Tag Archive for: Working Out

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Post One.

abs

absOk, so I’ve been good lately. Worked out 6 days last week!!! Woohoo! This includes my Park Workout. I’ll post this exact workout later. Really love this workout as a major change to the routine. It’s a fast paced circuit workout and includes push and pull exercises as well a little legs and abs. I always leave the park feeling like my arms are going to burst out of my shirt! : ) YEAH BOY! : )

The one day I didn’t work out didn’t mean I sat on my ass eating chips. I ran, mofos! I ran a total of three times last week. WHY am I running so much when I clearly told you not to run more that once a week? Well, like I said in Workouts p.2, you’ll worry about burning fat after you’ve reached your goal. Which I have. This assumes you’re skinny. If you’re already at around 18% body fat or worse, then you’ll need to run more, fatty.

Last week, I did Legs twice (as prescribed), and all of the rest; Back, Shoulder, Chest once, (as prescribed). Not much abs. That’s cool. That aint my concern for now.

Record for Friday, October 8:
Weight: 176.2 (Yeah! First time in my life. In fact, I’ve never been more than 170 before doing this workout program)
Fat:14% (I know, I’m a fatty. that’s why I’m running more, bitches!)

How do I know these dates and stats? I keep the records in my Google Calendar. This way, I can update or read it from my phone, or work computer, home computer, etc. My paper journal goes inside the gym with me, and keeps the details; the reps, weight, etc. Google Calendar tells me how good or bad I’ve been, and if I did slack and miss a workout, I know which one I should do next.

Remember, you don’t have to keep the calendar schedule and you actually shouldn’t with these workouts. If you missed Chest day and are two days behind, don’t skip it and go with Legs because next time you do Chest, you will have done Chest around two weeks apart and that won’t work. Pick up where you left off (where you messed up) and try not to mess up again.

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Jack3d And OxyElite Ordered Destroyed by FDA

Jack3d pre workout

As I’ve mentioned before, 10in30 Fitness friends, be careful with those pre-workout supplements. Most rely on heavy stimulants like caffeine that increase your heart rate radically.

Taking 2-3 times the caffeine of a strong cup of coffee in one shot is just stupid. You are putting fitness in front of health, when it should be the other way around. You should strive for health by way of fitness, but the progress of your muscularity or general physique should not compromise health. You might as well take steroids if you truly don’t care about your health and only care about getting “jacked”.

As it turns out, USP Labs’ Jack3D contains a stimulant called “dimethylamylamine” (DMAA). This stimulant is dangerous when taken with caffeine which Jack3D happens to contain.

 

 

OxyElite ProIt’s so dangerous that two soldiers died of heart attacks in February 2012 after taking a DMAA supplement and a few months ago, Todd Battuello, a 34 year old healthy, fit man who lived in West Chester, Philadelphia. He was taking USP Labs’ other DMAA laced supplement, OxyELITE Pro.

The FDA ordered that all supplement manufacturers of DMAA supplements destroy the products but sources are conflicted. Some say USP Labs, the makers of Jack3D refused to destroy it and still sell it, while others say they obliged and destroyed it.

Excerps:

“The stimulant DMAA is not a proper amphetamine, but the FDA warns people of the extreme health risks associated with its consumption. Manufacturers claim the stimulant is all-natural, likening it to caffeine; however, the FDA claims it can “elevate blood pressure and lead to cardiovascular problems ranging from shortness of breath and tightening in the chest to heart attack,” according to a recent statement.

The products’ manufacturer, USPlabs of Dallas, priced the supplements at an $8 million retail value. USPlabs has agreed to stop manufacturing products that contain DMAA, as the stimulant is illegal in American-made supplements.”

Read the rest of the story here:

Risky Supplements Jack3d And OxyElite Voluntarily Destroyed, Following FDA Crackdown On DMAA Products : Consumer News : Medical Daily.

Diet supplements to blame in West Chester man’s death?

L-arginine

10in30 Recommends:

If you’d like a “pump” for your workout and are looking for a pre-workout boost, I highly recommend getting the natural amino acid L-arginine. It’s the N.O. booster that is used in most popular pre-workout supplements. Other than L-arginine, they contain a cocktail of stimulants from caffeine to guarana and similar natural stimulants that you don’t need. If you’d like some caffeine which is usually safe when used in limited amounts, try a cup of coffee or a couple of shots of espresso, one half hour before your workout.

