Sorry Everyone

I haven't been able to post anything, I am currently doing stuff for the army and am very busy. Ill be back in the fall with some more exciting tips and motivation! Stay strong and keep working out hard and eating healthy, you can do it. Summer is around the corner. Thanks for all the support.

Matt

To the next level, PUSH!

A lot of people when they go to lift weights or they go running, once they get tired or feel like they can't knock out one more rep and cutting themselves short. I know this is almost cliche in the workout world, but in order to get those rock hard results a little quicker and better, you need to push yourself over your limit. I am not saying you need to do this every single workout, but close to it. You need to progress, that's how you get able to lift heavier weights, or run an extra mile. Lets say you are trying to lift 225lbs on bench 8 times, you get to 6 or 7 and then quit..if you would have got someone to spot you and did the extra 1-2 reps that pushes those muscle fibers to work harder and then when they repair over night, "wahlah" bigger muscles! When your going on a run and you get to the 1 or 2 mile marker and you are pooped, try spring the last .10 mile or running and extra half mile and try running it at the same speed or even faster. The harder you push yourself to run farther, even if you have to slow down and jog another mile, your body will slowly get used to this and "wahlah" after awhile you'll be able to run that extra mile you've been running slow on faster like it was just the first mile. Now pushing yourself to the next limit to get better, faster results is great...but remember! RECOVERY! I mean this in getting the proper amount of sleep at night 7-9 hours, also consuming some healthy carbs and proteins after wards. You can push yourself all you want, but if your not eating right or recovering your body well enough, all that hard work won't pay off.

Partied hard last night, now what?

I am using this an example because the past few months I have been really clean about what I eat and not drinking alcohol. I had some good friends from VA come visit me in KY. Went to Louisville 4th street live for mardi gras. Didn't eat too bad, still ordered chicken and broccoli for dinner, but appetizers, alcohol, and late night slices of pizza hurt. Lets say your in the same ball park. The night before you partied, drank, and ate a bunch of starchy, carby, fatty foods. What's the best step for the next day. Well upon waking up, lets hope you got some good sleep..drink at least 16oz of water or more. Go for a run, or do some kind of cardio workout for about an hour. You don't have to do hardcore cardio because your body is pretty drained and dehydrated from the night before. Make sure you start eating good again for breakfast, eating your proteins and fibers and healthy fats. Keep drinking lots of water all day and get back on your daily eating good, working out program. If you want at night, hit the gym for some weight lifting (light workout, lots of reps-burns more calories). Give your body some much needed rest and get back on track. :)

For those trying to build muscle and burn fat

Besides using protein and creatine supplements there is something else that you could/should look into taking. That supplement is another body produced amino acid that you get enough of usually but adding more will help the process of getting more muscle quicker. This is ARGANINE. I take this in my pre-workout supplement before I lift weights to help the process of burning fat and building muscle.
The benefits and functions attributed to oral supplementation of L-arginine include:

• Precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO)
• Reduces healing time of injuries (particularly bone)
• Quickens repair time of damaged tissue
• Helps decrease blood pressure

New progression photo.

I took this on monday, not flexing or anything just showing you that carb cycling and proper nutrition are working very well (along with cardio before breakfast and lifting at night). Abs are starting to come in and body fat is at 10%. I am very happy where I am heading, hopefully in 3-4 weeks before I got back to VA ill be some what where I want and then when summer comes ill be satisfied. But ill never really be satisfied, ill always want to improve and get better!

ill post another before i leave so thats another 2 1/2-3 weeks away. I have this posted under progression photos now as well.

Don't be afraid of Creatine..

When I tell people that I take supplements Pre and Post that contain Creatine Mono-hydrate in them they automatically assume I am trying to get super bulky and think of it as some type of Steroid or something. Creatine is actually a very good supplement to be taking regularly in your workout routine, mainly males.
"An amino acid 2-(carbamimidoyl-methyl- amino)acetic acid which naturally occurs in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscle and nerve cells" -en.wiktionary.org/wiki/creatine
See, creatine is a natural body substance your body provides, but giving your body more increases your training goals:
1. Lifting weights- Creatine helps shuffle water and energy to your muscles to help them grow and be more full, thus helping you lift more and heavier. So in turn, your gaining more muscle. Also after you lift it helps repair your muscle tissues and speed up recovery time so you can get back in the gym the next day and lift and not be so sore and say I'll just take a few days break.
2. Cardiovascular Training- Most people are surprised when I say this, but Creatine also (in males only) helps improve high intensity exercise capacity. It increases the peak running capacity, it's basically a boost of energy to your muscles and helps you run faster and longer, I personally have noticed a difference. 

