By popular demand, here is a new routine for you to try.  Its a nice little combo platter featuring arms and core.  Do your best to get through as fast as possible, but be sure to keep the form clean.  After doing a 4-6 minute warmup (to include a light stretch), jump right into the mix.

1. 21′s (bicep curls)
2. One leg Balance Throw the Bomb (45 seconds per leg)
3. Low Plank hold (2 minutes)
4. One leg Balance Curls (90 seconds total – 45 with each leg up)
5. One leg Balance Tricep Extension both arms (same form as #4)
6. Super Scissors
7. In and Out Bicep Curls
8. Diamond Pushups
9. Hanging L’s (from hang, legs straight down, and raise to L – max reps)
10. Concentration Curls
11. Side-Tri-Rise
12. Around the Worlds
13. Congdon Curls
14. Lying tricep extentions
15. Oblique V-ups (30 per side)
16. One leg balanced hammer curls (90 seconds total -45 per leg)
17. One leg balanced front to back tricep extension (45 sec per leg/arm)
18. The Cross  (hang from bar with feet together, raise feet to bar, lower half way, open/close legs, then down.  *PAUSE at bottom between reps to eliminate body sway*)
19. Full supination curls (90 seconds)
20. One Leg Balanced kickbacks (90 sec. total – 45 seconds per leg)
21. Mason Twists (50 reps)

End the workout with a good upper body stretch.  The purpose of the timed moves is to force you to use a light weight, and try to conduct the movement for the designated time.  Adding the leg raise recruits the core, and increases the intensity (as well as forcing you to maintain form so you don’t lose your balance).

As always – enjoy it, and let me know what you think.

~Mark

I wanted to touch base with all of you and speak a little bit to the issue of mind set.  I’m currently working my way through my 19th round of P90X! Its another hybrid round, and this was to be week 5 (as of yesterday). Unfortunately, I suffered an intercostal muscle tear (muscle between the ribs) yesterday during MMA, so I’m going to be hitting only elliptical workouts for at least the next week while I give it time to heal.  I could certainly have become frustrated by this “set back”, but instead, I’m focusing on what I CAN DO to continue to move forward with my fitness goals.

Often times I receive emails from people that express frustration for a setback that happens in the middle of their round. Many feel they need to start over, or that they are a failure because they can’t get through the routine EXACTLY as its written. I NEVER feel that way, and I urge others not to either.  The reason, because we are going to workout for the rest of our LIVES!

Exercise and clean eating is a lifestyle change, not something we do for 90 days and then stop doing.  Life is all about pushing our physical limits and challenging ourselves. For those like me (that love extreme sports), injuries are just a part of the game. If my lower body is injured, I train the upper body. If the upper body is injured, I shift focus to the lower. ALWAYS focus on what you CAN DO, and stop worrying about what you can’t!!

Make sure, if you are in a limited workout mode, to always RECALCULATE your food intake so you at least maintain where you were when you got injured.  It may not be picture perfect, and it may not go exactly the way you want it to, but guess what, NOTHING in life does!  Get your mind right, dust yourself off, and keep working toward your goals – because they belong to YOU!

In 2004 I broke my hand so badly that it required 2 surgeries to repair it. Not ideal, not fun, but I focused on my diet and rode a recumbent exercise bike 6 days a week (and did abs every other day) until my hand had healed (12 weeks!). At the end of those 12 long weeks I had lost muscle mass, but I had maintained my weight, stayed toned, and held onto the 4% bodyfat that I had worked hard to achieve. When I went back to the weights, I gained back my lost muscle mass in 8 weeks.

Life is full of ups, downs, and obstacles, but as long as you keep your mind right, you can overcome anything that pops up in front of you. Never surrender, and never quit – just adjust fire and drive on!!

