I am a bodybuilder by heart and that is the way I have trained for the majority of my life. I did however compete three times as a power lifter and was able to get my lifts up to 400 bench, 635 squat and 625 dead lift. I found that when I went back to a bodybuilding routine I was stronger, felt more confidence and was actually in better shape because my muscles were used to lifting heavier weights. I grew quicker and gained more mass when I was back on a bodybuilding routine and being stronger and it was just fun. I find that sometimes when my lifts plateau or I just feel bored in the gym going back to a powerlifting routine can spark life back into my routine and I start looking forward to the gym and getting stronger again.

This type of routine is based upon a one rep max and should be used for bench, squat and dead lift—the three major powerlifting exercises. To do that you have to find your one rep max. I generally find the best way to max is to warm up very well and slowly increase the weight building no more than 50-90 lbs at a time per warm up set so that I do not wear myself out but warm up the muscle and then try a max for 1 rep. It doesn’t have to be exact but it is a good starting point to pencil into the charts to build strength. Try this out for 12 weeks see where it takes you and I bet you will be more excited to be in the gym, the change of routine will be a great way to test yourself, try something different and lifting heavy weight is always a great self confidence tool and a heck of a lot of fun. You can also take your 10 rep max and times it by 1 & 1/3 to get a good idea of your one rep max.

When doing powerlifting movements form is always # 1 and if you haven’t done powerlifting before it may be a good idea to stick to your current routine a little longer and modify it by adding in the powerlifting movements and practicing them before trying to go up in weight, and not starting the percentage based routine until your form is solid. I would have someone who knows the powerlifting movements ensure your form is right before increasing your weight and you must have a spotter on this type of routine.  Belts are a must for squats and dead lift and I recommend powerlifting knee wraps as well. You may want to change up the rest days if your schedule works better another way.

When doing this type of routine proper rest is important, I would consume at least 1 gallon of water throughout the day, and good protein is absolutely vital to give your muscle what they need to recover before the next workout. So, it is essentially you take a protein shake within about 30 minutes after the workout. So stock up on your Blitz protein now as it will provide the quick absorbing whey isolate you need. Good luck, lift, eat, take your protein, get strong and grow.

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I am writing this month to tell you about some remarkable results and progress that I have seen as a result of using the Blitz Products. I have now lost over 55 pounds going from 350 lbs to 295 lbs. The quality of my life has been greatly improved, to which the credit is largely due to my utilization of these products in my life. I not only feel better and have significantly more energy, but there are markers my doctors are noticing as well. My blood pressure is no longer an issue and I have avoided having to use blood pressure medication. I had hypertension, I was on the verge of having to go on blood pressure medication, but with the diet and exercise and utilizing of Blitz as part of my weight loss endeavor my blood pressure has dropped. The weight loss apparently also helped my vision. I went into my eye doctor for a new prescription and exam and I required a prescription with less strength in both eyes. I attribute this to lowering of my blood pressure and  relieved strain on my eyes that has been relieved from the weight loss. I was up to a 6.75 in my right eye and a 6.50 in my left eye for the strength of prescription for nearsightedness, this last prescription I was able to see better and only needed a 5.75 in my right eye and a 5.50 in my left eye. My jeans and clothes fit better. I also have significantly less joint pain in my knees, with less weight for my knees to carry, my knee pain has diminished and I am able to work out and do cardio without knee pain. I had knee surgery to remove torn cartilage but with the extra weight they never really felt better and still hurt constantly. My knees like carrying 295 much better than 350, and I am feeling good enough to hopefully play football again this summer in the semi-pro league.

How exactly have I incorporated Blitz effectively. I use a Blitz protein shake every morning with a cup of oatmeal as my breakfast. The fast absorbing protein gives my body the protein needs for my morning workout and provides a nutrient rich breakfast. I also use Blitz Ready-to-drinks during the day at work when I get hungry instead of running to the snack machine for a bag of chips. This staves off my hunger through my next meal, allows me to avoid the unhealthy meal choices and allows me to simply eat less in general. If I can reach for a bottle of Blitz I am making a healthier choice than eating whatever is around because I am hungry. Lastly, I drink another Blitz protein shake before bed. I am able to feed my bodies protein needs through the night to speed muscle recovery and growth  and don’t have late night cravings which had been a problem for me in the past.

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Happy Holidays!

As we prepare for the New Year and look for 2011 to be prosperous, remember health is the first wealth! Your health in 2011 should be the greatest investment made. As you plan to reach your goals whether they be weight loss, strength gains, or overall physique improvement I want to offer a few guidelines that have been helpful to me.

Maintain Consistency- Set a plan that fits your needs and schedule. I recommend working out 5 days a week for most people. If you can only make it to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, find times that work for you and stick to your plan.

