The popularity of low carbohydrate diet programs has given carbohydrates in general a bad name and caused the wide spread misconception that all carbohydrates are fattening. The truth is many low carbohydrate programs are based on the assumption that all people are carbohydrate sensitive or resistant to insulin. Before you choose to cut your carbs choose the right carbs.

(more…)

The Resolution is Coming!!!

It’s that time of year again. As a new year comes close, all of us current gym goers start moaning and whining about the “New Year’s Resolution people.  How annoying they are, how crowded the gym gets, blah, blah, blah. My question is WHY? Why do we get so upset about these people who are trying to make a difference in their lives? New Years is that time of year where people look at themselves and try to better themselves. So why do we as people, who have been trying to better ourselves all year, look at these people with rolled eyes? They are no different than us when we started; they are just doing it at a certain time of year.

Some of you may be saying, “Well Wild Will, it’s because they get in the way and they don’t stay long, so what’s the point?” Ok, well, do you think maybe they don’t stay because people like you are rolling your eyes, making comments and being all around rude? Sitting there with your buddies or your girls and making comments like “Argh, the New Year’s people.” Don’t you think that maybe a new year’s person within ear shot may now feel discouraged and leave? Also, how many veteran gym goers can you think of right now that follow every single etiquette rule in the gym? I can’t think of any now myself.

Who the hell are we to get mad or annoyed with someone who is trying to reach their fitness goals? Look at it this way, what is the

I’m just sayin….

difference between someone joining the gym in September vs. January? We don’t get annoyed with this person. We don’t go, “Argh, the fall people are here.” We don’t even notice. Yet, come the whole month of January our noses are stuck up in the air like we are superior to these people. Well guess what, we are not!  So instead of getting all annoyed when these new people don’t follow all the rules of the gym, why don’t you offer your help? Let

them know that when a towel is put on a bench that is the international gym symbol for “I’m using this bench.”  Or, let them know that it is courteous to re-rack their weights.  For those of you who (more…)

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg

• ½ cup wheat germ

• 1lb chicken breast tenders

• ½ cup Buffalo Wing Sauce

• (Preference go to Buffalo wild wings and get there sauce)

• Non-stick cooking spray (more…)

A daily examination of a training diary can be on of the most motivational tools. If you aren’t already recording your workouts, begin doing so now. Of particular importance is writing down all the sets, reps, exercises and poundage’s your perform.

Training logs are crucial for giving you a frame of reference and allowing you to look back to see the progress you’ve made.  Such reviews help you understand that. Improvement doesn’t take the form of one consistent upward dramatic curve but rather is a series of peaks and plateaus. If you find yourself at a sticking point, reviewing your workouts can motivate you by the simple fact that right there in black and white, you can see the former impasses were eventually conquered. (more…)

Pass the Windex Please – Part 2

Hello Friends,

I hope you all enjoyed Part 1 were I went into detail over why the concept of “clean eating” is useless. In Part 2 I am going to go over other options for you to live a sustainable healthy lifestyle without having to give up all the foods you love.

As I mentioned in Part 1, the idea of clean eating does have merit. It is best to eat foods that are as real and whole as possible. We live in a world were breakfast is a pastry that goes in a toaster. Lunch is prepackaged, frozen and reheated in the microwave and you just need to add water for dinner. Go take a walk around your local grocery store and you will see meals that come in boxes, breads that last for weeks, cookies that last for years and veggies that last for months. WHAT!! That’s not right and we all know it. Yet we are all guilty of eating it. So what is a person to do, not eat clean, but eat processed foods instead? No of course not, like I mentioned in Part 1 it’s all about nutrient dense food.  Here is an example:

Breakfast

Steel cut oatmeal (oatmeal without the oat already being rolled out)

Look all the yummy food you can eat. Doesn’t look very restrictive to me. However I don’t see any windex so clearly this bodybuilder is not eating clean.

EggsAlmonds

Lunch

Grilled Chicken

Sweet Potato

Fresh broccoli

Dinner

Sirloin steak

Brown rice

Grilled asparagus

Look at that meal plan, all real, whole foods. According to a Vegan, Vegetarian or someone on the Paleo diet, I technically would not be eating clean. Instead when I just say I eat nutrient dense foods, notice I have all my bases covered: lean protein-check, complex carbs-check and healthy fats-check. You see, Super easy, and super easy to prepare as well.

TRUTH!

So let’s just get to the point: STOP FOLLOWING A DIET! Stop listening to people who think they are superior because of the way they eat. Just eat real food; it’s that simple. It doesn’t matter if a cave man would eat it or if it’s sad that an animal died for you to eat. What matters is the quality of food going into your body and that it fits your goals. Eating clean was once a great idea, but now it has turned itself upside and backwards.  So, stop wasting your time feeling bad about not following someone else’s plan.  Be honest with yourself and your meal plan.  Make room for that fact that, yes, sometimes you are going to have chips, eat McDonalds, have liquor or any of the other “bad” things you know you shouldn’t be putting in your body.  Look, if you are not doing these “bad” things (more…)

Food for Thought: Eighty percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used on animals,which could be contributing to antibiotic resistance in humans. Antibiotics are used on animals to make them quickly grow. 

