If you're drinking coffee at the gym...you aren't really working out.

Pet peeves. We all have them,and nothing annoys me more than when people do stupid shit at the gym. I could write a ten page paper venting about all the idiotic things people do while at the gym, but I’ll keep this relatively short.

I’ve been to the gym at all hours of the day, anywhere from 4am to 11pm. Without fail, I always see at least one person exercising with a mug of steaming hot coffee. Seriously? Don’t get me wrong, I am an avid believer in the health benefits that coffee can offer, but within moderation and not during your workout. First of all, if you are so tired and exhausted where you need coffee as your workout companion, you shouldn’t be at the gym, but rather keep your ass in bed. Second of all, if you think that drinking coffee rather than good ol’ fashioned water is better for you at replenishing fluids and electrolytes, then I actually feel very sorry for you. Because that just proves you have no damn common sense. Furthermore, after getting sweaty and out of breath, are you really craving a hot beverage over a cold drink of relieving water? I didn’t think so. It’s not even a matter of what you are craving, but rather a matter of what your body needs before, during and after a workout. When you exercise, you put your body under tremendous stress where it losses a sleuth of essential nutrients and fluids, of which it is essential to replenish. So if you have made the choice in working out to keep healthy, why would you want it all to go to waste if you aren’t going to replenish your body properly?

Now I love coffee, and “love” may even be an understatement, so I will be the last person to advise to stop drinking this wonderful cup of joy. Instead of drinking coffee during your workout, why don’t you be smart about your coffee consumption and drink it before your workout, anywhere from 30-60 minutes beforehand. This could be a valuable addition to your exercise regimen by delaying muscle fatigue and keeping you both focused and energized.

This isn’t a science lesson…it’s actually just common sense. With all this being said, put that shit down while you’re at the gym. Or I promise you that I will dump it all over you with no remorse.

The Power of Planking

It is not uncommon for someone to bang out hundreds of crunches or sit ups to achieve the ultimate midsection. I'm going to save your 20 minutes of your day by telling you that you are wasting your time, and that instead of doing hundreds of useless crunches, you should be planking instead.

Plank exercises are an important component of isometric training. For those of you who don't know exactly what isometric training is, it can most simply be defined as contracting your muscles against stationary resistance. Although your main reasoning for incorporating planks into your exercise regimen may be to improve your abdominal strength, you’d be pleased to learn that planks actually benefit several elements of both physical fitness and mental well being.

Building strength is probably the foremost important benefit of planking due to the multiple muscles it works simultaneously. Planks aid in strengthening your midsection, upper and lower body and back muscles. Plank exercises of course active your core muscles, while in turn stabilize your spine and hips, which aids in improving your posture. For those who have a weak back or skeletal deformities like scoliosis, such as myself, planks are one of the best exercises that you can do to promote good posture, prevent back injuries and build overall strength.

I am a huge advocate of incorporating planks into your daily workout regimen. However, because your abdominal muscles are a fast twitch muscle group, only doing traditional planks most likely won’t give you the results you’re looking for. Try encompassing the below plank variations to reap the most optimum results.

 

Dolphin Plank

Be sure that your shoulders are aligned over your wrists and the rest of your body remains in one straight line. Complete this plank either by holding for 30-60 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.



Side Plank Leg Lift

Place your right elbow on the ground with both legs extended, keeping your body in a straight line. Keep both feet flexed if you can and rest your left hand either on your upper hip or keep straight up in the air. Lift your outer leg up slightly higher than your top hip, keeping your spine lengthened and abs engaged, and then slowly lower your leg back to your bottom leg. Complete three sets of 15-20 repetitions on each side.

Plank with Knee to Chest

In a basic plank position, pull one knee in toward your chest slightly to the side of your body, alternating both sides. Complete for 45-60 seconds and repeat 2 or 3 more times.

* For more oblique work, you can add a twist to this exercise by pulling one knee to the opposite side of your body.

