, my mom, and I managed to sneak in to witness the event and snap a couple photos.Despite a shaky start (he almost lost it when the bride came down the aisle), he gathered himself and gave a stellar homily on blessings. I'm pretty sure my mom and I cried more than the rest of the congregation combined.Listening to the readings and staying safe from the Swine Flu (note hand sanitizer)...
Getting ready to officially announce the new couple:
It was a fun day and I'm very glad Christina and I made the trip. Nice job, Dad! We're proud of you!WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Week 12 of the Optimum Anabolics program is the 3rd of 3 weeks of lighter workouts. Rest period remains at 3 minutes between supersets and the number of repetitions of each exercise are reasonable.
Superset 1: Lying Cable Pullovers, Barbell Military Press
Superset 2: Dip Bar Shrugs, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Twisting DB Presses
Total Time => 37:20
Comments:
Increased the weights used just a touch today. Still made sure I was not going all the way to failure.
I did 15 minutes on the stationary bike after the weights for some light cardio work.DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)Dinner was for breakfast this morning after my workout. I started off with leftover gluten-free pizza topped with onions, green peppers, mushrooms, grass fed beef sausage, and grass fed, organic mozzarella cheese.
Dessert was unbelievable. The leftover roasted pie pumpkin was warmed in the oven during my workout. Just before eating, I mixed in a frozen banana, maple syrup, and the last square of Ghirardelli dark chocolate. The Great Pumpkin would be proud. (~:
Before we hit the road, I blended up a smoothie for a quick lunch later in the day. The Kitchen Aide whipped up:
- 1c of chilled Best Coffee Ever
- 1c of whole Snowville Creamery milk
- 2 scoops of plain whey protein isolate powder
- 2 TBS of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 TBS Udo's Oil Blend
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp chocolate extract
- 1/4 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
Mom cooked up a feast for dinner of horseradish beef pot roast, carrots, and potatoes with gravy. Christina and I supplied the Brussels sprouts from yesterday's farmer's market and gluten free, dairy free sweet potato pie! Somehow I missed getting a picture of the pie but check out the size of the sweet potato we used!
Too often my focus gets caught up in the physical aspects of life...workouts, nutrition, work, business, etc. Being in excellent Overall Fitness, however, involves balance and not just the kind where you stand on one foot. I'm talking about the well-being of your soul.Mid-morning today, Christina and I made the trek to downtown C'bus to attend the 2009 version of the Universal Light Expo. This year there were over 300 vendors advertising and/or selling services such as reiki, psychic readings, massage, alternative medicine and selling items like jewelry, gems and stones, and hand crafted items.This was our first time attending and what a great experience it was. I left feeling very energized and peaceful. We saw many friends from our spiritual community, met all sorts of interesting people, and were introduced to new stuff we had not seen or heard of previously. For example, one vendor was relieving back stress/pain by manipulating various bones just by asking them to move. I'm all about alternative medicine so this was incredible stuff.My point is that sometimes we all need to put aside our physical body and play with our soul. It needs attention, too.What do you do to give your soul the attention it needs? Listen to music? Meditate? Cook? Paint? Blog (hehe)?WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Week 11 of the Optimum Anabolics program is the 2nd of 3 weeks of lighter workouts. Rest period remains at 3 minutes between supersets and the number of repetitions of each exercise are reasonable.
Superset 1: Lying Cable Pullovers, Barbell Military Press
Superset 2: Dip Bar Shrugs, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Twisting DB Presses
Total Time => 36:19
Comments:
I was pleased with the weights I was able to do with these exercises.
It was a good workout despite not needing to push my muscles to failure.
