I find myself wanting to get in and out of the gym with no B.S. I can’t understand being there no more than 1 1/2 hours. Any longer than that and you’ll have to ask yourself “what are you doing?” So bring your Ipod and go go go.

I CRUSHED shoulders last night. I started with shoulder press on the machine at a weight that I could warm-up. I did 15 reps to get the blood flowing. Then I went right to the heavy weight – 150lbs for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. I felt great and felt the pump of blood rushing to my delts. Next, I decided to burn them out with cable side delts – 15 reps at 30lbs for 3 sets. It felt like my shoulder was about to fall off after that exercise! I ran right over and did barbell front raises for 60lbs – 8 to 10 reps (3 sets). And to finish off – machine rear delts: drop sets at 190lbs, 8 to 10 reps. Then cut weight in half to 100 lbs for another 10 reps (3 sets). I couldn’t even drink my BLITZ. My shoulders were TOAST.

Check out the fruits of my labor:

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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.

Posted in Paul Vinson | 2 Comments

Confused??

I believe that the body remembers and when you get in a routine week after week, month after month the changes you are looking for slowly go flat.

So I changed the workout for the day I trained chest in 30 minutes, three exercises, 3 sets but drop set all the way to third set didn’t count reps on 2nd and 3rd set just burned out only on the first set always 10 to 15 reps then 2nd set cut weight by 50lbs burn out and third set cut weight again by 50lbs.

Bench Press:

1. 225lbs for 10 to 15 reps
2. 175lbs till burn out
3. 135lbs till burn out

Incline DB Flys:

1. 50lbs for 10 to 15 reps
2. 40 lbs burn out
3. 30 lbs burn out

Cable Flys

1-40lbs to burn out

Remember there is no rest period after set 1, the blood was flowing and the pump was amazing so was the post workout BLITZ (chocolate with banana)

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I always warm up on the stationary bike for 10 minutes to get the blood flowing and joints lubed. My workout is fast and intense – no reason to be their for more than one hour. The reps are 12 to 15 reps per set and 3 sets per exercise and sometimes a drop set were I cut weight in half and rep out till the fire is started.

I always start with single leg extension for me I can concentrate more, instead of possibly cheating where other quad is pulling the weight more. Second, always a pushing movement (leg press) and I increase weight each time, last is a superset of abductor, adductor machine reps of 15 and 3 sets, the legs should be on FIRE!

I never train hamstrings or calves that day, for me I am wiped out and all I want is a Blitz and a couch.

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Just when you think your diet and training is working for you and you start feeling better and looking better, you get hit from the blind side. Well that’s what happened to me.

After receiving my kidney transplant over a year ago. I had gained 40 pounds, benching 300 lbs., and feeling great. Then out of nowhere I started to feel tiered, couldn’t eat, didn’t want to train, didn’t want to leave my house, or do anything. So I go to my doctor  and he finds nothing. I go to a different doctor. Same thing. After the 5th doctor he tells me to go to the hospital and he would meet me there and run some test. Two days in the hospital and I end up in ICU. 11 days later I come out of ICU and was told I had just gone through five different operations. I went in on Dec. 8th and went home Dec. 23rd. Lost 40 pounds and just walking to my car would leaving me out of breath.

So here I am having to put myself back together again. This is my second time in just one year. I can’t train yet. But I can eat. Already I have put on 20 pounds and feeling great. After going through this once before. I already knew what I had to do. At that’s were ProteinBlitz comes in. I am putting lean muscle back on as well as having a lot of energy. My doctors are more than surprised at how well and fast I am recovering.  The reason I’m sharing this with you is to remind you of just how important exercise, rest, and diet is. Protein is a big part of a healthy diet. Whether you’re trying to gain muscle or lose fat. I strongly recommend ProteinBlitz. I know first hand that it works – I’ve been through it once and I will get through it again. It’s nice to know that there is a product out there that really works. It gives you hope knowing you can reach your goals that you have set for yourself. I will be the first to tell you to never give up and that there is help out there. 

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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

I took the whole month of November off. I felt with all the injuries I had this year and finding out I have 1 kidney, I needed a break. I was way too stressed out! I started back in the gym December 1 and WOW, I haven’t been this sore in a while. But thank God our bodies remember and I stick to a clean diet all year around always: (3) meals and (3) Blitz shakes a day.

The goal this next year is to listen to my body and cross train. I think the body learns a routine and you get stuck. So it’s time to mix it UP!

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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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