Another Nutrition Tip from Dr. John Berardi

Tip #12
Skip the Cheat Meal, Fatty
by Dr. John Berardi

Cheat meal frequency should be minimized when you're over 15-20% body fat. Basically, the fatter you are, the more likely that any excess food will be shuttled toward body-fat storage rather than muscle mass. So skip the cheat meal unless you're lean. And even then, think of it as an alternative food meal - not a cheat. Cheat meals are usually glorified forms of dietary debauchery. Alternative food meals allow for something a little different from the norm without the trough.

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This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Jungle Gym Reverse Fly

A Jungle Gym, Val Slides and a Super Band

If my workouts were mainly done at home there are three pieces of equipment I'd purchase: a Jungle Gym, Val Slides and a Superband. Even if I was getting most of my workouts done at the gym, I'd still purchase these three pieces of equipment. There's no harm in taking them to the gym with you since they are pretty portable. Plus there may be a day where you can not get to the gym and you want to squeeze out a workout at home. Bring these three pieces out and you can really get in a good workout. Personally, I take these three with me to every in-home client I see. The reason I like these three pieces is because of the versatility of each piece. The number of exercises you could do with each one is unlimited. And you could even even combine a couple of the pieces for one exercise. Here are some example exercises:

• Inverted Rows w/the Jungle Gym
• Suspended Push Ups w/the Jungle Gym
• Fall outs w/the Jungle Gym
• Val Slide Reverse Lunges
• Val Slide Pull Ins
• Val Slide Leg Curls
• Band Resisted Push Ups
• Band Pull Aparts
• X Band Walks

There's 9 exercises right there. Set up these 9 exercises in a circuit fashion and I'd bet it's harder than any machine based circuit workout you'd get ant any gym. That and I do not think most people understand how hard body weight training can really be.

Another great thing is the cost. The total cost of these 3 pieces is a bit over $100. Compare that to the BowFlex or any other type of home gym system and you're saving yourself hundreds of dollars.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Sled Dawg Biceps Curl

Dr. John Berardi's Nutrition Tip

Tip #11
Why Choose Oats
by Dr. John Berardi

If you're looking to gain mass and have a good carbohydrate tolerance, place a bowl of fiber-rich, low-GI rolled oats along with ½ scoop of vanilla protein powder, frozen mixed berries, pineapple and a small quantity of mixed nuts right next to your omelet. This is a muscle building breakfast that's hard to beat. I place this bowl right next to my omelet for a breakfast that's hard to beat.

However, if you tend to hold a lot of body fat, just stick with protein, good fats, and veggies for breakfast. Save the non-fruit and veggie carbs till after exercise only - yes, even oatmeal.

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This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.

8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day

This is from Mens Health, but it really applies to any one who cares about their nutrition:

8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day

Do What You Don't Like

If you want to make some real progress in the gym, start doing stuff you don't like. Chances are you're doing everything you like to do: lat pulldowns, leg presses, leg curls, rope pressdowns and slow, mind numbing cardio. Why do people like to do exercises such as these? Because they're much easier to do than squats, deadlifts, pull ups or high intensity interval training. This second group of exercises requires much more effort. And they may even require a bit more time, unless you're that guy loading 12 plates to each side of the leg press. Have you ever heard any one say they like doing 200 meter or 400 meter work at the track? No, because its hard. Why do people like using the elliptical so much? And don't' tell me because it spares your joints. They like it because it takes the strength of a mouse to get those pedals moving. I know very few people who will crank up the resistance on the elliptical, but I know a lot of people who could memorize the latest issue of People magazine word for word while using the elliptical.

Here's the other thing. I know very few of you are going to do stuff you don't like if you're left to do it on your own. So I'll make two suggestions. One, hire a trainer if you can. A trainer is not going to switch up an exercise or program because you said "I really don't like doing that". That is if the trainer's thought process is about getting you results. Two, if you can not hire a trainer to meet with, have a trainer write out a program for a much smaller fee. He or she she will probably have exercises or set/rep schemes on there that you're not really fond of. But again, is it about making progress and getting results or is it about taking the easy way out and liking what you do? Who knows? You may even enjoy doing some chin ups once you realize the effect they have on your strength and appearance.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Kettlebell Front Loaded Bulgarian Squat

Risk vs. Benefit

A pretty simple concept to understand, but also a simple concept that I think a lot of people do not use. Before beginning any program or selecting any exercise, the pluses and minuses should be weighed out. A particular exercise may look good on paper, but does it put you at risk for further injury if you're already injured? Yeah, crunches or sit ups may may help develop a six pack ( you will not hear that from me) , but also at the expense of ruining your spine. I watch people do certain things in the gym and wonder how they do not crawl out the door on their hands and knees. And then I watch people get so little out of their exercise. Standing on one foot on a Bosu Ball curling 10lb dumbbells for example. You have a greater chance of rolling your ankle or falling off that stupid thing than you do of getting any real training effect. If you want to work on balance or stability, get on some flat ground and do some single leg work. Just because something looks "cool" or hard to do, does not mean that it will serve any real benefit. When in doubt, get back to the basics.

