Ultimate Body Press

Drinking protein shakes right after a muscle building workout delivers protein to your muscles at a time when they are best prepared to absorb it.  The best thing you can do is get in the habit of drinking a shake right after your workout.  It is also beneficial to drink several smaller portions of protein shake through out the day. This gives your muscles a steady supply of fuel for even more growth.  This steady supply of protein will also boost your metabolism.

To make all this shake making easier on yourself, go ahead and prepare a bunch of servings ahead of time.  Wash out a half gallon milk jug and fill the entire container full with protein shake using any brand of powder.  You can keep it in your refrigerator for 2-3 days and the flavor only gets better as the protein powder becomes fully disolved.  The main thing that will make the protein shakes taste bad is using too much water.  A good shake should be about the consistency of store bought chocolate milk. Experiment with the water to powder ratio until you get it right.

Having a large supply of  protein drink ready made makes you much more likely to follow through on this muscle building nutritional tactic.

You can spend all day reading about different styles of running. The literature generally falls into two camps. Either you are a heel striker meaning you first land on your heel then role off the toe or you are a chi/pose runner meaning you land on your mid-foot. Many will argue the pros and cons of both. Landing on your heels creates more breaking and impact forces to be transferred up your knee and into your hips. Landing on your mid-foot with your foot more directly beneath puts more stress on the bones of the foot and ankle and creates more vertical movement in your stride.

Which is correct? Who cares? Try both. Running is more than just a journey across the pavement. We all have a lot to learn about our best running form. Running is also a journey of personal experience and growth. Get to know your own body and try both techniques. Learn what both feel like. Run a mile one way then switch to the other. If you are considering changing running styles altogether you’ll have to do this anyways, building up new strengths over time. You may find that spending a little time landing on your mid foot as opposed to rolling from heels to toe will give you insight into your dominate stride style and vice versa.

Whichever style you choose, know that both styles will benefit from effective arm action, a strong core and hip stabilization. Exercises like Standing Arm Action, Hip Abductions and Hip Extensions will promote these qualities.

Set yourself up for success. Having the right food choices on hand makes all the difference when it comes to establishing more healthy eating habits. The first thing for you to do is clear your pantry of things like chips, crackers, cookies even pretzels. While you may think some of these are healthy choices there are better options. Even whole wheat products still contain enough processed flours to send your blood sugar soaring and that means your metabolism will take a nose dive.

The absolute best snacks can be found in the produce isle. So stock up on fruits and vegetables instead because they are packed with vital nutrients and are notably short on calories. Take Asian Pears, for instance.  How can something so sweet and delicious only have 50 calories? Pair your pear with some cheese for a sweet and savory snack you can enjoy in seconds. Here we have a lovely afternoon snack. 140 calories, 6 g protein, 5 g fat, 9 g natural sugar and 4 g fiber .

Like you body, fruits and vegetables are made mostly of water along with a perfect combination of vitamins straight from the earth, natural sugars and fiber, leaving you feeling full and satisfied. Furthermore, the natural sugars breakdown more slowly in your body so you are less likely to experience a spike in your blood sugar levels. You will have more sustained energy and a higher metabolism throughout the day.

PREPARATION TIP:  Use a melon baller to quickly remove the core from fruits like pears and apples.  It’s fast and makes for a more attractive presentation of the fruit.

Many top athletes with the best footwork in the world train using a jump rope. Why is that and what sets them apart? The reason so many athletes train with the jump rope is because it physically conditions your body to be quick and explosive off the ground. Jumping rope can also train your mind to control your footwork in a very precise way that allows your body to generate extremely rapid movement. However, this mental conditioning will not happen unless you know how to practice it. The mental conditioning has to do with the specific way athletes use their jump rope.

There are three things you are probably not aware of about jumping rope that helps boxers and soccer players and other athletes achieve amazing foot speed. Those things are rhythm, counting and foot patterns. Counting out various foot patterns while jumping creates a rhythm. The foot patterns require you to move from one foot to the other at different intervals and in different directions. While practicing these patterns the sound your feet and the rope make hitting the ground takes on a syncopated quality.

A unique feature of jumping rope in this way is that it combines two of the highest forms of human performances; sports and music. In music, you practice a pattern until it goes from awkward and difficult to natural and effortless. This can also be done with a jump rope. Work on different foot patterns, left, left, right, right. Jump twice between turns or jump once. Lunge forward, lunge back, switch feet, one footed, move to the left, move to the right, heel –toe, high knees etc. See what you can come up with. You will literally stumble upon new foot pattern all the time. It is challenging and fun.

Just like practicing music, you will be working on some pattern for a while, maybe 1-2 minutes then you mess up mostly because of either mental or physical fatigue. Take a breather for a minute then start back again. Do that for 20-30 minutes every other day and you will find your footwork and speed improving rapidly. You will also experience the fringe benefit of weight loss and you might even learn a new dance step or two. Not bad for a $10 kid’s toy.

Most people are catching on to the idea that a healthier diet should include much less processed grains and starchy foods, but that presents a problem. What are we supposed to eat for dinner if we can’t have mash potatoes or a side of rice with our grilled chicken? Having a solid list of “go to” side items makes healthy meal preparation much easier. With that in mind, you must master this salad recipe.

This is the classic mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and it is a very versatile salad. It’s just as good with a steak or burger as it is with a breakfast quiche. It’s the perfect quick and easy side to all meals. This salad can also be used as a base for an entrée salad, just add chopped fruits, nuts, vegetables, a little gorgonzola and dinner is served.

