This week I chose to review my current favorite protein powder – Myofusion from Gaspari Nutrition.

I can’t say enough about this protein!  It is just plain awesome!  I have used many proteins since I opened Heavyweights and I have to say that this is one of, if not THE BEST tasting & mixing proteins I have ever used!

Review

• Amazing Taste!!  The Chocoalte is just like Nestle Quick!  AMAZING
• Easily mixes.  Little to no clumps at all
• Great protein Source ( Whey Concentrate, Whey Isolate,Milk & Egg Protein)
• 25 g Protein, 5g Carbohydrates, 3g Fat, 2g Sugar
• Aspartame Free!!

I get asked ALL the time “Whats the best protein?”.  Well there is no “Best” protein.  My advice is to have a good FOOD PROTEIN BASE, then add 2-3 scoops of any good quality, good brand whey protein!  I don’t recommend over priced isolates.

Use a good whey protein and If you can some BCAA (Xtend or Chain’d Out) and you will get all the protein you need!

For this week (March 12-19) we are offering Myofusion On SALE For $59.99!!!

Team Bushido BJJ Competitors

Well this weekend I attained 3 of my goals that I had set for this year.

1. To get my bodyweight down to under 180 lb. (at the weigh in i was 179.5)
2. To Compete At The First Bushido Open (I got 3rd in my division which I was happy with)
3. To NOT Get injured LOL (Fire dept is hiring and I don’t want to mess that up)

But this isn’t about me, this is about all the people who competed this weekend!  It’s about everyone who has trained their butts off and came out to compete on a crappy miserable, rain stormy day!

Cory Avery - Todd Hodder Best Spirit Award Winner

It shows the drive and passion they have for Jiu Jitsu, for Competion, and for being a part of their TEAM!

See a lot of people who have never tried Jiu Jitsu have NO IDEA just how damn hard and technical the sport is!

They just see 2 guys rolling around (which some guys just cant handle anyways).  They dont see it as a “Real Man’s Sport” like say Boxing.  Well let me tell you it is one hell of a hard sport and one of the best ways you could exercise!  It may look easy but you can’t imagine how hard physically this is.

I can take anyone who is in good shape and after 5 minutes rolling they will want to die.  It’s a demanding sport that requires intense cardio, strength, flexibility, balance, and a lot of thinking!

It’s like a game of Submission Ches.  You make a move to see what the other person is going to do, but those moves involve getting choked out and arm barred!

Anyways I just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone that competed and of course to ALL the members & volunteers of Team Bushido!  Thank you all for coming out and competing.

I am very lucky to have such great friends and team mates to train with.

The 1st Bushido Open pulled in close to 60 Competitors and I think it was one of, if not, the BIGGEST Jiu Jitsu tournament EVER in Newfoundland!  I think that is pretty damn awesome!

If you aren’t familiar with Bushido or Jiu Jitsu I am offering you a FREE WEEKS MEMBERSHIP!  Come in and try it out.  I can PROMISE YOU that it is the the most fun workout you will have!  Not only do you learn some self defence, you get a great workout, meet some awesome people and best of all get a crazy workout!

IF you were at the Bushido Open Please Post Some FEEDBACK!! I would LOVE to hear from YOU!

First off THANK YOU To everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday On FaceBook Friday! It made my day!

So Friday past I turned 36 years old (young) or whatever you care to call it!  But I turned 36.

It’s a weird number because I can no longer look back and say “well I am not that far from 30″ because, well, now I am lol.

This means that I have been exercising and working out for almost 20 years now.  Which is a long time!  But in that time I have learned & experienced a lot in the gym!