Diet is Key- No matter how much working out we do, diet is essential to reaching our goals! You don’t have to be a diet saint, but maintain a diet of mostly lean proteins, vegetables and use designer protein supplements before and after workouts and throughout the day when you can’t eat a healthy meal. Taking in a protein shake will help stave off hunger, replace unhealthy meal choices, provide lean protein and be a catalyst to great gains. You can read down through my previous blogs for a recommended diet plan.
Cardio is essential-It is important to always do some cardio (even if you only do 30 minutes three days per week) you will find you remain leaner and recover quicker from workouts. This is because cardio helps your body process out lactic acid which is what makes you sore.

Below is a sample workout plan, this is set up for a lifter who works out 5 days a week and is a moderate to advanced lifter. You could modify it to a 6 day plan by doing biceps and triceps on separate days. You could modify it to a 3 or 4 by combining bodyparts and reducing number of exercises per bodypart. I would recommend combining chest and shoulders for a 4 day workout plan and reducing the number of exercises per bodypart by one per bodypart. For a 3 day workout plan combine chest and shoulders and also arms and legs and take out two exercises per bodypart. If you are just starting working out I would recommend picking your favorite three lifts per bodypart and reducing the sets per exercise to 3 sets instead of 4. If you have some experience but consider this too strenuous you could remove one exercise per workout or reduce the number of sets per exercise.

As always check with your doctor to make sure you are healthy enough for exercise before proceeding with any workout or diet plan!

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I am now down to 314, a total loss of 36 lbs down from 350 lbs when I started this diet and the ProteinBlitz experiment. I am still 44 pounds away from my goal weight of 270. I have reached a lot of my goals, my knees don’t hurt like they did at 350, I am fitting into a lot of my clothes and possible the best benefit is I have significantly more energy. Not to mention the reduced strain on my heart and the reduction of my blood pressure. As I reach my goals I search for ways to maintain the level of motivation and stay the course. I have a lot of hours of cardio left and a lot of days of dieting to go. As the holidays approach it is important for me to find ways to stave off the holiday regression to poor eating habits.

How do I plan to do this? Here’s my holiday meal survival guidelines:

1. Portion Control- I don’t plan to completely avoid enjoying the holidays with my family, but I do plan to eat less of the carb laden and unhealthy foods that accompany the Thanksgiving feast. I may have a spoonful of stuffing or mashed potatoes, not a plateful.

2. Healthy Choices- I plan to make Turkey the staple and largest part of my holiday meal. Turkey is lean, high in protein and a great way to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday without regressing on my diet. Making Turkey the majority of my meal is a great way to enjoy the holiday meal but prevent reversing my progress and help my goals reach fruition.

3. ProteinBlitz Before the Meal- I will drink a Blitz RTD or Blitz whey isolate shake before the holiday meal to satiate my hunger, provide lean protein and fill up on a healthy alternative to holiday gorging. With a Blitz shake in my stomach I will have less desire or ability to fill up on other foods that would cause my hard work and cardio to be negated.

4. Cardio- I plan to continue to continue my Cardio workouts and continue my weight training to keep my metabolism high, knowing in advance there will be a slight departure from my normal diet. With time off work and more free time, I can find do additional cardio and even make more weight loss progress. If my gym is closed on the holiday, I can take my dog on a long walk or play some touch football with my brothers to burn calories until the gym opens again.

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I AM LOVING THE RESULTS OF BLITZ.

I have lost 30 lbs in 7 weeks. That’s over 4 lbs a week. I have dropped from 350 to 320 and I feel great. I have done a lot of research since I started bodybuilding in 2002 and I believe the reason why BLITZ is the best is because of the superior protein used in the formula. Proteins are comprised of Amino Acids. Quick amino acid absorption is crucial after a workout; it provides your body with the building blocks of muscle and allows for quicker recovery replenishing a muscles protein needs after a workout. If your body does not have the proper amino acids from proteins it will not build muscle and even worse your body could actually use the skeletal muscle you have (your hard earned muscle) for its needs and break muscle down, what is commonly called catabolism.

There are a few major types of proteins—animal proteins from meat, whey and casein from milk, and vegetable proteins. With the exception of Soy there is no protein in plant sources that contains all of the essential amino acids, so plant sources are not ideal in general. Animal proteins are good, but because of the high fiber content they take longer to digest, therefore take longer to get to your muscles up to 4 hours. That leaves us with milk proteins. Milk contains two proteins, whey and casein. Casein is the slower digesting type – it actually clots after entering the digestive system and can take 4-8 hours to fully digest, making it far less than ideal for post-workout applications. Whey absorbs within 1-2 hours and quickly raises blood amino acid levels providing your body with ample supply for its needs after a workout.