I took a 15 minute bike ride after the weights for some light cardio work.DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)Before heading out to the expo this morning, I cranked up the blender and made a "chocoffee" smoothie to get me going.- 1 C of chilled Cafe Brioso coffee
- 1 C of Snowville Creamery whole milk
- 2 scoops of plain whey protein isolate powder
- 2 TBS of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 TBS Udo's Oil blend
- 2 TBS+ of coconut milk
- 1/4 tsp stevia
- 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum
Christina and I ate lunch out today at Ted's (as in Ted Turner) Montana Grill. We had not been in a long while and once again left happy. The corporation behind the name gets more impressive every time I go there. Here are some highlights...- Fresh, never frozen, bison meat direct from Ted's ranch
- Extensive gluten-free menu
- Use of recycled paper for menus and table coverings
- Use of low energy bulbs and fixtures
- Paper straws
- Complimentary pickles (instead of rolls!) made fresh daily
Pretty cool, huh?Needless to say, we both had bison burgers (no bun!) along with plenty of pickles and green beans for me.It was pizza time for dinner after my workout. We used Gluten Free Pantry's crust and topped it off with peppers, onion, mushrooms, tomato sauce, and home made grass fed beef sausage. My "zah" also had grass fed mozzarella cheese all over it. Tremendous.For dessert, I snarfed down two cookies I picked up today from Omega Aristan Baking at The North Market. I might or might not have had a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream, too.Just before heading off for the night, I shook up a quick protein drink.
For the past 3 weeks, the Optimum Anabolics program has required that only 30 grams of "true" protein (meat, fish, eggs, protein powders, dairy) be eaten each day. More specifically, the protein was to be consumed immediately (within an hour) after completing a workout. This cycle of Protein Deprivation sounded difficult at the beginning but it wound up being a nice change. Looking back on the last 3 weeks here are a couple quick thoughts: - By the end of the cycle, I was craving protein. Specifically, meat. If were to go all out vegetarian, I would need to correct this deficiency.
- My digestive system was a little "off" near the end. Too much fiber?
- My body felt "soft" for lack of a better description.
- I was able to maintain my workout intensity levels.
- Energy levels throughout the day were very good.
Today, it was time to flip the protein consumption upside down and return to the high protein (percentage wise, anyway) diet. I was ready. Hummus is good and all, but this guy needs some grass-fed beef back on his plate.
In addition to the change in protein consumption, a few supplements were added this week. I'll cover those in a future post. Tease, tease. :~)WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Week 10 of the Optimum Anabolics program feels like a rest period after 3 weeks of a Progressive Loading cycle. Rest periods increase to 3 minutes between supersets and the number of repetitions of each exercise decreases dramatically.
Superset 1: Lying Cable Pullovers, Barbell Military Press
Superset 2: Dip Bar Shrugs, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Twisting DB Presses
Total Time => 36:35
Comments:
I was pleased with the weights I was able to do with these exercises.
It was a good workout despite not needing to push my muscles to failure.
I did 15 minutes on the stationary bike after the weights for some light cardio work.DIET - HIGH PROTEIN (PLUS 1)
My post workout breakfast this morning started off with eggs (1 whole, 2 whites) and red onion and peppers sauteed in some coconut oil. For glycogen replenishment, oatgurt was in order. I went with my new favorite...Asian Fusion. Oatgurt, honey, tahini, and miso. Delicious!
After breakfast, we headed out to Columbus' Center of Science & Industry (COSI) with some friends to celebrate their son's birthday. I packed a coffee smoothie for lunch to avoid the cafeteria style diner. Today's version...
- 1 C of chilled Cafe Brioso coffee
- 10+ Ice Cubes
- 2 scoops of plain whey protein isolate powder
- 2 TBS of cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 TBS coconut milk (full fat)
- 2 shakes of chili powder
- Lots of cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1/8 tsp pure stevia
A perfect on the go meal.After learning all about science, we headed back to the homestead for celebratory cupcakes that Christina had made from our favorite gluten free cookbook. They were outstanding! Who needs gluten??We decided to do take out for dinner and dialed up O'Charley's after looking on the net and finding out they offer a gluten free menu. Sweet. I had the grilled salmon with broccoli casserole and a side salad. Not bad, but Christina's cedar plank salmon was much better in the taste department.
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 DEPRIVATIONFor 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...
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.
One of the keys to producing change in the body is to keep it guessing. Our physical bodies are very adaptive and become efficient rather quickly. This is why we fall into routines in our lives. We get into a groove and get comfortable where we're at.
