COKE vs WATER

This is really an eye opener…. Water or Coke? We all know that water is important but I’ve never seen it written down like this before.

WATER
1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one’s metabolism as much as 30%.

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.

5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

And now for the properties of COKE

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the “real thing” sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

For Your Info
1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase in osteoporosis.

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water or coke?

LEG DAY = GROWTH!

I know, it has been a while since I posted something on this blog. I was extremely busy these past few months. Busy running a bootcamp, also training a client and myself. So I HAD a lot of things to DO! But I'm back and ready to post!! 

So today I'm going to discuss the importance of LEG DAY!! Yes that one day most people skip and choose to do another exercise instead. But on the flip side all the guys at the gym wanna get big and grow. However, when I tell them that they must train their legs and put a lot of emphasis on their lower body training they look at me like I'm crazy. At that point, I laugh, look at them square in the eyes and remind them as to why they look like a toothpick/cartoon figure.HAHAHA!

Ok. So why should you do legs !?! How does it help your muscle growth!?! You are only training you lower body.It can't possibly have an effect on your upper body right!?!?!? Wrong!!!


Training Legs = More Muscles. 

• Doing exercises like Squats and Deadlifts trigger an increase release of Growth Hormones and Testosterone. Now how does this help the rest of your body? Well your legs consist of the biggest muscles in your body. By training your legs, your body will have to release more growth hormones during recovery. In return, this release of extra growth hormones is used by other body parts grow as well. Which helps them grow.

Training Legs = Bigger Upper Body

• Exercises like the Deadlifts and Squats stimulate upper-body growth in other different ways. For example;
• Your arms squeeze the bar hard during heavy Squats and Deadlifts
• Your chest muscles tense hard during heavy deadlifts
• Your abs work hard at stabilizing the weight during Squats.

Training Legs = More strength

• When you train your legs, you also train your core. Having stronger legs and core muscles translate into increased strength in upper body lifts. In return this helps upper body development. For example;
• During the Bench Press, you must drive your legs to the floor during the lift. If you have strong legs, you'll have more leg drive and a bigger bench lift and thus bigger muscles.
• The Squat and the Deadlift help strengthen your lower back. As a result, this will help you stay strong on the Overhead Press.
• Training legs also gives you a strong base. Picture a tree with a big tree trunk. Those trees are immovable and stand strong. 

Training Legs = Symmetry

• Obviously if you don`t train your legs,  you are going to have toothpicks for legs with a big upper body. Which looks ridiculous. Also, if your upper body is bigger it will hinder your muscle growth. Your body has a self defence mechanism. If it detects that your upper body is bigger than you lower body. It will halt your muscle growth and prevent you from retaining anymore lean body mass until  your imbalances are corrected.  Do you think that Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman and or Serge Nubret skipped leg days!?!

Training Legs = Mental Strength

• Now here is why people don't train legs and avoid it all together. It is physically and mentally hard! Most people stay away from anything that is physically and mentally challenging. They prefer to do the easy stuff that is not too taxing on their body and mind. In all doing legs builds mental toughness and character. 

MotionAthletix BootCamp!!

Great Session today at the MotionAthletix BootCamp. Everyone worked hard!
Keep up the good work guys!!

HIIT ME!!

YES!! The warm weather is here! Time to get outside and break a real sweat. Time to get away from those machines you were running on all winter. The treadmill machines who made you feel like an hamster running endlessly in a hamster wheel. 

So with the hot weather now here, it's time for a HIIT. Yes a High Intensity Interval Training. I have posted about HIIT  and all its benefits before. For those who are not familiar High Intensity Interval Training, it is a great way to burn fat. In all HIIT works your body to the highest amount of oxygen use, as a result your body keeps burning calories up 48 hours after your workout.  However, because it is so intense and taxing on the body it is not suited for everyone. Thankfully the guys at Greatist have created an infographic that describes the different type of High Intensity Interval Training to help you choose which one is best suited for you. 

On another note, If you are looking to get fit this summer and want to do some HIIT training. Peep the picture below for information on my annual summer Bootcamp.  The HIIT guide is right below the picture.

If you wanna give it a go here is the guide!

 The Complete Guide to Interval Training

GIANT SETS 4 GIANT GAINS!!

As some of you may have noticed, it has been 4 months since I last posted something on here. That's because I have been busy. Busy training a good old friend of mine and also busy training along side him. I was sort of a trainer/workout partner.  A few months back in October, my friend came up to me and said "Manny! I'm ready to train man! I'm ready! I wanna make some serious gains this time. I always get good results when you train me." Then he continued on explaining his goals. Basically he wanted to add 10 lbs of muscles to his frame, add some inches to his arms, chest, quads, back and shoulders. Most of all he wanted to be able to bench press 315 lbs ten times without a spot. All of this he wanted to achieve in 6 months.

