TRAINING FREQUENCY

If you dig a little and do your own research as you choose not to take my word for it, practically every study done protein (muscle building) synthesis rate returns to normal within 48 hours.

But you're still sore? It doesn't matter. You muscle has finished 'growing' from the workout you did two days ago and TECHNICALLY it can be trained again. So should you? Yes and no.

If you killed your legs two days ago with max out heavy squats that put a lot of pressure on your joints, tendons and so on, training that body part again is fine, but not at max effort. THOSE parts of the body, especially if you still feel sore, are still recovering, not the muscles. Always keep in mind that you're doing more then working muscles when you workout. You're putting mass amounts of stress your ligaments, cell walls, nervous and endocrine system too.

The more you train the more your body will adjust. The first time I did a serious leg workout I was on crutches for 3 days. And I wish that was an exaggeration. I even missed 1 day of work because of it. It isn't that I don't train just that hard to this day, but to an extent my muscles have come to understand the process, recover faster and heal.

The goal is to get the muscles to grow without having huge time lapses between training. My suggestion: Train hard and heavy and either A) do max 70% same effort when training same muscle again 2 days later, or B) let more time lapse before you work the muscle, say maybe 3-4 days to let the muscle AND tendons, ligaments etc heal at your max efforts.



Train, but train smart.

GRIP IT AND RIP IT - CHEST WORKOUT

A full spectrum of angles need to be used for the chest to be worked effectively. Because of the number of attachments up the center of your chest, incline, level and decline is needed. The biggest mistake for chest workouts is that there is too much pressing of the arms. The shoulders need to go forwards from a backwards shrug position so the pecks can squeeze and fully contract.

 

 

Take the bench press for example as far as posture is concerned. Bench press is pretty awesome because it uses your triceps and front delts as supplementary muscles, but that is also why it can be bad for your chest-building-quest. You want your body to almost only be using your chest to press the bar and weights up so you need to watch your hand placement. A good rule it to put your middle finger where the small thin etch line is on the bar. Don't got too fast as the exocentric part of the rep (negative) is just as important.

 

 

 

 

Dips are a form of decline press to develop the lower part of the chest muscles. So why not just do decline press then? Those build mass and strength whereas dips is more of a detailed mission. The more you lean forward. you more of the chest versus triceps workout you get.

 

 

 

 

Doing an incline bench press (smith machine optional) puts more pressure on the top of the chest as it changes the position of effort on the muscle. You will likely have to adjust the weight here compared to flat bench as most people can not lift the same amount. It will also be a little more difficult to control the bar here so you'll really have to concentrate on posture - I would not suggest suicide grip here if you're in intermediate lifter.

 

You may already be doing these, but perhaps need a few modifications, or had the perfect posture, but now you're aware of the exact muscles you're working and why!

 

 

 

I hope this helps.

 

As Arnold says, "Lifting if the best sport out there. It not a destructive sport. Sound mind, sound body."

PT 2: Unique Natural Healers

POTATOES:

If you like a good solid fast every now and then like I do to give my body a digestive break, you're going to want to know about potatoes. I like to work out still, even lightly, when I fast and the hardest thing for me is the loss of sodium. Boil potatoes and drink the broth and it is a natural source of electrolytes, in addition to fighting the flu/cold like symptoms we get when we're detoxing our bodies.


PUMPKIN SEEDS:

Worried about your prostate boys? Pumpkin seeds are loaded with zinc which aids in prostate support with their protective compound called phytosterols and prevents DHT, which is associated with enlarged prostates.

Here is a psotate syrup for you men if you wanna get a jump start on your health!
6tsp grounded pumpkin
6tsp blackstrap molasses or honey
Juice form 1/2 lemon.

Grab a finger full and have at'er!

The seeds also immobilize worms in the intestine so that they may be easily expelled.


STRAWBERRIES:

If you think you're allergic to these, you MAY not be. You may blotch up because these are so severely detoxifying that your body could be responding to the fact that they're very alkaline. If you keep trying them and you stop blotching, hey, there you go, just some detox happening.

For the women that like a sparkling set of cheeks, rub some strawberries on your cheeks as it makes the moisture of the berry pass instantly into the pores and tired skin revitalized.


TOMATO:

Got an insect problem? Hang some tomatoes within the area. It's an instant repellant.


THROAT LOZENGE:

Peel an orange, keep the peel, put it into some raw honey, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes at 250 degrees then let it cool. You're now free to suck on the peel just as you would a lozenge, but you know, minus the chemicals and unnatural elements to keep it preserved.