What does the label really mean? With labels like “100% natural,” “organic,” “grain-fed” and “free range,” its easy to get confused.

100% Natural: According to the United States Department of Agriculture, this means the poultry doesn’t contain artificial ingredients like preservatives. But experts warn that there are no guarantees, since no inspections are done to make sure the claim is true.

Organic: If chicken or other poultry products are labeled “organic,” they must meet much stricter standards. Inspections are conducted, and organic chicken cannot contain artificial ingredients, hormones or antibiotics.

Grain-Fed: This is supposed to mean the chicken wasn’t fed animal byproducts, but just like “100% natural” and “free range,” there’s no outside monitoring of this claim.

Free Range: This could be the most confusing label of them all. According to experts, Chicken labeled “free range” (A kinder farming practice) Should be leaner. “Free range doesnt always mean that the animal has been in an open area its whole life. It may mean it was in a restricted area and let out into an open area only one time during its life.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup orange juice concentrate
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 ½ tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 4 salmon steaks about 6 oz each
• nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

Place first three ingredients in a large zip-tip plastic bag and shake well. Add salmon and refrigerate for 30-60 min. Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Discard remaining marinade. Coat a grill with cooking spray and heat on high. Grill steaks, turning once, until no longer translucent in the center. (About four min per side.

Nutrition Facts: (Serves 4): 263 calories, 34 g protein, 9 g carbs, 9 g fat, 0g fiber.

 Side dish: Serve with brown rice and a cup or two of fresh greens. 

Pass the Windex Please Part 1

I hope everyone is doing well and spending each day getting closer and closer to their fitness goals. Not much has changed on my end: still bulking, sticking to the meal plan and doing the workouts written by Coach Steve. So, since there is not much new on my end I have decided to use this week’s blog to take on the most annoying and poorly used fitness phrase: “clean eating”.

(I have broken this blog into 2 Parts. Part 1 is going to focus on the stupidity that is clean eating and Part 2 is going to focus on the better alternative nutrient dense eating.)

Clean eating has become the latest in health and fitness insanity. What once started as a good idea has turned to the opposite. Here is the thing my friends, and I’m going to say it loud, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN EATING!!! I can’t stress that enough. It’s false, it’s fake, it doesn’t exist. In fact, the people who continually use the phrase are the same people who only a few years back said they only eat organic. All that has changed is the words, their superior and holier than thou attitude has not. Think about the people who say they eat clean, what are they really saying? “I’m better then you because I eat clean” or “I’m healthier then you because I eat clean” blah, blah, blah! It’s just a bunch of crap from people who need to feel special.

Clean eating began to take roots when more and more people realized that the more processed or “fake” a food is, the worse it is for you. That is a good thing. The bad started when people started to call the “good” foods clean and bad foods “dirty”. This is wrong because it implies bad vs good when it comes to food. I can assure you that I and many others can argue that any food is bad or good. For example someone may say bananas are (more…)

Dragon fruit like most fruit, contains carbohydrates, the bodies preferred source of energy during a lifting session. The carbohydrates that make up Dragon fruit are not complex, so your body can easily break them down as fuel for your muscles. Specifically, the carb content consists of glucose and fructose, and the majority of its fiber is formed from oligosaccharides, powerful prebiotic that spurs the growth of good bacteria in your stomach, which can lead to better digestive health and improved immune system.

Dragon fruit is also an excellent source of vitamin C, providing about 15% of your daily value along with 10% of potassium and 8% of iron. All of these micronutrients are instrumental in protecting your body from free radicals, producing collagen for strong ligaments and tendons, and for enhancing The function of your blood, bones, and muscles. The spiny wonders are also filled with B vitamins like B1, which aids proper carb metabolism, B3 which can improve cholesterol levels and improve circulation. The seeds, which are embedded in the flesh, are also (more…)

Peanut Crusted Thai Chicken

Serves: 2

Total time: 35 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
• 1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger, ground
• 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 lime

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• In a mini food processor, grind peanuts until fine, but not to paste.
• In a small bowl, combine peanuts, garlic powder and ginger.
• Place chicken on a cookie sheet and squeeze juice from lime overtop. Then roll chicken in peanut mixture until well coated.
• Bake chicken in oven for 25 minutes or until no longer pink in center.

Nutrients per serving (4-oz lime chicken): Calories: 360, Total Fat: 16 g, Sat. Fat: 3 g, Carbs: 11 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 3 g, Protein: 42 g, Sodium: 85 mg, Cholesterol: 95 mg