Maintenance. That has been quite a scary word since my finale last December. Everyone warned me about it, but I would always think to myself that it would be a whiz. Piece of cake! Truth be told, the daily struggles of maintenance are something that I believe I will deal with for the rest of my life.

Like I’ve stated before, I went back to lifting weights soon after my finale. I hit the weights hard and put myself on a muscle building program with the help of ProteinBlitz’s 60g of protein per serving. I figured I would need all the calories I could get while building, so my eating got a little out of control. Now, it is nearly physiologically impossible to pack on a bunch of muscle without adding on a little fat as well. So for three months I bulked and bulked and bulked. I was working out a lot so I felt as though I needed those calories to add muscle, but I took in more than I could handle, so my weight jumped up more than I expected. It was kind of like a slap in the face when I stepped on the scale.

I needed to change things up. For the last two months I have been in the cut phase of my program. I had to trim a little more than expected, but I knew it had to be done. I increased my cardio and actually added more protein shakes with the Protein Blitz while dropping my overall caloric intake. I’m proud to say I’ve actually dropped more than 15 pounds, but more importantly, I’ve packed on even more muscle than before. I’m two notches in on my belt, my pants are a lot looser, and I’m actually starting to see abs again! Who knew they would come back.

I feel unbelievable right now. There are two weeks left until the next Biggest Loser finale and I will be the on stage correspondent for DietsInReview.com. I was almost dreading doing it in the shape I was in a couple months ago, but look forward to doing it in the shape that I am in now. I can’t wait to wow everyone with my new muscular frame. I pick things up and put them down!

Note: Mark Pinhasovich received free product in exchange for his blog.

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Lots of reps

I changed my leg workout around to 15 to 25 reps. I still get the blood rush and the pump but as I get OLDER the joints and cracking of the bones are feeling the heavy workouts.

I still do a total of 5 exercise and now train quads and hamstrings in the same day. I like the over all feel of a full leg workout instead of half done workout. Meaning I want the pump and rush along with the soreness in one complete workout instead of waiting 3 days after my quad workout. My goal with the workout is to get deep cuts. If I lose a little size…oh well. I like my jeans to fit in the waist instead of the old days when you had to go 2 sizes up in the waist to fit your legs.

I have to look at longevity instead of just today. Otherwise all this heavy training will catch up to me.

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How important is eating right, working out, and rest? Well let me tell you first hand. On September 4th, 2009 I received a kidney transplant. Everything went really well. I was back in the gym 60 days later. My transplant team credit it to me being in such good shape. December 8th of this year I went in to the hospital for a simple surgery. During the surgery I went in to a coma. I woke up 13 days later. I was on life support all 13 days. My doctors told me a normal person would not have made it.

I want to make one thing clear. This story is not about me. This happens all the time around the country. The thing that doesn’t happen is the fact that I am here to share it with you. On the day of my surgery I ended up having 5 different surgeries, four different surgeons at the same time. In the ICU my doctor told me if it weren’t for me working out and eating right, I would not have made it. One of the things I have learned after going through all this is that there is more to it than just preventing getting sick. It’s what happens after you’re sick and how much eating, working out, and rest is so important. Let’s face it - people are going to get sick, you’re going to get hurt, or something. No matter how much we work out, how good we eat, and how good we take care of ourself.

It could happen. It’s when it happens that makes the difference. How well you do and how fast you recover. So just keep in mind. If you don’t do it for prevention do it for recovery. It makes all the difference. In my past blogs I told you I drink three PROTEIN BLITZ drinks a day. Now you know why. I’m not saying you need three a day. But one a day just might keep that doctor away.  So drink up and know your doing your body a lot of good. I’m living proof.

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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!

Posted in Dan Grenemyer | 1 Comment

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Hi Everyone,

James Ellis here, are you having trouble gaining muscle mass?  I’ve got some great tips on how to improve your diet and workout routine for the purpose of gaining muscle.  Check out the video below.

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Hi all,

Two more updates for you, I’ve got an 8 page feature in the November issue Muscle and Fitness and I was also on the cover of the September issue of Muscle & Performance (Vitamin Shoppe’s magazine)  Video’s are below for details, check ‘em out.

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Hi all,

James Ellis again, just wanted to let you know about another magazine I’m appearing in.  It’s the January 2010 issue of Men’s workout.  I’m on a couple different pages, check out the video below for more info.

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Hello All,

James Ellis here.   Career update for you, I appear in Exercise and Health Magazine Winter 09′ on pages 38 and 39 doing some explosive leg exercises.  Just wanted to let you know, you can show your support by picking up a copy today!

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