The Optimum Anabolics program is designed around the idea that once you start getting comfortable with either your nutrition or your workout routine, one or both of those things can be turned totally upside down.
That was definitely the case today.
In the home gym, it's back to taking all sets to muscular failure. In addition, for the next three weeks, the routines will force more work into roughly the same amount of time. This is known as Progressive Loading. Click here to learn more about this concept in Optimum Anabolics.
The biggest change this week is in the kitchen. My carnivorous ways will need to be held in check as I hold myself to just 30 grams of true protein (meats, fish, eggs, whey powder, dairy) for the entire day. This protein meal is to be consumed immediately after my workout.
This is definitely going to be a challenge for me. If you've been following this blog, you may have noticed I eat quite a substantial amount of eggs and put whey protein isolate powder in darn near everything.
The purpose of eating this way and timing it with an increase in exercise load, according to the author of Optimum Anabolics, Jeff Anderson, is to force the body to find a new way to grow now that it's main rebuilding source (protein) is being restricted. Jeff continues to write that the body should respond by increasing testosterone and human growth hormone to compensate for the lack of protein.
Pretty cool, huh?
Let's get started!
WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
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 => 33:56
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 finished off the last of the oatgurt with an apple, tons of cinnamon, a splash of almond milk, and two spoonfuls of almond butter. Very satisfying!
Later in the morning, a visit to the farmer's market was required. While there, I picked up a few of The Cookie Cop's energy bars and munched on one of those for a snack.
During our neighborhood garage sale, I snuck in a quick "Hugh Jass" salad of spinach, arugula, red and green peppers, celery, scallions, tomato and cucumber. For a dressing, I mixed up some spices along with an avacado and some apple cider vinegar.
After we closed up shop on the sale, it was workout time, then dinner followed by Buckeye football! My Saturday routine of late has been to, shall we say, relax on the nutrition. Tonight was no exception. :~)
Christina and I got take out Chinese food for the first time in quite a while. I had the chicken lo mein with veggies. This meal had the perfect amount of post-workout protein for me...4 oz. The portion of lo mein could've fed me and another person or two, so a good sized bowl went into the fridge for leftovers. I snuck in a Bombay Sapphire martini, also, in preparation for the big OSU/USC game.
Dessert involved a gi-normous bowl of crumbled Cheryl's oatmeal raisin cookies with PJ Madison's Bella Chocolate Cherry ice cream. Um, yeah, there may have been a second bowl. :~)
The Buckeye's were involved in yet another nerve-wracking game so that required a glass of B&B to get me through. Yikes. Hopefully tomorrow isn't too rough...
With this being a 3-day holiday weekend, our intentions were to get some rest. Most weekend mornings, the pooch comes up and nudges me some time between 4:30 and 5:30 A.M. to let me know it's time to eat. It seems pets know no holidays and do not discriminate between a weekend day or a week day. Anyone else have a pet that's as reliable if not more that their alarm clock? If your power went out overnight, would you still be on time for work because your furry friend needed to eat breakfast or go tinkle? (-:
Over the 14 years that we've had the pooch, I've grown to accept this and pick myself out of bed to drop some food in her dish. Many Saturdays and/or Sundays, I just wind up starting my day from that point. Today, though, it was back to bed! Yes!
After breakfast we made our weekly journey over to the farmer's market to grab some fresh, homegrown and/or homemade goodies. Here's what we wound up with today:
Today's grand total? $16.25. We stopped at one of the chain grocery stores after the market and I happened to notice that the organic broccoli was ON SALE for $2.99 per head. Price paid at the market...$1.50.
My advice: go meet a farmer. Shake their dirty hand. Ask them questions. When you find a good one, buy as much as you can from them.
The rest of the day was spent watching college football (GO BUCKS!) and prepping meals. Christina took many of the tomatoes you see in the photo and made up her family pasta sauce recipe. That will be coming in to play for tomorrow's dinner. I personally can't wait! :)
WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Superset 1: Lying Cable Pullover, Twisting DB Military
Superset 2: Dip Bar Shrugs, Side DB Lateral Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Barbell Military
Total Time => 38:57
Comments:
Week 6 continues a 3 week break of sorts from the beating the first three weeks puts on you. It's a welcome break, believe me!