There are a few different major types of protein produced and put into supplements, the two most common are whey concentrate and whey isolate. Whey concentrate is cheaper to produce as it involves less refinement in the process and creates a less pure protein with more fat and also more lactose remaining, making it more difficult to digest. And it can be problematic especially for anyone with even a slight sensitivity to lactose and also more likely to cause bloating and stomach discomfort. Whey isolate is produced through a much more intense process called micro-filtration, it is generally more expensive, but it is well worth it! Because it is more pure it can generally be absorbed in about an hour and causes a much more dramatic increase in blood amino acid levels resulting in greater muscle anabolism (muscle growth). Most supplements are actually a mixture of the two types of whey which is cheaper to formulate, but less ideal.

I use only BLITZ because it does not contain whey concentrate it is formulated with only whey isolate. I find no ill effects with Whey Isolate as I have a slight difficulty with lactose and have difficulty digesting whey concentrate. I use BLITZ because it is a very pure form of whey isolate, it doesn’t contain whey concentrate as a filler and it is the best form of protein to increase blood amino acid levels and support growth. It also provides more available amino acids during cardio to keep my body from breaking down my muscle during intense dieting. I have lost 30 lbs and I have not lost any of the strength I had. Thank you BLITZ!

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I am finishing up another good week of training. I am now down to 327, thus far I have lost 23 pounds in just over a month of dieting. The BLITZ protein has provided a great high protein option with great results. I am focusing on low glycemic carbohydrates specifically yams, brown rice and oatmeal. I operate under the diet philosophy that spikes in insulin drive blood sugars into storage as fat. Instead of eliminating carbs from my diet I eat carbs that have a minimal impact on blood sugar levels, thereby reducing the insulin spikes. I eat plenty of protein, namely three BLITZ shakes or RTD drinks per day in conjunction with lean meat proteins as protein has a negligible impact on blood sugar levels. Bodybuilding is a sport that uses biology and scientific methodology to create a desired effect on our bodies. The goal being to remove as much fat from our bodies as possible while retaining the maximum amount of muscle. Our bodies are extremely adaptive. If we send the signals through working out with weights that we have a need for the muscle our bodies will retain that muscle. Through cardio we send the signals to our body to reduce the amount of fat we are carrying. I use BLITZ before and after all workouts because it provided the lean protein to supply my body and saves muscle from being used for my bodies protein needs. I find that the whey isolate protein used in BLITZ is effective in helping me maintain muscle mass while dieting. Isolate is a very refined form of whey protein, that allows for a very quick absorption rate allowing me to quickly supply my body with protein while dieting so that my body will retain the maximum amount of muscle possible.

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This week was another good week of dieting and training. I am down to 330 lbs now; I have lost a total of 20 pounds. The keys to my success have been cardio to lose the fat, but using PROTEINBLITZ RTD’s right after a workout restores my blood amino acid levels and encourages my body to rebuild muscle and maintain my muscle mass. This really helps, especially when dieting. The Whey Isolate is perfect as it is the most pure and quickest absorbing protein.

I do moderate-intensity cardio on the eliptical or on the treadmill for 45 min to 1 hr. I try to follow the rule that I should be doing cardio hard enough where I can talk but can’t sing. I know it sounds weird, but it helps me find that perfect balance of enough intensity to burn fat without burning too much muscle due to overexertion. You have to do cardio hard enough to burn fat, but not so intense that you lose your hard earned muscle. For me on a treadmill that is just enough speed where I am walking fast enough that if I turned it up another notch I would be jogging. On the elliptical I use the talk-but-can’t-sing rule.

My brother Dustin Grenemyer and I are having a competition of who can lose the most weight while he is in the desert serving with the US Air Force.  My Brother Darren Grenemyer and other family members, even my Mom, have decided this is great motivation to cut weight and get in shape.

Dustin has provided me an update of his progress using Designer Whey and the diet I follow.  Here’s what he has to say:

I will definitely blog on my tour when I can! I will follow Dan in trying to get into competition weight! I am a national champion power lifter and am looking forward to grasp body building with Dan leading the way. I also use Designer Whey Protein I brought with me! Looking forward to this deployment and weight loss comp. I am currently deployed to the Middle East and am competing against my oldest brother Dan to see who can lose the most body fat. Dieting in a desert environment is a tougher challenge then one might think. Your mind is always on what’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner with the high stress involved with keeping my eye on the bad guys over here versus the general comfort of home.  The upside of things is you are constantly working, perspiring and burning calories.  I am trying to eat as healthy as possible, but when the food is already prepared, it’s a hard mathematical calculation with many variables to consider on how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you are taking in.

