Tilapia Prep

Tilapia is a great source of protein that doesn’t come with the fishy taste.  I think it really doesn’t have a taste at all.  It’s a very lean and relatively cheap.  Pretty much whatever you cook it in will determine the taste.

My favorite way to cook it is just simmer the fillets in lemon juice for a few minutes on each side, and then sprinkle with Lawry’s seasoning and pepper.

Careful when flipping so you don’t splash yourself or shred your dinner into a million pieces.  Tilapia is very delicate.  Pair it with some brown rice and veggies and you have a great tasting, balanced meal!

Firefighter Circuit Training #1

Chicken Prep

Chicken breast is the main item on my menu.  It’s great for building and keeping your lean muscle mass.  I start by cutting off all the excess fat and place them on a baking sheet.  I season them with one of Mrs. Dash’s seasonings.  My personal favorite is the “Extra Spicy” flavor.

• Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
• Bake for 45 minutes. 
• Dice the chicken into cubes. 
• Place cubes into plastic bags and weigh them out to your desired portion size.

Digital Scale

Eat it straight out of the bag on the run or heat it up with a side of veggies for a meal.



6 oz. bags of chicken



9/11

Remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.





West Side Tattoo
Colorado Remembers Wall- 9/11/11



West Side Tattoo
Colorado Remembers Wall- 9/11/11

Cardio

• Morning Cardio

6 AM! It is time to get up and get going.  There are only so many hours in a day.  Before I know it the baby will be up, and anyone that has been around an almost 2 year old knows that cardio is not a possibility if they are awake.  My weapon of choice is the ProForm Cycle trainer.  It’s completely silent which a necessity with my daughter sleeping in the room right new to mine. 

Get Up and Get Going!

The first things I do when waking is grab some water, a serving of BCAA’s and my IPod.  I do cardio on an empty stomach because it’s the best time to burn fat.  Your body has been fasting all night and is glycogen depleted.  So any low intensity cardio you do will burn fat instead of glycogen.  The BCAA’s are to help with muscle catabolism (muscle loss).  I try to keep my heart rate around 140.  This has seemed to work good for me so far.

• After Weights Cardio

My second session of cardio is right after I’m done lifting weights.  Once again this is when the body is glycogen depleted.  Your heavy weights session will cause you to burn up a lot of carbs leaving you depleted. I will do 30 to 45 minutes of cardio after all my weights workout except for my leg day.  I will use the elliptical of the stair mill most often.  Once again I keep my heart rate around 140.  Make sure to get your post workout meal or shake in you when you’re finished with cardio.

1 Year Transformation Pictures

Going through my pictures and I found progress photos from March 2010 and March 2011.  I’ve put them side by side to see the 1 year transformation I had.  Last year I decided to take control of body when everything else in my life seemed out of control…  It worked but it has kind of created a monster out of me J  in a good way!  I started goal setting as a way for me to focus on something other than the custody battle I was going through in 2010.  Sprint tri, half marathon, and then I finally took the plunge into bodybuilding.  I’ve now found something that I’m truly passionate in.  I hope to grow and learn more about myself with each show.

March 2010 / March 2011

Powder Supplements

Now on to some of the powder supplements that I take, and also recommend taking if you’re asking a lot from your body on a daily basis. 

• 

  10lb Dymatize Elite Whey Protein
  

  The first supplement is as basic as it gets.  Whey Protein!  I drink two double serving shakes a day.  I take one in the morning right when I wake up and also one post workout.  I get my post workout shake in me as soon as I get in the locker room.  An hour later I will eat a solid meal as well.  Whey protein helps aid in rebuilding muscle tissue after a strenuous workout.

• Glutamine is an amino acid that helps with muscle repair, reduces soreness, and aids recovery.  Taking glutamine will allow you to get back in the gym sooner.  I take 20g of glutamine throughout the day.  I mix it with a gallon of Crystal Light in the morning and make sure it’s gone by the end of the day.

