Staying on Track During Vacation

It can be hard for many to stay on track with their fitness and nutrition plan over vacation, with all of the reasons not to. In complete honesty a week off of your diet will not kill you, so feel free to live a little, but don't go crazy. Fitness however can be very easy to keep going on vacation. I am going to Florida this year, and I'm excited to do some different kind of workouts that I do not get to do as often up here. I plan to do a lot of push ups with different hand placement (wide, close, and shoulder width), crunches, squat jumps, and even some sprinting on the beach. It is very difficult to run in the sand, so I am looking forward to doing some speed training that is virtually impossible to do in my hometown. I also plan to do some swimming in the ocean for cardio purposes, because I don't want my cardio to suffer either. It can be very easy to let yourself go crazy, but make sure that you at least keep your fitness plan going over vacation. In addition, make sure once you are home you get back into the nutrition plan you had before vacation, because it is very easy to fall into bad habits.

Sleep

The key thing that most people lack in their everyday lives is sleep. Very often we see people only getting three or four hours of sleep, which is not nearly enough for anyone. Younger guys trying to bulk up really need sleep, because when you are asleep, your testosterone levels are at their highest. This means that when sleeping, human growth hormones are at their highest in your body, so getting enough is very beneficial towards bulking up and growing muscle. For those not trying to build muscle, sleep is very important for staying healthy, because studies show that during sleep, your body's immune system is much stronger. Therefore sleeping enough will help you fight off infections and illness. Also, sleep helps with memory and attentiveness. Those who sleep more are much more likely to be able to store things in their mind and will be more mentally active throughout the day. This would help you in school and in your workouts. If you can keep your mind active during school, your are much more likely to understand the ideas being taught in class. The most important thing about getting the right amount of rest is that your body requires energy to work, and sleep allows your body to regenerate. Being active is very important to living a healthy life, and your body requires rest to stay active, so make sure you get about 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

The Difference in Protein

There are two Beverly International protein supplements on the market. One is called Ultimate Muscle Protein and the other called Muscle Provider.  These are both high quality supplements with high quality protein. The difference that most people don't know is that they contain two different types of protein. Ultimate Muscle Protein (UMP) contains a type of protein called casein protein. This type is digested and used slower in the body. It will take longer for this protein to get used by the body; therefore it is a better protein for meals and pre-workouts. This means that if you do not have time to make chicken for a meal, UMP is what should be supplemented. Muscle Provider on the other hand contains whey protein which is absorbed by the body much faster, making this the supplement for after your workout. This is because at this after a workout you want to get protein into your muscles very quickly in the 30 minutes following your workout. 

Bulking Up

Recently I have had many football players asking me how to get bigger. They constantly ask me how I lift and what kinds of lifts I did to put on the bulk that I have. The first thing I always tell them is something my mentor teaches, "Diet is 80% of it." All this means is that in order to get big you must eat big. While you must lift along with eating big to get as strong as you can, you will only bulk up if you feed your body enough food. Muscle itself burns 50 calories a day at rest, so in order to even maintain you must eat 50 calories per pound of lean mass on your body (Realize this means adding food as you get bigger). I tried a new diet and exercise program to get my bench press strength up significantly, all you football players need to do is continue the workouts you are doing for football and follow this diet strictly. It is a lot of food, but try to get it all in, you will be so surprised with your size gain it is ridiculous. Remember only worry about the diet at the end of the article, and grapefruit is much easier than cantaloupe. Make sure you still get your pre workout meal in (1 scoop UMP and an apple) as well as post (1 scoop UMP or MP and 3 scoops of mass maker.)
http://www.beverlysupplements.com/2010/09/02/how-to-increase-your-bench-press-by-thirty-pounds-in-six-weeks/

Eating in School

When I told my mom and dad that I wanted to take 2 sandwiches, a protein shake, an apple, and multiple waters to school, they thought I was crazy and that the teachers would never be okay with me eating in their class while they were teaching. I had to explain that teachers were now okay with things like this, and that they understood how important eating healthy and often was to keeping people healthy.

Times are changing, and school is no different. When my parents were in school, they tell me that their teachers never would have let them eat in class, but this changed recently. With new knowledge of the importance of having 6 or 7 smaller healthier meals a day, schools had to change their policies towards food in class. My mentor, Brian Wiefering, was a driving force in that change at our middle school. When the district heard of the importance of this idea of many meals a day, they allowed students to have more than just water in class.

Just a small thought I decided to share...

Insane Leg Workout

The other day I was talking to a couple guys at Wiefit and I heard about this leg workout that sounded pretty intense. It is meant to hit all parts of the legs and will really shock the muscles if you haven't done something like it before. Begin by warming up and stretching to avoid injury.

It starts on the leg press, you should do 3 sets of 20 with no rest in between for a total of 60. Do 20 with your feet low and close, then 20 with them low and spread, then 20 with them high and spread apart. This will hit your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. You should do this rotation 3 times for a total of 3 sets of 60. It will be difficult, so do a weight that you can struggle with but do. Take a 2 minute break in between each set of 60.

The second life you should do is lunge walk with or without dumbbells. You should do somewhere 20-25 steps with each leg. Do 3 sets. take a minute or two break in between sets.

Next are straight leg dead lifts. Make sure to feel the stretch in your hamstrings and do proper form. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpzRX3slWjE&feature=related) <--This shows proper form. You should do 3 sets of 15 with a short break in between.

The final lift will be leg extensions. Most gyms have machines for these. Make sure you do proper form, do not try to do a bunch of weight, make sure you control the weight both up and down. If you do not the lift will not have the same effect. Again take a short break in between sets.

This workout is for athletes and fairly experienced weight lifters. It is not made for inexperienced gym goers or for those who can get injured easily. Make sure you cool down and stretch once you are done, and get your protein/post workout meal in within 30 minutes of finishing the workout.