If you’ve developed a tolerance to caffeine and a cup of coffee will not give you any noticeable energy, then I suggest bringing your tolerance back down to human levels by having much less caffeine throughout the day; saving it for the half hour before workout time. In a week or two, you will appreciate and look forward to that one cup of coffee in the evening before working out.

According to WebMD:

“L-arginine is converted in the body into a chemical called nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes blood vessels to open wider for improved blood flow. L-arginine also stimulates the release of growth hormone, insulin, and other substances in the body.”

WebMD also says it’s “possibly effective” for:

“…when used with hydroxymethylbutyrate (HMB) and glutamine. This combination seems to increase body weight, particularly lean body mass, and improve the immune system.”

Read about L-arginine on WebMD

 

Stay safe, party people! Please share this article and I welcome your comments below!

– BUM

 

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Vid: Ability to Sit and Rise from the Floor Can Predict Mortality Risk

From Science Daily – Science News:

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Dec. 13, 2012 — A simple screening test of musculo-skeletal fitness has proved remarkably predictive of all-cause mortality in a study of more than 2000 middle-aged and older men and women. The study, performed in Brazil by Dr Claudio Gil Araújo and colleagues at the Clinimex — Exercise Medicine Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, is reported today in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention.

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Commenting on the results, the investigators said that a high score in the sitting-rising test might “reflect the capacity to successfully perform a wide range of activities of daily living, such as bending over to pick up a newspaper or a pair of glasses from under a table.”

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Offering an explanation for the close correlation between the test scores and survival, Dr Araújo said: “It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio and co-ordination are not only good for performing daily activities but have a favourable influence on life expectancy.

See the whole article here

 

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Video: How to get hurt at the gym

Watch this video if you are interested in learning how to get hurt at the gym:

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Pain and at least one broken bone guaranteed OR YOUR MONEY BACK!

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3 fitness products currently on the shelves!

If you’re into fitness, chances are you might be aware of the ton of fitness products on the market. Most are hacks, some are good, and very few are great. Either way, a lot of people are making a lot of money in the fitness products industry. I’m pushing a few products myself, and therefore, I am always on the lookout to see what’s selling, what new products are hitting the shelves, how they’re marketing them, etc.

Here are some products I’ve recently noticed out there.

You know how I really like those Bowflex adjustable dumbbells? I’ve tried the few other competitors and feel strongly that the Bowflex are the only ones to get because of their great design, smooth operation and ease of use.

But now, Weider has introduced the Speed Weight 100’s. They are a pair of 50 lb. dumbbells that adjust even quicker and easier than the Bowflex, just like their name indicates! You simply turn the handle itself once the dumbbell is in its caddy. Very smooth operation, it never got caught or stuck when I tried all of the different weights.

They sell for $499, while the Bowflex 552,s are selling for $399 at the moment (they used to be more expensive). But they only go up to 50 lb, very close to the Bowflex 52 pounders.

The Bowflex beat it by a tiny 2 lb for $100 less. Now, like I’ve mentioned before, I would not get the 552’s anyway—I would get the 1090’s (10-90 lbs – $599) since I’m not going to do much with 5 lb weights anyway. And 52 lbs is not enough for bent over rows or bench press unless you’re a girl and/or just starting out, in which case the 552’s might suffice, but if you have the money, just go for the bigger ones.

 

As for which of the smaller dumbbells to get—Bowflex 552’s or Weider Speed Weight 100’s—I’d say, try them out and see if Weider’s smooth and simpler adjustment mechanism warrants the extra $100. It might! (they’re pretty damn smooth)

 

You may have heard of TheRack or seen it on TV. This senior walker look-alike is actually pretty useful for some exercises but definitely not everything they claim or demonstrate.

Great for dips, deep pushups, handstand pushups, elevated feet pushups, body rows (haha they call them “extreme pullups”), ab roller (has wheels) and reverse ab roller (lower abs, knees to chest).

