The transformation of the Healthy Irishman (and bro) continues

• Todays workout is a HIIT session
• Tomorrows workout is a resistance training session

And theyre both going to be nasty workouts

Sesame Street has joined the battle against childhood obesity.

First, it was Grover getting into the gym and pumping some iron.

Then, it was the Cookie Monster kicking his cookie addiction and switching to a diet heavy on fruits and vegetables.

Things were looking good in this battle between fit and fat.

Unfortunately, not everyone believed in the cause. There were traitors amongst us….

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But luckily, for every Stephen Colbert, there is a Michelle Obama, willing to stand up against video games and Twinkies and Big Gulps.

On this weeks 40th anniversary show, First Lady Michelle Obama helped a group of children plant a vegetable garden on Sesame Street.

And just like those vegetable seeds will eventually take root and grow into mature plants, let’s hope that the message of eating healthy and exercising daily will take root in the minds of a new generation of Sesame Street viewers.
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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Yesterday, I outlined the Irishman’s transformation.

Today, I will post Workout #1….feel free to try it out for yourself

WARM-UP

• Goblet Squat (DB) x 8 reps
• Push-Up x 8 reps
• Body Weight Row x 8 reps
• Shuffle Lunge x 30 reps
• Ab Wheel Roll-Outs x 8 reps
• DB Swings x 20 reps
• Hip Flexor Stretch x 8 reps

Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes (no rest between exercises – 30 sec. rest between supersets)

Note – You NEED to get through this at least 3 times in 10 min.

By the end of the 10 min. warm-up, the Irishman should be sweating hard and gasping for breath.

WORKOUT

Superset #1

• Alternate between exercise #1 and #2  for 10 minutes
• No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

• Goblet Squat

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (at first, this will seem very easy..don’t worry, after 10 minutes you legs will be dying)

Exercise # 2

• DB Lateral Raise / DB Bent-Over Lateral Raise

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (by the end of 10 min, you may only be getting 1 or 2 reps per set, but remember 100% intensity)
• Alternate between shoulder exercises -  ie Goblet/Laterals/Goblet/Bent-Over Lateral/Goblet/Lateral/Goblet/ Bent-Over Lateral…

5 Minutes rest between supersets #1 and #2 – Use that time to set up for superset #2

Superset #2

• Alternate between exercise #1 and #2  for 10 minutes
• No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

• Swing Snatch

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 40 quality reps
• Perform a maximum of 20 reps per set

Exercise # 2

• Cable Straight Arm Pushdown (aka the Vertical Woodchop or Hi-Lo Slam)

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set
• Be explosive with these

5 Minutes rest between supersets #2 and #3

Superset #3

• Alternate between exercise #1 and #2  for 10 minutes
• No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

• 1 Arm Kneeling Pulldown (or 1 Arm Alternating Standing Pulldown if 1 arm is n/a)

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set

Exercise # 2

• Shuffle Lunge

• Bodyweight
• 30 reps per set
• Focus on speed…shuffle those feet

Go Home…you’re finished

If you want these workouts emailed to your smartphone, click here and subscribe for the updates

Exercise Videos

Goblet Squat

Lateral Raises

Bent-Over Lateral Raises

Swing Snatch

Straight Arm Pushdown

Pulldown variations

Shuffle Lunge

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The other day on my blog, I introduced you to the Healthy Irishman and his plans to transform his body. Here is a link to that post.

Today, I will be outlining his program.

PROGRAM GOALS

• The client want to add approx. 10 lbs of lean muscle.
• Improve definition.
• Improve fitness
• Doesn’t want to look like a bodybuilder…more like LL Cool J or Jason Statham

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

This program is designed to:

• provide maximum hypertrophy stimulus, while
• supercharging anaerobic fitness and overall athleticism

In short, this program is going to make the Irishman bigger, stronger, faster, more flexible and hopefully reverse some of his dysfunction in his left shoulder.

THE WARM-UP

Unlike most programs, the warm-up doesn’t just get the Irishman ready for the workout, it is part of the workout.

I have designed two separate warm-ups that he will perform on alternate days.