IS FRUIT OR VEGETABLE JUICE BETTER FOR ME?!

They do two different things. Fruit juices cleanse the body while vegetable juice builds or regenerates. If both are to be used, have fruit in the morning while veg can be had at any time of the day.

UNIQUE NATURAL HEALERS

Since health and nutrition are such a big part of my life, anyone who decides to get me anything knows that the key to my heart is usually something related to that field. A client of mine recently returned from Australia (thank you Nicole!) and brought me back my all time favorite sweetener; Manuka Honey. Before that a new person in my life whom I hope to get to know much better bought me a book entitled God's Farmacy. Once you shift through the underlying religious side of this book which only really occurs within the first few pages, you get to the meat of it, which turns out to be a super fascinating read.

I am only half way through the book right now, but I wanted to share a few things with you that I picked up and thought were fascinating. Enjoy!

Aloe Vera:

Having problems with your number 2s? Aloe Vera cleanses the bowls by improved mobility and reduces the population of harmful bacteria.

Use it as a preservative. This one was a really cool one for me to learn. I blend up chunks of mango and let it dehydrate over night on 170 so that in the morning it is almost like thin mango fruit roll up, and honestly, who didn't love those as a kid? Cut some aloe and smear the gel over top as an editable preservative that acts as a barrier against moisture, fungus and bacteria.


Blackstrap Un-sulphured Molasses:

Iron shortage is something I deal with personally so it was great to learn that molasses contains more iron then any other food, in addition to being an amazing source of calcium (gasp, more then cows milk.) That sounds like a good excuse to me to get some baking in.

It is also great for eczema, acne, rashes and as a cleaner by cleaning impurities and helps the pH balance of the skin. Let it sit on your face for one hour then wash off with warm water, avid using soap.


Cabbage:

Cabbage is high in iron, an iron deficient or anemic can benefit here. Eaten raw, in juices or added to food.

You can use the cabbage as a vaginal douche by washing it and warming it up for one minute in the oven -  it also aids in yeast infections. If you don't like the idea of going all garden-of-eden on your girlie bits, you can boil it and drink as a tea, which will also help with intestinal parasites.


Carrot Tops:

So no more throwing away the tops of the carrots we use! Drink the juice the carrots make, but then boil the tops and I can be used as a tea for a mouthwash. They're a strong antiseptic, diuretic and aid in urinary problems.


Garlic:

I think we all know garlic is delicious and have heard of people saying they eat a glove a night to prevent illness and promote continued health, but did you know that it is also natures most powerful antibiotic? So throw out the bottles the doctors give you, as they kill unhealthy AND healthy bacteria and replace it for lots and lots of garlic. Just remember to brush your teeth or else your partner may not come within 10 feet of you and it will have nothing to do with you being sick.

9 HEALTH Questions and Answers

Q: Lifting weights will stunt growth?
A: No, lifting weights helps with bone development, density and proper posture of course.

 

Q: To get ripped (not body builder)  lift lighter weight and more reps?
A: Uh, no. Muscle does two things: gets bigger or smaller. Being ‘toned’ is leaner, which is fat loss. However, if you have not built the muscle needed underneath to support a cut, or fat loss, you could just end up looking skinny.

 

Q: Can I turn fat into muscle?
A: No. These are two different tissues. Muscle is mostly water, whereas fat is mostly oil. Can you build your muscle by lifting heavy and lower body fat in combination with clean eating, yes, but they don’t replace each other.

 

Q: Does eating lots of small meals make me lose weight?
A: No. But here is what it does do; keep insulin levels (spikes) to a minimal so you avoid crashes and sudden cravings, preventing binge or emotional eating. Which brings me to the men wanting to bulk up. Eating 8+x a day isn’t always good. In fact, it is bad for your cause. Your body is spending so much time and energy digesting food so often that it cannot focus on building muscle. 4-6 meals for the average person is ideal, no matter if you want to lose weight, gain weight, old or young, male or female. A good rule is to eat every 2.5-3 hours. Let us not make this complicated by saying, Hey Tannis, I work 14 hour days and I am awake 18 hours of the day, how do I eat only 4-6 times then but also eat every 2.5-3 hours. You are clearly not an average person so logic needs to be used in this case.