Retarded for their claims of shoulder press, bicep curls and specially retarded for “power squats”. Really, “POWER” squats with a 23 lb weight? Your leg itself weighs more than that!

But again, it might be worth it if you don’t have anywhere else to do dips. I also like the body rows capabilities and the rolling capabilities is what took it to the “might” category for me.

You can get TheRack here for $129.

We all know that Jillian Michaels is a household name in fitness for women, and I’m sure you’ve seen mma champ, George St. Pierre’s RUSHFIT advertised all over the place as well, right?

Well, they’ve teamed up to sell even more product. Best of both worlds, right? Dudes wanting to get a body like a UFC fighter so they can impress the ladies, as well as the ladies who idolize Jillian will totally pee their pants when they see this. Just imagine all of that pee all over the Target isles.

I don’t care for the DVD’s, but this product is basically another suspension system like the Jungle Gym which I own and love. Target sells Rip:60 for $99 or you can get it sent to your home for practically the same price. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE in the rip:60 is its rotational function. The strap is basically threaded through a pulley at the top instead of being stuck up there so you can smoothly pull one strap to raise the other, or pull both at the same time like the other suspensions systems. See the pic of George doing that pulling move on the box up there? That’s what he’s doing; pulling one handle while retracting the other. Also good for doing that pull/retract thing with the legs as you can see in their demo vids.

But I’d just get the Jungle Gym for half the price unless you’re interested in some nice beer coasters that resemble DVD’s for another $50.

So there you go. Some good stuff, some ok stuff, some funny stuff. “Power Pullups”. Seriously.

If you see another product that just hit the market, let me know!

– Your friendly neighborhood BUM.

 

 

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Protein comparisons

Gain muscle fast. 10 pounds in 30 days! WHEY Protein

I compare the price per protein of 3 leading sources of protein and tell you which is BEST.

You already know that you need lots of protein so your muscles can repair themselves after grueling workouts. As I have stated in the Gain 10 lbs plan on this site, you’ll need 1.5 – 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. And if your mission is to Lose 10 lbs in 30 days, then you still need lots of protein: 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.

Now, how do you go about doing that? Most of your protein should come from real, whole foods like chicken breast meat, tuna, lean steak, even hamburger (but it has to be the 96% lean type).

 

 

Really, most meats will cut it. What you have to look out for is how much fat they’re putting into your body and how it’s cooked. Obviously, never eat fried foods. I say “never” like I’ve mentioned before on this site. Make “never” your goal, and if you mess up, it’ll be minimal. Give yourself a pass by saying “rarely” and you’ll be eating fries every week!

So where do the other servings of protein come from? That’s where snacks and convenient supplements come in. Whey protein is the most popular form of protein because it is the most convenient. You don’t need to refrigerate it, can easily mix it with water, and you can take it anywhere. There’s also cottage cheese and yogurt which are great and cheaper, but you need a fridge.

So here’s my price-per-gram breakdown of protein sources and my take on their pros and cons.
(all prices taken from bodybuilding.com for the sake of consistency)

First, we have
Muscle Milk by Cytosport.
4.94 lb. $52.99
Serving Size: 2 scoops (70g)
Servings per container: 16

Protein per serving: 32g
1 scoop = 35g total, 16g pro
2.19 protein-to-total scoop ratio

$52.99 / 16 servings = $3.31 per serving or per 32g pro

$3.31 / 32=

$0.10 per g pro

I’ll break it down. Muscle Milk’s serving size is two scoops. You get 32 grams of protein per those two scoops or per 70 grams of product. That means that for 70 grams of Muscle Milk, 32g of it is protein.

That’s a 2.19 protein-to-total scoop ratio, meaning that for every gram of protein, 2.19 grams are something else. (32 x 2.19 = 70) 2 to 1 would mean that half of the total scoop is protein. 1 to 1 would mean that all of it is protein.

Muscle Milk breaks down to 10¢ per gram of protein. Now, of course, you don’t only get protein with Muscle Milk. You get 20 vitamins and minerals and 19g carbs. I don’t know about you but I have a hard time drinking two scoops. Even if I do drink them, I usually feel grossed out afterward. The most I usually do is 1.5 scoops but normally just 1.