Each warm-up is designed to dynamically stretch his joints, increase muscle temperature & elasticity, prime his anaerobic energy system as well as get his mind laser focused on the remainder of the workout

WARM-UP #1

• Barbell Snatch x 8 reps
• Barbell Overhead or Front Squat x 8 reps
• Back Squat x 8 reps
• Barbell Good Morning x 8 reps
• Barbell Bent-Over Row x 8 reps
• Barbell Deadlift x 8 reps
• Hip Flexor Stretch x 8 reps

Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes (no rest between exercises – 30 sec. rest between supersets)

Note – You NEED to get through this at least 3 times in 10 min.

WARM-UP #2

• Goblet Squat (DB) x 8 reps
• Push-Up x 8 reps
• Body Weight Row x 8 reps
• Shuffle Lunge x 30 reps
• Ab Wheel Roll-Outs x 8 reps
• DB Swings x 20 reps
• Hip Flexor Stretch x 8 reps

Repeat as many times as possible in 10 minutes (no rest between exercises – 30 sec. rest between supersets)

Note – You NEED to get through this at least 3 times in 10 min.

By the end of the 10 min. warm-up, the Irishman should be sweating hard and gasping for breath.

Take 5 min to get ready for the “real” workout

THE WORKOUT

The key to the success of these workouts is intensity.

I don’t care about the amount of weight lifted or how many reps. What I care about is effort. If you push harder than you thought you could ever push yourself, this workout will reward you with truly impressive results

For example, I tried this workout on a personal training client with amazing results

He is/was a tall (6′5″) guys with little muscle

In 9 weeks, he added 13 lbs of muscle and if his impedance scale is accurate, his BF has dropped from 23% to 14%

WORKOUT BASICS

• Each workout will consist of 3 supersets
• Each superset will consist of 2 exercises
• Each superset will last 10 minutes

• The reps performed per exercise will be modified by yours truly to maximize results.
• The weight selected per exercise will also be modified by yours truly.

• Intensity level HAS to be 100%

Simple…but not easy

SAMPLE WORKOUT

Superset #1

• Alternate between exercise #1 and #2  for 10 minutes
• No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

• Goblet Squat

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (at first, this will seem very easy..don’t worry, after 10 minutes you legs will be dying)

Exercise # 2

• DB Lateral Raise / DB Bent-Over Lateral Raise

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps (doesn’t have to be exact, weight selection will improve with experience)
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set (by the end of 10 min, you may only be getting 1 or 2 reps per set, but remember 100% intensity)
• Alternate between shoulder exercises -  ie Goblet/Laterals/Goblet/Bent-Over Lateral/Goblet/Lateral/Goblet/ Bent-Over Lateral…

5 Minutes rest between supersets #1 and #2 – Use that time to set up for superset #2

Superset #2

• Alternate between exercise #1 and #2  for 10 minutes
• No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

• Swing Snatch

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 40 quality reps
• Perform a maximum of 20 reps per set

Exercise # 2

• Cable Straight Arm Pushdown (aka the Vertical Woodchop or Hi-Lo Slam)

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set
• Be explosive with these

Superset #3

• Alternate between exercise #1 and #2  for 10 minutes
• No rest between sets

Exercise # 1

• 1 Arm Kneeling Pulldown (or 1 Arm Alternating Standing Pulldown if 1 arm is n/a)

• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 quality reps
• Perform a maximum of 10 reps per set

Exercise # 2

• Shuffle Lunge

• Bodyweight
• 30 reps per set
• Focus on speed…shuffle those feet

Okay, that’s it for this intro post.

Tomorrow, I will be posting the Healthy Irishman’s first workout (just in case anyone wants to join in)
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Enjoy fellas.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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I’m really diggin’ our CSA box delivery service. So far the produce has been great and in order to use it all we’ve had to use our noggins and think outside the box a bit, so to speak! Who said you can’t have looks and brains?

This week our box contained organic Fuji apples, spinach, leeks, rainbow chard, broccoli, Valencia oranges & mixed peppers. I turned to old faithfuls for some of these—I used the oranges for Jerk sauce and the mixed peppers went into a pot o’chili.

