Homemade Garlic Dough Balls

Here it is, my best creation to date:

Ingredients:

Yeast

Flour

Butter

Garlic

Parsley

Oil

Salt

Water

Why Breakfast Cereal Will Make You Fat

My latest video on youtube:

The other day I decided that instead of cooking a large meal, I would opt for a small bowl of cereal. The first one that came to hand was Oatibix, basically oat flakes with some raisins. I added a further handful of raisins and topped with 1% Fat milk.

Luckily I weighed it out, so I could add the ingredients to MyFitnessPal and see what the damage was afterwards.

Needless to say, it was quite shocking.

The moral of the story, if you a re serious about health and fitness: track what you eat, dont rely on judgement to count calories.

Until next time

Stay safe out there.

Bodybuilders Creatine Breakfast

Check out the video above for a list of ingredients and basic how to.

There are many ways to take creatine, in water, juice, tea for example. This puts my own take on it, which has served me well so far.

Calories: 600

Carbs:97
Protein: 22
Fat:12

All in all its a standard oat based breakfast, but the flaxseeds add a different flavour, and for those who hate gritty creatine its a perfect solution.

Have your own alternatives? Let me know in the comments section.

Stay safe

Whey Protein: Common Myths & Advice

Whey protein is big business, but why?

Please check out the video above. I  made this primarily for a friend who has never used protein supplements before. He is a keen cyclist, and wants to encourage his legs to grow for more power, but as lean as possible to offset the weight disadvantage.

I explain that simple Whey Protein is his best bet, in my opinion. Most protein supplements have around 25g of protein per serving which would be an ideal way of getting in the nutrients without forcing down the common standard foods such as chicken, turkey, beef etc etc.

I also cover the general cost, that he should not expect any sudden gains or boost in performance, and also show that frequency and timing of protein in the diet doesn't matter in the long run.

Basically, when it comes to Whey, KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Enjoy.

Legal Steroids

Here is a short video about something I picked up in a supplement store:

The product is called Methdrol - and you may have guessed, it is a prohormone.

Im not going to get into the arguments for and against prohormones here, do what you will. All I ask is that you take care and read as much as you can first.

Please note in the UK where I am, these prohormones are LEGAL. They may not be in your area of residence.

Now, even though you can legally buy and use these as supplements, be wary of their contents. Methdrol contains a chemical compound which will be broken down by your body and introduce excess testosterone into you system. The particular compound found in this prohormone I understand to be BANNED by WADA, meaning in for example, a tested athletic event or bodybuilding show, you will be in the same class as the juicers.

I am not discussing whether they work, how they work or whether you should source these products yourself on here. What I am saying is:

UNDERSTAND FULLY WHAT IS IN YOUR SUPPLEMENTS BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM, AND WHAT EFFECTS THEY WILL HAVE ON YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT.

Stay safe.

I Cant Lose Any Weight!

Please check out this video first guys:

Basically I am weight training to maintain my muscle mass, and doing a lot of cycling for my cardio, in the region of 50-80 miles per week.

See Strava Here

Although I am eating at a calorie deficit, my weight loss has slowed down a lot, and I feel if i eat more, i will gain weight (which I refuse to do, as it makes cycling harder and I am entering cycling events). However, in addition to cycling, I practice Jujitsu once a week and lift weights 1 or two times a week, so more cardio will be hard to fit in around my working week. I eat relatively clean, no cheat meals but a kind of IIFYM style and dont take any supplements.

Any suggestions or insights as to what is going on?

Make Your Own Starbucks Iced Mocha...

....with extra protein (obviously!)

Recipe video now online here:

Simple, effective, refreshing, good for you and tastes awesome!

Calories and macro's obviously depend on serving size and quanities of the ingredients, which I am not listing, as everyone is different when it comes to caffeine and protein tolerance.

Enjoy!

Overnight Oats (A Breakfast Alternative)

A Chocolate Whey Porridge Alternative:

The purpose of leaving the mixture overnight will allow the oats to soak up the liquid without the need for cooking. I find this useful when you dont want breakfast straight away and if you have to, for example, quickly get to work, you can carry this with you and guzzle it down an hour later without the worry of cooked porridge going cold. Plus the chocolate flavour makes it taste mega.

 

1 Empty Shaker!

 

 60g Porridge Oats!

 40g Whey Protein!

 120ml Water/20ml Milk

Refrigerate (you guessed it) Overnight!

Strava Profile http://app.strava.com/athletes/651236

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Strength Training Anatomy: Book Review

Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier

Amazon Link: Strength Training Anatomy (Sports Anatomy)

I bought this book for £13.99 at my local Waterstones. I was looking for Starting Strength, but that was unavailable and this one caught my eye.

Basically it is split into sections for bodyparts; Arms, Shoulders, Legs, Back, Buttocks and Abdomen. Each section contains around 15-20 exercises which may be performed on free weights or machines and there are some excellent illustrations with clearly marked muscle names. The illustrations of the person performing the exercise is drawn so that you can see the muscle fibres and clearly understand what is going on under the surface.