My diet consists of:

Breakfast: 4 egg Omelet & 1cup of oatmeal
First snack: Designer Whey Protein Shake
Lunch: 8 oz lean meat (Chicken breast, hamburger, tuna or fish)Lots of Veggies
Second snack: Designer Whey Protein shake
Dinner: 8oz lean meat & Lots of Veggies

This is working well so far with a weight loss of 9 pounds in two weeks. Only time can tell what an hour of cardio every night does to the fat cells.

- SSgt Dustin Grenemyer, United States Air Force

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This week was tough as I was extremely busy with work duties which makes it very difficult to prepare the proper foods for the diet. I did lose another 3 lbs this week to drop down to 334. I can feel my clothes fitting better and I do feel really good about the progress I have made. I have been using a lot more Blitz RTD drinks when I am on the go to meet my protein needs. It gives me a quick burst of protein when I don’t have time to make a shake. The whey isolate in Blitz RTD and Blitz Powder is also perfect for after workout to replenish my muscles and provide them the building blocks they need to re-build and of course GROW!

My current workout schedule is as follows:

Monday: Chest 1 hr cardio

Tuesday: Back 45 min Cardio

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: Shoulders 1 hr Cardio

Friday: Arms 45 min Cardio

Saturday: OFF WEIGHTS 1 hour of Cardio

Sunday: Legs, calves and abs 30 min of Cardio.

If I am not losing the weight I want I will increase all my cardio to 1 hour, but never over 1 hour as I don’t want to switch into burning muscle. I may also increase my cardio to two sessions of 45 minutes to really burn the fat. Remember to drink your Whey before and after your cardio so your muscles have protein and your body won’t dip into your protein storages (your muscles) that is called catabolism and will shrink your muscles quickly. Do not eat carbs before cardio because your body will use the carbs you just ate for energy instead of dipping into its energy storages (fat cells) which after all is the goal!

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In my second week of dieting I have lost another 5lbs., dropping from 342 to 337. It was not as dramatic as the 8 lbs. I lost last week as my progress was slowed due to being sick this week. I think being sick is a risk when dieting, but I stayed the course and did not regress back to unhealthy foods. I limited my cardio a bit while I was sick, but continued to eat healthy foods which for me includes yams, brown rice, oatmeal and lean meats (i.e. orange roughy, turkey, chicken, lean ground beef, lean steaks, etc). As a side note my preferred choice of red meats is 93% lean ground beef cooked on the foreman grill to remove excess fat or top sirloin as that is the leanest and best steak a bodybuilder can eat. I upped my intake of fruits and green vegetables to provide the vitamins and minerals to help me get over being sick and I also supplemented Vitamin C. I did cardio 3 days this week instead of 5 to allow my body to recover and reduced my cardio from 1 hour to 45 minutes. When I didn’t feel good enough to eat solid foods I made a BLITZ shake with strawberries and fat free yogurt which gave me lean protein and healthy probiotics to help me get over the cold. I ended the week at 337 down 13 lbs from starting my diet two weeks ago.

My diet strategy is as follows:

Upon Wake Up:
50 grams of protein from blitz powder
1 cup of oatmeal

Workout and 45 to 1 hr of Cardio
1 Blitz RTD Drink immediately after workout
1 serving of fruit (1 apple, ¼ watermelon or 10 strawberries)

Mid Morning Meal:
8 oz lean meat (turkey, chicken breast, or lean ground beef)
As much green vegetables as I want (broccoli, lettuce, green beans)

Lunch:
Large Salad with Vinegar and 2 cans tuna

Mid-Afternoon:

6 oz lean meat (turkey, chicken breast, or lean ground beef)
1 medium yam

Dinner:
Asparagus
1 cup brown rice
8 oz orange roughy, tilapia, mahi mahi or sword fish

Before Bed:
50 grams BLITZ Protein to feed my body’s protein needs throughout the night and a multivitamin.

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I am 29, live in Lakewood, CO I am a former collegiate all-star rugby player and semi-pro football player. I was runner up for Mr. Northern Colorado. My weight goal is to cut down from my bulking weight of 350 STOP ( a little more than I planned to be) back to a competition weight and leanness of around 275. So my goal is to drop 75 lbs in the next 18 weeks and maintain my lean muscle mass. With Designer Whey on my side, I am confident I can do it.

I have started my diet plan, cardio and weight training using Blitz powder and RTD’s and I have already cut 6 lbs and am down to 344. I use the Blitz powder before and after workouts and the RTD’s when

I don’t have time or the capability to make a shake. I also use Blitz Protein before cardio to provide my body ample protein supplies so I can keep my blood amino acid levels high so my body will use the protein in my system instead of becoming catabolic and losing muscle mass.

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