Mark

The One On One / Insanity Hybrid

Week 1

1. Thirty Fifteen

2. Pure Cardio & Killer Abs

3. Mammoth UML

4. Patience Yoga

5. Max Interval Sports Training

6. Core Cardio and Balance

7. Rest Day

Week 2

1. Core Ball Sandwich

2. Plyo Cardio Circuit

3. Just Arms & Cardio Abs

4. Fountain of Youth Yoga

5. Max Interval Circuit

6. Cardio Intervals (One On One)

7. Rest Day

Week 3

1. Road Warrior

2. Cardio Power and Resistance

3. Insane Abs and Killer Abs

4. Recovery 4 Results

5. Max Cardio Conditioning

6. Bun Shaper

7. Rest Day

Week 4

1. Fountain Of Youth Yoga

2. Core Cardio and Balance

3. Patience Yoga

4. Medicine Ball Core Cardio

5. Recovery 4 Results

6. Cardio Recovery

7. Rest Day

Week 5

1. Plyo Legs

2. Plyo Cardio Circuit and Cardio Abs

3. Diamond Delts

4. Patience Yoga

5. Max Cardio Conditioning

6. Just Arms

7. Rest Day

Week 6

1. Core Ball Sandwich

2. Pure Cardio and Killer Abs

3. Cardio 5-6 Plus

4. Fountain Of Youth Yoga

5. Max Interval Sports Training

6. Bun Shaper

7. Rest Day

Week 7

1. Thirty Fifteen

2. Core Cardio and Balance

3. Just Arms and Killer Abs

4. Patience Yoga

5. Mammoth UML

6. Max Recovery

7. Rest Day

Week 8

1. Fountain Of Youth Yoga

2. Core Cardio and Balance

3. Patience Yoga

4. Medicine Ball Core Cardio

5. Recovery 4 Results

6. Cardio Recovery

7. Rest Day

Week 9

1. Core Ball Sandwich

2. Max Interval Plyo and Cardio Abs

3. Just Arms

4. Max Recovery

5. Bun Shaper and Killer Abs

6. Max Interval Sports Training

7. Rest Day

Week 10

1. Plyo Legs

2. Max Interval Circuit and Cardio Abs

3. Thirty Fifteen

4. Patience Yoga

5. Max Interval Sports Training

6. Cardio Intervals and Killer Abs

7. Rest Day

Week 11

1. Killer Abs and Insane Abs

2. Max Interval Sports Training

3. Cardio 5-6 Plus and Cardio Abs

4. Max Recovery

5. Core Ball Sandwich and Killer Abs

6. Max Cardio Conditioning

7. Rest Day

Week 12

1. Fountain Of Youth Yoga

2. Core Cardio and Balance

3. Patience Yoga

4. Medicine Ball Core Cardio

5. Recovery 4 Results

6. Cardio Recovery

7. Rest Day

]]> http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/09/the-one-on-one-insanity-hybrid-workout/feed/ 24 http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/08/plyo-legs-plus/ http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/08/plyo-legs-plus/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:39:00 +0000 Mark Briggs http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=237 Hello Friends!

I ran this workout at a group session this past weekend (8/15/09), and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  You may recognize most of the moves (with exception to Side Plank Hold and Twisting Plank) from Tony Horton’s incredible Plyo Legs routine (from One On One with Tony Horton).   I took the great workout that Tony created, increased some of the time intervals, and added some reps.  I also added a great warmup from Shaun T’s Insanity program.

To put a fresh spin on things, I took the sheet that the exercises were printed on, and I cut them up into individual exercises.  Then, I took each individual exercise listed, folded the small paper in half, and then dropped them into a paper bag, creating an audience participation game of “draw the next exercise out of the bag”.

What was great about this is that you may go from doing Wall Squats, and by luck of the draw, end up doing Single Leg Wall Squats on the next exercise – magic!!   You can also repeat this workout over and over again, and you are NEVER going to draw the same order of exercises each time!  Now, be forewarned, if you follow this workout to the letter, you are looking at about a 90 minute session with warmup/cooldown included (which created a 1600 calorie burn for me!).  We took short breaks (of less than 1 minute throughout various times of the workout), but for the most part, the only break between exercises happened when I walked around the gym to have the next person draw an exercise out of the bag.

If you want to adjust the time of the workout, just draw some random exercises out of the bag.  There are 22 moves, so if you randomly removed 12 pieces of paper, you should be able to knock this down to a 40-45 minute monster!!  I’ll be anxious to hear your reviews — so give it a try!

