What does it mean to DO YOU?

Someone once told me the truth of the matter is this: 99.99% of us will never be a world champion, we will never break a world record, hell, we may never win a competitive game of anything. 

I challenge that "truth."

I have always had need to excel, to be the best. I thrive on getting better, working harder, doing more than last time. The real truth of the matter is that I am a world champion, a record setter, the best there ever was, because, when it comes to making me better, I am the only competition. Every time I look in the mirror I feel sorry for the guy looking back at me because, today my friend, you will loose. I will get better, I will achieve more, I will push myself to reach my goals. So tomorrow, you will be distant memory. Another challenger who lost in the quest to see who can make a better me. The best part? There is always a new challenger staring right back at me, trying to take my title. BRING IT. I will win. If not today, I will get you tomorrow.....

I will DO ME.  

All that is left is for you to ask yourself do you want to be a champion? A record breaker? The best that ever was? Will you DO YOU today or loose to the only one who can beat you....YOU? Only you know the answer.....

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Today's quick supplement information: Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a powerful herb traditionally used in flavoring ethnic dishes. Mostly it can be found in Indian, Persian, Eritrean, and Ethiopian cuisine. Recently it has received much attention for its medicinal properties as well. Most of the medicinal benefits seem to be due to the herb's rich levels of alkaloids as well as its ability to balance blood sugar and restore healthy cholesterol levels. 

The Top Benefits of Supplementing Fenugreek Include:

- Strong antioxidant to fight free radicals and boost the immune system 

- Great for digestion: reduces gastric inflammation, acid reflux and heartburn

- Shown to decrease appetite and maintain a healthy metabolism

- Promotes healthy hormone levels in both men and women

- Helpful in treating diabetes and lowering blood sugar levels 

- Helps restore healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels 

- Lessens the side effects of menopause in women

So if you are looking for a new supplement to add to your kit bag this may be the one! For the fellas, need one more reason to guve it a whirl? A June 2011 study at the Australian Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine found that men aged 25 to 52 who took a fenugreek extract twice daily for six weeks scored 25% higher on tests gauging libido levels than those who took a placebo!
DO YOU
-SideMeat

A SideMeat Saturday!

Man this is a Super SideMeat Saturday. I got up this morning and did the following 10 minute calisthenic workout:

Perform each exercise for 20 seconds, rest 10 and move to the next one. Repeat Twice:

1) Burpees

2) Bird Dog Left Knee to Right Elbow

3) Bird Dog Right Knee to Left Elbow

4) Split Squat Right Leg Forward

5) Spiderman Push-ups

6) Squat Jumps

7) Side Plank Right

8) Side Plank Left

9) Plank

10) Supine Bridge

I know the is no back or pulling motions but I just wanted a quick blast without any equipment. Then I got a wild hair and decided to hit a shoulder workout before my training session with my high school wrestlers. Wanna get a burn? Try this one:

1) Lying Side Lateral Raise: 5 x 8 each arm no stopping

2) Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 15, 12, 10, 8 up 10lbs per set as heavy as you can go!

3) Giant Set (Seated, 10 of each x 3):

- Dumbbell Front Raise

- Dumbbell Lateral Raise

- Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise

4) Superset x 3

- Behind the back Cable Laterals (12 each arm)

- Cable High Pulls 12, 10, 8

5) Reverse Hammer Shoulder Press 3 x 10

**To perform this sit on the hammer should press backwards so you push forwards and up. This is great on the front delts! 

6) Machine Shrugs 4 x 12 - 15

After that I waled some of my wresters and a few who wrestled for me last year who are leaving through their off season work out program. I an't give that one away but it is going to make them boys strong!

Now for the rest of my day I get to enjoy sports! The Euro Cup is going on right now and, after the World Cup, it is the greatest soccer event on the planet! Germany plays against Portugal who boasts the best player in the world, Christiano Ronaldo, at 845pm Germany time and I am going to go watch that at an outdoor viewing. 

Tonight Pacman takes on  Timothy Bradley in what I think will be a great fight. Hard to bet against the Pacman though. I expect a great 12 rounder but I have been wrong before. 

Before that though, Game 7, Miami and Boston! After LeBron put a masterpiece last game one has to wonder can he do it again? Does he even need to if Wade and Bosh come to play? Does this generation's original Big 3 have anything left in the tank? Will Rondo take over? Who knows! All I can say is I will be up at 230am my time to watch!

All that being said, how was your Saturday? Make sure you do what you enjoy and try to get a little fitness in as well!

DO YOU

-SideMeat

A Well Vested Training Option

So, I was looking for a way to incorporate a second leg workout in for the week. Since my current workout plan already consists of 4 weight training sessions and 3 separate cardio and abdominal sessions, finding time to get in an eighth workout is pressing. The solution? A weight vest! My friday cardio session is now a weight vest run with some leg exercises at the end. Now, you have to be careful when selecting your vest as you need one that fits your body and we all have different builds. Preferably, try to buy one from a store so you can return it if it doesn't fit you well. You may have to try a couple but it is totally worth it! I personally use the Altus 40lb adjustable weight vest. I may need to get another one soon to increase the weight but this one has been great for me for a few years as I use it on and off.

Here is my current Friday morning workout:

40 minute run, moderate pace, 5 minutes of 30 second sprint/jog intervals. 

