Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Staying Motivated in the Gym..........Part 3

Previously on My $0.02---------------->Staying Motivated in the Gym.......Part 2

And in our first installment-------------> Staying Motivated in the Gym....Part 1



NOW....Part Tre........ The Return of...err...the...uhh...My.....$0.02...Yeah! That's it! That'll do...just nicely....

Oh yeah, Junk food and fast food is the devil. Avoid sugary simple carbs (cakes, pies, candies, donuts, pastries) more than 2x a week. Notice I don't say cut them completely. Very few can go cold turkey and the cravings will stockpile and ultimately sabotage your dicipline and eating habits and you fall victim to binging. What helps me is getting those halloween packs with all the fun sized candies (I LOVE CHOCOLATES!). Just discipline yourself not to have TOO much fun and finish the whole bag in one sitting. Stick with complex carbs (wholegrain, breads, pasta, veggies). More small meals combined with increase complex carbs will speed up your metabolism.

At least once a week 0r once a month, on a weekend or day off, fast for about 4-6 hours....8 if you can. Drink lots of water and fruit juice (REAL fruit juice please...non of that "drink"). Your body has so many natural ways of spring cleaning itself.

Now we discussed eating habits, exercise time:

-Football or any sport 3 times a week is an excellent start. Overall cardio is key. You cant just target the core (I wish), you need to lower your overall body fat %. Everyone has abs, the muscles are there....it's just that some have more fat over them than others.

-You're better off finding a simple routine that you can do everyday instead of working out 3 times a week. Either before you go to bed or when you wake up. However, if you have an intense ab work out, do not do it every day. Like every other muscle, you need time to recover. Stretching helps.

-on weekends or days off, try doing a several small workout (like a quick burst or 25-40 reps) every hour 5-10 times a day.

-there are a billion ab exercises, switch up your routine frequently. It will be a shock to what your body is used to and nothing promotes development like keeping your body guessing

-do core workout on an empty stomach for maximum results.

-your core (not just abs) is composed of 12 families of muscles. I hate traditional crunches, would never recommend doing more that 30 of em at a time.

-make sure your workout has variety. I used to hear insane stories about ppl doing 400 crunches or situps...for what? Look up the record for most situps in a minute and everyone trying to break that record and see if you're impresed by the physiques.

-dont worry about even sets. The key is to feel the burn, high numbers, back to back. Go till you feel like you want to stop then push for 10 more...and keep pushing for another ten...and another ten... People who excel in anything physically command their body to go beyond thier limits instead of quitting at the first sign of discomfort.....which is what most of us do.

-weights are not necessary. Cons: If you over do it you may cause serious back damage and it cuts down the amount of reps you can do. Pro: It helps develops and strengthen muscles IF used in moderation and with light weights. Its good to develop muscle bc muscles burn fat constantly, long after the work out, even when you're not doing anything. I suggest cable pull downs or LIGHT weighted decling crunches.

-do chains of exercises back to back that target different parts of your core. You need to make sure each workout targets your upper abs, lower abs, obliques and highly overlooked, lower back and back. Too much ab work can upset your back if you're not careful.

Suggestions (my favorites)
jackhammers
oblique v-ups
horizontal leg raises
suspended leg raises (hanging from a pull up bar)
decline crunches
cross crunches
scissors
air bicycle
hip raises (bent or legs pointed straight up)
cable crunches
planks
cross body knee raises (hanging from a pull up bar)
Swiss ball crunches

try doing any 10 of these back to back (each 10-30 times depending on your level of fitness) for a minimum of 100 reps straight with about 30 seconds in between.

Standing cable curls or tricep extensions, squats, lunges, deadlifts really help develop your core in addition. Except for bench presses, I try to do all my exercises standing up to work my core and build my stability. There is no magic dust, no x-factor (shout out to lauren hill) it takes a multitude of things I discussed in 1-3 to make the whole. Exercise without eating right is like forming voltron with just one lion, however, you can maintain a very slim slender core without exercise just based on the foods you eat.


I wont recommend any workout programs bc quite frankly... nobody's paying me to and I doubt they'll cut me a check. I saved this gem for the end as a gift/treat for my loyal readers. A lot of ppl have the excuse "well I hate to get on the floor" and as do I. If you do it right and not cheat yourself, there are many ab workouts you can do on your bed, in a chair on a bench. Personally I do an intense workout right on my bed (granted my bed is firm, I do gym, and floor exercises as well) that is very affective.

Bottomline, you have to want it. I type this for myself (I need reminders too) and ppl who really want it. There is nooooooooooo and I repeat NO easy way to a nice slim core, let alone a 6 pack. Tony Horton has this quote which fully personifies my stance on core workout:
"I HATE IT!!! But I love it!!"