So now you know some what about Creatine, you should think about trying to incorporate it into your workout/training schedule.

 

this is what I take for post workout because it contains creatine monohydrate and fast carbs to help recover my muscles and repair the muscles better. 

 

Check your weight often

They say if you check your weight more often, such as daily, you will know if you are making smart decisions or not. The scale doesn't lie. :)

Stop taking the easy way out.

Yes I am being serious. Everyone always wants to lose weight, period. Everyone wants that beach body or to just look really good. You have to take this into consideration...your body took 9 months to be created, you spent years probably not really working out and eating junk food or unhealthy foods. Why on earth would you think in 1 month you can become this super lean, beach body machine. Some people just have the genes where their metabolism runs super high all the time so they were able to eat all they wanted and stay skinny, but usually the want bigger muscles or more leanness and that also takes time. For the majority of us, we ate all we wanted, and paid the price of bulging stomachs or un-wanted fat. It is very easy to gain weight but harder to lose it, why? That's just the way life is and we have to deal with it, but it doesn't have to be like that.

But Matthew, I don't have time in my schedule to workout all the time. I hate this excuse, your telling me you can't spare just 45-60 minutes a day to help change your life for the better, be serious.

Lets say that you can only workout 2-3 times a week because you just have so many things you honestly can't work out that much, ill give you the benefit of the doubt. Eating the right foods, can help you lose weight and not gain it. Really Matt?? Yes. Stop eating Mcdonalds and all that crappy food. Start thinking natural. In paleolithic days or spartan days they didn't say, hey lets stop for some whoppers at BK because today is our cheat day, they eat vegetables, meats, fruits, and nuts. Giving your body proper portions (not over eating) and eating the right foods can help you lose weight and not put on those extra pounds if your not able to workout as much. you still need to try and workout more often, at least try to incorporate sprinting up some stairs for 45-60 seconds, then walking and repeating 5-10 times, thats a great little fat burning quick workout. 

As I was saying though, stop being lazy people. You can't just hope to take some diet pills and still eat fast food, or not workout because the diet pills are burning all the fat up anyway, you can't be serious right now. Some diet pills work, yes. But that means working out and eating right to help them work. Getting in shape, having low body fat, getting big muscles, whatever your goals are..they take TIME. If you want to be ripped and skinny for the summer time, you should have started a few months ago honestly (depending where you are in your fitness). I mean look at my progression photo's, the last one I took was about 3 weeks ago and I can already tell a big difference because I have been eating right, cycling my carbs, working out, resting, doing all the right things. If I would have taken it more seriously towards the beginning I would be a lot farther than I am now, but like most people I yo-yo'd back and forth a little because I would eat the occasional wendy's or mcdonalds, go out drinking late nights, etc. If you want to get fit, lose weight, whatever, you do need to take it some what seriously. Start eating healthy foods, the Kroger here has an organic isles that i get whole wheat noodles, whole grain crackers, organic fruit spread, etc...all these little things and choices that you make go a long way. Like they always say, your body is a temple and you are what you eat. It is so true, feed your body the right foods, forget all that processed food, saturated fat, high fructose corn syrup, your body doesn't need it.

Granted, it isn't the easiest thing to go cold turkey off soda, fast foods, etc and just switch to a healthy diet and regular exercise. So don't go 100% into it right away if your not used to it because it usually leads to failure. Slowly start working out, adding time, days, distance, to your program. Start drinking less soda and limiting fast food and switching to whole grain foods, organic foods, lean meats. Your body will appreciate it and when you start seeing results you'll know it was all worth it and that you didn't really need that extra mcdouble and fries with the coke. I haven't had fast food or soda in so long, but my body isn't craving it at all seriously. I almost get grossed out just looking at the food, if you actually look at the supplement facts in the foods that you can order, that should make you not want to eat it just aside from looking at the greasy, mayonnaise filled thing.

Well i just wanted to share this because I know some people who are either taking diet pills but not doing anything and just banking on the pills to do everything. People who workout all the time but then go to fast food or restaurants and order a bunch of crap and a lot of alcohol and waste the workout. I am not saying you have to be 100% workout, healthy eating machine..but you do need to take this some what seriously because your taking years off your life without it..and wouldn't you rather look good in your 30' or 40's as you get older then be the typical fat, bulging stomach, couch potato? Do something about it, change your life for the better!