Much better on the weight choices this week.
For my "extra credit" cardio today I did a 15 minute bike ride. Since riding is essentially zero impact, it was great for getting the heart rate up there without messing with my left heal. Thankfully, it is coming along nicely in the healing process.
DIET - HIGH PROTEINBreakfast was a little strange this morning. We were out of eggs, so I cut up some left over chicken and a tomato. I know, not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of breakfast. After that, I got out the blender and made up a coffee smoothie with one cup of chilled coffee, 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa, lots of cinnamon, a few shakes of chili powder, a tsp or so of chocolate extract and coconut milk. As this was blending up, I sprinkled in some stevia to sweeten and xanthan gum to thicken and I was all set. But wait! I needed a little crunch so I tossed in my raw nut cocktail that didn't get eaten yesterday. Good start to the day!
For lunch, I chopped up some cukes, tomatoes, celery, and scallions and put that over some broccoli slaw mix. As a dressing, I made up a spicy cilantro-lime from our favorite cookbook. Absolutely fantastic! I also had a bell pepper stuffed with some tuna salad that was left over from earlier in the week. It was a very refreshing lunch on a warm September day!
I paused to take a pic with a mouthful of tuna and pepper :~)
After the Ohio State football game was over, I changed into the workout gear and headed downstairs to the home gym. You better believe I stretched those calves and feet post-workout today!
A shower was a necessity and then we headed out to pick up some dinner so we could chill, take in a few episodes of Merlin that's been on the DVR since June, and watch the late college game.
Christina went with a burrito bowl, chips, and guacamole from Chipotle. I chose to get a gyro salad from one of our local Greek restaurants. Both were outstanding. There also may have been a beer and some other "tasty" drinks involved. :)
For dessert, Christina made some gluten free almond flour cookies from this book. Wow were they good! I also had a brownie from the farmer's market and some ice cream. I guess I was a little hungry....
Hopefully it'll be a relatively lazy day with more sleeping in tomorrow. Love it!
At times it seems that our weekends are busier than our weekdays. This is something I suppose we should work on. Today was no exception.
I slept in (this is a relative term) a bit this morning and then headed right to the home gym for Day 1 of the Week 4 workouts. From the home gym, we immediately headed to one of our favorite places, First Watch, for some breakfast. What a breakfast it was (see below)!
We sipped a few cups of coffee and then headed to the farmer's market to see what produce we could get that would not have to come from the grocery. We did pretty well picking up several colors of peppers, some green onions, and an eggplant. A few of those items went into dinner later.
From the market, we ran a few other errands and shopped the grocery for the balance of our weekly meals. I swear, planning is what keeps me somewhat sane during the week. Not stressing over "what are we going to have tonight?" helps me tremendously. I believe it's also great for keeping your nutrient and portion sizes under control. All around, it's a good practice to get into.
Once we got back from the morning errand loop, I started prepping for dinner by mixing up the meatball recipe we have from Christina's grandmother. Into the fridge that went to allow the spices and herbs to blend for a few hours and then off I went to mow the grass and weed eat.
I got back inside from mowing and needed a break before resuming dinner preparations. It was a perfect time to do some therapy on my calves and feet. Ice, ice, baby! This was followed by the heating pad and the vibrating hand-held massager. I finished up my break with some email reading and then headed up for a shower.
Dinner prep continued around 5:00 and then something weird happened...a martini showed up in my hand! Huh! Boy did that hit the spot! The familia showed up around 6:30 for dinner, dessert, belated birthday wishes for my sister, and some chatting.
Everybody left around 10:30 so Christina and I slammed the kitchen cleanup in about 45 minutes before passing out. It was a long day, kids!
WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Superset 1: Lying Cable Pullover, Twisting DB Military
Superset 2: Dip Bar Shrugs, Side DB Lateral Raises
Superset 3: DB Shrugs, Barbell Military
Total Time => 38:57
Comments:
You may have noticed these were different exercises this week. Week 4 starts a 3 week break of sorts from the beating the first three weeks puts on you. It's a welcome break, believe me!