If you were to do only one scoop you’d get only 16g protein. Since protein is what you want most of, I don’t think it’s enough protein per scoop. But that’s just my opinion.

 

Next, is
Gold Standard Whey.
Gain muscle fast. 10 pounds in 30 days! WHEY Protein
5 lb $52.99
Serving Size: 1 scoop (31g)
Servings per container: 74

Protein per serving: 24g
1 scoop = 31g total, 24g pro
1.29 protein-to-total scoop ratio

$52.99 / 74 servings = $.72 per serving or  per 24g pro

.72 / 24=

$.03 per g pro

So, we’re down to 3¢ per gram of protein with Gold Standard Whey. And take a look at that ratio. Only .29 difference. For every gram of protein, 1.29 is “other”. You’re consuming 31g of product to get 24g pro.

Now it doesn’t have the vitamins that Muscle Milk has, but I don’t see that as a problem because you’re consuming this for its protein and you should be taking a mulit-vitamin daily so you get greater amounts of each of those and many other vitamins and minerals.

 

 

MYOFUSIONThird, is a very popular protein supplement from Gasapri Nutrition, MYOFUSION.

5 lb $52.9
Serving Size: 1 scoop (36g)
Servings per container: 63

Protein per serving: 25g
1 scoop = 36g total, 25g pro
1.44 protein-to-total scoop ratio

$52.99 / 63 servings = $.84 per serving or  per 25g pro

.84 / 25=

$.03 per g pro (0.033)

Aha! A strong contender to the crowd favorite! Pretty much the same cost as Gold Standard, but the scoop is a little bigger (36g vs 31g).

Despite the fact that you have to consume more product to get the same amount of protein as Gold Standard, the main thing to look at is the cost per gram of protein being virtually the same. You can sort of look at it as Gaspari Nutrition is giving you the extra product besides the protein for free since you are buying this for its protein.

 

Fourth on the list is not a protein shake at all.
Chobani 0% Greek Vanilla Yogurt.
32 oz $5.99 (Target)
Serving size: 8oz (227g)
Servings per container: 4

Protein per serving: 22g
1 serving=227g yogurt, 22g pro
A WHOPPING 10.32 ratio!

$5.99 / 4 servings = $1.50/serving or
per 22g pro.

1.50 / 22=
$0.07 per g pro

Now, of course, you are getting probiotics and other stuff in greek yogurt. But did you see that ratio? 10.32! So for every gram of protein, you have to eat 10.32 times more of other stuff. And let me tell you; I will not eat a whole serving of that anymore. Tried eating 8 oz of yogurt and it was too much to only get 22g protein.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Chobani yogurt and usually eat a small container or around 6 tablespoons every morning. But when you look at that ratio, combined with the cost of more than twice the amount of Gold Standard Whey, I wouldn’t use this as my main source of protein. Not cost effective and not very efficient if that’s all you’re eating between meals.

And I wouldn’t remove Muscle Milk from my shopping list either. I like the taste of it and it seems richer to me. Besides, it’s good to mix your supplements up, if not for nutritional purposes, then for variety.

But my #1 choice, if you haven’t figured it out yet, is Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard Whey. I didn’t even mention that it includes 4 grams of glutamine and 5 grams of the ever-important Branched Chain Amino Acids, BCAA’s. So easy to drink since you only need 4-6 oz water to get 24g protein or 36g protein if you’re having a scoop and a half.

I would definitely use the MYOFUSION for variety, though. In fact, that will be my next purchase after I run out of my current GS WHEY. I hear it has a damn good taste, too!

I don’t even bother mixing in bananas, berries or other stuff like people do in those “Bullet” mini blenders. I feel that if you’re serious about your fitness and nutrition, you don’t need your nutritional shakes to taste like desert. C’mon people, we’re not babies. Whip cream on everything? Just drink the damn protein shake; it’s already chocolate flavored, you big ninny! Haha, just busting balls.

But seriously, cut that out! You’re only making it unsustainable to consume enough protein every day if you have to buy fruits, wash them, chop them, blend them, then – – (pause to take a breath) wash all of those blender parts and clean up the mess you made. How long did that take? Now do it again later that day.

