100 pushup challenge
Jun/090
I am a huge advocate for natural body weight training, and there is no exercise better than the push-up. This movement works so much more than just your chest. It’s compound, utilizing muscles from your back, arms, chest, and core. I like to start everyday out with a quick set of push-ups to get your blood moving and your mindset right (see my AM Workout). For those of you who are looking to increase your strength quickly and efficiently I recommend trying the 100 push-up challenge.
This site gives a very straight forward way to increase your strength by outlining a plan of increasing reps each day until you reach 100 consecutive push-ups. There are two main reasons why I like this approach. The first is because its simple, wake up do your routine and go (takes 10-15 minutes tops).
This routine looks like this and varies every day, details are on the site:
- Set 1: 10
- Set 2: 12
- Set 3: 7
- Set 4: 7
- Set 5: Max Reps (at least 9)
The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The second reason I like this approach is because it drive results based on goal. I believe the only way to really get the results you want are by setting achievable goals for yourself, like doing 100 push-ups in a row! Try this routine, I guarantee you will see results in strength and definition in your chest.
Now go do your push-ups!
The 300: For Vikings and Spartans alike
Jun/091
Everyone has seen the movie The 300, an amazing and visually stunning movie. One of the things that made the movie so stunning was the amazing physique of the actors… These guys were SHREDDED! This workout was what their trainer had them doing at the end of each month in preparation for the film. Now, I know this movie and work out came out a few years ago but I have just discovered it so I thought it would be worth sharing here.
WARNING: This workout is not for the weak! It will push your body far past the point of exhaustion, but it is a great way to challenge yourself to get to the next level in fitness.
The workout was given its name for the total number of reps you will complete by the time you finish. This workout is not meant to be an every day thing, Instead try it once a month to test yourself and compare how you do each time you complete it. It looks like this:
The folowing are to be completed in order with no rest in between sets (don’t move on until you do every rep).
- 25 pull-ups
- 50 dead lifts at 135 pounds
- 50 push-ups
- 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
- 50 “floor wipers” at 135 pounds
- 50 “clean and press” at 36 pounds
- 25 more pull-ups
That’s 300 reps! Record the time it took you to complete the workout and try to beat it next month!
This workout definitely meets the Viking Muscle standard, brutal!
Natural Viking Diet
Jun/098
First of all understand that this diet will not be optimal for everyone who reads this, but I hate it when people post their diet guidelines but not the actual diet they are using to reach their goals.
For this diet I am trying to cut fat slowly, eat only whole natural foods that adhere to the paleo diet, and eat every 2 – 3 hours depending on hunger. I will not restrict myself to calories however this is what a typical day will look like:
Viking Diet 1:
- Breakfast:
- 2 Egg whites, 1 whole egg (scrambled)
- 2 tbsp Salsa (Green Chili is excellent here too)
- 2 slices of Turkey bacon
- 1 – 2 pieces of fruit (usually a banana or apple)
- Large glass of water (very important)
- Snack:
- 1 large handful of almonds
- 1 piece of fruit
- Lunch:
- Chicken Breast or 1 Can of tuna
- Large Vegetable salad (add carrots, spinach, cucumbers, etc.)
- 2 tbsp Stone ground mustard (trust me here!)
- Snack (pre-workout):
- 2 pieces of fruit
- 1 handful of almonds
- (whey shake, if needed)
- Dinner:
- 1 Chicken breast (marinate in Balsamic Vinegar for 30 min)
- 1 handful carrots (I like baby carrots, no mess)
- 1 handful of grapes
- Small salad (add any veggies you want, dash some balsamic on top)
That’s a typical day for me, I’m never hungry and I have a lot of energy throughout. Find what works for you, the idea is to get back to letting your body let you know when it’s time to eat. When you do eat keep portions in mind, the typical portion sizes these days are way too big, eat what you need (think primal, just enough to sustain!). Once you start eating cleaner, it will be easy to stick to it. Eating every few hours will keep your metabolism burning all throughout the day.
Eat up!
Did Vikings eat peppers?
Jun/090
I don’t know but stuffed peppers are delicious! And it turns out this recipe is pretty darn good for your body as well, give it a try.
Stuffed Peppers
delicious stuffed peppers, fit for a viking.
Ingredients:
- 4-6 bell peppers (red, yellow, or green)
- 1 lb ground lean turkey (or lean ground beef)
- 2- 15 oz cans of tomato sauce, or 1 – 30 oz can (Only tomato! No sugar!)
