Post Workout Meal

Instead of listing another chicken recipe (I've already given a couple so I figure you can make your own variation of them) I decided to list some healthy snacks that you can have throughout the day to keep you fit and energized.

Pistachios
These small nuts are important because they are have a lot of nutritional value in one thing: potassium. As we talked about, as you sweat more it lowers your potassium levels, so these nuts are filled with large amounts of potassium, that will help you sweat more. They also contain electrolytes which are important in terms of energy for a workout, or energy for your day.

Orange Juice
This may not be considered a "snack" but it can be an important part of your diet as it can provide you with clean carbohydrates (bad carbs would be something like bread) to provide you with enough energy to last the day.

Avocados
You can have these anyway- for me I like to eat them sliced in half with a spoon with a pinch of pepper and a little bit of hot sauce. Either way, avocados are good for your heart and vision.

Below is a video on snacks that you can make while staying healthy in the summer!

Workout #3

Shoulder exercises can be a great workout, but the key to staying fit with your shoulders is doing the exercises correctly. 

Shoulder Press 3 sets of 10 reps
The shoulder press is a great exercise and is very straight forward, try to keep your elbows bent at the top of your rep while breathing in when you go up and out when you go down. Below is a video on good form and the correct way to do this exercise.

Military Press 3 sets of 8 reps

Stand about shoulder-width apart, bend your arms again so that your palms face out and away from your body. Once your hands are about at your shoulder, lift the dumbbells above your head and back down, this is one repetition. 

Arnold press 3 sets of 10 reps

Instead of a normal dumbbell shoulder press (which it is somewhat similar) start with your palms facing you (with the dumbbells) and your elbows in. Once you push up with your dumbbells, rotate your wrists so that your palms are facing out. Keep those elbows locked and in front of you!

Once again, do about 20 minutes on the stationary bike staying above 100 revolutions per minute or run on the treadmill for at least a mile and a half to two miles. Get that cardiovascular going and burn some calories!

Pre Workout Meal

This next meal is pretty light, but it will give you the protein and energy you need to get through not only your workout but your day as well. 

For this meal it is pretty simple, we are going to take two cups of vanilla Greek yogurt, take two tablespoons of peanut butter, add about a cup of ice and about a cup (or scoop if it's provided in your tub) of whey protein. I am sure you can guess that yes we are making a protein shake that will provide us with enough protein and energy for our workout, but not too much protein to bloat us. On top of all this cook about 3 eggs worth of egg whites. Egg whites are essential and healthier than normal eggs because the yolk contains a lot of cholesterol, something you don't want to be too high to avoid heart problems in the future. 

Essentially this is a light meal but it packs a punch in terms of protein and your daily value of fruits and protein before you get up and go to the gym (and start your day). Below is an interesting video on the benefits of apple peels and how they can help fight prostate and breast cancer.

 

Post Workout Meal

Another post workout meal is being added and I'm sure you can guess the main ingredient: that's right, chicken. We are going to get a little creative here and although I am not Emeril, this is definitely a post workout recipe that you'll want to save so you can make this meal multiple times. 

For this you'll need-
3 chicken breasts 
1 tomato (sliced and diced) 
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (Olive oil is filled with omega-3 fats, good for your heart!)
3 sliced and diced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of crumbled feta cheese (your choice of leaving it out if you aren't trying to consume any saturated fats)

For this we will be cooking it in the oven, so preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Take the tablespoons of olive oil and coat the chicken in this. For each breast, dissect them almost like it's a calzone, and fill the chicken with the sliced and diced tomato, which has been mixed with the vinegar, the garlic cloves and the feta cheese (optional). Once this oven is ready, bake this for about 15 minutes. 

Overall this meal contains a lot of proteins and the necessary veggies to give your body the right fuel and to give you the amount of energy you need to not only workout, but to feel good about yourself the rest of the day (and the next day as well). 

Workout #2

Our second workout might have the most soreness by the next day, but it is a great workout to stay fit and also to build muscle. As stated before, the important step we want to accomplish is that you are doing these exercises correctly. 

Three Sets of 8 Repetitions- Bench Press
 When doing this workout, make sure your hands are spread out about 1.5-2 feet apart from each other. Make sure when you let the bar down that it touches your chest for a full repetition. When coming back up, don't hyper extend your elbows, keep them bent so that you feel all the weight when the bar comes back down. Here is a perfect video citing this workout:

Three Sets of 7 Repetitions- Standing Cable Fly Adjusted
When finding a cable machine, take both cables (one in each hand) and start with the cables at a level of 2 (if they don't have levels, imagine you are throwing a ball underhand, but this ball is the cable, now THAT is where you want to have the cable fly set up.) While standing with your knees bent, hips a little bit out and elbows in, explode out by throwing your hands out in front of you. Make sure when you are doing this that you are using your pectoral muscles. Once those 7 reps are done, then move on to the middle setting so your hand will meet in the middle of your body during a repetition. Lastly, set the cables at a higher setting so then you are pushing down with your hands while using your chest. Here is an example of the cable fly, if you can't adjust the level of how high the cables are just do the 3 sets at the same level, but if you can choose low, medium, and high!