Plank with Kick Back

In a basic elbow plank, raise your leg off the ground as high up as you can while keeping good form, feet flexed and legs straight. Alternate both sides while completing for 45-60 seconds and repeat 2 or 3 more times.



No, protein is not going to make you fat. It's going to make you fit.

Over the past six months so many people have asked me to either help them out with a meal plan for whatever their goals are or they ask what I eat on a regular basis. I actually don't eat anything outrageous or go on any super intense diets...I just make healthy, common sense choices, which I will elaborate on in future posts. However, the most important part of my diet is protein. From what I have observed over the years, a lot of women are afraid of intaking too much protein beause they are leary about gaining weight and/or bulking up. The fact of the matter is though, that regardless of how much protein you are consuming, a woman's body isn't capable of gaining the same muscle mass as a man's due to lack of testosterone levels. The only way you can gain weight from consuming a lot of protein is if you consume a very high level of protein and don't exercise, in which case it would just turn into fat.

Regardless, if you've graduated middle school, you should know that protein is essentially the building blocks of life. It is essential to helping your body repair muscle, grow tissues, control metabolism and regulate hormones.

Particularly in muscle development, it is absolutely a vital component of your diet. So all of those squats that you just spent 40 minutes doing? They are more or less a complete waste of time if you aren't giving your body enough protein. Without the amino acids of protein, it is impossible for your muslces to grow no matter how hard or often you train them. If you train hard, and you all should be, then you should be consuming approximately one gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. I weigh 120lbs, so I should be consuming 120 grams of protein per day. You're probably thinking to yourself, "Holy fuck, that's a shit load of protein", because I know I did at first when I began increasing my daily protein intake. It's not as outrageous as you may think though because there are an unbelievable amount of protein rich foods that you should be eating anyways.

What are the best sources of protein you ask? Below are a full range of foods that contain high levels of protein which should be a staple in your diet.

• Poultry: Chicken, turkey
• Red Meat: Steak
• Fish: Tuna, salmon, etc. 
• Dairy: Milk, Cottage cheese, greek  yogurt and milk
• Eggs: Whole or whites. (Although I recommend egg whites to avoid the saturated fats in the yolks)
• Nuts: Walnuts, cashews, almonds, pistachios, peanuts
• Beans: Kidney, gorbanzo, pinto, black, etc. 
• Quinoa

Now that you know where to find protein, I'm sure you're curious when is the best time to have protein. Your body can only consume so much at one time, so having 60 grams of protein at once really isn't going to do much good considering you'll most likely absorb only half...if that. So the best time...is every time you eat. Virtually every meal or snack you have throughout the day should have some type of protein source. Even so, there are certain times throughou the day where it is more critical to have protein than others.

• Within an hour of waking, you should be consuming between 25-30 grams of protein. It jump starts your metabolism and will give you energy for the rest of the day. More importantly though, after a complete night's sleep, your body is seriously deprived of any nutrients and you need to replenish quickly.
• Before you hit the gym is absolutely essential. Eating quick to digest protein (such as whey) before your workout will promote muscle growth since as you are training your muscles are being fed.
• After your workout is even more critical as both protein and carbohydrates are necessary to repairing your muscle cells after you have damaged them during your workout. Just think; you've spent an hour breaking down your muscles...wouldn't you want to feed them so they can build up?
• Before bed is the one time of day that most people forego due to that pesky myth that you shouldn't eat within 3 hours before you sleep. Get that nonsense out of your head. In an ideal world, you'll be going without food or any nutrient source for several hours. Considering the most optimal time for muscle growth is while you sleep, you must consume some type of protein source before you sleep. I'm not advising to eat a full steak dinner; but some greek yogurt, a handful of nuts or a couple spoon fulls of peanut butter is sufficient.

Now that I've rambled about the in's and out's of protein - turn off the computer, eat some protein, and hit the weights.