I had to experiment some with weight ranges on the new exercises. Next week should be better.
No "extra credit" cardio this week since the calves and feet are still in healing mode.
DIET - HIGH PROTEINPost-workout breakfast this morning was at First Watch. This was good for my tummy! I had the Acapulco Express omelette (eggs, chorizo sausage, avocado, green chillies, onion, cheese and sour cream with salsa on the side) but skipped the side of potatoes and toast. No, no, that wasn't all I had...it was pancake time! Two banana crunch cakes the size of a car tire went down the hatch.
At this point, I'll mention that I am a total freak and brought my own organic butter from home. I try not to wear the waitress out since I put more butter on my pancakes than most restaurants have available at any given time. :-) Delicious!
Since breakfast was rather large (putting it modestly), lunch was just a smoothie of chilled coffee, whey protein isolate powder, 1/2 cup or so of homemade plain yogurt, stevia, cinnamon, and nutmeg. To thicken things up a bit, I tried a trick first brought to my attention by a good blogger friend of mine, Heather. If you like your smoothies so thick that the blender starts smoking trying to mix it, then add some xanthum gum...just about a 1/4 teaspoon is all you need. No way you could've got this smootie through a straw!
Dinner was a belated celebration of my sister's 29th (no, seriously) birthday. She had requested spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread. Christina and I put on a spread of just that and also added a salad of mixed greens with toppings that included carrot, scallions, black olives, cukes, and peppers from the farmer's market. To go on top of the spaghetti (along with sauce from TJ's), I sauteed up some garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms. In my not so humble opinion, this took a ho-hum spaghetti dinner to a new level! YUM!
To keep things gluten and dairy free for my lovely wife, we substituted quinoa flour in the meatballs and left out the cheese and made up some brown rice pasta. Very good! If you've never tried this stuff, it's worth picking up next time your looking for cure a noodle fix. Dessert was this ice cream. I thought it was just "eh", but it did the trick for Christina.
My sister's birthday cake was a mom-made fruit tart that involved oat cookies, nectarines, red raspberries, and plenty of REAL whipped cream. None of that imposter chemical stuff in this house! This was an excellent, excellent dessert! Great job mom!
No snack needed tonight!
It was time for bed since the morning was coming early to get to a 5k race.
This was a weekend day but Christina and I had scheduled some training on the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for today from 10:00 to 6:00. That meant the Day 1 workout of Week 3 needed to be accomplished first thing so we could get out the door.
Week 3 adds a "pump" set of high reps at the end of heavy lifting for each exercise. To really keep things interesting, the rest periods between exercises are cut to 30 seconds. Ouch! Believe me, this seemed like basically zero rest! What a workout, though!
WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Superset 1: DB Front Lateral Raises, Standing Arnold Presses
Superset 2: DB Rear Raises, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: Dip Bar Shrugs (awesome!), Twisting DB Presses
Total Time => 48:30
Comments:
Used just about the perfect amount of weight today for each exercise. Very pleased!
To top things off, I did 9 quick minutes of some light cardio...3 minutes of jogging, 3 minutes of jumping rope, and 3 minutes on the bike.
DIET - HIGH PROTEIN
For breakfast this morning (post workout), I made up an omelet of one egg, two egg whites, peppers, onions, Italian sausage, an ounce or so of raw milk cheddar cheese and some tomato sauce. Pizza omelet! To get the carb load up, I had a handful of grapes and a cup or so of oatgurt with almond butter. I was definitely satisfied and good to go for our meeting!
On our lunch break, we came home and I fired up the blender for a Green Monster! Suh-weet!
- 1/2 frozen banna
- 1 C frozen strawberries
- 1 C water
- 1T coconut milk (full fat!)
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- dash of stevia
This monster was so thick I burnt up the motor on the blender! Yep, had to pitch it in the trash. Yikes!
After our meeting was over it was dinner time I had another big salad with all the usual trimings of peppers, scallions, carrots, tomato, celery, parsley and cilantro. Tonight I added half an avocado, squeezed on some lime juice and was good to go! For dessert I had a coconut milk protein smoothie with vanilla, almonds, and a little stevia mixed it. Perfectly refreshing!