Each week when our box arrives there’s a newsletter inside from the farm talking about what’s in season and giving tips and such about the fruit n’ veg. They also give a recipe highlighting one of the veggies. I was intrigued by this particular chard recipe not only because I really like leafy greens but also because it used the entire bunch of chard, stems & all. Usually one would remove the stems and either put them in the stock pot as I do or into the compost heap. Either way they’re getting used but I’d much prefer to eat them. They have a lovely peppery flavour and they add brilliant colour to the sauteed chard. I can’t take any credit for this but it did turn out great and I combined it with a rice recipe which uses up some of the apples. Usin’ my noggin!

Continue reading the full recipe here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the HEALTHY IRISHMAN Newsletter!

When you do you’ll receive a FREE Entertainment Booklet with recipes and tips for your next dinner party.

Fueling your body with healthy food. Fueling your mind with the wealth of health.

Copyright © 2009 The Healthy Irishman. All rights reserved
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A few weeks ago, the Healthy Irishman asked me to help transform himself from being merely healthy into something super-human.

And, considering how many posts he has written for Health Habits, I figured I owed him.

So, I put together a particularly nasty workout, beta tested it on one of my guinea pigs, and voila…starting Monday, the Irishman and his visiting younger brother will be putting on a freak show at the Venice Beach Gold’s Gym.

I will be posting the workouts here as well as on this Posterous website.

(FYI – with Posterous, The Irishman will be able to view his workouts (with video) off of his smartphone at the gym – just like an iPhone app, except the workout won’t suck)

For those of you who might be interested in following the Irishman’s progress (or joining in), feel free to sign up for email updates. Also, you should probably sign up for the Health Habits feed as well.

Here’s a brief outline of Gavan’s (the Irishman) current fitness routine

• he trains 5 x per week
• Mon to Fri
• at 4:15 am (not a typo)
• he workouts at Golds Gym – Venice (so he has access to every workout toy imaginable)

His current workout is based on a 2 exercise/10 set per bodypart workout based on a 5 day split

M- Back/Chest
T- Hamstrings. Calves
W- Shoulders/Abs
T- Bi’s/ Tri”s
F- Deadlifts/Glutes

Sat is off or 30 min cardio
Sun is off

Resistance workouts last 50 min with an additional 10-20 mins cardio after lifting. 1 hr 20 total approx.

His Goals:

• He would like to build up maybe add 10 lbs of lean muscle.
• Get some definition.
• Improve fitness
• Doesn’t want to look like a bodybuilder
• Wants to look defined & strong…kinda like

LL Cool J

or Jason Statham

His Stats:

• Gavan weighs 176 lbs @ 5′11″
• He has a chronically injured right shoulder (vertical presses are out)

Here’s his before pics

His Diet:

He eats 5-6 meals a day and gets good quality carbs and protein in each meal.

Carbs: Brown rice, quinoa pasta or gluten free pasta, cous-cous, yams, polenta, oatmeal
Protein: Egg whites, fish, shrimp, tofu, seitan, chicken, turkey

Also, for the next 5 weeks, Gavan’s brother Ross is visiting. This means that the Irishman will have a workout buddy for the first 5 weeks.

Ross’ Pics

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In tomorrow’s post, I will outline the workout along with my recommendations for supplementation and diet.

And, on Sunday, I will post the first workout

Enjoy fellas.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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• The Deadpool Mega Muscle Mass Workout – Part Two
  
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• HealthHabits – 4 Steps to a Great HIIT Workout
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HIIT Workout # 1…a four minute Tabata workout on the stationary bike

4 minutes of PAIN

• 20 seconds as hard as possible
• 10 seconds of rest

• Repeat 7 more times

If you don’t feel like dyin’ then you didn’t go hard enough
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I think it’s time for me to find another health club.

Yesterday, while chatting with the “towel lady”, I noticed that they were carrying a new protein shake…..by Kellogg’s…  the makers of Eggo waffles, Froot Loops and Pop Tarts.

and now they’re making protein shakes.

I asked to take a look at a bottle of the NEW!!! Special K Protein Shake.

Arrrggghhhhh!!!

Here’s what the label looked like:

Looks pretty good, right?

I mean, except for the sucralose, corn syrup solids, acesulfame potassium, nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners.