 

Q: Does fat make me fat?
A: SIGH. No. NOOO. But keep this in mind; fat is high in calories, you can have a lot of it as long as you don’t exceed you caloric number to maintain or lose weight. For example: say my calories are 1500 a day, and I like having 1 whole avocado, salmon and peanut butter in a day. Just right there you have 800/900 of your calories dedicated to fat, but you still need to have enough protein (1.2-1.5G per lb of weight) and complex carbs to build muscle. So fats are good but make sure they suite your cause.

 

Q: My doc says I have high cholesterol so I am not allowed to have egg yolks
A: For Cholesterol to have a negative effect on the body there needs to be a pre-existing problem with the blood vessels. Yolks are healthy forms cholesterol. There is no data that supports this.

 

Q: Creatine is dangerous?
A: Nope. It’s a 20/30 year old product and NO research has shown it to be harmful, the only side effect is it MAY increase acne. It has also shown to increase a bloating feeling or look.

Q: Ass to the grass is the only way to squat?
A: Yes, mostly. As long as you can maintain a neutral spine. You want to avoid a large forward lean, HOWEVER, people like myself with a long femur and short torso can only physically go so far down with proper posture before I will start to have a forward tuck going on to compensate. In this case, go AS deep as you can while maintaining proper posture and neutral spine. We are all built differently so we need to be aware of our bodies and work with them.

 

 

Q:I want my abs to look like ____ how can I?
A: Our abs can only show when our body fat has decreased, the side and placement (lower Vs or 8’s) can come from SOME methods of working out (such as tucking your tailbone under when targeting core) but people with the line down the middle, perfect side by side abs, or scattered abs, cannot be changed. Those ‘grooves’ are tendons going down and separating are just DNA.

5 Ingredient Protein Pudding

This satisfying protein pudding is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  My meals and times are very planned for six days out of the week, but when I know my verity day is approaching I prepare this the night before and have it off and on the following day. I love cheat like meals that are actually very good for you, still shock the system (the point of the much needed verity day) and taste no different then what I could buy in the store.  You can make it a little fancy as well if you are hosting a party and want to keep it on the healthy side by adding shaved semi-sweet dark chocolate on top, or my personal favorite - adding raw coconut flakes on top.

 

5 Ingredient Protein Pudding
(4 servings)

 

1) 4 scoops of chocolate protein of choice - I go between chocolate New Zealand Whey ISO (by Diesel) or Raw Chocolate Sunwarrior rice protein
2) Add 3tsp of black organic chia seeds (this makes it a little gummy)
3) Add 3tsp of ground flax or husk (this makes it stick together)
4) Add 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
5) Pick one (or all!)
- 1 tsp of cinnamon

- 3 tsp of ground coffee
- 3 tsp of raw nut butter

 

NOTE*
If you want to make this thick and less gummy like the picture, add another 1.5 tsp of ground husk or flax, if you like it a little more liquidly and gummy add another scoop of chia seeds. Play with it and see what you like!

 

Mix well with a fork (no need to make a mess of the whole kitchen with mixing tools) and set in a container with a lid the night before, stir in the morning, then eat!

 

I did not do the calories and nutritional info here, but let me tell you this (and it is mostly based on assuming you have a GOOD and healthy protein powder) this is nothing but healthy proteins and fats so there is no real need for concern. You are littlerly eating seeds, nut milk and a healthy form of protein. No need to over complicate and analyze this one. Great to send to school in a container for the kids and amazing for adults pre or post work out.

 

Healthy and Easy Protein Ball Recipe - Great for the Kids!

With Easter around the corner and my godson in mind, even though he is still under a year! I have been thinking of some fun treats that could be made with the tiny tykes and this recipe happened organically while playing around in the kitchen. The taste has several layers; light chocolate and nut flavors with coconut undertones. They're remarkably satisfying bites. Use some cookie cutters and let them sit out to harden for a little while and the kids will go nuts over it. It is raw (except the husk) and is also vegan so you'll be consuming nothing but mostly living foods with quality nutrients.

 

Fat total, 19 = 1.4 each
Carb total, 102 = 7.8 each
Fibre total, 50 = 3.8 each which is almost 20% of your daily need!
Sodium total, 210 = 16.1 each
Sugar total, 17 = 1.3 each (and mostly just from the soaked date)
Calorie total, 800 = 61 each
Makes 13, no need to cook.
4 scoops raw rice (no pea) chocolate Sunwarrior protein
2 tsp raw chia seeds
2.5 tsp raw coconut organic flakes
2 tsp organic hemp meal
2 soaked in 3 tsp water over night dates
4 tsp psyllium husk (stick together)
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp PB2 - dehydrated peanut butter low Cals
(walnuts/almonds/cashews optional)