It was a full day so I hit the rack without snacking and passed out!
The morning started off as usual at home then things got crazy right out of the gate at the office. Today was bid day which means papers flying, phones ringing, calculating, and re-calculating. Once the dust settled, we picked up about $6.5 million dollars worth of work! Good day!WORKOUT - CHEST/ABS
2 supersets of the Day 5 workout were chest related, followed by a superset of abs work
Superset 1: Incline DB Flye, Incline Push Ups (used 2 chairs and ladder)
Superset 2: DB Pullovers, Dips - Chest version (I had to do some assisted reps here...phew!)
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers w/ ankle weights, Hanging knee raises
Total Time => 39:33
Comments:
Legs and booty were still feeling the pain! More therapeutic seat warmers required! :)
This week was definitely more challenging than Week 1 with the added set per exercise.
I felt like I did a good job of keeping strict form, even on the last set when my muscles were pretty well exhausted.
My weight choices were very good this week.
As I said last week, pre-setting the weights for each exercise was critical to not exceeding rest periods. Paying attention at the start definitely kept the workout flowing. This will be extremely important next week when the rest periods drop dramatically.
DIET - HIGH PROTEIN
Breakfast (post-workout) kicked off with about 1 cup of oatgurt. Into the oatgurt base went a peeled and chopped mango and a big spoonful of TJ's raw almond butter. Outstanding combination! The mango was very sweet and juicy, too. To finish things off, I blended up a toffee protein smoothie of almond milk, some chilled coffee, a frozen banana, espresso flavored whey protein isolate, and some peanuts. I think I might've shed a tear when I got to the bottom of the glass. Yeah, it was that good!
Mid-morning snack was a 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 T of ground flax seeds, and 1/3 scoop plain whey protein isolate powder.
For lunch, I thought I might go out and get something but instead I went with the wasabi salmon left over from yesterday. The salmon got rolled up in some collard leaves with some extra green and red pepper strips for some added crunch and flavor.
Mid-afternoon snack was 2 hard boiled egg whites and one yolk along with a handful of raw nut mix (cashews, almonds, walnuts).
For dinner we finished off the shrimp from Sunday and made another batch of almond shrimp lettuce wraps. Such a light but satisfying dinner!
As a snack before bed it's going to be a 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese...just enough to keep the muscles fed overnight and fuel an interval cardio workout in the morning!
See you then!
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 PROTEINMy 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!
Day 8 meant it was time to go back to the weights. Sweet! Even though it was the weekend, I chose to keep to my morning workout schedule...albeit a tad later than the usual 4:45 A.M. (~: We planned on running errands today so I didn't want to have to worry about when my workout was going to be fit in later in the day.
After working out and eating breakfast, the wife and I finished up our meal plans for the week. Before heading off to the store, I whipped up some oat groats that had been soaking overnight into some oatgurt. This is my first try at it. Hopefully it'll make a nice filling post-workout during the coming week.
The oatgurt was pretty thick so I had to blend it in two shifts to let the motor cool down. Yikes! In the meantime, I made some pico de gallo salsa that will be infusing my eggs from time to time this week as well. Yee-UM!
After a little (and I do mean a little) clean up, it was off to the races. Bank, grocery store #1, then grocery store #2. After putting things away, it was time for lunch salad. Christina had a reserved library book come in so she went to pick that up and stopped to get us some home-grown eggs on the way back. Back at the ranch, I cleaned up the kitchen which looked like WW II London after a German Luftwaffe air raid. Kaboom!
Just before putting the final touches on the cleanup, I mixed up what will be breakfast sausage for the week. That went into the downstairs fridge to let the spices permeate the grass-fed beef through the overnight. Breakfast tomorrow's going to be awesome, so stay tuned!! :~)
Before dinner, I took some time to blow through some emails, blogs, and do some blogging of my own. Dinner was quite the stir-fry you see below!
WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Superset 1: DB Front Lateral Raises, Standing Arnold Presses
Superset 2: DB Rear Raises, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: Dip Bar Shrugs (awesome!), Twisting DB Presses
Total Time => 48:30
Comments:
The workouts this week increased by 1 set which is why the time increased. Rest time between supersets was shortened, however.
Used just about the perfect amount of weight today for each exercise. Very pleased!
To top things off, I did 9 quick minutes of some light cardio...3 minutes of jogging, 3 minutes of jumping rope, and 3 minutes on the bike. Why 9 minutes? It's important to keep your work time under an hour. Growth hormone levels (for muscle building AND fat burning) start to fall off a cliff after about 60 minutes. Don't want to turn the GH faucet off!
DIET - HIGH PROTEINPost-workout I heated up a grass-fed beef burger and topped it with the last of the goat cheese. Yeah, I know, a burger for breakfast? So good, though! On the side was the last piece of sour oat bread from the inaugural batch with a scoop of almond butter for topping.
To replenish the muscle glycogen, I carbed up with a kiwi and an orange followed by some oat cakes topped with a banana, maple syrup, and, of course, some butter. This breakfast had some staying power! It held me for a solid 5 hours! Not many meals I make accomplish that!
After the errand running, lunch was calling. I put together a BIG salad of multiple types of lettuces, green and red peppers, green onions, and an avocado dressing I whipped up. The dressing had a whole avocado, 1 ts EVOO, 1 ts flax oil, 1 T of almond butter, turmeric, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, lime juice, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Deliciousness!
And here it is...
Once dinner time rolled around, it was stir-fry time. On this plate are 2 different types of green beans, broccoli, and mixed veggies all in Scott's special sauce. :) The sauce would be soy sauce, mustard sauce, dijon mustard, garlic, and coconut oil along with a splash of red wine and apple cider vinegar. Once it reduces, it's almost BBQ-y (is that a word??).
Between the salad and the stir fry, I'd say I got my green veggie servings in for the day, huh? (:
See you tomorrow for arms!
What things you ask? Dumbbells mostly! (~:
I can't believe the first round of 5 workouts is in the books already!
It was a pretty typical Wednesday for me. Out of bed to workout, fix up a tasty breakfast, shower and then off to work.
After work, I ran a couple of errands, blended up a Green Monster (see below), mowed the lawn, then applied a super cool organic "lawn tonic" to the freshly cut grass.
As I sip my detox tea, a conversation I had with a co-worker earlier today popped into my head. His 2 daughters, one in her mid-20's and the other around 30, have really kicked it into fitness high-gear. The youngest just signed up for a fitness model competition in Greensboro, NC and the oldest ran not one, but two 5K's this past weekend. He also mentioned their fitness routines and nutrition goals which were pretty impressive.
After updating me on his daughters, he gets this sad look on his face and says "they're really trying to make their old man look old". This co-worker of mine has a great home gym and treadmill and puts in a lot of quality time in there. Add in the fact that he works in the yard or around the house nearly non-stop on the weekend and this guy should be ripped up...despite the fact that he's staring 60 in the face.
What's his problem? Diet, diet, diet! His girls are showing him first hand that there are 3 parts to the health and fitness equation. The first is mental. You need to be mentally committed to putting yourself first and set some goals for yourself. Second, you need to move your body in a such a way to move toward your goal(s). Third, you have to fuel your body properly to, again, move toward your goal(s). Sounds simple, right? Simple, yes. Easy, not always.
That's my rant for the day! (-:
WORKOUT - CHEST/ABS
2 supersets of the Day 5 workout were chest related, followed by a superset of abs work
Superset 1: Incline DB Flye, Incline Push Ups (I got creative and used 2 chairs and ladder!)
Superset 2: DB Pullovers, Dips - Chest version (I had to do some assisted reps here...phew!)
Superset 3: Mountain Climbers w/ ankle weights, Hanging knee raises
Total Time => 39:33
Comments:
Felt enormous all day! My shirt was rubbing in the right places. (~:
Legs and booty were sore but not as bad as expected.
Still feeling those abs!
All-in-all it was a good first week. I had to learn a few new exercises and figure out the best weight to use on a few others.