RichRuff Training Exercise of the Week: Jungle Gym Fall Outs

This week's exercise could fall into the same category as the Ab Wheel Roll Out. It's a core stabilization exercise where you're resisting extension of the spine. I just wouldn't throw some one into this exercise though because of it's level of difficulty. I'll usually progress a client up to it by working on the Swiss Ball Roll Outs first, then move onto Ab Wheel Roll Outs and then to the Jungle Gym Roll Out.

Random Thoughts....

.....on a holiday weekend.

• Happy July 4th every one. Doesn't seem like July 4th does it? Not when it rains 21 days during the month of June and then the first two days of July. I'm never one to be bothered by weather, but this is getting ridiculous. I feel tired constantly. I guess I now know what seasonal affective disorder is. And I think my dog, Fenway, has it to.
• I've been on the road the last month or so traveling to weddings and bachelor parties. Having a great time. Drinking a couple of beers here and there. And actually eating pretty well. Being on the road is no excuse to let your normal eating habits go to hell. There's much better options now at airports and rest stops. You don't have to rely on McDonald's or on Sbarros. But even if you did, I'm sure you could find fairly decent options there. Plus you can always prepare beforehand and bring along your own sandwich or may be some protein powder to mix up. If you're on the road and eating bad, I'm going to say it's because you chose to. It's not because you do not have other options.
• I think the next thing you'll start hearing about in regards to sports drinks is coconut water. I read something about it a couple of weeks ago. It's better than any sports drink out on the market right now. It has more electrolytes than any other sports drink and one serving has 15 times more potassium than a banana. And it's all natural. I ran into a sales rep today from Zico, one of the few companies that's distributing coconut water right now. He gave me a sample to try it out and says I could find it at at Whole foods. After trying it, I think I may have to go pick up myself a case. It's a bit more expensive than Gatorade or Vitamin water, but it's also a lot less toxic. It has 4 ingredients: coconut water, citric acid, natural orange and passion fruit flavors. Not the 20 ingredients you'd find on other sports drinks. The fewer the ingredients, the better.
• Every day in the gym I get a few chuckles from watching what ridiculous things people are doing. But yesterday topped any thing I've ever seen before. Nothing makes my eyes roll more than listening to guys talk about how much they can leg press. It tells me two things. They are to lazy to learn how to squat correctly and they are not getting enough attention at home. So yesterday I watched this guy who's about 150lbs and has forearms that are thicker than his legs load up the leg press. Not five plates on each side. Not nine plates on each side. I think there actually 12 plates on each side. Then he had to throw a 5lb plate on each end to top it off. If you had seen his earlier sets, this guy had no right to even put three plates on each side. He wasn't even coming a quarter of the way down. So now he has all this weight on and he's telling someone he's going to set a new personal record. He climbs in. He unlocks the safety mechanism. He lowers the weight about a quarter of the way and then unexpectedly that weight keeps coming lower. Crash!! Stapled by the leg press. Thank god he had some decent flexibility or his patella's would have shot across the room. And thank god the safety caught it at the bottom because he would have severed his lower half. "Almost had it", he says. Yeah, sure buddy.
• If you're suffering from low back pain one of the worst things you can do is any type of stretching that involves spinal flexion when you get out of bed in the morning. As you lie down at night, your interverbal discs become hydrated causing a good amount of pressure in your spine when you get out of the bed in the morning. If you take this pressure and add some flexion to it by reaching for your toes or tucking your knees into your chest, you're not helping yourself. Instead wait 1-2 hours after rising out of bed in order to let that intervertebral fluid dissipate causing less pressure through your discs.
• Any chance of some sun tomorrow?
  

Dr. John Berardi's Nutrition Tip

Tip #10
ZMA for Deep Sleep
by Dr. John Berardi

ZMA is useful for improving the quality of your sleep. For me, ZMA tends not to induce sleep as much as deepen it. Expect your dreams to be extremely vivid! My athletes, when traveling, or when under heavy training loads, usually included 2-3 ZMA capsules before bed.

SEE ALSO:
This tip is sponsored by Precision Nutrition - my pick for the best nutrition and supplement resource currently available. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want -- guaranteed.