• Branched Chain Amino Acids BCCA’s are referring to the three essential amino acids; Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine.  These are the most import of the 9 essential amino acids to repair and build muscle.  Taking BCAA’s will help speed up muscle recovery, but it will also aid in muscle breakdown when you are dieting down.   I’m also taking 20g of BCAA’s a day.  I take it four times a day; wakeup, before workout, after workout, and before bed.  I find the taste of these AWFUL!!  So I just put a serving of powder right on my tongue and chase it with crystal light.  I found mixing it just doesn’t work for me :P

• The last of my powders arsenal is Casein Protein.  I take this protein at night before bed because it’s very this and It’s slow digesting.  I’ve had a bad track record of waking up in the middle of the night and grabbing not so optimal food choices while I’m half asleep J  I found that a Casein Protein shake helps a little with that.  I will put another shake on my night stand, so if/when I wake up, I’ll drink this and not even head for the kitchen.  My pantry is NOT very bodybuilder friendly, so it makes dieting a struggle at times.

Fill the Boot Weekend

Great fill the boot weekend! Hope everyone was able to donate or help with collecting for MDA. For some of those that don’t know why they see firefighters doing fill the boot every Labor Day week; I thought I’d put a little information out there for you! Nothing on fitness today :(



“The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is the largest national sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). More than 297,000 members of the IAFF in the United States and Canada are pledged to saving lives, both as fire fighters and paramedics and as the strongest campaigners for the worldwide research efforts of MDA to eradicate 40 neuromuscular diseases. The contributions of the fire fighters also go toward MDA’s summer camps for children, professional and public health education, and other programs. IAFF members have donated nearly $450 million to MDA since 1954.” http://www.iaff.org/mda/



Our engine company was lucky enough to be on shift two days this weekend for fill the boot. We received very generous donations both days! Thanks to everyone!

Engine 12

The Pill Box

Staying consistent with taking you daily vitamins is crucial when you’re asking a lot of your body on a day to day basis. Whether you’re having busy days on the job, training for an endurance event, a strength event, or just staying active; you should be supplementing unless your diet plan is textbook perfect. 


Daily Regimen



Supplements should not be taken in place of the food itself.  They should be taken to make sure your getting enough and used as more of a safety net. 



"For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned"
Morning, Noon, and Night!



A good place to start with supplementation is find a good multi vitamin and fish oil.  A multi vitamin is a good cheap way to make sure your getting all the nutrients that you need.  This is very important if you are dieting.  If fat loss is your goal then fish oil is another supplement to stack it with.  Many studies show that taking a fish oil supplement along with exercise will help aid in your fat loss goal.  Fish oil also aids in cardiovascular disease prevention. 

Some other supplements that I take on a daily basis to aid with my training are Glucosamine & Chondroitin, Potassium, and Calcium.  I’m taking these for joint health, and muscle cramps.  The calcium is because I currently take in no dairy because I’m cutting down for competition.

First visit to Armbrust Pro Gym for a Leg Day

Today I got my first taste of a real gym.  Sorry to my corprate friends, your child care is essential to me, but this was a treat.  It was awesome to step into a place with so many free weights you didn’t know where to start.  Start with hack squats… sure but which one?  I’m used to just getting on THE hack squat machine.  This gym has an entire room dedicated to legs.  So to be short and get on with this post; Go spend $10 and check this place out. It is definitely worth the drive and money.  Check out his website at http://armbrustprogym.com



4240 Kipling St. Wheatridge CO, 80033



Being in a new place made me a little more eagar to change things up for the day.  Through the guidance of my workout partner, another NPC Bodybuilding competitor, we worked our way through a high volume quad and calves day, which was new for me.  Keeping the weight a little lower we completed 3 to 5 sets of 15 to 25 reps on the Hack, Vertical Leg Press, and single leg press machines.   Then we finished off with calves seated then standing for two sets of 40 each. 10’s of straight, in, out, and straight again.  My legs were destroyed walking out.  A good day.