- 2 cups favorite veggies, squash, spinach, diced carrots
- 3 tablespoons of fresh basil (3 tsp dried)
- 3 tablespoons of fresh oregano (2-3 tsp dried)
- 1/2 small onion (diced)
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 325. Brown the ground turkey with the onion, and the rest of your veggies. Combine the tomato sauce, basil and oregano. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds. Combine the ground turkey, veggies, and half of the tomato sauce mixture, and stuff inside the hollowed out peppers.
Pour the other half of the tomato sauce over the top of the peppers. Bake at 325 for about 50-60 minutes, or until the peppers are soft. You can sprinkle a little Parmesan, on top during the last 15-20 minutes.
Eat up… Natural, Healthy, and Lean!
Sluggish? Not for a viking!
Jun/091
If you’re like me, the morning always comes too soon. I am not, and never will be a morning person, however I have found a few tips to really get me moving in the AM.
Number 1: The obvious, get more sleep
I see this everywhere, “get more rest”, “go to bed earlier”, “don’t do any activity an hour before bedtime”. In my world, sometime this just isn’t possible. I’ll be the first to tell you that you shouldn’t make excuses for yourself, but with a demanding work schedule and a number of other reasons for staying up late (World of Warcraft…), we need to adjust our lifestyles a little to help us ease into bed at a reasonable hour and make the sleep we do get more valuable. Here are a few things we can do:
- Dim the light in your house before bed: This will help signal your body to settle down and make it easier to fall asleep.
- Use your bed for a bed: Stop reading, working, or browsing from your bed. Calming the brain when we get into bed helps us sleep better.
- Don’t go to bed angry or anxious: This one is hard at times, be we need to make an effort to check your troubles at the bedroom door.
- Don’t sleep on your stomach: This was a biggie for me, sleeping on your stomach hyper-extends the back, causing back pain the next day (even more with big pillows) and it can deprive you of oxygen, which will cause headaches the following morning.
Number 2: Get moving!
For some of you, morning workouts are perfect, for the rest of us, it’s like pulling teeth. Working out in the morning is a great way to get your body burning calories for the day as well as setting a commitment to sticking to your daily goals. Remember something is always better than nothing when working out. Here is my 15 minute AM Workout:
- Pushups: 3 sets of 10 reps, I will try to vary the types I do each morning to keep it fresh (Decline, Plyometric, Pyramid, etc.)
- Pull ups: 3 sets of 8 reps, work on increasing the reps here as you go.
- Abs: There are a lot of great ab workouts out there so I didn’t reinvent the wheel. Even though its cheesy and old, 8 minute abs is a great, quick, easy routine to get you moving. It’s available on YouTube here.
Number 3: Fuel up
They always say “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, and for good reason. When you skip breakfast, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. Then you have to try to perk up with a cup of coffee or a sugary pastry, this is a temporary fix, then you crash. Leaving you feeling hungry, crabby, and perhaps making you a little more prone to make unhealthy choices at lunch. Start the day right with a filling, healthy breakfast. It should contain some protein to help fill you up. Here’s what my breakfast looks like:
- 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg.
- 2 slices of bacon (sometimes turkey bacon)
- 1 glass of water (this is very important to rehydrate in the morning)
- 1 Orange
- 1 Banana
Get up get moving, get strong!
Primal Instincts
Jun/093
Time to clean up the Diet!
so easy a caveman could do it...
I have switched to the Paleolithic Diet . After a lot of research and testing, I can confirm this diet is truly optimal for energy and weight management. Not to mention all the health benefits you can can get from removing all the processed foods we are bombarded with in America. This is not a diet so much as it is a lifestyle change. I recommend everyone give it a try. It’s basic premis is to limit the food you consume to what you could have caught or gathered with your bare hands!
Under this model I will not restrict myself to a caloric limit. Instead I will let myself eat when I am hungry, but only natural, raw (or safely cooked) foods that our paleolithic ancestors could have eaten.
These Include:
· Meat, chicken and fish
· Eggs
· Fruit
· Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)
· Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)
· Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.
· Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes
You will notice a significant difference in performance as your body gets used to the clean whole foods that can be easily digested in your diet. These foods are much more filling than processed foods so you will naturally tend to eat in a more controlled fashion.
Good Luck, Stay Strong.