 

One of my personal favourite parts of this book is its attention to the possibilities of injury, with full reasoning and explanation as to why certain movements are not advised. Take for example the "dips" which engage the chest and triceps. In this book it explains that you should keep your head position in line with your spine, as the stress of the exercise itself can cause indirect pressure on the neck.

There are also more in depth explanations of health risks, such as the damage that may be caused to the knee joint during leg exercises. These are brightly marked with a yellow page and also fully determine the scientific facts behind the scenes.

Female readers may also be  drawn to this book as it not only shows the female body for many of the examples, but also goes into further detail, such as the reasoning behind rotation of the hips and the differences to men and why certain exercises may be easier or more difficult based on the physiology of the two sexes.

Although this book focuses solely on exercises and the motor functions of the human body, you cant fault its depth and completeness.

I am sure this will be a good read for those just starting out, and a great reference to pick up and absorb nuggets of information along the course of a fitness lifestyle.

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Lonsdale Pro Bar 30 Review

Lonsdale Pro Bar 30

30 grams of protein! As you can see in the pictures above, the ratios are pretty good. However I am a bit dubious about the ingredient list, as there are certain hydrogenated oils and other fats and sugars which are only there to enhance the taste.

Overall these are pretty harmless bars. If the protein is good quality, then there is nothing wrong with using them occasionally for your lunch if like me you are always on the move. Nothing beats real food though!

I bought these from Sports Direct which is a popular chain sports store in the UK. They cost £1.50 but I have found them on sale before for £1 or less.

Flavours I have tried include Chocolate Fudge, Mint Chocolate and Strawberries and Cream. They are all pretty nice, due to the levels of fat and other ingredients mentioned ealier. The texture is a bit like eating a chewy, slightly chalky toffee bar (UK readers, imagine a thick Chomp bar).

I'd say go for it, but with this being a vegetarian based blog, be wary of the ingredients, as the packet warns it may contain gluten and nuts, so who knows what else may be derived in the process (one amazon review claims it contains gelatine).

Enjoy!

Lose Weight For Summer

Losing weight is simple. There are millions of websites, blogs, weight loss groups, gyms, personal trainers, and corporations (read: Weight Watchers) that over complicate things.

There are two main factors which will aid in weight loss:

Move More

Eat Less

.....and thats essentially it. Generally, if you eat 2000 kCal a day, and you move around enough so that you expend 2,500 kCal every day, you will be at what is known as a calorie deficit. Through the space of a week, you will have burned off 3,500 kCal, and that is nearly the same amount of calories as one pound of bodyfat.

There are many ways of keeping a tab on how many calories you are burning. Apps such as Myfitnesspal, my favourite, can help a lot. Try tracking everything you eat for a few days (and i mean everything). You will be surprised how wrong you may be with your estimations beforehand.

Track Your Calories













Track Your Weight Regularly

Dont worry about supplements for now. Thermogenic Fat Burners for example may have their place, but can vary in their effectiveness and some people can be very sensitive to stimulants.

You Are What You Eat!

You might be able to get all of your daily calories from chocolate, but you will be badly malnourished and feel terrible. If you eat nothing but chocolate, which for instance may be 30% fat, 60% Carbs (refined sugar) and 10% Protein, then how do you expect your body to drop to under 10% fat so you can see your abs? In this case, a calorie is not equal to any other calorie.

If you want to lose weight as a bodybuilder, you are going to lose some muscle size. Deal with it. In order to minimise this loss, keep your protein level high. The reason for this is when your body starts to break down for fuel, you will still have enough protein passing through your system to replace whatever mass gets used up (a very basic overview).

Cutting out a Macronutrient

It works, but its probably not worth it. Once you come off the diet and eat carbs again for example, your body will adjust and you might find yourself back to square one. Good for competitors & models who have to hit a deadline, not so good for longeivity and good health.

Be Smart, Eat Sensible, Train Hard.

 

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The Only 2 Supplements You Need

Thought about trying BCAA's, Testosterone Boosters, Deer Antler, Fat Burners, Natural Steroid Alternatives?

You dont need any of it!

If you work hard at the gym, in my experience there are only two supplements which work, and thats besides sweating your ass off and eating clean.

Whey Protein and Creatine Monohydrate

I recently heard Marc Lobliner call whey protein "chocolate chicken". Its not a magic formula, that when you consume a 5lb tub in a few days you grow huge. Its essentially the macro's of something like a chicken breast in an easy convenient formula. Think about it. Easting 6 chicken breasts a day wont make you huge, so why should a protein powder. 

Of course it helps. I myself find it hard to eat a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight a day, but if i have 6 servings (6x1 scoop) per day, i can get close enough on top of my other food. Please note, as whey protein is derived from milk, it is not suitable for vegans. There are other protein sources available out there which may be suitable.

Creatine should be used in the monohydrate form. All of the other forms are marketing techniques on the same product. Also, the loading phase isnt necessary. It will fill your muscles faster, but you will also burn through your stash faster. My advice is to take 1 5g scoop per day throughout your required term. There is no need to cycle either. 

Save your cash for the gym membership and rubbish gym clothes!