HOPE THIS TRILOGY HELPS SOMEBODY. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF IT DOES.

Staying Motivated in the Gym.......Part 2

Previously on My $0.02 -----------> Staying Motivated in the Gym....Part 1

And now....Part Deux:

Terron Andrews wrote
"Any advice on how to get my 6 Pack back? i play football 3 times a week im fit but just cant seem to get my 6 Pack back in shape."

My $0.02...............

The biggest oversight in fitness is that six-packs and weight loss occur in the KITCHEN, not the gym. This leads to the misconception that you can just pound a bunch of crunches and get a six pack. WRONG!!

Things you need to eat a lot of and a few tips. The following is for serious ppl with serious goals. Curious, feel free to proceed:

-NEVER EVER EVER EVER MISS BREAKFAST. Even if its just juice and something small to snack on, I don't care, DONT MISS BREAKFAST. Wanna know why? Try going 8 hours a day without anything to eat or drink. Now when you hit the 8 hr mark, see how much longer you can go without anything before you feel a certain ways. Most mornings I have a bowl of instant oatmeal and a mix up protein shake. However, any form of eggs in the morning is a good source of protein, ideally on some whole grain, multi-grain or whole wheat bread (white bread is the devil). Whole grain cereal and yogurts are good. Fruit. Switch it up. The same thing everyday is not healthy.....believe it or not.

-Instead of eating 3 times a day, eat 3 small meals and have 2-4 snacks throughout the day. Keep around a jar of trailmix, peanuts, almonds, fruits, baby carrots, yogurt, oatmeal....anything that's too small to be a meal but can satisfy hunger cravings (I'm a big fan of peanut butter). WHY? bc eating smaller meals more frequently speeds up your metabolism. People who are naturally slim have faster metabolisms. Who can speed up their metabolism? ANYONE!!! Isn't that goodnews?

-heres a key weightloss trick. EAT FROM SMALLER PLATES. WHY? Using a large plate subconsciously convinces your mind to eat WAY more than you need and compels you to finish gargantuan proportions far after you're already full. Eat when your hungry, stop when ur full.

-Eat lots of whole grain and whole wheat. WHY? They put your stomach and intestines to work and help to keep your system running "regular" and flush impurities.

- you need a high fiber diet lots of fruits and plenty vegetables. as a rule of thumb at least 1/3 of my plate for all meals has to be green. Works well for me.

-DRINK LOTS OF WATER!! WHY? Your body is 70% water.......... you think water is important? A gallon/ 8 glasses a day or more. coffee, tea, protein shakes count towards it. Not juices OR soda, which leads to my next point

-avoid drinking high caloric drinks.

-avoid sodas or any carbonated drinks

-HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP IS THE DEVIL. artificial sugars (sweet n low, splendor, etc) are even worse. they both have addictive agents and create a dependency. ever notice when you have one sweet you get cravings for more?

-Pay close attention to nutrition facts. even though they say "150 cal per serving" keep in mind the average bottle has 2-3 servings. You just subconsciously added 400+ calories to your meal.

-do not drink fluids 40 mins before or after meals (see previous point)...wait for the "why" after this next point.

- avoid cooking with and adding excess salt to your food (in conjunction with last point). salt absorbs fluids and causes water retention and bloating in your body. The problem with that water build up is you really have no control of that distribution or where that excess retained water weight goes. Now here's the part where someone says "well I dont really cook with salt"..... Well unless you live on a farm, don't season your food, and you don't live in America, damn near most foods have salt in it. Remember the big fuss about that whole slavery thing?

-drink at least 16 ounces of water first thing in the morning. imagine how you would feel if you worked 8 hrs straight with nothing to drink. Here's a tip, drink 16 ounces before bed and I promise you'll get up in the morning.......[giggity!]

-reduce foods high in carbs, sugar and fats. Even though your body needs these things, they can be detrimental to your physique in excess (key word so far is "excess")

-make sure you're getting a good amount of "GOOD FAT" omega-3, omega-6 typically in vegetables, peanuts, peanut butter, gel capsules, fish...etc.. lookitup. Good fat enriched with good cholesterol helps lower your BAD cholesterol. High cholesterol is not the problem, high BAD cholesterol is.

-avoid white bread, rice and potatoes. for some reason they bleach wheat and rice, which kills all nutritional content. Then most bread will add chemical nutrients (under the name of "enriched"). However, the temperature needed to bake bread kills the added nutrients thus canceling them out.