Ready to serve mixed baby greens are available at all grocery stores. One bag of greens easily makes 4 serving. Put a piece of paper towel in the bag before you store unused green in the fridge. This way the leaves will stay crisp for at least a week if not longer. Grab a big ol’ handful and put it in a large bowl. Drizzle with some olive oil, a couple glugs. Give it a long spin of the pepper grinder and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Mix a little then add one or two glugs of balsamic vinegar, the darker kind. It’s thicker and sweeter and looks like dark red wine in the bottle. Mix once more and that’s it. It’s a classic fresh salad to round out any meal. The peppery mixed greens and balsamic vinegar gives this salad a flavor that is refreshing and full of palate cleansing goodness.

The way you feel and how others react to you has as much to do with what you say as it does with what your body is communicating while you speak, but do not confuse body composition with body language because it’s your posture not your percentage body fat that determines what message you will send. Your body language has a profound effect on you and the people around you. This is so true that half our brains are dedicated to interpreting body language and not words. That’s why we have a left brain and a right brain because before humans used spoken word we communicated using body language.

I’m sure that you can read body language, but how good are you at speaking it? Not sure? The good news is body language can be learned just like learning a spoken language and it just as important too because before you speak a single word to someone, they have already made a judgment about you based on your body language alone. It’s just human nature.

It’s a language of movement, poise and performance. Those who are most fluent in this body language will also excel in activities like sports, combat and the arts like dance and music. You can also use it to influence others, improving your posture will even help you make friends.

Ultimate Body Press exercises help you with your body language in two ways. First, they give you strength and help you build muscle quickly, boosting your metabolism and helping you lose fat. Learning these exercises will teach you how to develop and maintain the amazing instrument that is your own human body.

Finally our exercises teach you about body language and posture. You will develop a new feeling of control over all parts of your body so that you can move with great precision and power. You will look different, feel different and move differently, changing the way you feel and how others react to you.

Popular primal living blog Mark’s Daily Apple spent the entire month of August giving away some great stuff as part of his Primal Blueprint Health Challenge, but Mark saved the best prize for last.  We were happy to partner with Mark’s site and offer an Ultimate Body Press Full Package as the big grand prize for the event.  We think that Mark’s site is great, and if you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle, it’s an excellent resource to look at.

And if you haven’t seen our newest products yet - like the pull-up bar or our weighted, adjustable speed rope, take a look in our store and get acquainted.

If you are designing your new home gym, make sure that music is part of the equation. Listening to music while you workout adds a little extra entertainment and the great thing about working out at home is you get to pick what plays. Just make sure that something, anything is playing. You will work out longer and with more intensity if there is music playing.

According to recent study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine you may also want to turn the music up louder for even better results. The study compared the exercise output of individuals listening to music at various volumes. The individuals were tested during strength training and cardio exercise. The researchers found that when music was present at any volume the subjects performed better at cardio. The research also suggests that for strength training there is a distinct advantage to playing the music at a louder volume. The study found that the individuals listening to louder music could perform more repetitions than those listening at lower volumes. Those listening to louder music did an average of 29 leg presses while those listening at a lower volume only averaged 26.

Simply put, music is fun. When you’re having fun you will perform better. So next time you workout make sure you have some music playing. Put on your head phones. Drag the computer into your workout room. Crank up the satellite radio. Let the music take control and your workouts will improve because you will feel less fatigue and build more muscle without even knowing it. Sounds good doesn’t it?

We want Lorenz Sell to know that we are watching him. He has set some pretty big life goals for himself including climbing Mount Everest, competing in an Iron Man and a Body Building competition all before he turns 31. Did we mention Lorenz has all ready founded a run many successful businesses?  And the guy is fit, seriously fit. His blog is filled with personal and inspirational messages about life, fitness and reaching your goals as he pursues his own.

The Find Me Fit blog also contains a running series of very candid videos from Lorenz where he delivers unscripted but very well composed messages about achieving clarity and action. We encourage everyone to pursue their passions and experience life with great vigor so check the Find Me Fit blog because Lorenz is a great example of this kind of enthusiasm. He has set the bar pretty high for himself and he may inspire you to climb your own mountain. Good Luck Lorenz!

I just took my new goggles for a test swim in the open waters of Wrightsville Beach and I could not be happier with their performance.  I don’t think I’ll be using my old racing goggles for open water swimming again. I’ll probably never use normal goggles in the pool either. The Aqua Sphere goggles made my swim much more enjoyable for two reasons, but before I tell you why,  I’d like to say a little bit about open water swimming in general.

Aqua Sphere Goggles

For those of you who have never done any serious open water swimming, understand that swimming in a pool is much easier because the water is clear and there are lane lines to keep you going straight. You also get a little mini-break every time you turn at the wall. Swimming in open water is a whole different ball game. The murky water and lack of visual cues makes it more difficult to swim straight to your target. Combine that with the added burden of not having a wall to push off of every 25 yards and the occasioinal cusious thought about what little critters might be swimming underneath you and this can add up to more than a little anxiety in the water. On the other hand, open water swimming is fun and kind of adverterous so I am always lured back in.

The Aqua Spheres are a one piece mask that is like a hybrid between racing goggles and a snorkeling mask. They solve the visibility problem by increasing the distance between your eye and the murky water so you don’t have to lift your head nearly as far out of the water to see where you are going. With racing goggles your eye balls are encapsulated in a murky pod of water. The second any part of your eye goes below sea level all you see is inky water that might as well go on forever down there and who know what what else could be swimming in it, right? All kidding aside, it not cool. With the Aqua Spheres there is no water between your eyes or on your eye brows so your field of view is increased drastically. The second reason why they are better and why I’ll probably use them in the pool from now on is because the larger pocket of air around your eyes makes you head more buoyant. Image having little pillow to rest your head on while you swim… It’s nice.

My thanks goes out to TriathlonSports.com for their great selection of Triathlon gear and their great prices. “Them’s good peoples” www.triathletesports.com/