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.