why you shouldn't be a smart ass........

dietary advice, all or nothing

I had a conversation with a client today about dietary ideas, and I came to 2 points.

first of all you can't go into changing your lifestyle half way.  You can't half way quit smoking, doing drugs, or anything else you know for sure  is going to kill you. 

Eating poorly and acting like you are doing a good job will still kill you, even if you convince yourself otherwise.  Eating well Monday through Thursday, and eating every piece of crap you can find from that point on......will still kill you, and make you soft and pillowy, just a little slower.

Stop trying to fool yourself and blame everything and everybody around you, and make the commitment.  Full time

Please I implore you....read this and live by it.

ZONE DIET
* Eat at last three meals and two snacks a day to stay within the "zone" where you are not hungry and have a clear mental focus.
* Divide your plate into three equal sections. One-third should be enough low-fat protein to fit in the palm of your hand, and two-thirds should be fruits and vegetables, with a dash of fat such as olive oil.
* Eat plenty of leafy green vegetables and fruits.
* Eat less pasta, breads, grains and starches.
* Aim to get calories from protein 30 per cent, fat 30 per cent, carbohydrates 40 per cent.

for all those with excuses not to workout today....

Football Players leave us for the college year

This is the week that the college football players leave us to go to their colleges.  This year has seen an average of 150 pound increase in the back squat 100 pound front squat increase, and 125 pound deadlift increase.  Military presses have doubled, snatches and cleans too.  All in all a successful summer.  Good luck and a good year at school fellas!

On the topic of diet.....

I read an incredible thought process about the use of carbohydrate in the American diet.  As many of us don't do extended manual labor in our day, we should use grain or potato carbs as an accent or condiment rather than a main stay of the dinner plate.  These rules should obviously be relaxed for competitive endurance athletes, but vegetables and low glycemic index fruits should be the majority of the carbohydrate make up of our diet for optimum body composition and health.

zone calculator

for those looking for even energy levels all day, lower body fat, and higher lean muscle mass, you know, everyone, he is where to start.

 

zone calculator

I thought this was funny as hell

remember to eat your fruit and veggies.....

 

Happy Birthday Evan Johnson

Happy Birthday, and great job on the 535 squat.  Evan has made great strides this summer with a 500+ deadlift and squat, as well as great improvement in snatch, clean and push press.  Evan is an Arch Bishop Alter High School Grad, and is playing football at Brown University in the Fall.

Understanding your blood test results

I just found this very interesting site for all of those that have had blood work done, and are trying to understand the results.

http://www.amarillomed.com/howto.htm

Keeping a diet journal/diary can be a powerful tool

check out this article about the power of writing it down.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/hl_nm/diet_diary_dc

Work Harder To Succeed.

Hard work works

For about the nine hundredth time I recently read an article about a new top secret rep scheme that is guaranteed to increase your lifts 600%.  The truth of the matter is that there are some simple truths to fitness and athletic performance, and they are as follows:

1.  everything works for a while.  Everything will improve your performance for some period of time, then you will adapt to it

2. Hard work beats all.  If the exercise is hard, brutally hard, you are going to improve.  Pushing the stimulus boundaries of your body, will make it change and improve

3.  If you aren't a little scared of the program, write a new one.  This one follows the one above, if you go into your workouts calm and collected, and you don't have to convince yourself you really should be doing this, it isn't hard enough to make changes in your body or how it moves.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Girls of Alter High chalk up!

Alter Alumni  Louise V. squatted deadlifted 235, Megan S squatted 180, Sandy P, a junior, squatted 160, Ali M made a great showing at a 145.  All have made significant improvement.

Great Week for the Ladies

Megan S box squatted 180 x 3, Mary B box squatted 135 x 1 and Louise V. deadlifted 225 x 1, all three under 150 body weight!  Didn't have my video camera, but I will get video from here on out. 

Just can't workout today, just too tired?

check out this little boy, what an inspiration.  If you can watch this video, and still not get your butt off the couch....something is seriously wrong with you.

 

Great Week of Football Strength

My boys from the area football teams are starting to put some great numbers up in the major lifts. 

Notables this week are a 485 deadlift from Evan J, a 300 front squat and a 150 military from Matt P (155 pound bodyweight)  Max P put up a 190 military press and Evan N and David K broke the 405 squat barrier. 

Keep up the good work fellas.

Fast like the wind

Took some pics at the gym today.  These show the speed necessary for Olympic lifts to take place with proper execution.  I didn't have the sports setting on the camera turned on, but I think it makes the effect that much more dramatic

 pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

 

Also Mary B. working on her chin ups,  and Ryan S. working the lower body triple extension with the dumbbell jump squats

Nice Squat Matt P.

Matt P. DB for Archbishop Alter High School's football team squatted 350 x 1 at a bodyweight of 154 this morning . Very nice job Matt!

chasing a 5 year old

As many of you know, I have a 5 year old child, Joe, who is a very active child.  we were at the park today, and as an experiment I mimicked him around the playground for an hour.  It was quite an eclectic workout.  Adding variety and new challenges to your program with keep your metabolism guessing and therefore ramped up.