Three Sets of 20 Close Grip Pushups
Once cable flys are finished, do three sets of 20 close grip pushups. This doesn't sound like much, but once you've done the last two workouts correctly, you'll feel a lot of weakness in your chest. As you get better and better, you can either add more workouts (which will be posted here) or increase your sets/repetitions. 

Lastly, as stated in all of our workouts, work out your cardiovascular but either running for about a mile and a high to two miles, or bike for twenty minutes while keeping the revolutions per minute above 100. 

Pre Workout Meal

Sometimes the most simple blog posts have the most nutritional value. This next meal is all about not having too much calorie intake, but having a lot of B Vitamin in the meal itself. What B Vitamin does is boosts the conversion of  carbohydrates into energy, something that is key when you are working out. 

This meal is going to contain about 2-3 cups of any type of granola, for me I like to pick the 100% Organic granolas at Alfalfa's, but it's really up to you. Even with having oats, you can improve the nutritional value of your meal simply by adding this dairy product: Yogurt (preferably Chobani Greek Yogurt). I eat yogurt because it is low in fat, it's dairy so it contains a lot of calcium for strong bones, and including potassium as well, which as we have discussed before you must keep at a high level of potassium before it is lowered during a workout. 

Here's an interesting link I found that goes over how "skipping breakfast" is not as important as you would think. Furthermore, Dr. James Hamblin goes on to explain, it's not when you eat, it's what you eat. 

The Terrors of Eating Breakfast 

 

Post Workout Meal

Before going over our first meal, you probably will find a trend in these post workout meals in terms of one ingredient that will show up a lot- Chicken. And why chicken? Because chicken contains lean protein, which will factor into your muscle growth. 

Recipe (Personal Dish):

3 cups of white rice

2 large carrots

One bush of broccoli

1/2 pound of chicken

Garlic salt, brown sugar, soy sauce

Your first step should be to boil the rice on high heat. Once the water starts to evaporate and the rice becomes tender, slowly turn down the temperature until it is low and the rice is finished. 

While doing that, create your marinade using 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 2-3 pinches of garlic sauce and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Mix this with green and red peppers as well. 

Once the 1/2 pound of chicken is marinating, take the vegetables (that you've cut up!) and throw them into a stir fry pan for about 4-6 minutes. Once these veggies have heated up take them off the stove and put them to the side. 

When the chicken is done marinating, put it on a pan for about a 3 minutes on each side. Once it has cooked to a certain point (usually the chicken is still a little pink in the middle), take the vegetables and mix everything in the stir fry pan for about 10 minutes. 

What's key in this recipe is not only that protein, but the B Vitamin you are ingesting as well. Not only that, we are using white rice rather than brown because it has a high glycemic index, something that helps rebuild muscle and replenish muscle so that you don't feel as sore the next day. 

= PROTEIN

Workout #1

What's important in arm workouts is that you are properly working out your biceps and triceps correctly. Here is an arm circuit workout that will help push you to the brink of ultimate exhaustion.

Three sets of 8 reps- Close Grip Bench

     In these sets it is important to remember that when you approach the bench, grab the bar so there is about a foot of space between your hands. when lifting the bar, make sure it goes all the way down to your chest, but try and explode by pushing up the bar with the bottom of your palms. 

Three Sets of 10 Reps Tricep Pull Down

     For these sets make sure you have your rope cable that you can attach to the machine that allows you to do these pull downs. While keep your elbows in and your back straight with your feet about a foot apart, pull down using the strength from your triceps. 

Three Sets of 10 Reps Bicep Curls with Rope

     After tricep pull downs, take your rope cable and attach it to the bottom of the machine with the appropriate weight (whatever you feel comfortable with). Then, once again by keeping your elbows in and your back straight curl up with both hands. Make sure when you are doing these sets not to have your hands be touching when you're curling. 

Three Sets of 5 Reps Pull-Ups (You can use the assisted machine if reps are too high) 

     

After completing this workout, run on the treadmill or use the stationary bike for 20 minutes. If running on the treadmill, attempt to run at least two miles, or if using the stationary bike, keep the Revolutions per Minute at least at 100. Cardiovascular workouts are important in terms of burning fat and sustaining a healthy body. 

Total Time: This workout should be about an hour and twenty minutes.

Below is an video on how your body and organs are vital in terms of controlling your health.Dr. Graeme Shaw Body & Organ Support

Pre-Workout Meal

As important as it is to fuel the body after a workout, it is just as important to have a pre-workout meal that's going to give you sustainable energy to push yourself to limit. If some don't know, eating carbohydrates before a workout is vital to gain the most energy possible for a workout. Our first meal of the deal is going to be peanut butter and bananas on whole wheat toast. What's important about this meal is that we are trying to consume simple and complex carbohydrates, which are key in obtaining a lot of energy before working out. After heating a piece of whole wheat toast (perfect for carbohydrates and for digesting) take one whole banana and slice it in to small individual pieces. Bananas are important before a workout because when you break a sweat your potassium levels are lowered, so we must make sure they are high to begin with. 

Ingredients/Serving

• One slice whole wheat toast
• one banana
• one table spoon of peanut butter

Overall, whole wheat toast should give you a good source of fiber for digestion, while the banana will help raise your potassium levels, as well as the peanut butter for protein.