On the plus side, it has 190 calories, some carbs to re-fuel after your workout and a relatively small dose of protein.

Just like chocolate milk.

In fact, the macronutrient profile looks almost identical to the carton of chocolate milk that I picked up at the 7-11 across the street from the gym.

Calories about the same, protein about the same, carbs about the same. The milk had a lower fat content as I prefer the low-fat version post-workout.

So, why in the world would I spend $3.99 for a bottle of Special K Protein Shake with extra HFCS and nonnutritive sweeteners when I can get a carton of chocolate milk for $1.25?

I mean, besides the fact that Kelloggs is marketing their entire Special K product line as an effective way to get healthy….

and look like an airbrushed supermodel in short shorts.

But, maybe you’re not the kind of person who would fall for such obvious commercial manipulation.

Maybe you rely on the opinions of real people…like these bloggers:

• Skinny Habits Review
• This Mama Cooks Review
• Yum Yucky Review

Either way, Kelloggs is working hard and spending a lot of money trying to convince you to buy the protein shakes and their healthy cereals and snack bars.

So, as a counterpoint to the advertising, I would like to offer my review of the Special K Protein Shake:

Don’t waste your money.

Chocolate milk is healthier and cheaper.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to microStretching.

Today, it’s Resistance Stretching….made famous by 40-something Olympic and World champion Dara Torres.

In 2008, Resistance Stretching was Dara’s secret weapon at the Olympic Games in Beijing where she won three silver medals, broke her own personal best time in the 50m freestyle (trailing the gold medalist by 1/100th of a second) and became the oldest Olympic swimming medalist in history.

Dara’s success as an older athlete is what got me interested in Resistance Stretching (RS).

So, I contacted Dara’s RS gurus Steve Sierra and Anne Tierney and grilled them with questions.

Here is some of what they had to say…

What is Resistance Stretching?

Resistance Stretching is based on the theories that:

1. The stretching effect occurs during the entire movement of the muscle while it is being contracted, not just at the end point of the stretch…unlike traditional static stretching.
2. A muscle must contract while elongating for a true stretch. Stretching a muscle without contracting produces a false range of motion known as substitution, and ultimately results in over-stretching and injury.
3. Repetitions are necessary for gains in flexibility, just as repetitions are necessary for gains in strength during strength training.

How do I do it?

Resistance Stretching can be performed alone using self-stretches or with other person(s) using assisted stretching techniques.

Dara relied on assisted stretching to prepare her body for the Olympics.

Unfortunately, you and I will most likely not have access to a team of trained Resistance Stretchers.

But don’t fret, my clients and I have had great success using the standard self-stretches as well as the variations that I MacGyvered on my own.

This video outlines some of the basic self-stretches.

Where you go from here is up to you.

Once you understand the basic concept of Resistance Stretching, you are only limited by your imagination. I am constantly coming up with new stretching variations.

Just follow these ffive steps

1. Identify the muscle or muscle group that you want to stretch
2. Start by flexing or shortening that muscle
3. Tense the muscle
4. Start stretching the muscle while simultaneously resisting the stretch
5. Repeat

In a future post, I will provide videos of some of my favorite stretches. I just need to bribe one of my clients to let me record them and put it on the blog.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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We all know how to stretch….right?

Bend over, touch your toes and hold for 30 seconds.

So, why is it that after years and years of static stretching after each and every workout, my hip flexors, hamstrings, abductors, calves, traps, pecs and entire shoulder girdle were always uber-tight and I was suffering from lower back spasms every few months?

• Could it be that what we thought was right wasn’t?
• Could it be that just about every personal trainer in the world is wrong?
• Could it be that Mr. Toe Touch was wasting his time and perhaps even making things worse?

This is where I found myself about a year ago.

So I went looking for another way to stretch my tight muscles back into balance.

And I found two very different techniques that worked very well for me.

Today, I am going to introduce you to microStretching.

Micro Stretching from Micro FC on Vimeo.

Microstretching – Nikos C. Apostolopoulos

That’s it for today.

I am going to let you chew on this concept for a little bit before we get into the “how to” details.

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In tomorrow’s post, I am going to introduce you to Resistance Stretching. If you thought that microStretching is weird, wait until you see this stuff.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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