Here's a tough one even for me and one I admittedly struggled with.
You cant have a six pack if you drink large amounts of alcohol and beer. I Drastically decreased the amount i drink, but since I still DO on social occasions, this is what keeps me at a "5 pack" (4 on top and just one on the bottom). I've come to realize that the "Elusive 8 pack" is an anatomic variable and something you either have or don't. I know ppl who work way less on themselves and have 8 when at peak condition I have 6... but I havent given up yet.....and I digress...

Amongst other calamities such as calories, fats and sugars, alcohol dehydrates the body (a major cause of hangovers) and I hope we established how important water is to muscle, skin cells and everything on your body. Whats probably most detrimental is that alcohol slows down protein synthesis in the body and protein is the fundamental building block of muscle production, development and growth. When I went to Trinidad carnival last year, I ate and drank like a viking and I should show you guys a side by side comparison of my abs carnival tues morning compared to the end of the day... or worse, the next day lol!!

Tune in to the Climactic Trilogy Epic finale in.............Staying Motivated in the Gym..........Part 3


Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Why I hate Myspace Part 1

Ok, I just checked myspace for the first time in like..........months, and reminded myself of all the reasons why I hate going on there. Was about to write about it, but looks like i did that over a year ago. Some of these still stand and I have a few more. Until I compose my current thoughts, feed off of some 2007 'R.' Happy New year you all!!

Best Regards,

-R


p.s. 1 mont, 16 days 22 hours, 53 minutes, 10 seconds till carnival!!!!


Tuesday, April 10, 2007

I finally come back and MYSPACE still sucks!
Current mood: pissed off
Category: Blogging

..>..>



Those of you who know me, may notice I never leave comments, reply to messages or put html on your page. I've been on myspace for over 3 years now (give or take) and nothing seems to change except things just get worse and worse. Everytime I try to send a message, leave a comment, reply to a messsage, this annoying site crashes.

After deletings all the friend requests from 73 "Webcam girl's," MC So n So, DJ Skratch n Sniff, Band #45,345,689.05, and declining invites from "My man's an nem" Promoters, I usually try respond to messages. If you haven't heard from me, please know that it's because I probably speant 5-10 minutes writing you a really nice letter/note and when I tried to send it my pc freezes or crashes and I get so annoyed I don't sign on for another two to three weeks or months. Typically it's one of these messages:

"Sorry, we can't do that right now"
"Sorry, you can't leave comment until the next quarter moon"
"Sorry, our system is being hacked - I mean, we're doing maintance"
"Sorry, you can't recieve pictures, see comments, press enter, use the delete key or adjust your top 24 until 3am pacific time.

SIDENOTE! My friend is a designer and he took his work down bc he told me in the agreement (that none of us read and just clicked "accept") is says anything you post, you basically surrender the rightst and ownership to. Can someone confirm this?

Am I the only one on this thing who's never been hacked? Why am I getting all these comments about "Male Medicine" (I'll leave it at that) ringtones and trips to disneyland from strangers and ppl I know? Don't they show the image that warns you, "Make sure when you re-login it has the myspace url at the top" It even points this out if you're paying attention. Sorry if I sound a little insensitive but the reason most ppl get hacked is bc they have 8 accounts online and use the same password and email for all of em dummy! Switch it up ppl if someone hacks your myspace and you have the same password and name for your email, checking, and credit card, you may be in trouble.

Quit crying if you're not in my top list, I'm just too lazy/busy to change it all the time. 24 out of 900+ is a tough choice, give me a break! And after 3 years, I can't recognize half of you bc you change your name and your pic EVERYDAY!! You know how confusing that is? I have some great friends I met/found and I have no idea where they are anymore. You aint no car or anime character. How are ppl supposed to find you?

Everyone one in the real world teases me about my name BUT YOU REMEMBER IT DONT YOU? DONT YOU? HA!! And it's been the same since I opened my account. AND FOR THE LAST TIME, I LIKE THE COLOR ORANGE, NOT THE FRUIT. THAT WOULD BE "GUY WHO LIKES ORANGES" LEARN TO READ. Stop asking, that joke got old 400 times ago.

SIDENOTE: My user name btw has always been, is and forever will be "Guy who likes Orange"

On the bright side, I'm thankful for all the ppl from highshool, junior high and other places that I've gotten in touch with. I'm thankful for all the ppl that I met on myspace that have become good friends to me. Keep in touch and thanks for listening to me vent my $0.02.......now let me copy this and save ithis before I hit "post," bc if I lose all this typing, I'll probably be so pissed, it'll be another month to a year before I attempt this horrible site again and then this will be longer and more MA-17.

1:03 AM - 5 Comments - 3 Kudos