~Mark

Plyo Legs Plus

The Warmup:

Jog (30 seconds)

Jacks (30 seconds)

Heisman (30 seconds)

1-2-3 (30 seconds)

Log Jumps (30 seconds)

Butt Kicks (30 seconds)

High Knees (30 seconds)

Mummy Kicks (30 seconds)

(Repeat the above 3 times, increasing speed each time)

Stretch (5 mins)

The Workout:

• Squat and Reach (50 reps)

• Run Stance Squats (60 reps)

• Super Skaters (20 per leg)

• Side Long Jump (50 reps)

• Wall Squat (3 minutes) – *START WITH 20 PUSHUP JACKS

• Super Lunges (40 reps)

• Groucho Walk (30 steps) – *START WITH 20 PUSHUP JACKS

• Run Stance Squat Switch (50 reps)

• Deadlift Squats (20 reps per leg)

• Leapfrog Squats (24 reps) – *START WITH 20 PUSHUP JACKS

• Chair Salutations (2 reps – 45 seconds each)

• 4 Corners (30 reps each direction)

• Single Leg Wall Squat (2 minutes)

• Wacky Jacks (100 reps per side) – *START WITH 20 PUSHUP JACKS

• Toe Roll Iso Lunge (50 reps per leg)

• Sumo Chair (30 reps)

• Side Lunge and Reach (40 reps)

• Run Stance Jump Switch (60 reps per side)

• One Legged Speed Squats (20 per leg)

• Egan Brothers (140 reps) – *START WITH 20 PUSHUP JACKS

• Twisting Plank (12 reps)

• Side Plank Hold (60 seconds per side)

]]> http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/08/plyo-legs-plus/feed/ 7 http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/06/plyo-legs-and-back/ http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/06/plyo-legs-and-back/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:57:28 +0000 Mark Briggs http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=232 Well, in the quest to shake things up, I got to thinking about how I really wanted to blast legs and back, but I needed a change from LEGS/BACK that’s in P90X.  I had Plyo Legs from the One on One series, but I wasn’t really feeling that workout today either – so, I came up with my own little hybrid of PLYO LEGS and BACK – all rolled together in one little monster of a workout!

My friend Anson is coming over in about an hour to join me for a workout today, but he has no idea what I have in store for us!  I just created this workout, and its never been done before – so it should work wonders for making us hobble around by later today!

Give it a try yourself, and let me know what you think!

~Mark

PLYO LEGS and BACK (created 06/26/2009)

1.Squats (feet shoulder width)  -  40-60 reps
2.Hot Foot (30 seconds per leg)
3.Wide Grip Pullups – max reps
4.Toe Roll Iso-Lunge – 40-60 reps
5.Leap Frog Squats – 60 seconds forward and back
6.Chinups – max reps
7.8 card stud
8.Double Airborne Heisman – 60 seconds
9.Close Grip  Pullups – max reps
10.Three Position Calf Raise (5 reps each – toes in/center/out) – 60 seconds
11.Jump Shot (60 seconds)
12.Overhand Pullup
13.Side to Side Squats (40-60 reps)
14.Swing Kicks (60 seconds)
15.Switch Grip Pullups (max reps)
16.Pliate Squats (40-60 reps)
17.Lateral Leap Frog Squats (60 seconds)
18.Close Grip Chinups
19.80/20 Speed Squats (30 reps per leg)
20.Mary Katherine Lunges (60 seconds)
21.Wide Pullups
22.Close Stance Squat (to stool or chair – light touch) (30 reps)
23.River Jumps (30 seconds)
24.Pullups (your choice) – max reps

UCML WORKOUT FOR 05/31/2009

1.  Standard Pushups
2.  Standing Mountain Climbers
3.  Banana Boat
4.  Side to Side Squats

5.  Reach High and Under Pushups
6.  Heisman’s (single step)
7.  Side Plank Crunch
8.  Sumo Chair

9.  Iso-Climber Pushups
10.  Flying Knee Mountain Climbers
11.  Mason Twist Bicycles
12.  Front/Back/Up/Down lunges

13.  Stagger hand walking pushups
14.  Jacks (low/full/flying X)
15.  Exploding V-ups (go up, open legs/arms – close legs/arms, roll down)
16.  8 and 8 (tires and squats)

