Car Rant Episode 3

The saga continues as I rant about calorie intake and eating too much.

Don't get up quickly from a prone position

Today, My son Michael was at home and he got up quick from the couch and blacked out and fell on the coffee table and banged his face up. I have seen numerous clients do the same thing. If you are on the floor exercising or lying down, try not to jump up quickly. The change in going from the lying position to standing, when done quickly, sometimes causes you to short out your circuits. The result can be painful such as Michael's fall. He was taken to the ER and recieved an EKG and CT scan. He turned out to be ok and was released with ice and motrin as the treatment plan. He's doing good now but will have a shiner. So try to get up slowly when you can and avoid a painful fall.

Squats: Work on Form before adding weight

Squats are one of the best exercises to do for overall fitness. There are a bunch of benefits to doing squats when you do them properly. Too many people are worried about the weight before mastering the form. It takes practice to get good squats down right. I have bad knees and a bad back so squats, lunges and deadlifts have always been extra tough for me. I have been trying to work extra hard on them and the result is that my bad knees and bad back actually are stronger and healthier now than they have been in years. But I have to practice good form and work on proper technique constantly before I worry about how much weight I use. I see people doing bad squats all of the time and it hurts my knees just to watch them. So start with bodyweight squats and then work on the different barbell and dumbbell squats with light weight and focus on form. Once you are comfortable with your form then slowly add weight and refocus on form. Here is a video of me working on form with the back and front squats with just the bar. Not perfect, but I'm getting better and deeper every time.

Meal of the Week

Here is another easy preparation meal. I used chicken, eggs, pepper, onion, almond meal, flaxseed meal, balsamic vinegar and ramen noodles. The thing I failed to mention in the video is the ramen noodles not being the optimal choice. I could have used more vegetables instead (which would have been much better) but I wanted a little variety. The good stuff in this meal outweighed the bad (ramen noodles). It didn't require any real prep other than a minute of nuking the ramen.

Car Rant Episode 2

The Saga continues.....

Car Rant Episode 1

This is the beginning of a small series of my car rant videos where I rant and rave about weightloss, gastric bypass and band surgery. The video is long and had to be broken up into segments. I'll try to post them in order. I have strong opinions and the right to have them. So take that and enjoy. Post your comments. The bee's hive was meant to be stirred up.

Basic Bodyweight Workout for New Clients

Here is the basic workout that I use to start new clients. It consists of pushups, crunches, bridge, prone cobra, plank and squats. Strive to build up to 4 sets of 12 reps, back to back, with no breaks. This will prepare your core and overall body for more intense workouts. You will also increase your cardio capacity for preparation to do Tabata drills by not taking any breaks in between sets. This is a simple workout that can be used by anyone, anywhere, regardless of your fitness level. If any of the exercises are too much or too hard to start with, use the modifed pushup, plank and shallow squats until you are more conditioned. In the videos below, I demonstrate a couple of reps for each exercise. When in doubt, stick to the basics and you can't go wrong.