Eric Morales on High Volume Hacks

 

Here's a good video of what Armbrust Pro Gym has of offer from Dyan Armbrust himself.

Breakfast

Breakfast time!

Breakfast has always been coined the most important meal in the day.  I would have to agree with this statement still.  Too many Americans hold on to fat just because their timing is a little off.  If they could only shift a portion of the calories they consume in the late afternoon to the morning, they would be in much better shape.  Start the day off right!

1/2 to 1 cup of Oats with a splash of Fat Free milk and a pack of Sweet'n Low

 My breakfast currently consists of Quaker Quick oats with a splash of fat free milk, just to moisten, and a table spoon of Smucker’s sugar free Strawberry Jelly/ or a pack of sweet and low to flavor.



9 egg whites scrambled with Heinz Low carb Ketchup



 Also 9 egg whites with Low Carb Heinz Ketchup on top.  I wash this all down with some hot tea and a big glass of ice water.  Don't forget about eating the other 9 egg whites before you go to bed as well!



Prep all 18 eggs in the morning or night before.  This takes care of 2 meals for the day without much cleanup.



Get Up and Get Going!

No matter what schedule you work; your mornings must be productive with regards to your fitness.  You should be waking up and hoping on a piece of cardio equipment or getting your first meal prepared and eaten.  The excuse of “”I need time to wake up” must be put to rest once and for all. If we can wake up at 3 am for a rollover accident on the interstate, then I’m sure we can ride a bike or crack a few eggs in the morning.  The quicker you get your day started, the more your metabolism can be used to your advantage. 

 Getting a light morning cardio session in on an empty stomach is a great way to attack your fat stores for the entire workout.   Mornings are a great time for cardio because you have been fasting all night.  Your body will go right to work using fat as energy since you haven’t eaten in 8 hours. 

If you’re not willing to do a little morning cardio, then get to work in the kitchen.  The sooner you get some food in your system the sooner your metabolism with get turned on.  Eating every few hours will keep your body working hard which keeps calories burning all day without doing any real work (I’m sure your interested now!).  To get lean you must eat early and eat often.  If you can spread your daily calories over 6 or 7 meals instead of three, you will see a vast improvement in your physique.  Don’t have enough time to cook or eat that many meals?  It can be done.  I will give your some tips in an upcoming post.

My introduction!

Hello!

I’ve created this blog to try to get some of my real world fitness knowledge out to my friends and coworkers.   I get a lot of emails asking for help with fat loss or putting on muscle mass.  I thought this would be a great way for me to reach as many people as I can with the least amount of work.  J  You must remember I’m a single dad that has his own fitness goals to achieve as well!

Quick bio-

• 26 years old, Father of 1 beautiful girl, living in Colorado.
• Grew up doing competitive martial arts from the age of 7 (still competing in my free time)
• Martial arts gave me core knowledge with bodyweight fitness programs
• Career Firefighter/EMT since2008. (I know dieting at the firehouse is hard, but it's possible)
• Lifting weights for the past 8 year recreationally
• Started competitive bodybuilding in 2011
• My first show I won the Novice overall title as a lightweight
• My second show I won the Open overall title as a lightweight.

My first bodybuilding show was an amazing learning experience for me.  I learned a lot about myself cutting weight and sticking to a strict diet and workout program.  I will go into more detail about my program in later days, but I’ll just say now that I dropped 30 pounds in 12 weeks and felt amazing doing it!  I encourage anyone that enjoys fitness to get on stage at least once in your life.  It took my mind and body to whole new level!!

Here is my before and after pictures from my 12 week prep.  I’m standing next to my 1^st place novice lightweight trophy, 1^st place open lightweight trophy, and the Novice overall medal.  Not a bad take for my first bodybuilding competition! I went from 183lbs to 153lbs.