17.  4X5 Pushups
18.  Jab/Cross/Hook/Uppercut/Knee/Front Kick
19.  In/Out/Side to Side (from plank)
20.  Walking Lunges

21.  Plyo Skippers
22.  Sprawling Sprinters
23.  Slicing the Pie (legs together, different angle cuts with feet to floor)
24.  8 Card Stud

*BONUS MOVE*  Speed punches from horse stance – 200 reps total

Guess what?  I’ve got another equipment free workout to share with all of you!  This one came to me from my good friend, Derek Heikes (PhoenixHawk on the Team Beachbody message boards).  For those of you that know Derek, you know how much of a cardio MACHINE this guy is!  He sent this over to me for my opinion, and let me tell you, Beachbody needs to make this one into a video!!

Derek combined P90X+ Intervals with some of the moves from the new Insanity Plyometric Cardio circuit.  The offspring it created was this twisted beast of calorie burning beauty!  Keep a bucket close-by, because this one is off the charts!  All you need is a stop watch, some water to sip on, and oh yeah, did I mention the bucket?!

Give this one a try and then I would LOVE some feedback – and Derek, thanks for sharing this one Brother!  Let the good times roll! 

**NOTE – This is an ADVANCED level workout!  Please modify and adjust as needed if you attempt this one!**

I ran through this workout today (05/23/09) immediately after posting it – my Max Heart Rate (MHR) was 185, and my Average Heart Rate (AHR) for the workout was 173 – that’s for a 38 minute duration.  Please be sure that add in a thorough warmup, as well as a good cool-down and stretch at the end.  With all included, you should get through this one in about 50 minutes.

~Mark

The workout is divided into 5 sets of 4 moves. You do each set,  all the way through, all 4 moves, first time at beginning intensity (running in place would be a jog.) Take a 30 second break, then do it again, the second time through at medium intensity (running is now a run). Take another 30 second break, then do that set the last time through at full out, push to your MAXIMUM intensity (running is now a sprint).

Each move in a set is done for 30 seconds, so a full set is 2 minutes long. Again you do each set all the way through (2 minutes), take a 30 second break, do the set again (another 2 minutes non stop), take your 30 second break, then the last time through is 2 minutes of break neck cardio. After you’ve done a set 3 times, move to the next set.

TAKE BREAKS WHEN YOU NEED THEM.

Set 1:

Run in place

Butt Kicks (running knees down feet up, kicking like you’re kicking yourself in the butt)

High Knees (run in place with knees high up to hip level)

Mummy Kicks (these are hard to describe.. run in place on the balls of your feet with your legs straight, so they move slightly in front of you. At the same time you have your hands straight out from your shoulders, doing scissor motions back and forth so your hands cross on top of each other, alternating one on top then the other… In the Insanity trailer on youtube that’s 3:15 seconds, it shows people doing this at the :34 second mark)

Set 2
Squat Jacks (Sumo Chair from X+. Start in Chair with hands up, jump out to wide feet and hands swing down in outward arcs to touch the floor. Immediately bounce back up to the chair position in a jumping jack type move)

Charleston kicks – From a lunge, back foot skips up to the front foot, and the front foot does a front kick, then steps back to where it started and the other foot steps back to a lunge. Second and third intensity the opposite hand from your front foot touches the floor. Do 15 seconds per leg in each set)

Side Lunge Side Kicks – just like the side kicks are done in KenpoX. Start slow, then up the speed and height for second and third intensity levels. Again 15 seconds per leg per set.

Squat Kicks – squat and alternate front kicks with each squat.  First kicks, low.  Next, medium height, Third, High Kicks

Set 3:
Speed Skaters – step/jump from side to side in a crouch like you’re skating, arms swinging with each move. Jump further and faster for higher intensity levels.

Tires or Wacky Jacks – Running in place with wide feet and high knees like tires from PlyoX, or Tires/wacky Jacks from P90 Masters or Plyo Legs.