So I wanted to share 36 “Insights” that I have learned over the years

1. Have Fun!  If the gym isn’t fun find something that is fun!
2. Help Others. Most people who workout are focused on their own goals, or their own body.  Help others, it will come back to you 10 fold
3. Stay Healthy!  It’s one thing to be big and strong, but its NO good if your not healthy.
4. Don’t stop learning!  Its easy to get complacent, always keep learning and improving!
5. Ask for help!  I can assure you that many people have done or are doing what you want to accomplish.  Ask for some help
6. Try different sports!  When I was hardcore into weights I wouldn’t dare try another sport as it would ruin my workout.  What a mistake that was! Stay Active!
7. If you want to get bigger it isn’t hard.  Eat More, Train Harder, Rest, Repeat!  The hard part is the eating!
8. We are creatures of habit.  Identify your habits and fix them.  It will make it easier to build muscle, lose fat, or whatever you goal is.
9. If you aren’t building muscle the way you want ask yourself 2 questions 1. Are You Squatting?  2. Are You Deadlifting?  If you answered YES to both questions then you need t0 eat more food!
10. Cardio isn’t the enemy for building muscle! Far from it!  No one lost muscle doing 15-20 min cardio 5 days a week.  If your not doing cardio you are missing out!
11. Pay attention to your Pre & Post Workout Nutrition!  It doesn’t matter how hard you push yourself, if you dont pay attention to what goes in your body you won’t get nearly the results you should!
12. Do a bodybuilding or figure show!  Not for the ego, but do it as a challenge and to see what your body CAN look like.  It will surprise you!
13. Get a GOOD COACH or TRAINER!!  It amazes me the people that buy 1-2 magazines and think they know it all!
14. Protein, Creatine etc ISN”T bad for you! (God I hate hearing this) It doesn’t hurt your kidneys or any other crap like that!
    
15. Your Doctor doesn’t know everything!  Always ask for help, research, learn, and ask questions.  I see anti depressent and thyroid meds way too often with customers these days…
16. CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT!  Is it Monday?  That mean’s Bench & Bicep for 80% of the people at the gym.  if this is you PLEASE CHANGE YOUR WORKOUT LOL.
17. You Get ONE body!  Take care of it!  It amazes me to see people spend all day cleaning and fixing their car, only to neglect their OWN BODY.  Think about this for a second.  It’s pretty scary!
18. STRETCH!  Let me say that again, STRETCH.  It is by far the most neglected part of fitness & exercises today!
19. “You can’t out train a bad diet” Remember that, it is beyond important!!!  Nutrition is everything for getting in shape & feeling good!
20. Train heavy, then back off.  you can’t always get stronger and stronger.  Sooner or later something will remind you that.  Better to back off by your own choice than a bad injury!
21. Train with your friends!  Go try a different workout, try a new program!
22. The biggest obstacle of people getting in better shape is POOR NUTRITION!  I see packed gym’s but hardly anyone in shape!  What does that tell you?
23. BCAA’s, Fish Oil, Multi Vitamins & Greens should be staples in everyone’s diet!
24. To build more muscle train heavier, eat more quality food, reduce cardio (not cut out), and hit the big muscle groups.
25. To get leaner train at a faster pace.  Blend circuits with basics in the gym, reduce carbohydrates and bad fats.  Dont reduce FOOD, reduce CRAP.
26. Your biggest roadblock to getting in better shape is your surroundings! (work, home, school etc). YOU Can’t control that but you can control YOUR RESPONSE.  If everyone is having a tims donut & they want you to eat one it is because THEY want you to fail!  They feel better when you are weak like them.
27. Stop using machines.  I know, every gym is full of them!  Which is why you should NOT be using them.  More on this soon!
28. Do more exercises standing.  Why would you sit down to shoulder press?  I will tell you why, because your gym is making you lazy!
29. Don’t Do Bar Curls In The Power Rack!  Please….only unless there is NO one at the gym…  Please….
30. Don’t growl, scream, grunt, or make weird noises in the gym.  Unless you want to be known as an idiot, then by all means scream away!
31. Take 8-10 minutes and do a proper WARM UP.  It will make your workouts better, improve recovery, and reduce injuries.
32. Train your GLUTES!!  Yep train that butt of yours!  It’s important!  More info on this shortly also!
33. IF your squats aren’t at least parallel then please don’t brag about your squat #’s.  A 225 squat done RIGHT is far more impressive than a 405 knee bend!!
    
34. The best way to bigger arms is squatting.
35. If your in the gym longer than 60 min your making friends (or staring at the girls on the treadmill way too long lol)
36. Your own as OLD as you FEEL!  And after my birthday celebrations I feel OLD!!  :)

I hope this gives some brief insights into my thoughts!  I thought I’d post some party pics but i will save those for another day lol.

Stay Thirsty My Friends!

So 2 weeks ago I decided to try something different and I registered to be a CrossFit Trainer/Coach!