Leg training Circuit: 4 - 5 times, no rest between exercise, minimal rest between sets, 1 - 2 minutes

- 20 Squats, Squat Jumps. or combination of the two

- 25 Stiff-leg Deadlifts

- 10 Reverse Lungs per leg

- 10 Lateral Lunges per leg

- 50 Calf Raises

Abdominals: rest the same amount of time you exercise plus 30% and decrease as necessary

      - 4 Planks, 45 - 60 seconds (can be dynamic or static)

- 2 Side Planks, 20 - 30 seconds per side

- 3 x 25 Froggers

- 3 Supine Bridges 20 -30 seconds

Now this is just a sample of what you can do for cardio, lower body, and a little core training. Weight vests can be used for upper body training as well! There will definitely be a future boot camp class using these! When I was in charge of the Battalion level remedial physical training program for my unit in the Army we would often have the participants use there Individual Body Armor. Females would use one protective plate, 10 lbs, and males would use two. 

Now, as with any weight training program, there are risks and concerns, If you have joint problems, especially in your knees and ankles, be very carful about running with added weight as it can really put a pounding on the joints. Also, progress slowly. I would recommend starting with about 10 to 15% of your body body weight and adding slowly as your body adjusts. You can also increase intensity by increasing speed on the run and reducing or even eliminating rest periods during exercise. 

This is just another way to vary your cardio and weight training routine! If you have any questions on how you can use weight vests for full-body training give us a shout! 

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Stop making that liver quiver...

First, I will caveat: I am not a certified nutritionist or a doctor! 

Now that I have that out of the way, some of you may have tried every fad diet in the world and wonder why you can't loose weight. You count calories, eat "health" foods, and try everything in the book that is supposed to work. Have you ever thought that there must be something wrong with those diets and the items you are consuming on a daily basis? There two things I think that, if everyone really understood them, would really help people to control their eating and fat. Those two things are your liver and insulin. This time I am going to give you a little bit of information about your liver. 

Your liver has two main functions: filtering toxins and processing fat. Just like a man with two jobs, the more time you spend doing one, the less time you spend doing the other. So, if we constantly give our bodies toxins the liver has to filter then it has little time to process and get rid of fat. Hence, we reduce our bodies ability to burn fat. 

Now, when I use the word toxins that refers to anything that your body cannot process. If you look at the label and see a lot of chemicals, even when it is "health" food. Your body cannot use or process it. This stuff has to be filtered through the liver! That includes preservatives used in canned foods! Don't be surprised but even items like soy products and whole wheat bread are extremely processed. Also, anything with artificial sweeteners, no matter how healthy it may seem, can be put into this category. 

Now, how do you beat this without having a PhD in nutrition? Try eating fresh food made of one thing like broccoli, steak, chicken, and rice. You can combine these foods to make healthy meals. One great example is a hamburger made out of 100% ground beef, lettuce, onion, tomato and 100% grain bread. 

Now, I will say that, in this day and age, it is extremely difficult to totally rid yourself of processed food. However, when you can, avoid them! In my own diet, to maintain muscle mass, I use protein powder which definitely has some portions that cannot be processed. However, the rest of my day consists of eggs, lean meats, fresh veggies and some fresh fruits. 

Finally, you can't say that you will start eating none processed food and forget all the other tenants of healthy eating but this is great place to start changing your lifestyle! You may ask, how do I know it works? Well, hours of reading don't hurt, and, second, experience! Not only for myself but for quite a few others who listen to recommendations from Team SideMeat! 

DO YOU

-SideMeat

One of the most inspirational fitness videos I have ever seen.

Never underestimate yourself. Never give up. Take 5 minutes to watch this and motivate yourself to DO YOU and, maybe, help someone else do them. I felt blessed to watch this and thankful that this gentleman and Veteran shared his story. This should serve to anyone doubting their own ability to make a change as a sign, an example, or maybe even a calling.....just believe, plan, and go!

Arthur's Inspirational Transformation

DO YOU

-SideMeat

Get those wheels of steel!

I just did legs with this guy ------------------------------------ >

After winning the Charlotte Cup last week, Derek is doing the Jr Nationals in a couple weeks and he wanted someone to hit the wheels with. I gladly volunteered to do work. You want to burn them up? Try this:

One-legged Cable Kickbacks 2 x 20 each leg
One-legged Cable Extensions 2 x 20 each leg
Split Squat (rear leg elevated) 3 x 15 each leg
Walking Barbell Lunges 3 x 10 each leg
Squats 20, 15, 10, 20+
Superset:
     - Lying leg curls 20, 15, 10
     - Hip Adduction 3 x 15
Single Leg Extension 3 x 15 (leg to leg, no breaks) x 2
Stiff Leg Dead Lift 3 x 15

Some points of emphasis on a detail workout like this are to really use your glutes (butt muscles) on the cable exercises. Part of learning to train as a bodybuilder is learning how to use and contract very specific muscles. If you can't feel it in the muscle you are targeting then drop the weight and work on technique.

When doing the Split Squat elevate your rear leg on a step. For most people a bench is too high and cause them to lean forwards too much. It is essential to maintain good posture so this does not become a lower back exercise. If you have that "Slumpbody" you will feel this exercise in your back as you will bend at the waist instead of squatting. The more you maintain an upright position the more it hits those legs. They had a machine similar to a Shrug Machine we used which was pretty cool. If your gym doesn't have this use dumbbells.

On the Walking Barbell Lunges take nice big steps and get low. Your front knee should not extend past your toe. If it does you need to take bigger steps!

On the squats we hit ROCK BOTTOM. Put those cheeks on the floor! After all the pre-exaustion we didn't need to go ultra-heavy. Derek is competing at light weight so, right now, we are both well under 180. We decided to use 135, 225, 315, and 135.

Lastly, keep your pace. For the most part, Derek and I went I go, you go on every exercise. This keeps the pump and also serves as a little additional cardio!

Try it out and let me know what you think.

DO YOU

-SideMeat