Plank Run – in plank position, hands stay in place and legs run.

80/20 speed squats – just like from Plyo X. Second set is all jumps, third set hands touch the ground on each move. Again 15 seconds per leg.

Set 4:

Jumping Jacks

Mountain Climbers – run in place with high knees. As a knee comes up, the same hand reaches up like grabbing a high branch, and pulls down as the knee comes down, the other knee/hand going up at the same time (imagine being on a versa-climber if you’ve ever seen one).

Plyo Lunge – Mary Katherines from PlyoX. Start by going slow in the first set, second time is a slight skip, third time is non-stop plyo switching.

Carlito 3 way push ups – start standing up, then drop into a push up position (plank). Jump feet back to hands and stand back up, hands go up over your head then back down and repeat. Second intensity level you do a push up every time you hit the plank position. Third intensity you jump every time you come up.

Set 5:

Heismans – Like in PlyoX but no hold in place. Constant movement back and forth. At the third intensity level you should be going as fast as you can.

1-2-3′s – Heismans, with a double step in the middle like in Plyo X but much faster.

Side to Side – short shuttle run, 3 or 4 steps to each side and touch the ground. Run back the other way and touch the ground with the other hand.

Insanity Drills – Drop into a plank position, do 4 push ups, then 8 plank runs. Jump feet to your hands and stand up, hands up, then drop and repeat. Increase the speed for intensity in the 2nd/3rd round.

]]> http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/05/insanity-intervals-plus/feed/ 8 http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/05/turn-off-the-mind-chatter-and-stop-the-excuses/ http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/2009/05/turn-off-the-mind-chatter-and-stop-the-excuses/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 14:08:38 +0000 Mark Briggs http://www.markbriggsfitness.com/?p=216 Turn off the mind chatter, and stop the excuses!

I get a lot of emails with people asking why they aren’t getting the kinds of results they want to see with their fitness programs.  They tell me how hard they workout during the programs, and they just can’t understand why they don’t have a six pack!  My very first question back to them is, “How is your diet?”.  Every time, it comes back the same, “Well, I don’t always eat that well.”  Well, there is your answer!  People, the eating equation is a HUGE part in that puzzle of of fitness!  The goal is to turn off the mind chatter, and stop making excuses for eating bad food!

Fitness really boils down to goals, and where you want to end up in life.  For me, I REALLY like being super-fit and being able to do the things that I do.  I  workout and eat clean because I feel so much better when I do.  If I eat junk, I feel sluggish, bloated, and gross.  Why would I want to make a choice that I know is going to cause me to feel lousy?  I don’t do workouts for vanity reasons (although that’s not a bad side effect), I do them because I feel so incredible when I’m fit.

I still get the same bad food cravings that everyone else does, I just CHOOSE not to indulge in them, because they move me away from where I want to be.  The longer you eat clean, the less you crave the junk food, and ultimately, you feel BETTER!  Then, the “good addiction” sets in – and you just want to constantly reach for that ever next higher level.

Everything you do in life is a choice.  You can either choose to do the things that make you better, or you can choose to do the things that make you worse.  Life is ALL about choices!

I have a strong family history of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.  You know why?  Because I have a family full of people that made the choice to not workout, not eat right, and a parfait of other bad life choices!  You can either invest in yourself now, or you can deal with the fallout when you get into your 40′s, 50′s and 60′s!  My CHOICE is to invest now, live well now, and be SURE that I’m not a miserable, hunched over, grump when I become an old man.

You are the person that decides what you are going to do.  Nothing has power over you unless you allow it to.  Not food, not relationships, not your boss – nothing and no one – just YOU!  Clearly we have to do things in life that we don’t want to do….that’s just how it is – but we have 100% control over what we decide to put into our mouths.  We have 100% control to decide to exercise.

“Do your best and forget the rest”.  Those words can be applied to EVERYTHING we do in life.  You can see the glass as half empty or half full……its all about your perspective.  Don’t be one of those people that has a defeatist mind set.  Get up every day and invest in yourself.  You’ll be better person for making that CHOICE!