I felt like I did a good job of using strict form. Occasionally this meant lowering the amount I was lifting to make that happen.
Lastly, pre-setting the weights for each exercise is critical to not exceeding rest periods. This will become even more important in the upcoming weeks.
DIET - HIGH PROTEIN
I'm still eating some vacation foods by my diet was pretty solid today...stuck right to the plan I had laid out.
Breakfast should be pretty familiar by now...a post-workout feast of kiszka (a Polish sausage), tomatoes, a nectarine and a kiwi. No pancakes today, though. It was sour oat bread and butter along with the sausage. Friggin' addictive!
Mid-morning snack was a 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 T of ground flax seeds, and 1/3 scoop plain whey protein isolate powder.
Lunch was a grass-fed beef burger, home made pico de gallo salsa, and an ounce of goat cheese wrapped in a collard green leaf "tortilla". I also ate up some cut up green and red peppers and carrots. Wow, that's a good lunch, huh?!?
Mid-afternoon snack was 2 hard boiled egg whites and one yolk along with a handful of Trader Joes raw nut mix (cashews, almonds, walnuts, raisins).
For dinner it was Green Monster time once again! Are you seeing a trend here?
- 1/2 banana frozen
- 1/2 C strawberries frozen
- 1 tsp Carlsons lemon flavored fish oil
- Couple handfuls of fresh organic spinach
- 1 C water
- 1 scoop plain whey protein isolate powder
As a snack before bed it's going to be a 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese...just enough to keep the muscles fed overnight and fuel an interval cardio workout in the morning!
I'm looking forward to a little cardio, believe it or not! It's been almost 2 weeks! Lace 'em up!
Hello there again, fans! My blogging hiatus has ended! Additionally, the Wife and I are back from a 5-day bed & breakfast vacation up at Lake Erie.
You know what that means? Time to get back after it! Ok, perhaps we'll just ease into it...
Over the course of the next 24 weeks (maybe more??), I'll be reviewing and tracking my progress as I follow Jeff Anderson's (aka The Muscle Nerd) build and burn workout routine known as Optimum Anabolics. The added bonus should be that I am focused and accountable as I go along. I'm going to need that since The Muscle Nerd's first program provides some interesting challenges.
The week or so before our vacation, I took the time to read through the manual and found it to be quite thorough. Jeff really gets into detail on everything from hormones, to exercise frequency and rest periods, to diet and supplementation. I won't be giving away any of the secrets but hopefully you'll get the feel for how this program keeps you on your toes both at the gym (home gym for me!) and in the kitchen. While we were on vacation, I spent some time putting together my personalized diet and exercise regimens that I would be following for the next few weeks. Optimum Anabolics takes you step by step through this process. Very, very simple! The rest, the implementation, is up to you!
WORKOUT - SHOULDERS
Superset 1: DB Front Lateral Raises, Standing Arnold Presses
Superset 2: DB Rear Raises, Side DB Raises
Superset 3: Dip Bar Shrugs (awesome!), Twisting DB Presses
Total Time => 41:00
Comments: My shoulders have never been worked over like that!
DIET - HIGH PROTEIN
Admittedly, I'm still in vacation mode in this category. I have my meal plan all set for the week so I'll be tapering back on the "vacation food" as I go along (hopefully). For me, this is butter with pancakes (yes you read that right!), pizza, ice cream, and alcohol...not necessarily in that order.
I did get 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
- 4 tsp chia seeds (ground flax seed is also outstanding)
- Couple handfuls of fresh organic spinach (the green in the monster!)
Lunch was a post-workout feast of kiszka (a Polish sausage), tomatoes, sour oat bread, some fruit, and my favorite...pancakes with maple syrup and loads of butter! Yum!
Dinner started off with a Bombay Sapphire martini paired with Spanish olives. :~) After that, I settled in to some chicken salad with veggies, tortilla chips with homemade salsa, and an apple. Then came the ice cream! I loaded up a bowl and topped it with many layers of nuts and almond butter. Outstanding! Thankfully, there was no whipped cream in the house or it would've been toast! :-)
On a positive note, I definitely got my protein in for the day.