Good Chicken Recipes

Here are some good chicken recipes and good ways to help eat chicken (lean meat) to gain muscle and burn fat! I am still in the process of trying them all, but so far they are delicious and a great way to get your lean chicken meat (protein) and add in some healthy carbs and vegetables :)


Real World Chicken Recipes 

plus these are tastier and easy to follow for people not looking to spend all day preparing food. Buying the chicken flavor packets at your local grocery store are also good because their cheap also and easy to make: garlic and basil, Hawaiian luoa, and mexican verde are 3 very good ones I always love. Always make sure to eat green vegetables with your lunch and dinner, and whole grains for carbs!

If you want to get lean, Eat Lean!

Stop eating those fast food burgers, well stop eating fast food in general. But fatty meats like beef and roast beef should not be eaten everyday, its acceptable to eat it occasionally in moderation. But if you want that summer body you need to start thinking lean. These meats contain usually little fat, usually the healthy kind you need to burn off the bad fat. 1g or less of carbs, and lots of protein and healthy nutrition your body needs.

• Turkey
• Fish
• Chicken

I usually eat a little turkey with my eggs in the morning, a fish fillet with vegetables and fruit for lunch, and a 4oz chicken breast (grilled, not breaded) with vegetables and fruit. I have noticed a huge differences eating a lot of these lean meats, because I am getting leaner also! These are also great ways to get your daily intake of protein and healthy calories and fat.

 

p.s. tomorrow i will post some good recipes to make good chicken, how to incorporate turkey into your lean meat diet, and also fish. Ill share portion size and good seasoning, good pairing with other foods tips.

If carb cycling..

Make sure that your high carbs are in whole grains and wheat's, don't go for high fructose or enriched white breads. Very Bad!!
things that i ate to help me get my "High" carb serving, also wasn't that easy by the way to consume 300-400 grams of healthy carbs as you think it would so here are some suggestions, especially for a little cheat foods also.

• oatmeal
• whole grain bread
• whole grain pancakes (throw in berries)
• whole grain cereals with low fat/sugar
• barely mushroom soup
• whole grain popcorn
• whole grain waffles (low carb syrup)
• whole grain pizza crust (throw on tons of veggies)
• brown rice

 Above: Whole grain pizza crust, olives, tomatoes, green peppers, low fat cheese, real tomato sauce. See, and you thought all pizza's were bad for you. You can take ordinary/daily foods and make them healthy with the right choices.

inspiration

Carb Cycling

some of you may know what this is, others no clue. It is a fairly simple idea, that I will be doing for the next 6-8 weeks before taking a couple week break then going back into pretty much for a long time, or until my goals change.
"Carbohydrates are used as energy by the body; they fuel our workouts, as well as providing ample fuel to be used throughout the course of the day. Ingesting carbs also replenishes our glucose and glycogen stores to prevent fatigue."
Carbs are used as fuel in the body, when you go on a low carb diet, it is mainly because your goal is to lose fat "reduce the carb intake to promote fat use as fuel to lose weight." My goal here is to maintain muscle mass, and gain muscle all while burn fat and lose weight, yes it is possible. After a few days or a week on a low carb diet your body starts to get used to not having carbs for energy and starts to use fat yes, but a lot of muscle also. Carb cycling is also a lot easier to maintain because you know after a few days you can have some more carbs, healthy ones of course like whole grains and more fruits. When you carb cycle, your body uses fat for fuel, but instead of getting used to it and using muscle after a couple of days, you give yourself carbs, then more, then slowly slow back down to little. This way carbs are used in the body for fuel and not stored as fat and your still gaining muscle when working out instead of burning muscle, and losing the bad fat.
Here is an example, I am about 200lbs +/- 2-3 lbs.

Monday: Low (.5 grams carbs per body weight so for me basically 100g total)

Tuesday: Low (.5 grams carbs per body weight so for me basically 100g total)

Wednesday: Low (.5 grams carbs per body weight so for me basically 100g total)

Thursday: High (2-3 gram carb per body weight, so about 200g total)

Friday: Moderate (1 grams carbs per body weight, so about 300-400g total)

Saturday: Moderate (1 gram carb per body weight, so about 200g total)

Sunday: Moderate (1 gram carb per body weight, so about 200g total)

Then repeat the next week. Any questions just ask.
Also I am keeping my protein intake high to maintain the muscle mass and promote protein synthesis during workouts.

This upcoming week...

I am going to try and take some pictures and take some videos of parts of my workout so you can see what some of the things are and for form.