No matter what the situation, I always look to the positive, and I always try to stay on track with the things that bring me closer to my goals.  Turn off the mind chatter, stop the excuses, and become the person that you want to be!

The choice is YOURS……Who do you want to be, and where do you want to go?  Decide.  Commit. and trust me, you WILL Succeed!

~Mark

The title really says it all with this one.  Tony Horton, the creator of P90X and several other top selling Beachbody workouts has been changing lives all over the world with his incredible training and insight into fitness and nutrition.  He came up with these 11 laws to help guide people toward being better, happier and healthier.   I do my best to follow these “laws” every single day, and their impact in my own life has been nothing short of profound.  Read them, absorb them, and live them – you’ll be glad that you did!

1. Variety - Variety is the spice of life and fitness. A lifetime of health and fitness is achievable when you can think outside the box. You have to mix it up all the time. Stay curious, creative, and stick with the kinds of workouts that you enjoy. A variety of exercises, workouts, and sports will allow you to avoid injuries, plateaus, and boredom.
2. Consistency -  Improvement and change occur when you do things often. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any momentum you need to succeed. You must find ways to stay in the game. Moderate forms of exercise, done consistently, provide far better results than the occasional full-body pummeling. A lifestyle that includes multiple forms of exercise five to six days a week guarantees results.
3. Intensity – YOU’RE TOUGHER THAN YOU THINK. The fear of pain or injury from working out is a mindset steeped in failure. You must learn to “Find the Line.” Do the extra rep or two, increase your range of motion, and increase resistance as you get stronger. Intensity goes hand in hand with Variety and Consistency. The combination of the three work together as a triad that creates a platform for success. The programs provide variety. Your plan will keep you consistent.
4. Purpose – Your purpose is to have a better life. Exercise and eating right help you feel better. When you feel better, you do more. When you do more, you meet other people. A healthy lifestyle gives us the energy to be better than before. We want to participate, share, communicate, and build a community—have purpose in our lives. If you had never found Beachbody, you might be right back where you were—isolated, with nothing to share, no purpose, because you weren’t doing anything with anyone.
5. Reality – Why do we want life to be different than it is? Why do we think about who we were and who we’re going to be more than who we are? We certainly talk a good game about who we are now. Why do we try to predict the future with the hope that wishful thinking is enough to change it? Life is NOT the way it was. It’s the way it is. Life is not our fantasy predictions of the future or our glory days of the past. Life is that thing that is happening to you as you read this. We fall into the trap of living in the past and future because right here is not good enough. Back then and up there are keeping you from right now.
6. Sports – Take the onus off of weight, inches, and body fat percentages and put the focus on MOVING—from dancing, rock climbing, and mountain biking to table tennis. I love that ping-pong! Think in terms of “can do” instead of “look like.” Sports are fun and help develop balance and coordination—which in turn accelerates your results. Jump, kick, run, spin, throw, skate, shoot, hit, score, compete . . . PLAY!
7. The Plan – SCHEDULE ALL WORKOUTS IN ADVANCE. This creates accountability. Plan an entire month ahead of time. Try to schedule as many workouts as possible with friends who have similar goals. WOWY was developed so that we could find an easy and effective way to stay accountable and work out together. Now we’ve got people in all over the world working out at the same time. That is cool!
8. Sleep (and stress) – Stressed out, sleep-deprived people don’t eat right and exercise regularly. Stress depletes energy, strength, and desire, while poor sleep habits affect your moods and immune function along with cognitive and motor performance. Burning the candle at both ends makes it impossible to be fit and healthy.
9. Loving It – Exercise and workouts involve commitment, determination, planning, consistency, and intensity. If you don’t like what you’re doing, there’s no way on earth you’ll succeed. Enthusiasm is a very big piece of the puzzle. Get creative and stay curious. If you enjoy doing Power 90 exclusively and it works for you, then keep doing it until it doesn’t. If you get part way through P90X and it’s not your cup of tea, then stop, and do something else. Something’s got to bring you back day after day, week after week. Love it (tolerate it) or leave it.
10. Flexibility – Flexibility is the fountain of youth. Flexible people are much less prone to injury. Yoga and stretching allow you to bring more intensity to your workouts. Flexibility is the key component to becoming less vulnerable and more durable. Aging has a funny way of making everything we do harder. Staying limber and flexible is the way to prevent that from happening.
11. Food and Supplements - You are what you eat! Food and supplements are your fuel. The right fuel supplies proper energy and recovery through balanced brain chemistry. The right supplements simply fill in gaps in your diet.

