Remember: Form, Focus, Fun
Dan John's Never Let Go, released to Kindle 5/19/2011
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Okay, okay… Settle down… Welcome, people, to this summer’s Eat-Right Boot Camp… Listen up… We don’t have time to waste… It’s later than you think… Let’s get to work… Stand on one leg, arms overhead… No notes… Memorize…
RULE #1 -- Be tough. Stay away from nasty fats, excessive salt and simple sugars. This eliminates 99 percent of the fast foods, munchies and soft drinks. Who needs them? In a few short weeks, you won't want them, wonder why you ate them and feel sick if you do! I don't mean to be rude, but... junk is for dumpsters.
RULE #2 -- Eat a basic breakfast of complex carbohydrates, protein and fat to establish your metabolism for the day and provide fuel and muscle-sustaining ingredients. In a nutshell (and setting aside for now the hormonal and enzyme chemistry taking place at all times), protein builds muscle while carbohydrates and fats supply fuel for energy. Breakfast can be an easy-to-prepare meal from a quality protein shake to a bowl of oatmeal, scoop of cottage cheese and fruit. If you don't feed yourself a wholesome meal in the morning, your body will draw on your muscle stores as a source of energy, putting you in a slump and muscle deficit. Major insurance policy: Add a good vitamin and mineral formula and a gulp of omega-3 oil (essential fatty acid) each morning to protect your system and put order and efficiency in your body chemistry.
RULE #3 -- This one can be the rascal: With whatever effort it takes, feed yourself every three to four hours throughout the day; again, each meal consisting of protein, fat and carbohydrate. Any combination of the following is perfect: tuna and brown rice, hamburger patty and red potato, cottage cheese and fruit, chicken and salad, etc. You'll notice that sandwiches are not in my top-five list. Discover Tupperware and packet-size meal replacement powders.
RULE #4 -- Newsflash: To gain weight, eat more. Assuming you're hitting the weights, be prepared for solid bulk weight; lean muscle mass exclusively is a daydream. To lose weight, eat less, still as often. Don't starve the muscle.
RULE #5 -- I have always instinctively leaned toward a higher protein intake over carbohydrate to build a lean body. Emphasize protein. Vegetarians, take particular care in order to get plenty of protein in your diet.
RULE #6 -- Between-meal snacking for the trainee looking to gain weight is okay if the snack is truly nutritious -- no junk. Don't let snacks be a substitute for a complete meal or become a weak habit. You who are seeking weight loss, consider snacking counter-productive. Good snacks are fruits or vegetables, jerky, protein energy bars, yogurt, cottage cheese and light protein drinks.
RULE #7 -- Simple carbohydrates (sugar, honey, soft drinks, candy and cakes) provide us with a quick pick-up, but let us down just as quickly. Excessive sugar plays havoc with our insulin metabolism and leads to fatigue, poor performance, fat storage and diabetes.
RULE #8 -- Fuel up before your workout. Eat a small, easily digested meal about an hour before you train. With protein and complex carbohydrates in your system, you'll train harder, longer and with more enthusiasm. You won't experience low blood sugar jitters or dizziness; you'll get a great pump and probably hit that last rep. Big Tip -- whey protein drinks work great here and work well as post-workout muscle repair food. Convenient, inexpensive and effective.
RULE #9 -- Similarly, you need to eat a hearty protein meal with sufficient carbs within 45 minutes of the completion of your workout. This is necessary to provide the muscle-building materials to repair depleted tissue and support the process of building new muscle.
RULE #10 -- The most important ingredient in your body is plain water. The quality of your tissues, their performance and their resistance to failure is absolutely dependent on the quality and quantity of the water you drink. Detoxify. Flood yourself throughout the day, especially during exercise.
RULE #11 -- Sleep, rest and relaxation are of prime importance. It's during periods of sound sleep that our bodies recuperate and build muscle tissue.
RULE #12 -- Regard listed rules as a regular life-long, life-rewarding priority, one that hones discipline and is honed by that same discipline.
RULE #13 -- Do not eat without working out, lifting weight, hoisting iron or tossing steel... regularly.
RURTG – Are you ready to go? I like to add clever humor to my seminars…
We are going to the gym where the solution to all the problems that burden mankind can be found in plain sight.
- What conundrum is without a solution which cannot be tested and decided in the laboratory of iron? Alberta Einstein
- Where there is steel in stacks, there is elucidation in heaps and clarity in piles! Thomas Edason
- Between gravitational force and the power of the bench press, it is said, man meets his maker. St. Brutus Maxus
This is the series of movements I shall perform with mucho gusto because I feel like it and because they work -- you’re on your own:
Rope tucks with torso variations (4 sets x 40 reps)
Incline dumbbell press (4 x 12, 10, 8 reps)
One-arm dumbbell row (4 x 12, 10, 8 reps)
Seated dumbbell alternate curl (4 x 12, 10, 8 reps)
Overhead dumbbell triceps extension (4 x 12, 10, 8 reps)
I welcome advocates, allies, supporters, friends, colleagues and like minds, along with anyone who agrees, fortifies and defends my indisputable viewpoints.
Visit me at mywayorthehighway.com… DD
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