H2OHHH- Stay Hydrated and Balanced

We all know we’re supposed to drink a lot of water but as I get closer and closer to the big event and my training regiment gets even more stringent, keeping hydrated is so key to my performance for so many different reasons. It’s not about soda or diet drinks or anything like that.  It’s good old H20 that keeps the engine running.  Why?  ONE…the recommendation is 64 oz. a day and I don’t go to bed until I get a gallon of the good stuff in to keep flushing toxins and lactic acid from my workouts out of my system.  TWO…since I’m on a restricted diet, it helps to make me feel fuller and more satiated.  THREE…the kind of water I drink is alkaline, which helps keep my body’s pH balance.   Why alkaline?  It’s the essence of balance.

I’ll let you in on something…Our bodies are 70% water and our blood is 94% of the magical stuff.  That means if you’re drinking water less than 7.0 pH – which most of the water available on the market today is in the 5-6 range – you could be sending your body into a tizzy.  I drink a water that’s got a pH of 9.5 and it actually helps to detox my system and hyrdates at the cellular level.  I have a special filter at home that makes this water and I fill a 64 oz. jug of it and take it to work with me.  There’s also a company that distributes it here locally (If you’re interested, I can hook you up!)  and I swear by it. 

Staying really hydrated is so critical, whether you’re training for a competition or trying to lose weight.  It’s clean and it helps keep me lean.

After all, we are what we eat…and drink.

“The Burpee” and No it’s not what I do to my daughter after she takes a bottle!

This is one of my favorite exercises to get the blood flowing and the muscles moving.  It did make me think, though, where did it get its name?  Wikipedia to the rescue!

“The exercise may have been originated by a man named Lieutenant Thomas Burpee (1757-1839). He was an officer in the New Hampshire Militia during the American Revolutionary War and was described as “having the innate Burpee fondness for martial exercises” in A History of the Town of New London, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Lt. Burpee may have used the combination of pushups and squat thrusts as a means of drilling, conditioning, and disciplining the troops under his command. In addition, the exercise may have also been used by the troops as a way to stay warm during the winters in wartime New England“

What’s great is youcan do this anywhere – at home, the gym, even in your hotel room if you’re traveling. Add some variations and you’re always keeping it fresh. 

Check out the video and you’ll see a few different ways of making the burpee work for you. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-FqaKKitFc

How many burpees can you do without stopping?

2 is better than 1

Yesterday I talked about my meal plan and how important it is to eat clean and often. Today I want to cover my workouts and the advantages of working out with a trainer or partner.  This is just one of many workout blogs that I will post over the next several weeks.

The most important part of my program is to make sure that my training is extremely balanced between lifting weights and cardio. To get the maximum results you can’t do one without the other (which is the reason why Terry Shorter and Fernanda Rocha and I created the R.I.P.P.E.D. workout. More on that in another blog.).  Right now I lift weights 6 days a week focusing on one muscle group per day with my trainer Cesar Martinez (today was leg day and I can barely walk down the stairs). Why 6 days a week? Because this program is what works best for me and here is why: 1) my schedule allows me; and 2) I find that I get a much better/efficient workout this way than targeting multiple muscle groups. I can start my workout and be done in 30 to 45 minutes (this doesn’t include my cardio). 

To Eat or Not to Eat?

On this road to NYC, eating right is my number one priority.  Nutrition is such a big part of any fitness program. Unfortunately, I find it the part  where most  fitness “freaks” are off the mark.  You know,  the gym rats that work out 2 hours a day, 7 days a week and frustrated because they aren’t getting the results they want and don’t understand why.

On the road to NYC…

When I found out I was selected as the one of the top 30 male finalists out of the thousands that had entered the Wilhelmina Hot Body Search, I was overwhelmed.  What started as just an email recommendation from my friend Mareya – enter a picture with a 100 word essay on what fitness means to you – it shocked me to the core.  I went from being overwhelmed to excited to oh yes, it’s game on.  Time to get serious.