This is more of a food journal entry than it is an actual article today.  One of the biggest topics that so many people struggle with is their diet.  I mean, lets face it, when most of us average around an hour a day for our workouts, that leaves us 23 hours to be doing other things, like sleeping, working, and through it all, EATING.

In one of my prior posts, I covered the basics on eating;  what to eat, when to eat, and figuring out your nutritional requirements to keep you on track in reaching your fitness goals.  Since that article, I’ve received numerous emails from people, asking me specifically what I ate throughout the day, so I will answer that question below.  Another question I received from several people was “How do you eat in order to bulk up, but keep lean mass?”.  That question I will answer right now.

In order to bulk up, you obviously have to take in more calories than you burn.  Unless you are a bodybuilder, preparing for an event, the easiest way to accomplish this is by upping your caloric intake by as little as 300 calories per day!  Don’t feel like you have to shift the content of your food, just add to it.  Its really that simple.  Now, typically, for weight LOSS, I suggest a 500 calorie per day DEFECIT in your nutritional intake – but for adding, I suggest the slightly smaller increment of 300 calories.  This is what I have done to add bulk in the past, and going slower has taken a bit more time to add the mass, but its also kept all of the gains lean (no bloated look or feel – just solid muscle).

Ok, now I’ll go into a staple of my daily intake.  Let me start by saying that I no longer count calories, and I don’t measure the amount of food I eat, so these are going to be ballpark estimates on quantities.     Now, this is just a staple of one day, but I eat very close to the same things on a daily basis.  Breakfast, for example, is always the same for me, and ALL of the ingredients are mixed together.  When it comes to fluid intake, I drink either water (1 liter per 50 lbs of bodyweight), green tea, and occasionally (but rarely) 1 cup of coffee.

Breakfast

• Oatmeal (approx. 1.5 cups)
• Whey Protein Powder (varied brands), 2 scoops, 48 grams of protein
• Creatine Ethyl Ester powder (4 grams)
• Flax seed (2 tablespoons)

AM Snack

• Fruit (apple or banana – any fruit is fine)
• Cliff Energy Bar or Cascadian Farms organic granola bar

Lunch

• 1 lbs of vegetables (varies from day to day)
• (2) Morning Star Vegetarian burgers

PM Snack

• Protein Shake (mixed with water/ice), 2 scoops, 48 grams of protein or Greens Plus Protein Bar
• Cascadian Farms Organic Granola Bar

Dinner

• Bag (1 lbs) of Spinach
• 1 can of Albacore tuna or salmon
• 1 cup of diced tomatos
• 1 cup of Black Bean Pico De Gallo
• Salsa or Balsamic Vinegar

PM Snack

• Shakeology
• 2 scoops of Whey Protein Powder (48 grams of protein)

*NOTE*  I would like to point out that quantities above may vary slightly from day to day based on how I’m feeling.  In time, you will learn to read your body and know if you need to increase or decrease your intake slightly.  On days that I train in double sessions (for example), my food intake is almost always higher – simply because of the additional caloric burn.*

On occasion, if I’m really hungry within that 3 hour window of bed time, I’ll have one additional Protein Shake (always mixed with just water and ice).  Because I eat a Pescatarian diet (fish and veggies), and I do not consume dairy, I supplement quite a bit as well.  Without getting too specific, below is a summary of my supplements:

• P90X Multivitamins
• Flax Oil Capsules
• Thermogenic Fat Burners
• Calcium with Vitamin D
• CLA
• Ginko Biloba
• St. John’s Wort
• Alfalfa (for joints – VERY cheap alternative to Glucosamine/Chondroitin)

There you have the summary for a day of my nutritional intake.  If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here and I’ll get them answered for you.