I am pretty excited about it as the type of training seems like a serious challenge and a nice break from my past training endeavors!

CrossFit is HUGE across the USA and Canada but it really hasn’t caught on here in the east coast yet!  So I decided to sign up and give it a try!  I cant wait to try anything new & different training wise as I find any type of training gets stale after a while and change is good!

If you aren’t familiar with the training just check out www.CrossFit.com.

IF you are interested in getting the jump on and trying this training once I start the classes in June just go HERE and I will notify when you training will be ready to go!  Keep in mind this isn’t a bodybuilding workout!  This is going to be INTENSE and somewhat different than most normal workouts!  BUT if you are looking for a change and want to really take your training & fitness to a whole other level then this may be for YOU!

YES I want info on CrossFit in St. John’s!

Name:

Email:

I have included a couple of CrossFit Videos I pulled off youtube to show you the type of training.

If you have had ANY training or experience with CrossFit Please post up some feedback as I would love to hear some personal feedback on CrossFit!

If you have any feedback as I said please post it up!!!

Whats the best Cardio?

It’s really good question I get asked a lot!

First thing first I have for you is a question.

What’s your goal?

Before I ever give advice to anyone I always ask this question.  Because IF you don’t know your immediate goal then you don’t know which direction you should be heading!

When it comes to cardio what type SHOULD YOU DO?

HIT Vs. Slow Steady State?

I’d recommend both and here is why!

(Quick Summary of Cardio Types)

Steady State Cardio -The longer cardio sessions, IE Stair Master, Bike, Elliptical etc, IE 20 min – 60 min

HIT Cardio – Short intense interval training.  Sprinting, Circuits, Intervals etc.

I know there are tons of debates out there now with Steady State vs HIT that seems never ending but I think both cardio has benefits and negatives!

IE Goods and Bads

Steady State Cardio
The Good :
Low Intensity
Easy on the joints
Easy when your sore or tired
Feel Great Afterwards!

The Bad :
Takes A Lot of time (20 min to 60 min)
Pretty Boring
Low Calorie Expenditure Demand

HIT (High Intensity Cardio)
The Good :
High Calorie Expenditure
Very Little Time ( 5 min to 20 min)
Fun (But Demanding)

The Bad :
Intense (Hard Workout If Sore or Achy)
Demanding (takes more toll on recovery system)
Hard after a intense weight workout (especially LEGS!!)

I would recommend alternating BOTH cardio methods depending on your TIME and your WEIGHT PROGRAM.

If your short on time hit the HIT, if your focused on HeavyLifting hit the slow steady state (in the AM if you can not after weights).

Another cardio method I am digging is “Cardio Strength Training” from Coach Dos. I just read it last weekend when I was in Halifax and its a great blend of Weights & Cardio. Using Circuits & Complexes for Fat Loss. I am doing a FULL blog post and video review on my blog soon so keep an eye out for it.

So there is no right or wrong. Use all the methods depending on your time, weights and factors in your life.

Either way hit SOME cardio just mix it up!

The BEST Cardio is the ONE YOU ARE NOT DOING!!!

I would love you to post your feedback here on cardio types that you like (or hate lol).  Thanks!

I love to bench!!  Well I “used” to love to bench.  I don’t bench much anymore.  I have nothing against the bench press (Except it is a ego lift more so than a productive lift), nevertheless I love benching.

However benching can get boring!!  It also can reek havoc on your pec tendons, rotator cuff muscles and isn’s a great lift for developing the pecs, its actually more of a shoulder & tricep exercise.  Hard to believe but true!

I have a lot of my clients (espicially those doing MMA & Jiu Jitsu) do other exercises besides just standard bar or dumbell press, and here’s why!

Answer this question for me.  When EVER have you laid on your back, on a bench, with your body elevated and done a bench press motion in real life?  Just think about it for a second?

My guess would be NEVER.

Now IF you are lying on your back and pressing up (IE underneath something pressing up) more than likely your back is ON the floor, not 2 feet above it on a bench!

Which is why I recommend a few “Alternatives” to just the normal bar or dumbell press!

Give these a try your next workout!  You won’t be disappointed!