In contrast, I make my protein shakes by simply filling my shaker cup with water and adding the whey. Takes around a minute including travel time to the kitchen. Washing the cup is a breeze.

Besides, why would you want to eat so much fruit?! You’re in danger of adding a ton of sugar to your daily calories. Bye bye, abs. But if you’re controlling the amount of fruit you’re eating per day, you can just eat the damn fruit itself alongside your shake without going through the trouble of blending it into Super Delicious Tastes Better Than Your Momma’s Milk Shake. Remember:

CONSISTENCY TRUMPS INTENSITY

 

Be consistent, friends.

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Work your hamstrings at the park!

You’re already good at working your quads with bodyweight exercises. Squat jumps, lunge jumps, bulgarian single leg squat, pistols, step jumps.

And you know how to work the upper body with no weights as well: If you’re at the park, you can do pullups on the monkey bars, dips on the hand rails, pushups with feet on step, body rows on monkey bars with feet on the ladder, flies on rails with feet suspended.

But how about the neglected hamstrings? What about them?!

Here’s a workout you can do in between your quad exercises to get you all wobbly-legged and sore the next day.

park workout, hamstrings  park workout, hamstrings

My daughter Devan demonstrates the Monkey Bar Leg Curls. She is a pretty fit 13 year old. She does cheer, dancing, and track. And after a rest/pause set of 3×10 she laughed and said, “Whoa dad. I really feel them in my legs!” I love that little girl! {single tear}

Notice her superior form! See how she keeps her arms straight! With this exercise, curl your legs, not your arms. If you bend your arms you’d be doing body rows which are damn good, but this is not that.

See how she curls her body? This is also working her abs a bit, similar to knee lifts or as I prefer to call them, “body curls”. But the emphasis is on her hamstrings. They are working hard to curl the legs and pull her body up.

Hold it at the top for 1 Mississippi, then come down SLOWLY! Like I’ve said many times on this site: Don’t just drop like a sack of—brown rice! Take 3 seconds to return to the bottom position. Then a quick 1 second lift.

Get it?

Do 10 reps, then rest while hanging in the bottom position for a count of 10, and do another set of 10 (or as many reps ’til failure). Rest another 10 seconds while hanging and do it one more time. Then come down and do a jumping or upper body exercise. Or you can rest 45 seconds instead of doing an in-between exercise.
3 rest/pause sets is one super set.
Do 3 of those sets for a total of 9.

We good?

Soon, I’ll post my complete PARK WORKOUT that I love so damn much. Whole body, baby!

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New exercises, new vids!

I’ve updated the GAIN 10 POUNDS in 30 DAYS workouts. First of all, the layout has changed to make it more pleasant to read and videos were added in the layout.

And remember, you’ll only gain pounds if you’re eating like it says in the Gain plan. If you don’t want to gain weight but do want a superb weights workout, you can keep your calories low while doing these exercises for maximum muscle gain.

Leg Day 2 (Typically Thursday) has gotten a face lift! It still shares the squats with Leg Day 1, but we’re doing lighter weight, more reps. Plus, squats are combined with Hamstring Curls for a kick-ass superset. We’ll also be doing the amazing Deadlifts to work out the hammies a bit more since they weren’t really worked on very much on day 1. Straight leg ’til failure, then chase them with some regular bending-leg deadlifts.

I’ve also moved the forearms workout from Friday’s Shoulder and Arms day to Leg Day 2. After further examination, I found that the grip and forearms have suffered enough on Shoulders/Arms day so adding forearms may not be the best. Solution: Leg Day 2, when the grip and forearms are pretty fresh.

Shoulders/Arms day stayed the same except for the aforementioned forearms switch, but Abs got its face rearranged too!

Crunches are now weighted by default whereas before, adding weight was extra. The awesome Machine Crunches were added to target the upper abs again and a vid was placed in the layout. Then, after Windshield Wipers and Vertical Toe Touches, a video was added to show the side planks with hip lifts. After Plank Madness, another favorite of mine was added; Reverse Crunches on Incline Bench. I love these as they really target the lower abs.

And I know that doing crunches will not burn belly fat but try these and you’ll see your lower abs actually looking firmer if not flatter!

 

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