Warning - Long post ahead.

Knowing how dedicated he is to his training I agreed to train him. As a matter of fact we made a bet. I said to him that I had this workout where you do giant sets. And if I was stronger then him at the end of our training he would pay for my dinner at my favorite Brazilian grill house. And if he was to make the gains that he wanted, this would be the workout for him, guaranteed. I explained that the workout is not like any other conventional workout and unlike any other workout we have done in the past. It is an extremely challenging workout, both mentally and physically. I also told him that he would have to consume a lot of food to sustain the energy levels needed to perform this training on a daily basis.

So before you begin the workout, let me outline a few things that YOU need to know and need to do before YOU begin the workout.

1. First you must COMMIT to the training, Show up on the days you are supposed to train. You will see no gains if you don't COMMIT.
2. Be willing to train past your comfort level. To trigger muscle growth you MUST train your muscles past their threshold. You must lift at least 80% of your 1 rep max for the prescribed amount of reps.
3. You must EAT to sustain the energy levels necessary for this training. Include lots of protein in your diet.
4. Lift with GOOD FORM and SLOW LIFTS. This way you recruit the majority of the muscle fibers in the exercise. Which will induce growth in return.
5. EAT! Can't stress that enough. You must consume a good amount of healthy nutritious food throughout the day.
6. After a 4 week cycle REST. Don't do anything, just relax for a week.. When you come back you will be stronger and be able to lift more.
7. EAT!

There you have it. Those are the basic rules if you want to achieve some type of gains. On another note, if you are wondering about any use of supplements. Yes, my friend did use a few supplements. I suggested that he use a Pre-workout supplement called C-4 Extreme. This supplement allows for energy boost, helps you focus on your training and boost muscle growth. He also used creatine supplement called Purple K and a Weight Gainer supplement and multi-vitamins. So nothing too crazy. Aright so before we began lifting, we took his measurements. Here they are:

Right Biceps: 15"  

Left Biceps : 14 1/2"
Chest : 41" 

Shoulders: 49 1/2"  

Right Quad: 22" 

Left Quad: 22 1/2"

Right Calf: 14 1/2" 

Left calf: 14 1/2" 

Weight: 181 lbs 

After 4 months of training:

Right Biceps:  16"

Left Biceps: 16"
Chest:  44"
Shoulders:  52"

Right Quad:  24
Left Quad:  24"
Right Calf:   15"
Left calf: 15"

Weight:   192 lbs

As you can see in terms of measurements, those are some pretty good gains. Especially since we were able to add 11 lbs of muscle to his frame. Now remember how he said that he wanted to be able to bench 315 lbs 10 times by June. Well he did better! He was able to bench 315 lbs 12 times and 385 lbs 6 times. Yesterday we tested his 1 rep max and he pushed 405 lbs! He managed to surpass his fitness goals in just 4 months.  Now those are some GIANT GAINS!

Enough said. If you are ready and think you can do the workout peep below for the routine.

When you perform this workout ensure that your 6 reps are with a heavy weight at least 80% of your 1 rep max, 12 reps are with a medium heavy and the 25 reps are with a light weight. Then each week increase the weight by 5 – 10 lbs. The goal is for you to complete 3 giant sets.  You may not be able go beyond 1 giant set at first. That is OK. Simply work your way up to 2 giant sets and eventually 3 giant sets. Not being able to go beyond 3 is normal. However, if you still got juice in the tank then you can attempt 4-5 giant sets.

Day One: Shoulders & Abs

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Standing Military Press
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Seated Dumbbell Presses (elbows facing forward)
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Prone Dumbbell Lateral Raises on 45 Degree Incline 

Bench: Perform drop sets of 6 -12- 25 reps
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Weighted Hanging Leg Raises
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Weighted Cable Crunches
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Floor Crunches
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Day Two: Biceps & Triceps

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Standing Dumbbell Curls
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Incline Cable Curls
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: High Cable Curls
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Weighted Dips
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Lying Dumbbell Extension
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Overhead Rope Extension
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Day Three: Off

Day Four: Quads & Hips

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Medium Stance Squats
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Bulgarian Split Squats with Weight
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Leg Extensions
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Medium Stance Deadlifts  
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Leg Curls
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Back Extensions
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Day Five: Off

Day Six: Chest & Back  
Exercise 1: 6 reps: Incline Bench Press  
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Flat Dumbbell Press
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Cable Flys
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.

Exercise 1: 6 reps: Bent Over Rows   
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 2: 12 reps: Neutral Grip Chin Ups
Rest 10 seconds

Exercise 3: 25 reps: Rope Rows
Rest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.