As well while on the topic of benching be sure to check out my past blog post

5 Tips For A Better Bench Press Here

http://robkingfitness.com/2009/12/03/5-tips-to-a-better-bench-press/

So Saturday past was the 1/2 way point of my 6 week Warrior Built challenge.  Andy informed me Saturday that  everyone is making awesome gaines and that few of the guys are really taking things to another level so it’s time I try to step things up a notch!

Things are going great so far but with 3 weeks left I am really need to step things up to get under 180 lb (which was my goal).

Saturday i was in Halifax and couldn’t make the workout but even while in Halifax i ate clean 90% of the time (not an easy task), and hit the gym for 2 awesome workouts hitting cardio, circuit weight training & stretching so I could keep on pace. (One thing i noticed is it’s amazing how airport food is CRAP and eating good healthy food is hard to do!) Tim Hortons Fruit Explosion dounuts are not “HEALTHY” LOL.

But now I need to take things to another level and here is how I plan on doing this.

• Bump up my steady state cardio adding in 45min min for 6 days a week (it’s boring but it helps and doesn’t cause soreness, if anything it helps me recover)
• Adding in Tabata Cardio 3 days a week (A blog post coming on this soon) basic premise is HIT cardio like this Sprint for 20 seconds, rest for 10, repeat 8-10 times.
• Cut carbs back even lower.  I will try to have them only every 2nd to 3rd morning and only post workout.  My carbs will be mixed berries & banana post workout.
• Bump my fish oils to about 30g a day.
• Bump my general energy expenditure (more walks, more movement, just generally move more…sounds funny but it works)
• Miss NO WORKOUTS

So I have less than 3 weeks and my goal is going to get done!  When I finish this I am going to enjoy 1 day of food and get my junk and cheating done and go right back to clean eating as to be honest I am loving it!  Energy is better, mood is better, my recovery & strength is down but low carbohydrates will do that.  The good thing is once I reach the leanness I want I can ADD more good carbohydrates back into my diet and I can maintain the level of bodyfat without as much “work”.

Ill have another update next week.  We have pro MMA fighter & UFC competitor Jeff Joslin in for 3 days for training & seminars so I will get some crazy workouts in for next week and post it up!

I deal with a lot of people any given week in my business.  It is my goal to try to help YOU as much as possible!

But to do this I NEED to hear what YOUR GOALS ARE.  I need to know what information you want here so I can do my best to provide YOU with the best information!

So if you can fill out this poll real quick I would appreciate it!

If you can do 1 better and POST A COMMENT with your Training & Fitness goals I will do my best to help YOU in the future!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

For more info (and some awesome books he has published), check out

http://www.jonnybowden.com/

1. Don’t be fooled by “healthy sugar” disguises. Brown sugar, turbinado sugar, raw sugar … it’s all pretty much the same thing as far as your body is concerned.
   
2. Make a real effort to reduce or eliminate processed carbohydrates.Most processed carbs — breads, bagels, most pastas and snacks — are loaded with flour and other ingredients that convert to sugar in the body almost as fast as pure glucose. That sugar gets stored as triglycerides, which is a fancy way of saying fat.
3. Watch out for “fat-free” snacks. One of the biggest myths is that if a food is fat-free it doesn’t make you fat. Fat-free doesn’t mean calorie-free, and most fat-free snacks are loaded with sugar.
4. Shop for color. The more your grocery basket looks like a cornucopia of color, the better. It usually means you’re getting more fresh vegetables and low-glycemic fruits such as berries and cherries.
5. Become a food detective. This tip is from the wonderful author and nutritionist Anne Louise Gittleman, who adds, “To reduce sugar, you have to know where it is first.” Start reading labels.
6. Beware of artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, they can increase cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. They can also deplete the body’s stores of chromium, a nutrient crucial for blood-sugar metabolism.
7. Do the math. Look at the label where it says “total sugars” and divide the number of grams by four. That’s the number of teaspoons of sugar you are ingesting. This exercise alone should scare the pants off you.
8. Limit fruit. (Notice I didn’t say “eliminate.”) Fruit has sugar, but it also has fiber and good nutrients. Just don’t overdo it. For weight-loss purposes, keep it to two servings a day and try to make most of them low-glycemic (grapefruit, apples, berries)
9. Eliminate fruit juice. It’s a pure sugar hit with none of the fiber and less of the nutrients that are found in the fruit itself.